Starting a business - best course for business studies

BunnieJ

It's funny because all the people I know who have set up businesses have never studied business. They have usually been successful without a formal education. I am not saying you should do that, especially as you're not entirely sure what kind of business you want to run. It's always a good idea to get some knowledge behind you first, instead of blindly going in; unless of course you know 100% what products you want to sell.

I know what I want to do (kind of...) I just need to iron out the creases. I don't really know anyone who has set up a "proper" business. I know a couple of people who make cakes/jewellery and sell it over FB but that's it. I did look into taking on a franchise, as i saw a gap in the market where I live, but they're expensive and limit what you can do with the business yourself You may have seen a previous thread of mine a few months back when I almost bought a sandwich shop business, but so glad I didn't!

Bunnie, I see you live in the south west, so do I. You need to look at Outset. They run free workshops in the south west that are for people wanting to start up a business. I got so much valuable info fro their sessions. Google them

Thanks WantToBeSE, I'll take a look. I live in Bristol

WantToBeSE

You're welcome, there is definitely Outset in Bristol.
Here you go: http://www.outsetbristol.co.uk/

BunnieJ

You're welcome, there is definitely Outset in Bristol.
Here you go: http://www.outsetbristol.co.uk/

Thanks. Just looked them up and realised I've already been on their website...unfortunately their workshops are pretty much all during the day when I'm at work

toastking

Now I would second the Princes Trust recommendation but understand that you are not eligible for this which is a shame.

I would get onto some small business forums - http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk and http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk/forums/ are two I frequent. They get plenty of posters and so you will find good info to get you started.

A word of warning, they can be a bit sharp about the idea of education. I have a degree in Business and it took a while to be taken seriously at all on UKBF but don't let that put you off.

I would offer to act as a kind of mentor, but whilst I am fascinated by the food industry I am not highly knowledgeable. What I do know is that you cannot use your kitchen at home and you'd have to negotiate with your landlord, whoever owns the building (as its probably leasehold not freehold if its being rented) and then get insurance on top of health certificates.

The health and safety considerations are also huge and intense and put many people off. I would look at the forums above, do some research using Google and with a good 20 hours research committed you will find something you want to do, think you can do and would potentially make money.

Then write a business plan - if you dont know how - ask around. If you'd like I can provide a template to work with.

Then you need social media, a marketing plan and a website. Again if you want me to help let me know, I'd probably just get you to buy a template from theme forrest, provide me with the info you want on the site and then merge the two.

PM me if you want any help - food wise I am not your man but otherwise i can provide some insight.

BunnieJ

Now I would second the Princes Trust recommendation but understand that you are not eligible for this which is a shame.

I would get onto some small business forums - http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk and http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk/forums/ are two I frequent. They get plenty of posters and so you will find good info to get you started.

A word of warning, they can be a bit sharp about the idea of education. I have a degree in Business and it took a while to be taken seriously at all on UKBF but don't let that put you off.

I would offer to act as a kind of mentor, but whilst I am fascinated by the food industry I am not highly knowledgeable. What I do know is that you cannot use your kitchen at home and you'd have to negotiate with your landlord, whoever owns the building (as its probably leasehold not freehold if its being rented) and then get insurance on top of health certificates.

The health and safety considerations are also huge and intense and put many people off. I would look at the forums above, do some research using Google and with a good 20 hours research committed you will find something you want to do, think you can do and would potentially make money.

Then write a business plan - if you dont know how - ask around. If you'd like I can provide a template to work with.

Then you need social media, a marketing plan and a website. Again if you want me to help let me know, I'd probably just get you to buy a template from theme forrest, provide me with the info you want on the site and then merge the two.

PM me if you want any help - food wise I am not your man but otherwise i can provide some insight.

Thanks for the advice toastking

It really annoys me that organisations like The Princes Trust/Outset (and many others) only seem to want to help a certain type of people. It's almost as if you don't exisit if you're in full-time employment, even if you're on a low wage and struggling to make ends meet It's the same with funding for college/OU; because my OH (who I live with, but share none of my finances with) earns a lot more than me I can't get any funding due to our "household income". He's not the one studying, so why should his finances (which are nothing to do with me) be taken into account?

