Search results
Exploring your ideas
How to innovate and develop your business ideas
Measure your financial performance
Use common financial performance measures, such as profit margins and accounting ratios, to review your business finances
Problems with growth: overtrading
Overtrading and lack of finance are common problems in a fast-growing business - here's how to overcome them
Commercialisation options for your invention
Three straightforward ways of getting your invention to market: manufacture and sell yourself, license it or collaborate with another business
Science parks
Support and benefits of science parks, including technology transfer and business incubation
Support for protecting your ideas
Get professional help from intellectual property advisers, a patent attorney or a trade mark attorney to protect your intellectual property in an invention
Find manufacturers to build a prototype
Sources of information on product designers and manufacturers who can help you develop your invention
Support for product safety and testing
How to arrange product safety assessment, and where to find testing laboratories, services and product certification in the UK
Support for developing your ideas
Where to get help to develop new product ideas if you're looking to manufacture, market, sell or license your inventions
Grow your business
Browse our key guidance to help you find growth funding in Northern Ireland, and learn how you can scale up your business and grow
Start a sales forecasts
How to use last year's sales as a starting point for your forecast of next year's sales to help manage your business more effectively.
Business growth and premises
As your business grows and takes in more staff, you may need to assess your options for larger business premises
Avoid problems during business growth
Common issues that businesses often face during growth, and tips for overcoming these difficulties through proper planning and management.
Business growth: market research
Use market research to drive business growth and innovation and to stay ahead of the competition
Business growth strategy and planning
Maximise the chances of business growth success by carefully planning your growth strategy
Business growth: developing skills
Developing effective leadership skills and making the most of other people's abilities can help you grow your business
IP rights: copyright
What is copyright, when does it apply, and how you can use it to protect your intellectual property
IP rights: trade marks
What are trade marks, and how to register trade marks to protect your brand, products or business
IP rights: designs
An overview of design as an intellectual property asset and advice on how to use unregistered and registered designs to secure your IP
IP rights: patents
What is a patent, how to apply for one, and how to use and enforce it to protect your business' intellectual property