Business Ideas

[Red_Stafford]

Morning all

Long story short, I am due to inherit some money around £20k - £30k in total, I have had enough of working for other people and helping making them richer whilst I stand still what I would like to do with this money is start my own business something that me and my wife can do together and hopefully offer financial security to me my wife and my unborn daughter, the problem is I dont really know what to do and where to start, my partner currently is currently a manager of a coffee shop so we was toying with the idea of opening a coffee shop but that seems like a big risk if it doesnt work out, so I was also thinking of opening a unit selling Sofa's at discount prices to the public brought direct from the manufacturer as seconds, what do you guys think, I see this as a smaller risk than opening a coffee shop because at least I will have stock to show for my money, any info or advice would be welcomed guys, £20k -£30k is a lot of money to us the other use for this money was a deposit on a mortgage but then I will never have this chance again and will always be strugling finacially.

​

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

£20k - £30k is defo a huge amount. However you need to see whats your interest. If you dont have any particular interest then why just limit yourself to sofa and coffee ?

Depending upon your location, you may have some good businesses around for sale. If you want to tell me your location I can help you for free.

 

[Red_Stafford]

£20k - £30k is defo a huge amount. However you need to see whats your interest. If you dont have any particular interest then why just limit yourself to sofa and coffee ?

Depending upon your location, you may have some good businesses around for sale. If you want to tell me your location I can help you for free.

My location is postcode B63 but yoy must relise that £20-£30 is a huge amount to us so I really want to succeed in my new business and they least risk the better, I will probably never see this amount of money again if I lose it.

 

[MikeJ]

If you can't afford to lose it, put it against your mortgage. All business is a risk.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

I think mortgage is a risk as well. Everything in life comes at a price. Risk is one of them. If you at a later date in future failed to keep up with payments, then your deposit + any payments you have made are = 0.

Everything is a risk. If you want to take a risk in business then its upto you and you are the best judge.

However if you do want to proceed, we are all here to help. Majority for free.

 

[Red_Stafford]

If you can't afford to lose it, put it against your mortgage. All business is a risk.

I know its a risk but if I dont do something now I will never get the chance again and in 10, 20 years down the line I will still be doing what im doing now and strugling to pay bills whilst my employer reaps all the rewards ang gets richer.

I think mortgage is a risk as well. Everything in life comes at a price. Risk is one of them. If you at a later date in future failed to keep up with payments, then your deposit + any payments you have made are = 0.

Everything is a risk. If you want to take a risk in business then its upto you and you are the best judge.

However if you do want to proceed, we are all here to help. Majority for free.

Cheers, I would be very gratefull off your help

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

You havent told us what you want to do.

Is coffee and sofa the only things of interest to you.

Want to start new or buy existing ?

 

[jamieclick]

I have just sent you a PM with my contact details. I would love to have a chat with you and give some advice and maybe even some ideas.

Jamie

 

[Red_Stafford]

You havent told us what you want to do.

Is coffee and sofa the only things of interest to you.

Want to start new or buy existing ?

To be honest I dont really know, I suggested coffee shop because my partner is experienced in running a coffee shop but the main thing to think about with a coffee shop is location.

I dont mind starting new or buying an existing business but the only thing that scares me about buying an exsting business is why are they selling, if the business was successfull then you think that they wouldnt want to sell

I have just sent you a PM with my contact details. I would love to have a chat with you and give some advice and maybe even some ideas.

Jamie

Cheers mate I will take a look

 

[Eastern]

Hi,

I have a business idea which I've approached someone with already. However due to him already having other commitments he isn't sure he has time to take on anything new. I'd made the him the offer purely because he has been such a support and still continues to do so. If he decides to accepts my offer then of course that'd be great. If he doesn't, I'll be happy to approach you with my idea and we can take it from there.


Kind regards,

Nadia.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

Moajority of businesses are sold due to retierment or new business opportunity. Not all owners are happy with managment run and not all owners trust staff. Some people dont want more than one business. Many reasons. You need to investigate.

Benefits of buying a poorly managed business -> good potential, low prices.

 

[lww]

Hi RedStafford

My only advice would be that having come on here stating you've got £20-30k cash floating around and are looking for business ideas, you are going to get a lot of people trying to get you to part with it! Mixed in with that will be some genuine (and free) advice, but don't get suckered into anything by posts or PMs... and remember not to trust anybody with a vested interest.

Sorry to be so cynical but there you go!

