Important advice for would-be entrepreneurs

Acklam Hall played host to entrepreneurs from Middlesbrough’s Bedford Street, who transported their businesses to the grade I-listed building to create a mini Bedford Street experience.

Middlesbrough town centre has seen a lot of investment in recent years.

Once famed for housing various law and accountancy firms, Bedford Street is now a foodie hub, with eight new tenants moving into the beautifully renovated units.

Britain is a nation of entrepreneurs, with hundreds of thousands of us running small businesses and following our own dreams.

Numbers are steadily increasing, with a record-breaking 680,000 new start-ups registered at Companies House in 2015.

Among the entrepreneurs at the event we heard from the owners at Rounton Coffee Roasters, Songbird Bakery and the Curing House who all spoke with passion and love for their role and the area.

The phrase 'labour of love' was used several times which I roughly translated into: “I’m absolutely shattered but loving my job and wouldn’t change it for the world”.

Almost five per cent of the population are entrepreneurs, according to an approved index.

If you’re among that number or thinking about becoming a part of that number, what else should you consider when listening to your head rather than your heart?

Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket:

For any entrepreneur the focus will be on making the business the best it can be, however, it is also important to diversify your investments to avoid a sticky situation should things not quite work out as well as first imagined.

Plan for your retirement:

Quite a few entrepreneurs see their company and pension fund as one - entirely understandable, but quite a risky mentality to adopt.

The problem of course is that your company may not prosper as well as you had hoped and you may be left with limited retirement savings.

Making contributions into a pension will mean that you are building a secure retirement nest egg and it is also a really tax efficient way to save.

Think about your exit:

For those starting out, like those on Bedford Street, this will seem a long way off and on the bottom of the to-do list.

However, thinking about your exit early on can reap rewards in the future and benefit from tax efficiencies when you leave the business.

Protect yourself:

You are your business. If you were to die or suffer an illness that meant you could not work, potentially the business is finished, so protection is vitally important to entrepreneurs.

You should consider whether you need life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection cover.

Surround yourself with good people:

You may know your business back to front, but when it is time to invest/diversify/sell, you need to build a team of experts around you.

This will include accounts and solicitors, but it should also include a financial planner and investment manager to help you manage your wealth.

These are some of the important issues for entrepreneurs to at least consider, however, while waiting for my wife to start the Race for Life the weekend before last, I strolled around to Bedford Street and financial planning and investment management were the last things on my mind.

Needless to say, I have booked a table at the Curing House for this Saturday night.

Gary Welford is an investment manager at wealth management firm, Brewin Dolphin, in Newcastle.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the views held throughout Brewin Dolphin. No director, representative or employee of Brewin Dolphin accepts liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this document or its contents. Any tax allowances or thresholds mentioned are based on personal circumstances and current legislation which is subject to change.