Business Advice from Banks

After meeting up with everyone at the Museum of Wales, went on into town to ask banks for advice on starting a business.

Went to Natwest first and they were unsure if their business adviser was in the building, they kept asking each other if they’d seen her today and saying they’d seen her earlier on blah blah blah. Not very useful in itself but they did take our phone numbers for the business advisor to get in touch with us and gave us a brochures and a CD containing Natwest’s Business Start Up software, which contains MyBusiness essentials and a business planner to help you to work through your ideas and produce a detailed business plan, as well as organise and manage all your financial records.

Then went onto The Royal Bank of Scotland, again didn’t get to talk to anyone and this time was given a handful of brochures and a CD containing business start up software and business planner. These brochures may well be helpful but for someone starting up a new business with no previous experience, I think you need face to face advice with things spelt out for you. I wouldn’t have a clue about making a new business a success, or know the costs involved with paying salaries, setting up standing orders, direct debits, and paying in cheques from customers, business loans, business insurance, whether to be a sole trader, partnership, Limited company, limited liability partnership or franchise.

I just wish I’d been able to talk to a business planner so that I could have asked these types of questions and had anything else I didn’t understand explained to me as we went along. You might as well do everything on the internet instead of going to a bank and get business advice of your mate running a market stall, at least he’s running a business that works.