New Research Reveals Cost of Opening A Business in Brighton: £6,000

But retail businesses can expect to see an outlay of £150K in the first year, while tech start-ups need around £380K to get going.

New research, carried out exclusively by business comparison site Quotemyenergy, has revealed the average outlay for starting up your own business in Brighton over the first year.

From Business to Business

No two companies are the same, but different types of business influence what likely first year outlays could be. From the most budget friendly to the businesses you’ll need to scrimp to set up, the most popular dream gigs and their costs were found to be:

- Solopreneurs - £6K outlay for the first year:

‘Solopreneurs’, or those going it properly alone, have it the cheapest, with an estimated first year outlay of £6K. With office rental coming at around £3.5K for a seat in a co-working space such as the Skiff, or less for savvy entrepreneurs, the biggest expenses a solopreneur will need to budget for in their first year will likely be company set-up, insurance and building a website to advertise their services - a must in today’s market!

- Retailers - £150K outlay for the first year:

Owning a retail business, from grocery store to boutique fashion store, is a popular dream in the UK, but those backing themselves to get into this line of work should be aware they’ll likely need some start up capital, as setting up a retail business in Brighton costs around £150K. Renting retail premises and storage space can cost anywhere upwards from £37K, while buying your store space can be a six figure sum if you're looking at the world famous Laines. Stock, tills and employees are also expenses prospective retailers will need to factor in, including the hidden cost of employees’ NI payments and insurance.

- Tech Entrepreneurs - £380K outlay for the first year:

There’s a lot of money to be made in tech today - but anyone looking to make some in Brighton, may need to spend it first. Office rentals for even a small team could account for up to 50% of that estimated budget, while employee salaries, insurance and equipment are another huge budgetary consideration. However, tech-savvy entrepreneurs may be able to save money by building their own websites!

Business Budgeting

Unless you’re a solopreneur going it alone from the comfort of your own home, office premises are likely to be your biggest first year expense, with prices starting at £3K for one year-round co-working space. Employees are likely to be the second biggest drain on your purse strings, with basic salaries also added to with NI considerations, employee insurance, potential recruiter fees, and equipment for your new team. Just registering your business alone is also likely to pump up the cost, with an estimated cost of £340.37 just to get your business up and running.

Build Your Own Business Plan

Quotemyenergy noticed that there was a real demand for a business calculator, but ones that existed online simply allowed prospective business owners to add in the costs for every aspect of starting their business manually. This was not helpful for those who do not know how much it costs to register a business or set up an office.

This new tool collates data from government, business and retail sources to provide an estimate of how much investment may be needed over the first year of setting up your dream business - whether it’s a small coffee shop or a tech giant.

Whatever your dream or budget, you can find out for free how much it would cost to set up your dream business in Brighton using the calculator here.