Student Professional Indemnity

What Insurance Cover Do I Need?

The type of insurance cover you need really depends on your business activities. In very simple terms the following guidelines explain the key elements of cover available:

•  Professional Indemnity Insurance provide cover for the advice or guidance you may give - examples would be Web Design, Tutoring, Language Translation.
• Public Liability Insurance which provided cover for injury to third parties or damage to third party property your activities may cause when visiting clients or premises. 
• Products Liability Insurance if you produce, supply or manufacture goods - for example 
  
• Office Contents which can be anything from your bedroom to rented or serviced offices and would cover furniture, computers equipment and printers. Standard Contents Insurance usually excludes computer equipment used for business purposes.
• Employers Liability Insurance. If your business activities are really taking off and you need to employ someone - even a part timer - you need Employers Liability Insurance as unlike many other forms of insurance this is a Compulsory Insurance. 

Many businesses, particularly start up's. trade without insurance which is risky. Sometimes this is due to lack of awareness of the need for insurance, sometimes it is a conscious decision due to cashflow considerations. 

Often the trigger to raise awareness of the need for insurance is a contract condition. For example a potential or existing client requires evidence of Professional Indemnity insurance if you are providing advice or consultancy work or evidence of Public Liability Insurance if you are visiting their premises.

if cashflow is the consideration he solution is to structure your insurance around what you need and then build the insurance as the business grows. Additionally consider payment by monthly instalments ( interest free ) rather than a single annual payment to spread the expenditure over a longer period.

How to become Student Entrepreneurs

How to become a student entrepreneur

College or university is a perfect time to identify and develop your entrepreneurial skills with easy access to resources and advice. Combine your degree with business activities or develop a business as a way to fund your education. How to start?

1. Identify what your existing skills and knowledge are particularly your strengths and weaknesses. In your business what can you do based on your strengths and what will you need help with around your weaknesses. Strengths are easy to identify but weakness need more honesty but once identified can be managed, improved with training and research or outsourced to professionals.
2. Fit your idea or concept to your audience. Think about whether there is a demand or need for you product or service. who are your competitors and how you will differentiate from them.
3. Identify your target market or audience. Imagine you are researching for an assignment or thesis at university and apply the same skills and processes. Gather information about the size and potential of the market, who is active in that space at the moment - the competition - and what they are doing.
4. Creat a Business Plan.  As Benjamin Franklin said " By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail" Set some realistic goals and think about how you will achieve them. Many universities provide access to expert help and business incubators to assist start up and new business ventures. 
5.  Create your Business Name or Brand. Remember that first impressions count. Your choice of name, colours and call to action need to resonate with your target audience. If this is not one of your strengths why not ask one of your more artisitic student friends to help out. You may be helping them to develop their own business as first customer.
6. :Location, Location Location - used to be the primary concern for business but with the growth of the world wide web a physical location is no longer essential depending on the nature of your business. An organic food shop needs a prominent location with high footfall of passersby so that it can be easily found. A website designer can work from home without the need for a physical location which also reduces overheads.
7. Don,t forget the paperwork. As part of your business plan you will need to think about the legalities. Do you want to be a sole trader of have the protection of being a Limited Company. The company name will need to be registered at Companies House. if you pan to employ people it is a legal requirement to have Employers Liability Insurance. Premises need to be insured and if visiting customers or giving advice need to consider Public Liability Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance. if a strong brand or an invention do you need to think about Trademark protection? 
8. Build a team. As part of your planning Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats should identify what you can do yourself and areas you will need help. You may work in partnership to develop you business with other students, family or friends who may have complimentary skils - for example a web desgner. Or you may need the help of professional advisers such as accountants, insurance brokers or solicitors
9. Support - juggling study and running a business is not easy. Universities and your own degree can provide a wealth of help and support. Do not be afraid to ask for help!
10. Finance. Cashflow is King - Profit is Progress. Most businesses that fail do so because of cashflow. They simply run out of money and cannot pay bills to continue trading. Your Business Plan should identify planned expenditure for at least 12 months. as part of the plan you need to identify income and the likely timing of the income. Payment up front, a deposit or payment on completion can all have an impact on cashflow. Then you will need to consider how to raise finance if required. As well as banks there are various small business grants and loan schemes available and family or friends to help.