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Grow your business through franchising
Find out how to grow your business through a franchise operation, and use franchise agreements to prevent common problems.
Intellectual property business help and support
Overview and contact details for organisations that can help and advise you on intellectual property queries.
Intellectual property health check
Find out how you can use the IPO's free IP Health Check tool to help protect your intellectual property assets.
Use intellectual property to grow your business
Ways you can use intellectual property (such as brands, patents and designs) to support the growth of your business.
Is your business ready for a joint venture?
How to carry out a SWOT analysis for a potential strategic partnership and assess if you are ready to enter a joint venture.
Joint venture advantages and disadvantages
Understand the pros and cons of forming a joint venture to share resources, responsibilities and risks with another business.
Plan your joint venture relationship
How to create a fair joint venture agreement, recognise what each partner will contribute and set the right objectives for your partnership.
Payback period
Using payback period to see how quickly an investment is repaid.
Non-financial factors for investment appraisal
Taking into account the broader non-financial factors of a potential investment.
Information that invoices must contain
A valid invoice must contain certain information which may include VAT number, company name, business name and address.
Invoicing and payment terms
How to devise payment terms and an invoicing system to maintain a healthy cashflow.
What is venture capital?
Overview of venture capital and how it can be used to finance a new business or grow an existing business.
Bank finance explained
Overview of the different types of bank finance and support available for businesses.
What is crowdfunding?
Overview of crowdfunding and how it can be used to finance a business.
Grants and government support for businesses
Grants and government support for people who would like to start a business in Northern Ireland.
What is equity finance?
Sources of equity finance for businesses, including shareholders, crowdfunding and the stock market.
Review your business plan
What is a business planning cycle, and how often should you review your business plan to update it and set new objectives.
Make your business plan a tool for growth (video)
Video tutorial on how to use a business plan to encourage and drive growth in your business.
Using a business model to improve your business (video)
Advice to help you become more competitive by using a clear business model as part of your business plan.
What are quality management standards?
Introduction to quality management standards, their purpose and examples you can implement in your business.