School-Boy Aston

[Ronaldo98]

Hi

I am Aston , I am in my final year of school and am going to open up my own business as soon as I leave. I already have a business plan written up and have a good idea. (Still a lot to learn of course)

I am wondering before I go into starting up my own business , should i stay at school for a few more years to do a business degree? Will that help me secrue a loan and will it give me good information or will be a waste of time?

Am looking forward to learning lots from you all!

Thanks for reading this
Aston

 

[Aspect Investments]

Hi Aston, welcome to UKBF. Its great to see a young man with the desire to open his own business.

From my own personal standpoint you cant have enough education. Knowledge is power in my book.

As far as securing a loan, that would depend on having a good business idea and a sound business plan. Getting an education in business will help you, there is no doubt about it.

 

[shellrob]

If you were my child i would tell you to get the qualification under your belt as you never know when you might need to fall back on them - once you leave education it is very difficult to go back - maybe you could do the 2 together -depending on what your idea is and how much time you will need to start it
good luck up it all works well for you

 

[Websitehandyman]

Hi

I am Aston , I am in my final year of school and am going to open up my own business as soon as I leave. I already have a business plan written up and have a good idea. (Still a lot to learn of course)

I am wondering before I go into starting up my own business , should i stay at school for a few more years to do a business degree? Will that help me secrue a loan and will it give me good information or will be a waste of time?

Am looking forward to learning lots from you all!

Thanks for reading this
Aston

Really depends on your plan, I don't think a degree with help you get loans.

If your business needs all your time and won't give you a chance to learn the basics them doing the degree might be best. If however if your business is slow to get off the ground then you could do both.

In general I would say, if you have a business idea I wouldn't delay getting started with it. Many years ago I had an idea for supplying environmental products to households long before anyone else. In fact everyone around me thought it was a pointless idea and I didn't take it forward. WOTAMISTAKTOMAKEA ! :redface:

 

[Ronaldo98]

I have estimaed the income and expenditure but would no way be able to rent my own flat. I would have to give that up so could I sleep in the building where the business is? I think you just put the builiding to mixed purpose is that right? Am not sure don't want to end up homeless!

 

[Ronaldo98]

Really depends on your plan, I don't think a degree with help you get loans.

If your business needs all your time and won't give you a chance to learn the basics them doing the degree might be best. If however if your business is slow to get off the ground then you could do both.

In general I would say, if you have a business idea I wouldn't delay getting started with it. Many years ago I had an idea for supplying environmental products to households long before anyone else. In fact everyone around me thought it was a pointless idea and I didn't take it forward. WOTAMISTAKTOMAKEA ! :redface:

Yes my business will need all my time as I am not going to leave my staff their on there own. I may get maybe 2 hours to go out and meet clients but that's it. Only so much a manager can do!

 

[WJP]

From my own personal standpoint you cant have enough education. Knowledge is power in my book.

But it doesn't necessarily follow that a university degree is the best way to get relevant knowledge.

 

[maxine]

Aston

I'm afraid I would go with what others have said about continuing your education. You have your whole life ahead of you and you never know you may want to do something completely different in 10 years time.

Having said that I did my degree part time alongside working full time so I don't see why you couldn't consider doing that depending on what your business is.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Max

 

[Ronaldo98]

Aston

I'm afraid I would go with what others have said about continuing your education. You have your whole life ahead of you and you never know you may want to do something completely different in 10 years time.

Having said that I did my degree part time alongside working full time so I don't see why you couldn't consider doing that depending on what your business is.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Max

Maybe I will get a part time job somewhere and continue my education as I was thinking if I became an accountant then I would not have to pay out the fees for one? Good idea or a waste of time?

 

[PrestonLad]

For illustration, I'd consider 2 intelligent identical twins, one moving into business at 16 or 18, who might perhaps make a few mistakes here and there... but learn quickly and by the age of 22, would probably be far more knowledgeable and experienced for running a business than the twin who stayed in eduction to do a business degree.

The question then is, how will the two proceed from there? In my opinion, the twin who went to University (and maybe picked up some wider experience with a couple of years' of paid employment) would have more long-term success than his twin maybe 7 or 8 times out of 10.

