Question - Muppets guide to his first business.

[Russell?]

Well as you may have gathered from the title, I am yet another one of those hopeful muppets looking into starting a business.

No, I am not yet registered or anything, so I really am just dipping my toes in here to see what's up with it..

I have spent the past few months thinking about it and have come to no real conclusion other than that I am clueless.

Anyway, my idea so far is; A soft drinks shop (very small, specialising in energy drinks/supplements.) I have been keeping an eye out for empty spaces and seeing as I really only need something very small I imagine the rent won't be out of this world.

However sourcing goods has proven to be very difficult, but i'm sure I can work that out eventually.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Or do I need a knock in the head with a spanner?:rolleyes:

[ThePerfectOffice]

Save your time and money. It's not unique enough. Find something you really believe in and make a solid business out of it - not the other way around.

[Russell?]

That's it though! I do believe in it, there is really a chance for it to lift off, I know it may not sound as such though.

[davidshaw89]

I would have thought sourcing goods would have been the least of your worries.

Attend trade fairs - you will find your suppliers here.

Took me a few minutes to produce this:
Go Fast order page - http://www.gofastsports.co.uk/#32, (click on 'go fast energy drink')

and an e-mail address is also available on the page, which I am sure you could inquire into reduced pricing.

I would also suggest businesslink for information on company formation, tax, legal info etc.

Regards,

[Russell?]

Thank you, indeed there is much I have to look into, but for that I am willing to set aside the nessecary time.

[ThePerfectOffice]

Please explain the 'chance' for it take off. Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? What can you supply that supermarkets or Holland and Barrett can't? What's your USP?

[J.D. Landscaping]

Loads of hassle for not a lot of money i would have thought mate, as the poster above says, look for something else.

[Russell?]

Yeap ok it's doomed from the start, thanks for your time.

[ThePerfectOffice]

Russell, don't be disheartened. We all want to have a great idea that brings wealth and happiness but reality has to bite sometimes. The fact that you want to branch out and do something is a positive. Just find the right thing to do but limit it's failure to a minimum. I've had some great ideas in the past - but with hindsight they could have possibly bankrupted me. What are you doing at the moment? Can you use any of your current experience to potentially explore other avenues?

[J.D. Landscaping]

There are plenty of opportunities out there mate, just make sure you hit on the right one, look through these forums and see what other people are doing and do it better.

[solubility]

Russel stay with it because this is how it works. You come up with an idea then we clobber it, soon you will be able to clobber these ideas properly yourself, but one of these days a clobbered idea will refuse to stay down and get back up. These are the ones that stand a chance.

[Russell?]

That's just it though, I have no experience to give me a kickstart, no contacts to give me a helping hand, to be honest I think my biggest worry right now is researching the ideas, I never knew individuals had so many ideas, so i've learnt something already, I thought when someone hoping to start a business got 'clobbered down' only the once..

[movietub]

Anyway, my idea so far is; A soft drinks shop (very small, specialising in energy drinks/supplements.) I have been keeping an eye out for empty spaces and seeing as I really only need something very small I imagine the rent won't be out of this world.


I have to ask why that idea? Why not any other?

I ask because you are the third person on this forum in as many weeks to announce they want to start a trendy soft drinks type bar/stall :|

Seriously why drinks everytime?


But regards your idea, before moving forwards to tackle the issues of actually getting setup - can you afford to do this if it fails?

I'm interested because while there is no evidence yet that you have a real plan if you do want to work for yourself and if you want to do soft drinks and if you can afford to take a small risk then running a simple little business like this is probably the best way to learn.

But first of all - why soft drinks? Why not import pencils or wash cars? :)

[solubility]

The guys on dragons den are harsh because most of the mistakes they highlight in others- is this a hobby or a business- it's not scaleable- without a 35% return on investment it's a none starter-
..Mainly because they have made most of these mistakes themselves. If you get into an explosively profitable business at the right time even an idiot can make money.
Unless you have a very good original idea retail and manufacturing are dead. The service industry is the best place to look.

[movietub]

I would have thought sourcing goods would have been the least of your worries.

Attend trade fairs - you will find your suppliers here.

Took me a few minutes to produce this:
Go Fast order page - http://www.gofastsports.co.uk/#32, (click on 'go fast energy drink')

and an e-mail address is also available on the page, which I am sure you could inquire into reduced pricing.

I would also suggest businesslink for information on company formation, tax, legal info etc.

Regards,

Very kind to search on someone elses behalf!

