Your options

Over many years we've watched the government lean on businesses for more tax, create more regulation, and doing more intervention.

Support from organisations like Business Gateway is typically delivered by staff that have never run a business, or external consultants that put in the lowest bid for the work.

Here's a simple truth about running your own business; the hardest part is getting new customers, without this you don't have a business.

Our role at the Burlington Academy is to offer constant support in all the areas you need to be successful but absorb valuable time you could be using to make more money.

Getting us to provide support and backend services for your business will accelerate your success and pay for itself many times over in the long run.

You have 3 main options for getting started:

Starting your own business

To be successful, not just making a living, you will need to focus on what your good at. This is where we come in offering you a complete package to make your journey as easy and stress free as possible, allowing you to do what you are good at.

What the Burlington Academy offers you:

New Business Bank Account
New Company Registration
Dedicated Accountant
Dedicated Lawyer
Logo/ Image Design Service
Website Design & Hosting
Virtual Office & Telephone Answering
Social Media Management
Marketing Advice
Advertising & Promotion

All provided in one ongoing support package.

Price. £1495 + VAT per month.

See exactly what you are getting here.

Buying a business

This is great assuming you carry out very comprehensive due diligence to make sure the business you are buying is good value with an excellent reputation.

You will also need to ensure you get all the components of the business to allow you just to step in and start work, a full customer list (ideally with a CRM), hardware, software, and any services. If you can get the current owner to agree to a 6 month handover that's ideal. You will need legal and accountancy advice during this process.

If you're buy a business that's in administration ensure you fully understand what's included and go in with your eyes wide option. Try to find out why they went into administration.

Buying a franchise

A franchise offers a pre built brand, but at a cost. There will be a large up front payment, typically £25k or in many cases a lot more. On top of that they will want a percentage of your profit, typically 10%.

What are the upsides of buying a franchise:

It can be an easy option.
Established brand.
Pre built products or service offerings.
Some franchises will give you qualified sales leads.
Suppliers already in place.
Your own page on their site.
A community of fellow franchisees.
Sometimes invoicing and accounting is usually done on your behalf.
They may provide liability insurance.

What are the downsides of buying a franchise

Large up front costs.
Ongoing commission payment to the franchise owners directly out of your profits.
Typically a 5 year initial term.
You never actually own your business. If you want to leave after 5 years they will want to keep all your client information.
You will still have to purchase the items required to run your business, e.g. transport, comms, computer, etc.
If they are doing your invoicing and accounting they effectively own your business.
Often you are not allowed t carry out your own marketing such as running your own website.
You will still need a personal accountant.
The more successful you are the more you pay the franchise owner.
You have to use their suppliers.
Very little freedom to do what you want.