Starting a business young

goodz

Notmyrealname wrote: »

I was on about self employment, not being an employee covering maternity.

Yes, you made a mistake of imagining stuff that contradicts and ignores what the OP has explained. Stick to what the OP has said, don't go off at tangents being gratuitously negative and making up incorrect stuff that has no basis, that's not helpful or appropriate. If you have nothing positive to contribute here then it would be better if you restrained yourself from posting redundant negativity. The OP is after some advice and suggestions, not silly little digs from the likes of you.

goodz

Emmzi wrote: »

Ask mum to buy you some time with a business start up advisor.

No, you're wrong, there's plenty of free business advice available, your notion that it might be appropriate to "buy" it is incorrect and redundant.

Emmzi wrote: »

You are now sounding clueless and maybe a tad trolly.

Ignore the gratuitous rudeness from this poster OP, unfortunately, as you can see, there are some unpleasant disaffected jaundiced people making fools of themselves on these boards.

goodz

Ksenia wrote: »

I love the idea of marketing or a living, especially around the music scene which is what I will be doing for the next year.

Mum bought me a Mini for Christmas, complete with private plate :beer:. This means I won't be spending 4 hours on a train each day. I've lived opposite work for the last 18 months and this was what has bothered me. I like the idea of 'carding', but don't like the idea of doing this to a family member.

I've saved about £10,000 so far and I've given up smoking for 3 months so far, working out that I'm saving around £5 a day (Polish cigarettes from the off-license next to the office). Would be enough of a deposit for anything? I don't want to live alone yet, but would like to invest in a spare property as some have suggested.

If anyone else has any ideas, please let me know.

Ksen

Ksenia wrote: »

This will be a good idea to look into. I'm also thinking that it would be worth speaking to my uncle later down the line, as I know he is subcontracting a lot of work out due to cost-efficiency. If I could offer those services through a company of my own, this could surely be the best way in.

I'm still a little confused by the actual running of a business, and it was also suggested to sit with an accountant later down the line to discuss this. There are opportunities to be sought here, especially being less than an hour from London, without committing too much initially.

Ksen

Great, well done. That's very impressive saving that much, congrats. Well done for packing in the smoking as well, that's great. Keep it up. It's refreshing to read some positive success and obviously you've done lots of work for that and that's also good to hear. And you got a car for Christmas, lovely, delightful. With your own number plate as well! Wow, what fun! Oh, I've heard it all now, splendidio, bingo. That's the icing and cherry on the cake, isn't it. Fantastic.

10k is a good start towards a deposit on a place. In cheap areas that could be enough but in expensive areas you'll likely need some more. Mortgages are generally three times, four times and occasionally five times earnings. There's lots of mortgage info on this site so perhaps start having a browse and see what's there and start to learn the terminology and different types available.

Running a business is a learning curve. The most important thing is doing lots of hard work. Although they help it's not so much about cleverness or luck, it's more about getting stuck in and getting on with doing it.

So perhaps start reading up about business and ask business people to explain what they do and how they do it so, again, your mum and uncle are both good starting points.

Maybe make some notes of stuff that they and other people say and get a file to keep your notes in and any information you get. Then you can always get at it easily. It's good practise for work to be able to take notes and keep them in a file.

Similarly on your computer maybe set up a couple of folders one called business and another called business information and start collecting information and stuff that you type yourself such as these posts that you're doing here.

Also it's good practise to back up work to a cd or dvd or to a USB memory stick etc and or to put it in the draft section in your email box so that on the occasions when the computer fails you don't lose your work. This will become quite important, in fact possibly critically important once you start doing actual business and working with actual client material so it would probably be good to start some good habits now.

Of course wikipedia is also good for summary information and various links that you can follow up so maybe look up the pages about business, sole trader, limited company and such like and start finding out what they're about and have a think about them. The more you find out then the more you'll be able to do more follow up research that's relevant and to ask relevant questions about it all. Ultimately it's not hugely complicated but there is a certain amount that it's good to know.

There's lots of free business advice available as well so perhaps start researching some stuff in other places as well. There's quite a lot of info on this forum as well so perhaps have a read of various threads and use the search function to try to find specific subjects. For instance there's some interesting material about limited companies and tax issues which I've looked up a few times here, some of it's quite educational.

I feel quite enthusiastic now, good. I could go on but that's plenty for now.

dawyldthing

if i was you i would save 75% of your wages and spend 25% on what you choose, as many of us at 20 up to 21-22 was at uni so the 75% can be saved up to do something you want in the future (after any bills that is, but keep these to a minimum if you can - split it to things you want and things you actually need). Theres no point in saving the lot for the future, enjoy yourself now while you are young but save some for a rainy day. I personally wouldn't buy a property at your age for others to live in - look at some of the stories on here. Like my dad said to me the only real money you will have will be the money you earn yourself and being a landlord is no means an easy thing.

Invest in courses if it is definately what you want to get yourself into, maybe volunteer with oxfam at the festivals to see the other side of the music business without it costing much to do (you pay a deposit but get it back once you've done the shifts)

tigeress289

The words "NO EXPERIENCE and ON A PLATE" jump out at me here. This is not the forum for you. Both apply to your post and I would stick to what you are doing, which in truth is being "KEPT". This is the real world and I cannot see what you can bring to the table. Try Business forums if you truly want to do something on your own. This is for people who are looking for real answers to questions that affect their living. Not a " I fancy working in music" and want it on a plate. It might not be the reply you are looking for but it is the truth.

