London is an ideal place to start your business. It’s a global hub for finance, technology and innovation, and thousands of entrepreneurs choose London as their base every year. However, England’s capital city provides its own unique set of challenges and opportunities for start-ups.
London is a diverse and dynamic city, with a wide range of thriving industries and a varied consumer demographic. In order for your start-up to grow, you’ll need to determine where your business fits into the London market. Identify current trends within your industry in the city, looking at consumer behaviour and spending patterns. You can utilise market reports and industry publications to gather data, as well as digital tools such as social media analytics and Google Analytics.
London has an abundance of co-working spaces available which are perfect for start-ups. Co-working spaces can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional offices, providing you with a base from which to operate. Another benefit of working in a co-working space is that it can be easier to focus – working from home or from a café can result in distractions, which can negatively impact your productivity. A co-working space can, therefore, offer a quiet and professional environment in which to work.
You can access a variety of modern office spaces and high-quality facilities all while reducing your overheads. This can also help to boost the credibility of your business, as co-working spaces typically will also have meeting rooms and event spaces for you to meet and network with potential partners and clients.
London has a wide range of high-quality professional services, with experts in a variety of fields. As your start-up grows, you may find you have more need for people with expertise in employment law, HR, and accounting. Utilising the professionals in London will not only save you time, so you can focus on growing your business, but will also ensure your start-up is compliant from the get-go. With the help of professionals, you can navigate complex business challenges with ease, as well as get support with strategic planning for the future.
It’s essential that you find the best professional service providers available for your needs and your budget. Often you can find quality providers by word of mouth – talk to your contacts and people in other start-ups to see who they recommend. Alternatively, you can find providers in your local area by simply searching “accountants London” online, or even make your search more specific to find accountants and other providers in your borough. Look at online reviews to ensure they can provide you with what you need at a high standard.
As your start-up grows, you may find you need to recruit more people. London is a fantastic place to find the right talent to join your team and expand your business. First, you’ll need to decide exactly what role you need to add value to your start-up and create an appropriate job advert. You can then utilise online job platforms to reach potential candidates, including Indeed, Glassdoor, and also LinkedIn.
London also frequently has job fairs and networking events that you should attend when you need to grow your team, including industry-specific events. These provide excellent opportunities to recruit quality talent for your business and are often attended by many people with great qualifications, experience, and expertise.
There are various initiatives, grants, and loans available for entrepreneurs and start-ups in London, including government-backed schemes. Research what’s available for your type of business in your industry and for the stage your business is currently at. London & Partners is just one organisation that offers support for small businesses and entrepreneurs through their Grow London services.
The Government also has a range of funding support available. Start-Up Loans allow you to repay the loan over a period of one to five years, with a fixed interest rate of 6%. There are also grants and loans available on an industry-specific basis, such as Innovate UK for businesses that develop new technologies, and the National Tooling Loan Fund for toolmakers.
London frequently has networking events across the city, which can be valuable to helping you grow your business. These events will range from industry to types of business owners, to sizes of business. You can find events for people in the tech industry, events for brand new start-ups, events for young business owners, and more. Eventbrite has a list of many of the events that will be held across London, but you can also research specific events online or in industry publications to find those that will be relevant to you and your business.
