RESOURCE CENTRE

Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 23 December 2004

In this week's issue:

• we're still a nation of shopkeepers
• researching a new market in 2005
• protecting your name with a trade mark
• upgrades for your computer
  

The EnterQuest team is taking a break for the festive period next week, so your next bulletin will arrive on Wednesday 5 January. In the meantime, we'd like to wish all our subscribers a Merry Christmas.

Weekly stir

We're still a nation of shopkeepers...and café owners, and consultants

In our bulletin two weeks ago, we debunked one or two myths about starting and running a small business. You may recall one of these myths was that only an original business idea will succeed.

Looking at the evidence from the downloads and usage over 2004 of the start up information we publish, we've condensed our findings into a summary that will give you an insight into what could be the most popular small business ideas in the UK today. We say 'could' because after all, this was only a snapshot from about 40,000 downloads, whereas about 400,000 new businesses will have started up this year in the UK.

The download logs of our range of over 400 business idea profiles suggest that the twenty most commonly set up businesses this year were (in order of popularity):

1. Coffee shop
2. Beauty therapist
3. Hairdresser
4. Children's nursery
5. Restaurateur
6. Business management consultant
7. Web designer
8. Plumber
9. Landscape gardener
10. Photographer
11. Interior designer
12. Internet café
13. Bridal shop
14. Recruitment agency
15. Painter and decorator
16. Carpenter/joiner
17. Contract/domestic cleaning service
18. Sandwich shop
19. Café bar/designer bar
20. Contract catering service

Meeting with hundreds of aspiring and existing entrepreneurs at this year's Business Start Up Shows also told us that software developers, life coaches and complementary therapists are near the top of the tree as far as popular business ideas go. Homemade food and crafts, consultancy firms and social enterprises are other business ideas that are escalating in terms of popularity.

So what does this tell you? Well, if you are considering setting up a coffee shop or beauty therapy business, these stats tell you that while you're going to be facing plenty of competition, it is possible to be successful with tried and tested ideas. This is provided you research your market, find an unexploited market niche, and deliver a high quality service in a particular area or in a way where there is little direct competition.

Our download statistics for the practical business information we publish are also very revealing in terms of the real issues that small business owners struggle with and need guidance on.

It's not so surprising that help with writing a business plan, understanding tax and getting to grips with the legal side of things were all near the top of the list. But our logs for this year also told us that entrepreneurs need more help and information on doing their market research and writing their marketing plan, importing for the first time, and using the Internet for business without falling prey to all the viruses, worms and Trojans currently knocking around.

If you've enjoyed reading our bulletins this year, and even if you haven't, or you have any comments or views about how we can make our newsletter more relevant, please e-mail us at enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.

Here's our number one business tip for the whole year.

You can never do enough market research.

It's just as important to find out as much as you can about your target customers in a new market than it was to carry out the initial market research that formed the backbone of your business plan. You need to find out about your target customers' location, age, sex, income bracket and personality so that you can tailor your marketing message and medium to focus like a laser on the niche market you have identified.

Here's a reminder of a few practical resources that are a good starting point for finding free demographic, geographic and psychographic information about target customers and businesses.

• To find Government statistics on population, local economies, social and regional trends, try the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website at www.statistics.gov.uk, www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk and www.upmystreet.com. Information on lifestyles and spending habits can be found at www.datadepot.co.uk.
  
  
• Trade bodies or professional associations may provide market information, free articles and reports. Find yours at www.taforum.org, www.britishservices.co.uk/associations.htm or www.cbdresearch.com.
  
  
• If you're planning to sell to other businesses, try www.icnetwork.co.uk, www.countyweb.co.uk and www.business-directory-uk.co.uk to find information about and contact details of businesses operating in the UK's towns and cities. These directories can help you find specific information - for example, if you only want to sell to firms with websites, using a business directory will tell you which businesses are online.

As an end-of-year bonus for our subscribers, this week we've provided one of our most read or downloaded factsheets over the past year. You may have already read it, but if not, you're welcome to read it now.

An Introduction to Market Research for Business Start Ups

In the UK Small Business Marketing Bible you can find hundreds more tips on finding new customers, as well as techniques and tactics that will help increase sales for any small business in any sector.

Legal tip

Protecting your name with a trade mark

A trade mark is something used to identify your goods or services. It might be a logo, a word, a phrase or a design, but it can't be a generic identifier that would prevent other people doing business, such as the word 'car'. In the case of breakfast cereals, for example, Weetabix and Coco Pops are both trade marks, but Corn Flakes is too commonly used to belong to one manufacturer alone. The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys publishes a list of trade mark types.

A trade mark for your goods or services will help protect them and prevent them being used by anybody else. It can work in two ways:

• Trade marks for goods or services are automatically protected as soon as they're created - all you have to do is prove that your trade mark has an established reputation. For example, you might run a sandwich business called Magic Sandwiches, and you'd probably have a good case if a competitor in your area later began calling its service the Magic Sandwich Business.
  
