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How to Start a Business in Cardiff

Free start-up resources and useful local contacts.

Improve your chances of success!

How to Start a Business in Cardiff

Starting a business in Cardiff

If you are thinking about starting a business in Cardiff or would like to grow your existing business, we would love to help you.

Start Your Own Business in Cardiff contains resources and the information that will help give your venture the best chance of success. It also highlights organisations who offer friendly advice and the services that you are likely to need as a new startup or local business owner.

Grants | Networking groups | Business advice | Mentoring | Co-working spaces

Starting a business in Cardiff

Free Startup Resources

Getting it right from the start can help to prevent problems later.

To help you with this we have created a vast selection of resources and they are all completely free!

Starting a Business in in Cardiff

Business advice and support

"Two heads are better than one."

Whether you have been trading for some time, are new to the market or are just thinking about starting a business of your own, it has been proven that your chances of success are considerably improved if you seek support from an experienced business advisor or mentor. You can find out more about both options at Business Advice in Cardiff and Business Mentors in Cardiff.

Funding and grants

Running out of money is one the most common reasons why businesses fail. This risk of this happening to can be avoided (or minimised) by careful planning and cashflow forecasting. If you need additional funds to start or keep your business going, you can learn more about your options and download our free funding factsheet at: Cardiff Business Grants and Business Funding

Business networking

Does the idea of business networking fill you with delight or dread? Either way, it can be beneficial for both your business and you as an entrepreneur. See Business Networking in Cardiff for details of local groups and our free Networking Factsheet.

Business premises

Working from home is appealing to many new business owners but not practical for many others. Even if you are running a business by yourself, you might like to consider the option of 'hot desking' or co-working in one of the many flexi-workspaces that have emerged in recent years. Find out more at: Cardiff Co-Working and Business Premises.

Finding new customers

Paying customers are the lifeblood of any business. Knowing how to find, satisfy and retain them is vitally important and best achieved with the help of experts in the field.

Accountancy, tax and law

While starting a new business is very exciting, this should not disguide the fact that there are some very important legal responsibilities that must be considered. See: Bookkeeping, Accountancy, Financial Planning and Law

FREE startup workshops

If you are thinking about starting a business, our FREE three-hour ONLINE workshop is definitely for you!

Open to everyone, our sole aim is to increase your chances of success. We do that by explaining:

The reality of running a business; the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them; which legal status is likely to be most suitable; funding, grants and managing your money; business planning and cashflow forecasting; finding and keeping customers.

Free startup guide

Start Your own Business in Cardiff

Download the 2024 edition of our Free Start Your Own Business guide

An interactive step-by-step guide which also includes all of the most important subjects covered in an easy-to-read way with links to useful online articles and relevant contacts.

The idea of starting your own business can be incredibly exciting and who can blame you for being tempted?

However, the sad truth is that far too many new enterprises fail in the early stages. Our aim is to make sure that you don’t become one of them.

This guide explains the key start-up subjects in simple English.

There is also plenty of help available in the area and much of it is free - please do make the most of it.

Read more about what our Free guide contains and how you can download it.
Starting a business in Cardiff

Key Contacts in Cardiff

'You don't know what you don't know' is a phrase that is so applicable to starting a new business.

Cardiff is a great place for start-ups but your chances of success are dramatically improved if you make the most of the support that is available locally. Click on logos to visit their websites.

Web design

Netcentrics.co.uk
Netcentrics.co.uk has been helping UK small businesses and charities grow online since 2005. Professional business websites and ecommerce sites boost business in many ways. So Netcentrics.co.uk offers services ranging from growth-focused, affordable website design to bespoke web development and unique digital marketing packages including SEO, social media, video marketing and more. Turning dreams into business plans, and plans into reality, isn’t easy. Expert advice is vital, whether you’re growing or still in the planning stages. With years of experience, professional website designer, web developer and digital marketing consultant Pete Wright can help. Do you want cost-effective small business website design? Or SEO and other digital marketing services? Then get in touch today!
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Advice

Cardiff University Enterprise & Start-Up
Enterprise is all about thinking creatively, spotting opportunities, and making things happen.The Enterprise & Start-Up Team runs workshops, competitions and events to help students develop their skills, networks and confidence.Wherever you are in your journey, our support package helps you bring your ideas to life with personalised support and guidance. Our package is split into three stages to help you navigate your way to starting your very own venture.Our package offers business mentor meetings, start-up workshops, skills development workshops, online tools, and funding to help you bring your idea to life.
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Marketing

