Help Starting A Business

[cuzzaUK]

Hey guys, my name is Matthew Currie, I am 18 and live in the city of Liverpool.

It has recently been my birthday and my dad gave me £4000 and with this i want to start a business. He has also said he will invest more money if i have a good sensible idea.

Now ive come up with one idea of a holiday, but a clubbing holiday, But through out the world, so pacha in nyc, pacha in ibiza, tao in nyc etc. And you would spend a night or two in each country. There would also be a guide with you at all times taking you to the clubs and bars. So this is for clubbing enthusiasts only.

My next idea was to have a business set up in my home town of Liverpool based around clubbing, since clubbing is very big in Liverpool i think it could set off because people fro all around the country come here to go clubbing. Its to have a bar crawl business so showing the clubbers the best clubs and bars to go to, getting them vip etc

are my ideas rubbish or ?

Also if you guys have any ideas for me i would be very interested to hear them

thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[SamStones]

There's nothing wrong with your ideas per sey but I think both these ideas would cost considerable amounts to get going - a lot more than £4k which would be quickly swallowed up!

Also, ask yourself who else is doing this - and if not, why not?

 

[BT-COMMUNICATIONS]

A lot of people don't realise that a £4,000 starting fund can translate to a £100,000 turnover business within a year if you find the right market and utilise the skills your good at.

this idea i agree takes much, much more than £4000!!!

Ste

 

[TotallySport]

You would also spend more time traveling than clubbing. If you want to start things like this start something a little small, like a clubbing night in your town and build from there.

 

[ChrisAITY]

Sort of agree with both answers above.. Hard business to get into, I should know, I started myself, and I am still finding it difficult to get going and pushing forward with ideas.

For what you said in the beginning, regarding 'clubbing tours' around different clubs overseas, this would cost ALOT more than £4000.

Clubbing is difficult as the target market is often the younger adults, and they just go with the flow. You would need something unique buddy.

All the best

p.s also regarding the pubcrawls around Liverpool, nightclubs and bars won't listen to you unless you have something to show for it before hand. TotallySport is correct in saying event nights in Liverpool would be far more beneficial at the beginning and go from there

 

[BT-COMMUNICATIONS]

Sort of agree with both answers above.. Hard business to get into, I should know, I started myself, and I am still finding it difficult to get going and pushing forward with ideas.

For what you said in the beginning, regarding 'clubbing tours' around different clubs overseas, this would cost ALOT more than £4000.

Clubbing is difficult as the target market is often the younger adults, and they just go with the flow. You would need something unique buddy.

All the best

p.s also regarding the pubcrawls around Liverpool, nightclubs and bars won't listen to you unless you have something to show for it before hand. TotallySport is correct in saying event nights in Liverpool would be far more beneficial at the beginning and go from there

sound advice right there, pre-night out entertainment maybe?

 

[cuzzaUK]

Thanks for the replies.

My dad said he will invest so I can easily get more money if needed. I like the idea of having my own night at a night club would I be able to do this with the 4k ?

Do you guys have any good ideas to share ?

Thankyou

 

[ChrisAITY]

It's not something to jump head first into, you would really need to think about what you could offer. You don't want to waste your money and invest more into something that potentially could flop. Don't think to big to fast.

I think with £4,000 you could do this easily. What I would do, is look into student unions firstly and they offer cheaper venue hires for events, and also you can promote to the students as well, saving costs on advertising around the whole of Liverpool.

Don't jump in to fast!

Ideas are something people don't tend to give away

 

[cuzzaUK]

thanks for that, i will inform my dad when hes back home from work !

thankyou

 

[ChrisAITY]

Think things through!!!! Don't rush into things OK.. All the best buddy

 

[jhardy2008]

i think you can go with online business like website development & seo

 

[James Greg]

i think you can go with online business like website development & seo

HAHA you just changed the whole scenario of this communication.

But anyways, cuzzaUK I think you should share all your concerns and your plans with your dad in details as he is the one investing in your business, and I like the idea of starting to publicize it amongst the students in the beginning it will surely give you the general idea of how your business will turn out. Best of luck with your new business.

 

[AngelaE]

What are your hobbies and interests? (besides clubbing) You could look at what these are and potentially turn this into a business. There is LOTS of information on-line that is really useful. You should also go to your local careers service/job centre as they will give you advice on how to go about starting your business and may be able to provide you with potential sources of information to assist you. It might just be a Scottish thing - not sure re England - but you can apply for funds to attend certain training courses that would assist your business i.e. account handling.

Good luck! I'm in the same boat as you!

 

[SamStones]

A lot of people don't realise that a £4,000 starting fund can translate to a £100,000 turnover business within a year if you find the right market and utilise the skills your good at.
Ste

Just to reiterate one of my favourite business ideas...

I could turn your £4k into £200k turnover within a MONTH. Guaranteed. I won't even charge you for my plan... basically, sell £50 notes for £49. You'd get £200k turnover and then you'd be broke.

Obviously the above isn't a "real" business plan, but believe it or not, so many businesses set out with ideas that aren't actually that far from the plan above.

Conclusion: Take it slow, do your research, and don't risk more than you can afford to lose.

