When it comes to business finance, it can be touch and go whether your business makes it or not. There are very important steps one must learn to have a real flourishing business.

Having your business finances in order is the key to prosperity and growth, as finance plays a big part in any business its important you learn the key factors to success.

1. Bookkeeping – This is not only very important it’s the law in the UK that you keep your books in order. The penalties of not doing so can result in fines from HMRC and the additional expense of hiring a competent bookkeeper which will involve more cash. In short it pays to keep your books in order.
2. No Business Plan – Without a business plan, your road to raising finance will be short and a failure. Whether it’s a funding organization or a bank, you must present a cashflow forecast to stand any chance of raising finance.
3. Small Capital to work with – When you start a business there is no point starting up if you have no real capital. This is common with a small business, some people think they will get funding without putting any of there capital into there new company, this is untrue. Most finance companies will not entertain your business proposition if you are not willing or have no capital initially.
4. Bad Credit – If you have bad credit then you may well be charged more for business finance, this is because you may be considered a bigger risk and thus a higher APR may well be payable. Try and keep your credit clean to avoid disappointment.
5. Unprofitable business idea: If your business idea is a pie in the sky in other words a dream it will make money, it needs more research. Obviously, there is no point presenting a business idea which is neither creditable nor profitable.
6. No real strategy: If you can’t explain how your business venture will make money, you will fall at the first hurdle. Create a PowerPoint presentation – at the least to present this to your bank manager so they can see you have a solid idea that will make money. This gains trust and will make a real difference to you business finance application.

Follow the above steps and business finance will come with less effort than you think.

©2010 YBS . All rights Reserved.

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1. YBS Commercial Finance Explained: Business Finance
2. Commercial Finance Options For UK Business Owners
3. Is There a Need for a Business Proposal for Your Business Finance?

Its far easier to design a website than you may think, all it really takes is guidance and patience. You dont really need software as you can use sites such as wordpress to develop your core site online and in addition on you tube you can view tutorials of how to do it. Before long , you will have mastered the basics and start to make money selling sites or products.

We have teamed up with a site that gives you all you need to start making money online today, the site is called start a webiste design business owned by Mr.John Roberts. John is an expert in website design and offers a very easy to understand solution for the new person to the advanced user taking you by the hand on step at a time.

Click here to visit his site and to find out more and see for yourself the real way to make money making sites that sell.

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For many, its considered to be risky, for some its natural progression but either way going in to business is proberbly the best decision you will ever make to get your business started.

Sure you will hear guidance from your freinds like ” you will never make it” or nobody succeeds in these hard times, but frankly its best to ignore the ney sayers and go for it.

In the UK today, there is so much help available for people who are looking to go into business, there are local and regional goverment departments poviding grants and susidies, there is the job centre who can supply staff in all honesty its never been easier to get started.

1. Decide on your product
2. Reasearch it well
3. Get funding -Grant, bank loan
4. Sort out premices
5. Get started!

Its really as easy as that. Beleive in yourself, take action and start today!

(C) 2010 YBS. All rights Reserved.

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So based on first impressions one may think that a business marketing strategy sounds bit of a mystery, but a marketing strategy for your business can indeed make or break it.

A business marketing strategy is basically a marketing plan for your company and can be implemented whether your a sole trader or director, its the plan top make your company successful and well known. Another way of putting it is “its a marketing plan for your business”

This plan is based on the fact you have a business started and comprises of 5 very important steps, these steps are carried out in order and if done so can bring a submergence or resurgence in sales and prosperity for your company. These are researched, stepping stones to success.

1. Make a list of all your customers – a ling list in fact covering all clients you have sold too.

2. Next, make a newsletter with 3 special offers. The newsletter needs to be professionally done (this is important as your only as professional as people see you as professional) include products that have sold well in the PAST!

3. Purchase envelopes and stamps and a label machine – recommended

4. Get the newsletter printed and sent to all your customers.

5. Watch the results as they come in, and come in they generally will.

Business Marketing Strategy

In the newsletter, mention “call now” 3 times! this is important and prompts the client to act, generally if the client sees the line “call now” 3 times, he/she will act. Make the newsletter color royal blue – based on the color wheel, blue is a trusting color, try to avoid using red, red is a dangerous , alarming color. Make sure any product pics are clear and concise and at the right resolution – for print you require 300Dpi in pictures.

Marketing Tips:
Make your message sincere and always polite, (people dislike bad manners) get the newsletter in A4 format, this is the ideal size then get it posted. If you folloow these tips you will see any failing company turnaround like magic.