Cardiff Business Awards
Cardiff is growing rapidly as a centre for economic activity and as a great place to work and live.Not only are financial and professional services firms being attracted to relocate to the city but existing companies are expanding and there is an exciting new start-up scene in sectors such as life sciences and the digital economy.The inaugural Cardiff Business Awards in 2015 brought the business community together for the first time to recognise those entrepreneurial and innovative ventures that are making a difference.
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Advice

Starting a business in Cardiff
Number 5 in Startups' series of articles about areas to start a business. Startups was founded over 20 years ago by a serial entrepreneur. Today, our expert team of writers, researchers, and editors work to provide our 4 million readers with useful tips and information, as well as running award-winning campaigns.
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Law

Robertson IP
Experts in Intellectual Property. Helping you protect your ideas with patents, trademarks or design rights for affordable, transparent fees. Patent searching Is your invention new? Put our proven worldwide patent search expertise to the test to find out! Patent drafting Writing a patent application requires legal and technical expertise, and we have both! Patent fixing Have you had a report from the Patent Office and don't know how to respond? We do! Register a trademark Do you have a brand or slogan you want to protect? We can help you keep your identity unique! Register a design Have you designed something beautiful? We can help you protect your creativity! Contact us for a free 30 minute consultation.
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Law

Greenaway Scott Law
Greenaway Scott is a new style law firm designed for businesses. We provide clients with legal advice and support in the areas of Corporate Law, Commercial Contracts, Intellectual Property, Employment and Commercial Property. The delivery of our service is innovative and designed to suit the needs of our clients working in fast paced business environments. We aim to become a valued part of your team for the life of your business and can work with you according to your needs. Please contact any member of our team directly for a no obligation conversation about your business. We look forward to speaking to you.Cardiff office: The Maltings, East Tyndall Street, Cardiff CF24 5EA
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Advice

The Programme Group Limited
We offer advice to all businesses and startups, regarding business models, operating models, project & programme management & change & transformation. We also offer coaching and mentoring, to businesses and individuals plus training and consultation sessions.
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Advice

Business in the Community Cymru
We are The Princes Responsible Business Network in Wales, a business-led membership organisation made up of progressive businesses of all sizes from all over Wales who understand that the prosperity of business and society are mutually dependent.
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Networking

South Wales Chamber of Commerce
The South Wales & Mid Wales Chamber of Commerce is the voice of SMEs in Wales.We are a 21st century dynamic, energetic and friendly membership-based organisation. We are led by our members to support local business.Our mission is to strengthen member businesses and stimulate Welsh business prosperity through the provision of relevant information, services and advocacy.
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Advice

Cardiff Council - Business Advice
If you are starting or growing a business in Cardiff, there is a range of advice/support and potential funding available to you.The links listed on the business advice page information on business advice, financial support, property searches, inward investment and business events.
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Marketing

Wales Startup Awards
New firms are important for generating economic prosperity, employment opportunities and innovation and since 2016, the Wales Start-Up awards have celebrated this amazing contribution annually by entrepreneurs on our economy and the impact they have on communities across our nation.
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Advice

Business Wales - Starting Up
Whether you've always wanted to start your own business or your circumstances require you to consider self-employment, we are here to help. The information on practical support available from these pages will help you on your journey.Take the first steps into self-employment. We help aspiring business owners overcome the challenges they face on their journey to starting a business.
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Education

JDH Training & Consultancy Services Ltd
We are practising local accountants that also offer to train local businesses in doing their own bookkeeping in-house to save money. We have a classroom and run various bookkeeping and payroll courses on Sage 50 and also ICB courses (Institute of Certified Bookkeepers). We can teach you exactly what you need to know just for your business. You can learn in a classroom environment or we can provided one to one training and support. Please contact us to see how we can help you save money.
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IT

IT Solutions Site Ltd
IT Solutions Site Ltd is a provider of PC Tech Support & computer repair services to small and medium businesses and home users across Cardiff and the United Kingdom. We understand that Information Technology is critical to you our solutions are simple, honest and fast whether you require a PC repair or a Technical support specialist our expert engineers can help you today.
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Start-up articles

100's of free startup articles

We have created a collection of 100s of startup articles to help anyone with whatever stage they are on with their business journey. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone before you and we can learn from what they got right and avoid the things that have been proved not to work so well.

You can see the full list of 'articles' at: How to start a business