Only you can decide (with help from friends/family?) if you think you'd be one of the few who would succeed better by going straight into business. (definitely, there are some people who are far more suited to the hands-on approach)

It would be a real risk to give up your education. Also, remember that most people find their time at university provides them with some of the most fun times of their whole life... and they meet lifelong friends. For these reasons, I would not trade my university years for (almost) anything.

 

[businessfunding]

Firstly I would say that there is zero chance of getting a loan unless you have something substantial to back it up with.

My suggestion would be that you continue your studies and use the opportunity to start your business in a small way. By the time you are complete you will have a rolling business (and the lending environment will hopefully have improved), and will be far5 better placed to fund and grow your business.

 

[Ronaldo98]

Firstly I would say that there is zero chance of getting a loan unless you have something substantial to back it up with.

My suggestion would be that you continue your studies and use the opportunity to start your business in a small way. By the time you are complete you will have a rolling business (and the lending environment will hopefully have improved), and will be far5 better placed to fund and grow your business.

Yes thats one of my issues. I can not buy my premises without a loan.
I dont have that sort of money also some of the interest rates really scare me.

But I know what I want do and have a clear plan in my head of what I need to do.
I need help in managing staff and dealing with the money side of things.
Should I get an accountant or should I go and do a course on it so I have a little bit of a idea and hopefully dont have to pay out for one as much for the simple jobs.

 

[Mark@PFH]

Hi,

Not quite in the same boat as yourself but been there before.

I left school after doing my A Levels, went straight into employment for a local company, i made a point of getting involved in as much as possible concerning the day to day running etc. I left after 3 or so years there, and setup a car parts business (japanese performace parts). Which ran very well, I later sold up.

Going back if i could have my time over again, i think i would have gone further with my education, dont get me wrong I had/have fun running my business and am now looking at starting a second, but i feel with further education and a bit more know how i could personally progress further.

 

[Mark@PFH]

Sorry,

in the first few years try to keep your costs as low as possible,

i.e. run from home, I ran my car parts from my folks garage then progressed, i run my letting business from home now, means my overheads are nothing and results in lower prices for my clients.
Staff - try to do as much as possible yourself, if you need staff think about asking for favours, advertise for locals part time.

and dont think to big straight away, i fell victim to this at the start, I wanted to deal with all the big names and got dis-heartened when they said no.. find the best distributors, stick with them a bit.

 

[JamieM]

How much capital does your business idea require?

 

[spreadtrader]

A business degree would be a good foundation for understanding the systems and financials of business.

Without that knowledge you may just slip into the self employed 'in control & proud to do everything' trap.

Plus you get to mix with like minded individuals. If you take the plunge now you could end up getting held back by those around you - without even realising.

 

[Suzuki]

Maybe I will get a part time job somewhere and continue my education as I was thinking if I became an accountant then I would not have to pay out the fees for one? Good idea or a waste of time?

Waste of time. Most reasonably successful people will pay more for their gardener, car valet or pool man than their accountant so you'd be better training to be one of those in 2 months and > 5% of the cost

If you fancy being an accountant if your own business doesn't take off then absolutely you should consider that route. If you are only doing it to save that small bill as a company owner, it would be madness. If you end up running a really successful company then you aren't going to have time to do the accounts yourself anyway, even if you are qualified to do it.

 

[Ronaldo98]

Thanks for all the great replys.

Maybe should I do further education and get some more A levels and then work in someones else business where I can learn before I run my own business.

A bank will give me a loan then hopefully.

Keep the replys coming in , I am reading them all and they are all fantastic!

 

[Mark@PFH]

What Market are you wanting to go into ?

have you any experience in that market,
Would you consider a Partner in your business,
Can you raise investment elsewhere,
What assets do you have,
Do you have (i think you said you do) a well structured business plan
How will you trade for the first 2-3 years
Do you require an office/workshop space
Have you contacted an accountant

you need to consder these and alot more, a bank now-a-days wont just lend out money, however your in a fortunate position, have you considered contacting the 'Princes Trust'

 

[Ronaldo98]

Without sounding homosexual (I have nothing againt Homesexual's)
I would like to open up my own lingerie factory as their is a strong demand for that and women love buying it. I have a part time job which I am on min wage for. That simply pays my rent and food e.t.c . I have no assest's at all which I could sell to make money. I am going to have a few contracts drawn up with comapnys before I start. I need 175k to purchase the building in which I will working in and 20k for equitment. I have agreed to have a partner , my dad is considering it. I would want to be the main shareholder though! Yes I do require a nice comfortable office where I can meet clients and discuss other matters of the business.