Keep in touch with clients, call them for referrals and success is on the way!

(C) 2010 Your Business Service. All rights Reserved.

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These days , you can get a business website made for a small sum but if no one sees your site you may as well have not bothered, this is where Business Web Marketing comes into play. Our partner company EMP provides expert website marketing that really works. There range of marketing services are extensive and perhaps equally are affordable. Lets look at web marketing and how it can help your business.

Website marketing is essential for any business in the UK, it raises awareness of brands and services offered and really gets your company noticed. A breakdown of the service on offer:

1. Social Bookmarking – This gets your site around the internet on popular bookmarking sites frequented by many people every day.

2. Search Engine Optimisation – This service involves the careful study of your site and research to find the best combination of words to get you higher on the search engine results.

3. Link building – Building quality 1 way links to your site  again raises your profile on the search engines and thus the number of clicks from potential customers

4. Press Release: EMP write a press release on your site and promote this broadly accross the web thus driing more and more traffic to your site.

5. Directory Submission – Submitting your site to selected directories on the internet will help get your site higher on Google

6. 3  Monthly Review:  EMP reviews your website every 3 months for a whole year making adjustments accordingly to help you get the highest position possible.

The cost of this package: £199 + VAT for 12 months. Click  here for more information.

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There are many small business grants you can apply for in the UK today. Despite the recession, funds are available for new business Startups right now. We are often asked where or how to get these grants? Well here we will explain how you go about applying for a business grant. There are a couple of options:

Option 1: The UK Government
The government has many sectors and bodies that offer sound advice and some invite you to apply for a grant to start your business. These departments specifically are:

- DTI – Department of Trade and Industry
- Business Link – Google these such as business link Southampton replace Southampton with your town.
- If your in Scotland, there is the Scottish Executive
- Ireland has a body called Enterprise Ireland
- Wales – Single Investment Fund
- National Lottery – Yes they offer business grants..
- UK Sport.Gov – Grants for Sport
- Citizens Advice Bureau can provide advice
- England – Grant for Business Investment
- UK Trade & Investment – Government Body
- Direct Grant: Basically its hard cash funding, its unlikely ou will get 100% of the amount you require, normally its by arrangement where you are offered a fixed amount.
- Repayable grant: This is a type of bridging loan if you will. Money is given to you on the basis its repaid from your business profits later. The amount is set by arrangement.
- Soft Loans: This can be a commercial loan with added flexibility and low if any interest rates at all.
- Equity Finance: This is mistaken as free money, its not. The investor will put cash into your business in return for shares or stock otherwise known as Equity.

These are typical ports of call for small business grants. Once you apply the time for a decision can be set by locality. If you choose a local body, you’re more likely to get a fast response contra to a national body which may take significantly longer.

Option 2: The EU – European Commission

This off course is known as EU Grants and it’s a grant given by the EU in Brussels. As the UK participates in various programs with the EU, you can also apply to them directly.
Your can read more by going here – http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/index_en.htm

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1. Starting up Business Grants

So lets look at starting a business franchise in the UK. A franchise can be very lucrative and possibly the best decision you have ever made, off course this is based on the fact you have a successful business model in place which is profitable and stable. To start a franchise business is no where near as complicated as you may think. We will look at all the facets of a successful franchise in the following paragraphs.

Ok so your first step would be to plan out the franchise, the areas franchisees can cover and the cost of the franchise package as a whole.In addition, advertising your franchise – the right places, and so on. Lets look at individual steps:

1. Areas Covered: Ok, for the business to work you would need to allocate certain areas for each franchisee to cover. You determine the areas by the numbers of people you want on board, for example if you wanted 10 people each one could have a county, or a postcode area etc. There is a danger of allocating a postal region that the work may dry up so its important you consider this when selling and helping to setup a business franchise with a client.

2. Cost of the franchise: This is based on your own calculations , profitability etc. For example a cleaning company franchise typically runs at at startup fee of £9,995 + VAT whilst other franchise ideas sell for say £4,995 + VAT sometimes more sometimes less but the key thing here is to bear in mind what people expect to pay and what the expect in return.

There are some saturated ideas in the UK, one that comes to mind is cleaning companies. If you look in Dalton’s weekly you will see lots of them, research is key with any business startup if you plan to franchise it later. When you have a client interested, what you need to be is completely honest and have data to backup all your claims with regards to profitability etc, this would be expected by the client and lets face it anyone in there right mind is not going to invest in a franchise when thee is no proof of return….

