start a buisness or not

[sussexrob]

Hi All

I posted the other day regarding starting a business. Im a fulltime PC engineer who has lost interest in fixing pc's a good while back

Affiliate marketing at the moment but its not a industry that can be relyed on due to relying on the merchants

In my shoes, would you look to start a proper company in the field i enjoy marketing. I realise a fully fledged business is hard work, thats fine with me.

Anyones views would be great from you all who have gone from employed to self employed

Cheers

Rob

[quikshop]

Hi Rob,

That's a big YES!!

Even if its a business of your own you can build up slowly over time whilst working a full time job, I can't think of a single good reason not to try.

As long as you are sensible with your money and only invest what you can reasonably afford to lose if your business has no legs, at the very worst you can say at least you tried.

Talk to your local business link (free business advice), research your chosen market and competitors and make a start.

Good luck!

[obscure]

Yes, assuming it is an industry you actually know something about.

[sysops]

Draw up a business plan, with some reasonable, well informed projections for turnover and profit. Be realistic with the numbers - base them on real-life data, not wishful thinking.

If the numbers add up, and you genuinely think that (based on the data) you can make a good go of it, go for it. If not, don't.

Spending a few weeks researching at this stage could save you not only money but a huge amount of wasted time.

[sussexrob]

Cheers Everyone

Good to hear positive feedback

Will definatly look into a business plan. Ive heard all sorts of disaster stories of people who didnt and they went wrong

very much appreciated

Rob

[sysops]

Will definatly look into a business plan. Ive heard all sorts of disaster stories of people who didnt and they went wrong

Just make sure you use your business plan to make decisions, rather than writing a business plan which justifies the business. This is your opportunity to carefully evaluate your ideas, and assess their viability. You are writing for yourself, not for anyone else.

[sussexrob]

Do you have any recommended websites which have them. I guess there are alot about but its knowing what is right and wrong as so much of the info onthe net can be wrong

Rob

[sysops]

I'd steer well clear of template business plans - they are aimed at people applying for bank loans and the like.

Start with a blank sheet of paper, and write down what your business will sell, how much you will sell it for, how much will you make on a sale, what your costs will be etc.

Figure out how many sales a month you need to break even on your costs. Figure out how much traffic you need to get those sales, and how you'd achieve that traffic.

Be realistic with your figures.

The numbers you need to fill in the gaps are generally speaking readily available if you do your research. You should know enough about the market you wish to enter to fill in the rest.

[sussexrob]

Excellent

Always good to hear it from someone else instead of thinking thats what to do and its wrong

You are a star!!

Rob