All About Business
brought to you by Bank of Ireland.

Our expert, Brian O’Kane brings you the latest advice. Tell us your queries and questions – email breakfast@newstalk.ie
Every Monday until 15th March, from 9-10am, Brian will answer as many as possible of your small business queries on this post.

(Hit F5 to refresh during these times to see the Q&A )

Q:

Q: I am creator of a new business www.beautyteam.ie. Essentially, I sub-contract hairstylists, beauty and massage therapists and
photographers to hotels and business parks. I want to branch out but need (a) someone in a bigger market like Dublin to co-ordinate the
sub-contractors and (b) the cash flow to expand. Would you have any advice for me?

A: Have you thought of franchising your business? You would give responsibility for the development of the business in a specific area to a carefully-selected individual, who funds their own development, while following strictly the systems and processes you have devised. Your responsibility then would be for recruiting franchisees; managing and supporting them; constantly developing and improving systems; and overall marketing. The upfront fee that franchisees pay on joining would help fund your growth, and you’d find banks more willing to provide funds since franchises usually are less risky. Talk to the Irish Franchise Association (www.irishfranchiseassociation.com) and Franchise Connections (www.franchise-connections.ie).

Q: I am creator of a new business . Essentially, I sub-contract hairstylists, beauty and massage therapists and photographers to hotels and business parks. I want to branch out but need (a) someone in a bigger market like Dublin to co-ordinate thesub-contractors and (b) the cash flow to expand. Would you have any advice for me?

A: Have you thought of franchising your business? You would give responsibility for the development of the business in a specific area to a carefully-selected individual, who funds their own development, while following strictly the systems and processes you have devised. Your responsibility then would be for recruiting franchisees; managing and supporting them; constantly developing and improving systems; and overall marketing. The upfront fee that franchisees pay on joining would help fund your growth, and you’d find banks more willing to provide funds since franchises usually are less risky. Talk to the Irish Franchise Association (www.irishfranchiseassociation.com) and Franchise Connections (www.franchise-connections.ie). Bank of Ireland does support franchises.

Q.  I work fulltime and I am thinking of starting a small online business. If I could register as a business and recoup some expenses it might be a little profitable. Can I officially register as a business without giving up my day job (which is out of the question)? Any advice?

A:  From a tax point of view, there’s no problem – if your new business operates as a sole trader, it’s just another source of income; if you trade through a limited liability company, any income you draw from the company must go through PAYE and, again, for tax purposes, is treated as another source of income.

The bigger issue is whether your employer will be happy about you running a separate business. You need to check your contract of employment – if you don’t have one, ask for it, it’s your legal entitlement to have one and your employer’s legal obligation to provide it. If the contract doesn’t prohibit working for yourself or other businesses outside the hours you work for your employer, then you are in the clear. If in doubt, check your contract with a solicitor

Q. Would you have any tips on ways to market such a site on a budget? – Gerry, Swop-o-nomics

A: 3 suggestions:
1. Go viral online.  Use twitter, announce every request via twitter and that will bring traffic to your website.
2. Talk to www.halfaloaf.ie, you share the same target market and should be able to do something together.
3. Google adwords - there are E50 vouchers available to new accounts, get one and use it to start an adword campaign.

Q. I am hoping to start my own business and was wondering how much money ideally do I need to have saved first as capital?

A. Ideally as much as you can!  You really need to develop a business plan in order to understand the financial needs of your business.

Q. Just wondering what’s the easiest and most cost effective way to patent a new technology? - David

A. Start by having a chat with a patent agent (www.patentsoffice.ie has a list).  They’ll advise you on whether your technology is patentable and what the costs are likely to be, which depend on the number of territories in which you want to take out a patent.

Q. What has the bank to offer me on small business loand and fees etc? Anna – rainbusters.ie

A. See the bank’s business startup package at www.bankofireland.ie/business

Q.  We’ve been hit hard by the fall in value of the pound against the euro.  Our best option at this stage seems to be to try and increase our business to other Euro countries such as France and Germany. What’s the best way to approach dipping our toe in these markets? – Paul Devlin, Devlin Cheese

A. Contact Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, one or other should have programmes to help you.

Q. How would you build up an online one-stop shop for language needs and problems? Paul Hickey

A. Do some market research to identify best/easiest potential customers.  Then more market research with one or more of these groups to find out their specific needs.  Then develop your website to meet these needs, as cheaply as you can, since you are likely to have to redevelop the site several times as your customer and their needs evolve.  Lastly, market your site/services, see answer to Gerry swop-o-nomics query above.

About Brian O’Kane:
Brian O’Kane is the managing director of Oak Tree Press.  He is the author of Starting a Business in Ireland and Could You Be Your Own Boss?, both of which have their own dedicated websites.  Brian has also worked extensively with Bank of Ireland in the design of their online Business Start-Up training, which was first to market.
www.bankofirelandstartupcourse.com

Disclaimer:
The authors of the material on this webpage cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. They cannot be held responsible for any damages arising either directly or consequentially out of the use of or inability to use this information.

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