I thought it worth a mention there is another member on here who is 'probably' about to start importing a new energy drink and I'm sure he would beat that £1 per can price. He is also on the lookout for exposure of his product so now would be a good time to introduce yourself!

But still not before you have explained why soft drinks to all of us ;)

[Russell?]

I guess because I see a gap of sorts, I myself am a keen drinker, who isn't right? But when I want something different, an energy drink, or something with a new flavour, I have to pay insane prices to get a few cans from america or elsewhere, and it bugs me.

[movietub]

I guess because I see a gap of sorts, I myself am a keen drinker, who isn't right? But when I want something different, an energy drink, or something with a new flavour, I have to pay insane prices to get a few cans from america or elsewhere, and it bugs me.

I have two american friends who used to import Ruthless energy drink through a American Inhabited airbase near me. Their Dad used to work there and to be honest they ended up with a few friends who would take the odd crate.

So the ideas not completely devoid of reason. The problem is people will take a long time to work out what your selling. For example if I want a coffee whilst in town I assume that I will quickly find a coffee shop as I expect there to be one. I know what one looks like from a distance in fact.

With energy drinks being in the right place is everything - What you need is reliable source of knackered people.

Thats why energy drinks sell well in petrol stations - we drive, it is boring, we are falling asleep.

If I'm honest energy drinks are way to specialised for almost any other location that does not already have a decent stock of RB and Lucozade. I can't see a way to make this work. And when I say that I mean that even if I was going to set such a business up and my life depended upon running it to profit I don't think I could. There is no way I could get enough people to pass my drinks stand to register to a high enough volume of people who may actually want an energy drink at that time without paying for a town centre spot which I would not be able to afford from the proceeds.

I would seriously suggest you speak to the guy looking into importing soft drinks and try and work out a way you can involve yourself without costing him anything but making it possible to earn some money yourself (the basis of good netwwroking that is ;))

You could learn a great deal about the industry you have chosen to start up in.

I won't give you his username - if your good enough to sell soft drinks you will work out how to find him...

[Russell?]

I appreciate your response, quite enlightening I must say. All true and to a certain extent obvious, so 'doh..' on my side.

[movietub]

I appreciate your response, quite enlightening I must say. All true and to a certain extent obvious, so 'doh..' on my side.

Nah not Doh mate, this idea is probably a great big non starter. But the main thing is you found the right forum and asked the right question. In my opinion that puts you straight into the top 1% most likely to start a succesful enterprise at some point. The other 99% don't even get round to asking.

You were half right, you are passionate about the product. You need to find something you are passionate about and will be naturally suited to you- what are you good at? That and keep asking questions.

Also next time aiming for a market which isn't already catered for and dominated by a single global brand such as RB would make life a tad easier.

[Russell?]

I truly am glad I came here, mistakes that I failed to see pointed out for me but with useful tips as a side order.

And I think I cracked your code, as in who it was importing the drinks. =P

[movietub]

I truly am glad I came here, mistakes that I failed to see pointed out for me but with useful tips as a side order.

And I think I cracked your code, as in who it was importing the drinks. =P

Hey everyone! We found one that listens at last! Quick - give him all your advice and opinions :)


Seriously the attitude is 5 star, please keep going and don't miss any opportunities. We all get opportunities. Everyone. Just work out what you can do, what you are in a position to do, better than anyone else.

Very best of luck.

[L Patmore]

Hey all,

I have been reading this advice and think it's all really good. I'm lucky that I had this sort of advice when I was approached to go freelance by taking on a few projects for someone I worked with in the big corporate world as well as being able to consider this guy as a friend.

The one main thing that really helped me get started wasn't only the idea. But the advice of a site named Freelance Advisor (freelanceadvisor .co.uk) With out this site I would of made some really bad working choices in how I handled things in working life.

Hopefully this site will help Russell? and be able to help a few others. I know I dont reply much on here, But I am a keen reader of the posts and advice and this has also helped me to no end.

