Exploring online resources for business advice

The hairdressing industry is full of excellent organisations offering support and guidance to salon owners, but sometimes looking outside the industry for information and advice can pay off. The Internet offers of rich source of resources for any salon owner. Government As might be expected, the government operates a website at https://www.gov.uk/business that is a good place to start. Previously consisting of numerous websites belonging to various departments and organisations, the recently revised gov.uk website operates a very broad-brush approach to topics. However, when seeking third party advice enquiries have to start somewhere and having a just basic level of knowledge – which this site gives - will enable you to ask sensible questions of any advisors you may engage. There is much more to the gov.uk website apart from information on business matters. Indeed anyone using the search box at the top of the website will see why gov.uk is an award winning site. It holds information from 24 government departments, 331 agencies and public bodies, 47 topics and 223 policies. It’s this all-encompassing coverage that is why you can see that tapping in ‘hairdressing’ returns so much including matters relating to hairdresser registration, licences to play music, the VAT flat rate scheme and the national minimum wage. Mentoring Despite the characterisation of mentoring from TV shows, the use of a business mentor is growing and can add value to a business. Mentoring, according to https://www.mentorsme.co.uk, involves a one-to-one relationship over a period of time between a less experienced person (the mentee) and an established professional (the mentor), which provides consistent support, guidance and practical help. Mentoring is, in reality, just a process that transfers knowledge and information. The site features a limited search facility at https://www.mentorsme.co.uk/finding-a-mentor/results where mentors can be viewed according to business life stage (‘growing’ or ‘succession planning’) and region and county. From there mentors can be selected according to communication channel – in person, telephone or online and the cost basis (free, membership or commercial). There isn’t a facility to drill down according to sector (such as retail or salon). But, as an example, a firm in the South East of England, searching on all business stages of life, would find 45 mentoring organsisations. A click of a button narrows down the search to those that offer free help, and in this case there are 21 organisations that may be worth calling. One, horsesmouth.co.uk, illustrates what an online mentor can offer. A search for ‘retail’ returns 270 references that have degrees of relevance including billsbright (retail startup and development), mannakin (retail and web design) and primeret (working in fashion and juggling home and work). Accountancy and law Accountants – and solicitors for that matter – are often well placed to give good advice on topics other than pure tax or legal matters. Many accountancy practices offer an initial consultation session free of charge and thereafter a service based on fees (that should be negotiable). It’s not altruistic; it’s an exercise in business development but one that can nevertheless be used as a starting point for information seekers. One of the accounting bodies in the UK, the ICAEW, offers a Business Advice Service and a webpage at https://bit.ly/17ooVli details what the service is and how it works. Interestingly, there is nothing in law to stop anyone from setting up in business and offering accountancy services. For that reason alone it makes good sense to ensure that any accountant engaged is qualified and registered with a professional body. The same does not apply to solicitors – anyone practicing in law must be registered with the Law Society (it too has a practice finder at https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk). Business organisations Salons may want to consider business support organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) (https://www.fsb.org.uk), the Forum of Private Business (FPB) (https://www.fpb.org) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) (https://www.britishchambers.org.uk). All three are membership based and do differ. The FPB is mainly made up of small employers, the FSB is tends to be comprised of the self-employed while the BCC is aimed more at local businesses of all sizes. While the bodies differ there is an overlap in their offerings. The FPB, for example, offer advice and support on all aspects of running and developing a business, with HR and employment guides and an expert business helpline. It also offers advice on how to better protect a firm, and deal efficiently with administration, tax, regulations, legal compliance, and other business-related issues. The FSB also offers business protection with legal, employment and tax advice lines as well as providing information on health and safety and legal documents. The BCC offers HR advice and documentation, guidance on health and safety and legal expenses cover.