Would like some help

[Emma Smith]

Hi guys i am looking for advice
I have been reading some threads and have seen people asking for advice on starting a business i am kind of but not.
I am looking into what books i could read.
Was also wondering if i would have to have experience and if so where would i get it from very broad question a simple answer to this i would love to own all kinds of businesses.
once i have done all research which would be great if i kind of knew what points to go with.
options would it be best to buy a business or start from scratch.
Then how to fund it have a few grand put away but not much took me ages to get this much so far

 

[AllUpHere]

I always look for a marketing opportunity, and work back from there. It's a lot easier than working out what product or service you want to sell, then wondering who on earth to sell it to.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I think you really need to start by focusing your thoughts and ideas

perhaps, just as an exercise focus on one idea. Think about how you can deliver, who you would target and what your point(s) of differentiation would be.

there are lots of books, but until you have a little clarity of your own they won’t really help you

 

[Emma Smith]

I like the thought of working with people so something like a pub/club, wedding/party venues, hotel/b&b/caravan site, and a cafe ect
they are the kind of things i get excited about
I have a nvq level 2 in retail
I have seen businesses for sale i get carried away in ideas but like me and my partner keep saying why are they selling

 

[The Byre]

1. Look at my video on 'Your Business Plan' (more to follow on structure and market surveys this week).

2. Read 'Starting a Business for Dummies' by C.Barrow (boring but covers 80% of what you need to know).

3. Keep reading this forum - especially the failures and disasters! You will see common themes develop, so you will know what to NOT do!

4. Learn about company structures and contract law - reading up on Wikipedia is a great way to get a good broad idea of these topics.

5. NEVER sign a contract that you have not read and/or did not understand fully. Remember that as soon as you put on your business hat, all consumer protection laws fall away.

Now is a great time to start planning for a new business - but it is not yet time to start one. Wait until the World's economy has crashed completely. The UK government is running the economy into several brick walls simultaneously and next year there will be loads of opportunities as companies hitherto totally healthy turn their corporate faces to the wall and hand in their dinner plates.

 

[Forgot password]

Hi Emma

Whilst most on here would admire your business aspirations and encourage you to start a business it’s really not for most and the best advice I would give is question yourself first and not the idea/ideas that you have.

Took you ages to save a few grand you say? How would you feel if that was taken away from you in just one day for example? A few grand in business is really a minuscule amount and won’t get you far i’m afraid.

You need to look at money as a tool in your business and not hold it to close emotionally.

Have you got a thick skin and are prepared to fall out with people and be moaned at by all and sundry?

If you haven’t got a clear vision and a route to market you will forever go round in circles. Can you be a allrounder - sales woman, accountant, marketier, web designer, if not you need to pay for these services.

Are you strong enough to face adversary time and again and continue to pick yourself up and carry on?

Worry, stress and working silly hours just to get off the ground- is that you? You need to talk to yourself and really work out who you are and what makes you tick inside. 3 out of 5 business go bust most within 6 months. 97% of people work in jobs employed... are you one of the 3%... Most successful entrepreneurs have failed big time going bankrupt and losing hundreds of thousands and homes etc. But started again - because of the ‘drive’ inside them..

Have you got that drive Emma?

 

[Emma Smith]

1. Look at my video on 'Your Business Plan' (more to follow on structure and market surveys this week).

2. Read 'Starting a Business for Dummies' by C.Barrow (boring but covers 80% of what you need to know).

3. Keep reading this forum - especially the failures and disasters! You will see common themes develop, so you will know what to NOT do!

4. Learn about company structures and contract law - reading up on Wikipedia is a great way to get a good broad idea of these topics.

5. NEVER sign a contract that you have not read and/or did not understand fully. Remember that as soon as you put on your business hat, all consumer protection laws fall away.

I subbed to your channel the other day will be watching them
number 5 do that all the time in normal life so thats not a problem for me
I will look into 2-4 as well i do love to research

 

[MBE2017]

I agree with James Johnson, with such little funds behind you, particularly at the moment, I would take your time, research, save, work, and wait to see what happens.

You do not have enough money to survive 98% of the time, one main reason so many new start ups fail within a year. In the hospitality sector, thousands will be going bust, whilst the world decides what the new normal will be. Changes in numbers will effect business costing profitability massively, so don’t rush.

 

[Emma Smith]

Hi Emma

Whilst most on here would admire your business aspirations and encourage you to start a business it’s really not for most and the best advice I would give is question yourself first and not the idea/ideas that you have.

Took you ages to save a few grand you say? How would you feel if that was taken away from you in just one day for example? A few grand in business is really a minuscule amount and won’t get you far i’m afraid.

You need to look at money as a tool in your business and not hold it to close emotionally.

Have you got a thick skin and are prepared to fall out with people and be moaned at by all and sundry?

If you haven’t got a clear vision and a route to market you will forever go round in circles. Can you be a allrounder - sales woman, accountant, marketier, web designer, if not you need to pay for these services.

Are you strong enough to face adversary time and again and continue to pick yourself up and carry on?

Worry, stress and working silly hours just to get off the ground- is that you? You need to talk to yourself and really work out who you are and what makes you tick inside. 3 out of 5 business go bust most within 6 months. 97% of people work in jobs employed... are you one of the 3%... Most successful entrepreneurs have failed big time going bankrupt and losing hundreds of thousands and homes etc. But started again - because of the ‘drive’ inside them..

Have you got that drive Emma?

i have wanted to own my own business for a long time i know it is going to be a lot of work but still has not put me off plus not afraid of a lot of hard work
Yes money is a big thing to save
I am think skinned my down fall is i am not very good at putting stuff into words and when i rush writing i make it one paragraph so i do need to do more work on that
i have never done marketing accounting as for web design my daughter is doing a graphic design course
as for money like you said it needs to be your everything but your nothing if you get that

 

[Emma Smith]

I agree with James Johnson, with such little funds behind you, particularly at the moment, I would take your time, research, save, work, and wait to see what happens.

You do not have enough money to survive 98% of the time, one main reason so many new start ups fail within a year. In the hospitality sector, thousands will be going bust, whilst the world decides what the new normal will be. Changes in numbers will effect business costing profitability massively, so don’t rush.

thank you i really am in no rush i would rather do the research then research again then decide

what kind of set up would be good as i then have a goal to achieve as i can be roofless with money when i put my mind to it i have looked into loads of stuff but i feel i am inexperienced in said business i could have all the ideas to make it better but dont know how or where to start

 

[Emma Smith]

that was meant to be what kind of money would i need to set up sorry

 

[mattk]

Don't listen to the naysayers. The best time to start a business is today.

My advice is start small. Work as a sole trader to begin with as you can always go Limited at a later date. There are regulatory requirements for a Limited company which if money is tight you probably don't want to incur from day one.

You need an idea. This is the most important part. Either someone that no one is doing (very rare) or that people are already doing but you have a new angle.

I always think you should stick to what you know, as the devil is in the detail. That's not to say you cannot go into an industry which you have no experience of, but it just means a steeper learning curve.

Keep records of everything you do. What you spend (including receipts) and what you sell. That way you can't go far wrong.

 

[Forgot password]

that was meant to be what kind of money would i need to set up sorry

All of the ideas you mentioned except the cafe would need approximately £100k to give you breathing space ie no income (profit) fit a year or so.

You could get a cafe on the go including shop fit for best £8k

 

[AllUpHere]

that was meant to be what kind of money would i need to set up sorry

You can't possibly know that. I'm currently working on a business that will cost about £40 k to get past the initial research stage, and one that's going to cost about 1.7million before we get any money back. The figure you need will probably be somewhere between those 2 figures, but nobody can tell you where.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I like the thought of working with people so something like a pub/club, wedding/party venues, hotel/b&b/caravan site, and a cafe ect
they are the kind of things i get excited about
I have a nvq level 2 in retail
I have seen businesses for sale i get carried away in ideas but like me and my partner keep saying why are they selling

Unfortunately you've plumped for businesses with high start up costs and huge failure rates. Also 'like working with people' probably isn't a great rationalle.

Start thinking about businesses which you can get running on a fairly low budget and using resource that's readilly available to you just to get a grounding in business.

Forget buying a business for now - not least because they will be giving them away with petrol in 12 months time. Buying a business is a skill in itself!

 

[Emma Smith]

Don't listen to the naysayers. The best time to start a business is today.

My advice is start small. Work as a sole trader to begin with as you can always go Limited at a later date. There are regulatory requirements for a Limited company which if money is tight you probably don't want to incur from day one.

You need an idea. This is the most important part. Either someone that no one is doing (very rare) or that people are already doing but you have a new angle.

I always think you should stick to what you know, as the devil is in the detail. That's not to say you cannot go into an industry which you have no experience of, but it just means a steeper learning curve.

Keep records of everything you do. What you spend (including receipts) and what you sell. That way you can't go far wrong.

thank you would love to start today but it is my lack of experience and lack of funds that are holding me back right now

i already have a business bank account that has sat there since oct 2019 so a start i suppose

 

[Emma Smith]

thank you for all your input
wow sounds like a lot of money so maybe look at it all but as for what would be successful i have no idea hopefully i will come up with something

 

[The Byre]

You need almost enough £ but not too much.

Having money is nice, but having a well-founded business plan and having done all the market research and understanding the market is waaaay more important than having loadsamoney!

I have seen a school that began as one teacher going from home to home, tutoring kids, then came a single rented room, followed by several rooms and hired help with other teachers, then came their own building.

I began as a journalist when I was in the German music biz. A trade mag called me and wanted an article. One article lead to one-a-month, lead to sister publication wanting some articles and then I hired others to write about other subjects until I had over 60 employees and a few hundred freelance scribblers. I sold that company and was able to retire at the grand-old age of 50.

During all that 12 year period I also started a market research company and a TV format agency - all sold - though the last two far too cheaply, but I wanted out at any price! 'Me-time' was calling and I felt that if I had to read another stupid fluff-piece about 'Sony looks to the future!' I might kill someone and end up in prison!

But as Mark states, avoid businesses that require large sums of money to get going. In the coming months, cash is going to become a rare commodity. The velocity of money has slowed down from 2 to 1.3 - and for good reason.

 

[Emma Smith]

You need almost enough £ but not too much.

Having money is nice, but having a well-founded business plan and having done all the market research and understanding the market is waaaay more important than having loadsamoney!

I have seen a school that began as one teacher going from home to home, tutoring kids, then came a single rented room, followed by several rooms and hired help with other teachers, then came their own building.

I began as a journalist when I was in the German music biz. A trade mag called me and wanted an article. One article lead to one-a-month, lead to sister publication wanting some articles and then I hired others to write about other subjects until I had over 60 employees and a few hundred freelance scribblers. I sold that company and was able to retire at the grand-old age of 50.

During all that 12 year period I also started a market research company and a TV format agency - all sold - though the last two far too cheaply, but I wanted out at any price! 'Me-time' was calling and I felt that if I had to read another stupid fluff-piece about 'Sony looks to the future!' I might kill someone and end up in prison!

But as Mark states, avoid businesses that require large sums of money to get going. In the coming months, cash is going to become a rare commodity. The velocity of money has slowed down from 2 to 1.3 - and for good reason.

Thank you ok so turn my attention to market research what would i need to look for and like people have said where we are has a big impact on the research so would need to re look at it again anyway but any points would be great anything i can reuse on any industry

 

[Mark T Jones]

Here are a few of the most frequently repeated mistakes in the retail hospitality sector:

- Falling in love with a business / idea.
- Focusing on what you/your friend like, rather than what your target audience wants & is prepared to pay for, repeatedly.
- Working hard to become a minimum-wage slave to your own kitchen or counter.
- Over-spending.
- Poor project management.

In many respects, lack of funding is your friend at this moment.

 

[mattk]

thank you would love to start today but it is my lack of experience and lack of funds that are holding me back right now

i already have a business bank account that has sat there since oct 2019 so a start i suppose

What's holding you back is lack of a well thought out and researched idea. You can lots of high level thoughts, but you need to take one and expand on it.

What products/services will you offer? What's your market? Who's your competitors? How will you market it?

This is a paper-based activity and costs nothing except time. I like to draw out ideas using a Business Model Canvas, which is a bulleted version of an elongated business case.

 

[AllUpHere]

@Mark T Jones makes a good point. You need enough money, but not too much. Too much will simply make you really good at spending money.

 

[Emma Smith]

Here are a few of the most frequently repeated mistakes in the retail hospitality sector:

- Falling in love with a business / idea.
- Focusing on what you/your friend like, rather than what your target audience wants & is prepared to pay for, repeatedly.
- Working hard to become a minimum-wage slave to your own kitchen or counter.
- Over-spending.
- Poor project management.

In many respects, lack of funding is your friend at this moment.

yeah the lack of money is a big problem i would like to start something up with the little money i have just to get a grip on business but i need to do the research first

 

[Emma Smith]

@Mark T Jones makes a good point. You need enough money, but not too much. Too much will simply make you really good at spending money.

oh i do that already i spend but i dont like to blow a budget so look for bargains

 

[MOIC]

ecommerce

1 product you have an interest in.

Research suppliers, sellers, platforms, product specifications, costs & selling prices.

Understand VAT and other legal requirements.

Keep it simple and grow organically.

Start small.

 

[Mr D]

I agree with @MY OFFICE IN CHINA.

Start by learning business. Invest a couple hundred quid in buying and selling online.
This may well end up not being your dream business but could teach you a lot, cheaply, while hopefully increasing your funds you have available later.

Figure out what you know. For example if you are into fishing then you will already have knowledge of rods, reels and other stuff fishing people want.

Sell to customers. First of all figure out who those customers are. There could be multiple ones.

And do not just offer what you like, figure out what they like.
You do not have to have unique products or a niche set of customer. However it can be a mistake for new starters to simply look for the best selling item and start with that. Usually eaten alive by the experienced sellers and the sheer amount of competition driving prices down.
Your competitors will not care if you end up selling for a loss.

 

[Emma Smith]

i have been out of work for a long while so would need to look into something
i know shoe clothes and bags are so saturated that i would not do that

what kind of platforms would there be i know shopify facebook not sure about ebay and someone said they could close me down on amazon if you get to many complaints

i know where to find suppliers just need to sort something out

i know a lot of people said that dropshipping is not good i would love to sink my teeth into something so will be looking at different books

might just make a business plan and work through that as its meant to be a guild am i right in that

 

[Mr D]

i have been out of work for a long while so would need to look into something
i know shoe clothes and bags are so saturated that i would not do that

what kind of platforms would there be i know shopify facebook not sure about ebay and someone said they could close me down on amazon if you get to many complaints

i know where to find suppliers just need to sort something out

i know a lot of people said that dropshipping is not good i would love to sink my teeth into something so will be looking at different books

might just make a business plan and work through that as its meant to be a guild am i right in that

Any 3rd party site should close you down if you get too many complaints. The big sites are ebay and amazon.
However for smaller and more specialist sites have a look at a site called Tamebay. https://tamebay.com/
They have a list of 50 3rd party sites, some of them requiring people to know foreign language.
Also usually good for ecommerce news.

Where to find suppliers? Start with UK. Do a google search.
There are often trade fairs on across the country, you can search for previous trade fairs and look at the exhibitor list to get names of companies to track down.
There's also a fair bit of trade press, free or low cost, focusing on particular industries.

Go in shops. Do research on what they stock, make mental note of brand names or name of company on the item label. Research the name / stock at home.

Yes a business plan is a guide. Think of it as an ever changing route map of how to get from A to B, with B being the destination you want in business covered by the plan.
Lots of exciting things to see along the way, strange stuff to encounter - and factor in potholes or punctures.

 

[Emma Smith]

Any 3rd party site should close you down if you get too many complaints. The big sites are ebay and amazon.
However for smaller and more specialist sites have a look at a site called Tamebay. https://tamebay.com/
They have a list of 50 3rd party sites, some of them requiring people to know foreign language.
Also usually good for ecommerce news.

Where to find suppliers? Start with UK. Do a google search.
There are often trade fairs on across the country, you can search for previous trade fairs and look at the exhibitor list to get names of companies to track down.
There's also a fair bit of trade press, free or low cost, focusing on particular industries.

Go in shops. Do research on what they stock, make mental note of brand names or name of company on the item label. Research the name / stock at home.

Yes a business plan is a guide. Think of it as an ever changing route map of how to get from A to B, with B being the destination you want in business covered by the plan.
Lots of exciting things to see along the way, strange stuff to encounter - and factor in potholes or punctures.

which one of the 3rd party sites would you recommend as i think ebay is going down not much activity on there that i can see maybe wrong amazon not looked into

going to go to the shops in town and see what there is

would a returns pallets be good or would people stay away from them

it is hard to come up with something when most stuff is saturated i am looking at things now before i go out looking at shops

also how do you price stuff do you look at what other people are selling it for and go from there

 

[Mr D]

which one of the 3rd party sites would you recommend as i think ebay is going down not much activity on there that i can see maybe wrong amazon not looked into

going to go to the shops in town and see what there is

would a returns pallets be good or would people stay away from them

it is hard to come up with something when most stuff is saturated i am looking at things now before i go out looking at shops

also how do you price stuff do you look at what other people are selling it for and go from there

I sell on ebay and amazon.
I get a higher percentage of sales on ebay, amazon gets busier in run up to Christmas.

6 of one half dozen of the other.

The sites are very different. Amazon is more heavy handed and can suspend your account. Plus takes about a month after the sale before you get your money - that's for life.
Ebay use paypal (for the moment, they are changing later this year) and new accounts get the money after a few weeks, reducing time held until a few months later the payment is instant so can send to your bank account when you want.

Ebay I find is less hassle. Amazon is, while also a 3rd party site, also a competitor as a retailer. You can find yourself selling items at double the price amazon charge while sharing the product page with 400 other sellers. Getting noticed then is a tad problematic...

