Start-up support for female entrepreneurs

If you want to become a woman in business, there are a number . things you can to increase your chance of success.

Business skills

Running a business requires a range of skills. As well as producing a product or delivering a service you will need to deal with finance, marketing, administration, legal issues and perhaps recruitment, health and safety or other specific areas.

All of these skills can be acquired and there are many excellent courses available locally. Some of these have been developed particularly for women. The Training for Women Network provide courses for women interested in business.

First steps for your business

If you are considering starting up a new business, you need to consider a number of factors to ensure the best chance of success. If you don't have a business idea yet, our business idea profile tool provides information on over 600 small business trades, sectors and professions.

As well as your product or service, you will need to think about:

• what you will name your business - see choose the right name for your business
• what business structure you should use  - see legal structures for businesses - an overview
• how you are going to market your business and attract customers - see create your marketing strategy and preparing to sell
• how you will finance your business venture - see business financing options - an overview

For further information see step-by-step guide to starting a business.

Support from other women entrepreneurs

You will also benefit from speaking to other people who have set up a business - there are many organisations and networks that can offer you practical support. For further information see networks and mentors for women in business.

Women in Business (WIB) provide digital workshops, mentoring, regional events and networking opportunities with other woman entrepreneurs. They also provide a yearly Women in Business conference and other business events.

Write a business plan

A business plan is a written document that describes a business, its objectives, its strategies, the market it is in and its financial forecasts. It has many functions, from securing external funding to measuring success within your business. It is essential to have a realistic, working business plan when you're starting a business. See write a business plan: step-by-step.