Carl31

Starting a business means more than having an idea to run with
A business is provision of a service or goods to generate money - you might know your service or goods like the back of your hand, but do you understand financing? how to manage working capital? tax implications, the meaning of terms like Net + Gross Profit, Revenue, Overheads etc...
Speaking to an accountant will help, however it will mean more than that, you need to learn and experience these things. Doing a few hours at mummys taxi business doesn't make you Alan Sugar.
However, its good that you have identified where you want to be heading, dont let age be a barrier, get out there and find out what you need to and get started, you have 2 Family members to learn from, but dont rely on them, this is your venture, just get advice from them

jameskye1983

running a business is FAR from easy.....
I started up my own business and was lucky enough to obtain a contract for my supplies which did not have a minimum order per month.
during test trading i made over £700 and the job centre and a company called INBIZ agreed that it was clearly time for me to sign off as the business is running over.
Then the credit crunch hit and this added with customers wasting my time , people supposedly interested and then clearly wasting time etc all added up as i was claiming WTC to help the business tick over until i was properly on my feet. but then BANG the HMRC sent me paper work stating my WTC has been stopped and they want me to pay them back nearly £5000 combined total as 2 bills were sent , 1 for an entire years worth of WTC and the other being for half a years WTC.
this left me with no other option but close the business down and go back onto JSA.
This proved to be the cherry on the cake to the problems already and everything hit me at once and it has all completely knocked me for six.

Starting a business is hard as it is , but starting a business during a financial crisis is suicide basically , unless your working within science to create some cure or doing something amazing with computers you will find it hard to get financial help.
But reading your situation it sounds like you have a lot of hard work ahead of you before you consider going it alone.
I would wait a while to see if the situation improves any and also to see if you really want to go it alone, as you may change your mind once you start working with your relation.

also an otherthing to consider is fee / charges
fees to have a business account , living expenses , daily expenses , unexpected / emergency expenses are all things to look into and take into account.

as there is a difference between Living and Surviving in this world and a very thin line between success and failing in business...

My next door neighbour ran an extremely successful business from home all to do with PC's / Game design and helping people with there businesses etc , but it all went wrong for him and he lost the lot.

Firefox1975

OP

you need to go to college and study a business course. Probably part time would be enough.

Without this backup I fear you would get swallowed alive as soon as you started pitching your business (on your own and without your parents contacts and experience)

Dont; be in such a rush to own your own business till you have experienced as much as possible about employment/business working for others.

You do, albeit not on purpose, come across as a bit niave. And the business world is not a place to be timid in.We are talking about MONEY, their is very little love lost in a business transaction.

Enjoy earning good money whilst you are, I hope you aren;t getting greedy for more when what you have is admirable enough.

persa

Ksenia wrote: »

This will be a good idea to look into. I'm also thinking that it would be worth speaking to my uncle later down the line, as I know he is subcontracting a lot of work out due to cost-efficiency. If I could offer those services through a company of my own, this could surely be the best way in.

I'm still a little confused by the actual running of a business, and it was also suggested to sit with an accountant later down the line to discuss this. There are opportunities to be sought here, especially being less than an hour from London, without committing too much initially.

Ksen

If you intend to sell your services, your business is you, i.e. your reputation is key to your success or failure. Based on what you've said so far, I doubt you have the experience and contacts yet to charge people money for your knowledge and your contacts - so you should keep working for your uncle for the time being and save up money so when you have that level of knowledge and you have that bulging address book, you have enough start up cash to get going, without needing to pitch to any investors/lenders.

An accountant can help you understand the importance of a business plan, what working capital really means, how to interpret a set of management accounts etc, but that's for later down the line.

If you have a good idea for a product and you intend to sell goods, well, that's a slightly different matter. If you have a good item, age and experience becomes less important, because you're no longer selling yourself, you're selling something.

Re investment property, if you have enough cash to invest in something in your area, pop over to the House Buying, Renting & Selling board. If you intend to buy a property and rent it out, you will need training to understand what being a landlord involves, your rights, your responsibilities, how to avoid being fleeced by a professional tenant, etc. That board would be a good place to start for advice. Might make you more keen on the idea, might make you rule it out as a money making plan - but either way, you'll be able to make an informed decision.

I'm not saying never start a business, but timing is everything. Best of luck.

goodz

tigeress289 wrote: »

The words "NO EXPERIENCE and ON A PLATE" jump out at me here. This is not the forum for you. Both apply to your post and I would stick to what you are doing, which in truth is being "KEPT". This is the real world and I cannot see what you can bring to the table. Try Business forums if you truly want to do something on your own. This is for people who are looking for real answers to questions that affect their living. Not a " I fancy working in music" and want it on a plate. It might not be the reply you are looking for but it is the truth.

No, that's all wrong and untrue. What an unpleasant idiotic post. The rule is to be polite to posters, you've broken the rule here.

OP, if you read this nonsense, as I've already mentioned, just ignore the bad people and keep focussed on the positivity. There are some good people on this forum so just ignore the negativity.