Start Your Own Business

Time is the one thing that small-business owners don’t have enough of, with many having to work long hours. Those starting a new business often must work even longer hours to get their business off the ground and into profit. So, what’s the key to making best use of every minute of every day? What role can technology play? Where can time be lost? How can people work less and get more done? How can listeners stay better organised and productive each day? These are some of the key questions covered in the penultimate episode of our third series. Sharing her insight is guest Clare Evans, leading time management expert and productivity coach. She is also the author of the bestseller, Time Management For Dummies.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

More than 640,000 new businesses are started each year in the UK and most don’t grow much, they pretty much stay as one person enterprises, which suits their owners. Others are more ambitious, they want to take on staff, win many more customers, expand their operation, grow their business and take it to new heights. But growth isn’t a given. You have to work hard to achieve it. You must make good decisions. You have to take risks. You need some luck. There are many new obstacles to overcome. In this episode we speak to Mark Hart, Professor of Small Business and Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, who is also Associate Director of the Aston Centre for Growth and Deputy Director of the national Enterprise Research Centre. Mark explains why some owners are able to grow their businesses into much bigger enterprises – while others fail. He outlines the critical factors that affect growth and offers his advice to small-business owners who want to make it big.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

The best start-up advice usually comes from the best-placed experts of all – those who’ve actually been there and done it. In this Start-up Story episode, we speak to Surlender Pendress, co-founder of the Love Writing Company, which is based in the West Midlands. It sells innovative writing pencils, erasable colour pencils and washable crayons developed specifically for children’s hands, created to make it easier, quicker and more enjoyable for children to learn to write. Surlender started the business in 2019 with Mark Sherwood. She explains where the idea for her business came from and retraces her start-up steps, looking at key challenges she faced and how she overcame them.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

Instagram is the world’s seventh most-visited website. Some 1.22bn people use Instagram each month, with 18 to 34 year olds making up the biggest share of Instagram’s audience. About 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business, and reportedly, half of its users have discovered new brands via Instagram. When you get it right, Instagram can be a superb, low-cost way to market your business to new and existing customers. In this episode, we speak to Lou Chudley of Bristol-based agency, Spark Social. She reveals her top tips on how to build a brand on Instagram and generate leads and sales. If you want to find out how to use Instagram to grow your business, this episode is packed with top tips, so don’t miss it.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

Making sure that you have the right tech can enable your new business to quickly get established and grow. If you don’t have the required IT hardware and software – it will hold you back. In this episode, we speak to leading small-business technology expert, Richard Hillsdon, of Caerphilly-based IT consultancy Tekeez, which provides IT systems, remote support and advice to small-business customers throughout the UK. Richard explains how you can work out your start-up's IT hardware and software needs and make sure that you have what you need to help power your success and growth.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

The best start-up advice usually comes from the best-placed experts of all – those who’ve actually been there and done it. In this start-up story episode, we speak to Troy Johnson, co-founder of Sweet Dee's Jerk (Juici Jerk at the time of recording), award-winning Caribbean food brand, kitchen and meal-kit maker, which is based in Tooting, South London. Sweet Dee's Jerk also sells its delicious sauces online, as well as mouthwatering Caribbean delights from locations in London, including Selfridges, while also providing private and corporate catering services.In 2017, Troy started the business with his brother, Jarrell, inspired and influenced by their mother’s West Indian home-cooked delights. But the Johnson brothers are winning many fans with their own unique, modern take on traditional Caribbean cooking. Here Troy looks back at his start-up journey and offers some great start-up advice.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

Offering superior customer service is a proven way that small businesses can be more attractive to customers and lure them away from larger and more established competitors. But any commitment to offering superior customer service has to be firm and consistent throughout your business. In this episode, we speak to leading customer service expert Stephanie Edwards of Wiltshire-based Customer 1st, specialist provider of innovative self-paced online customer service programmes. She explains how you can raise your customer service game to enviable heights and attract and retain customers as a result.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

More than 640,000 new businesses are launched each year in the UK and the popularity of starting up continues to grow. But significantly rising costs means many people will have to try to start their own business with little or no money. In this first episode of our third series, we get top money-saving start-up tips from Lucy Cohen of Mazuma, leading provider of low-cost, subscription-based accounting services. With a relatively modest budget, aged just 23, Lucy founded Mazuma with Sophie Hughes in 2006. It’s since grown into a multi-award-winning business with almost 40 employees. If you’re strapped for cash but determined to start your own business, don’t miss this tips-packed season-opener.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. This series is brought to you thanks to the support of Dell Technologies. Our partnership with Dell means you get top products at special prices and a personalised consultation from a dedicated tech adviser who will get to know the goals of your business. Find out more by emailing the Dell for Startup UK representative at UKSTARTUP@Dell.com

In the UK, small businesses are reportedly owed more than £23.4bn in unpaid invoices. That’s an eye-watering amount that creates significant cash flow problems for many business owners. Late payment remains a big problem for SMEs, with many large businesses particularly bad at paying their small-business suppliers on time. This can have disastrous consequences. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses suggests that 50,000 UK businesses a year close down as a consequence of late payment. In this episode, former small-business and consumer-affairs broadcaster and writer, Liz Barclay, who became the Small Business Commissioner in 2021, talks about political, economic and business factors that could make late payment worse in 2022 and 2023, and what small businesses can do to limit the chances that it will affect them. Liz also shares her insight on chasing overdue invoices, charging interest and what legal steps you can take should late payment become a bad debt.Visit Start Up Donut for more free information on getting paid and sign up to the Donut newsletter for weekly start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money. This bonus episode of the podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of the Federation of Small Businesses.

Whether it’s via a market stall, shop, garage, restaurant, café or a range of other settings, being able to sell successfully face-to-face is key to success. It comes more naturally to some rather than others, but by adding knowledge and experience, most can get much better at it. In this episode, you can pick up some tried and tested face-to-face selling tips from sales expert Glen Williamson, who provides key dos and don’ts. Glen is the CEO of sales consultancy, Kiss the Fish Training. As a consultant sales director, sales trainer, speaker and accredited master coach, Glen works with sales professionals and SME business owners to help them to reach new heights of sales performance. With more than 30 years’ experience, Surrey-based Glen is also a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Management and is Chair of Judges at the UK Business Awards.Visit Start Up Donut for more free information on selling and sign up to the Donut newsletter for weekly start-up news, advice and special offers to help you save time and money. This series of this podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of the Federation of Small Businesses.