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

Also, dont pay for services you dont need. Thing which you can do yourself like businessplan etc

 

[jim_gold]

Put the money in one of those savings accounts that pays an OK rate, ie Coventry BS @ 3%.

Get a feel for having dough in the bank. Nice. You don't want to lose it, especially with a child on the way.

Then start your research on the cafe and furniture ideas. Flesh out business plans for both, talk to potential customers - where's the gap in the market. Does either plan stack up?

Also look through listings of businesses for sale, are there any types of business that interest you more? Whatever you do, don't capitalise at much more than half of your kitty, just in case it doesn't work out or you've underestimated costs.

 

[cafe-central]

Hi,

I recently took out 30k in loans to start a business and am in same position as you. I had a choice between importing wedding stock and selling or opening a coffee shop. I chose the coffee shop in a B5 postcode because I thought would be less risk? People go out to drink and socialise on a daily basis, whereas weddings or even sofas are purchases only made every now and then?
The majority of my money has been invested in refurbing the shop and deposits though, but i'm so excited at the prospect of having my own business and shop to work on.

 

[Red_Stafford]

Many thanks for all your comments, I am very wary of people who will contact me just because I have the money but by the looks of it there are a few genuine people on here so these are the people I will be hoping to gain advice from.

Hi,

I recently took out 30k in loans to start a business and am in same position as you. I had a choice between importing wedding stock and selling or opening a coffee shop. I chose the coffee shop in a B5 postcode because I thought would be less risk? People go out to drink and socialise on a daily basis, whereas weddings or even sofas are purchases only made every now and then?
The majority of my money has been invested in refurbing the shop and deposits though, but i'm so excited at the prospect of having my own business and shop to work on.

Well done and good look, is the coffee shop open yet, hows it going ?

 

[LindsayManning]

I dont want a penny heheh, I dont even want to be a part of this business, and I hardly ever give away ideas for free. But I do believe in serendipity (thank gawd for spell checkers because I cant even spell it)

Aaanyways. Your mention of a coffee shop means I will give you this idea, let you know how it panned out for a friend of mine and then you can run with it or dump it, its up to you... Anybody else can also read this idea and run with it, I dont care, because I have absolutely no interest in the business itself but I was impressed with how my mate grew it so quickly in Oz.
My friend was in Queensland Oz (so there is no competition with him over here and that is why I dont mind giving the idea away), and wanted to mix the idea of Mothercare with Starbucks.
So a place for coffee and adults to hang out with free wifi, but aimed at parents for its main daytime business. To put it bluntly, Starbucks, with a ballpit and play area, selling baby clothes and pushchairs etc.

It quickly turned into the hang out place for mums and dads in the nearby area to take their kids and socialise and do the essential baby stuff shopping at the same time.

I know that after 2 years it grew into a huge place with 14 employees so that is why I know there is a market for this sort of place.
It might already be over here. I dont have kids so dont have a clue but there you go if you wanted what I believe to be a gap in the market over here.

Also your location problems are kind of sorted because rather than going for a small place in a town centre for business folks you actually want a large place outside of towns with loads of wide parking spaces.
Because it isnt a creche (Parents dont leave the kids) then you are still only essentially running a coffee shop and a baby stuff shop.

Aaanyways,

Cheers and let me know if you run with any of that I would be interested to see if it can grow so fast over here...

Plus I know I said I dont want a penny, but if you do make it rich and want a website or IT system then please ask me first heheh

Cheers,

Lins.

 

[cafe-central]

Its going ok... very steep learning curve trying to learn the business, legalities and jargon but i'm managing to do it despite working 12 hour days in my normal job.

Its not open yet - i'm aiming for a July time grand opening. Just confirming the final design I want then my shopfitter will be starting work. Considering I only got this idea in Feb - i'm moving very fast, ill let you know if I should have looked before I leapt.

Lindsay's idea is a very good idea I think - recently went to America and Canada and things like that are huge there - not coffee shops specific though - but interesting concept.

 

[Naughty Vend]

Hi Red...

I speak with people just like you regularly and you are not in a unique dilema, many face the same choice and it's all too easy to 'piss up the wall' money you did not need at the time but the biggest problem is a change in lifestyle moving from employed to self-employed status... it takes confidence in yourself opposed to arrogance / self-belief and some faith.

