Company setup costs

[Clive Wryht]

Hi,
This might seem to be one of those 'How long is a piece of string?' questions but it still needs to be asked. No, I've not been in business before.

I intend to pitch to Angel investors over the next few months for a new product and I need to get a ballpark figure for the costs of creating a company that manufactures an item in the Far East and has a UK operation just to deal with importing, marketing, warehousing and distribution. I want the leanest staff levels I can get away with to do the day-to-day running; the emphasis will be on marketing. The costs of manufacturing is not an issue here so can be neglected as its already known. Its the costs associated with office rental, staffing and warehousing that I need. Advertising could be outsourced but could be expensive... I live in the South Manchester area but would consider setting up anywhere in the NW.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,

Clive

 

[jblz]

I think what you need to do is browse suitable warehouses and office rentals in your potential areas and get the costs. Same goes for staffing - search job sites to see what people you are looking for are typically being paid.

We recently moved offices and the price is 5 times higher than what we previously paid - it very much is a question tailored to your own business.

 

[ethical PR]

Hi,
This might seem to be one of those 'How long is a piece of string?' questions but it still needs to be asked. No, I've not been in business before.

I intend to pitch to Angel investors over the next few months for a new product and I need to get a ballpark figure for the costs of creating a company that manufactures an item in the Far East and has a UK operation just to deal with importing, marketing, warehousing and distribution. I want the leanest staff levels I can get away with to do the day-to-day running; the emphasis will be on marketing. The costs of manufacturing is not an issue here so can be neglected as its already known. Its the costs associated with office rental, staffing and warehousing that I need. Advertising could be outsourced but could be expensive... I live in the South Manchester area but would consider setting up anywhere in the NW.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,

Clive

Advice is if you want the investment then you need to carry out your own market research.

What research have you carried out to date on premises costs, staffing costs, utilities, insurance, marketing, equipment, importation costs, packaging, sales, distribution?

If you want an investment you need to put the leg work in to develop a realistic ball park.

Investors will also want to know what investment you are putting into the business and your skills and experience to run the business.

If you can't even research and cost your business model, this won't give them much confidence in you as an investment proposition.

 

[Socio South West]

An Angel Investor is going to be concerned with one thing... The bottom line....

As long as you get there is a practical and well researched way you have a hope of getting an investment.

In addition to outsourcing advertising, is there any reason not to outsource warehousing and distribution? That avoids you taking on a lease, staff etc as a long term commitment, and the unit costs for storage and shipping can be clearly defined in your budget.

The removal of this burden leaves you free to concentrate on marketing and sales.

There is plenty of office space available just about everywhere as businesses come and go, and thus the unknowns come down to what you think will satisfy the initial needs, and how many people and how much equipment you need to get established - and again, there are ways to keep the costs of that to the optimum until the business establishes itself.

It sounds like a few brainstorming sessions with other individuals would generate some alternative views on different ways in which you could proceed.