Nice People 13: Nice Save

Generali

So option 4: food. Loads of ideas here.

To avoid the dreaded childcare costs it'd be good to do something mostly or solely at the weekend.

4.1: make & sell chutney, pickle, jam etc.
Pros: Can make in my own time around the kids and sell on the weekend when buyers are about via farmers markets, delis etc. Scaleable business if it takes off.
Cons: crowded market so difficult to make money.
4.2: make & sell frozen ready meals like the Cook chain in SE England. Start in farmers market and look to move to a shop later
Pros: very under-developed market in Aus. Little quality opposition from supermarkets. Could work around child care until business profitable.
Cons: PITA supply chain as the food needs to be moved frozen.
4.3: make and sell hot French food at markets, fairs and sporting grounds
Pros: Higher added value. Have a unique proposition, pretty much as very little French food is available here. Could make in the week and sell mostly on the weekend.
Cons: Would be trying to break a new product to many people. People really want a burger.
4.4: Make ice cream on the spot
Pro: Unique proposition. Everyone loves ice cream.
Cons: Expensive equipment. May need to draw more power than is available on a site.

vivatifosi

I'd buy from all of those Gen. When I'm having a stressful week and fancy something nice but don't want to cook, Cook is my go to store. I like bespoke food too.

Is there a business library in Sydney where you can get free research, along the lines of the fabulous City Business Library here?

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

I'd buy from all of those Gen. When I'm having a stressful week and fancy something nice but don't want to cook, Cook is my go to store. I like bespoke food too.

Is there a business library in Sydney where you can get free research, along the lines of the fabulous City Business Library here?

Not sure TBH. The Aussie government pays for a lot of research which is distributed via the Internet.

fc123

GDB2222 wrote: »

You posted a fabulous house on the cliff top in Margate. Did you buy that, but are staying in your old house?

...the big one was the family home 'swap'. We still have the other one (that I showed you a pic of once) that needs 30k of work. The exterior is done though.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd like to be able to afford a carpenter, to put up a built in wardrobe for me

Obviously it's not what your OH does, or wants to do; nor to do it near here.... and, even if so, I couldn't afford him.

awww.....he's not the priciest...but he isn't cheap (like £6.50 per hour) either. However, if you were around the corner, he probably would do it for a sandwich and a chat and a pic for his gallery

michaels wrote: »

Does he decorate as well, we could have his first job if he is willing to work in St Albans....

...too far away sadly...and he doesn't do cashback or coupons (only kidding )

fc123

Generali wrote: »

So option 4: food. Loads of ideas here.

To avoid the dreaded childcare costs it'd be good to do something mostly or solely at the weekend.

4.1: make & sell chutney, pickle, jam etc.
Pros: Can make in my own time around the kids and sell on the weekend when buyers are about via farmers markets, delis etc. Scaleable business if it takes off.
Cons: crowded market so difficult to make money.
4.2: make & sell frozen ready meals like the Cook chain in SE England. Start in farmers market and look to move to a shop later
Pros: very under-developed market in Aus. Little quality opposition from supermarkets. Could work around child care until business profitable.
Cons: PITA supply chain as the food needs to be moved frozen.
4.3: make and sell hot French food at markets, fairs and sporting grounds
Pros: Higher added value. Have a unique proposition, pretty much as very little French food is available here. Could make in the week and sell mostly on the weekend.
Cons: Would be trying to break a new product to many people. People really want a burger.
4.4: Make ice cream on the spot
Pro: Unique proposition. Everyone loves ice cream.
Cons: Expensive equipment. May need to draw more power than is available on a site.

....there is definitely a living to be made with any of the above.
The potential of scale-ability is such a great thing to have as well.


Why not find an event that is on over the next few weeks and book a stand? Get the space then worry about what to make.


I know in the UK, large events have a certain amount of food stalls and they book up fast.

PasturesNew

fc123 wrote: »

... if you were around the corner, he probably would do it for a sandwich and a chat and a pic for his gallery

Well - he needs to bl00dy well move then! To round the corner from here

fc123

PasturesNew wrote: »

You have to have something that makes you money, by owning/making something, or selling a service direct ... and then work out the 3-4 income streams that can be blended seamlessly, so the 3-4 become one, with ease.

I've no core product or service ....

If Gen could be a Phil then his two interests cooking/cycling could be combined with the other so it all glues together nicely.

