My Business Path
Your clear path from idea to business

Thinking of starting a business? Start here.

My Business Path helps you compare ways to set up, understand the benefits and downsides, and follow a practical plan from your first idea to your first customers—and beyond.

Help me choose my route See how it works
See your roadmap before signing up Sign up free to save your progress Official UK sources included
You do not need to know the answer yet
Your starting point

I have an idea.
Which route fits me?

Answer a few practical questions. We will explain your options and responsibilities before asking you to choose.

Compare your business options
2See the benefits and downsides
3Get the right next steps
How My Business Path works

From “I’m not sure” to a plan you can follow.

You do not need to know the business jargon or choose a structure before you begin. We start with where you are now.

01

Tell us where you are

Answer a short guided set of questions about your idea, how you will trade and what could change your responsibilities.

02

Compare routes before choosing

See the benefits, downsides, responsibilities and real-life examples at the point you make the decision—not in a separate research maze.

03

Follow your plan and save progress

See your roadmap without an account. Sign up free to keep your progress, notes, reminders and useful sources together.

Build my personalised path Compare business structures
Why use My Business Path

Less searching. More confident progress.

Starting a business brings dozens of unfamiliar decisions. My Business Path brings the useful steps, reliable sources and practical help together so you can keep moving.

01

Your next steps, in the right order

See what to do now, what can wait and how each task moves your business forward.

02

Stay on top of the essentials

Understand registrations, records and responsibilities with current official UK sources.

03

Save hours of research

Find useful answers in one place instead of piecing together dozens of tabs and conflicting opinions.

04

Avoid expensive wrong turns

Know when a free route is enough, when a purchase can wait and when professional help is worthwhile.

Your launch roadmap

Your business roadmap, step by step.

See what needs doing, why it matters and which official source to use—without researching every step from scratch.

Build my roadmap
01

Shape and register the business

Prove the idea, choose the right route and create the business correctly.

01 · required

Validate the customer and offer

Talk to likely customers and test whether the problem and offer are strong enough to act on.

02 · required

Choose a structure and register correctly

Compare sole trader, limited company and partnership routes before completing the right registration.

02

Money and business systems

Set up banking, payments, cash planning and reliable financial records.

03 · required

Set up business banking and ways to get paid

Compare eligibility, fees, cash handling, support, integrations and payment needs before applying.

04 · required

Plan cash flow, start-up costs and funding

Build a realistic 12-month cash forecast before deciding whether the business needs savings, a loan, a card or other funding.

05 · required

Choose bookkeeping and accounting software

Create a reliable record-keeping routine and compare software that fits the business structure, VAT, payroll, invoicing and current MTD needs.

03

Branding and online presence

Bring the name, domain, email, logo, website, listings and social presence together.

06 · recommended

Secure the business name, domain and email

Check the name in the places that matter, buy the domain through a reputable registrar and use business email.

07 · recommended

Create a practical brand identity and logo

Clarify what the business should communicate, then choose a simple visual identity you can use consistently online and in print.

08 · recommended

Create the smallest useful website

Choose a self-build platform or brief a provider to make a clear, accessible site that helps a customer act.

09 · recommended

Create useful business listings

Claim Google Business Profile, Bing Places and only the other listings relevant to your location or trade.

10 · optional

Choose useful social-media channels

Pick channels because your customers and buying conversations are there, not because every business is expected to post everywhere.

04

Sales and operations

Price the offer, agree how customers pay and make delivery dependable.

11 · required

Set pricing, proposals, invoices and payment terms

Calculate sustainable prices, state what is included and make acceptance, invoicing and payment straightforward.

12 · required

Check licences, premises, suppliers and delivery operations

Make sure the business has the permissions, place, equipment, suppliers and fallback arrangements needed to deliver what it promises.

05

Compliance and protection

Cover data, cyber security, contracts, insurance, people and workplace duties.

13 · required

Protect data, systems, agreements and risks

Work through privacy, cyber security, contracts and insurance in proportion to what the business actually does.

14 · optional

Plan people, payroll and workplace duties

Decide what help is actually needed and whether it should be a supplier, contractor, director or employee before work begins.

06

Customers and ongoing responsibilities

Win the first customers, serve them well and keep recurring duties visible.

15 · recommended

Find and serve your first customers

Choose a focused route to reach suitable people, follow up consistently and deliver a dependable first experience.

16 · required

Create ongoing responsibilities and reminders

Collect statutory dates, tax actions, renewals and recurring business checks in one dependable calendar.

Advice you can trust

Your needs come before a sale.

If the best option is an official service, a tool you already have or buying nothing yet, we will say so clearly.

Read our affiliate promise

Official Companies House route

Register directly with Companies House

Official non-affiliate route. My Business Path receives no payment if you use this link.

Official and free options first

You will see the free or government route wherever one is available.

Recommendations are not bought

A commercial relationship cannot change which option we recommend.

Paid links are clearly labelled

You will know when My Business Path may receive a fee before you follow a link.

Out-of-date offers are removed

Expired commercial links fall back to a useful non-affiliate option.

Start learning

Clear answers when you need them.

Browse all guides
8 min

Business structure

Sole trader or limited company?

A practical way to compare responsibility, administration and growth plans before choosing.

Read guide
10 min

Limited companies

What to do after incorporation

A calm first-month checklist covering records, money, tax awareness and operating basics.

Read guide
7 min

Technology

Professional email without overbuying

Compare Google, Microsoft and Zoho against your actual team, files, devices and security needs.

Read guide
9 min

Online presence

Your first useful business website

Build a small site that answers the questions a real customer has before contacting you.

Read guide
6 min

Money and records

A bookkeeping setup you can maintain

Create an evidence trail and a weekly rhythm before transactions become difficult to untangle.

Read guide
7 min

Finding help

How to choose a business adviser

Check relevance, evidence, scope, fees and conflicts before trusting any directory badge.

Read guide
Founder community

Ask founders who have done it before.

Learn from practical experience, with clear professional labels and moderation to reduce spam and hidden selling.

Visit the community
Find the right help

Find trusted help when you need it.

Search by what you need, where you are and what has actually been checked—not by who paid for the best position.

Accountants & bookkeepers

Records, tax awareness, payroll and practical financial systems.

Marketing & brand

Positioning, identity, demand generation and customer communications.

Web & technology

Websites, IT, cloud tools, security and dependable business systems.

Legal & people

Contracts, employment, HR and specialist guidance within clear scopes.

Founding professional?

Help build a directory founders can trust.

See the verification model

Start with a few practical questions.

See your personalised roadmap before you create an account. Save it free when you are ready to keep going.

Build my free roadmap