{"id":8904,"date":"2021-03-25T10:00:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=8904"},"modified":"2025-07-14T12:50:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T11:50:56","slug":"business-readiness-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/business-readiness-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you ready to be your own boss?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"position: relative;width: auto;padding: 0 0 56.25%;height: 0;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;border: 0 none\" id=\"experience-622880cdcc6ab\" data-aspectratio=\"1.77777778\" data-mobile-aspectratio=\"0.83333333\" data-tablet-aspectratio=\"0.75\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/view.ceros.com\/sage\/sage-accessible-quiz-20-6\" style=\"position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;bottom: 0;right: 0;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: 0 none;height: 100%;width: 100%\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"ceros-experience\" title=\"Sage Accessible Quiz\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<noscript>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-business-readiness-tool-find-out-how-prepared-you-are-to-launch-a-business-in-2-minutes\">Business readiness tool<br>Find out how prepared you are to launch a business in 2 minutes<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The BIG question:<\/strong> Where do <u>you<\/u> see yourself in 5 years\u2019 time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are you running an awesome creative freelance business with clients around the world?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Perhaps you\u2019re opening up your cosy caf\u00e9 for the day \u2013 and welcoming the regulars in for their morning cappu-frappa-latte-ccino.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Or maybe you\u2019re the CEO of a successful cleaning firm, providing jobs for hundreds of employees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever your dream, being your own boss is liberating, empowering and exciting \u2013 not to mention financially rewarding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But quitting the safety of a steady job and working for yourself is a big step. So, our business readiness tool helps you figure out whether you have the means the and the mindset to get started<br>today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if not, what you need to do to turn that dream into a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smeloans.co.uk\/blog\/64-percent-of-britains-workforce-want-to-start-a-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>64%<\/strong> Of the UK workforce says they\u2019d love to set up their own business one day<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-woah-there-cowboy-before-you-make-the-leap\">Woah there, cowboy! Before you make the leap\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, we don\u2019t want to go all negative on your dreams, but there <em>are<\/em> risks in starting up a company. You\u2019ll be investing a lot of time, money and energy into the enterprise.<br>You don\u2019t want that to go to waste!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news is that this is all very doable. With a bit of planning and preparation, anyone with ambition can start a successful firm \u2013 and that includes you! We\u2019ve got plenty of<br>tools to help you on your way, including our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accounting-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">business cloud accounting<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accounting-software\/invoicing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invoicing software.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s useful to check in with yourself and see how prepared you are for the different sides of running a company. And that\u2019s what our tool helps you to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smallbusiness.co.uk\/one-in-five-brits-say-they-want-to-start-a-business-in-2021-2551923\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>1 in 10<\/strong> Brits are actively planning to start a business in 2021<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-simple-survey\">A simple survey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our tool asks you a handful of questions to work out how ready you are to become your own boss:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Financial readiness<\/strong>: Do you have enough wonga to work for yourself, are you comfortable with concepts like cashflow, and do you pay attention to pricing?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Administrative readiness<\/strong>: Are you a spreadsheet supremo? Do you find time management tricky? Is compliance a cinch for you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mindset readiness<\/strong>: Starting a business is a big commitment, so we\u2019re also looking to find out where your head\u2019s at. Are you willing to make the sacrifice that<br>launching a business involves? And do you have people who\u2019ve got your back?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It takes just two minutes to complete!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Try it now<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-you-get\">What you get<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on what you tell us, the tool generates a personalised description of your business readiness. You\u2019ll then see links to articles that are tailored to your profile, providing tips for<br>taking your dream to the next stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-good-to-know\">Good to know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019d love to get to know you, but we\u2019re not going to ask for your email address, place of birth or what you had for breakfast to see your answers. Try the tool with no strings<br>attached!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-but-in-five-years-time\">You\u2013 but in five years\u2019 time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every journey begins with a first step. So, start your entrepreneurial adventure today with our business readiness tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Start now<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/noscript>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/business-costs\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusiness costs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/business-finances\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusiness finances\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/create-business-plan\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCreating a business plan\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/finance\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfinance\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/start-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/startup-stories\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStartup stories\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-1035 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-create-business-plan tag-start-business business_type-small-business card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Yogardener_9A2A2241.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Yogardener_9A2A2241-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Yogardener_9A2A2241-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Yogardener_9A2A2241.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-03T14:50:20+01:00\">3 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">12 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-develop-a-business-plan-for-self-employment\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tHow to develop a business plan for self-employment\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tA solid business plan can be the difference between self-employment that thrives and one that stalls. 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business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-income-tax-needs-to-know\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Checking products to sell to customers\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1413633547-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-31T10:20:19+01:00\">31 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">9 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\t6 things you need to know about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-10211 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accountant-accounting tag-accountant-tax tag-accountants-online-hub-gb tag-business-finances tag-mtd-accountants tag-mtd-business tag-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax tag-making-tax-digital-for-vat tag-need-to-know tag-tax tag-vat business_type-small-business business_type-accountants\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/hmrc-penalty-making-tax-digital\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1267191201_updated-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-31T09:06:37+01:00\">31 July, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax penalties: HMRC&#8217;s new systems explained\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Business readiness toolFind out how prepared you are to launch a business in 2 minutes The BIG question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years\u2019 time? Whatever your dream, being your own boss is liberating, empowering and exciting \u2013 not to mention financially rewarding! But quitting the safety of a steady job and working [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":346,"featured_media":8932,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-ceros-immersive.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6,114],"tags":[197,135,13,164,12,144],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[73,75],"imagine_tag":[254,109],"coauthors":[353],"class_list":["post-8904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","category-money-matters","category-trends-insights","tag-business-costs","tag-business-finances","tag-create-business-plan","tag-finance","tag-start-business","tag-startup-stories","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Stacey McIntosh","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2001\/03\/featured-image.jpg","imagine_tags":{"254":"Business reporting","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}