I have a business idea but I'm clueless

yan79

Hi.

First of all be gentle with me.
I have an idea for a business, it seems a great idea to me (I'm sure a lot of people say this) I can really see it working and I've gathered a general opinion as the whether people think it would be of interest to them, the majority agree it seems a viable idea for a small business.

The only problem is, I'm not business minded at all. I have no cash behind me, just this idea.
I don't know where to start to set the wheels in motion etc could anybody advise me please?:p

Yan

fishybusiness

I know it will sound boring, but I would recommend putting some sort of plan together - not a full blown business plan but a way to start.

So, to give you an idea

1) how much money would you need for equipment
2) if you need transport, do you have it, and are you able to cost that in to your work
3) do you need to advertise, do you know your potential market base and how to get them to you
4) are you able to work out your costs, and your charging rate or system, and thus be able to approximate your profits
5) are you sufficiently skilled to carry out the job, if not, how could you gain those skills and how much would it cost
6) always important, what level of liability insurance would you need, and do you know its cost
7) what level of work would you need to sustain say a minimum wage, do you know how to find it

I tried to write a plan when I started, it turned out to be a load of waffle, and business was very different, but it was fun

yan79

Thank you, that's very useful.
The one thing that's putting me off is it's in retail and I understand this is not a very good area at the minute.

I'm actually a nurse and I have no business experience or retail experience at all. I was planning to stay in my current job as I only work two days per week and see if I can start things around my current job.
I wont need transport, I already have a car and that's all I'll need. As for equipment etc I just don't know where to start.
I'll obviously have to find somewhere to actually open a shop, have shop fitters, tills, chip and pin, stationary, stock, signs, advertising. hmmm, anything else spring to mind?
I haven't looking into insurance either yet, but that's something I will do this eve.
As you can see, this is in it's VERY early stages and I'm extremely clueless.

Yan

fishybusiness

I'll obviously have to find somewhere to actually open a shop, have shop fitters, tills, chip and pin, stationary, stock, signs, advertising. hmmm, anything else spring to mind?

Serious money then.

Shop overheads quite often take a significant chunk of income, research it carefully. Rent, rates, insurance, electricity, heating, for a new business I'd say it is a massive liability.

Perhaps a real business plan is the best way forward.

In the current climate opening any sort of premises would scare me silly, maybe other people have more upbeat opinions

Caroline_a

Can't you sell online? That means you won't need retail premises, etc.

PasturesNew

Have you thought about going down the market stall route? Or indoor market route? Couple that with an online store .... and you can really gauge your market/skills without the serious financial commitment.

yan79

Well there's a lot of online competition. There's no physical shops in South Yorkshire (where I intend to open the business).

I don't think a market stall would be the best idea for my business idea. I'm planning on selling Cloth/reusable nappies, wipes. Teething jewelry and natural baby product. Focussing mainly on reusable nappies and wipes.

whitewing

You could rent a unit on a light industrial estate (usually cheaper than a shop).

Some of the businesses in our town's ind estate also sell selected secondhand goods for a split of the commission. You could do that with baby goods as they are often outgrown before they are out of condition. That would also help get punters in to the unit and it would help spread the word. (You could check ebay to price it).

yan79

Thanks Whitewing but it will be nappies and wipes ill be selling and although these do sell after they've been used I don't think I could start a business selling seconds.

X

paulwf

yan79 wrote: »

I'm actually a nurse and I have no business experience or retail experience at all. I was planning to stay in my current job as I only work two days per week

The best place to start is by getting a job in retail. You will get training and get experience and you can make all the mistakes you like...and you get paid for it! Absolutely no point in starting your own retail business until you have worked for others.

There are so many mistakes you can make when starting a business and so many scams out there. By working for other people I had seen most of the common pitfalls time and time again before I opened my own business. Without that experience I'd have been screwed over several times.

fishybusiness

I don't think a market stall would be the best idea for my business idea. I'm planning on selling Cloth/reusable nappies, wipes. Teething jewelry and natural baby product. Focussing mainly on reusable nappies and wipes.

Profit margins I suspect will be the driving force, and the only way to increase those is volume sales to increase your purchasing power, and to keep overheads down.

Perhaps have a look on ebay, look at what the competition is doing. Look at traders stock ranges, can you do better, do you have better ideas?

Perhaps something like an ebay shop with 'relatively' low overheads would be a good starting point. Risk is low, and you can learn your business, make your mistakes and grow, perhaps to an online store of your own.

As much as it sounds pessimistic, I can't see profit margins paying your wages and shop overheads until years of trading and working your way in to your niche market have eaten away at your finances. Sorry :sad: