14 Year Old Business Funding

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PhoneTrader1221

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Jul 30, 2010
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  • #1
    Hi,

    I am 14 years old and run a phone recycling website. I started it just over 18 months ago and I am now ready to upgrade my website.

    To upgrade my website would cost £1,500 but I would also like about £500 for advertising.

    How do you think I could get the funding for this?

    Thanks,
    Luke
     
    elaine@cheapaccounting

    elaine@cheapaccounting

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  • #14
    ally_1988 said:
    how does that raise finance? you have to pay to enter that don't you?
    Click to expand...

    Having been a mentor for this programme it is something run through schools, colleges etc that provide excellent support & coaching in running a business.

    Whilst they do not give grants themselves they show the way to how to approach such an issue and what is needed to put together a successful business plan to secure finance.

    No it doesn't give you the funds - it takes hard work to make a business work and YE IMO is a great source of info, connections, experience etc that has more chance of leading to funds being secured :)
     
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    ally_1988

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    Mar 19, 2010
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  • #15
    elainec100 said:
    Having been a mentor for this programme it is something run through schools, colleges etc that provide excellent support & coaching in running a business.

    Whilst they do not give grants themselves they show the way to how to approach such an issue and what is needed to put together a successful business plan to secure finance.

    No it doesn't give you the funds - it takes hard work to make a business work and YE IMO is a great source of info, connections, experience etc that has more chance of leading to funds being secured :)
    Click to expand...

    But since the OP already already has a business I'm not sure it would be worthwhile IMO.Most likely the school wouldn't cover the entry cost as the OP would want to enter as an individual rather than a group (as is more common)

    I entered the young enterprise scheme when I was at 6th form and it did allow me to play about a bit. The problem is, the people we had guiding us had absolutely no idea about business, so all they could do was ask questions.

    They were helpful, because they had a greater knowledge than us, but young enterprise didn't teach me lots of important things about running a business. It may have been what encouraged me to get into it myself though.

    Good scheme - doesn't teach you much about business

    :)
     
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    elaine@cheapaccounting

    elaine@cheapaccounting

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  • #16
    ally_1988 said:
    Good scheme - doesn't teach you much about business

    :)
    Click to expand...

    that certainly was not my experience of it - so I think we will have to agree to disagree on that one

    And with respect the OP has few custsomers, needs a new web site and a loan of £2k to kick start the business - so IMO getting some mentoring whether through YE or similar would help him / her.

    We can all learn things - whatever stage we are at in a business. :)
     
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    PhoneTrader1221

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    Jul 30, 2010
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  • #17
    Business Plan:

    We Buy Your Phones Business Plan



    I need £1,500 in order to upgrade my website to compete with the other reputable phone recycling companies in exchange for a 10% equity stake.

    On every phone I make on average £20.

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    We Buy Your Phones (WeBuyYourPhones.co.uk) is the website I founded on the 19th January 2009. I formed it as a sole proprietorship which is owned and operated by myself.This plan is written as a guide for managing the business and will also serve as a detailed marketing plan. Following is a summary of the main points of this plan.

    1. The objectives of WBYP are to generate a profit, grow at a challenging but manageable rate and establish the brand as a trusted name.

    2. The mission of WBYP is to provide a fast and trusted way to exchange mobile phones for money.

    3. The keys to success for WBYP are marketing and a website which is attractive but simple and fast to use.

    4. There is a big market for a phone recycling website as there is a suggested 100 million unused phones in just the UK.

    5. WBYP will show outstanding promise and results. Several sources say that a phone recycling business will become very profitable very early on in its life.

    In conclusion, this plan projects rapid growth and high net profits over the next three years. During year one I expect to earn a net profit of £57,000. Year two I expect to earn £150,000 and in year three I expect that we will be able to earn a profit of £500,000.


