r/smallbusinessuk

Hey, so as the title indicates, I'm considering opening a cake "shed" in my garden, and just wondering what the requirements would be in regards to licences. I've done some research and its a little confusing.

My idea would be a shed in the garden which I should not need planning permission for, which I will run like a shop (so not an honesty box type of thing).

Would I need a pavement and a traders licence (or either)? And would anyone have an idea of how much these are likely to be?

Guessing my home insurance would need to be upgraded as well?

I'm a registered home baker with a 5* hygiene rating and am fully insured for the markets etc currently that I do (I imagine I'll need to update this to cover the new shed, and increase the PLI minimum). Also assuming I'd either need to re-register / update my council with the details of the shed to get everything re-inspected. Already have all relevant hygiene certificates and am aware of the food allergy laws - this isn't my main question, just covering what I think may come up.

We have a small office in London with a single multifunction A3/A4 laser printer that is reaching end of life.

I'm looking for recommendations for a company which can supply us with a new printer that we then pay monthly (lease on the machine + usage) and would love any recommendations or good experiences people have!

I've been moving my bookkeeping off spreadsheets for a small side business and now need something mtd compliant that can handle VAT submissions properly without constant manual fixes. Ideally something fairly straightforward to set up for quarterly filings and that can handle corrections if earlier entries were wrong or if things are a bit messy from older records.

Has anyone used something like this for a similar setup and how smooth was it in practice?

thank yyou in advance!

Looking for some genuine advice and I'm aware that this is going to be one hell of a learning curve.

My uncle passed away a few years ago and my sister and I were left some premises. Currently it's a restaurant but they've chosen to not renew. I'm bored of my job and fancy a change.

The building is beautiful, on a busy high street and has an amazing courtyard garden that would be perfect for people to have coffee and cake in the sunshine. So I'm wondering about opening a cafe...

For someone who has never even worked in a cafe, how hard is it? There's a lot of them around, so I assume it's not crazy hard. I'll be in the fortunate position that I'll be paying half rent (I just need to pay my sister).

After 4 years in London, I’ll be leaving the UK soon and moving back to my hometown: Shenzhen, China.

Even though I’m leaving physically, I still want to keep some connection with the UK and this community.

So maybe this can be the start of that.

Not many people know much about Shenzhen, but if you check your power bank… there’s a good chance part of it came from there.

But the city is much more complicated (and honestly more interesting) than that.

It’s one of the fastest-changing cities in the world. Tech, manufacturing, supply chains, EVs, design, hardware startups, cross-border business, logistics, social media brands, exporting… everything moves extremely fast there.

Over time, I’d love to share small observations about:

• how business actually works there
• factory / OEM / manufacturing realities
• the EV industry
• cross-border trade
• creative industries in China
• what people outside China usually misunderstand
• and what is changing very quickly right now

If there’s anything you’re curious about regarding Shenzhen / China / manufacturing / business culture, feel free to leave a comment.

I often see a lot of small independent record shops that buy and sell records, often just offering cash for any records bought in. They don't give any receipt for purchases they make - so when it comes to sales and submitting a tax return, how is this tracked? Do they just start the day tracking the money in the till and compare it to the total at the end of the day?

I ask as I one day want to open my own business, but I've no idea how it all works and how to properly track it for a tax return, especially if items are bought and sold for cash in person.

TL;DR: Should I get some form of branding/wrap on my personal vehicle for my business?

FULL CONTEXT:

I own a chocolate brownie baking business (not THAT kind of brownie 😎), and although I have a website for retail customers, most of my business comes from wholesale to local cafes and restaurants. I also attend things like markets and food festivals, but it is mostly wholesale at this point. As a result, I do a heck of a lot of driving each week across the central belt of Scotland doing deliveries and markets.

Long-term, the plan is to build the wholesale side of things before then focussing on building the e-commerce side of things as well.

QUESTION:

What I want to know is, what are all your thoughts on vehicle wraps of a personal vehicle? Is there any point to it? Is it beneficial in terms of getting the brand out to people? Do you have experience with this? Does it make you some form of target?

I don't mind driving around with my branding because I do drive carefully (got the insurance with black box so I HAVE to drive carefully 😂💩), but I'm wondering if it's a waste of time/money, or if it's actually a good investment?

