New start up web based business advice

[Visari]

Hi everyone, new (kinda) to the forums, and i think i need some advice from some people currently running their own business or own their own site.

Okay, first off, ive been planning this since i was 15 now many years later, Ive matured quite abit (i think any ways) and believe its time to put my idea's into motion. I'm struggling to find a part time job, (although im very proficient in IT) but i have been saving for this moment, so far, ive registered my Domain names (.com & .co.uk) and ive contacted the princes trust and awaiting my phone call or my Package from them in the post, and i have phoned and got quotes from several web developers/designers.

Now, I do now know which design company i want to go with but the site could cost up £7500 for what i want to be done (it is very very specific) I understand that the Princes trust can Loan start ups up to £4000 but “is there any other sources i can gain my start up costs from?” besides any of my savings

I 110% believe in my project and some may think im being naive doing this without a job but i watch dragons den very very often (repeats too) and many of the people on their also don't have jobs but pursue their ideas regardless, some achieve and some fail, i hope to achieve.

Thanks for taking the time to read guys & Gals.

 

[ooh]

I don't see a question in your post.

> i have been saving for this moment, so far, ive registered my Domain names (.com & .co.uk)

Mention that at this point rings alarm bells for me. It's so irrelevent IMO.

> I 110% believe in my project

Where and who are the customers? Have you met them? Go find and meet them. Whatever your idea is, is there a way to serve those customers without first spending a whole load of money on some website which may be useless to everyone, therefore yourself. Prove it works (i.e. get customers), in a small way, first rather than simply believing in it.

I thoroughly recommend this book to you:
The Four Step to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/0976470705
PDF of intro and first three chapters: http://www.stanford.edu/group/e145/cgi-bin/winter/drupal/upload/handouts/Four_Steps.pdf

While you're developing the product, develop customers also, at the same time. As you learn about customers, which will bring up new things you don't know, you can use what you learn to modify the product. Then you won't work blindly (as in "I 110% believe in my project") on the end product spending loads of money and time to perfect a finished thing, only to learn you were making entirely the wrong thing. Wrong, as in something that people don't want.

 

[LicensedToTrade]

I don't see a question in your post.

Might want to open your eyes before you start reeling off advice that made less sense than the original thread.

From my understanding the OP is asking where he/she can source funding in addition to the Prince's Trust. Please correct me if I am wrong.

In answer to this there are less avenues for funding/grants these days than there was a few years ago due to the recent financial 'incident'.

That isn't to say that they have dried up altogether. Check out the Business Link website which whilst I admit isn't perfect, has a lot to offer in terms of sourcing funding.

Banks and Angel Investors will expect you to invest a certain proportion yourself to show that you are fully committed to the business and won't bail on them. If you haven't already got one then you need to prepare a solid business plan that includes evidence of detailed research on your market and earning potential.

 

[purebusiness]

You could try approaching the web development company and work out a payment plan, but only if you are 100 % confident this business is going to work.

Is it possible your website needs ongoing development? Maybe you will want new features to add to the site once you have some feedback from your customers etc?

You could agree a different deal with your developers. Maybe they would consider a monthly retainer for the work you need, based on you working with them for a 12 month period? If there is a chance you will need extra work doing, this works quite well as you can wait until you know 100 % that a feature is needed, based on the responses you are getting from your customers. Also, this helps with cash flow in the initial months.

You can also re look at your development breif. In most cases, some of the features can wait and are in fact luxuries. If your site can go live minus some of the features without it being detrimental to the success of the project, then it may something else you can consider to help you save some cash!

In any event, the less money you borrow, the better. It is surprising sometimes how much you can save if you put your mind to it. Working on a tight budget can really get the creative mind flowing.

 

[ooh]

> Might want to open your eyes before you start reeling off advice that made less sense than the original thread.

Oh right, sorry. Seems reasonably understandable to me. Anyway, recommended book still v. useful for the OP though I reckon.

 

[Visari]

Where and who are the customers? Have you met them? Go find and meet them.

Yes, i know my target market, ive researched it almost to the point of obsession you could say, to make sure that i will 100% be different to Similar businesses in my playing Field.

I don't see a question in your post.

