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have an address like myname@mybusiness.com it looks more professional. Use the templates and site-builder software that come with many of the web-hosting services. You can develop a simple, professional-looking site in less than an hour.

Satisfying Demand

Once you have got your customers, you must satisfy (or even better, exceed) their expectations. If you do, they are likely to come back to you next time they need the same service and also recommend you to other people. In fact, it is a good idea to ask satisfied customers to pass your name on to their friends.

Depending on the service you are providing, you may need premises in which to do the work. The first option should always be to work from home or from the customer's premises. It's the cheapest option - there are no extra facility costs involved. In fact, if you are working from home, you may be able to offset some of your household bills against your income. This is a tricky area where it is worth taking professional advice. Try the Citizens' Advice organizations, local business chambers or the like.

If you do need to find special premises to do the work, then try to find options other than renting or buying. Maybe there is a local business that has spare space they are willing to let you use. If you can agree a barter deal (where you provide a service to them in lieu of rent), even better. If you do need to rent premises, then investigate local schemes which support start-up businesses. Again, business chambers could be useful or the library/Internet.

Getting Paid

Asking people for money is one of the things which new business owners often find most difficult. However, no-one will think bad of you for charging a fair rate for your work. After all, that's what they are doing, whether they are running businesses themselves or working for someone else. Do make sure you have a system in place to collect money. Otherwise, not everyone will be honest enough to pay up - and that will be very bad for cash-flow.

Try to negotiate at least some percentage of the money in advance. This is especially important if you have to buy materials to do the work. However, it is also a way to reduce the risk that you will not get paid. Unfortunately, there are people out there who will take your goods or services and then refuse to pay.

If you suspect that there is going to be a problem with payment, then cut your losses and walk away. A customer that doesn't pay is not a customer that you need (or can afford) to keep.

At the end of the financial year, many organizations, particularly public ones, are looking to spend excess budget money, on the "use it or lose" basis. So the last couple of months of the financial year could be a good time to prospect for work. Even if they don't need the work done until the next budget cycle, they may be willing to make an advance payment for services to be supplied later. Now that's a really good way to "borrow" money without incurring interest payments.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Ducie.
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