Consider this, would you walk into a casino and bet the whole lot on black to double your money and then if you do get lucky re-bet the whole stake again to quadruple your cash? Not likely but that is effectively what many people do when starting a business, everything in one go and then after contract hiring the BMW 3 series and reading a few books, attending local enterprise waffle zones etc do what they think is 'diversification' and as is common lose the lot - the stats speak for themselves. Yes everyone is successful you meet and everything is a great idea because when you network you meet them at the top of the curve, people who fail in business never blow their own trumpet and usually (ironicaly) end up as small business advisors in local enterprise offices or indeed, banks... a disease I like to call muppetitis. Also never read the life story of how some Dragon or similar made their millions, if you see a book like that on someones shelf run a bloody mile as it's a big BIG indicator of a person's longevity in business... dreamers and wanna-be entrepreneurs.

Personally, one of my businesses is vending related and those whom license my brand are encouraged to start small and prove not only to themselves they can work for themselves but also that what the business offers works too. So ok this is sounding like self-promotion but I'm using that as an example as how you should 'scale up' at your own pace to learn the mistakes as small mistakes, then put the foot to the floor when you are ready to make the income you are hoping to... You sound a likley candidate for the franchise sharks so be careful and if you need advice feel free to post on these forums, you'll get mixed replies and many ego's as some threads end up in Harry Hill f-f-f-i-i-ght...s due to this fact but if you switch on your bullshit filter you'll be alright.

Whatever you chose just don't invest it all straight away and keep 30-50% in the bank for cashflow and growth. Good luck...

 

[cafe-central]

Hi Red...

I speak with people just like you regularly and you are not in a unique dilema, many face the same choice and it's all too easy to 'piss up the wall' money you did not need at the time but the biggest problem is a change in lifestyle moving from employed to self-employed status... it takes confidence in yourself opposed to arrogance / self-belief and some faith.

Consider this, would you walk into a casino and bet the whole lot on black to double your money and then if you do get lucky re-bet the whole stake again to quadruple your cash? Not likely but that is effectively what many people do when starting a business, everything in one go and then after contract hiring the BMW 3 series and reading a few books, attending local enterprise waffle zones etc do what they think is 'diversification' and as is common lose the lot - the stats speak for themselves. Yes everyone is successful you meet and everything is a great idea because when you network you meet them at the top of the curve, people who fail in business never blow their own trumpet and usually (ironicaly) end up as small business advisors in local enterprise offices or indeed, banks... a disease I like to call muppetitis. Also never read the life story of how some Dragon or similar made their millions, if you see a book like that on someones shelf run a bloody mile as it's a big BIG indicator of a person's longevity in business... dreamers and wanna-be entrepreneurs.

Personally, one of my businesses is vending related and those whom license my brand are encouraged to start small and prove not only to themselves they can work for themselves but also that what the business offers works too. So ok this is sounding like self-promotion but I'm using that as an example as how you should 'scale up' at your own pace to learn the mistakes as small mistakes, then put the foot to the floor when you are ready to make the income you are hoping to... You sound a likley candidate for the franchise sharks so be careful and if you need advice feel free to post on these forums, you'll get mixed replies and many ego's as some threads end up in Harry Hill f-f-f-i-i-ght...s due to this fact but if you switch on your bullshit filter you'll be alright.

Whatever you chose just don't invest it all straight away and keep 30-50% in the bank for cashflow and growth. Good luck...

....you sound like your talking about me....

I gamble and I work in investment banking........

BUT I truly believe in my idea and I will put heart and soul in to making it work. I work extremely hard, always have done but now I feel like thats just one of the many stories you hear regularly...

Oh dear! Have I set myself up for failure?

 

[cafe-central]

Oh dear. Ive just been quoted 110k for a shop fit out. Bad times.

 

[Naughty Vend]

....you sound like your talking about me....

I gamble and I work in investment banking........

BUT I truly believe in my idea and I will put heart and soul in to making it work. I work extremely hard, always have done but now I feel like thats just one of the many stories you hear regularly...

Oh dear! Have I set myself up for failure?

I was replying to Red but have now read your postings in more detail.

"All or Nothing" is a seriously risky strategy, when you make your move be sure to leave a safety net in place for yourself and find a very unique selling point for your coffee outlet - the kids play area is a niche and will attract certain types at certain times of the day, at other times will you survive... broadband isn't just about internet it's about customer targeting.

There are many factors but as an investment banker I'm sure you've considered all of these, keep it real, don't over trade and in catering it's paramount to keep standards and cleanliness at the highest level... morph in the evening to become a bar scene with acoustic music or open floor nights... you'll get performers for free and be a trendy location... use the social networks to help. Do what everyone esle should be but either can't be bothered to or stop doing properly after the Honeymoon period...