If maybe you even read it, you would see the question clearly underlined, in fact, others picked it up so im not even going to point it out any further, thank you anyways though.
Grateful for at least the response (no sarcasm, i do intend to check out the book you quoted, thank you)

Might want to open your eyes before you start reeling off advice that made less sense than the original thread.

From my understanding the OP is asking where he/she can source funding in addition to the Prince's Trust. Please correct me if I am wrong.
You are correct

In answer to this there are less avenues for funding/grants these days than there was a few years ago due to the recent financial 'incident'.

That isn't to say that they have dried up altogether. Check out the Business Link website which whilst I admit isn't perfect, has a lot to offer in terms of sourcing funding.

Banks and Angel Investors will expect you to invest a certain proportion yourself to show that you are fully committed to the business and won't bail on them. If you haven't already got one then you need to prepare a solid business plan that includes evidence of detailed research on your market and earning potential.

Yeah i was refered back to business link earlier today by an old tutor of mine, been back and forth from there since, they are quite help full.

And i am currently in the process of writing my business plan, in fact i have been for some time now, trying to make perfect the maybe un-perfect-able, i wanted to have the princes trust people go over it with me.
Thanks! Appreciate your kind response.

You could try approaching the web development company and work out a payment plan, but only if you are 100 % confident this business is going to work.

This is a very good idea, & will speak to them again hopefully today (if not Monday) about that, spreading the cost over a 12month period would be idea for me.

Also, just about all the features that we talked about need to be in there from day 1, but additional features may be added through time, (on the other hand some features may be removed with customer feed back)


Regards (& Thanks again for the replys!)

 

[ally_1988]

find a cheaper web development company? ...just a suggestion lol.

You often find that when starting a business you have to make compromises. If you have a limited budget then see if you can find someone cheaper who is willing to work with you. If you can find a designer who believes in your product then you may well find they are willing to build it for a good price on the basis that more work will come from it.

Also, have a look at the specification for you website? Is there any elements which you could manage without at launch? Or maybe look at alternative ways of getting the same result, it may not be ideal and could for example require you to carry out tasks which under the original spec were automated?

Whatever your idea is, one thing that I can say with some degree of certainty is that 6 months down the line you will find areas that work well and others that you would like to change. So you could always look to add extra benefits/functionality at a later date providing it isn't massively devaluing your product/service initially.

Hopefully that makes sense?

 

[julianqfl]

The three F's come to mind.

You probably won't get much joy from angel investors for that size of investment, they usually will be looking at 20K-40K upwards. The bank seems an obvious answer, but they'll probably want personal guarantees of repayment. But they may expect you to finance it from your own personal savings.

Failing that; the 3 F's which are Family, Friends and Fools. (I'm not bring rude, that is a fairly standard tongue in cheek terminology). Nevertheless, that is how many businesses got of the ground.

 

[webboy]

LAMO
>>> Might want to open your eyes before you start reeling off advice that made less sense than the original thread.<<<

I am on the floor just crying (top marks and a brownie point as that was just to hilarious)

You guys are so hard..

Yes i would recommend in getting some professional advice from your nearest business link center as i am sure they can help with all your question on budgeting and a good business model.

 

[oldeagleeye]

I think the OP needs a wake up call. £7,500 for a start-up web site. Come on now. If he saved all that money up himself by squirreling every penny way he could for 5 years. Making sure he has always got a stale cheese in the fridge to make sarny and never buying a takaeawy. Never buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks because it's another £2 quid saved.

Do any of you really think that he would be contemplating using his own money on buying a £7,500 web site. I don't think so.

Sorry OP. You have an idea. Ideas are 10 a penny - even good ones and frankly I don't care what your idea is. How original you think it is - it it is viable someone out there is already doing it if it is solely web related.

What you need young man is a bit of brain storming and a proper business plan. Your idea for instance may centre around a web site but what about the other costs. They can triple the basic investment.

Stop watching the dragons den matey and go watch the market traders for a few months. Learn a bit about business in general and just one final thing.

Stop dreaming. There ain't no such thing as business 'angels'. They are venture capitalists or should I say 'vultures'. If the do invest and shake hands as you see occassionaly on the dragons den you can bet your life they will want an arm and a leg of yours in return and boy oh boy doesnt Theo just love ripping things apart.

Rob

 

[webboy]

LAMO oldeagleeye every time i see your post i stop and think and brace myself for the forthcoming forums slaps.