    OBJECTIVES

    The objectives of this business plan are:

    1. To provide a written guide for managing the phone recycling business.

    2. The intended audience for this plan are investors.

    3. The scope of this plan is to provide detailed monthly projections for year one and yearly summaries for the next two years.

    The objectives of We Buy Your Phones are:

    1. PROFIT - To generate sufficient profit to finance future growth and to provide the resources needed to achieve the other objectives of the company.

    2. GROWTH - To grow the business at a rate that is both challenging and manageable and leads the market with a good quality service.


    MISSION

    We Buy Your Phones mission is simple and straightforward:

    Purpose - WBYP exists to provide a fast, trustworthy service to people looking to exchange their phone for money.

    Vision - By providing a fast service which is trustworthy, WBYP will generate satisfied repeat customers.

    Mission - The short term objective is to receive funding to upgrade my website. The long term objective is to grow the company into a stable and profitable business which leads the phone recycling field.


    KEYS TO SUCCESS

    The keys to success for We Buy Your Phones are:

    Marketing (Getting it out there)

    Quality (Getting the job done as fast as possible and as easy as possible)

    Relationships (Developing loyal repeat customers)

    Communication (Good communication)



    COMPANY SUMMARY

    We Buy Your Phones will have the following characteristics:

    The goal will be to run the business as inexpensively as possible.

    WBYP will be run from my house in Essex but later on I will have to get an office.


    START UP SUMMARY

    As the goal is to start-up as inexpensively as possible then I will have to use my funds efficiently. Total start-up expenses for WBYP will be £2000. £1,500 of the expenses will be for an upgraded website which I previously ran for experience and the other £500 which I will provide will be for marketing.



    SERVICES

    We Buy Your Phones will offer phone users the opportunity to exchange their phone for the most amount of money available on the internet.


    MAIN COMPETITORS

    1. Mazuma

    Top Strength - A very memorable name
    Primary Weakness - Should be quicker and easier

    2. Envirofone

    Top Strength - Name suggests something to do with environment and phones
    Primary Weakness - Not very good prices


    STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION SUMMARY

    We Buy Your Phones will focus on the following to establish and grow the business:

    Four main promotion strategies: networking and referrals, web based promotion, traditional media advertising and some non-traditional promotion methods.

    A detailed marketing and sales strategy.

    Cultivate existing customer relationships.


    STRATEGY PYRAMID

    Strategy 1 - Networking & Referrals - Using existing contacts and clients to build a larger network of potential clients.

    Strategy 2 - Web promotion - Using a Google adwords, Facebook advertising etc.

    Strategy 3 - Advertising - Traditional methods such as newspaper and magazine advertising.

    Strategy 4 - Non-traditional - Creative and unique advertising such as Pens, stickers, etc.


    MARKETING PROGRAMS

    The most important marketing program for WBYP is to get the word out, through a combination of the following:

    Through Google adwords, Twitter, Facebook, advertising etc.

    Sending a newsletter every month to our existing customers so they don't forget about us and recommend us to their friends and family.

    Handing out leaflets

    Talking to people


    NET PROFIT FORECAST

    The first month of year one I project to earn £600 and the same in the second month. In month 3 I will aim to increase the amount of phones i get in everyday. My projection for month 3 is £1500 and also the same in month 4. My projection for months 5 and 6 £4200. In months 7 and 8 the earnings will £6000 and in months 9 and 10 it will be £7200. In months 11 and 12 whilst still increasing the amount of phones we get everyday my projection is £9000. Every two months I will aim to increase the amount of phones I get everyday by two.


    If anyone wants to invest £1500 then PM me
     
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    PhoneTrader1221

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    Jul 30, 2010
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  • #21
    Scott, If you look at my website you will see that the design is not very good. People have given me feedback about the website and they nearly all said that they would feel more confident dealing with a business that had a more attractive website which offered instant quotes. My projected sales figures are based on my marketing calculations.
     
