It’s an incredibly exciting time to be starting a business and with more and more new launches every year the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the UK, but what will make your business stand out from the crowd?

Entrepreneurs, by their very nature, must dare to be different, to think outside the box. Not only must they be fearless, innovative and determined, but they need to have that special creativity that sparks a unique idea or way of working that will make people stop and take notice of you.

Orange share this vision for businesses, which is why they are running their Different Business competition. They want to hear your business ideas, the ideas that will be different and that will mark you out as an inspirational entrepreneur ready to bring about changes that will leave your competition far behind.

Different Business isn’t just about finding a great idea and handing over money to the winner. Today’s new launches need support beyond monetary prizes, and that is why with Orange you will also receive the advice and support that’s needed to put you on the right path to success. This kind of support is invaluable and will put your business in a different league to other start ups. The prize is worth up to £200,000 and includes not just investment capital but legal advice, business planning advice, mentoring, and marketing consultancy.

We recently reported on the new 'Business in You' campaign, a new partnership between private enterprise and Government to highlight support for start-ups and growing businesses and encourage entrepreneurial spirit in 2012. In the campaign it's claimed that "there's a business in everyone". That's a pretty bold statement and potentially harmful to the economy.

Should we really be encouraging people to start a business who have none of the necessary skills or knowledge to succeed? Many new businesses fold every year, and so is it a good idea to put the idea out there that anyone can start a successful business. While it's clearly not black and white - how do you identify someone who will be able to launch and run a business - there are some situations where the person in question clearly has neither the understanding or determination required to succeed as a business owner.

When starting up a business, unless it's part of the core ethos of that company, it's very possible that environmental considerations do not rank very high when it comes to getting your business up and running. This, of course, is very understandable given the amount of time, money and effort that goes into launching a business. However, it's worth thinking about some of these stats, which will actually help you save money as well as helping your business to be at least a little but green.

Well, you're not alone as recent research by Business Link has found that although a quarter of employees would like to start a business a third are too scared to do so. However, what's interesting is that if those budding entrepreneurs did take the leap into business ownership and made a profit of just £1000 the UK economy would receive a massive £3.25bn boost.

With the varied support available to businesses including the £78.9m to be spent during 2011-12 on a number of programmes and initiatives designed to support UK businesses it would be interesting to understand what is holding so many people back. From our discussions with visitors to the recent Business Startup Show many people were concerned about finance, feeling overwhelmed by the tasks involved in setting up a business, not understanding what jobs they needed to undertake, not to mention the risk involved in possibly leaving employment to start the business.

All these concerns are valid and completely understandable. The good news is that they can, for the most part, be addressed.

Not only is a business plan an essential part of setting up a business, it's actually one of the first things you should do and, very importantly, has to be done right if it's to be of any use. This is why it's often best left to the professionals to ensure your business plan will work hard for you, for example, getting the funding you need to launch your business. Don't think that you won't need a business plan just because you're not seeking a loan as your plan will also help you think through all areas of your business. Think of it as a roadmap to success navigating you through the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

Here we look at why you need a business plan - a well written business plan that is.

 

Setting up a Business – your business plan will enable you to see the steps required to start your business including what needs to be done and how you will go about achieving your aims.

Is it a Feasible Idea? - by setting out your financial forecasts and identifying your target market you will be able to see if you have a sound business idea.

It has apparently proved successful during the trial run in Merseyside this year, but will the Government’s New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) prove itself as effective nationwide? The scheme works with the long-term unemployed (receiving Jobseekers Allowance for at least 26 weeks) to provide them with the opportunity to start their own small business by offering access to a business mentor who will work with entrereneurs to put together business plans. They will also receive a £65 per week stipend for the first thirteen weeks (reducing to £33 per week for the subsequent thirteen weeks) and in addition the entrepreneurs will have access to a £1,000 business loan.