UK business support before buying from China
Start with GOV.UK’s Get help and support for your business page and choose the route for your UK nation. Prepare your location, trading stage, customer idea, budget and questions about setting up before contacting an adviser. For the subsequent factory sourcing work, contact Cambridge China Bridge.
Start with business setup support
Find GOV.UK’s Get help and support for your business page using the source below. It lists free advice routes by UK nation. Tell the adviser that you intend to buy goods from China and explain whether you are exploring an idea, preparing to trade or already selling.
Ask for help testing the business model and deciding what to resolve before spending on stock. Keep factory selection for the buying stage: our sourcing overview explains that work without repeating the business setup conversation.
Choose the route for your UK nation
Use the relevant national entry on the GOV.UK page to reach the service below. Check its current contact details there before getting in touch.
Ask what support fits your postcode, sector and trading stage. For any suggested funding, ask about eligibility, application evidence, repayment where relevant and whether spending before approval would affect your application.
| Business location | Where to start | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| England | Business Support Service; local growth hub | Which local adviser or programme fits a business preparing to trade? |
| Scotland | Find Business Support Scotland | Which support fits my location and business idea? |
| Wales | Business Wales Helpline | Where should I take my business setup questions? |
| Northern Ireland | Business advice and support route; Invest Northern Ireland helpline | Which service should handle my startup and importing questions? |
Prepare a short adviser brief
Bring your intended business location, trading stage, proposed owners and any setup steps already taken. Describe the product, intended customer, sales channel and destination market. Explain why customers would choose it and what evidence you have, such as enquiries, trial sales or feedback. Mark assumptions clearly.
Prepare a draft business plan. GOV.UK describes this as covering objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts. Add your available funds, expected receipts and payments, storage plan and unresolved decisions. You do not need polished presentation slides to explain where you need help.
Show the cash gap before ordering
Bring any supplier quotes, but label estimates and missing costs. Map when money leaves for samples, tooling, goods, freight, testing, storage and delivery, and when customers might pay. Include returns and stock that may remain unsold. Ask the adviser to challenge your assumptions before treating an attractive factory price as a viable business.
Use our landed-price guide to organise buying costs and our working-capital guide to examine the funding gap. Ask who can advise on business structure, tax, insurance and product-specific compliance; record which questions need a specialist.
Leave with actions before approaching factories
Ask for a written action list: the decision to make, the person or service to contact, the information to supply and what must be resolved before committing money. Confirm whether the next step is another advice session, specialist advice or an application. Keep referrals and unanswered questions with your business plan.
Once the business case is clear, move to our first-order checklist for the buying process. Cambridge China Bridge can then work from your product brief, destination and purchasing plan, using its own staff in China for the sourcing work.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get official help to start a UK business?
Start with GOV.UK’s Get help and support for your business page, listed in the sources. Choose the entry for the UK nation where your business will be based.
Is official business advice free?
GOV.UK lists free advice by phone, email or webchat depending on your business location. Ask what any referral includes and whether further specialist work carries a charge.
What should I prepare before speaking to a business adviser?
Bring your location, trading stage, customer and product idea, draft business plan, available funds, cash-flow assumptions and unresolved questions. Label estimates rather than presenting them as confirmed costs.
Should I contact factories before setting up the business?
Exploratory quotes can help test your costs. Keep them provisional, and resolve the business model, funding gap and specialist questions before committing to stock or tooling.