What business to start with £200k?

Ozzy

Founder of UKBF
UKBF Staff
  • Feb 9, 2003
    8,319
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    Northampton, UK
    bdgroup.co.uk
    I will receive £200k from inheritance in the next few months. I am wondering what business I could start up with this kind of money, any ideas or advice would be welcome.
    Almost anything.
    To be honest, you're asking the wrong question and before you can ask the right one you need to look at yourself, your knowledge, your expectations and your drive and then do some research into whatever it is that you want to do. Not what someone else suggests you should do.
     
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    Blood Lust

    Free Member
    Sep 7, 2011
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    I will receive £200k from inheritance in the next few months. I am wondering what business I could start up with this kind of money, any ideas or advice would be welcome.
    Do you have business acumen?
    What would you enjoy doing?
    What do you have knowledge of?
    Is there demand for it?

    If you have limited options may I suggest doing a test run to show yourself the potential of an AI trading stockbroker with a deposit of £5000.
     
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    JEREMY HAWKE

    Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Mar 4, 2008
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    EXETER DEVON
    www.jeremyhawkecourier.co.uk
    Buy sheets of 6mm 9mm and 12mm mdf from China and sell to UK timber merchants with your markup.
    This is what I love about everybody on this site

    They love spending everybody else's money ??
     
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    HFE Signs

    Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Most of us have an idea or dream to do something where we spot a gap in the market or feel we can do it better. Your question is a bit upside down - what are your skills, hobbies and dreams?
     
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    DontAsk

    Free Member
    Jan 7, 2015
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    I would spend about 10% (£20k) to set up my own workshop and make bespoke furniture. Then invest the rest in 2 year savings bonds and recoup my 10%, whilst potentially making an income along the way. If I failed I would still have almost all of my £200K to try again.
     
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    Blood Lust

    Free Member
    Sep 7, 2011
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    Most new start ups go bust in their first two years. The most common things that get them are:

    Cashflow problems: They don`t retain enough free and easily accessible cash to pay their bills. Often this is caused by allowing too many purchases on credit.

    Low Demand: They enter into a saturated market, or one which there is low demand for. Instead of picking high demand niches which currently aren`t satisfied.

    Unrealistic Expectations: It takes time to establish a customer base and grow a brand name. Many start ups pile in all their money early, not covering themselves for a few years before they are a go to option for plenty of customers.
     
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    Paul Carmen

    Business Member
    Business Listing
    Jan 27, 2018
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    Newport Pagnell
    insiteweb.co.uk
    I will receive £200k from inheritance in the next few months. I am wondering what business I could start up with this kind of money, any ideas or advice would be welcome.
    Don't do this, put the money in a high interest bank account, gold, or property. Something pretty safe and secure, otherwise with the approach you are outlining, you will waste the £200k.

    A business should never be started like this. You start a business based on research, fulfilling a customer need/demand, and having analysed the market and modeled the profitability first.
     
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    Blood Lust

    Free Member
    Sep 7, 2011
    977
    138
    Don't do this, put the money in a high interest bank account, gold, or property. Something pretty safe and secure, otherwise with the approach you are outlining, you will waste the £200k.

    A business should never be started like this. You start a business based on research, fulfilling a customer need/demand, and having analysed the market and modeled the profitability first.
    Dont do gold, its price is very high due to a couple of decades of problems.

    At some point it is going to correct down to somewhere around £800 per troy ounce. If you want to invest it find a renown bank with a fund investment scheme, and join. I still recommend having an experiment using £5000 on an AI share trading platform, you`ll be surprised.
     
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    MarketingQuote

    Free Member
    Business Listing
    Nov 28, 2023
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    Basingstoke
    Since COVID there has been a shortage on lots of building materials (timber, nuts, bolts etc.) so as a few other members have suggested, becoming a supplier could be a wise choice.

    As others have said, choosing a business based on your own skills, passion and drive would be the logical choice.

    Advice would be not to start a business you have no experience in.
     
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    Mark James

    Free Member
    Dec 17, 2023
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    Dont do gold, its price is very high due to a couple of decades of problems.

    At some point it is going to correct down to somewhere around £800 per troy ounce. If you want to invest it find a renown bank with a fund investment scheme, and join. I still recommend having an experiment using £5000 on an AI share trading platform, you`ll be surprised.
    Hi Lusty

    Can you recommend a AI trading platform, I fancy a bit of that.
     
    • NoLikey
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    If you do not know what you to do, don't do anything.

    Starting a business you have no experience, knowledge or previous nterest in is almost guaranteed to fail.