To be honest I haven't even heard of the Princes Trust! What is it and how could it help me? I have contacted an accountant but was busy at the time.
I need some help with employing staff also.

Thanks for helping me

 

[Suzuki]

Oh dear, this thread is going a bit wrong :|

I won't quote it and make it stay on the thread but I'd really edit that first comment out if I was you... it has absolutely no place in a business discussion and it doesn't do you any favours at all.


Also there is no real need to own the building you work from - in fact if you have no assets then its going to be impossible anyway to begin with. You would need to look for a premises that you can rent.

 

[Ronaldo98]

Oh dear, this thread is going a bit wrong :|

I won't quote it and make it stay on the thread but I'd really edit that first comment out if I was you... it has absolutely no place in a business discussion and it doesn't do you any favours at all.


Also there is no real need to own the building you work from - in fact if you have no assets then its going to be impossible anyway to begin with. You would need to look for a premises that you can rent.

I dont want anyone to think I am homeosexual.
It is not offend anyone!

Ok but if I rented the landlord will not let me put in another wall for a office and will not let me drill to put things in.
Business is a tricky thing , thanks for pointing me in the right directions.
Am going to go and think a few more ideas through.

 

[Chance1234]

I dropped out of doing my A-Levels at Seventeen to start my first business, which was graphic design and marketing.

I started off doing signage in pubs. As i was in the pubs during the day, I got speaking to builders, electricians etc and soon ended up doing business cards, logos and promotional gifts at the time.

I was turning over £250 a week( this was back in 1997) and from doing the work for builders, electricians etc. I was starting to get bigger work.

I had help from the local business link, who put us on a book keeping course and gave us an advisor.

That was the good, now the bad. At 17 I was wonderfully naive. When i started dealing with business and my first client told me that invoices would have to be on a 90 day basis, I took that as the norm. As i got other business on board, i offered them 90 days as standard - This pretty much wiped out my cash flow. Then, being a bit cockey at that age. I put in a tender for I think it was BT for a logo change which I spent all my remaining cash on.

The bills started running up very very quickly and soon I was forced to shut it down and take the first job i could, which ironically was with the bank which a week previously had shut down my account.

Do I regret it ? no it was a fantastic learning experience and ok, lost some money but in the grand scheme of things not that much.

But here is the thing, you are talking about premises, investment , loans ,assets , staffing. None of these are straight forward areas and without the right advice and knowledge you can find yourself very quickly up the river without a paddle to put it politely.

I would say as others said, get your A-levels or look at getting experience in the field you want to go into.

What is there to stop you running a business along side your studies ? Before i dropped out of college, i was making extra cash by dealing in video games with my fellow students. At least that way you can also learn the art of selling.

 

[Suzuki]

I dont want anyone to think I am homeosexual.
It is not offend anyone!

Well the fact you had to go out your way to make the point you don't want anyone to think you are one, implies that there is something wrong with it. I wouldn't care if anyone thought that about me, rightly or wrongly. My point is that some things some people will take offence to - so in a business situation you are better to take the easy route and simply not mention it at all, then it can't become an issue.

Ok but if I rented the landlord will not let me put in another wall for a office and will not let me drill to put things in.

Find another property then - if a factory unit has been sitting empty I would be shocked if the landlord won't let you drill holes in the current walls or put up a new wall - remember these can be done cheaply with partition walls, that can easily be taken away again later if needed.

 

[crphillips]

Everything you've asked deserves a completely different answer depending on what type of person you are.

I personally left school at 16, went to work for someone for 5 years or so and then started my own business. I now earn far more money than anyone I grew up with and worked with and if my annual salary never increases any more than inflation then I'll still earn more than 99% of the folk I grew up with that went to Uni and got degrees.......BUT........ I'm clearly a lot different from a lot of my friends........bigger ambitions, more drive and more capable.

