want to set up a company from a dark, confused place.......any help appreciated!!

[nellieloula]

Hello - I'm hoping someone can shed some light! I am currently working as a sole trader (under my name) doing media consultancy work. I am now looking to do this under a business name, and create a basic website and email addresses etc. Still early days so not sure I want to go down the limited company route just yet.....but does anyone know whether it is ok to use a brand name without registering it? I know you don't have to register for sole trading purposes. But I also know the name I want to use is used in several other industries. I'm not bothered about the overlap, but just need to know if I should be!

Also, can anyone shed any advice on setting up a website and registering domaine names etc There are so many companies out there - anyone have a good experience of any??

any help would be much appreciated - bit in the dark and drowning in start up business paperwork!! Thanks

Hi Nellieloula. I did what you're doing about 3 years ago, only I went directly down the ltd company route. You say you want to use a name that's used in several other industries. If it's a registered brand I think you might have difficulties there, (is it called something like passing off??) although I'm not a legal expert so can't really advise on this.

You can find out if the company name you might want to use as a ltd company already exists by searching the companies house database (free - don't get suckered in to using the pay for services).

On the website front, you can pay almost any amount of money to get this done for you by a bewildering number of companies. It's a bit of a minefield. However, if you have a little bit of technical savvy you can easily do it yourself. The webhosting company I use (123-reg.co.uk) offer everything from just hosting your site to access to software for you to design your site yourself. And they're cheap and so far (three years on) reliable. You can also register your domain name through them. I do this and it's very simple and easy. There are two sites I have hosted with them at the moment and I never have any trouble.

Hope this helps. Good luck to you - I hope it all goes really well!

Thanks so much soprana - that is really helpful. I'll have a look at that site now.

nellieloula,

In terms of websites, I can recommendwww.fasthosts.co.uk. You can check to see if your chosen domain name is free, register it, set up your e-mail account and build your own website using a very easy to use tool. You can be up and running in a couple of days.

I find the paperwork involved for a limited company is a pain,so if you're able to stay sole trader then I would.

The businesslink website is excellent if you haven't checked it out yet.

good luck!

Thanks Dubh - will look at that site now.