Having started your electronics business by doing a bit of trading on Ebay, you now want to be legitimate. In the last post, we discussed raising finance and the aversion of the banks to startups, electronics and risk (except complex financial instruments they don’t understand of course). Having raised money somehow, what other obstacles will the UK government and its bureaucratic allies in Brussels put in your way?
First there is the regulation that applies to all business, some EU inspired and some completely home grown. Regulation is necessary, to protect employees, the public and the environment, but governments seem really good at over-elaborating it. These are some of the most common that you should deal with.
- Employment
Because the way employment tribunals now work, you must have an employment contract and policy in place covering every topic from grievances to holidays or you will lose any case. You either need to pay £500 or so to a consultant or do lots of research to produce your own or borrow one to change. - Health and Safety
Without a Health and Safety policy and associated Risk Assessments for every machine or process, if anything at all goes wrong, the authorities will come down on you like a ton of bricks. The result could easily be a huge fine or prison, so you need to examine everything about your business and create a policy for it. Produce a fire risk assessment as well to be on the safe side. - Data Protection
You need to register under the Data Protection Act and give them a fee. Hopefully, your business fits one of their standard models so it isn’t time consuming. - Credit Card Security
If you take credit cards by phone or post (MOTO), you will need to fill in a security questioniare and protect all credit card data, which basically means do not store this data on a computer or you will need a degree in network security to fill in the form - Insurance
If you employ anyone, you must have Employers Liability Insurance in place. Other insurance, like product liability, is optional and really depends on what you are selling and to whom. - Other
If you intend to start your business from home, be careful about your local authorities planning policies and what they will let you do without extra planning consent. Also make sure your home insurance policy covers business equipment or stock
There are plenty more regulations in the government arsenal, including Distance Selling Regulations that cover Internet trading, or environmental protection that you might need to know about. If you are intending to make PCBs for example or use some other messy process, these could easily bite you.
What about regulations that are specific to electronics companies?