For you ... your income requirements are different (probably higher) ... but I'd be looking at putting together sewing workshops, and/or bringing together other sewing teachers to teach those short courses.... maybe a weekend workshop, residential, at the seaside

And, outside of that, various other similar skills workshops.... and, probably, even making equipment available (e.g. sewing machines) to people to use on an hourly basis to make their own stuff. So that's a bit of localism chucked in for good green/eco measure

I might also run a one day workshop on "Fashion from Found Objects" doing makeovers from stuff found in local charity shops or something (needs a bit of work there)....

Then, website, Twitter showing what people made, upload what they did/made to website .... spin offs with local fabric retailers, haberdashers and bookstores.

Once sufficient turnover's achieved (turnover of bums on seats), then run a big contest for people to come and vote for their favourite piece made - with a draw from all the entrants who voted for the winner giving them a free place on a workshop.

Good local/national magazine/newspaper PR going on in the background.

Blah, blah, usual stuff that works.... etc etc ... ad infinitum.

hah..;).. I'll file that one away for a rainy day.


We often come up with business concepts over dinner.


recent ones were;
1; Cat leasing for elderly people. Cropped up as my mother would love another cat but would probably die before it so she feels it's wrong to take on a pet that would have to be re-homed one day.
We run a cat 'farm' somewhere rural and lease the cats until the owner is too ill to care for them or dies. Then we take it back and lease it to someone else.


This idea developed after a large roast dinner and a lot of wine and the idea fell apart once we all got onto pricing.


We figured that the costs of buying and running the cat farm balanced against what an average pensioner could afford as a lease payment = a huge loss. Then son brought up the tricky issue of default and repossession of the leased cat...




2; The Human Nest


Prompted by looking at the cat in his new fleecy cat nest/bed and DD commenting that a bed in a similar vein for humans would be nice.......which then got onto it being unsuitable for summer and so on.


OH even drew the design onto a bit of kitchen roll....a bed with a 'slot' in each corner so you 'slot' in the fleecy 'nest' panels during winter and swap for poles and muslin drapes in summer or just have 4 poles...or nothing.


Sadly the dot com for Human Nest is gone already so that has been abandoned.:)






The ideas are the easy bit aren't they ? It's the execution and taking it to market that's the challenge.

fc123

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well - he needs to bl00dy well move then! To round the corner from here

Sadly we are now stranded in Sarf East London for a few years more.


My Dad has between 2 - 5 years (he reckons but not sure how many will be 'active') which takes him up to 87/88 and my mothers miracle op seems to have removed the worry of death for a while......but also MIL isn't in great nick (@ aged 70).


All 3 live within a mile of us.


It also suits DS as his TC is now full on concentration and he stays at the GF in Clerkenwell part of the week and returns home for hotel services.....we are all loving living in our house now too.

zagubov

Not long back from Kent, watching U2 and Sam Smith. Jolly entertaining evening. Starting to make up for all those recent years not going to gigs, but I'll have a long way before I can catch up with ukmaggie45, let alone lemonjelly.

Gen I like Pn's idea of a chip van. But find out how to make good pakora (vegetable rather than meat fritters with spicy sauce for dipping). Bit like felafel, but on a bigger scale, and with an accent on spice. It's the national food of Glasgow. I shall be having some soon.:j

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Generali wrote: »

So option 4: food. Loads of ideas here.
.

We have looked at many of those ideas.

In general terms, weekend food is doable, but varies wildly in terms of levels of investment/skill/risk, seasonal trends, etc.

Food trucks have potential midweek lunchtimes as well as weekend events if you can get a good pitch to work from, such as an industrial estate or shopping park, and limited hours too.

Good coffee/bakery stands in high volume areas like railway stations or malls are worth looking into as well.

Buying an existing food business can be good value, or can be an absolute waste of money, toss a coin.... If you end up doing that make the sale conditional upon working in it for a few weeks prior to buying, as it's the only way to confirm the viability and revenue, and take all other due diligence to the extreme. You need to know what to look for and a lot of it is segment/location specific.

Franchises can be interesting and for quality ones safer than taking a punt by yourself, they usually come with good systems/processes, controls, training etc but they do need capital investment upfront, although a lot of people think you need millions to start a McD, the reality is some perfectly viable food franchises can be had for $100k, or even a lot less if it's a small operation. (sandwich/doughnut/smoothie/ice cream stands in malls, etc) You won't get rich from one, but you can build up into a multiple operator over time and some do very well for themselves.