New business venture (advice wanted)

[recoba]

Greetings

I am proficient in VBA and have made a multitude of tools that are used by colleagues at my workplsce. The complex form applications I have made using Excel/Word/Outlook etc have been very well received.

I feel I could offer these tools to other companies on a freelance basis. I also built websites, and am proficient in Flash/Photoshop.

I apologise if this seems slightly naive - but how would I start? I live in the UK.
Would I need to just book a few ads in the local papers and wait for the phone to ring?
Would I need to speak with my bank manager with a business plan?

Any advice, anything at all that you can provide, I would be very grateful.

Cheers, looking forward to hearing your suggestions

[Ancient Dragon]

I'd start by googling for "freelance programming"

[LEwen]

Connect with businesses that sell/support hardware. Frequently they are asked to supply programming assistance and they would then recommend you.

[jayreis]

From your post it is not clear if its a specific software system you programmed you want to sell or that you want to be a freelance programmer (or both).

Either way you need should setup a website with your contact information and also include a bit about yourself what languages you know (front end, back end) also display a portfolio of scripts you have made even if they where personal scripts you created for fun/hobby its just to show your skills.

Then make some business cards and flyers and get out and start networking with potential clients.

There is no magic or secret to how to start a business it really all just starts with you getting out and telling the world you are available to be hired and also why someone would want to hire you as a programmer.