  However, this would involve 'opposing' the Magic Sandwich Business and proving that its name is both similar to yours and confusing to the public. This can be extremely expensive and time-consuming.
  
  
• So another way to protect your trade mark is to register it beforehand with one of the bodies responsible for keeping trade mark records.
  
  Registration can represent a major expense for some micro-businesses and sole traders. But it can give you extra protection against the possibility that another business starts using the same trade mark or one that's confusingly similar. In the event of a dispute, you'll have to prove your brand has an established reputation, and registering your trade mark makes that much easier.
  
  
• Once you've decided to register, it's best to speak to a lawyer about what type of protection you need - especially if you do any business abroad. For some businesses, registering for protection only in the UK will be enough, but for others a European patent might be needed. A lawyer can also help you register an original trade mark that doesn't conflict with the trade mark of another business. Use Lawyer Locator to find a lawyer in your area.
  

You can see examples of applications for trade mark registrations in the online journal of the UK's Patent Office.

And our Red Tape BUSTER has hundreds more legal tips, as well as FAQs, scenarios and legal checklists essential for small businesses.

Upgrades for your computer

High street retailers are selling computers more and more cheaply these days, and there are plenty of tempting deals for business owners thinking of splashing out on the latest PC.

But it can be worth stopping and thinking about what you need from your computer before going out and spending hundreds or even thousands of pounds on a new one. It may be that all you need is an upgrade, so diagnosing what small improvements you need could save you money.

• A new hard drive will give you extra storage space, but could also make your computer run a little faster - particularly if you deal with large files. Hard drive memory is now so cheap most users can easily double their space for less than £50. Try the advice website computerhope.com for tips on getting a new hard drive.
  
  
• RAM - short for random access memory - can also be increased. RAM is particularly useful if you have tools such as dictation software or if you work with large graphics files. For older computers it's easier to double your existing RAM (say from 128Mb to 256Mb) than increase it in small amounts. There are some good hints on increasing RAM here.
  
  
• You might also think about replacing your processor. Many computers are supplied with a powerful Pentium or AMD processor, but increasing processing power will help if you tend to open a lot of windows and programs at the same time, and it will improve the quality of videos and other audiovisual applications.
  
  
• Persistent security scares prompt some users to change their operating system altogether. Although most computers come equipped with Windows, many people decide to use Linux instead as it suffers fewer attacks. The basic version of Linux is also free, and it's easy to find support on user bulletin boards and websites.

Computers are all different, so you should speak to your usual PC vendor before deciding what needs doing. With a little luck they'll even help you with the upgrade themselves. But to give you an idea of what the changes may involve there's a useful guide to upgrading - with photographs and diagrams explaining how to do it - here.

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK.

Here is this week's idea:

• Organic beauty salon

Just one word

Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.

Do you know the difference between point-of-sale and point-of-purchase?
Which of the following definitions applies to which term?

a) the till or checkout where the transaction actually happens

b) promotional material placed at the location where the transaction happens

Answer at the end of the Bulletin.

Did you know?

Microsoft unwraps Christmas patches

Microsoft has released five patches as part of its December security bulletin. Four of the flaws are listed as 'important' and one is 'critical'. They affect a number of versions of Windows operating systems. Meanwhile, a new variant of the Zafi e-mail worm, Zafi.D, is spreading festive greetings along with malicious code. Anti-virus firms are warning that the latest version of the worms spreads via an e-mail message entitled 'Merry Christmas', which infects Windows systems when opened.

To get Microsoft's latest security bulletin, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/200412_windows.mspx

To read more about Zafi.D, see anti-virus company McAfee's advice at:
http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_130371.htm

PC World has produced a summary of the new technological products and developments forecast to be making an appearance in 2005. The article looks at everything from new developments for PCs to the next generation of worms and how to handle them.

And the people at online IT magazine Red Herring have come up with a summary of what they believe will be the top ten hot IT trends next year, looking at everything from the rise of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as a method of business communication to the increasing availability of desktop search systems.

A creative boost

If you're feeling too exhausted at the end of the year to come up with new ideas for how to develop and build your business during 2005, have a read of this inspirational e-book. It looks at the challenges and rewards that come with being creative, and is jam-packed with tips for getting your creative juices flowing and turning your ideas into reality.

Get inspired at:
http://www.changethis.com/pdf/6.05.HowToBeCreative.pdf

The Enterprise Quest Top 100 Books for Entrepreneurs

And our favourite book of the year:

A groundbreaking bestseller first published in 1986, this book has now been totally revised and is riding high in the top sellers' list again. It's a refreshing guide to common reasons for small business failure, and provides tips and advice on avoiding the common pitfalls. Check out: