How did you start your own business up?
 

Hello.

I'm looking at setting my own business up in the near future and to be honest it's all a little bit daunting. I know what im going to do and im (reasonably) sure how im going to go ahead but I'm still a little apprehensive.

If anybody has any good (or bad) experiences they would like to share or any helpful hints they would like to pass on from their own experience I would be very grateful.

Cheers,

Matt.

My G/F started her own business about a year and a half ago now.

She found it quite good at first then got really quiet and wasnt doing much. After about 6mnth it started to get better and now it fluctuates (sp) between quiet months and bosy months.

But of course it will depend on your business, where you are located, whether you already have a client base to start from etc etc...

i have one tip

working with the general public is a ****en nitemare :mad: you need a thick skin IMO
i had somebody threatening me the other day, because they had there car cleaned, then went for a drive around the coast on salty roads, and the car was dirty when they brought it back in the afternoon :cuckoo: :iamwithst

I did the same thing 18 months ago , I gave up everything but i have to admit i was 99% sure i could do what i thought i could.

Hints are very hard to give if we dont know what your going to be doing. What i would say is that if you can get it to work out its the best feeling you could imagine :D

I would say go for it, get a good book keeper / accountant, a good one is worth thier weight in gold.

One thing i found along the way is its not going to be as easy as it seems, keep your chin up and have fun doing it ... if your confident and good at what you do it will work out, confidence in your product will help alot :)

I know it depends on the business but it will cost a LOT more than you think to set up and run

My tip would be take a few weeks holiday before you start and go on a hot and nice holiday. I have just booked my first proper holiday in over two years and can't wait.

Would definatley agree with this ... 18 months and no holiday in sight yet :(

Your no really telling us enough.

But be prepared to put your heart an sole into - its not like going to work for someone else 9-5.

Depends on your business as said - I started mine in the evenings whilst doing a crappy day job, then went full time when I had just enough work on.

First year was tough financially, last 4 years have been great.

Not all businesses mean killing yourself and no hols though, I have a good work/life balance now, although i'm currently looking at premises and staff, which would probably change all that :D

What im confused to this day is if your a soul-trader and never actually expand - is this still a buisness....:wonder:
According to my sis who has a degree in the subject no such animal exists and will fail

Eh? :confused:

I have a degree in the subject as well, and your sister is talking bollocks (no offense :D)

A business is something that makes money, if you continue to make a profit every year regardless of expansion then you're still a business.

I've done 5 years now without expanding, but i'm still increasing turnover each year. I could expand to generate more money, but I dont need to so haven't done thus far.

Hello.

A bit more information.... Basically its a logistics idea tailored to catering to the needs of the small growing firm. What with this being the age of the internet and everybody wanting everything yesterday im pretty sure it can work. Obviously if I told you more I would have to kill you... ;)

As for the holidy thing, yes you're right. In fact I even went overboard and booked two. Work hard play hard and all that...

I also have a few more ideas in allsorts of areas but to be honest this one seems like the best in order to start small and with anything I can make, then invest it elsewhere.

All advice so far has been much appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt

Have you actually tested this concept properly? Lots of small firms will say it sounds great, just what they want etc. But when push comes to shove and you start asking for money it's a different ball game. Take the Rose Tinted Glasses off if you have any.

How are these small firms going to find out about your service/product?

One tip. Keep a very careful record of all expenditure (with receipts) and income. You may not be doing the accounts for over a year and you would be surprised what you may be able to claim for.

Good luck. Oh and use all the freebie services/advice offered by Chambers of Commerce, Enterprise peeps etc.

theres plenty of people who will charge you loads for advice
the thing, is most of the info you need is free if you go to the right places

If you are used to PAYE, then right from the start put 30% of all income into a savings account.

Then when you receive your first tax bill (usually a good 'un, as your first demand is based on 1 year plux x months since you started up) you have the funds to cover it. Plus a bit left over.

go for it and good luck

me and a couple of very good mates have just opened

we are loving every minute of it as we have all combined our individual skills and made a hobby into a job,

we are extremely busy, and good reputation seem to be growing as are list of new customers,

we are hoping things work out for the future,

by the way ive got a young family,mortgage etc and have given up 10 years of working offshore to do something i really want so hopefully gamble will pay off,

go for it!!!

Andy - this comment is in good faith. Please correct Vechicles on home page. Good luck btw. dl

"we have all combined our individual skills "

spelling not one of them then :D

Thanks for pointing that out ,i,ll get onto site designer straight away!!!

Sarcasm at its best!!! typical scoobynet

the reason a lot of small businesses fail is because they start in alot of debt bank loans ,rent ,thing's on hire etc, so from day one they have more going out than coming in:cuckoo: take longer to set it up put in your own capitol that way what come's back is your's,also remember it is 24/7 you can never turn off and remember people come to you for a service make that your priority not trying to impress people with bull**** alone:nono:

and never ever put all your egg's in one basket:confused:

As i said above you would need a lot of money but I forgot to mention not from the bank!

Banks will most likely screw you over and a lot of your profit will be eaten up by them, If you want to make a semi decent salary from anything you would need £50k - £100k in cash (or borrowed from a friend at no interest ;))

As #22 said NEVER EVER put all of you eggs in one basket no matter how well things are going u never know what tomorrow brings! I was very nearly caught out 2 months ago when all of my businesses could not trade for 7 days :eek:

That depends on your business, I started with no capital at all except a PC which I already had :)

"If you want to make a semi decent salary from anything you would need £50k - £100k in cash "


??????

based on what?

if you want to sell planes you will need millions in start up. on the other hand i started my company with a laptop and a note pad and make more money than 99% of folks on here.

dont understand the start up costs basis.

Me neither.

I started up a business with a BT cordless phone, and an advert in Top Marques.

Total outlay=£100.

Was it a success? Yes.

I started as a Car trader just over 12 months ago. Just decided one day to quite my 9-5 and without much planning and only about £10k capital I started trading. I have trader policy and Trade plates aswell as being registered with HMRC so its all above board. Ive traded over 70 cars and had pretty much the same life style as before. I do as Olly recomends i stash 25% away for my tax bill. I suppose its easier for me to a degree as it not a service im offering and people always need to buy cars.
I have found that being selfempolyed can be lonely esp during the week when in my case all cars are preped and all adverts are on and there is nowt for me to do. But this can go from one extreme to another where in still arsing about at 10 pm at night after being up and out at 8:30am.
I find it easy to get disheartend when it all goes a little quiet. But when the £££ come rollling in and im busy I bloody love it.

I started my business 6 months after I moved 200 miles north and couldn't find a decent job. My only start up cost was for a website, I already had the phone, PC, car, camera & tape measure :D

Yep as above you dont nor should you spend any more than you need, many businesses fail simply because they need to acheive a large volume of sales just to cover their overheads. Your biggest investment in any new business will be your time - so be prepared to do the hours! Keep your overheads as low as you can, only buy stuff that you absolutely need and do *not* spend money on advertising in things like yellow pages or any other directory, they are useless for B2B despite what they may say. In fact most advertising is ineffective and costly!

Gary

remind me NOT to do business with you :D