Good luck, see you for a coffee next time I'm in the area...

 

[Naughty Vend]

Oh dear. Ive just been quoted 110k for a shop fit out. Bad times.

Do it yourself, you don't need to conform to be memorable... buy junk and mount it interestingly like for example an old bath in the middle of your floor with fish in it costs next to nothing. Buy old fireplaces from the scrap merchant and make one wall 100% fireplaces with stuffed taxidermy dogs next to these fires. Weird works for coffee etc...

You could offer a competition to art students / interior design college etc to come up with the greatest designs ever and build it, get the materials sponsored by whomever with some luck. See this is what business is all about, you don't get the professional shop fitters in you "go get" the stuff yourself and learn the trades... my fingers are covered in expanding foam, plaster, paint and glue as I type this from working until 1am on flat renovations which I was quoted £50k rough build for and have completed the work to a finished standard for less than half. Boilers from Ebay, Kitchens from bankrupt stock.... you get the idea...

Don't think out of the box, piss all over it...

 

[lww]

Kids play areas and coffee shops... it sounds like a nice idea, but we live in Surrey and there are 2 large, extremely popular soft-play type places near us with their co-existing cafes for the parents. One has changed hands 3 times in the last few years, and the other apparently went bust. These places are always busy and run parties on the side which are always booked out. They charge for the kids, and get money in addition to this from the cafe. If they can't survive, how likely is it a business survives by providing the larger half of that revenue generator for free?

Ignoring the evidence already out there, I imagine the biggest problems would be insurance and how you control the customers such that it remains a coffee shop with free play area, as opposed to a free play area with free seating and free wi-fi. I suspect you'll have a real problem avoiding the latter scenario - certainly low-paid staff won't be prepared to turf out the free-loaders, and even if you did it yourself if you were there, how and where do you draw the line? One coffee @ £1.60 for a Mum to sit there for 2 hours surfing on your broadband whilst her kids play for free... no free tables for new customers. Do you put a time-limit on it (like McDonalds car parks ;-)?

The shop whilst you have a coffee idea is Tschibo's... how are they doing? I know our local Tschibo shut down.

McDonalds in France use this model in out-of-town locations with a soft-play area within the store - but they don't do that in the UK (as far as I'm aware). I'm sure there's a good reason for that, most probably that they'd be chock-full of free-loaders most of the time!

 

[cafe-central]

I was replying to Red but have now read your postings in more detail.

"All or Nothing" is a seriously risky strategy, when you make your move be sure to leave a safety net in place for yourself and find a very unique selling point for your coffee outlet - the kids play area is a niche and will attract certain types at certain times of the day, at other times will you survive... broadband isn't just about internet it's about customer targeting.

There are many factors but as an investment banker I'm sure you've considered all of these, keep it real, don't over trade and in catering it's paramount to keep standards and cleanliness at the highest level... morph in the evening to become a bar scene with acoustic music or open floor nights... you'll get performers for free and be a trendy location... use the social networks to help. Do what everyone esle should be but either can't be bothered to or stop doing properly after the Honeymoon period...

Good luck, see you for a coffee next time I'm in the area...

Ah ha - I have covered most of these points already and do believe I have a good USP and am in midst of getting a licence. Staying as a banker as I love my job so will have that income and hiring others to work in store - I will be managing accounts only.

My borderline OCD cleanliness will come in handy for once. Ha!

Thanks alot...

 

[cafe-central]

Do it yourself, you don't need to conform to be memorable... buy junk and mount it interestingly like for example an old bath in the middle of your floor with fish in it costs next to nothing. Buy old fireplaces from the scrap merchant and make one wall 100% fireplaces with stuffed taxidermy dogs next to these fires. Weird works for coffee etc...

You could offer a competition to art students / interior design college etc to come up with the greatest designs ever and build it, get the materials sponsored by whomever with some luck. See this is what business is all about, you don't get the professional shop fitters in you "go get" the stuff yourself and learn the trades... my fingers are covered in expanding foam, plaster, paint and glue as I type this from working until 1am on flat renovations which I was quoted £50k rough build for and have completed the work to a finished standard for less than half. Boilers from Ebay, Kitchens from bankrupt stock.... you get the idea...

Don't think out of the box, piss all over it...