I don't neccessarily want a qualification, just a basic knowledge and understanding of how everything works when you're running your own business.

My OH works in IT and I have a good friend who is a graphic designer/designs packaging for products, so I was hoping to call in a few favours from them but your offer is much appricated! I need all the help I can get!

I think the best course of action for me is either:

1) buy a burger van (or similar) where I can prepare/cook/sell everything on the van, thus removing the need to use my kitchen at home

2) rent a property e.g. a cafe or somewhere with kitchen facilities

3) rent a kitchen space to prepare all my food and then transport it

saintjammyswine

Organisations like those you mentioned want to help everybody. The issue is not that the only want to help a certain demographic, it is that there are very limited resources and so they have to be targeted to be effective.

Also, there will be limitations on the funding they receive so from one source could only be for 16-24 yr olds, another pot of money can only be used for unemployed adults etc etc.

It is the same in Further Education. We want everyone to have at least a Level 2 qualification or higher but are hugely limited in what we can do and who we can do it for.

bugslet

Good luck BunnieJ.

Personally I wouldn't try and do anything more than a rudimentary business course, to give you a basic overview.

Tax Office and VAT ( if you register) are actually very helpful and have information available on their website.

I've been in business since '91 and have 20 employees now in two locations. As Bantex and kingslayer said, I just got on with it, not much of a clue tbh! I've also never done a business plan, even if I had, what happened after I started, I never would have guessed and its all worked out pretty well.

BunnieJ

Organisations like those you mentioned want to help everybody. The issue is not that the only want to help a certain demographic, it is that there are very limited resources and so they have to be targeted to be effective.

Also, there will be limitations on the funding they receive so from one source could only be for 16-24 yr olds, another pot of money can only be used for unemployed adults etc etc.

It is the same in Further Education. We want everyone to have at least a Level 2 qualification or higher but are hugely limited in what we can do and who we can do it for.

I know their funding is limited (it's a shame we can't put more money into them), but it gets me down when everyone I seem to ask for help has criteria that I don't meet

Good luck BunnieJ.

Personally I wouldn't try and do anything more than a rudimentary business course, to give you a basic overview.

Tax Office and VAT ( if you register) are actually very helpful and have information available on their website.

I've been in business since '91 and have 20 employees now in two locations. As Bantex and kingslayer said, I just got on with it, not much of a clue tbh! I've also never done a business plan, even if I had, what happened after I started, I never would have guessed and its all worked out pretty well.

Thanks bugslet I think I'm just scared that if it doesn't work out, I'll end up in huge debt!

bugslet

I still worry about that 20+ years later:o.

You just need to try and have a realistic idea of footfall and your costs. Whichever area you are planning to move into, is there going to be any changes? Business closing that would otherwise use your sandwich shop, burger van; or increased competition.

Chap near me had a good business with his burger van for a few years until Morrisons opened up. At least he had the option to move a burger van. He couldn't have known that when he got his pitch, business changes and you have to be reactive ( hence I'm a bit sceptical about very comprehensive business plans), but you can scout round and see how stable you think the area is for the forseeable future.

I run a haulage firm, used to drive myself and from a customer perspective, a busy road + good food, you will do alright. Drivers do talk and you soon get to know where the better ones are.

BTW,. there has been some really tough times as well as some really good times, but I'm glad I took the plunge.

kingslayer

BunnieJ wrote: »

I know their funding is limited (it's a shame we can't put more money into them), but it gets me down when everyone I seem to ask for help has criteria that I don't meet



Thanks bugslet I think I'm just scared that if it doesn't work out, I'll end up in huge debt!

I don't much about business, but assume that it's all a risk. The likes of Richard Branson, Alan Sugar and countless other extremely successful business people would have failed or been told they won't do it countless times, but they persevered even when the risk was high and managed to achieve big things.

I definitely think you should write down a plan of what exactly you want to sell and make sure you are 100% certain on it. It is usually best if you have a passion for it too, otherwise you may lose motivation and excitement, and also your lack of passion will come across to potential investors and customers.

Try not to think negative, i.e. losing money and going into debt, but instead think positive that things will turn out well. If they don't, you just have to brush yourself down and try again, but don't give up if this is what you want.