Starting your own business can be a daunting prospect. In this section, we have listed further help and advice and organisations who can help you with your business.

For Ethnic Minorities

There are 250,000 businesses owned by ethnic groups in the UK. These contribute about €13 billion every year to the country's economy. Ethnic minorities businesses are becoming a growing economic force. More....

For Women

More women are waking up to the realisation that they can have it all - a business and a family. Between 1981 and 1997, the number of self-employed women in the UK increased by 86%. In the same period the number of self-employed males increased by 38%. Although female self-employment has increased at a faster rate, women still constitute a minority (about 35%) of the total self-employed. More...

For Young People

Prince's Trust - Helps young people aged between 18-30, unemployed or of limited financial means, to set up or develop their own business.

Princes Youth Business Trust - Offers last resort funding to unemployed people between the ages of 18-30 who have a viable business plan.

Shell Livewire - Sponsored by Shell UK Ltd, Shell Livewire provides a support service for entrepreneurs between 16 and 30 years old. Initially they give advice and assistance through a free booklet, a fact-sheet and details of the local offices. Their fact sheet has breakdowns of some of the most popular areas of self-employment such as coffee shops and graphic design.

The New Entrepreneur Scholarship (NES) - pilot scheme has been declared a success and will now expand nationwide. The NES is aimed at equipping young people from disadvantaged areas with the skills to start their own business. It also offers training and support in business and management.

For Disabled

There is a wide range of VAT reliefs for purchases by people who are disabled. more informatin about these reliefs is available in 'Notice 701/7 VAT Reliefs for people with disabilities. Visit Customs & Excise.

Government Sites

UKOnlinegov.uk - The Government's UKonline.gov.uk site together with Department of Trade and Industry has launched a new web service aimed at helping small businesses during their early stages of development. The UK government guide to setting up a business is now online.

Department of Trade & Industry - DTI aims to promote enterprise, innovation and increased productivity. It lists many of the initiatives that the DTI and other parts of Government currently operate - often with help from organisations.

Inland Revenue - Inland Revenue web site - featuring news and information on tax and national insurance matters in the United Kingdom.

Business Link - This website is provided by the Small Business Service - an agency of the UK Government. It provides practical business information and advice to UK small firms. It also operate a national helpline for businesses on 0845 600 9 006 (local rates, open 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday).

New Deal - If you are unemployed and wish to move into self-employment your local Jobcentre can tell you about suitable work-based training. If you are also young then you could get further help with starting a business under the New Deal.

Employment Zones - A Government initiative to reduce unemployment in the 15 hardest hit areas in the country and in these the Department for Education and Employment will be providing extra help to get your business off the ground.

UK Online for business - The DTI's UK online for business provides small businesses with impartial advice on using Information and Communications Technologies.

The media, publications, exhibitions

Some of the national newspapers have a section for small businesses, such as The Mail On Sunday and The Times. The DTI have prepared a number of free booklets that give you advice on matters such as starting a business, employing staff, and finance. Copies can be ordered online.

Exhibitions are useful to attend. You can network with other businesses and look at other businesses to give you some ideas. For example the Business Expo is a start up exhibition that has a vast variety of stands offering you all you need to start-up or develop your business idea. For a list of the next Business Expo exhibition and others, visit exhibitions.co.uk

Channel 4's Real Deal The Channel 4's web site has a section dedicated to entrepreneurs called Real Deal. It is a place where people with great ideas can get help. The web site address is: channel4.co.uk/realdeal