3. Advertising your franchise: Per research at YBS, one of the key places to advertise would be Dalton`s weekly. They are a leader in this field. You could also Google business franchise websites there are many of them on the net, just make sure there official and ask them questions. You could advertise your franchise business idea in the guardian or the times just think of were people may look!

4. Contracts: A must do is get a contract made up for the business by a competent business solicitor, the golden rule of 3 quotes applies here as the price for a franchise agreement varies so do get 3 or more quotes.

5. Business Packs: No doubt your new business partners will require a business startup pack, we can recommend a company who offers Business Startup Packs which is EMP

Starting a business franchise is relatively simple, just do your home work and take notes of the points raised and your off the starting block.

(C)2010 YBS. All Rights Reserved.

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I made this presentation for a client. It is twenty-seven minutes long, and is unlike any of the other videos I have posted prior to this date; it will hold little interest for most people. The video posted as a response shows how to download a higher-quality version. Somewhere after minute 16, the narration gets scratchy for a few seconds. I hope to fix that, but since I haven’t already, it probably won’t be fixed.

Small business marketing..

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In the UK today, one thing you need when forming a company is business printing, as without promotion your dead in the water. There are many ways to promote you company – leaflets, letterheads, poster  printing etc but it all rounds to down to a statement if your looking to get your idea off the ground you need print or rather cheap printing for your idea to work.

Many business people seem to go with the idea, ok now I have formed a company people will come to me automatically, if ever there was a statement in vain, that’s the one. As we know on this site you start off with an idea, then apply for a grant, then get promo materials ready and printed then you start seeing traffic. There is no other way because as you start a company you are in a condition on non-existence, in other words no one knows your there.

Effective promotion includes the following:

Leaflet Printing: Leaflets and Flyers are cheap to buy and very effective when it comes to promotion, you can get flat ones (most common) or folded ones, although the ideal scene depends largely on your budget but folded leaflets have proven very effective in marketing.

Poster  Printing: As your company grows, you could look at a brochure to be designed and printed. A Poster  says a lot more than a leaflet but is only as effective as its target audience, for instance if you are a plumber or builder a leaflet would normally be best but if you are targeting more of a niche product or service, then a Poster comes into its own and is very professional.

Business Printing

We have surveyed some online printing companies and the one we found the best for price and service is www.cheapleafletprinting.com. There service is exceptional and there prices are very cheap for printing and promo. In addition, there normal turnaround is 3-4 working days from payment.We highly recommend them and suggest you give them a try.

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In the UK today, there are many companies offering business web hosting and all offer various bundles to choose from but the most important factor for any sized business is reliability.

The world revolves around the internet and as you have a business website you need business hosting. We have, over a period of time reviewed many business packages across the internet and found one which has passed all our tests. That hosting company is Hostgator.com.

There range of business web hosting packages is extensive and equally as important very cheap. But the main reasons we suggest them is for the following:
• Unlimited Disk Space
• Unlimited Bandwidth
• Free SiteBuilder
• Easy Control Panel
• 1-Click Script Installs
• 4,500 Free Website Templates
• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
• 45 Day Money Back Guarantee
• 24/7/365 Technical Support
• $100 Google AdWords Credit

Website: http://www.hostgator.com – click the link to see for yourself.

We believe they offer great value for money for any business website hosting package with prices in dollars starting at $4.95 per month (or around £3.50p) which is extremely cheap. There customer service is very professional and helpful plus if you are a small business looking to get on the net, they provide excellent guides to take you by the hand until your website is live.

Business Web Hosting

In summary, we looked at many UK ISPs and found that Hostgator offered – in our view, the best packages for less than a loaf of bread per week.

©2010 Your Business Service.co.uk

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With so much information needed fora business grant, we have decided to write a complete ebook on how to get a business grant. We are releasing this by popular demand and at a very reasonable price affordable to 99% of people.

Getting a Business Grant

In truth its far easier to get a grant than you may think. The finance is never instant as it goes through channels for approval but once approved it will arrive normally by post. There are quite a few types of grant available and we could fill this whole site purely on this subject hence why we are writing a complete business grant ebook filled with practical advice and a step by step guide on applying for one.

There are other means of finance as we know including a bank loan or prehaps a loan from a family member, the benefit of a business grant however is (depending on the finance you apply for ) in a lot of instancxes you dont have to repay it.

More to come.

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If you are looking to start a business at your home there are many ways to make money starting today and most cost mere pennies to start. Lets take a look home business ideas and how to get started.

(You will need a bank account off course and a payment merchant such as Paypal to receive payments.)

Firstly, time management and self discipline, both are crucially important if you are going to make it working from home. On the basis one of the business ideas below appeals to you, you need to fist make a space in your home to work from. I can be your living room perhaps or (if you have one) your study.

