Starting up

[roline83]

Hiya

I'm not entirely sure where to start, whether this is the right place. I have an idea but that's all it is at the minute, it needs some development and probably someone to give a defo yay or nay to whether it would work. Would anyone be willing to give me their opinion?

 

[ctrlbrk]

Hi @roline83

Presumably you're referring to your business idea?

If you explain what it is, I am sure many will flock to proffer their opinion!

 

[roline83]

Yes......
So for a few year now I've been responsible for my daughters teachers present collections Christmas, end of year and work collections. A lot of people have commented on how thoughtful my gifts are and how amazing the gifts are. This year a few people have asked do I do personal shopping as they would sign me up. I was seriously thinking about it for Christmas but wasn't sure how to go about it or if it would even be viable.

 

[fisicx]

Get a website set up and promote like mad on various social sites and there is a good change this could take off locally.

 

[roline83]

Thanks, that's good advice. I wouldn't know what to charge or to get money up front to suit their budget or bill after......

 

[fisicx]

You can charge by the hour, a fixed fee, a percentage of the budget or a combination of all three. You could offer different deals depending on the client. There are loads of ways to set this up.

Getting the money up front is key, you don’t ever want to be out of pocket on a service like this.

 

[roline83]

Aw thank so much for this. I have no idea where to start so advice like this is gold dust to me.

 

[MOIC]

Start if one and see how it goes.

Then the next one.

Continue until you’ve reached 10 and then you’ll see the hurdles you come up against and if your idea is feasible and can make money.

 

[WaveJumper]

You may find this of interest:

Personal Shopper salary in London

The average salary for a Personal Shopper is £8.85 per hour in London. Learn about salaries, benefits, salary satisfaction and where you could earn the most.

uk.indeed.com

Also don't forget if you shop in one particular department store you should also seek discounts from them too whether you pass that on or not to your clients is up to you. best of luck with you venture

 

[roline83]

Aw thanks very much. I work full time so would be doing this on the side so interesting to see what others earn. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Deleted member 335660]

Well I would not want to put the dampers on your idea but a few things to consider.

We started a gift shop and people say what a wonderful experience they have and what wonderful gifts we sell. However, we are in our third year and just getting enough revenue to cover costs. Admittedly Covid did not help. Also with current economic situation Gifts and luxuries are struggling. Our jewelry sales have dived.

I would start by asking those “few people” what they would pay and in fact get them to pay you for shopping. It would be a good trial to see if your idea works in practice.

I would also try a Facebook page first, especially if you have no experience of setting up a website.

As I said, not wanting to out you off but test things first before investing a lot of time and money.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I would target people with money and not necessarily your average person who has become obsessed with their electric bill .Facebook may only attract those that dont have the budget as Luke my highly skilled mechanic has discover

 

[stender]

Business plan first. See if its viable.

 

[roline83]

Well I would not want to put the dampers on your idea but a few things to consider.

We started a gift shop and people say what a wonderful experience they have and what wonderful gifts we sell. However, we are in our third year and just getting enough revenue to cover costs. Admittedly Covid did not help. Also with current economic situation Gifts and luxuries are struggling. Our jewelry sales have dived.

I would start by asking those “few people” what they would pay and in fact get them to pay you for shopping. It would be a good trial to see if your idea works in practice.

I would also try a Facebook page first, especially if you have no experience of setting up a website.

As I said, not wanting to out you off but test things first before investing a lot of time and money.

Thanks for your reply, sorry to hear that your business isn't doing well at the moment. Was your gift shop online or did you have a premises?

 

[roline83]

Business plan first. See if its viable.

Thanks, that's a good idea as I have no idea where to start, I've struggled to even find anyone else that offers this so that I can have a look and compare....

 

[pcproblems]

Could you also consider posting photos of gift ideas on something like Instagram with links pointing to a website.. It doesn't take long to build up followers

 

[Mark T Jones]

It will fall under the broad banners of personal shopper or concierge


Take a look at others - especially those that have specialism to pick up thoughts snd ideas.

 

[fisicx]

Thanks, that's a good idea as I have no idea where to start, I've struggled to even find anyone else that offers this so that I can have a look and compare....

Because nobody else does this it gives you a golden opportunity to corner the market.

Have you registered a domain name and though of a name for your business? Have you set up social media accounts? Have you got posters up in the staff room? Loads of things you can do for virtually no cost to start generating interest in the idea.

 

[Beautinow]

Thanks, that's good advice. I wouldn't know what to charge or to get money up front to suit their budget or bill after......

To get an idea of a good price:

1. How much time would it take if a personal would do it individually instead of hire you?
2. How much time would you spend on it, and what amount would make it worthwhile for you to provide the service.
3. How can you do that job better than if someone else does it? Is it better? faster? and/or cheaper?
4. Are there competitors? What do they charge?

At last, how much time are you going to dedicate to this? Is it full time? If so, you may need to estimate how large the local market demand for this is, and whether you can make a living out of it. If you live in London, the market is probably big enough. Or is it something you can do through online?

 

[roline83]

To get an idea of a good price:

1. How much time would it take if a personal would do it individually instead of hire you?
2. How much time would you spend on it, and what amount would make it worthwhile for you to provide the service.
3. How can you do that job better than if someone else does it? Is it better? faster? and/or cheaper?
4. Are there competitors? What do they charge?

