2017 has flown past and the new year is just around the corner. Amidst economic, political, and business uncertainty, this year has proved a challenge for everyone in the UK. But now that the year is almost done and dusted, here at The Formations Company we want to take a look back at what we have achieved in 2017 thanks to all our customers.
Many many happy clients
We have formed tens of thousands of companies this year, and it gives us great satisfaction to see first hand the entrepreneurial spirit of this country! Since The Formations Company first launched in 2009 we have helped over 750,000 small businesses start their adventure, and we are ready for another busy year backing fledgling businesses and giving them the best possible kickstart.
Our customer support team has been incredibly busy this year – so much so that we have almost doubled its size so we can keep providing first class support to all of you. We have also introduced a live chat, so if you don’t fancy picking up the phone and giving us a call, you can still benefit from the best support at the tap of a finger.
Our second Entrepreneur Award was a huge success
Inspired by the success of the 2016 competition, we decided that this year we had to run the Entrepreneur Award again. The Entrepreneur Award is a business grant created to encourage the brightest new minds in any industry. To show our support, we asked entrepreneurial people across the country to show us a business idea that stands out from the crowd. The winning submission got a limited company setup with us, free of charge, including all the documentation needed and a £1,000 business grant to get them started. We also partnered with Barclays to offer mentorship and support from one of the leading financial institutions in the UK.
This year’s winner is Terence Chung, who created FRUU. He was selected unanimously by our judges both at The Formations Company and Barclays.
FRUU is a cosmetics company that turns surplus fruit and waste coffee into fun, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free and affordable cosmetics and toiletry products. The business aims to reduce bio-waste, otherwise destined for landfills, while replacing the need for petrochemicals. Its products can be made using organic fruit and plant ingredients, many of which are derived from post-consumer waste. It is now a fully developed e commerce company: shop now for a late Christmas treat!
New products and tools to help your company grow
We always keep small business front of mind and we know the struggles of keeping a company afloat. We spend time talking to our customers to find out what tasks have proved most challenging during their years trading, and created world-class partnerships to help make small business owners’ lives easier.
The challenges current small business owners pointed to most frequently were invoicing, bookkeeping, credit checking, creating a website, and storing their data securely. This is what our new product, SmartBusiness Apps, is here to help with. Worth over £420 a year, we offer a basic version of them for free with every formation. It includes:
-
Basekit – a simple tool that enables anyone to build a website and establish a professional online presence.
-
PlanHQ – a powerful business planning tool that helps you to consider each aspect of establishing a business and documenting it in a professional plan. It’s perfect for applying for extra funding from banks or investors.
-
CreditHQ – powered Experian, this tool allows you to monitor credit scores for your business and others you are trading with, and check they are financially secure.
-
MozyPro – a solution providing back-up data on your computer, in case it gets lost damaged or stolen.
2018 comes full of exciting new things for The Formations Company. We’re working hard to make the Entrepreneur Award even more successful this year, so keep an eye on our homepage and Twitter account to find out more very soon. As always, we’ll be partnering with the UK’s leading businesses and suppliers to help you succeed in your own business venture, and we would like to hear from you if you have any comments or suggestions.
From everyone at The Formations Company, happy holidays and happy new year!