How the Sound Advice podcast is helping people make a success of their small business

 By Asavin Wattanajantra, Global Content Writer for Sage

The last 18 months has made a lot of people reassess their life, including their career choices, with many deciding to start their own business – which can be hard.

You’ll have a million questions and won’t know where to start or what to focus on to make it a success.

Sound Advice: get year one in business right is a podcast created by Sage is a one-stop shop to help you make your business financially successful from day one.

Whatever you need to know, Sound Advice has the answer. It’s packed with expert tips, advice and resources, including:

• Writing a business plan
• Deciding who your target audience is and how you’ll reach them
• How to analyse your competitors
• How to register your new business
• Managing your business finances including VAT
• How to boost your startup knowledge

Write a business plan

Research from Barclays shows that one in four businesses don’t actually have a business plan. Having a business plan can help you to focus on the detail behind your ideas.

It acts as a practical framework that maps out the purpose of your company, what you do, and your strategic goals.

It will also help you to work towards a series of milestones that will make your business a success. Find out how Sage has been showing businesses how to write a small business plan that works.

Registering your new business

You need to decide whether you want to register as a company or a sole trader which you can do on the government website, however, the Sound Advice podcast highlights exactly what you need to know before you do this. It helps you understand whether being a sole trader or limited company is the best option and why, demystifying the entire process.

This can be daunting but the Sound Advice podcast with tax advisor and accountant, Mike Psaras, outlines everything you need to know about what to do when you’re starting out in business.

He explains, “Bringing on an accountant is essential at the early stages to guide them through, educate, and make sure that new business owners are on the right track before things go in the wrong direction.

“An accountant’s expertise can keep business owners in check and organised, making sure they’re achieving their goals.

“Sometimes there’s a gap in your knowledge—you might think you’re doing it right, but actually, there’s a better way.”

Manage your business finances

It can be hard to keep track of your business finances, and it can be even harder understanding your costs. Having accounting software can help you keep on top of your business admin.

This includes advice on forecasting your cash flow, managing your invoices and helping you to understand your costs. You also need to look into your tax payments and requirements when you start trading too.

So what essential things about tax should every start-up know?

Super-entrepreneurial tax advisor and accountant Mike Psaras, who draws on a decade of industry experience to help founders make a success of their business, appears on episode 16, ‘Does your startup need an accountant?’ of the Sound Advice podcast to demystify tax requirements, business finances and whether you’ll need an accountant (spoiler, yes!).

Now you know how Sage can help your business become a success, head over to the Sound Advice podcast for more expert tips and advice on starting your own business.