RESOURCE CENTRE

One the most worrying aspects of starting a new enterprise or venturing into a new business activity for the first time is the risk that appears alongside many key decisions you have to make. Risks associated with the unknown, walking on the untravelled path, and not seeing the traps lurking around the corner.

And absolutely right, as that's what gaining your black belt in entrepreneurship is all about. Recognising, reducing and dealing with the risks you are facing, and then making those little decisions that continually inch your little venture towards its goal.

For many people, dealing with these risks is simply not their bag. But for those of you that are serious about having a successful enterprise (presumably that's why you read this little rant every week) there is something that can make dealing with risks less of a worry.

Doing plenty of research.

Most people who advise a new business owner will tell them that writing a business plan is the way to ensure that the risks are kept to a minimum. However most business owners don't bother with a formal written plan (until their bank asks for it), and instead usually "plan" by the seat of their pants as they go along.

Which is no bad thing provided you're doing your research. Whether or not you've started up yet, it's a bit like setting yourself homework every day. You should identify each decision you need to make which has some risk attached and then do your digging to help you make more informed decisions and minimise the risk.

Don't waste a second with this. The wise entrepreneur methodically and with total discipline seeks out the information and knowledge they need to make choices and decisions about their business.

Questions like where to locate, what to name the business, which suppliers to use, where to advertise, how much to charge, and so on are all the sort of things that have risks of making the wrong choice attached.

So get as much advice as you can find, don't be afraid of asking too many questions, and look for the expertise and experience that other people can offer if you don't feel confident enough to make the decision yourself.

Adopting this 'research mentality' will help you make those mini breakthroughs every day of every week that will slowly but surely keep your new business moving towards its goal, with all the risks and worries kept to a minimum.

If you don't ... you'll walk or rush down that unknown path and eventually trip over, and possibly not get back on your feet again.

Marketing tip

Making your sales copy more succinct

Legal tip

Not everyone can make £50,000 a year from eBay trading, no matter what the papers tell us. But a lot of businesses find it's a good place to research and source goods for resale or just pick up a computer or other office kit at a knockdown price.

Having said that, buying on eBay isn't exactly risk-free. Sellers who seemed to be in Britain may mysteriously turn out to be based in the Far East, packages can go missing in the post, and the wonderful scanner you picked up for a fiver might be kaput when you plug it in.

And because auctions are not covered by distance selling law (encompassed within the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000), you don't get the protection of a seven-day cooling off period and right to cancel. In effect, you're making a private contract with the seller which makes chasing up a rogue a little bit harder.

Is it possible to avoid all these dangers and still get a bargain? Yes, is the answer, most of the time. Here's a few tips on how:

• Check out the seller's feedback to see their past trading record.
• Ask the seller to send the goods insured by the Post Office.
• If you're buying from overseas, make sure you don't get landed with a giant tariff bill when the goods arrive in the UK.
• If you're dealing with a business, have a look for them on Google and make sure they are who they say they are.
• Don't be afraid to ask the seller as many detailed questions about the goods as you want. Hazy or incomplete answers should make the warning bells ring.

This won't save you from every scam around, but it should reduce the chances of being conned. And don't forget to check the eBay message boards occasionally, to see what the latest trick is.

You can find practical advice, FAQs and scenarios on hundreds of other legal issues affecting small businesses by clicking on the Red Tape BUSTER.

Fed up with the amount of spam arriving by e-mail, many businesses are choosing to use Instant Messaging (IM) as a way of staying in touch with colleagues and even customers. As a result, software developers are added more and more functions to IM, and a small business might find it useful for all sorts of reasons.

• If you've got a website and you spend a lot of time online, consider setting up a system which enables customers and visitors to your site to contact you immediately via IM. As long as you make it clear what hours you'll be around to answer queries, this can be a great way of impressing people with an immediate and friendly response.
• IM is a useful way of cutting out traditional spam, since you can choose exactly who sends you messages. If your business partners or suppliers are also online and you need to discuss things urgently, many IM packages offer the option of conference messaging. If you are out of the office but lucky enough to have access to a palmtop computer or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), you can find versions of IM that will work with Windows CE, the standard operating system used on many handheld devices.
• Some of the more sophisticated IM programs can be used to send files, store messages when you're offline, and if you have broadband, some even offer video-messaging. Check out the web link below to find out which model would best match your needs.

So IM is a useful way of staying in touch. But it goes without saying that it's most useful when you're online a lot of the time. And although spammers can't reach you, these pests are cottoning on to the increasing numbers of users and have invented a new form of spam, called (of course) spim.

There are a few good websites where you can find out more. Get links to nearly all the different brands of instant messaging software here: http://products.instantmessagingplanet.com/imp/recent1.html

Learn more about the basics of IM, how real-time communication works in practice, and what you can do about spim at: http://networking.webopedia.com/TERM/I/instant_messaging.html

Finally, PC World's 'Grown Ups Guide to IM' explains the benefits of messaging for businesses, provides an overview of the best services on the market, and gives some commonsense advice for troubleshooting and security: http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,114161,pg,2,00.asp

Answer at the end of Bulletin.

It's now a good time to remind you that, in less than three weeks' time, any business that has premises open to the public, or which employs staff, will fall under the remit of Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The amended law comes into force on 1 October, and if you haven't thought about making any necessary adjustments to your premises and facilities already, then now is the time.

If you're a retailer, you could start by reading this new guide, which has been created by the British Retail Consortium and the Disability Rights Commission:
http://www.brc.org.uk/showDoc04.asp?id=2359

Guidance on the latest techie talk

Keeping yourself on track

The banner ad museum

Google AdWords: how does that work, then?

Worth a read