Since the economic crisis first took hold, self-employed young people have sharply risen in number in the UK, Startups.co.uk reports. However, be warned that, if you want to join them in forming a start-up business, there are various pitfalls that, if gone unheeded, could undermine your company's financial health. Here are some especially worthwhile tips for navigating choppy corporate waters.

Forming a start-up is always a risk - and, naturally, many other people who have done it have had their fingers burnt. However, that hasn't deterred them from brushing themselves off and endeavouring to learn from their mistakes. There are various ways in which you can learn the stories of such people - for example, by reading websites and books and meeting these people at events.

Once you have got seriously underway with doing this, you could be surprised by just how many errors are in the histories of businesspeople who are now thriving. These people are, thankfully, often willing to talk about their blunders and how they view them with hindsight.

Having a good idea of what not to do is a good start. Furthermore, you can keep that knowledge at hand as you write a long-term plan for your business. It's worth remembering that you might not always be able to translate an excellent business idea into a successful business; however, writing a business plan can help you to better evaluate whether, in your specific case, you actually can.

In writing this plan, you should set and specify realistic targets that your firm can work towards. You should also take account of all of the expenses of forming and sustaining the business. At this point, you might realise that you could financially benefit from offloading certain responsibilities. If those responsibilities include bookkeeping, locally-based accountants could handle that for you. For a company based in London, considering Akshar & Co's accountants in Harrow could be worthwhile.

Your company's name can, in itself, prove a surprisingly formidable promotional tool. This is provided that the name you choose is an appropriate one; you should opt for one which effectively summarises what your business is about and will be easy for your customers to remember.

You could reach a good choice of name through drawing four columns, headed 'Companies House', 'Trading as', 'Domain name' and 'Copyrighted'. You should then devise a list of possible names that are to your liking. Look carefully through this list in your search for a name that is available in all four of these respects. We mean, in other words, a name that is not: registered with Companies House, another company's trading name, already taken as a domain name, and copyrighted.

To do this, you could extensively use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. These have the twin benefits of being free to use while also providing access to a huge pool of potential customers for your business.