Small business guides
for Blackpool and the Fylde coast

All business guides

Why we wrote these guides

Most people who message us about a unit are not property experts. They are makers, repairers, online sellers and tradespeople who have outgrown a spare room or a garage. The questions they ask are rarely about square feet. They want to know whether they will pay business rates, whether they need insurance, how to get on Google Maps, or whether to set up as a sole trader first.

These guides answer those questions in one place. They are written for small, local businesses, not corporations, and they try to be honest about what is simple and what needs proper advice. Where a rule applies, we link to GOV.UK, HSE, HMRC, Companies House or Blackpool Council so you can check the current position yourself.

Getting started and getting set up

If you are at the very beginning, start here. These guides walk through the first decisions and the paperwork that follows.

• How to start a business in Blackpool: a step-by-step route from idea to first customer, including registering with HMRC and keeping records.
• Sole trader or limited company: the real differences in paperwork, liability and tax, and why many people start simple.
• Small business unit ideas: if you are still choosing what to do, see the kinds of businesses that work well from a small unit.

Choosing and using premises

Where you work shapes your costs, your hours and how customers see you. These guides help you weigh up the options and make the most of the space you pick.

• Moving your business out of home: the signs it is time, the costs to compare and a calm plan for the move itself.
• Business unit vs shop vs coworking: an honest comparison of the three most common next steps for a small business.
• How to set up a small workshop: layout, power, storage walls and dust, for anyone making or fixing things.
• Working in a windowless unit: lighting, air, breaks and the small habits that make an enclosed space comfortable.

Money, rules and protection

These are the topics people worry about most, and the ones where a little knowledge goes a long way. Each guide explains the basics and points you to the official source.

• Business rates for small units: what rateable value means, how Small Business Rate Relief works and who to ask.
• Small business insurance guide: the covers small firms commonly consider, and the one that is compulsory once you employ people.
• Health and safety in a small unit: risk assessments, fire safety, electrics and working alone, scaled to a one or two person business.

Finding customers

A unit is only useful if people can find you. These guides cover being visible online and selling face to face around town.

• Google Business Profile address guide: how to list a unit address properly so you show up in local searches without breaking Google's rules.
• Selling at Blackpool markets: how market trading works, what the council licenses and how to store your stall kit between events.
• Running a seasonal business in Blackpool: planning around the visitor season and the Illuminations, and getting through the quiet months.

How to use these guides

Read them in any order. Each one stands on its own, and they link to each other where a topic overlaps. If you only have ten minutes, these three cover the most ground:

1. Get the structure rightDecide how you will trade and register with HMRC in good time. The sole trader guide explains the choice.
2. Know your running costsAdd rent, electricity, insurance and any business rates together before you commit to premises. The rates guide explains what to ask.
3. Make yourself findableOnce you have an address, set up your Google Business Profile properly so local customers can find you.

The guides are general. They will not replace an accountant, an insurance broker or a solicitor when your situation is unusual, but they should help you ask those people better questions.

Where The Rock Factory fits in

We let small ground-floor units on Keswick Road, off Park Road, in Blackpool. They range from a 150 sq ft roller-shutter unit at £65 a week to a 300 sq ft two-storey unit with an upstairs room at £130 a week. Lighting, electricity and Wi-Fi are already connected, there is 24-hour access, and terms are rolling monthly with one month's notice, so you are not locked into a long lease while you find your feet.

You can compare all the units side by side, read our rental terms in full, or see how makers and repairers use our workshop units. Two small offices are being refurbished for January 2027, and first-floor storage pods are planned for spring 2027 at guide prices.

Before you act on this

Everything in these guides is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules, thresholds and fees change, often at the start of a new tax year in April, so always check the official guidance linked from each page, or speak to a qualified adviser, before you make a decision that depends on it.

If something on these pages looks out of date, please tell us and we will put it right.

Questions

Sources and official guidance

• Working for yourself (GOV.UK)
• Small Business Rate Relief (GOV.UK)
• Employers' liability insurance (GOV.UK)
• Health and safety made simple (HSE)
• Business rates explained (Blackpool Council)

Prices are subject to availability. Minimum rental term: one month, then one month’s notice to leave. Electricity usage is charged separately at the supplier rate, with no markup. Business use needs prior approval. Car storage is not permitted.