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    G

    Graemem

  • #22
    I think trying to take on companies like Mazuma, envirofone and the load of other smaller sites buying phones would be a bit of a mission. I used one of these sites last week, after looking through them all I ended up just using the bag Tmobile sent out with my phone, as they were offering the same amount and I already had the envelope!

    I wouldn't part with that much money when you don't really have any proof it's going to work out. Actually, I think who ever is selling you that website deserves a swift kick for wasting your money.

    What were you planning to do for advertising? How are you planning on convincing customers to send you the phone instead of the bigger companies? Unless you have a pretty unique way of doing things I don't see how you'd achieve it.

    I think you should really think about what the chances of this actually working are. You say you'd make 57k in the first year, that's about 3000 phones? So you'd have to actually convince 3000 people to send you their phone... so you'd need many many more than that to actually visit the site. Your website and advertising aren't your only costs either. What about those envelopes you'll be expected to send out to people, and the postage for them? What about the costs involved in handling customers who didn't get the money they expected for their phones? I'm sure theres bigger costs than those involved as well.

    I really think if you gave someone £1500 for this website you'd be quite disappointed. Why not use the money you have already to start something smaller with a better chance of success.
     
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    PhoneTrader1221

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    Jul 30, 2010
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  • #23
    TheYellowDuckSale, I am planning to use online advertising and advertise in national newspapers. I have looked at the prices of both of these methods and have already used Google. People will wont to use my website because I offer more money then any other website for every phone. You say that I would have to convince 3000 people but on average every household has at least a few unused phones. So that could mean that it would infact be 1000 people. With not much advertising i have already convinced 120 people to deal with my website and I feel that if my website was more attractive and gave instant quotes then I would easily be able to get those figures. I already have enough envelopes to last me the year and the postage will only take a couple of pounds out of my £20 profit for every phone. All my customers know what price they will get before they send their phone and with a new website they would be able to find out in a matter of seconds.
     
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    brianbeecroft

  • #26
    I would feel that your valuation of your business @ £1,500 for 10% = £15,000 is a bit over inflated. At the moment you have an idea, you have done some research and produced a bussiness plan with fairly random figures. This doesn't constitute a business.

    What am I buying it to? Is there any reason I can't just take your idea and build myself a website and keep 100%.
    What are you bringing to the table?
    What is your USP that puts you above the competition
     
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    G

    Graemem

  • #28
    MUFCLuke7 said:
    I would bring the experience of running a phone recycling website and my USP is the amount of money I give which is the highest on the internet.
    Click to expand...

    How much more do you actually pay out? Can you prove it? Like if i did a search on your site could you show me what the other providers are giving? When i was looking to get rid of my phone i checked them out and the differences were maybe £1 or something, never enough to sway me to choose a company that was a bit less trusted.

    Also, how many people actually send in multiple phones? All the people i know using these sites are just getting rid of their old phones because of upgrades.
     
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    M

    MASSEY

  • #30
    The business model is worth £0 you have a six quid a month website that you dont own.

    I actually used to buy phones about 12 months ago, i used to get the ones that were going really cheap on ebay and sell them on at a usual profit of £50 .

    I used to resale them via routes that cost me £0 also i knew a hell of a lot of people selling their phones cheap because they needed the cash.

    I made a good few grand.

    There is no profit to be made offering the highest prices for phones. It takes a lot of time and hard work bargening with people so you can get the phone off them a cheap price to make a good profit on resale. I did not like to buy a phone unless there was a clear £50 in it.

    Also luke your 14 and at school you wont have the time it takes to put the effort in.

    To produce a worth while making site you would need a couple of grand and money for seo. Money to leaflet potentially also.

    All in all there is better ways to make a living.
     
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    B

    Bri

  • #33
    Gotta give him some credit for trying though!!!

    I also agree, stick to the school mates who have probably been shifting their old phones on to you for a bit of mullah, after all its their parents money theyre throwing away.Between now and GCSE's your gonna be busy with studying.

    Keep going with it though until you raise enough money to fund it yourself.
     
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