(Break them in gently)
There are no push button systems on the web that give you money like a slot machine

I think the OP needs a wake up call. £7,500 for a start-up web site. Come on now. If he saved all that money up himself by squirreling every penny way he could for 5 years. Making sure he has always got a stale cheese in the fridge to make sarny and never buying a takaeawy. Never buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks because it's another £2 quid saved.

Do any of you really think that he would be contemplating using his own money on buying a £7,500 web site. I don't think so.

Sorry OP. You have an idea. Ideas are 10 a penny - even good ones and frankly I don't care what your idea is. How original you think it is - it it is viable someone out there is already doing it if it is solely web related.

What you need young man is a bit of brain storming and a proper business plan. Your idea for instance may centre around a web site but what about the other costs. They can triple the basic investment.

Stop watching the dragons den matey and go watch the market traders for a few months. Learn a bit about business in general and just one final thing.

Stop dreaming. There ain't no such thing as business 'angels'. They are venture capitalists or should I say 'vultures'. If the do invest and shake hands as you see occassionaly on the dragons den you can bet your life they will want an arm and a leg of yours in return and boy oh boy doesnt Theo just love ripping things apart.

Rob

 

[oldeagleeye]

I tried to make the post funny Webboy but if you were 17 or 18 what would you want. Another so called friend that was patronising with oh gbreat idea mate or someone that said don't waste another year of your life on this.

If the OP is adult enogh to understand my well meaning intentions then he will take what I said on board without sulking.

Rob

 

[webboy]

Keep them coming as i am following them all, I love the n00bies

I tried to make the post funny Webboy but if you were 17 or 18 what would you want. Another so called friend that was patronising with oh gbreat idea mate or someone that said don't waste another year of your life on this.

If the OP is adult enogh to understand my well meaning intentions then he will take what I said on board without sulking.

Rob

 

[LicensedToTrade]

I think the OP needs a wake up call. £7,500 for a start-up web site. Come on now. If he saved all that money up himself by squirreling every penny way he could for 5 years. Making sure he has always got a stale cheese in the fridge to make sarny and never buying a takaeawy. Never buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks because it's another £2 quid saved.

Do any of you really think that he would be contemplating using his own money on buying a £7,500 web site. I don't think so.

Sorry OP. You have an idea. Ideas are 10 a penny - even good ones and frankly I don't care what your idea is. How original you think it is - it it is viable someone out there is already doing it if it is solely web related.

What you need young man is a bit of brain storming and a proper business plan. Your idea for instance may centre around a web site but what about the other costs. They can triple the basic investment.

Stop watching the dragons den matey and go watch the market traders for a few months. Learn a bit about business in general and just one final thing.

Stop dreaming. There ain't no such thing as business 'angels'. They are venture capitalists or should I say 'vultures'. If the do invest and shake hands as you see occassionaly on the dragons den you can bet your life they will want an arm and a leg of yours in return and boy oh boy doesnt Theo just love ripping things apart.

Rob

Rob, you usually come up with a few gems, but this one is just a put down for the sake of it. There was absolutely no valuable advice or constructive criticism in this one. Give it a rethink and I am sure you can do better.

As for webboy, as you love the 'n00bies' so much I'm very interested in hearing about your portfolio of long-established and successful businesses.

 

[ally_1988]

it (if ) it is viable someone out there is already doing it if it is solely web related.

Stop watching the dragons den matey

Rob

Haha,

I do love it when controversial posts come up!

Although the point about if it's viable and solely web related , someone is already doing it is just absolute rubbish! I accept that opportunities are few and far between, but there is always something someone hasn't thought of. Who knows, maybe the OP has one of those ideas?

If you like Dragons Den, then watch it. It may well be highly dramatised, but you can still learn from it. (importance of having a business plan, realistic goals, vision etc.)

I do think entwined with the rather harsh message, there was a good point about considering all costs, as there will be other costs than just the website.

I do find it slightly worrying that you don't appear to be putting any money into your own project at all. You won't find anyone offering to lend you money if you yourself aren't prepared to take a fair proportion of the risk. Don't you think everyone would be starting up businesses if it was risk free?

You may well have a brilliant idea, but it is important to spend the time doing the research and planning before hand to make sure you make the most of an opportunity.

best of luck

 

[webboy]

Well Said..

