where do you go if you want help starting a business, looking for funding etc etc??

SENTA based at sheffield chamber of commerce is a good place to start if you arrange a meeting with them to discuss options they can point you in the right direction.

They have been really helpful for me, its free advce and give guidance on writing business plans.

I have to say that the last time I made use of any local assistance, about 10 years ago, it was useless.

I get teh feeling that things are different today but I'd actually be more likely to point people at a book called 'The Beermat Entrepreneur' to start with.

Joe

Senta, what a joke, a used car salesman who has failed in business telling you what to do and passing your ideas to his mates.

I went and left after he refused to sign an NDA. (non disclosure agreement)

You're better paying a proper business consultant/planner (its worth every penny), if you PM me your details I might be able to get a good one to call you.

pete are you running your own business now then? did you pay a,ot of money for the help you gotprivately?

Funny about NDAs.

I've worked in high technology and also in media businesses and as soon as someone asks me to sign an NDA I walk away.

My reasoning behind that is that ideas are cheap - it's implementation that matters. I've encountered a few people who are dead keen on NDAs but haven't got the foggiest idea of how to follow through.

Joe

Originally posted by JoePritchard
I've worked in high technology and also in media businesses and as soon as someone asks me to sign an NDA I walk away.

My reasoning behind that is that ideas are cheap - it's implementation that matters. I've encountered a few people who are dead keen on NDAs but haven't got the foggiest idea of how to follow through.

So an NDA is just a poor persons' Patent then?

What's wrong with that?

how can you put NDA and patent in the same sentence? Once you have disclosed to someone (with or without an NDA) what your patent idea is, it becomes void!!! lol even i know that!!

Originally posted by Natane
how can you put NDA and patent in the same sentence? Once you have disclosed to someone (with or without an NDA) what your patent idea is, it becomes void!!! lol even i know that!!

I'm no business expert, but I know a Patent costs £££; an NDA doesn't, so I would say they're both a form of IP protection.

a patent is NOT an NDA! they are two different things. NDA is not IP.

Originally posted by Natane
a patent is NOT an NDA! they are two different things. NDA is not IP.

Then perhaps you would kindly explain them to me in words I will understand... of three syllables or less.

Many thanks

i thought we just did?? anyway never mind it doesn't answer my question anyhow. this topic is going nowehere.

Originally posted by Natane
i thought we just did?? anyway never mind it doesn't answer my question anyhow. this topic is going nowehere.

Not really. You told me what it wasn't; not what it was :confused:

A patent isn't an NDA.

A patent is basically a means by which you put the invention in to the public domain in return for a period of time in which you have a unique licence to exploit the invention. There are various restrctions associated with what can be patented. And yes, a patent is expensive.

An NDA is, as it says, a Non Disclosure Agreement. It's a bit of paper that says that you can't make use of anything you're told in the forthcoming conversation. If soeone wants to talk to me about something, and I don't know what it is, then I'm loathe to sign anything. WHat if I'm independently working on something very similar? They can claim that I nicked their idea.

Whereas you cannot patent or copyright and idea, you can use an NDA to try and stop someone exploiting your idea. However, if you don't render what you have reference din your NDA in such a form that's either copyrightable or patentable then you can still get stuffed. The person signs your NDA and then takes your idea and develops his or her own version. As soon as you take your idea in to the public domain - i.e. sell it or advertise it or even get press coverage - then they can take their covertly created version and launch that as well. And if you've not patented the main innovation of your product, and their version doesn't contravene your copyright, then the NDA was useless.

NDAs get used a lot in the 'soft' industries - software, film, media - but I believe they're over-valued as a means of commercial protection.

Joe

wow. well said.

Many thanks for the clarification, Joe

Originally posted by Natane
i thought we just did?? anyway never mind it doesn't answer my question anyhow. this topic is going nowehere.

Of course, one of the things that does help you get assistance in starting a business is a friendly outlook....:)

Before starting to look for funding make sure your business idea is workable and that there is a market for it. Many businesses fail because they don't test the marketplace for what they do before starting to chuck large amounts of money at it.

If your busienss requires a fair amount of money to get to the point where you have a prototype product or service then yes, get some consultancy in. If it's such that you can get soemthing in to the marketplace as a 'trial run' for a relatively small investment then do it.

If you've tested the water you'll find it easier to get money.

Sources of funding depend upon how much you're looking for. As a start up you're unlikely to have much to offer in terms of equity, so you'll be looking at debt funding - i.e. borrowing money or grants - unless you have a real humdinger of an idea that you can get people to buy in to.

Try Googling on Business Angels, contact places like SENTA for information on the grants / soft loans, etc. available.

A business plan is a valid thing to have eventually but early on in the game spend the time and effort on getting your product or service to market rather than telling us how good it'll be when it finally gets there.

Joe