The web is full of advice and information, some good, some bad and some simply incorrect, but how do you know the difference? What can you trust and where do you go when you just need some support?
All startups and entrepreneurs have felt like this at some point in their journey so we have put together some of the more interesting and reliable resources which will help you along the way to startup success.
Gov.uk
As a government website, it is probably the most trusted website and advice you can get meaning you know what you are reading is both legitimate and impartial.
The website has a whole section on starting up a business and is very unintimidating to navigate and digest. It takes you through 6 steps involved in starting up your business including areas often overlooked by commercial website including find partners, suppliers and premises.
There are some particularly interesting and useful videos on the gov.uk website such as how to research your market which is a topic all startups and entrepreneurs know is essential to success but very few places tell you how to go about it.
The government website also gives impartial advice on startup funding which can be quite useful as a comparison to other funding options.
Startups.co.uk
An excellent all-round resource for startups with all of the information you need to set up and grow your startup business. So what makes it more important than any of the other website aimed at collating information for startups?
Well, there are a couple of reasons I like this website:
- The information is arrange and signposted clearly so I can always find what I am looking for. This isn't always the case with similar websites! I like being able to find what I am looking for easily!
- You can create your own account giving you the opportunity to comment on forums, receive regular, relevant news and build your personalised community of tailored support from more than 46,000 colleagues and experts!
The nice functionality of being about to create your own account means you are updated with funding, marketing and strategic news and best practise from the experts, without having to go and find it! And commenting on relevant forums gives you the opportunity for others to benefit from your experiences.
Finanscapes.com
Forecasting is another one of those things you will have been told is an essential component to startup success. But it's not so often people tell you the easy, painless (and time-effective) way to do it.
Finanscapes have more than 10 years' experience in financial services and the product is a cloud-based forecasting tool which makes it really simple to understand your future as cash flow and profit graphs (with no limits).
Imagine you could look into the future and see what growth might look like for your startup. The nice functionality here is the ability to publish your forecasts and plans. It allows you to publish your forecasts securely and professionally, to anyone you want to see them (and only them). This means you can publish them to investors or bank managers at the touch of a button with all of the drill-down details they will be looking for.
You can start a trial for FREE now and start seeing success in your future!
Schoolforstartups.co.uk/Barclays
This is a sub-section of School for Startups run by Barclays. Whilst this is clearly a commercial exercise by Barclays, it is a great little package they have put together offering a year-long holistic training and mentorship programme supporting you each step of the way.
You can apply for their startup support even if you have started trading (so long as you haven't been trading for more than 12 months), and the level of mentoring and learning opportunities look impressive.
There is a plethora of resources available from your local incubation centre, bank, accountant and enterprise facility, alongside the resources in this post. Make sure you are taking full advantage of all of the help and support that's out there!
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