Starting up a business

motorguy

Debt_Robot wrote: »

The way I see it is simple. The OP wants to start a business, and no one should be discouraged from starting a
business, as long as they are making a calculated risk which I think the OP is doing.

I am no expert by any means but starting a business, whether it is a lifestyle entity or corporate is a great step
in the right direction.

I think people should be made aware of the facts and the risks - something the O/P seems to have little knowledge of thus far. I would rather have someone criticise my business idea - so that i can evaluate what they are saying and how that risk could be mitigated - rather than people merrily nodding and telling me what i want to hear. I do think its interesting that the O/P is 'thanking' people when there are positive comments, but not when its negative - that in itself makes me think she is looking for evidence that suits what she wants to do.

Either way, to make this business fly, its going to need a lot of time being marketed - either by cold calling or physically going out there and meeting people, advertising and also cost - granted it may only be fuel, advertisements, telephone calls, etc - but those will add up and the O/P doesnt seem to have a lot of cash as it is. PLUS say the O/P spends 20 hrs per week on this for six months, thats 600 hrs which she could otherwise have used in a part time job, say at £6 an hour, theres £3600 in lost earnings that this will cost alone, plus all the above bits, you could be talking £5000 in lost income & costs easily.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Debt_Robot wrote: »

I am no expert by any means but starting a business, whether it is a lifestyle entity or corporate is a great step
in the right direction.

I think you see everything through rose tinted glasses..

It is NOT a step in the right direction if your business fails, you owe loads of money, or potentially you lose everything including your house and your marraige because of it...

pgilc1 and myself have got experience of being in business ( Myself good and bad ones)

we are only being practical and point out the obvious pitfalls and barriers.. we are not being negative for the sake of it, just trying to pass on our experience... as they do need to factor in ALL the negatives when making a business decision..

When i make a business decision.... now that i have experience, I allways look at the potential negatives first....as then you are not blinded by your eagerness and people like you saying 'ooo yes its a brilliant idea' to boost their confidence, when in fact thats all you are doing is making sure they dont see the pitfalls, and fall flat on their faces, because they think they are going to make loads of wongas...

as for the cold calling......Yes i have phoned selected potential clients to introduce our business, but we buy we dont sell, which is totally different to cold call sellers who pressureise you, and will not take no for an answere... and keep on asking you why? very irriatating and annoying...... no means no....end of....

I am no business guru, but have learned some valueble lessons on my journey

Premier_2

Debt_Robot wrote: »

...
If it fails, keep trying. Failure is a sign you are getting closer.

Let's park that one offline for a moment and do some blue sky thinking.

All things being equal and given a level playing field, in the long term it's inevitable that for a business to be successful they will need a mandate for survival. When they find themselves on a 3-way street they'll really will need to push the envelope and reach out with some out of the box ideas.

Low hanging fruit at the close of play will give them 360° feedback, but thinking big and ensuring they are all singing from the same song sheet will help to come up with an end to end solution. However they should always run it up the flagpole first and see if anyone salutes it. At the end of the day, they should not forget to regularly touch base with their profitablilty to ensue it's not on a downward spiral.

:cool:

debbie42

Premier wrote: »

Let's park that one offline for a moment and do some blue sky thinking.

You'd be working to 110% had you included the magic word "empowerment".

Debt_Robot

I think the important thing to remember here is starting a business can be anything between a turnover of less than £10K or a £100K+ depending on the OP's goals.

pgilc1 and myself have got experience of being in business ( Myself good and bad ones)

You are not the only ones on this board who do, which is why opinions on business are diverse. I don't agree with much of what either of you wrote, but that doesn't stop me from recognising your viewpoint.

Whether the OP listens to any of us remains to be seen, what is clear is that people who persevere get there. And no matter who disagrees, that's how I see it.

motorguy

Debt_Robot wrote: »

I think the important thing to remember here is starting a business can be anything between a turnover of less than £10K or a £100K+ depending on the OP's goals.

Eh? Hows that relevant?

Debt_Robot wrote: »

You are not the only ones on this board who do, which is why opinions on business are diverse. I don't agree with much of what either of you wrote, but that doesn't stop me from recognising your viewpoint.

Whether the OP listens to any of us remains to be seen, what is clear is that people who persevere get there. And no matter who disagrees, that's how I see it.

The O/P hasnt shown any perseverance at all with this. They came up with the idea last week, they have no business plan, no idea how to market the business, no USP in an already overcrowded marketplace and it seems little or no time to actually run the business. The only thing they seem to have done so far is create a rather amateurish website with other peoples designs on it - your average 16 year old could do that.

Maybe my criticism is harsh, but nowhere near as harsh as investing your hard earned cash and time and the cold reality of trying to make a business fly.

Also, interestingly, the O/P hasnt so far come back with 'well actually, heres how i plan on dealing with that' - it seems easier just to thank people for being nice.

Marcus_D

For me it is critical in any development process to have as clear a vision of what you want to do as possible.

Think 'Blue Sky'. Who are your customers? How much would they spend? How often would they return? What value would you provide to make them return?...

Once you have a clear defined idea of what it is you really really want then working towards them becomes a planning operation. And if you have 3 kids then planning should be a walk in the park.

Vision + Belief + Strategy + Goals = Success

Debt_Robot

For me it is critical in any development process to have as clear a vision of what you want to do as possible.

Think 'Blue Sky'. Who are your customers? How much would they spend? How often would they return? What value would you provide to make them return?...

Once you have a clear defined idea of what it is you really really want then working towards them becomes a planning operation. And if you have 3 kids then planning should be a walk in the park.

Vision + Belief + Strategy + Goals = Success

Agreed.