Business Q&A

Carolyn Powell, the Bizfizz coach for Burslem and Middleport, answered our (frantic) start-up questions


What is the biggest mistake people make when starting a business?
There are probably two main areas of concern when people are starting a new business, the first one is whether they have researched the market sufficiently to establish why people will use their business – is there anything similar out there? – how is their product/service different to what already exists?

Any business must have a product or service which is tangibly different to what’s already on offer, otherwise they will struggle. There is a well worn expression which sums this up ‘There may be a gap in the market, but is there a market in the gap?’
The second area is when there are not sufficient funds put aside for marketing. There have been many very good businesses/products where all the money in setting up has gone on premises, equipment and stock and there is nothing left for marketing.
Without this crucial expense the business will struggle in the early days, this in turn causes cash flow problems and before the business has got going it’s already in difficulties.

There are many things which would-be entrepreneurs believe that they need, which in fact they can do without, or make do until the money starts coming in, it can of course depend on what type of business they are in, but largely this tends to be true of many.


How can I test my business idea?
Research, research, research... Going into business, in whatever field, you must research the market. With the benefit of the internet this has become much easier than it used to be – look at the competition: What are they doing? How are they doing it? What are they charging? How are they perceived by their customers? How do they market their business? What is their unique selling point? How will yours be different to theirs? What specific skills do they have?
You have to try to be objective in your outlook, this is not always easy, however with time and support this can be done.

Help! I’m drowning in paperwork and don’t know what to do! Nobody mentioned this when they said you should follow your dreams. What can I do?
Drowning in paperwork is a common difficulty for new businesses, much of it is getting into good habits from the very start, expressly making time for the tasks so that they do not build up and become overwhelming.
There are excellent support services out there particularly to help people with these issues – Voluntary Action in Hanley (Tel. 683030) will give good initial advice.

Bizfizz column

Carolyn Powell introduces a new column designed to spread information to everybody interested in the local area and business.

FOLLOWING the hugely successful ‘Meet the Entrepreneurs’ event at The George Hotel on 4th October, many of the Bizfizz clients have been very busy with the new contacts and networks they made that evening.

I had hoped that this would be the outcome of the evening, however it even surpassed my expectations and brought about an awareness of the amazing things happening in Burslem to lots of people, many of whom might have merely seen the empty buildings and not been fully aware of what the real picture is.

This new regular column in Local Edition is hopefully going to be a way of spreading information which I gather as a by-product of the Bizfizz business coaching in the area. Sometimes my clients have vacant premises, job vacancies, new and exciting ideas that they want to share and information which is of community interest. I hope to share this information with you through Local Edition.

Whilst there are many empty buildings around the area, many have rental values which are beyond the reach of start-up business. I have some clients with varying sized empty premises from a tiny part retail/ part office space of around 500 square feet, another first floor office, to a super building with two offices, a reception area and a workshop of around 2000 square feet close to Burslem Town centre. These different premises are being offered to start-up businesses at really affordable rents because their owners feel they wish to help get the regeneration process moving. If anyone is interested in further information about premises, just give me a ring.

One of the issues that concerns me deeply is that there are some members of our local community who have simply given up on any hope of achieving anything, and have, over time, lost confidence and the belief that for them, life can be anything but a rut of poverty and unemployment and definitely no future. This understandable and serious spiral of discontent may seem to be a fact of life; however, there is something about to happen that may be a first step to giving hope to those who thought they had none.
Funding is being sought by a small group of people, including me, who hope to offer a chance for local people to access anything they may need to change their situation; for example it could be something to help with confidence building, learning a basic skill, help with form filling through to getting an educational qualification.

What we need to know is – what could be offered that would really make a difference to your future prospects?

What dreams have you given up on – what would have to happen to make them real?

If you could do anything – what would it be?

Please let me know your answers and give me the chance to help develop a project that can really make a difference.