View source for Success before Start-Up: How to prepare for business, avoid mistakes, succeed by Steve Bridger

{{infobox1
|title=Success before Start-Up: How to prepare for business, avoid mistakes, succeed
|author=Steve Bridger
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=An informative guide to what you should be doing ''before'' you start your business.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=202
|publisher=MX Publishing
|date=May 2011
|isbn=978-1908218759
|website=http://www.spanishrings.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
|cover=1908218754
|aznuk=1908218754
|aznus=1908218754
}}

Steve Bridger has anecdotal evidence that about half the people who want to start their own business don't actually know what they want that business to be – they just know that for all the good reasons associated with self-employment they want to be their own boss.  But for all their enthusiasm and good intentions a very high proportion of those businesses will fail at an early stage. ''Success Before Start Up'' is about the thinking, the investigation and the work that you need to do ''before'' you introduce yourself to your first paying customer.

The aims of the people wanting to go into business are the only part of this book which is anecdotal.  Bridger looks at the various ways in which you can go into business, and examines the advantages and draw-backs of each one.  There's advice about what to do before you start down that road, the experience of someone who has done just that and then some words of wisdom from the business person concerned.  The eighteen businesses concerned are very varied, so there's no need to worry about the examples all being from people who've set up accountancy businesses when what you want to do is go into one of the building trades.

Bridger is also a walking example of what he's preaching.  You'll find the link to his own business's website to the right of this review.

The information is presented clearly and in language that we can all understand and this covers everything from the 'due diligence' you'll need to complete before you start your business through to the Tax and VAT considerations once you're ready to be up and running.  Advantages and disadvantages are clearly spelled out and it might be that you realise your business idea isn't a starter – but then you're better realising that at this stage rather than after you've invested your life savings and months of your life.

Whatever business you're thinking about this is worth reading, even if you use it as a check list to see that you've covered all the bases.  It's one of those books which will end up dog-eared and well-read and then passed on to someone else who's thinking about starting in business for themselves.

I'd like to thank the author for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If you like the look of this book then you might also find [[Make it Happen: The Prince's Trust Guide to Starting Your Own Business by The Prince's Trust]] useful.  See also [[Bounce Development IT solutions in different areas of business and technology]].

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