Businesses I can start with £16k?
- Thread starter Amazin
- Start date
If you spend all your £16k on a business you will go broke the week after as you will have zero cashflow and bills to pay.
You need to keep some cash back, perhaps quite a bit, to pay bills and feed yourself until sales revenues come in.
If the right business was £16k, you could not really afford to buy it. You could however look at owner financing, where you pay down a percentage upfront and repay the balance (potentially plus interest) over time, from the income generated from the business.
With such limited capital, "buying" anything is not really on the cards but setting yourself up as a service, as is window cleaning, is probably where I would be looking. You have lots of money for a vehicle, equipment (do research here on types of water - not kidding) and marketing, probably via a website and leaflets.
You need to keep some cash back, perhaps quite a bit, to pay bills and feed yourself until sales revenues come in.
If the right business was £16k, you could not really afford to buy it. You could however look at owner financing, where you pay down a percentage upfront and repay the balance (potentially plus interest) over time, from the income generated from the business.
With such limited capital, "buying" anything is not really on the cards but setting yourself up as a service, as is window cleaning, is probably where I would be looking. You have lots of money for a vehicle, equipment (do research here on types of water - not kidding) and marketing, probably via a website and leaflets.
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I think the issue here is that if all it took was a bit of cash to make a lot of cash then everyone would be doing it..
Ie: if I could just throw 16k at a business and turn it into many k's then I would be doing it all the time.
-Find something you enjoy.
-Find a niche in that thing you enjoy.
-Exploit it.
-???
-Profit.
Ie: if I could just throw 16k at a business and turn it into many k's then I would be doing it all the time.
-Find something you enjoy.
-Find a niche in that thing you enjoy.
-Exploit it.
-???
-Profit.
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A
arcon5
Franchises usually carry very high setup fees so even a down payment would quickly see £16k disappear.
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- Original Poster
- #8
Not sure what you mean by that.
Thanks for reminding me of that, I have been thinking about it recently. I have a domestic cleaning business running at the moment but I know I can make lot more by doing window cleaning.
I'm trying to get some ideas flowing at the moment so I know what to look into.
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Surely you wont need much for window cleaning?
- couple of hundred for very high quality stuff?
- public liability insurance
- water
- soap
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You could buy 16,000 penny sweets and sell them for two pence to start with
Plenty of things to do with 16k
........or 160,000 penny sweets and a calculator
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I didn't mention franchises but rather owner financing.
Guy wants to sell a £20k business producing an income of £25k for an owner operator, might be willing to accept a down payment of £10k with the remaining £10k coming in the form of £500 a month over two years. If the new owner does not make the repayments, the business reverts back to the original owner or variations on that theme.
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J
JonSmith1
........or 160,000 penny sweets and a calculator
Or 1 600 000 penny sweets and some maths tuition
.
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H
HFServices
You could buy maybe 5 used vans and start a van hire business.
You need the space to keep the vans and insurance but it is possible.
You don't need new vans as there is a van rental place near me that rents out 7.5 ton tail lift vans at £50 a day and his vans are rusty old sheds but he always has every van rented out every day.
So 5 vans at say £40 day is £200
7 days is £1400
52 weeks is £72800
You need to take out business expenses from this but it is a lucrative game.
And the geezer near me has been doing it for years.
You need the space to keep the vans and insurance but it is possible.
You don't need new vans as there is a van rental place near me that rents out 7.5 ton tail lift vans at £50 a day and his vans are rusty old sheds but he always has every van rented out every day.
So 5 vans at say £40 day is £200
7 days is £1400
52 weeks is £72800
You need to take out business expenses from this but it is a lucrative game.
And the geezer near me has been doing it for years.
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If you don't have a passion, try out one or two ideas spending only peanuts. (maybe not quite so many sweets for example)
Until you have a passion and vision keep hold of your £16k
Write a list of things that you enjoy and those you don't and then keep a notebook with you to write down everything you think of and score them against what you enjoy.
Then dream it until you can imagine how it works, who you meet, what you do, who are your customers etc. The best thing I did when starting up was to write a detailed description of each page of my website and how people would use it. It didn't turn out quite like that but it was a good start.
