I'm NEW and LOST

[Ice_phoenix1]

Hello there,

I'm 19 and I've finished school and my burning incentive is get a business and get making lots of money. I passed my 3 a levels and I think I've got what it takes, but at the moment I'm really confused as to what it is i should do?!?!

I went to enquire at jobs at business eye, which is a welsh business grant scheme for young entrepreneurs. I got pages and pages of text about specific jobs like, import agent, internet trading, and but no real guidance.

I was wondering if anybody who has a business could give me any useful advice, as I seriously need it. Thanks for reading.

Dan.

[MinuWeb]

The first thing you need to decide is what type of business you want to have, this should be something that you would enjoy doing. Unfortunately this type of decision is quite personal and only you can decide......

[creative-keyrings]

I agree with vshosting, you have to do something you enjoy. Although i would seriousley reccomend thinking about a unique idea that would capture peoples imagination, a pure example of this is Alex Tew who created www.milliondollarhomepage.com and simply came up with this simple idea of advertsing peoples websites via pixels!

If you have the right mind to succeed you will go all the way with whatever you may venture into, and i myself wish you the best of luck for the future.

Warm Regards,

Callum Slade

[clairemackaness]

get in touch with the princes trust or go to your local connxions centre for some advice

[SillyJokes]

Visit another town like yours in another part of the country or even world and visit some businesses run by people like yourself. It may give you some ideas you can repeat in your town.

Maybe the princes trust can give you the contacts to do this.

I'm afraid we can't give you a surefire business idea for you to pick up and run with. You will find something though, if you are motivated and good luck.

[MarkPearson]

You need to find yourself a new and unique business idea.

Read as many business forums, news, groups as you can - it helps if your business is something you really enjoy

[Steve Roberts]

Hi Dan,

The first question you have to ask yourself is "what does the market want / need?"

Nowadays, my company is making very decent profits by buying companies, improving them and then selling them for considerably more than I pay for them (about 1 per week). I currently employ 80 staff and make over 30% operating profit. However, I started off just like you - keen and energetic. When I was at school I'd buy a bag of 20 sweets for 10p and sell each sweet for 1p, making a 100% profit!

I realise on this web-site that I may be unpopular when I say that if you want to make big money, statistically it's more likely if you avoid the 'glamour' sectors (internet, new inventions, etc). Focus on the unglamorous. For example, a friend of mine is a multi-millionnaire who made his money, as follows:

1. He knocked on a few office doors offering to do nightly cleaning.
2. He eventually got 2 customers, which kept him busy (cleaning toilets, hoovering, etc) for four hours a night.
3. He did a "cracking job" making each room spotless.
4. After a while he developed an excellent reputation and got a few referrals.
5. He couldn't cope with the work so he employed someone to help him.
6. He then employed a couple more people as his business grew.
7. By now he didn't do any cleaning but he personally inspected every room that was cleaned by his staff.
8. The company grew reasonably quickly and he eventually sold it for a large sum of money.

The advantages of the above type approach is:

a. No initial overheads are needed (bar a mop and a hoover, etc)
b. Unlike, for example, the internet, there were very few other entrepreneurs in that sector. Competitors that were in it, rarely offered the same level of quality.

As mentioned above, I buy and sell companies on a weekly basis and over the years I've made the observation that it's often the "boring" companies that make the most money.

[Martin MGA]

First thing you need to establish is what skills do you actually have and how can you impliment them into a business. Theres no point in starting a web design company if you can't build a website!

Also consider if there a market for your business.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

I am 24 and I run my own business (www.mkprinting.co.uk) and I wish I had started it 6 years ago instead of going to uni, ah well. You need to investigate your own skills and then sort out the stuff you like doing and the stuff you don’t like doing.

For example I run a printing company yet I am not a designer and I don’t like book keeping. My strengths lie in networking and turning quotes into sales. I have a fulltime designer that I pay per job, we have also invested heavily in the online design area. My friend is a chartered accountant so he does my books for a small fee. This allows me to concentrate on working the business and not working in the business.

It sounds stupid but I find having no actual skills at all is my greatest advantage. If I was a good designer I would get stuck with doing the designing work. My advice is to pay professionals and to sub contract the work, you can then concentrate on marketing your business. I believe that is what an entrepreneur is, just a good marketer.

When you do decide on what you want to do give me a call on 0161 2485474 and I will do you a great deal on your business cards and flyers etc. I will give you an offer that is not available on the website. Also if you want to chat at anytime about your business feel free to give me a bell.

Matt

[Argentice]

Matt,

I don't know if it's just me, but your website appears to be down.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

It is down at the moment due to server issues grrrrrr.

There is little I can do about it at the moment, 2300 websites have been effected but this issue. We are working on it constantly and it will be back up again ASAP.

Please visit the website again later, it really is worth it ;)

Matt

[sparklyscotty]

Hi Dan,
I agree with everything said above. Key things for a business owner to know is WHY you want to have your own business. For me, it is not the money... it's the freedom, flexibility and spending my days doing something I love.
But there are plenty of entrepreneuers who DO want to do it for the money.
Knowing exactly what you want to gain will help you decided what you want to do.
Ask yourself, how much money do you want to make? How many hours a day do you want to work? Do you want to work from home or office? Do you want to travel?
Running your own business is a HARD slog, and the first year or two are usually the hardest. So be prepared.
Saying that, you've found a good source of help in this forum, there are many many helpful people here.
Good luck!
-ANgel-