(the above works on the basis you have a home business idea already)

Secondly, arrange a desk for your PC to work from and designate this area as your place of business and only work from there (self discipline) at times that fit your day.

Business Ideas that work

Let’s now look at what you can do: Our 7 home based business ideas:

1. Blogging: You could create a free blog on blogger and write about a selected subject you have interest in (very important tip here: write about something you are knowledgeable in and do not copy other peoples words) Write say 10 pages and then apply for a Google Adsense account and monetise your blog. Over time and with say 2-3 articles a day you will earn commissions.
2. Buy and sell on EBay- this is a good home business you select things you wish to sell and that’s it, make a listing on EBay and promote your shop thus bringing people to it and sales will follow – depending on what you sell.
3. Drop shipping: Search Google under “drop shipping” you will find lots of companies who offer ready made shops you can call your own. All the sales and delivery are taken care of by the drop shipping company
4. Join Fiverr.com : here you receive $5 for anything you want to sell as a service, with the right service you can achieve around £400 – £50o per month
5. Get a website commissioned on a service you offer perhaps business consultancy and have the Web company market the site for you.
6. Write Articles: Search Google for companies who pay you to write, you can earn up to £15-£40 per article and perhaps £500 – £900 per month.

There is many more money making ideas, just be aware of scams, our tips on this would be check the company out: are they UK based, do they have a physical address and telephone number. Ask the for more information by post etc.

There are many home based business ideas; it’s only a question of looking.

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When you go into business and you have a website created for you, one of your primary steps is finding a credit card merchant who can process payments fro your goods and services. This is off course a fundamental step in business finance. The trick here is which company to use?

There are lots of companies (mainly banks) who will act as a payment processor and there setup charges and rates vary tremendously. As many readers know at YBS we recommend 3 quotes for any business service, and this is no exception. Choosing a credit card merchant largely depends on a few factors:

1. Will you require a credit card machine – i.e. are you a shopkeeper or have an office people will arrive at with there credit card in hand?
2. Do you take payments over the phone?

These are the primary trading points most business people in the UK operate with. The charges, as stated vary. For example, if you were to choose a bank, lets say Lloyds, they seem to bases there credit card percentage charge on the client. We was offered this facility and the bank wanted a £300 depoist and a charge of 1.8% per transaction. This is all well and good and for the per son whose business fits point 1 its fine, however we didnt fancy paying £300 so did not take it, instead we opted for point 2.

We chose as our credit card merchant, Paypal which although was 1-2% more per transaction, the setup charge for paypal pro was £25 and we can take credit card payments over the phone so its a win-win situation. The draw though for both points 1and 2 is that if the client cancels, you get your account charged back.

Credit Card Merchant Accounts

To sum up, do get 3 quotes for this service and haggle, the banks in particular will bend somewhat on there transaction charges and if you have a good credit rating and credit history, you will find haggling will be a whole lot easier. You can opt for Paypal ideally if you take payments on the phone or if you wish to incorporate e commerce in your website, just watch the charges and again there are many online credit card merchants who operate on the internet, do your research and get 3 quotes always.

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In business more often than not, finance plays a part. thats when commercial mortgage solutions are sought, basically its a business mortgage if you will that provides the company with a loan for expansion and related activities, its not a business overdraft, its a mortgage. All companies qualify, but only on the basis you have property to secure the commercial mortgage.

Types of business where commercial mortgage solutions can really help.

- Pubs
- Clubs
- Hotels
- Industrial sector
- Shops
- Factories and many more.

As with all business finance, it pays to shop around as there are many deals to had and the golden rule is don`t go with the first quotation for your business lending, always get 3 quotes no matter how good the package looks.

Commercial Mortgage Solutions – Criteria

Your personal credit ideally needs to be very good as this is a definite factor and determines the rate of borrowing. Rates do vary though Banks have there own rate of lending whereas often a specialist lending organization may well offer lower rates for business financing.More often, an business lending would usually require you to make a deposit the rate of deposit varies.

Commercial Mortgage Summary

This is a good idea to raise funds for your business but do check the small print and the overall agreement before you sign.

Companies who offer Business Mortgages:

these are companies we found on Google, these are listed for guidance only. We do not receive any payments, commissions from these companies these are merely ideas:

This is HSBC Business
www.business.hsbc.co.uk

Lloyds TSB Business
www.lloydstsbbusiness.com

Sterling Knight – Commercial Brokers
www.sterlingknight.co.uk/

EVO Finance
Commercial Mortgage Specialists
www.evofinance.co.uk/

Kind Regards
YBS Team

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At YBS we offer information to business  in the UK and include data on:

- How to grow your business
- Buy and sell a business (coming soon)
- Business Grants
- Benefits of self employed and director of a business
- Business support tools
- Intro letters and much more.

