Bank of Ireland recognises Small Businesses as a key sector in the Irish Economy and appreciates their importance to economic growth and employment creation.

Our nation-wide team of business banking specialists and our Enterprise Support Unit are at the centre of a comprehensive network of services, to help new business get off to the best start possible.

Other Group companies such as Bank of Ireland Finance (Asset Finance and Invoice Finance) and International Banking (Trade Finance), also play an essential role in the ongoing successful financing and managing of small business.

We understand that starting a new business is an exciting prospect, but we also appreciate that it can be a bit daunting. If you’re thinking about starting your own business, we can offer help and expertise in more areas then you think, ensuring that you get the most out of the opportunities ahead.

Cathal Muckian Director Business Banking, Bank of Ireland

Author, Brian O’Kane

Brian O’Kane is managing director, Oak Tree Press, and the author of Starting a Business in Ireland, which has been a consistent best-seller for the past decade or more, and is now part of the Business Start-Up Package offered by Bank of Ireland to new customers.

“I am delighted to be asked by Bank of Ireland Business Banking to share with you a new approach to starting your own business, which reflects the reality of business and business start-ups by focusing on the key issues that will make or break your start-up. I hope you find it useful – and I wish you every success.”

Download A Guide to Starting Your Business

PDF format, 1.05MB, 20Pages.

Contents:

The Starting Point 3
Strategy 4
Start-up Alternatives 7
Start-up Formalities 8
Insurance 9
Marketing 10
Finance 12
The Business Plan 13
Next Steps 15
Appendix 16

The Starting Point

You’re thinking of starting a business – perhaps you’re still at the early stages, or maybe you have decided to go ahead and you’re raring to get started.

Either way, the first question for you is “How will I get customers and sales?” Having spent over a decade writing about, teaching, advising and helping would be entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, I have found this to be the most important factor that determines the success or otherwise of a new business.

So, where do sales come from?

Sales come from customers. Customers come from marketing. Marketing comes from strategy. And thus, our starting point in understanding sales is, in fact, strategy.

Most people who are thinking about starting a small business have little time for strategy. They think that it doesn’t apply to small businesses, or that it’s too complicated, or that it will wait unless they are successful. They’re wrong!

Almost everything you do in a business has a strategic impact. Simply deciding that you do not want to work at weekends determines the kind of customers you will have

– those who don’t want to buy at weekends! Setting up a website to sell your products, on the other hand, also determines the kind of customers you will have

– those who are computer-literate and have a credit-card to enable them to buy online.

But these customers may include people in other countries, where you might not have expected to find them – and so your business grows beyond your expectations because of a simple decision with strategic consequences.

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