Costs for your own shop

dktreesea

joseph9a wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who replied and sorry I forgot to include what I was thinking of actually doing, I posted this before I went to bed sorry and was tired. The business I am looking to start is a printing and graphic design business, so it's just computers and printers I need to get it up and running.

Joe

Wherever you run your business from, if customers are going to be coming to your place of work, you need public liability insurance.


The overheads if you are running a bricks and mortar business are horrendous. You can end up just working for the landlord, via rent and the council, via rates.

motorguy

joseph9a wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who replied and sorry I forgot to include what I was thinking of actually doing, I posted this before I went to bed sorry and was tired. The business I am looking to start is a printing and graphic design business, so it's just computers and printers I need to get it up and running.

Joe

So a couple of heavy duty computers @ £500 each, four big screens @ £500 each, large industrial photo quality printer - maybe £2000-5000?

Fittings - £2000 for desks, till area, minimal shelving.

Stock maybe £1000 minimum.

First months rent, say £750 and deposit of £750

Theres £9.5K down and you havent opened the doors..

You're out of money before you've turned a key to open the front door.

I take it you've a very successful home business / small business running at the moment either from home / your garage / a startup unit in a business park and you're expanding into a full retail unit with staff because you cant cope with current demand, thus you've 100% confidence this is going to fly?

motorguy

dktreesea wrote: »

Wherever you run your business from, if customers are going to be coming to your place of work, you need public liability insurance.


The overheads if you are running a bricks and mortar business are horrendous. You can end up just working for the landlord, via rent and the council, via rates.

And paying staff.

I ran a computing retail unit for two years, couldnt draw a penny in wages myself and on good months there was enough to pay my bills and the sole member of staff i had....

motorguy

Opening a bricks and mortar retail business from scratch is a fantastic way to make a small fortune - out of a large one.

I'd be extremely careful. Nothing i've heard so far has made me think this is a well thought through plan based on real business experience and a gap in the market big enough to warrant the massive costs of doing this.

Happy to hear otherwise from the O/P though.

Savvy_Sue

Robin9 wrote: »

Depends on your lease but you may have to decorate.

And this is just one of the reasons why you get a solicitor to look at the lease: at the end of the lease you may be required to return the premises in a pristine condition, including new flooring, even if when you started it was a tip.

joseph9a wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who replied and sorry I forgot to include what I was thinking of actually doing, I posted this before I went to bed sorry and was tired. The business I am looking to start is a printing and graphic design business, so it's just computers and printers I need to get it up and running.

Your waste disposal contract is going to have to cover your used printing supplies, unless you have a deal with your supplier to return them for recycling.

motorguy has done some 'back of an envelope' calculations for the cost of the kit. I'd say his conclusion is correct, I'm afraid.

Oh, you need a decent maintenance contract on your kit as well, IMO. No use trying to meet a 5 pm deadline when your printer dies on a Friday morning to be told they can't send anyone out until Monday.

gazfocus

A few things to consider...

Printing
I wouldn't bother with the printing side if I'm honest. There are some excellent trade-only print suppliers that would do the printing for you. It would be much cheaper for you to send your work out to external printers then charge a mark up on what you get charged by the printer. You could still turn a profit and keep your initial costs down.

Office
You also need to ask yourself, carefully, whether you really need an office away from home. I'm not saying you don't, but just think about it. I made the decision to get an office from day one because I cannot work from home (I just don't have the discipline). I am fortunate enough to be in a full time job but I use my office of an evening/weekend so at least my wages from my employment can cover the cost of the office until the business earns enough.

Remember your office costs will include the rent, business rates (when they become payable), electricity, water, service charge (if in a shared building), deposit, etc.

Staff
This is a definite no-no in my book. What do you need staff for? My advice would be to run the business on your own until you are consistently earning enough to pay yourself and one other person a wage, then take on a member of staff. There's no point in spending your £10,000 on staff costs (probably 6-8 months pay for 1 person), when you're not making money to pay yourself yet.

Savvy_Sue

gazfocus wrote: »

Staff
This is a definite no-no in my book. What do you need staff for? My advice would be to run the business on your own until you are consistently earning enough to pay yourself and one other person a wage, then take on a member of staff. There's no point in spending your £10,000 on staff costs (probably 6-8 months pay for 1 person), when you're not making money to pay yourself yet.

It is definitely a consideration. However I think it's worth repeating something I've said before: if you've got a shop / premises then IMO you HAVE to be open when you say you will be! Especially in the early days. Better to restrict your opening hours to what you know you can manage than advertise longer hours than you can actually manage. DO have a day off for running errands and maintaining your own sanity!

There is a printer near us who is only 'open' a couple of days a week. He does a lot of community printing - local newsletters etc. I dare say he's 'there' more often than he advertises, but the point is he's there when he says he will be!

So, if it's just you, then try to get an emergency plan in place. Because otherwise, you have to be there, regardless of whether the dog's sick / kids are sick / you're sick. Whether that's backup for the dog / kids or a backup to get the place open, think about it before you need it. It MAY be the kind of business where you can have a phone number on the door and still get sales, but not ideal.

I have friends who used to run an internet cafe in France, before it was normal to have a home computer. 'Staff' was one couple, with a part-time helper. All fine until one of the couple fell ill and needed emergency surgery. The difficulty of keeping the cafe open while ferrying children to school in one direction and visiting hospital in the other made it impossible. As a business it was probably coming to its natural end anyway, but that hastened it.

Owain_Moneysaver

Is there free parking adjacent? If customers are picking up boxes of printing they won't want to have to carry them.

You will probably be selling mostly to other businesses, so a small unit on an industrial estate or even a serviced office if you outsource the printing might be more attractive to your potential customers.

DKLS

I haven't used a printshop for over 15 years, I punt out all printing to either a Uk based print broker or off-shore to china, if the client can wait for delivery by sea.

swingaloo

I think you really need to think things through before you jump in and later regret it.


Looking at your earlier posts, in the last few months you have considered a vending machine business, importing crockery from China and buying a place to let out. You have also said your mum will give you a £5000 loan to start this but now you have £10.000.


you are also disabled and working and studying part time.


Taking all this into consideration you cant have been working and developing this printing business long enough to test the water before deciding to open a shop. Please take all the advice other posters have given you and think again.