Ever feel a little overwhelmed?

So I seem to be pressing ahead, trying to get a business of the ground.

Fine, I have ideas, money (our own) a place I can work, contacts and potentially interested customers.

Fine.

As a friend who ran a photographic business in Thornton Heath said to me when I talked about doing that "taking pictures is only about 10% of it".

So I've been reading about directors responsibilities, secretaries responsibilities, tax responsibilities, accounts responsibilities. Did you know that a company with a single director must have an annual general meeting, but the director can be present by proxy?

Company law is complex, and in some cases a little bizarre. It's designed to try to help weed out rouges and tricksters, while at the same time not be too obstructive to genuine traders. But it IS complex.

I *know* setting up a ltd company is the right thing to do, if I'm going to do it, but it makes me quail and gibber a little, even though help is readily available and often free of charge. This also goes outside immediate familial experience, and is therefore not something that my instincts automatically rise to (further back, family have owned and run successful businesses).

So what I'd prefer to do is hit the lab, make some products, get out and meet customers/distributors and get cash flow established. Instead of that I'm ploughing through a business plan (essential to obtain funding, grants etc.) where I have to assess ACCURATELY the size of my various markets, both local and global. I need a marketing plan (gibber) an operations plan (not so bad) and a financial plan (more gibber).

The one good thing is that I don't need to plan an exit strategy, because I don't want to leave, at least, not for quite a while.

I am a maker. I DO stuff. I am an investigator. I research and develop stuff.

I am not a natural manager, administrator, accountant, salesman, marketeer or HR person.

Time to broaden the skills base I guess.