P.S. the vehicle in question is a 2015 black Vauxhall Astra Estate which is actually in pretty good condition with only a few minor scratches here and there.

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Main share holder 55%

Share holder 1+2 45%

1+2 want out. Main share holder hasn't distributed dividend for 7 years. Company makes 500k a year profit before tax for the past 4/5 years.

The main share holder has worked out the value by removing corp tax, dividing the profit by 50% (rest retained by company) then dividing that by shares held to come up with a total valuation of £400k for the 45% of shares.

I know no one is going to be able to give an even vaguely accurate answer, but does that sound a wildly wrong way to calculate it?

Because it sounds like he's just witheld dividend for four years, and as finally going to distribute them to 'buy' the shares

I’ve done 4 car boot sales this year and made £500. Has anyone else found this to be a good business? If so, how do you keep sourcing stock in the long term and drive up sales?

I am still waiting for my business account to activate, in the meantime can I purchase some equipment for the business on my personal credit card, then pay myself back with the business card when I get it?

Recommendations of business insurance EDIT:

1. The one insurer I have contacted so far was Markel UK who said they could not insure me
2. I was hopeful for any personal recommendations, in terms of good pricing, positive experience with the company or even bad experiences and companies to avoid.
3. I have Googled. A lot. And there's a lot of companies. So I was keen to hear from any other small business owners or CICs that can make a recommendation.

Hi everyone,

I own a small CIC whereby I'm the founder, director and only active "staff member". It's not for profit.

I am looking for business insurance that includes public liability, product liability and professional indemnity.

The business model is that I rescue unwanted, broken and fly-tipped children's toys. Toys are separated into two streams:

1. Toys that need work are fully refurbished and given away for free to local schools, children's groups and low income families (this is the charitable arm of the business). So saving them from landfill and into the arms of those in need.

2. Toys that are great condition will be fully inspected, cleaned and then sold at affordable prices. The money from sales is used to fund spare parts for broken toys, costs of 3D printing, tools, batteries, cleaning products and other running costs of business.

I did speak to one insurer already who said that they couldn't insure me but during the conversation recommended that I seek product liability, public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

Hope that's enough information.

I really appreciate any support and advice!

Thank you 😊

They mentioned they asked for specific pieces of info but I did provide everything they asked for? I am also verified on companies house. Is it wise to re-apply after a while as I wanted free agent or apply to another bank?

Anyone else get a similar rejection?

Thanks

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Hi all, I'm born and bred in UK male30 and always wante

to get into business with sourcing clothing. Key point here is I've got an (paternal well trusted) uncle who's a director of a garments manufacturing company in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He started from the bottom andwent up the ranks and has great knowledge of garments world. He's doing really well in countries like Spain, France, Italy. He's always told me to try and be an agent for him and find buyers. I've always wanted to do this and believe the prices he has and quality is of your Next standard but maybe not designer in that way. I just wondering if there's someone out there who can point me in right direction? Where do I start? He manufactures denim (jeans, dresses, skirts), shirts, workwear material clothing etc. He has access and good network to other manufacturers too. I'm never been in business, always worked admin in legal office and completely deflated. Want to try start something myself and take a risk. My aim is to catch a flight in next few months and go see myself. He has great ethics in the factory, well paid and well treated staff and clean (I've seen this through calls and videos)

He had a wholesale clothing company from Dagenham with a big order for mens cargo shorts and straight fit chinos. This company has a small website but I'm geussing they sell on ebay as a shop etc. Iv always had interest in this! Please advise or tips or just tell me what you think. How to start and gain exposure?

Hey all,

Bit of a long one, sorry in advance.

I'm starting to think about an exit over the next 12 to 18 months, and trying to wrap my head around how to actually go about getting the business valued properly.

Quick context: UK-based SME, >£7M revenue, profitable, structure is pretty clean (no group, no weird stuff). Nothing too complicated, but enough going on that I really don't want to mess this up.

I've done a bit of digging on my own (yes, I asked ChatGPT, don't judge) and from what I can tell, the main options seem to be :

• Big 4 / large accounting firms — Deloitte, PwC, that crowd
• Mid-market corporate finance boutiques — BDO Corporate Finance and similar
• Independent valuation specialists — SeedLegal and Optival came up

Honestly, the spread in pricing and approach is huge, and I'm struggling to figure out what actually makes sense for a business my size.