Hahaha. Love it! Great ideas

Red - Apologies for hi-jacking your thread a little - hopefully this has given you a little insight into what i'm going through to open this shop...

 

[Red_Stafford]

Cheers for all your comments guys, so what to do.........

 

[PayVector]

Why dont you try something ecommerce wise. Besides initial site design outlay and some stock there are very little on going costs except hosting.

The profit from a sale could be used for PPC advertising to generate more sales.

20-30k would get you a decent site. In fact you could probably get setup for well under 5k.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

Why dont you try something ecommerce wise. Besides initial site design outlay and some stock there are very little on going costs except hosting.

The profit from a sale could be used for PPC advertising to generate more sales.

20-30k would get you a decent site. In fact you could probably get setup for well under 5k.

I dont think anybody should spend £20k on their first time business website.

£150 could get you up and running.

 

[Billmccallum]

Cheers for all your comments guys, so what to do.........

Take your time....put the cash in the bank and wait for a while....

the idea of running a business might appeal, but it's damned hard work if you don't have experience.

One bit of advice that's already been given, don't risk it all at once, keep 50% in the bank.

The coffee shop idea is risky, takes a great deal of investment to develop a quality outlet and if it doesn't work you lose it all.

The sofa idea could be done on a lower budget, a shop on a short term licence rather than a long term lease...12 to 20 sofa's won't break the bank... if it fails then you lose £3k - £5K not £30K.

But take your time deciding and don't fall for a "get rich quick" offer, they usually translate to "get poor quick".

I offer FREE online consultancy, if you have any questions just send a PM.

Bill

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

Not sure if you would be interested in buy an existing shop of some kind ?

 

[Liybpg]

why don't you explore other ideas? Cafe can be good but I don't think you can really get rich like that, as it is a lot of work and the growth is very limited.

As others have advised - put money in the bank, so you don't make any snap decisions. When people have a lot of money of their hands, they tend to waste quite a lot of it. Even Warren Buffet said that his biggest mistakes were when he had loads of cash, so there's nothing wrong with that really, just be careful.

Look at other opportunities - online shops, develop some new product, think creatively - maybe there are products/services which you think can be done better (think back to your career/personal life). Business is so vast, and I think starting another cafe would be a little boring to my taste. But then again, everyone is different, some people dream about having their own little business like this.

 

[Red_Stafford]

I dont think anybody should spend £20k on their first time business website.

£150 could get you up and running.

£150 sounds good, what would I get for that ?

I have always liked the idea of selling computer hardware but there is a lot of competion in this market.

Take your time....put the cash in the bank and wait for a while....

the idea of running a business might appeal, but it's damned hard work if you don't have experience.

One bit of advice that's already been given, don't risk it all at once, keep 50% in the bank.

The coffee shop idea is risky, takes a great deal of investment to develop a quality outlet and if it doesn't work you lose it all.

The sofa idea could be done on a lower budget, a shop on a short term licence rather than a long term lease...12 to 20 sofa's won't break the bank... if it fails then you lose £3k - £5K not £30K.

But take your time deciding and don't fall for a "get rich quick" offer, they usually translate to "get poor quick".

I offer FREE online consultancy, if you have any questions just send a PM.

Bill

Thats what is putting me off the coffee shop idea its alot of money to setup the business and if the shop fails I lose my money, thats why I was thinking about the sofas it wouldnt cost anywhere near the same amount of money to setup and if the business is not successfull I havnt really lost anything because I have stock to sell, but I dont know where to start with this idea.

Not sure if you would be interested in buy an existing shop of some kind ?

I would be interested in buying an exsisting business if the right think came along

 

[PayVector]

For £150 your not going to get much for a website. Have a chat with Phil from Open Minded Solutions. He is on these forums quite a bit. He would steer you to something that would work.

Computer gear is a bad idea as its highly competitive, high levels of fraud and you need a lot of stocked gear. Shops that we so really well from little startup capital are niche product suppliers.

On idea I always wanted to do was sell exotic chillies. There are many hard core chillie fans that would love to get their hands on some of the rarer chillies and chillie type products like cook books etc but I have never found a really good source.

I just googled "Exotic Chillies". Have a look at the site at the top of the list : http://www.thechilliman.biz/

If you cant do better than that then something is wrong .

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

For £150 you can get a budget package to get started.

One logo.
One cart installed and customised custom template.
One custom eBay template.

Not sure about domain/hosting but they dont cost much.

Before anybody accuses. I am not selling anything. I am just advising what could be bought for this money.

