Startups webinars – real-time, live and interactive business seminars

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		Business planning during a recession Good forecasting can give your business real foresight and direction which is critical during difficult times, but business planning is especially tricky to get right during the heightened uncertainty of a recession. We’ll talk about how to write a realistic business plan during a difficult trading environment and how it can help you get a grip on the mechanics of your business and make contingencies for if and when things go wrong. LOGIN TO WATCH THE REPLAY VERSION >

Hear how co-founder Warren combined his love of suits, passion for business, and complementary skills sets to create the world’s first online, hand-tailored suit-making company. Offering the largest range of quality suits in the UK, A Suit That Fits.com now has a turnover of £1.4m. Discover how Julie Meyer, with 20 years of investment advisory experience has helped start-up businesses to emerge and establish themselves and how she raised more than $100 million of capital for start-ups. Learn from these entrepreneurs as they reveal how and why it’s important to devise a business plan to get you through the recession. Panellists included: Warren Bennett, Founder, A Suit That Fits.com Julie Meyer, CEO, Ariadne Capital Mike Harding, Senior Manager, Lloyds TSB Commercial James Hurley, Editor, Startups.co.uk



		Getting and keeping new business For most small businesses, getting and keeping customers is challenging and takes up most of the managing founder’s time and efforts. During the webinar, we’ll encourage entrepreneurs to work ‘smarter not harder’ to maximise the return they get for the product or service they provide, emphasising the importance of understanding their product/service, clients and competitors comprehensively. LOGIN TO WATCH THE REPLAY VERSION >

Hear how Will King founded shaving products and cosmetics business KMI Group in 1993 alongside business partner Hiten Dayal. His King of Shaves brand has evolved into one of the largest players in the ‘shaving prep’ market, while his 2008 launch of the first British-made razor for more than a century has already resulted in a UK market share of almost 10%. Find out how Patricia Bacon joined the Instant Offices Group in 2002 and has since significantly contributed to the company’s growth. Instant Offices Group forecasts to have a turnover of £20m in 2009 with a workforce based in London, Miami and Sydney offices. Learn from the entrepreneurs as they reveal how they got and kept their customers. Panellists included: Will King, Founder, King of Shaves > Patricia Bacon, Sales & HR Director, Instant Offices Group > Robin Davies, Area Director Business Development, Lloyds TSB Commercial > James Hurley, Startups.co.uk >



		Your big business idea You’ve got an idea, this webinar takes you through the process of assessing it and turning it into a real business WATCH WEBINAR >

You've got an idea for a business, but are you ready to start a new business? Do you have what it takes? And how on earth do you decide whether your idea is actually worth taking further? Before you start a new business there are many issues to understand, including: business planning, market research and financial considerations. Discover first hand how Sarah McVittie founded Texperts, a service that allows anyone with a mobile phone to get the answer to any question by simply texting 66000. How did she decide that this idea would be a success? Be inspired by how James Hibbert had the confidence to start and build Dress2Kill into a successful and unique bespoke tailoring business and get Sir Richard Branson on board as a mentor. Learn from these entrepreneurs as they reveal how they started their businesses, including the mistakes they made and the lessons they learned along the way. Panellists included: Sarah McVittie, CEO, Texperts James Hibbert, Founder, Dress2Kill Mike Harding, Senior Manager, Lloyds TSB Business Matt Thomas, Editor, Startups.co.uk



		Your first 100 days in business Those first three months are the hardest, discover what you need to do to survive and prosper WATCH WEBINAR >

This webinar explores the challenges of those difficult first few months, including: getting up and running, finding premises, attracting customers and managing cashflow. Two established entrepreneurs recall their opening months, revealing the mistakes they inevitably made and learnt from along the way. Discover how Alice Bowe set up her own garden design consultancy offering a range of garden services. Learn what decisions and actions she took in the early days of the business to turn it into a success. Find out how Preet Chahal started Ihotdesk and built it into a successful multi-million pound business. Learn from the entrepreneurs as they reveal how they got through their first few months in business. Panellists included: Alice Bowe, Founder, Alice Bowe Preet Chahal, Co-founder, ihotdesk David Wood Griffiths, Lloyds TSB Business Matt Thomas, Editor, Startups.co.uk



		Raising start-up finance A closer look at what options are available and advice on how to persuade investors to back you WATCH WEBINAR >

What are your financial options when starting out, and how do you convince investors to part with their cash? What do investors and banks look for and what don't they like to see? Our entrepreneurs and experts share their experiences in being accepted and rejected for finance and how it made them reassess their business propositions or, conversely, plough on. Discover how Karen Darby persuaded venture capitalists to invest in SimplySwitch.com and the various regional criteria she had to comply with. Learn how she invested that money to grow the business into one of the UK’s leading price comparison services before selling it in a £22m deal. Learn how Ian Leslie has bought and sold varying businesses from property development to event management and how he has raised the cash for these ventures from many different sources. Learn from the entrepreneurs as they reveal how they raised the money they needed to start and grow their businesses. Panellists included: Karen Darby, Co-CEO and Founder, SimplySwitch.com Ian Leslie, Founder and Director, Medius Ltd Andy Moss, Lloyds TSB Business Matt Thomas, Editor, Startups.co.uk

These webinars were filmed and broadcasted live in October and November 2007.