Haha,

I do love it when controversial posts come up!

Although the point about if it's viable and solely web related , someone is already doing it is just absolute rubbish! I accept that opportunities are few and far between, but there is always something someone hasn't thought of. Who knows, maybe the OP has one of those ideas?

If you like Dragons Den, then watch it. It may well be highly dramatised, but you can still learn from it. (importance of having a business plan, realistic goals, vision etc.)

I do think entwined with the rather harsh message, there was a good point about considering all costs, as there will be other costs than just the website.

I do find it slightly worrying that you don't appear to be putting any money into your own project at all. You won't find anyone offering to lend you money if you yourself aren't prepared to take a fair proportion of the risk. Don't you think everyone would be starting up businesses if it was risk free?

You may well have a brilliant idea, but it is important to spend the time doing the research and planning before hand to make sure you make the most of an opportunity.

best of luck

 

[The Resolver]

You could try approaching the web development company and work out a payment plan, but only if you are 100 % confident this business is going to work.

The problem here is that the developers will probably (if they are wise enough or it may be in their t&cs anyway) insist on terms that mean they retain the registration of the domain and the IPR (copyright and any other intellectual property rights) in the website until payment in full. If you come up against choppy waters ahead you could then sink in a flash. My advice is press ahead for some investment. Not only does that show you have succeeded in expressing your business idea in such as way as to transmit your belief and generate confidence (a good skill for any entrepreneur) but you will have another 'head' on board to bouce off for decision making when you reach those choppy waters. BTW if you think that your idea is so brilliant that there are no choppy waters ahead then forget it all now.

 

[ooh]

Although the point about if it's viable and solely web related , someone is already doing it is just absolute rubbish! I accept that opportunities are few and far between,

I don't. Seeing as we've been given radical new opportunities (internet -- ways to connect people, things, processes etc.) and seeing as a lot of businesses exhibit little or no imagination on how to use those opportunities ("a website about my business" is the typical starting point for their use of new technology), especially for how to use new opportunities to benefit their customers, and seeing as opportunities develop and change constantly, I'd say there's stacks of opportunities.

but there is always something someone hasn't thought of. Who knows, maybe the OP has one of those ideas?

Indeed. The idea may or may not be a good one. Wouldn't it be a good idea to find out, prove one way or the other, that it is or isn't a viable, desired by people idea before spending 7.5k on it rather than after? Why spend 7.5k to find out it's not a good idea when you can spend far less? It is possible to find out before making the final end thing. That's exactly what the entire book I linked to details how to do in absolute clear and compelling way. The idea is to develop the product and customers at the same time (two processes running in parallel), using gained customer info to modify product, again, before finishing it, rather than after. It's when you find out that your current idea isn't right as is that's critical (early planning stage, or post production?). Earlier the better; at that point your're still in a position to be flexible and use what you've learnt to change/tweak the end product. After you've produced it fully, you've probably spent all your cash.

 

[LicensedToTrade]

How is it that his idea has been rubbished already when he hasn't even told us what that idea is?

 

[ally_1988]

Indeed. The idea may or may not be a good one. Wouldn't it be a good idea to find out, prove one way or the other, that it is or isn't a viable, desired by people idea before spending 7.5k on it rather than after? Why spend 7.5k to find out it's not a good idea when you can spend far less? It is possible to find out before making the final end thing. That's exactly what the entire book I linked to details how to do in absolute clear and compelling way. The idea is to develop the product and customers at the same time (two processes running in parallel), using gained customer info to modify product, again, before finishing it, rather than after. It's when you find out that your current idea isn't right as is that's critical (early planning stage, or post production?). Earlier the better; at that point your're still in a position to be flexible and use what you've learnt to change/tweak the end product. After you've produced it fully, you've probably spent all your cash.

Not so much of an issue if none of the 7.5k is yours?

I found your post slightly confusing, but are you saying it's possible to research your target audience to develop a customer base and appropriate product/service in parallel?

I'm sure that is possible, but particularly with Service based businesses, they are easily copied and a degree of secrecy during the early stages of the business is probably a good thing. Once you are ready to launch, then you can tell everyone and spread the word.

Obviously there is a massive need to understand if there is demand for your product/service, but caution needs to be taken too.