I'm planning opening a pasty shop - what are the profit expectations?

dopester

treliac wrote: »

dopester, you write so eloquently. It's almost poetic.

Thanks trel.. .. but I think you're being too kind as they ramble a bit, and I seem to have difficulty getting my points over to Conrad.

Conrad wrote: »

DOPESTER - I've had some experience with online offerings - it's very hard indeed. One of my brothers runs a company specialising in setting up online business. He says it's getting harder by the week as everyone is at it and driving traffic to your site is extremely difficult. Forgive me if I've the wrong end of the stick - I skimmed the thread and my impression is you are looking at an online offering.

Conrad.. there are gazillions of competitors in this field.... setting up online businesses for others. Setting up websites, consultancies for similar, offering to boost traffic services. "Everyone is at it", like you say. So of course it is difficult, and become harder, to make a living from it - although PN seems to scrape a living from something similar.

I refuse to accept the internet does not have power to make some business owners and entrepreneurs with innovative products and services, wealthy - or at least to provide them with a very good standard of living. That all internet startups/retailers with a niche product or service are doomed compared to opening sport-shop or pasty shop in many a location of the UK.

PasturesNew

dopester wrote: »

although PN seems to scrape a living from something similar.

I'd be a millionaire if I had a passion and a niche. But instead I spend most time researching and reading up on stuff and trying it out.

If I was just SEO writing, or selling back links, or something, I could do better.

But I just try everything out ... and everything is a lot of things, so it takes time. Although my latest trying something out has just raised my income by about 15%.

I just play around with stuff, seeing how things work and fitting things together, but I lack a set of skills and a definitive niche to pull it all together and say "here it is".

I'm also "waiting on a job", big job offer came in in July, it's now October and always it's "any day now ... just had big meetings ... next week ...." and it's just not happened yet.

One site to focus on and I'd be away.

PasturesNew

A knack for selling luxury

Interesting "flog to rich bugg4hs" strategy and surviving a downturn:
http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14857221&source=hptextfeature

success stems in part from ... penchant for rationing his products.... “You only desire what you cannot get,” he says. “People want exclusivity, so you must always keep the customer hungry and frustrated.”

And other gems.

i8change

Our nearest Pasty shop (Southport) lasted only a couple of years tops, even though it seemed quite good.
It was gone long before this recession started.

This year, the following shops have closed: Southport, Liverpool, Preston, Southampton, Lincoln, Norwich and Basingstoke. Several others are for sale. They all have their story - you've hopefully read ours. It has been a painful and humiliating process, but one we felt we must share.

http://www.freewebs.com/disenfranchised/

fc123

Conrad wrote: »

Something I pick up, is it's hard to generalise.

Take the example of a sports shop.

One of my wealthiest clients has run his own very small back street sports shop for 30 years. He owns an £850k home with small mortgage, and several other properties with zero borrowing. Very nice holls, car etc.

Now you would'nt think it possible that such a tiny little shop could provide such a lifesytyle.

As a broker, I've known 1 man band brokers that make anythig from £10k pa to £300K PA profit.

I value all input but in the end the 'rules' of any business arena, vary depending on who you talk to.

I always recall everyone saying the net would kill off small high street insurance brokers, yet there are plenty still going and a couple of owners I know are pretty comfortable.

ANOTHER IDEA OF MINE - high quality indian takeaway, offering CONSISTENT meals every time (I get cross when the standard from any given indian or chineese takeaway seems to vary week to week). If done scientifically - with the exact measurements of spice, plenty of preplanning and preparation, consistency should be achievable. Also make it very very clean. Most takeaways I know are not all that clean and don't offer organic chicken for example.

My fave curry by far is chicken tika dansak - the king of curries for sure (awaits hail iof abuse)

Be really careful about taking things at face value.
I could fill pages with anecdotal on businesses that aren't quite what they seem....be really, really careful.

Your sports shop man may be genuine....but it may just be a hobby as he inherited a load of cash years back....or it may be a cover for other things.

I can't write too much stuff but I knew of an incredibly successful retail mini chain that has never paid an invoice late in 25 years. They were connected to a start up label many years back who was known to subsidise his true work with selling 'other things'.
For the story I will say he designed and made hats.
Mini chain (who were just one tiny shop at the time, in a county somewhere) were his biggest customer....the hats took off and were sold to many top legit stores and were legit transactions.
The indie shop in tiny town were the biggest customer by far, bigger than huge dept stores by unit quantity.

Somewhere, buried in a field are loads of hats as they went through the sales process to clean up some cash. All legit after a bit of VAT and tax paid.

I know of another niche business who props up the true work with gay !!!!!! production.

Hobby shops can be fairly common too giving the impression that there is demand for XYZ yet their business is just a hobby that breaks even as they net their income from else where.

A creperie set up near us in one of our areas. It set up, opened and closed after a week. All equip left in it. I knew the LL and they continued to pay the rent and rates for 12 months, put the shop up to let, let it and left. It was the LL who told me that she thought they were 'doing a bit of washing'.

Thrugelmir

fc123 wrote: »

Be really careful about taking things at face value.
I could fill pages with anecdotal on businesses that aren't quite what they seem....be really, really careful.

Your sports shop man may be genuine....but it may just be a hobby as he inherited a load of cash years back....or it may be a cover for other things.

I can't write too much stuff but I knew of an incredibly successful retail mini chain that has never paid an invoice late in 25 years. They were connected to a start up label many years back who was known to subsidise his true work with selling 'other things'.
For the story I will say he designed and made hats.
Mini chain (who were just one tiny shop at the time, in a county somewhere) were his biggest customer....the hats took off and were sold to many top legit stores and were legit transactions.
The indie shop in tiny town were the biggest customer by far, bigger than huge dept stores by unit quantity.

Somewhere, buried in a field are loads of hats as they went through the sales process to clean up some cash. All legit after a bit of VAT and tax paid.

I know of another niche business who props up the true work with gay !!!!!! production.

Hobby shops can be fairly common too giving the impression that there is demand for XYZ yet their business is just a hobby that breaks even as they net their income from else where.

A creperie set up near us in one of our areas. It set up, opened and closed after a week. All equip left in it. I knew the LL and they continued to pay the rent and rates for 12 months, put the shop up to let, let it and left. It was the LL who told me that she thought they were 'doing a bit of washing'.

and what you never know is the amount of debt that is behind the facade. A fish tank in reception or the CEO flying a helicopter is a sure sign that the Company isn't in control of its expenditure.

As you FC123 will appreciate, the business weather can change on single a phone call.

The best companies I've always found arent flashy. Dont waste money. In fact conserve cash to see them through the difficult times. Even without a recession all businessess suffer downtimes.

carolt

Interesting - always had my suspicions abot lots of those little over-priced, slightly naff boutiques that set up in dull suburban high streets but never appear to have any customers. Always assumed they were either the hobby for wives with rich husbands, or a front for something else.

How interesting to learn that that is exactly what they are.

bo_drinker

Apparently some hand car wash sites are doing more than a "bit of washing" in more ways than one.

nearlynew

Apart from smaller government, sound money and lower taxes what we really need is more shops selling fishnet stockings and crutchless knickers.

Thrugelmir

nearlynew wrote: »

Apart from smaller government, sound money and lower taxes what we really need is more shops selling fishnet stockings and crutchless knickers.

I was under the impression that there was an Ann Summers in every High Street already.

Or maybe there should be a George (at) Summers chain.