Serial entrepreneur Karen Darby tells you how

Did you know that around 10 million Brits dream of starting a business? Their motivations are as varied as the businesses they want to set up. Some think they could do a better job than their boss; some want the freedom of working for themselves or have an idea that they think would help society. A few find that redundancy or early retirement forces them to re-think what they do with their lives. However a third of people don't know how to go about starting a business.

One of the UK's most successful serial entrepreneurs is Karen Darby, who sold SimplySwitch for £22m four years after setting it up from scratch. Karen was once a budding entrepreneur herself so has got together with Business Link to inspire and motivate you to turn your dreams into reality as well as giving you some practical, impartial and authoritative advice on how to go about it.

Below Karen answers some common questions and concerns.

What advice would you give someone who was thinking of starting up their own business?
Do it! Do it! and get good advice. I have been around the block a bit, SimplySwitch was my third business but I knew there were other people out there who knew more than I did and I'm not afraid to ask. There is no such thing as a dumb question as far as I'm concerned. You don't need to know all the answers you just need to know the right questions to ask.

Where can I go for advice about starting a business?
Everything you want to know about setting up a business is there on the internet. There is an absolute wealth of information; in fact there is probably too much information so you have to hone it down a bit. I would say a good first port of call would be to go to Business Link. This is a completely independent and impartial support and advice service that is government backed. I found them to be really, really helpful. They have a website www.businesslink.gov.uk or you can contact them on 0845 600 9 006. That is a very good starting point. They have some great tools online that you can use that will help you to address all the key aspects of setting up your first business or how to grow a young business.

How can I tell if my idea is a good one?
It's obviously important to have a good idea, but I believe that people put too much emphasis on the idea, the idea isn't everything, and they say that there is nothing new under the sun. What you need is a unique slant on what you are doing, your USP, as that is what will make you special. What then counts is being able to put your idea into action because you can have a million good ideas but unless you actually do something that?s all they remain - ideas.

How can I overcome the fear of failure when starting up a business?
I think a lot of people fear failure. They're afraid that if they set up a business it is going to go wrong. Do what I did, look at the risks and think what would be the worst that could happen? In my case it would mean I would need to get a job. Make sure you get help and support in setting up a business (particularly from sources you can trust like the Business Link service) and then recognise that there is a bigger consequence of inaction. If you don't set up a business you risk not achieving your full potential in life, and that to me is a bigger crime.

What are the key attributes I need when starting up a business?
I think you need to be a bit of a rhinoceros and have really thick skin because one of the key attributes of successful entrepreneurs is the ability to see a problem as an opportunity and to really charge at your goals and to be determined. Of course you're going to meet problems, of course there are going to be disappointments and failures. That's not the issue. It's how you deal with those. When I was setting up SimplySwitch I had to raise finance and I got a lot of rejection, a lot of refusals, but I didn't let it bother me. You go out there, you get your nose bloodied, you pick yourself up and you carry on but eventually you will find somebody who will invest in your business if that's what you're looking for.

I firmly believe that attitude is everything and you are the person that you choose to be. People say to me 'Karen how is it you're so confident and so positive and so optimistic?' I say what's the alternative? Should I be negative; does that get you far in life? It doesn't. My background is that I had to work hard for everything. I've come from a working class background, council house, free school meals you name it. I think that's been a very good background from which to work to achieve what I wanted to achieve. It wasn't just handed to me on a plate.

How did you go about identifying your market?
I tend to think of it in terms of people as opposed to markets and I put myself in the customer's shoes and ask myself would I actually buy the product or use this service?

Do you get your business ideas from your market research?
Not so much dry market research, I was more intuitive than that. I treat business ideas as a game. Whenever I come up against a problem or something that is frustrating or annoying, I think, 'How can I have a business that will actually solve that problem?' I come up with really crazy ideas for businesses every day of the week.

Business is a game of ups and downs. What are the biggest disappointments you have suffered? I sold my last company for £22 million and that was a bit of a disappointment because I wanted to sell it for £700 million! I don't focus so much on the disappointments, there are always going to be things that go wrong, there are always going to be things that don't go according to plan and people let you down and things don't work out. You just have to focus on the goal and overcome those barriers.

How long did it take you to get the idea for SimplySwitch off the ground?
The idea took about three months in the making, and then I had to write a business plan which I found quite difficult because I hadn't done one before. I then had to go out and try and find some finance for it and that took about six months and after that we got offered the finance they took another three months on due diligence to see if they wanted to invest in us. So from idea conception to actually trading it took us about nine months and it was a year before it really started to take off.

Do you think you have sacrificed anything to achieve your goals?
There is always a sacrifice in terms of time. To set up a business you have to really commit, you can't just play at it. I had young children and I did have to spend time away from home focusing on the business but luckily I had a support structure at home and I have a husband who cooks which certainly helps! There are always going to be sacrifices, but you have to keep a balance. In financial terms it can be a struggle too but when you have that belief then you can continue. Of course 'necessity is the mother of invention' and if you really must make a success of it then that is a really big lever.

What was the single best bit of advice you received and how did it help you?
This is going back a few years to when I started my first company when I was 22. I had the opportunity to do it with a partner and I had always wanted to set up my own company but I wasn't sure if it was the right thing or the right time or if I was too young. What if it all went wrong? I went to see my old boss and he said that there is never a good time to do it. Sometimes you have to grab the opportunity when it presents itself, go in there and do it, so I did and the rest is history.

Karen top tips for starting a business

1. Do it - don't just dream about it. Lots of people have great ideas; it's about turning those ideas into a reality.
2. Don't put too much emphasis on the idea, many people believe that there is nothing entirely new, what you need is a unique slant on what you're doing, your USP.
3. Get good authoritative advice, through a source such as Business Link for instance. If I'm not too proud to admit I need help neither should you be!
4. Be positive, attitude is everything. You will get knock backs, there will be obstacles. It's how you deal with them that will make you into a successful entrepreneur.
5. Don't be afraid of failure, you risk more than failure if you don't try to turn your business dreams into reality; you risk not achieving your potential in life.
6. Make sure you have a well defined exit strategy if you are going to be looking for investment. Investors will want to know if they invest in your business how they are going to realise the money from that investment.
7. Don't set up a business that is difficult. Find a business that gives people what they want. Think about the frustrations in your life and think of a business idea that solves them.
8. Don't be afraid of asking other people for feedback on your idea; is it just you that thinks customers will want your product or service? People can be negative though so it's important to ask the right people and then not be afraid of their feedback. Again, Business Link is a great place to start.
9. Commit to your business 110 per cent. Make sure you have a white-hot burning desire to make your business succeed.
10. There is never a right time, you're never too young or too old. If you're dreaming about it, grab the opportunity now.