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Naming your business as a sole trader
What you can and cannot name your company as a sole trader, including words you need permission to use
Naming your business partnership
What you can and cannot name your business partnership in the UK, including words you need permission to use
Setting up a business partnership
The steps you need to follow to create and set up a business partnership and details of how responsibility is shared
Science parks
Support and benefits of science parks, including technology transfer and business incubation
Writing a business plan: 5 top tips
Five key steps that can help you to prepare a successful business plan when you're starting a business.
Exporting to Great Britain
What you need to know about exporting to Great Britain, and how you can get help targeting this market.
Support for protecting your ideas
Get professional help from intellectual property advisers, a patent attorney or a trade mark attorney to protect your intellectual property in an invention
Find manufacturers to build a prototype
Sources of information on product designers and manufacturers who can help you develop your invention
Support for product safety and testing
How to arrange product safety assessment, and where to find testing laboratories, services and product certification in the UK
Support for developing your ideas
Where to get help to develop new product ideas if you're looking to manufacture, market, sell or license your inventions
Checklist: set up as a sole trader
A checklist of things you must do, and organisations you must make contact with, to set yourself up as a sole trader
Start a business from home
Guidance and practical tips on starting a home-based business and local support to help establish your home business
Business plan: dos and don’ts
A list of things you must do when creating your business plan and things you don't want to do in order to avoid mistakes.
Record-keeping best practice
Good record keeping habits and the "four S" approach: system, separate, security, storage.
Financial considerations when exporting
Understand how exporting could affect your cashflow.
Challenges of exporting
Challenges of exporting include market research, export paperwork and financing.
Decide your approach to importing
Keeping importing simple by dealing with experienced exporters in developed countries and using agents
Plan your import objectives
Setting goals and deciding your import objectives.
Negotiate the right import deal
Negotiating the right import terms, planning ahead and reaching a clear agreement.
Social enterprises as registered charities
Charitable purposes, features of charities, governing documents and registration