Thanks, & good luck Russell? in what ever you choose

[Bruce_Andrews]

Hi Russell
You do have contacts - you just don't know about them all.
So, in no particular order:
1) you have as many contacts as you need on here - I'll happily talk on the phone!
2) you have a local papershop, privately run - get down there mid morning, or whenever it's quiet, and have a chat - many shopkeepers will welcome an intelectual conversation.
3) Contact your local Business Link - www.businesslink.gov.uk - they're only too happy to come out and talk to you - generally at a time to suit you. They'll also give you a list of your local networking events.
4) Contact the FSB - www.fsb.org.uk - they'll also come and talk to you.
5) Local Garage, Mechanic, Window Cleaner, etc. - they'll all talk the hind leg off a donkey (or is that just around here?)
6) Search the great interweb for "business network" and your town name - many have free membership (www.daventrybreakfastclub.co.uk) and all the decent membership ones will let you go along for free (or the cost of breakfast) at least twice.
7) You're a student?
Your college will have links with the local business community - milk it!
8) Local council - will probably have some sort of enterprise/start up scheme
9) Chamber of Commerce
and most of the above have links to more free advice than you can ever read, so you learn to be selective in the advice you take.

And why start with a shop?
- from what a few others have said, a delivery/van service to your local gym, leisure centre, etc. might work as a start up.
Spend the first months rent on marketing - your local quick copy shop will be only to happy to help, and most are run as a franchise - i.e. just the local business contact you need.
And if you need storage, ask on here!
You'll get a cheaper rent than any shop, and another contact!

But first task?
Market research (otherwise known as networking)

Don't worry too much about being unique - a lot of successful business thrive on top quality service - (look at a certain dragon in the office products world!)

Oh yes, don't forget to Have Fun!

[kerching]

I registered with Business link a couple of days ago and today arrived a welcome pack with a lot of useful info.

[Michelle Bray]

Russell why don't you contact the Franchise Association - they have many good brands looking for franchisees in the catering fields (especially US brands wanting to break into the UK market) - they would I am sure be able to help with financing the set up, training and marketing - but as with other advice, pls do some indepth research about franchising and the companies you might be interested in.
rgds Michelle

[Julie]

Russell, if you go to our website there's a free pdf we produced called 'Before You Begin'. It takes you through all the things you need to think about before you spend any money! We cover the business idea itself, checking out the competition, thinking about pricing and your own personal survival budget. You are welcome to download it at our 'Free stuff' page (http://www.essential-business.co.uk/whats_new.html).

Good luck,
Julie

[MikeD08]

Such great reponses to the OP - and not one disparaging remark.

This is the way UKBF should be. All posters on this thread should be proud of themselves.

[lex]

Maybe you can still sell soft drinks, but why bother opening your own shop when there are lots of bars, shops & other outlets who could maybe sell them for you?

Why not find some products that arent available in your area, or maybe even in the UK (since you like importing new drinks from the US) and see if any bars etc would be interested in stocking them.

Find a few bars, setup a trial, give it some promotion and see if it takes off.

Of course you dont have to import from america, there are probably alot of drinks that have been produced and are waiting to take off. You just need to find out what they are, find drinks manufacturers see if they have any new products waiting to be sold and talk them.

(Thinking about it, this seems like a good idea - looks into drinks manufacturers)

[Russell?]

Well well well, coming back to this thread over a year later although I havn't 'kicked off' yet, I can happily and truthfully say I have spent my time wisely, I have firstly taken each reply on this forum very seriously and through the advice given here I have found a grounds and a means to begin researching. Through my researching I have not only upped my knowledge but found useful contacts also.

Really, what I should have already said, and as another user has indeed said, this thread impresses me, genuine people willing to give their time and knowledge for the sake of somebody else, it's a credit to the site and the reason it won't be leaving my bookmarks in the forseeable future.

Thanks.

[vvaannmmaann]

So no drinks shop then?

[joyrasmus]

Just to quote from "Blooming Business: Seeds of Wisdom" a book of quotes from over 70 entrepreneurs in answering the question "As an entrepreneur, what do you know now that you wish you had known then"

"If I had known that listening is twice as important
as talking I would be farther along. For it is in
listening that you learn about the customer and
their needs... and that comes in very handy when
servicing the customer! Network Marketing is the
best! Especially if you have a great product that
many people need/want. I do regret that I did not
take the step sooner." R Kim Hall

I wish I had realised about a decade earlier
that I could make it on my own, personally and
professionally - and that I had listened to my gut
every time that issue came up. Diana Jordan

You have to stop listening to everyone’s advice
(even if it’s a family member who might be trying
to protect you). You may be disappointed if you
fail, but you’re doomed if you don’t try. Anon

I am not saying go for it with your eyes shut - but be selective and listen to your own heart to - a good business can be made from and acorn of an idea - just suss out what marketing is first and focus on this to make your dream a reality.

all the best
Joy

[The Man]

True

How many people would advise a 15 year old to drop out of school and start up a student magazine?

Good job Sir Richard Branson listens to his gut feeling.