If you’re going into business, bookmark our site as we update this site every day,we believe success is possible with any venture be it my business or yours. Starting up is far easier than you may think, on this site we cover all you need to know The do`s and don’ts and so much more. We do not receive any funding in the UK, we do what we do to really help you succeed. All information on this site is free and copyright to us, so please do read and comment but do not copy any data.

Whatever the business sector you are in, we are pleased to help with the information on this site

Your YBS Team.

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Commercial Finance

This is a business banking arrangement and like any financial service, may require collateral to release funds. Like any business finance, its credit scored and by popular belief its for big companies, actually that’s not necessarily true. Like any borrowing for a company, it is credit scored and this credit scoring pretty much can determine the rate of borrowing, so in a nutshell if your company has good credit scoring then the fees may well be less, contra to a bad credit score the fees are likely to be higher with guarantees requested being a distinct possibility.

Financial Solutions in the UK

To arrange this finance, you could go to a specialised lender or your bank. Its best to shop around and certainly request 3 quotes to ensure the best deal. Basically, if you need business funding this is a good avenue to try. A good finance company will be able to help you for less than you may think.
.

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The 2 options are get the client to pay with order or there is Invoice factoring.

What is Invoice Factoring and Debt Factoring?

Simply put, invoice factoring equals cashflow. You submit your invoice to the factoring company, they in turn will advance you up to 60-80% of the funds straight away. So for example the tweety biscuit company fax’s an invoice to the factoring company for £2000, then a couple of hours later (after the factoring company has verified the order) you can go along and collect your cheque. Really as simple as that.

What does Invoice Factoring cost though?

The cost is agreed initially with you by the factor company and its usuall 5-8% of the invoice value. In reality, you are selling the invoice to this company and in the event your client breaks there agreement, the factoring company will chase it to a degree.. but there are minus points..

If your client does not pay the bill, the factoring company will usually instigate a “charge back” to your account, meaning your account will show a minus figure. This can have a dire effect on your cashflow off course, however if you run a credit check on your client prior to accepting there order, this will reduce your risk of supplying them.

So to sum up; yes invoice factoring is a good idea, just make sure you read the small print ect before committing yourself to an agreement.

© 2010 Your Business Service. All rights Reserved

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Some say raising finance to start a new business is difficult.. Actually its not. There are many solutions to raising finance for a small business in the UK including off course business grants. In the UK, there is Businesslink which is a government backed company offering business advice etc however there is also local grants from councils also and the EU.

The EU has a fund for business grants exclusively in Europe. This pot of money is there to help companies get started and its coverage includes the UK too. On this website we will be going into grants in depth, and providing free grant information covering absolutely everything to help you finance your new venture.

Join us today, its totally free.:)
Mike
YBS Admin

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It’s true that a person performs well on there post when they feel important and appreciated and to make them feel this way is to acknowledge them for a job well done, perhaps a certificate or a mention on the company news board. You will be surprised on 9/10 occasions how appreciative the person really is for this small gesture.

Generally however the reward fits the achievement and there is never a need to go over the top, a small amount of kindness goes an awful long way. If the person deserves rewarding, then do so, on the other hand if the person does not then don’t.

A sure fire way to loose staff is reward the for doing nothing, this breeds guilt on the side of the recipient as they never really deserved any reward in the first place and off course over time that person will find a way to leave the company or get sacked.

The morale of the story, reward people for doing well, don’t reward those who are not.

©2010 Your business service.

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CFP`s range of business stationery really does take some beating. Letterhead printing from as little as £89 + VAT whilst invoice pad printing starts at just £95+VAT for 1,000.

All this print is available in a choice of colours to suit the clients requirements with a range of finishes available at a small extra cost.

In addition to standard business printing, CFP now also offer folded leaflets available in A4 and A5 sizes and again in a variety of finishes to suit every budget. This coupled with there very fast turnaround keeps CFP ahead on customer service and value for money.

On the issue of NCR invoice pads, CFP are employing fine grade stock to ensure the client does not have messy hands and a perfect duplication every time an invoice is written. Supplied in the traditional pads of 50 or 100 sets per pad, the invoice pads are great value for money, delivered fast and off course delivery with CFP is free to 1 UK address.

Vist there website today: http://www.cheapflyerprinting.co.uk

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