I wish I'd had more actual business knowledge but you can learn this on your own from books and online. I still wouldn't change anything about the way I did things.

This isn't right for everyone though and I would say the majority of folk are best working for someone else.

I personally think you could do as many Uni degrees on business as you like but you'd still be clueless how the real world of business works until you start doing it.

Having said that I can't recommend sacking off Uni either as for you it may be a better option.

Its really great that you want to start your own business and you should at some point. Just from reading your posts you sound pretty green though. What you think seems really simple and sure of making money isn't. Myself and a lot of others well experienced in business probably wouldn't touch it. Most textiles are made in China also.

Only you will know what you need to do......you may go to Uni and it will be the best thing you ever did or you may look back at it as a mistake. The same if you start a business.

I think someone fresh out of school has a good chance of failing at business as there are many thngs you just can't even imagine at that age with that little experience. You may be lucky though and make it.

One thing for sure is you'll not get any money out of a bank without some serious money invested from yourself.

I don't necessarily think you should go to Uni but I also don't think you should start borrowing money from family to set up a business needing 200k or so fresh out of school. Get some experience running a smaller business or go work for a lingerie company and make the mistakes we all did in business when there isn't 200k of your families money riding on it.

Also at a young age you'll think you can live comfortably on a lot less money than you actually can. I remember when I thought 'if I can just get on to 20k per year I'll be laughing'. I'm now on around 100k per year and thinking 'if I could just get to 500k per year I'll be laughing'

 

[JamieM]

Whilst I would encourage you to pursue your own business I think you will need to think of something else. You have no money and you won't get a bank loan or investment for this.

You need to start with something smaller and perhaps work towards this factory as a longer term goal.

As an aside I have no idea why someone would think you are gay for wanting to make lingerie. :|

 

[Ronaldo98]

Whilst I would encourage you to pursue your own business I think you will need to think of something else. You have no money and you won't get a bank loan or investment for this.

You need to start with something smaller and perhaps work towards this factory as a longer term goal.

As an aside I have no idea why someone would think you are gay for wanting to make lingerie. :|

So shall I go and find a small business wanting a manager or something?

Also my mates just say that , I think there jealous!

 

[Ronaldo98]

Everything you've asked deserves a completely different answer depending on what type of person you are.

I personally left school at 16, went to work for someone for 5 years or so and then started my own business. I now earn far more money than anyone I grew up with and worked with and if my annual salary never increases any more than inflation then I'll still earn more than 99% of the folk I grew up with that went to Uni and got degrees.......BUT........ I'm clearly a lot different from a lot of my friends........bigger ambitions, more drive and more capable.

I wish I'd had more actual business knowledge but you can learn this on your own from books and online. I still wouldn't change anything about the way I did things.

This isn't right for everyone though and I would say the majority of folk are best working for someone else.

I personally think you could do as many Uni degrees on business as you like but you'd still be clueless how the real world of business works until you start doing it.

Having said that I can't recommend sacking off Uni either as for you it may be a better option.

Its really great that you want to start your own business and you should at some point. Just from reading your posts you sound pretty green though. What you think seems really simple and sure of making money isn't. Myself and a lot of others well experienced in business probably wouldn't touch it. Most textiles are made in China also.

Only you will know what you need to do......you may go to Uni and it will be the best thing you ever did or you may look back at it as a mistake. The same if you start a business.

I think someone fresh out of school has a good chance of failing at business as there are many thngs you just can't even imagine at that age with that little experience. You may be lucky though and make it.

One thing for sure is you'll not get any money out of a bank without some serious money invested from yourself.

I don't necessarily think you should go to Uni but I also don't think you should start borrowing money from family to set up a business needing 200k or so fresh out of school. Get some experience running a smaller business or go work for a lingerie company and make the mistakes we all did in business when there isn't 200k of your families money riding on it.

Also at a young age you'll think you can live comfortably on a lot less money than you actually can. I remember when I thought 'if I can just get on to 20k per year I'll be laughing'. I'm now on around 100k per year and thinking 'if I could just get to 500k per year I'll be laughing'

Thanks I am going to work somewhere else for the time being where I can get to know how to run their business before I risk 200k.

