Guinness got its branding right - will you when starting up a new business?

Standing outside the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin a couple of weeks ago it’s hard not to be impressed by this global brand which sells ten million glasses a day across 150 different countries.

On that site alone three million pints of the black velvet are created each day! So, it would have been rude not to try a pint as one in two sold in bars across the Emerald Isle contain this iconic brew.

Later that week I was in a business in Wales that produces oak- smoked water – yep, water that tastes of smoke that is so popular with top chefs such as Heston that a litre of the stuff will cost you considerably more than a litre of single malt Scotch whisky.

I confess a pint of the latter didn’t have the same appeal but what both brands have in common is vision. It’s a vision any entrepreneur can share so when you start a business you are in fact starting a brand?

Think about your last visit to a supermarket. Which one did you choose? Was that because of price, convenience, location, quality or a previous experience. Maybe some other reason. In fact all you did was make a choice based on your perspective of the brand. That’s exactly the same choice your customers will make when they choose you or your brand in the future.

So once you start thinking like a brand, that means there’s some really exciting marketing you can do to get customers to engage with you.

Our free two-day First Steps to Start Up programme explores some of these really simple ideas that you can use to get your business off the ground from day one. We’ll also cover the basics of tax, bookkeeping and market research to help you create a business plan that could also help you secure essential funding under the Governments Start Up Loan scheme.

Our next free course runs on two Saturdays, August 3 and 10 as well as August 7 and 8 at KLIC in Lynn. It is also running on September 19 and 20 in Fakenham. To reserve your free place book online at www.nwes.org.uk/events or call 01553 970029.