Starting Online Business

MTVGeneration

A friend and I are thinkign about starting our own small business in building Computers and selling parts. An overcrowded market I know!!

We'd been looking into buying a ready made Ltd company with a name we think is reasonable suitable to keep the initial cost low.

What we wanted to know was what benefit is there t being VAT Regeistered and are we able to becoem VAT registered even if we have a turnover of less than £60k (and is it worth is)?

Also I have seen offers for having a registered office which just forwards the mail and again wondered on the benefits of this.

These ready made company's, is it better to see an accoutnant or just buy them off a website. I've seen a website which is http://www.formationshouse.com/search/readymade.php

I have also seen something about Vat Registered here http://www.formationshouse.com/vat_registration.htm

And lastly!!! Does anyone know any decent but hopefully not too expensive Website designers which would be able to create a website which would include checkout and orders etc....

Amba_Gambla

MTVGeneration wrote:

And lastly!!! Does anyone know any decent but hopefully not too expensive Website designers which would be able to create a website which would include checkout and orders etc....

find your local university that does some sort of programming or web design course, and advertise there for an older student...

i'm sure it'll be much cheaper (and probably as good) as hiring a pro....

al_yrpal

MTVGeneration wrote:

A friend and I are thinkign about starting our own small business in building Computers and selling parts. An overcrowded market I know!!

Go for it, you may find another niche that is unique - its unique businesses that make money, not commodity ones

We'd been looking into buying a ready made Ltd company with a name we think is reasonable suitable to keep the initial cost low.

You can start without that as a partnership - there is no expense to that and you can choose any name you want as long as it doesn't conflict with another business.
What we wanted to know was what benefit is there t being VAT Regeistered and are we able to becoem VAT registered even if we have a turnover of less than £60k (and is it worth is)?

If you don't become registered, you can't reclaim VAt on parts you buy, but on the other hand you won't have to cahrge VAT on what you sell which will be attractive to home users
Also I have seen offers for having a registered office which just forwards the mail and again wondered on the benefits of this.

It would only be of benefit if you were dealing with big companies and wanted to seem bigger than you are. But when stating out its an unecessary expense
These ready made company's, is it better to see an accoutnant or just buy them off a website. I've seen a website which is http://www.formationshouse.com/search/readymade.php

Just start trading, don't do it yet
I have also seen something about Vat Registered here http://www.formationshouse.com/vat_registration.htm

And lastly!!! Does anyone know any decent but hopefully not too expensive Website designers which would be able to create a website which would include checkout and orders etc....

The University idea is good, see if the Typeography department will do it for free as a student project

BTW, I ran my own computer business successfully for 15 years and have just retired

thePhilster69

Amba_Gambla wrote:

find your local university that does some sort of programming or web design course, and advertise there for an older student...

i'm sure it'll be much cheaper (and probably as good) as hiring a pro....

It'll be cheaper, for sure, but if you're talking about eCommerce, I'd stay well clear of students. I've been in the web business for 7 years now, and eCommerce isn't something that I'd let a student hack their way through to be honest, no matter how mature they may be.

My advice would be to do plenty of research into the online side of the business first. If you're serious about trading online, you'll need to look at either an Internet Merhcant Account from your bank or a Merchant Account from a crowd like WorldPay. Either way, be prepared to cough up around 3% - 5% in transaction fees, as well as around £200 - £500 in the first year admin fees alone. Add to that the SSL certificate you're likely to want (to give customers a feeling of security) which can be anything between £50 and £300 depending on who you choose.

You'll want a fairly intelligent eCommerce system that'll enable your customers to configure their PCs online in order to fit in with your business plan too. Trusting all of this to people without the relevant experience (no matter how great their coding or design skills may be) is only asking for trouble.

I'd look at some off-the-shelf systems in the first place, to see if they suit your needs (Actinic, Erol, CubeCart are a few that seem to work well) or look at the increasing number of web companies that have created their own while label systems to resell on at a fraction the cost of a bespoke system... https://www.easibuild.com is such a system (I don't work for these guys, but I do know them and their stuff is great)...

Anyway, all the best with the venture!

Phil

MTVGeneration

al_yrpal wrote:

BTW, I ran my own computer business successfully for 15 years and have just retired

I'd be interested in finding out about some suppliers as my friend and I are having problems sourcing parts at a rate to enable us to remain competitive.

