Running your own small company can be the most rewarding experience for many – but there are risks involved, and many small businesses fail within the first few years. Good preparation is essential to give you the best chance of building a long-lasting and thriving business.

Anthony Main, MD of The Distance, uses his personal experiences in business to provide some useful tips to small company owners to help them through difficult times.

If you’re thinking about setting up an online shop and want to know the best way to go about it, our step-by-step guide tells you all you need to know.

The answer to this much-asked question depends on where you live, whether you’re the property owner or tenant, and the kind of business you want to run from home.

The UK has seen a boom in coffee culture in the past decade which shows no sign of slowing down. So what exactly does it take to start a coffee shop? Our step-by-step guide will help you get up and running.

Few who decide to become an IT contractor live to regret it thanks to the greater financial and personal freedom they enjoy but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any risks involved.

If you love the idea of running your own gardening business but don’t know how or where to start, our straightforward guide tells you all you need to know.

Stuart Maclaren, MD of the YPP Group, shares some excellent tips on how to launch and run an online business – from creating the right initial impression, to providing excellent customer service.

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of providing good customer service. Not only does it help to build customer loyalty, but it can gain your business valuable word-of-mouth recommendations – one of the most effective ways of winning new customers.

Used to identify the key strengths and weaknesses of your company as well as any threats and opportunities, a SWOT analysis can help to work out what your business strategy should be.