 

[JustCommercialMortgages]

Last time I went clubbing in Liverpool I seem to remember a lot of people being sick. Maybe you could offer airline type sick bags and sell them online - fold them up stick in wallet in case of emergency - pukebags.com?

 

[K-rado]

Hey Matthew.
I really feel the need to offer you some advice as I hate waste and particularly the waste of money.
I fail to see the business opportunity here. As a lifestyle business, yes/possibly, I can see how you could “invest” your £4k and having a really good time in doing it but I fear that you would soon loose your investment capital, very quickly and easily in the process. Before you would know it, you investment was gone, lost, spent and it would be game over. I echo some of the advice from the previous posts. DO NOT rush in. Thinking bigger with more capital to spend is not the answere. The secrets of a good business – business success is planning. Know your market inside out, your competition, the risks involved. Set clear financial goals. You should be looking to double your investment within a fixed period of time. Setting out, all guns blaring with you seed capital and looking to make a killing on the first night/week end/month is not going to happen IMHO. The odds are really stacked against you I am afraid.
It think it was mentioned here that nobody will give away good business ideas. I do not believe that is true. Ideas are 6 a penny and are only of any value once they are realised, implemented by individuals or companies with the necessary skill set, expertise and experience. Good business ideas are very personal to the individual /companies who have thought of them in the first place, who have the self belief to deliver and see it thru and who recognise their own shortcomings/failings and as such, know when to seek advise, outsource or commission the services of others in that field of expertise.
Remember. There is no reward without risk and visa versa. Find a balance. I would say, if this is your first outing in business is to take a small risk, with some of your seed capital but only after planning and research. See how it goes from there which will allow you to revaluate things, step up a gear or back to the drawing board. Be prepared to accept failure. This is a good thing as this fear helps you to focus the mind. A sort of ongoing risk analysis. . For your business idea, look at your strengths and knowledge. You have a lot more than you think! Or share them with us and we may be able to suggest something for you. Hope this helps. K.

 

[CSBob]

Just to reiterate one of my favourite business ideas...

I could turn your £4k into £200k turnover within a MONTH. Guaranteed. I won't even charge you for my plan... basically, sell £50 notes for £49. You'd get £200k turnover and then you'd be broke.

Obviously the above isn't a "real" business plan, but believe it or not, so many businesses set out with ideas that aren't actually that far from the plan above.

Conclusion: Take it slow, do your research, and don't risk more than you can afford to lose.

Actually you'd be more than broke as you'd owe a huge chunk in VAT... but aside from that the gist of your message (especially the conclusion) is absolutely spot-on. So many seem to focus on turnover above all else and just end up paying the price at the end of the day. It's a terrible cliche but "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" is so very, very true.

 

[SamStones]

Actually you'd be more than broke as you'd owe a huge chunk in VAT... but aside from that the gist of your message (especially the conclusion) is absolutely spot-on. So many seem to focus on turnover above all else and just end up paying the price at the end of the day. It's a terrible cliche but "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" is so very, very true.

.... and that just goes to show that you should really research a business idea before jumping in... there's a lot of costs associated with business that you need to calculate and account for.

 

[IE152]

Matthew,

I don't think that your original idea would work - the punters would spend more of their time in the air than in the clubs, which would make your trips both expensive and knackering!

However, and this comes with the caveat that my clubbing days were many years ago, how about a high class clubbing 'conciege' service?

How I envisage this is that you / your company would be hired by a group of travellers. When they arrive at the airport, you would pick them up and take them to their accomodation, and you would then look after them until they leave, acting as a private "tour rep", and ensuring that their holiday goes exactly to plan without any hitches.

A key selling point though is that through your links with the clubs, you would be able to offer them an enhanced experience - no queing outside, getting their drinks for them, getting them into the VIP areas, meeting the DJs etc.

It would be expensive (both to start up and for your customers), but I don't think that everyone who goes to places like Ibiza (purely on anecdotal evidence, I might add) fits into the Club 18-30 stereotype, and there may be a small, but potentially lucrative niche that you could exploit.

 

[JustCommercialMortgages]

Last time I went clubbing in Liverpool I seem to remember a lot of people being sick. Maybe you could offer airline type sick bags and sell them online - fold them up stick in wallet in case of emergency - pukebags.com?

You could also sell advertising space on the bags themselves - taxi company, hotel, a&e number etc..

 

[RossiReachLocal]

Why try to re-invent the wheel?

Pick a type of business you are interested in, that has good margins, can be easily marketed and that isnt too competitive.... and then see if you could do it better than the people already doing it?

Another option is, if you are interested in clubbing and have contacts. Buy a number of breathalysers, get a team of promo girls to dress up as sexy police officers and go round the bars charging £2 to test how drunk people are on the breathalysers. All you need is a bag full of breath-tubes and a bag to put the used ones into.

Groups of lads will all have a go cos they want to see who has the highest score (much like the punchbag machines in bars - its a testosterone thing).

Costs are minimal, could pay the promo girls per customer rather than fixed wage to start with and it isnt limited to one city.

Id do it myself if i had the time!

 

[K-rado]

Bound to be worth a punt! Something that might appeal to you in investment terms?
Have a look at this Thread. The Bubblescope. looks cool and I can see it going places.

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=1663796#post1663796