Start Your Own Business

It’s the stuff of entrepreneurial dreams. To come up with a pioneering product idea, develop a prototype, create a hugely appealing brand and start a highly successful business that you grow and sell for a huge amount of money. That’s exactly what Rob Law MBE did. Coming from a product design background, he founded Trunki in 2006. Trunki is the much-loved ride-on suitcase for children, which come in various designs. Rob built up his Bristol-based business over 17 years, selling millions of Trunki suitcases, exporting to more than 100 countries, while providing jobs for 80 people. Rob exited Trunki in 2023, selling the business for a reported £12m. In this fascinating episode, Rob talks about how he started, scaled and sold his phenomenally successful business, proving the Dragons very wrong in the process.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

If you really want to grow your business at a faster pace or achieve significant growth, more than likely, unless you’re rich or your business is super profitable, you’ll need to attract external funding or finance. There are many options, but one of the most common is attracting investment from a wealthy investor or group of them. Find the right investor, and not only do you gain from their wealth by getting the funding you need, but you may also be able to benefit from their experience, knowledge and contacts. But, how do you and your business get ready for investment, where do you find suitable investors, what would attract them to your business and how can you ensure that the relationship works well? In this episode, Martin Sokk, CEO and founder of low-fee investing app Lightyear, offers tips on how to attract and work with suitable investors. He also provides tips on how you can avoid common mistakes when it comes to attracting an investor.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

You might be really skillful, knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to your trade or profession. Maybe you’re a brilliant salesperson. However, if you’re new to running your own business, you might not know much about how to manage your finances as a start-up. Unless you come from a financial background – why would you? But if your new business is to survive and grow, you should know a few basics about managing your finances as a start up. It could make a big difference. It could even prevent you from making simple mistakes that cause you big problems. In this episode, we speak to chartered accountant Kate Gloudemans, experienced financial director and founder of accountancy firm Sprout. She offers essential tips on how to manage your finances as a start-up.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

There are many things you need to do to succeed in business, but one of the most important is to stand out. It’s essential if you operate in a crowded, competitive market, as most businesses do. If your business fails to stand out, because your brand, products and services haven’t been differentiated, you’ll just blend into the background and fewer people will know you exist, let alone buy from you. Instead, they’ll buy from one of your competitors, because they believe there’s a very good reason for doing so. So, how exactly do you make your business stand out in a competitive market? In this episode, on hand to answer this vital question is Dr Chris Endersby, co-founder of London-based brand agency Firestarter. He shares his considerable insight and tips on how to set yourself apart when you operate in a crowded market.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

What if your business is earning a cash surplus every month? What would you do? Many small-business owners don’t do anything. They leave it in their current account to earn little or no interest. Some do nothing because they’re kept very busy with many other things. Others don’t do anything because they don’t realise they have other options. As a small-business owner, you can invest cash and potentially receive far higher returns, which can make you and your business wealthier. UK CEO of low-fee investing platform Lightyear, Wander Rutgers, explains how you might be able to get far better returns by investing cash generated by your small business.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

Globally, LinkedIn has a staggering 900 million-plus users. You might well be one of them. In the UK, LinkedIn is estimated to have more than 35 million users, a mix of individuals, organisations and businesses of all sizes. They use the site to raise their profile, network and find new customers. So, how do you connect to the right people on LinkedIn to raise your profile, attract new contacts and customers and – crucially – make more sales and grow your business? What are the pros and cons of using LinkedIn when compared to other options? And what are the classic mistakes you need to avoid when using LinkedIn to try to grow your business? Answering these and other key questions is Gus Bhandal, founder of LinkedIn-first digital and social media marketing agency, The M Guru. Gus shares his insight and tips on how to use LinkedIn to grow your small business.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

When a business fails it’s normally because it has run out of cash and can’t pay its bills on demand. This can happen to successful businesses, with attractive products and services, healthy sales and profit margins. Ensuring that your cash flow remains healthy needs to be a key priority for your business. That means not only not spending more than you can afford, but also, if you allow your customers a certain amount of time to pay, ensuring that they pay you on time. Cash flow forecasts can enable your business to avoid cash flow problems, but how do you create them and how do you set budgets that help you to manage your costs in the first place? In this episode, we speak to serial entrepreneur Darren Fell, founder and CEO of Crunch Accounting. Darren offers practical tips on how to create cash flow forecasts and set budgets.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

In an age where many businesses use digital marketing techniques, others use old-school tactics such as cold-calling. Cold calling is telemarketing, a direct marketing method involving phoning potential customers they’ve never met or spoken to previously. Cold-calling isn’t for the thin-skinned, because even if your opening gambit is polite, friendly, professional and concise, you can soon be met with a firm “not interested, thanks”, before the phone gets put down. And cold-calling often requires having to charm your way through a 'gate-keeper' before you get put through to the person you actually need to speak to. But the fact remains: cold-calling can be an extremely effective way of generating new leads and sales. So, what’s the key to success when you’re cold-calling? How do you make a good first impression and buy yourself a few more valuable seconds? What should you say and how should you say it? Realistically, what should your aims be when you’re cold-calling? Here to answer these and other key questions is small-business marketing specialist, Tracy Heatley. Based on many years of practical experience, Tracy shares her insight on how to achieve better results when cold-calling potential new customers.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of investment platform, Lightyear.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

It’s often said that a business’s most valuable asset is its people – and that includes you. Your team’s talent, knowledge, hard work and commitment will be what enables your business to succeed. But to make the most of your team, getting the necessary training is essential. And that’s an ongoing challenge, of course. New talent must also be brought onboard, too, and trained to the necessary standard. Natalie Cahill, CEO of work-based training provider, Fareport, explains how to use funded training and upskilling to ensure the success of your business now and into the future.This episode is brought to you thanks to the support of Fareport Training. Fareport is a trusted provider of apprenticeships, skills bootcamps and higher technical qualifications in areas like leadership and management, human resources, digital marketing, data analysis and project management. They make learning flexible, practical, and tailored to real-world needs. Find out how Fareport can help you unlock new opportunities and future proof your business.Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.

If you’ve shopped at John Lewis, Selfridges, Oliver Bonas or a large number of smaller independent retailers in the UK, you may well have seen The Bottled Baking Co products. They’re available in a wide range of mouth watering flavours and varieties. The company sells ready-measured baking mixes that contain all of the dry ingredients you need to bake delicious cookies, cakes, brownies, tray bakes and more, all conveniently within a lovely glass bottle. The Bottled Baking Co has even collaborated with M&S to create bottles containing Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar sweets as part of their brownie ingredients. In this new Start-Up Story, Leeds-based The Bottled Baking Co founder Greg Fraser looks back to the key challenges he overcame before launching his business in 2016, while explaining where his fantastic business idea came from and how he turned it into a successful business. So, what are the key ingredients when you want to start and run a successful and innovative food business?Show notes for the episode can be found on the Start Your Own Business podcast website. Visit Start Up Donut and sign up to the Donut newsletter for more free start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money.