At last, how much time are you going to dedicate to this? Is it full time? If so, you may need to estimate how large the local market demand for this is, and whether you can make a living out of it. If you live in London, the market is probably big enough. Or is it something you can do through online?

Thanks for this. I think because I don't know of anyone else who is doing this I am a bit stuck as to what would I charge, who would take up the service. I'm in the North East so not sure if online would be the way forward.

 

[roline83]

Because nobody else does this it gives you a golden opportunity to corner the market.

Have you registered a domain name and though of a name for your business? Have you set up social media accounts? Have you got posters up in the staff room? Loads of things you can do for virtually no cost to start generating interest in the idea.

I haven't gotten any further than the idea to be honest. Social media seems to be the way forward for everything at the minute.

 

[fisicx]

I haven't gotten any further than the idea to be honest. Social media seems to be the way forward for everything at the minute.

You still need a website. These are cheap as chips to set up. You can then direct potential customers to things you have done for others, describe the process, add testimonials etc. create a Google business profile as well - this could pull in a lot of business.

You can do all this for very little. If it fails the cost is less than most people spend on coffee in a week.

 

[roline83]

Thanks. I'm fairly new to all of this so I have no real past experience to put on a website. Then how do I get it out in the public domain? Sorry if I sound clueless, I kinda am.

 

[fisicx]

Facebook, instagram, nextdoor, posters in the staffroom, Google business profile, word of mouth will all help.

 

[Marbman]

Thanks. I'm fairly new to all of this so I have no real past experience to put on a website. Then how do I get it out in the public domain? Sorry if I sound clueless, I kinda am.

Whenever you start something new you will always begin not knowing what you are doing. The key is to take action and move forward with your idea.

Yes you will make mistakes but you will learn from those and become better and fairly quickly (assuming you keep going) you will leapfrog over so many people simply because most people give up as soon as they see a problem.

If you think you have a good idea and you want to make it happen, then put a plan together (not a biz plan) on a piece of paper (steps to take) and implement those steps.

And use the advice you have be given in this forum, it will serve you well.

 

[ctrlbrk]

Thanks. I'm fairly new to all of this so I have no real past experience to put on a website. Then how do I get it out in the public domain? Sorry if I sound clueless, I kinda am.

If you mean "how do I actually put a website up and running" you need two main things

• a website name (e.g. www.roline83fabwebsite.co.uk)
• a hosting provider (you rent space on their computer servers to host the contents of your website)

Plenty of companies around that sell both of these things.

 

[JamaC]

As mentioned above write out a plan to help guide you

Who are you selling to?
How will you find them?
How will you convince them?
What are the benefits of working with you over someone else?

Your financial goals, how much do you want to make?
How many customers will you need per .... to reach that goal?

Work out your step by step process from finding a school/teacher to delivering the gifts/products.

As mentioned above find and contact suppliers who you will using on a regular basis for discounts.

Seeing as you are targeting schools/teachers why not price based on packages rather than per hour? Your costs can be dependent on the number of teachers/kids involved, custom gifts or random, time of year/occasion etc.

Keep your service as simple as possible, at the same time be unique and memorable.

Lastly your website can be simple to begin with, no need to worry about reviews, we all start without them. Just a simple site describing your services, how it works (with examples), pricing and how to get in contact

 

[roline83]

Hi

Thanks so much for your reply. That's really informative. I've just got the finishing touches to add to the website.
I'm still trying to work out costings to get things off the ground as I've not really had anything to compare to cost wise but offering packages seems like a good idea.

 

[fisicx]

Thanks so much for your reply. That's really informative. I've just got the finishing touches to add to the website.

Oops. Website comes after you have sorted out everything else. Without knowing you price point, target customers, marketing plan and product range you can’t really build a site. The content, images, structure and layout all depend on what you are selling, to whom and how.

Your market research may reveal you only need a Facebook page.

 

[roline83]

I have only designed the website, I know the target customers and through word of mouth at my daughters after school clubs there seems to be some interest stirring up and I know the services I am going to offer. The only thing I am still working out is the costing side of things. With regards to the Facebook page, not everyone has social media so the website would be more for those people. At the moment it's just a case of getting it out there and seeing if there's interest I think.

 

[fisicx]

Make sure you have a Google business profile. This is free and could start generating leads tomorrow.

 

[roline83]

Make sure you have a Google business profile. This is free and could start generating leads tomorrow.

Thanks for that tip. Really appreciate the help and guidance

 

[roline83]

Hi

So I've set up the website, the FB page and Instagram page. Any ideas on how to go about getting potential customers now?

 

[fisicx]

Advertising! Have you put a poster up in the staff room?

Have you got a Google business profile?

 

[roline83]

We don't have a staff room unfortunately.

Yes, I have set one up.

 

[fisicx]

Ok. So now comes the hard bit. Marketing is a skill just like anything else. Have the website and other channels is great but you need to be seen in the places people are looking. And this may mean spending money on adverts. You could also try nextdoor, local magazines and free sheets. Some shops will let you put up postcards. Then there are flyers. It means walking the streets and posting in all the local businesses but this is how you get known. You could get those magnetic door adverts for your car. A poster or sign outside your house.

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