Starting up your own business, part four: Cost control

The calculator has been working overtime of late, to ensure that expenditure hasn't exceeded the budget in getting up and running. Your car was returned to your old employer on the day you left, and since then you have been car sharing with the other half, but this started to cause friction and obviously couldn't continue. The purchase of a car was out of the question, so you went for a lease arrangement. The monthly hire rate was surprisingly low and also tax-efficient – a sort of win-win.

A laptop and printer/fax/photocopier represented relatively modest purchases, which, when taken with stationery, visiting cards and the like, left a little surplus. You were doing okay, until the matter of professional indemnity insurance came up on the radar screen.

The first quote you received brought on a severe headache, on which only a stiff dose of Nurofen Plus and a strong black coffee made any significant impression. Alternative quotes gave rise to the idea that industry was bedevilled with price fixing and a suitable case for investigation. There seemed no way round the need for professional indemnity insurance and so it was a matter of biting the bullet.

Opening a bank account you considered involved a quick trip to the bank, filling in a form and awaiting the arrival of the cheque book. No such luck. Al Capone had fewer questions to answer when he was faced with a tax rap than are now required in order to open a bank account. Still, it had to be done if you were to make progress. Time is passing and you need to get started.

Al Capone had fewer questions to answer when he was faced with a tax rap than are now required in order to open a bank account

Just a few more matters to consider. What about a logo? From what you have read, no business aiming for success can do without one. Your mind turned to the 2012 Olympics logo and the squillions it cost to produce and considered, at least for the time being, that this could wait.

However, your decision to get a website will prove to be wise. It seems to be the first port of call for anybody considering using the services of a service provider. There is a need to keep the cost to a bare minimum, so an all-singing, all-dancing website is well over the horizon. If the information on the website is limited to contact details and the services offered, it will serve its purpose well and the cost should not be too excessive.

Your final thought was a mission statement, which brought to mind chocolate fireguards. You are now ready to fly.