Would using an M&A boutique for a valuation create bias, since they may have an incentive to present a higher value to win or shape a future mandate?

I'm not quite ready to kick off a full sell-side process yet. At this stage I really just want to:

• get a realistic sense of what the business is worth
• understand how a buyer would actually look at it
• be properly prepared before I start having conversations with potential acquirers

So for anyone who's been through this in the UK, would love to hear how you played it:

• Did you go with a big firm, a boutique, or an independent?
• Was a standalone valuation enough at this point, or did you jump straight into bringing on M&A advisors?
• What do you wish you'd paid more attention to (beyond just the final number)?

Any war stories or honest feedback welcome, especially from founders who've actually exited in roughly this range. Cheers 🙏

I have an online retail business that I've been running for a few years, however over the last couple of years I've started to build a brand around it. Recently I've noticed that larger competitors are starting to notice my little business and it's made me think about registering a trademark for my brand name/logo.

Has anyone done this themselves in the UK? Or which company have you used to register on your behalf? I really don't like the idea of using a local solicitor, as from previous experience costs spiral. I'd rather use a company that specialise in trademark and copyright law and offer upfront pricing with no hidden costs along the way.

Hi everyone,

I’m a solo developer in Doncaster building a secure platform for clinics to issue verified, uneditable test results that patients can share safely. When someone shares a result, the recipient can be very sure it:

- came from the clinic

- hasn’t been tampered with

- is linked to the correct person

I don’t think anything on the market does this as reliably as I want to.

I’m trying to talk to UK clinics about a small, low-risk pilot, but so far emails and cold calls aren’t getting much traction.

My question is: for an industry as sensitive and regulated as medical/healthcare, what’s the best way to get clinics or small healthcare businesses to partner on an idea like this?

Should I keep trying emails and calls, or is there a better approach

Who is the right person to contact (owner, practice manager, clinical director, IT/compliance)?

What kind of message or offer works best in a regulated industry where people are cautious about new tools?

If you’ve worked with clinics, GPs, or other healthcare providers, or have experience partnering in a regulated sector, I’d really appreciate your advice.

I run an online services company. It’s not porn or anything dodgy but it’s quite niche so I won’t go into more details about what we do for fear of doxxing myself.

For now things are ticking over, I make around £60k a year net profit but I basically have a well paid job, the business is me and anyone taking over the business would need to do all the stuff I do.

I’ve been approached by an IT guy who I know well and trust and we’ve had discussions and he thinks he can modernise everything, massively improve the website, my social media, my promotional stuff and all services we provide.

He’s asking for a 20% cut of all profits, plus a further 10% on any additional profit from where we are now.

So basically he’d get £12k a year plus 30% of all company profits above £60k.

I think this modernisation will allow me to raise prices by 15% as everything will look and work better but it’s a lot of money to give away.

Does this sound like a good deal to those of you with IT guys who work on commission?

I have someone else doing IT for me at the moment and would look to keep him on in random with this new guy. They’ve worked together on some stuff already with new guy free lancing it and seem to work well so current guy would be happy working with him.

Thanks all.

Hi all,

I have the opportunity to take over a small kitchen (100 square feet) with a serving hatch in an industrial northern town.

The rent is very cheap and I was looking to keep it simple with your standard greasy spoon breakfast takeaways (maybe the odd breakfast wrap) and sandwiches for lunch. Coffees etc.

It's small enough so that I could run it myself. It would basically only need to turn over £80 a day for me to make it feel worthwhile and I honestly cannot imagine a scenario where that would be impossible to hit. That amount wouldn't be sustainable for the rest of my life of couse but for now it would be absolutely fine.

It's in a decent footfall area in a town centre location. Fixed bills are £450 and budgeting £250-350 a month for electricity based on operating 7-2 Mon-Sat.

Fit out costs would be IRO 5k (it's really small and I don't need much equipment).

Would appreciate any thoughts on this! The goal would be to target price. There's a sandwich shop in my home town I'm essentially modelling the pricing on (and would likely be a little cheaper than that).

Would appreciate any thoughts!