sole trader

[cherryelm]

Advice needed please. My daughter started a business as a sole trader last december. She has a 3 year lease with a quarterly rent of £2500 we have paid the 1st 2 rent payments to give her a start. Business was slow at first but is now starting to pick up and she felt like she would be able to pay her rent when it comes due in may.She paid her business rates from december to march and has today received her annual business rates bill and it is £515 per month she has been told she cannot get any relief on this and is so upset as she cannot afford this. She is talking about paying off her suppliers and ending the business but i feel she needs to have more of a chance. We can afford to help her for a little while longer but we are not a bottomless pit. She can afford to pay her suppliers and any debts, she has no income or assets. Her only worry is her lease can anyone offer advice thank you

[tamborine]

Is this council tax charge ? There is 25% discount for sole occupation of premises you could exploit.

[mccfluffy]

She can contact the council and get then out to reassess the premises, we've done this with.some of our properies and managed to get the amount reduced.
Single petson discount applies to homes not business

With the lease, i doubt it on a 3 year one but is there a break clause?

[tamborine]

Some business premises have storage space that could be converted to living space, ie attics.

[NOX]

Certainly our council offers 100% relief for small businesses with a rateable value under a certian amount. Tell her to go in and speak to an advisor, they know best what's available to help her in her area.

[Skyline D]

All good advice so far but I'm finding it hard to believe she started a business without any concept of how much rent and rates would cost her. Are you saying £515 per month for this year is significantly more than the monthly cost from December to March? If so then you need to find out why that is and address it. If not then I don't quite see why this has come as a surprise and is suddenly something that can't be afforded?

[resourcenation]

There are difficulties associated with [url=http://www.business.com/startup/starting
-a-small-business/]starting
a small business] and most of it can be related to finances. Usually it requires time and ample investment to be able to deal with its demands and enjoy your return of investment. With the right strategies and enough patience, your daughter will soon be in the right track.