If I Was Starting a Business Tomorrow… Here's What I'd Do

I was sitting with a cuppa this morning, just thinking if I had to start from scratch tomorrow, how would I do it? What would I actually do first? And I thought, you know what, this might be useful to share. Because so many people overcomplicate it. So here's my honest, no-nonsense breakdown.

Start with yourself

Before you register anything, open any accounts, or touch Canva start with you.

Ask yourself three things:

What am I passionate about? What could I genuinely talk about, do, or help with every single day without it draining the life out of me?

How would this help someone? Because a business isn't really a business until it's solving a problem for another person.

And who is that someone? Get specific. Not "women aged 25–50" actually picture the person. What do they struggle with? What do they need? What keeps them at night?

When you can answer all three, you've got the seed of something real.

Pick a business name that does what it says on the tin

This is one of the most underrated pieces of advice I can give you. Your business name should tell people immediately what you do or who you're for. Don't be too clever. Don't make people work it out. Simple wins every time.

Life is hard enough don't make your business confusing on top of it.

Decide your legal structure

This is a step people either skip entirely or agonise over. Here's a plain-English breakdown to help you decide.

Sole Trader - this is the simplest way to start. Registering as a sole trader is quick and free via HMRC, and you keep all profits after tax. You're self-employed, you run the business independently, and you're legally the same person as the business. The downside? You carry all the risk personally - if the business has debts, that's on you. You pay income tax on your profits through Self Assessment, at the standard UK rates plus Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance. It's the go-to option when you're getting started, keeping things lean, or testing an idea.

Limited Company - this is a separate legal entity, registered through Companies House. The advantages include limited liability protection (your personal assets are protected), potential tax advantages through paying yourself in dividends, and enhanced credibility with customers and suppliers. The trade-off is more admin. You'll need to file company accounts, a confirmation statement, and a corporation tax return, and directors usually file a personal tax return too.

Here's the practical bit: in 2025/26, a sole trader structure is generally better if your profits are below £40,000, because the limited company setup costs accountancy, filing, payroll can outweigh the tax saving. A limited company tends to make more sense above £50,000 profit.

My advice? If you're just starting out, become a sole trader and keep it simple. You can always convert later as your business grows. Many entrepreneurs begin as sole traders and move to a limited company structure when the time is right. And whatever you do, speak to an accountant before you decide it's worth a one-off consultation to make sure you're set up correctly from day one.

Open a business bank account

This is non-negotiable. Keep your business finances completely separate from your personal ones from day one, not "once things pick up." A dedicated business account makes your bookkeeping cleaner, your tax return easier, and your business look more professional. There are some great options out there now. Starling, Monzo Business, and Tide are all worth a look and easy to set up online.

Sort your branding

Once you've got your name and your structure, it's time to think about how your business looks.

If you can afford to pay a professional designer, do it. A good brand identity is worth its weight in gold and will save you so much time and headache in the long run.

If budget is tight, Canva and Adobe Express are both brilliant starting points. They're user-friendly, have solid templates, and you can create something clean and consistent without any design experience.

One thing I feel strongly about: do not use AI to generate your logo. I know it's tempting it's quick, it's free, it looks polished. But it can cause real problems further down the line when it comes to trademarking, ownership, and uniqueness. Your logo needs to be yours.

Once you have your logo, use it to generate your brand colours most designers or tools can pull a palette from your logo and then use those colours consistently across everything. Your social media profiles, your website, your email signature, your graphics. Consistency builds recognition, and recognition builds trust.

Keep it simple

I'll leave you with this, because I think it's the thing we all need to hear most:

Have a clear why, a clear goal, clear business name, a clear niche.

You don't need a complicated funnel, a 47-page business plan, or a logo that took three months to design. You need to know who you help, how you help them, and how to make it easy for them to find you.

Start there. Build from there. The rest follows.

Find your people

And finally find a network of brilliant women who get it. Women who are building something too, who'll cheer you on, hold you accountable, and share the kind of advice you can't Google.

I'd obviously recommend somewhere like the Lanarkshire Boss Mums Network… but then again, I might be slightly biased. 😄