Chris Hollands
May 13, 2014 www.riskaudit.com

www.riskaudit.com

www.riskaudit.com

• Who am I ?
• How am I qualified to stand here and talk to you ?
• What is an entrepreneur ?
• What are my interests, what do I enjoy doing ?
www.riskaudit.com

www.riskaudit.com

• What are my skills and strengths ?
• What am I qualified to do ?
• What did it take to get me here ?
www.riskaudit.com

• A lot of thinking about how you want to work !
• Go and work for someone else
• Start your own business
• Join an existing business
• Working with friends and family
• Drivers
• Money
• Responsibilities/dependents
• Your personality
• Time
• Age www.riskaudit.com

• What is it, exactly you want to do ?
• Skills
• Knowledge
• Contacts
• Ideas
• Is there a market out there ?
• What do you know about it ?
• Can you dip your toe in it to test it ?
www.riskaudit.com

• Business plan
• Sales – on what basis, profit margin, competition, discounts
• Expenses easier to work out
• Stress the results ( +30% on expense and -50% sales)
• Consider seasonality
• Dependence on one contract www.riskaudit.com

• As little as possible to keep you going
• Cost + Funding
• Storage/security
• Insurance ?
www.riskaudit.com

• Build website (what is it for ?)
• Up to date
• Domain name ( www.riskaudit.com
)
• Payment mechanisms (Paypal/Worldpay etc)
• SEO optimisation
• Google analytics www.riskaudit.com

• Funding
• Loans
• Overdrafts
• Cashflow !
• Tax
www.riskaudit.com

• Virtual office
• Use the WiFi in Starbucks/Costa
• Travel off peak, arrange afternoon meetings
• Don’t spend a lot on things you don’t need !
• Internet/broadband deals
• Learning to do things yourself (Powerpoint/mailshots) www.riskaudit.com

• Bank accounts
• Telephone/mobile
• Internet/website
• Premises/Virtual office/Home
• Insurance
• VAT (£80,000)
• Capital items (Car/PC/Tablet)
• Name/Image/Stationery
• Taxation www.riskaudit.com

• Accountant
• Lawyer
• Who will do your admin (partner/self/other)
• Staff
• Don’t look cheap www.riskaudit.com

• Local Chamber of Commerce
• Local small business groups
• Enterprise centres www.riskaudit.com

4
5
6
7
1
2
3
8
9
10
11
12
Leading Management Mistakes
Going into business for the wrong reasons
Advice from family and friends
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time
Entrepreneur gets worn-out and/or underestimated the time requirements
Family pressure on time and money commitments
Pride
Lack of market awareness
The entrepreneure falls in love with the product/business
Lack of financial responsibility and awareness
Lack of a clear focus
Too much money
Optimistic/Realistic/Pessimistic www.riskaudit.com

Major Cause
1 Incompetence
Percentage of Failures
46 %
2
Unbalanced Experience or
Lack of Managerial
Experience
3
Lack of Experiences in line of goods or services
5 Neglect, fraud, disaster
30 %
11 %
1 %
Specific Pitfalls
Emotional Pricing
Living too high for the business
Nonpayment of taxes
No knowledge of pricing
Lack of planning
No knowledge of financing
No experience in record-keeping
Poor credit granting practices
Expansion too rapid
Inadequate borrowing practices
Carry inadequate inventory
No knowledge of suppliers
Wasted advertising budget www.riskaudit.com

Business with Worst Rate of Success After Fifth
Year
1 Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning
2 Single-Family Housing Construction
3 Grocery Stores
4 Eating Places
5 Security Brokers and Dealers
6 Local Trucking www.riskaudit.com

Businesses with Best Rate of Success After Fifth
Year
1 Religious Organizations
2 Apartment Building Operators
3 Vegetable Crop Productions
4 Offices & Clinics of Medical Doctors
5 Child Day Care Services www.riskaudit.com

• Conversations
• Persistence www.riskaudit.com

• You sell the business
• You retire ……………………………… www.riskaudit.com

www.riskaudit.com

Cheers !
www.riskaudit.com

10 Fenchurch Avenue, London, EC3M 5BN www.riskaudit.com