Help in starting a online business

sarah111_2

Hiya, I am wanting to start an online business but I have got no Idea were to start, I would be so gratefull for any tips or advice. Well me and my partner have been thinking along the lines of sell cables (USB cables etc) but we are not 100% on that yet. How would I go about getting the stock? would I have to get it from outside the UK? Has anyone done this kind of thing before? were do I start? Sorry to sound soooo stupid but there is so much o take in, I just don't know were to start.

Sarah.

schneckster

Hi,

I have to say, most people looking to start a business have gotten a lot further before asking questions.

OK, you need to ask some very basic questions.You need to know the what, before you can work out how you're going to do it.
1. Where are you going to sell, and to whom? On online shop or Ebay? This will decide how to proceed next and how the legalities are taken care of.
2. What you going to sell?
3. How much are you going to sell it?
4. Will you make a profit selling those products at those prices?
5. How does that compare to your competitors?

Once you understand your answers to these questions, the rest gets easier.

In terms of legal stuff, question 1 will help decide if you go limited or self employed. Tax issues are easier for the self employed. Limited companies get complicated quickly and an accountant is almost a must have. Self employed you can do yourself with a little help from HMRC.

Questions 2 to 5 will help you decide if it's a viable business. You need to make a profit otherwise you'll go bust quickly.

An Excel spreadsheet is useful, here. You want a row per expense, and a row per product. Total all the expenses, and total all the products (income). Do this on a monthly basis (columns) and you should see when you break even. You can then tinker with these figures to see how to get the best out of it. This spreadsheet also forms part of any business plan and helps you decide what growth you can think you can achieve... and later compare to what you actually did.

It seems to me you need to do a lot more thinking and understanding of what you want to do. Actually doing it is easier than it appears now. But until you fully understand what you want to do, and the market in which you're going to do it, you really can't get any further.

I hope this has helped. Good luck!

Schneckster

paulwf

Schneckster offers excellent advice.

Most people select a business either because they are passionate about what they do and want to turn it into a business, or they spot a profitable gap in the market.

2 things to consider:

- Scale: using your example suppose you make a *net* profit of £1 per cable sold. That might look good but to employ you and your partner full time you'll need to sell perhaps 30,000 of them, is that viable.

- Web selling: every man, woman and their dog can and do set up an online shop. It can be really difficult to compete unless you have a niche or a unique selling point...usually related to having a passion for a particular field or spotting a gap or being very good at business processes.