    Invest in some longer term things (6%+ a year will get you £12k...) And get a job.
     
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    Well, you've told 250,000 strangers that you've got £200K you don't know what to do with! Don't be surprised if you receive a bucket-load of offers to help you 'invest' it in unmissable, once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities.

    Of course, if you want a sure-fire winner I'll sell you a half-share of my ostrich farm in Belgium.
     
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    I used to joke with people who came to me for advice - 'give me half of the money and then go on the holiday of a lifetime' that way they could at least get some benefit from the funds!
     
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    AmazonGeek

    Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Sep 19, 2022
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    Lancashire
    www.salesgeek.co.uk
    You could get a hell of a head start on Amazon with a fraction of that! I started a poker brand 4 years ago with just under £10k and it now turns over around £500k pa, runs on autopilot and earns me thousands each month in profit. I teach others to do the same, anyone from students up to well-known brands (my biggest client currently is a 150-year old UK stationary brand).

    I am about to be the featured business on this forum so watch out for the email in the next few days. If you want to know more I can send you a Calendly link and we can have a chat - no cost or obligation. It isn't for everyone and may not be for you but we can soon get an idea.

    I am off skiiing for a week and leave today at 3pm (if I don't reply for a while) :)
     
    • NoLikey
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    Since COVID there has been a shortage on lots of building materials (timber, nuts, bolts etc.) so as a few other members have suggested, becoming a supplier could be a wise choice.

    As others have said, choosing a business based on your own skills, passion and drive would be the logical choice.

    Advice would be not to start a business you have no experience in.
    The problem now is by the time OP gets set up, established and trading the market will be awash with new companies with similar ideas.

    OP - You need to step back and consider. Wise words from many who say that the money will soon be frittered
    You need to invest a small amount of that in budgeting and feasability studies to make as sure as you can be that you will be earning from any money you invest.
    And please DONT go blazing into Business Agents listings thinking 'I can afford that': Examine each potential opportunity in depth, and only offer what makes the opportunity viable for you, regardless of the asking price.

    A nice position to be in - and don't ignore the straight financial investment opportunities that a few simple long term deposit accounts can give you - after the investment sharks have filled themselves you wouldnt end up with much more anyway.
     
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    Trapbarn

    Free Member
    Feb 8, 2022
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    www.tomdhu.co.uk
    It would help if you indicated what work experience or skill you have already.

    I would look around for a very small business - ideally one that that is run by an elderly owner.

    The business I would go for is one that provides a service rather than trade goods. That way you dont get involved in storage stock deterioration and obsolescence.

    My choice would be something like picture framing but first I would work as an employee somewhere else. That way, I would soon work out if I had the appropriate skills and if i could see myself doing it year after year.~
    If you have "people skills" you can achieve better margins and greater volume than some grumpy old git.
     
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    JPeck101

    New Member
    Feb 26, 2024
    5
    2
    I will receive £200k from inheritance in the next few months. I am wondering what business I could start up with this kind of money, any ideas or advice would be welcome.
    I don't know what your likes, dislikes or skills are but I can say do not fall into the trap of buying stuff to sell on. Unless you are a marketing whiz you will end up with boxes of rubbish laying around. I would be more inclined to use the money to buy/part buy a home and use the next few years getting a trade behind you. Your biggest outgoing is usually your property so at least once that is reduced you have breathing room to look to the future.
     
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    AmazonGeek

    Business Member
  • Business Listing
    Sep 19, 2022
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    Lancashire
    www.salesgeek.co.uk
    I don't know what your likes, dislikes or skills are but I can say do not fall into the trap of buying stuff to sell on. Unless you are a marketing whiz you will end up with boxes of rubbish laying around.
    Can't say I agree with this. Yes, it is a trap if you don't know what you are doing but there are tens of thousands of businesses in the UK that do exactly this and it can be very rewarding. It sounds like you have maybe had a bad experience but you shouldn't put others off doing something on your experiences alone.
     
    • NoLikey
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    Can't say I agree with this. Yes, it is a trap if you don't know what you are doing but there are tens of thousands of businesses in the UK that do exactly this and it can be very rewarding. It sounds like you have maybe had a bad experience but you shouldn't put others off doing something on your experiences alone.
    I'd kind of agree/ disagree with both.

    It's possible to make money with just about anything, and equally possible to lose it.

    The context of this threads (and multiple similar ones) revolves around finding things to match the OPs skills, interests, connections etc.

    We still have no idea what they are
     
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