I have decided not to go to uni and get some basic qualifications and build my CV up from this potential job where I am in the office and am managing the staff.

 

[crphillips]

You'd maybe get the money but i think working somehwere else would be a good way to start.

I bought another business around 4 years ago. I borrowed just short of 400k with absoluelty zero personal capital......how did I do this? I got my mother in-law to invest 50k of her savings and we remortgaged her lovely 400 year old stone built property that had been in the family for 3 generations and was bought and paid for. We raised 200k, borrowed some from the bank and re-financed the machinery that the business owned.

Turned out the guy I bought the business from was an absolute crook and to cut a long, stressful story short we went bust and he's in jail.

Anyways the moral of the story is.........no matter how good the idea is i'll never borrow from friends or family ever again! I'm still paying my mother in-law back and at this rate I'll have it paid off in 10 years or so although we're expanding all of the time so it will be much shorter.

Fortunately I own another business which does very well and we've built it up to cover our debts and such. We've managed to maintain our standard of living but it was tough for a couple of years.

I'm sure there are people that have borrowed money from friends or family and it's been a huge success but never again for me!

It's unlikely you'll be able to go an work for a company as a manager. Even with a degree in management you'd need to start low and work your way up.

 

[JamieM]

So shall I go and find a small business wanting a manager or something?

Also my mates just say that , I think there jealous!

To be honest it is very unlikely you are going to walk in to a job as a manager. I applaud your ambition but if you want to go and learn about the lingerie business then by all means try and find a job in the industry. You might have to start at the bottom though. This doesn't mean you can't progress quickly.

I don't know the industry but one other issue you might find is that manufacturing doesn't actually happen in this country, it is likely to be done overseas.

 

[Mark@PFH]

Ok can we bring this back onto point please

1. Nobody brought up your sexual orientation, its really not something that would bother anyone on this forum.
2. I like the fact you know what you want you want to do, its very refreshing and shows there may yet be hope for the youth.

But please for your own sake make this the last time you bring up a comment like that its more important for you as a person that you look past that.

Anyway back to business

Your what 17/18 get your A levels done then decide if you want further education, but as the saying goes Knowledge is power, power is money.
If you choose to leave school and work in someone else business you will start at the bottom, no one will bring you in as a manager with no experience. start at the bottom, work hard and work your way up.

Get yourself stable moneywise have about 6 months - 1 years worth of wages to fall back on, trust me you will need this.

You wont get 200K from the bank as i said before they wanted my house (200K) as security for a 50K loan.

What you do have or so it seems is passion and enthusiasum for what you want to do,
Have you thought about getting yourself a machine, learning the trade you want to work in??

 

[Ronaldo98]

You'd maybe get the money but i think working somehwere else would be a good way to start.

I bought another business around 4 years ago. I borrowed just short of 400k with absoluelty zero personal capital......how did I do this? I got my mother in-law to invest 50k of her savings and we remortgaged her lovely 400 year old stone built property that had been in the family for 3 generations and was bought and paid for. We raised 200k, borrowed some from the bank and re-financed the machinery that the business owned.

Turned out the guy I bought the business from was an absolute crook and to cut a long, stressful story short we went bust and he's in jail.

Anyways the moral of the story is.........no matter how good the idea is i'll never borrow from friends or family ever again! I'm still paying my mother in-law back and at this rate I'll have it paid off in 10 years or so although we're expanding all of the time so it will be much shorter.

Fortunately I own another business which does very well and we've built it up to cover our debts and such. We've managed to maintain our standard of living but it was tough for a couple of years.

I'm sure there are people that have borrowed money from friends or family and it's been a huge success but never again for me!

It's unlikely you'll be able to go an work for a company as a manager. Even with a degree in management you'd need to start low and work your way up.

Glad he is behind bars , that's where he belongs!
Yes borrowing money seems very risky indeed.

I am happy to start from the bottom as I know one day with the determination I will have my own business so It will be all worth it!

 

[Ronaldo98]

Ok can we bring this back onto point please

1. Nobody brought up your sexual orientation, its really not something that would bother anyone on this forum.
2. I like the fact you know what you want you want to do, its very refreshing and shows there may yet be hope for the youth.

But please for your own sake make this the last time you bring up a comment like that its more important for you as a person that you look past that.

