Keeping control of your finances is critical when you own your own business
"We’ve both made loads of mistakes since starting the company, too many to even start thinking about. I believe the most..." Kevin Owens
"I learnt a lot out of selling my business. When I started the business I had a minority partner. When he saw the..." Alan Timothy
"Business isn’t rocket science, but you have to be a bit fearless. When you first start out, just being able to get..." Lorna Moran
"When we started, our biggest competitor, the one who was turning over £5.5m, came after us quite aggressively, more..." Chris Quickfall
"There seems to be a new challenge every day, some of course bigger than others. I think the biggest challenge was..." Jonathan Grubin
"A mistake I learned very early on was that setting up the store cost more than I thought. My projections were out. So I..." Sue Harris
"Everyone was saying to us at the time that taking over Milligans would be a massive challenge and there’ll be loads of..." Greg Phillips
"I plan to minimise mistakes by starting my business small and letting it grow. Initially I will design from home and..." Vien le Wood
"I used to work as a designer and estimator for a shop fitting company in Leeds, worked up to director level until one..." Jamie Greenwood
"Another mistake we made was not being commercially sharp enough in charging the appropriate fees that reflect our..." Simon Pearson
"When I started out, I didn’t have a bottomless pit of money by any means; my family and I risked everything to do this...." Mark Ions
"We've faced massive challenges at every turn. There are lots of ups and downs involved in being an entrepreneur. During..." Kevin Owens
"I was talking to a friend of mine recently whose situation is exactly how I think I would have ended up if I hadn’t set..." Pete Hunt
"In terms of raising finance, I’d agreed (with my wife) that I would invest £100,000 of my own money, or rather money..." Jonathan Wells
"We’ve made loads of mistakes but we see them as learning experiences rather than grave errors! That’s the great thing..." Satish Shewhorak
"It did feel like a risk. I remember when we got all the money transferred into the business bank account. I’d never..." Chris Quickfall
"I started in the corner of our garage with two very old sewing machines. Because I had no money, I wrote down all my..." Anh Mao
"When I was looking for venture capital, what I should have done is go to all three companies at the same time once the..." James Robson
"Lack of finance has also been a challenge throughout. I’ve found that little business improvements can make the world..." William Ingram
"We’ve also gone on business ventures that were strategically just wrong. We did a joint venture with Newcastle United..." John Hays
"In the mid/late ‘90s we experienced rapid growth. In six years we’d grown from a turnover of £7m to £23m but we got..." Simon Pearson
"We managed to maintain a smaller business than we had before and we’re far better off. Ironically, it’s ultimately..." Jamie Greenwood
"My more recent experience has been to do with raising money through institutions on the London market, either through..." Roy Stanley
"Investment into my business has been my main challenge, along with needing to have the confidence which will ensure..." Nancy Haughey
"No matter how good you are at anything, there’s always something to learn. Part of learning is making mistakes, so I..." Jonathan Wells
"In my opinion, you either want to grow a business or you want to make money for yourself; the two things aren’t really..." John Elliott
"You have to be on top of your overheads. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a small business or a big business, your..." Steven Bell
"If I’d have started out on my own I wouldn’t have borrowed as much money. It gives you a tremendous amount of pressure..." Jamie Greenwood
"It was still a pretty difficult time though in those early days. It was basically a case of trying to find as much..." Derek Curtis
"It was the first time that we had to convince other people to back us, but we went to the bank to be honest. I’d..." Greg Phillips
"When I was setting up – a very long time ago - I went to my bank manager. I didn’t borrow any money, I just needed..." Lorna Moran
"Setting up a business without doubt affects your lifestyle, financially in particular. I personally have chosen not to..." Ceyhan Mihcioglu
"One of the most satisfying things in the business was seeing us come as the underdog, taking on the number one..." Sir Tom Hunter
"I received my final pay cheque last week and thought to myself… “Its all down to you Michelle!”…But over the last six..." Michelle Taylor
"When I first sat down and thought about the goals I wanted to achieve, on paper I’d said that I wanted fifty artists in..." Carol Metcalfe
"I wasn’t keen on starting it straight away as I had shares maturing in early 2008. I thought you needed quite a lot of..." Mark Ions
"Make sure you get your bills paid on time. The old saying, cash is king, is still relevant. Profit is great, and you..." Keith Miller
