Welcome to the learning resources from Clowne Enterprise. Here you’ll find
- Worksheets providing practical help on all aspects of starting a business – the business idea, sales & marketing, business & finance, running your business and personal development.
- The Really Simple Guide to Business Start-up and Self-employment which pulls together some of the key material from the worksheets into a single guide, taking you through the essentials for starting your own business.
There is also a leaflet in Ukrainian that summarises five key tips to follow when starting your business. - Workshop materials, giving you access to the presentations and supporting resources that have been used in Clowne Enterprise workshops
- Sundry resources, which is pretty much anything else!
Worksheets
Just click on the numbered title to go to your chosen learning module.
1 The Business Idea
1.1 Creating a business idea and checking it out
1.2 Who are my customers?
1.3 Research your market
1.4 Will it work? Checking the numbers
1.5 Setting goals and SMART objectives
2 Sales & Marketing
2.1 Finding customers
2.2 Using your personal networks
2.3 Building business networks
2.4 Prices and competition
2.5 Winning customers
2.6 Customer communications
2.7 Social media
2.8 Keeping customers: Customer service
3 Business and Finance
3.1 Managing the money
3.2 Cashflow forecast spreadsheet
3.3 Funding
3.4 Bookkeeping and banking
3.5 Taxes and National Insurance
3.6 Personal budgeting
4 Running your Business
4.1 Start-up checklists
4.2 Business planning
4.3 Keeping it legal
4.4 Manage admin and IT
4.5 Premises or home?
4.6 Employing people
4.7 Growing the business
5 Personal Development
5.1 Self-confidence
5.2 Self-motivation
The Really Simple Guide …
Many of these materials have been brought together, with examples, to provide a 56 page guide to the essentials when you’re going self-employed or otherwise starting a business. Click on the link to download your copy as a pdf.
The Really Simple Guide to Business Start-up and Self-employment
5 ШВИДКИХ ПОРАД ЩОБ ПОЧИНАТИ ВЛАСНИЙ БІЗНЕС
Our Ukrainian-language leaflet – five tips for starting your business. Click on the link to download the 8-page, A5 leaflet.
5 ШВИДКИХ ПОРАД ЩОБ ПОЧИНАТИ ВЛАСНИЙ БІЗНЕС
Workshop materials
Dates have been added to workshops so you can gain an idea of how dated the material may be. Some materials have been created within Clowne Enterprise and others by local experts. All these people are as knowledgeable as they are helpful, so if you want updated help and information please follow the links provided and use their services.
Tax self-assessment for the self-employed
6 April 2022. Here are all the supporting forms and guides from HMRC for tax returns for 2021-22.
Tax self-assessment presentation 2020
Main tax return form
Guide to completing the main tax return form
Self-employed supplementary pages
Guide to completing the self-employed supplementary pages
Simplified expenses when you’re self-employed
Calculating your taxable profits
Taxable and non-taxable benefits
Winning customers workshop
9 September 2019. The PowerPoint presentation from the workshop providing an introduction to marketing and selling.
Online ads workshop
2 December 2019. This PowerPoint presentation shows you how you can use ads on Facebook and Google without spending a fortune.
The workshop was led by local entrepreneur and social media guru Roxy Rhodes. You can find out more about Roxy and the support she can offer at https://busybusinessmum.com/
How Online Ads Can Work for You – Without Blowing Your Budget
Websites that Work workshop
11 November 2019. This Word document was created by, and the workshop led by, Guy Tomlinson of SEO Co-pilot. There are more SEO workshops available from Guy and the team.
The material provide an introduction to search engine optimisation and includes an extensive list of resources you can use to check and improve the performance of your website.
Website That Work – A Guide to SEO
Sundry resources
Customer service infographic
25 Skills for Excellent Customer Service
Build your own website
1 October 2022. A (revised) step-by-step guide to building your own website for free on WordPress.com, the platform we’ve used for creating this site.
The Really Simple Guide to Building a Website for Free
Creating a free video with your smartphone
31 July 2020. How to create videos for your business using your smartphone. Lots of practical tips, links to free resources and a few ideas for improving your video if you do have a few quid to spend.
The Really Simple Guide to Creating a Free Video with your Smartphone
Where to go for personal financial help
27 October 2020. The coronavirus, and everything that has come with it, has made life tough for lots of us. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, cope with mental health issues or are facing domestic abuse there are places you can turn locally to get help and advice.
Guide to Claiming Benefits and Credits Following Redundancy
11 December 2020. The coronavirus has added to the number of people losing their jobs. If you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself in that situation, this straight-forward guide from Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre explains about the benefits and similar help you may be entitled to.
Guide to Claiming Benefits and Credits Following Redundancy
Cyber Security – Tips from South Yorkshire Police
8 February 2021. With so many people and businesses relying on the Internet for work and an income, it’s never been more important to stay safe online. This guide from South Yorkshire Police explains the threats and how to safeguard yourself against them.
The Little Book of Cyber Scams 2.0
An alternative cash flow spreadsheet
19 February 2022. Here’s an alternative form of cash flow spreadsheet. This should be particualrly useful for anyone who is going self-employed, claiming Universal Credit and reporting their business income and spending each month.
The Alternative Cash Flow Forecast Spreadsheet
Many of the materials on this site were originally developed thanks to funding from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and they have been expanded, updated and maintained thanks to support from
Clowne Enterprise Learning Resources 