MTVGeneration

thePhilster69 wrote:

It'll be cheaper, for sure, but if you're talking about eCommerce, I'd stay well clear of students. I've been in the web business for 7 years now, and eCommerce isn't something that I'd let a student hack their way through to be honest, no matter how mature they may be.

My advice would be to do plenty of research into the online side of the business first. If you're serious about trading online, you'll need to look at either an Internet Merhcant Account from your bank or a Merchant Account from a crowd like WorldPay. Either way, be prepared to cough up around 3% - 5% in transaction fees, as well as around £200 - £500 in the first year admin fees alone. Add to that the SSL certificate you're likely to want (to give customers a feeling of security) which can be anything between £50 and £300 depending on who you choose.

You'll want a fairly intelligent eCommerce system that'll enable your customers to configure their PCs online in order to fit in with your business plan too. Trusting all of this to people without the relevant experience (no matter how great their coding or design skills may be) is only asking for trouble.

I'd look at some off-the-shelf systems in the first place, to see if they suit your needs (Actinic, Erol, CubeCart are a few that seem to work well) or look at the increasing number of web companies that have created their own while label systems to resell on at a fraction the cost of a bespoke system... https://www.easibuild.com is such a system (I don't work for these guys, but I do know them and their stuff is great)...

Anyway, all the best with the venture!

Phil

Some points to keep in mind there. Thank you.

I'd like to find out more about beign VAT registered and off the shelf company's. In particular whether it was worth gettign one off the net or better to see an accountant....

I just don't know enough about being a small business to actually determine whether it si somethign which I can afford to invest in yet.

irnbru_2

MTVGeneration wrote:

Some points to keep in mind there. Thank you.

I'd like to find out more about beign VAT registered and off the shelf company's. In particular whether it was worth gettign one off the net or better to see an accountant....

Do you have a 'business gateway' or local enterprise board or chamber of commerce?

MTVGeneration wrote:

I just don't know enough about being a small business to actually determine whether it si somethign which I can afford to invest in yet.

Look at the sum of money your investing, imagine taking a match to it and watching it burn. If you could start again after doing that then you can afford the risk.

I'd be wary of starting out on-line unless your a niche supplier. These boards are rich source of the dis- and satisfied customers. Compare EBuyer to SVP viz volume of transactions and customer service.

Have you considered doing the local computer trade fairs? Or EBay?

Computer Trade Only was recommended in another place.

Finally, don't forget how quickly your stock will depreciate.

lellie

I'm a university student (although I'm not actually studying web design at uni).

I also know my way around e-commerce, so I'd appreciate if you'd keep your sweeping generalisations about student webdesigners to yourself..

There are plenty of students who can create fantastic websites and they are just as good at it, as the average professional..

[edit for typos]

thePhilster69

lellie wrote:

I'm a university student (although I'm not actually studying web design at uni).

I also know my way around e-commerce, so I'd appreciate if you'd keep your sweeping generalisations about student webdesigners to yourself..

There are plenty of students who can create fantastic websites and they are just as good at it, as the average professional..

[edit for typos]

That's not the point I was making. Creating a brochureware website is one thing. Entrusting an eCommerce website to a student is a whole different ball game. There are security implications, database schema to think about, SSL... The list is endless.

Let me put it this way, would you let a student doctor perform open heart surgery on you unaided by competent professionals? I doubt it. You'd want someone with experience in the field doing the job.

Like I said, I've been doing this professionally for 7 years now, and since 1996 at Uni, so I know what I'm talking about. As for keeping my thoughts to myself, I was under the impression that the author was ASKING for opinions...

lellie

I just think you're being a bit unfair.. You don't have to be a professional to be very good at something like web design. A student can have just as much experience as a so-called professional, as the trade is such a young industry and changing all the time. I know my friends who are also involved in webdesign have had at least 4-5 years experience each, so not that much less than you.

i just think you're generalising that students aren't up to the job.

More often than not a student will put everything into the site, to ensure it's the best they could possibly do. After all when you're trying to get experience it's important that the portfolio looks as good as possible. This way you'll get a better site for half the cost!

bridiej

Please can we keep on topic, thanks