Until you have a passion and vision keep hold of your £16k
Write a list of things that you enjoy and those you don't and then keep a notebook with you to write down everything you think of and score them against what you enjoy.
Then dream it until you can imagine how it works, who you meet, what you do, who are your customers etc. The best thing I did when starting up was to write a detailed description of each page of my website and how people would use it. It didn't turn out quite like that but it was a good start.
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On paper it looks good.The reality is a whole lot different. 60% utilisation is the best you can hope for with old vans.Corporate clients will give you 100% util. but will only go for new,white,clean vans.Old vans needs lots of maintainance,they break down.
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S
S-Marketing
If you work out projections based on 100% of stock being out every single day you can make any business seem like a good idea.
It's a very basic mistake that first time wannabe business people seem to make a lot.
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Do not buy a franchise.
In the last 5 years the number of "dead horse" franchises have grown out of proportion. Much of these are in the £5000 to £30000 bracket. I went to one the expos and browsed some websites listing them, last year... they are largely, developed packages to make money... thats all. They consist of a half-baked brand, a concept, some "test trading" and a huge sales pitch - many of which promise you will make £££ from with little effort etc.
Just to open up the options a little - you may want to find a business partner (who also has similar money to invest), get additional funding (i.e. an investor or bank loan) or invest in one or a few businesses (not necessary spend all or most of the £16k).
In the last 5 years the number of "dead horse" franchises have grown out of proportion. Much of these are in the £5000 to £30000 bracket. I went to one the expos and browsed some websites listing them, last year... they are largely, developed packages to make money... thats all. They consist of a half-baked brand, a concept, some "test trading" and a huge sales pitch - many of which promise you will make £££ from with little effort etc.
Just to open up the options a little - you may want to find a business partner (who also has similar money to invest), get additional funding (i.e. an investor or bank loan) or invest in one or a few businesses (not necessary spend all or most of the £16k).
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L
LED Lightworld
http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=2017130#post2017130 Just seen this on UKBF
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There have always been dead horse franchises, and plenty of them. Unfortunately the UK 'governing body' for franchises is awful..truly awful.
However, not all franchises are corrupt of course. A million things to mention if I could only mention what I think in one paragraph then it is this:
Do not confuse Top-end franchises (Subway,Maconalds etc) with a £5k-£50k franchise.Always remember that you are the customer of the franchisor. There is never a level playing field and almost all franchise agreements are heavily weighted in favour of the franchisor.You need a very 'on the ball' lawyer to chop out the carp in a franchise agreement before you sign and never pay the full price, ever. Remembering that you become their customer is the most important thing and always try to view this with a 'whats in it for them' eye ? Do not buy a job which is all many franchises offer for a considerable sum of money. Watch out for onerous ongoing fees rather than % of profit fees etc...they can rip your heart out.
I am the First to admit I am not a fan of franchising in general...too many are just buying a job and taking someone else's risks for them with your financial input.
However, not all franchises are corrupt of course. A million things to mention if I could only mention what I think in one paragraph then it is this:
Do not confuse Top-end franchises (Subway,Maconalds etc) with a £5k-£50k franchise.Always remember that you are the customer of the franchisor. There is never a level playing field and almost all franchise agreements are heavily weighted in favour of the franchisor.You need a very 'on the ball' lawyer to chop out the carp in a franchise agreement before you sign and never pay the full price, ever. Remembering that you become their customer is the most important thing and always try to view this with a 'whats in it for them' eye ? Do not buy a job which is all many franchises offer for a considerable sum of money. Watch out for onerous ongoing fees rather than % of profit fees etc...they can rip your heart out.
I am the First to admit I am not a fan of franchising in general...too many are just buying a job and taking someone else's risks for them with your financial input.
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E
Esk247
They're not offering anything from what i've been told by our bank.Equally with grants, unless you're in a very unfortunate position then you won't get any money and even then you'll get 2.5k max.
16k is a reasonable amount of money, but you have to find something that you have some sort of interest in, there isn't anything that will just spew money out with minimal effort. It has to be a passion so that you put your effort in and do the research and footwork.
it's very difficult to advise unless we have some idea of where you want to go with it, perhaps look at developing the fried chicken shop business plan? include some investment funding ideas?