"My aspiration when I started the business was basically just to get it off the ground. I’ve exceeded the estimates on..." Kaye Winship
"Technology businesses like ours, it’s all about exporting IP and the margins are very high. When we try and raise..." Alan Timothy
"I started to set up the company whilst I was still at uni, but when I graduated I had to take a job to support myself...." Chris Quickfall
"Along with allowing myself more free time, I also should have got some administration help and developed regular..." Trudy Hindmarsh
"I know I’ll face challenges along the way; I think with starting to work towards my actual long term goal of my own..." Michelle Taylor
"You have the responsibility of financial debt. You need to service that debt and pay your loans back. Use the..." Keith Miller
"My biggest mistake is relying on one specific source of income (investment). You need to keep your options open and..." Nancy Haughey
"We’ve never really had any major financial problems. It was a low cost start up and we funded the growth out of..." John Hays
"Over the past 20 years, I don’t think there’s a way that I haven’t funded the business, be it from bank money, debt, a..." Roy Stanley
"I was sat in the Sunderland office when I got a phone call from a friend of mine from school. He had a travel agency..." John Hays
"My biggest challenge thus far has been supporting the business financially. However, I have only myself to blame..." Ceyhan Mihcioglu
"I was looking at the margins of our company and thought, hang on, there’s a lot of potential here for North East Bakery..." Greg Phillips
"In 1991 when we were going through the recession, I was advised by my bank manager, my accountants, professional bodies..." Keith Miller
"Financially, we were prepared to take a cut in what we were earning. We both worked out what we needed to survive and..." Antonia Clifford
"An opportunity came to take on Milligans bakery who we did an asset transaction with at the end of 2006, and we had the..." Greg Phillips
"The biggest challenge we faced in setting up the business was that it was so bloomin’ expensive to get started! Some..." Louise Allcroft
"If you’re not having the right relationship with your bank, look elsewhere. There was a time when Newman Scott lost us..." Steven Bell
"I’ve had experience with venture capitalists, and those experiences have been good. Putting Tanfield together..." Roy Stanley
"All of the help agencies offered similar support; they could all show me how to write a business plan and a cash flow..." Mark Rogers
"We looked at getting more funding from banks, but as soon as they saw we were an online business, they wanted nothing..." Sarah Taylor
"Prior to gaining funding from the Arts Council Cultural Business Venture to help me set up ‘vien ici’, I hand crafted..." Vien le Wood
"Some people say that you should change banks to save money but I would actually suggest staying with them if you can...." James Robson
"As a result of the business I’ve got no financial worries. It’s January now and I haven’t paid myself yet; I’ve still..." Alistair McLean
"It was difficult getting started. Even a small bouncy castle can cost up to £1,500 and I had to use all the money I’d..." Leanne Hodgson
"You need investment in financial advice. Sometimes people say they can’t afford it, I’m saying you can’t afford not..." Sir Peter Vardy
"I’ve been able to become financially and personally independent as a result of the business. Three years following my..." Nancy Haughey
"If you get into a situation where you’ve got some bad sales figures coming in, it’s important to be objective. After..." John Hays
"I’d left school at sixteen so I didn’t have a clue what a balance sheet, a spreadsheet, a P&L was. Its quite daunting..." Simon Pearson
"I’ve spent the investment on stock, software and machinery to make the shoes, but I have made mistakes along the way as..." Matt Scott
"I spent eleven months trying to raise the money. I’d committed myself as I wasn’t doing anything else. I worked from..." James Robson
"A lot of small businesses can’t afford an accountant, especially a qualified one. But from personal experience having..." Steven Bell
"I made a risky decision to invest every penny Rocket Science has generated for the past two years, into i-snapshot...." Alan Timothy
"We were actually successful in the first year after the dot com failure and believed that we had got it right and..." Phil Cronin
"I never expected my business to be as successful as it’s been. When I started, I certainly didn’t expect to be a..." Jonathan Grubin
"We’d just managed to get a massive loan to expand the business but the day after the money went into our bank account..." Alistair McLean
"I never really questioned my ability to do things, I just got stuck in and had a go. In 1978 I asked my employer what..."
"I’ve danced since the age of four and by the time I was 12 I knew I wanted to get into the teaching side of things. It..."
"Before I started my own business my circumstances weren’t that great. I came from a family of six kids brought up on a..."
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