Setting up your own business – answers and notes
1 A clear strategy and objectives.
2 When seeking funding from lenders.
3 A limited company, self-employed sole trader and a partnership.
4 A cost-effective one that will balance convenience for customers and suppliers with the rent (that) you can afford to pay.
5 Accounts.
6 All tax deadlines
7 Initial set-up costs.
8 If you cannot use savings or loans from family or friends.
9 From schemes run by the government or charities.
10 For more information.
If you need more information.
Spellings: The words hardest for many people to spell correctly here are: strategy; objectives; self–employed; sole trader; premises (one ‘s‘); cost-effective; convenience; suppliers; accounts (2 ‘c‘s); set-up costs; approach; eligible; schemes
Vocabulary and grammar
a business plan – There are various formats of business plans. A business plan is a detailed description of a business normally presented as a report which outlines the concept of the business, forecasts of staff needed, marketing ideas and costs. It is used to attract and convince potential investors that it is a viable prospect and has to be reviewed regularly later to establish how and where the plan was accurate and where inaccurate so that the person running the business can draw lessons from experience.
self-employed – adj – working as a freelance or as the owner of a business rather than for an employer
a sole trader – noun – a person who owns or runs a business which does not employ anyone else
cost-effective – adj – returning a benefit that justifies the initial investment; economical
remind sb of / about sth – to bring sth to sb’s notice
a deadline is a time or day by which something must be done. We often use the verbs ‘meet‘ ‘work to‘ and ‘miss‘ when speaking of deadlines. Eg They didn’t meet the deadline for the report. His job involves working to tight deadlines (i.e. He does not have much time to complete work before he has to submit it). I know I’ve missed the deadline for applying for the job, but I wonder if I could submit my application all the same?
to meet a deadline – to complete sth within the time allowed or set for it
set-up costs – Did you get the hyphen, because set-up is used adjectivally – i.e. the costs of setting up (a business)?
set sth up – phrasal verb – formally establish a new company, organization, system, way of working, etc: Eg We’ve set up a meeting to discuss how to reduce our running costs (running costs – plural noun – the money you need to spend regularly to keep a system or organization functioning). They plan to set up their own hotel business. There’s a fund that’s been set up to help victims of yesterday’s flooding.
approach sb – speak, write or visit someone in order to do something such as make a request or business agreement: Eg You could approach the bank for /about a loan.She’s just been approached by a modelling agency.
Cannot and can not have quite different but not always obvious meanings. In cannot (or can’t), the particle not is related to can, whereas in can not the particle not is related to the verb following can. Consider the following remarks about men:
- A man can be just. This is true.
- A man cannot be just. This is false, because it means a man is unable to be just, he can never be fair.
- A man can not be just. This is also true, since he can be unjust / unfair. ( = A man is able to be not just / fair.)
be eligible for – satisfy the conditions for – Eg Jane is eligible for a full student grant.
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