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P
PhilGibson
I would love to get in contact with you sir.
I could do with an investment and if we have a talk about the new company I wish to set-up I'm sure you'll be interested.
I'm not an accountant or a legal whiz so unless you are confident in such then we would need to seek some legal advice.
Only problem I see is the fact you're in South London and I'm over on the Wirral.
Thanks a lot,
Phil Gibson
I could do with an investment and if we have a talk about the new company I wish to set-up I'm sure you'll be interested.
I'm not an accountant or a legal whiz so unless you are confident in such then we would need to seek some legal advice.
Only problem I see is the fact you're in South London and I'm over on the Wirral.
Thanks a lot,
Phil Gibson
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Sometimes it's not about the startup money, it's about contacts, their faith in you and your own faith in what you are doing is right for you.
This year I took the gamble and resigned from a £36,000 a year job with zero cash, just an idea, a plan and support from the right people.
I have now turned over £375,000 since Jan 1st with a GP of around 20%.
Quite possibly the best decision I have ever made. If I had £16,000 and invested into starting this business with zero experience, I'd be in big trouble now.
This year I took the gamble and resigned from a £36,000 a year job with zero cash, just an idea, a plan and support from the right people.
I have now turned over £375,000 since Jan 1st with a GP of around 20%.
Quite possibly the best decision I have ever made. If I had £16,000 and invested into starting this business with zero experience, I'd be in big trouble now.
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H
HFServices
As I said business expenses need to be taken from the amount.
It can be done with old vans as has been proven.
I was also basing my post on the results the person I know who does this with old vans is getting and has been getting for at least 20 years.
I wont give away his secrets but this mentality of servicing corporate clients with shiny new expensive vans is not the business model I was suggesting.
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B
businessfunding
Are there any windows on this forum?
Seriously, I agree with the majority of poster on here - to put it bluntly, stop thinking about money and start thinking about business.
Think about what you can do, what you would like top do and where you can see room for improvement.
Once you have a clear idea stat working on the stepping stones to get you there. No one is going to give you money to start up and you should think very carefully before blowing your life savings - in fact you should treat your cash input as seriously as a formal loan application.
The minute you shout £16K you will find a lot of 'opportunities' which coincidentally cost that amount.
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R
RichB0101
You can set up lots of businesses for £16K but forget about the money and get an idea first and worry about the money later. A web business can be set up for next to nothing. Use Google toolmaster to research some keywords - the ideal is something that lots of people are searching for but there aren't many websites (or good websites) that service that sector. If your site takes off, then you might use a part of the 16k for stock - if it doesn't take off you still have the 16K to try something else.
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I would but some of the money into the company you already have, I know a chap that owns a cleaning company and boy does he earn good money. Iv known of window cleaning people that run there own rounds etc nowhere near the same income, When you think about window cleaning you can only charge so much per window, Cleaning you can do offices,bars,clubs and all sorts of places
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S
Small Biz Jessica
I think that "what can I throw £16K at that will make me lots of money" is a bit of a recipe for burning through that £16K and being left with nothing much to show for it.
As others have said here, if opportunities to make lots of money just by putting in a certain sum were sitting around out there, then likely someone else would have already snapped them up.
I would recommend to put your £16K safely in the bank (earning as much interest as it can), and spend some time thinking about what you'd like to do (what your strengths are, what interests you, what you'd like to be doing all day) and researching what kind of business opportunities this might fit with.
When the inspiration comes, I would recommend to start out small (for example, as someone said, the window cleaning idea probably only needs a few hundred pounds to get it off the ground), and then invest your nestegg gradually, as the growth of the business demands it.
Best of luck!
Jessica
As others have said here, if opportunities to make lots of money just by putting in a certain sum were sitting around out there, then likely someone else would have already snapped them up.
I would recommend to put your £16K safely in the bank (earning as much interest as it can), and spend some time thinking about what you'd like to do (what your strengths are, what interests you, what you'd like to be doing all day) and researching what kind of business opportunities this might fit with.
When the inspiration comes, I would recommend to start out small (for example, as someone said, the window cleaning idea probably only needs a few hundred pounds to get it off the ground), and then invest your nestegg gradually, as the growth of the business demands it.
Best of luck!
Jessica
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