Well, I never expected that starting a business would be easy, but it seems like there are so many hoops to jump through! I'm not saying they aren't necessary, but they ARE confusing!
Last week I went to Business Gateway, and had a meeting with a nice chap who gave me lots of information about things I need to do. At the time I didn't feel so scared and confused, but now as I sit down to do everything, there seems to be so much!
I have now filled in the form to register my business with the Council, and that will be posted off today. I am proposing my business opening date as the 18th of May this year, so not long!
This will then lead to an inspection of the kitchen in the house, just to make sure it's suitable for the purpose. I had a look at some publications from the Food Standards Agency, which gave guidelines about food production premises. However, I found a line which said that if the business is in a home, some guidelines don't apply. I thought, "great, maybe it wont be so complicated!" That was until I realised there was nothing saying which ones DID apply. So, yeah, that's confusing!
I have also been looking into grants etc., because even though I have most of my equipment, I still need something to pay myself wages and to buy ingredients. I found one which said that the grant cannot be used for things such as new equipment, goods or wages. Helpful.
So at this rate, it looks like a loan is in order. Not a great start. So basically, I feel a bit lost. Guess it's time to meet up with the Business Gateway guy again!
Robyn x
Last week I went to Business Gateway, and had a meeting with a nice chap who gave me lots of information about things I need to do. At the time I didn't feel so scared and confused, but now as I sit down to do everything, there seems to be so much!
I have now filled in the form to register my business with the Council, and that will be posted off today. I am proposing my business opening date as the 18th of May this year, so not long!
This will then lead to an inspection of the kitchen in the house, just to make sure it's suitable for the purpose. I had a look at some publications from the Food Standards Agency, which gave guidelines about food production premises. However, I found a line which said that if the business is in a home, some guidelines don't apply. I thought, "great, maybe it wont be so complicated!" That was until I realised there was nothing saying which ones DID apply. So, yeah, that's confusing!
I have also been looking into grants etc., because even though I have most of my equipment, I still need something to pay myself wages and to buy ingredients. I found one which said that the grant cannot be used for things such as new equipment, goods or wages. Helpful.
So at this rate, it looks like a loan is in order. Not a great start. So basically, I feel a bit lost. Guess it's time to meet up with the Business Gateway guy again!
Robyn x
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