Starting a business

"It's going to take longer and cost more than you think." So says entrepreneur Martin Symes, who spotted a gap for an airfare comparison site serving the Asian market.
For aspiring start-ups these are the mantras that need to be posted on the wall by your PC every day.

You can add another one to the list - Martin freely admits that his idea was not original, but as with most businesses, the differentiator is your positioning and your service. If you can offer something a little bit different and even just a little bit better than your competition, you could be on the road to success.

You can read Martin's success story on the BBC Running a Business page https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11938319, and find other case study examples too.

And for advice on what kind of technology a start-up could benefit from, take a look at our new website section Starting your new business https://www.microsoft.com/business/en-gb/business-needs/Pages/Starting-Up.aspx

Our BOSS (Book of Small Business Solutions) is also a good read, with clear explanations and illustrations on how technology can boost productivity and bring about tangible business benefits. Download it here: https://download.microsoft.com/documents/uk/smallbusiness/campaigns/78510_v10%20The%20Boss%20Book%20Update_DOWNLOAD.pdf?qstr=CR_CC=MHK09072010&CR_ID=