(1) Choosing An Office
A place of your own
Finding the right office premises will help you improve productivity, attract and retain good employees, and give a positive impression of the business to your customers. This briefing takes you through the various stages of looking for an office. It covers:
· Choosing a location.
· deciding on the size and type of office.
· Understanding different types of tenure.
· The search process and its costs.
The right location
A Look for a location that fits your business needs.
_
Should you be near your customers and
Potential customers?
Some businesses can operate successfully at long distance, using modern technology.
Others know that proximity to their customers is vital.
_
Should you be near to other similar businesses?
In some sectors, such as estate agency, businesses benefit from being near to each other, as customers like to shop around.
_
Should you be close to your suppliers?
For example, if you subcontract work that needs close monitoring.
B Decide how accessible you need to be.
· Should you provide parking for your customers and employees?
· Should you be near the motorway or a railway station, or an airport?
For example, if your sales team needs travel extensively. Consider the trade-offs between location
and cost.
_
- Lower prices in an area with a lot vacant property could mean the bad for business.
Size and type of premises
Work out the requirements for your business.Decide on your total space requirement.
(2) How a company is run?
How a company is run
1. The Managing Director is responsible for the day to day running of the company.
2. The policy of the company is planned by the board of directors, which at least (i.e. the Managing Director) must be active in the business.
3. The Chairperson of the Board leads and represents the board.
4. The Board of Directors are responsible for the performance of the company to the shareholders
5. The owners of the company have more of a say by how many shares they own (1 share = 1 vote).
6. Shareholders receive a copy of the Annual Accounts with their notice of the Annual General Meeting.
7. The Chairman’s report reports on the performance over the past year and outlines plans for the future.
8. The Annual Accounts show the financial position and the years trading figures and profit.
9. The shareholders can be confident that the accounts are correct because they have to be audited or certified as correct an outside firm of accounts.
10. A shareholder doesn’t attend a meeting then they may vote by means of a “proxy” form, which the shareholder fills out with his or her signature.
11. You are effectively in control of a company if you own at least 51% of the votes, (which means that you cannot be opposed by voting).
(3) Types of Business Organisation - Private limited company, Public Limited Company, Sole Trader, Partner
Type of business Organisation
Possible sources of finance
Key issues for consideration
Sole Trader
Owner’ savings, banks, suppliers, government grants and loans
· Security for those lending funds
· Loss of control by owner
· Evidence that business has potential to develop
· Financial history of business/owner
Partnership
Partners’ savings, banks, suppliers, government grants and loans, hire purchase and leasing companies
· Problems of introducing new partner
· Lack of collateral
· Potential expense of raising large sums of money
· Should they form a limited company?
Private limited company (ltd)
Dependant upon the size of the private limited company, suppliers, banks, factoring, leasing and hire purchase companies, government grants and loans, venture capital institutions, private share issues
· Disagreement amongst existing shareholders
· Difficulty of finding suitable shareholders
· Loss of control by existing shareholders
· Lack of collateral and security for those lending funds
· Element of risk in the loan
Public limited company (plc)
Suppliers, banks, factoring, leasing and hire purchase companies, government grants and loans, venture capital institutions, public share issues via the stock exchange
· State of economy and stock market
· Ability to move to area receiving government aid
· Recent financial performance
· Reputation of company and senior managers
Non-profit making organisation
Charitable donations, lottery money, government and EU grants
· Public profile
· Relationship with government