I price stuff based on price I purchased at. I use a common markup of 2.5 the wholesale price, plus postage. Then maybe an additional factor if the item is risky (slow moving usually).
So may buy at 30p and sell for £2.99. O may buy at £3.89 and sell for £12.99.

I don't bother with other seller's pricing. They won't pay my bills and I do not chase the demographic who must buy from the cheapest seller only.
Either an item sells at the price I set or sometime later I drop the price a bit and never buy the item again.

My usual problem is selling out of stuff - getting replacement of that item is sometimes impossible as no longer produced.
My suppliers are very nice but they have their own ideas about how many of an item to have produced. Say 10,000 of a certain item - when its gone they don't get more.

Returns pallets - somewhat problematic as you need to know what you are doing. Check items work, dispose of some stuff (businesses pay to dispose of rubbish).

Plenty of brands won't allow their stuff to be sold on a particular site, some won't allow on any 3rd party site.
They'll happily report the product as fake if they don't know who you are - because you never purchased from them.
Companies cannot stop you selling. They can stop you buying again - no requirement to carry on selling to you.

 

[Emma Smith]

I sell on ebay and amazon.
I get a higher percentage of sales on ebay, amazon gets busier in run up to Christmas.

6 of one half dozen of the other.

The sites are very different. Amazon is more heavy handed and can suspend your account. Plus takes about a month after the sale before you get your money - that's for life.
Ebay use paypal (for the moment, they are changing later this year) and new accounts get the money after a few weeks, reducing time held until a few months later the payment is instant so can send to your bank account when you want.

Ebay I find is less hassle. Amazon is, while also a 3rd party site, also a competitor as a retailer. You can find yourself selling items at double the price amazon charge while sharing the product page with 400 other sellers. Getting noticed then is a tad problematic...

I price stuff based on price I purchased at. I use a common markup of 2.5 the wholesale price, plus postage. Then maybe an additional factor if the item is risky (slow moving usually).
So may buy at 30p and sell for £2.99. O may buy at £3.89 and sell for £12.99.

I don't bother with other seller's pricing. They won't pay my bills and I do not chase the demographic who must buy from the cheapest seller only.
Either an item sells at the price I set or sometime later I drop the price a bit and never buy the item again.

My usual problem is selling out of stuff - getting replacement of that item is sometimes impossible as no longer produced.
My suppliers are very nice but they have their own ideas about how many of an item to have produced. Say 10,000 of a certain item - when its gone they don't get more.

Returns pallets - somewhat problematic as you need to know what you are doing. Check items work, dispose of some stuff (businesses pay to dispose of rubbish).

Plenty of brands won't allow their stuff to be sold on a particular site, some won't allow on any 3rd party site.
They'll happily report the product as fake if they don't know who you are - because you never purchased from them.
Companies cannot stop you selling. They can stop you buying again - no requirement to carry on selling to you.

wow thank you for that info it is great

do you sell one kind of thing or a lot of stuff in different areas

might look into an ebay i have an account and a paypal i did not know they was changing stuff on there are they getting rid of paypal what are they using instead

 

[alan1302]

wow thank you for that info it is great

do you sell one kind of thing or a lot of stuff in different areas

might look into an ebay i have an account and a paypal i did not know they was changing stuff on there are they getting rid of paypal what are they using instead

eBay are doing the processing themselves through a 3rd party company. You will still be able to accept PayPal as a payment through.

 

[Mr D]

wow thank you for that info it is great

do you sell one kind of thing or a lot of stuff in different areas

might look into an ebay i have an account and a paypal i did not know they was changing stuff on there are they getting rid of paypal what are they using instead

I sell a wide range of stuff, certain items I'll concentrate more on at certain times.
Mostly under the heading of 'gifts' but have done beauty, clothing, crafts, craft supplies, food, auto parts and habadashery.

The replacement they have for paypal is Adyen.
Buyers can pay by paypal, apple etc - multiple ways to pay, just sellers will have one processor handling all of that.

Not as if we had much choice from the day paypal went a different way.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

It's not hard to build a business with no cash.

There's lots of ways, but I'll suggest a toll position. This is where you find a product someone is selling and you find a market to sell it to, and you sit in the middle and collect a commission or a toll for everything that's sold.

This way you don't need any money or any particular knowledge. Just put two parties together.

Here's a video which might inspire you...

 

[Emma Smith]

hey guys i am going to sell on ebay i am going to sell stuff here in my house 1st to get a bit knowledge on how to sell and in the mean time get some needed cash and get to know what i want to sell thank you all guys for your help