 

You seem in a real rush to get this money spent like it's burning a hole in your pocket. You need to think about an idea and research it, research it and research it some more. If the numbers don't stack up then don't do it. Don't try to manipulate your data that you find out just to fulfil your own dreams.

I would leave it in the bank for at least 12 months whilst I researched business ideas. I would also steer clear of computer hardware - way too competitive and high levels of fraud. (Having stuff bought with stolen credit cards and shipped to other addresses)

Lastly, and most importantly - do not take every person word on here as fact. Especially those who think you are able to get a business running for £150. Don;t buy some dog sh*t website for £200 either, it will be a waste of money.

For a GOOD e-commerce site you need to pay in excess of £2K.I will now open the floor to the rants from all the "web designers" on here who claim they can make you a site for peanuts. Take a look at their sites and ask yourself - "Do I want a website like this?" "would I buy from a site that looked like this?" and make your choice from there.

I know an excellent web development and design company who built my website (which you can find at the bottom of my post) who can make site for £6K+

I think you are doing the right thing by asking questions but don't expect people in here to come up with ideas for you. It has to be a business that YOU want to do and YOU need to do the legwork.

Good luck and I wish I was due an inheritance like that! (Well, as long as someone didn't have to die of course!)

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

For £90 you can get a custom logo and eBay template. Custom.

For £299 you can get near best templates for eBay, all custom.

It all depends upon your experience in the field, your interests and risk.

You would also need to understand how much you are willing to spend on a website. Everything comes at a price.

If the sole purpose of a website is to host a shopping cart then dont spend too much.

 

[Sammle]

You seem in a real rush to get this money spent like it's burning a hole in your pocket. You need to think about an idea and research it, research it and research it some more. If the numbers don't stack up then don't do it. Don't try to manipulate your data that you find out just to fulfil your own dreams.

I would leave it in the bank for at least 12 months whilst I researched business ideas. I would also steer clear of computer hardware - way too competitive and high levels of fraud. (Having stuff bought with stolen credit cards and shipped to other addresses)

Lastly, and most importantly - do not take every person word on here as fact. Especially those who think you are able to get a business running for £150. Don;t buy some dog sh*t website for £200 either, it will be a waste of money.

For a GOOD e-commerce site you need to pay in excess of £2K.I will now open the floor to the rants from all the "web designers" on here who claim they can make you a site for peanuts. Take a look at their sites and ask yourself - "Do I want a website like this?" "would I buy from a site that looked like this?" and make your choice from there.

I know an excellent web development and design company who built my website (which you can find at the bottom of my post) who can make site for £6K+

I think you are doing the right thing by asking questions but don't expect people in here to come up with ideas for you. It has to be a business that YOU want to do and YOU need to do the legwork.

Good luck and I wish I was due an inheritance like that! (Well, as long as someone didn't have to die of course!)

Michelle is dead on with everything she says. Her site looks the business too, and you will never in a million years get anything like that standard of site for £300 or whatever.

I looked at 'cheaping out' on the website but it simply is not worth it... Ours is being put together now- bespoke e-commerce solution (for a good reason), custom template, exactly as we want, looks great, but the cost is about £5,000. If you spend £300, you will end up with something pretty rubbish.

You will be surprised how the startup costs mount up- even online- which is why you need to plan, plan, plan, otherwise you find yourself at the bottom of a big hole thinking "how the **** did I get here?!"

 

[PayVector]

Lastly, and most importantly - do not take every person word on here as fact. Especially those who think you are able to get a business running for £150. Don;t buy some dog sh*t website for £200 either, it will be a waste of money.

For a GOOD e-commerce site you need to pay in excess of £2K.I will now open the floor to the rants from all the "web designers" on here who claim they can make you a site for peanuts. Take a look at their sites and ask yourself - "Do I want a website like this?" "would I buy from a site that looked like this?" and make your choice from there.

^^^^ This.

Michelle is 100% perfect in this. The only thing I would add is choose the right design company carefully. You could spend 6k and get crap or spend 6k and establish a relationship with the design company that is mutually benificial for both parties to make it work.

I must say I really like this thread. For the most part the peps on UKBF are willing to give their time and expertise to someone looking to go through setting up and running a business. I rate that. This thread is a perfect example.

You must keep us all informed as to what you end up doing.

 

[MASSEY]

Oh dear. Ive just been quoted 110k for a shop fit out. Bad times.

which company was that......