Anyway back to business

Your what 17/18 get your A levels done then decide if you want further education, but as the saying goes Knowledge is power, power is money.
If you choose to leave school and work in someone else business you will start at the bottom, no one will bring you in as a manager with no experience. start at the bottom, work hard and work your way up.

Get yourself stable moneywise have about 6 months - 1 years worth of wages to fall back on, trust me you will need this.

You wont get 200K from the bank as i said before they wanted my house (200K) as security for a 50K loan.

What you do have or so it seems is passion and enthusiasum for what you want to do,
Have you thought about getting yourself a machine, learning the trade you want to work in??[/QUOTE]

Sorry about earlier!

I am going to get my A level in business studies.
Then I am going to get myself a full-time job in a lingerie factory even if it is not well paid.
I am going to work my way up to a high position.

I am then going to try and get my own lingerie factory.
(Yes I am going to try and learn how to sow so that way if I fall short of a order I can always make it up later when other workers have already left)

I am very enthusiastic about business and always have been since a young age.

The only thing which is worrying me now is that does England have factorys that purchase things or is it all in China now days?

Could I ever get clients are all they tied up to ones in China?
However hard I work will it never be able to generate profit as this sort of thing is impossible to do in this country?

Thanks Aston

 

[Suzuki]

I would like to open up my own lingerie factory as their is a strong demand for that and women love buying it.

There is a strong demand for baked beans or light bulbs, why not produce those?

Do you have any other reasons why you want to get into the lingerie business?
(or at least any you want to share with us )

Unless you're holding something back on us, your choice of industry to get into doesn't seem well thought out at all.

 

[crphillips]

Everything is made in china. Even the top designer makes. You can't compete producing clothing in the UK unless your going to go niche but then you'll not shift big numbers.

It will come back to the UK one day but not for a while.

Don't keep quoting entire posts by others too.....it'll annoy folk and make the thread massive.

 

[Ronaldo98]

There is a strong demand for baked beans or light bulbs, why not produce those?

Do you have any other reasons why you want to get into the lingerie business?
(or at least any you want to share with us )

Unless you're holding something back on us, your choice of industry to get into doesn't seem well thought out at all.

To be honest it was the first thing that came into my mind when manufacturing something since then I have worked out how the business would work.

But haven't thought about how I could sell the product and would it even make any profit what so ever! So that is what I need to find out next if the answer is no then I need to think of something else which is not manufacturing lingerie.

 

[Ronaldo98]

Shame , maybe this type of idea will not work.

Hopefully it will return soon!

Im new so I didnt know sorry about that.

 

[Suzuki]

To be honest it was the first thing that came into my mind when manufacturing something since then I have worked out how the business would work.

But haven't thought about how I could sell the product and would it even make any profit what so ever! So that is what I need to find out next if the answer is no then I need to think of something else which is not manufacturing lingerie.

Okay so if you have no connection to the underwear niche outside of sneaking a look at your mums catalogues... its time to have a rethink.

Really you need to find an angle in a specific niche where you can either do something cheaper than everyone else is already doing (not ideal to compete on price alone, but it is viable), or you need to find a new way to promote these products, or have a customer base already, etc etc. You basically need a reason why you're getting into this niche.... not just picking one at random and expecting to build a business in it.

Its great that you're thinking about running a business at all, but I think you need to go back to the drawing board with this. At least pick a niche that you have a personal interest in, you're far more likely to be able to find (or build) a competitive advantage over other businesses doing similar if you do that.

 

[Websitehandyman]

I've been crossing PMs with Aston, he's young but has the most important ingredient for business - hunger

I suspect the best place for him to start is either a market stall or ebay just buying and selling. This will teach him more then he's currently getting from his business classes.

He could also setup an appointment with a bank manager to ask for a loan. He won't get the loan but he will learn what it takes and the process.

Currently he's trying to fly before he's got on his feet.

Good luck kid.

 

[shellrob]

I agree ebay kind of business crossed with markets would be a good place to start - plus would still allow to continue with education weither full time or part time learning - as he will never know when it might be needed plus i feel knowedge leads to a more powerful position. - they are many wholesalers in london and manchester who stock products and have small minimums so low capitol out lay