How to start a Business??

mikul182

I’m looking for advice on starting a business. A removals company to be precise. It’s something I have always wanted to do but never thought it would be achievable. I am at a stage now where I am 31 with enough cash to get this up and running so I am very tempted to give it a go. Is there anyone in this field with any advice/tips? Or anyone in general with some good pointers to get the ball rolling? Where do I start??
Thanks in advance.

Robin9

Get yourself a job with a removals firm first and see the business from the inside.

00ec25

mikul182 wrote: »

A removals company to be precise. Where do I start??

you start by having a clearer idea of what you mean by removals "company"

one man and a transit van doing light duty lift and shift work

or

a company with employees and pantechnicons doing full scale house removals

Robin9

See if your local college runs a course for people like yourself - lots of issues : HMRC, employment law, pensions, unions, insurances, vehicle tax, vehicle licenses (you can't just park anywhere), running business from home or office, bank accounts , training ...................

fishybusiness

All of the above allude to some kind of business plan.

Cost it out, tax, mot and insurance, maintenance, liability insurance specific to your kind of business, advertising, accountant? Maybe more, but all are fairly fixed costs.

Moving muscle and mileage variable per job, so pricing and wages - do you have expectations of what you want to earn?

Put it all together - is your rate competitive?

Register with HMRC as self employed or a ltd - find out about virtues of both first.

Pick your advertising slots based on the type of client you want - see how it goes, adjust rates and ads to suit.

In a nutshell..............

mikul182

00ec25 wrote: »

you start by having a clearer idea of what you mean by removals "company"

one man and a transit van doing light duty lift and shift work

or

a company with employees and pantechnicons doing full scale house removals

Full scale house removals and similar services is the goal. Employees would have to be something I'd address along the way to match work load. Possible zero hour contracts to start with as I've been told hiring staff from agencies is costly.

Tallaght

You will need public liabilty insurance along with goods in transit insurance.Beware the market for removal companies is a very saturated one.
Maybe start off with a 3.5 tonne box van.

mikul182

Tallaght wrote: »

You will need public liabilty insurance along with goods in transit insurance.Beware the market for removal companies is a very saturated one.
Maybe start off with a 3.5 tonne box van.

That is the exact sized vehicle i was looking at. Are you speaking from experience?

DCFC79

mikul182 wrote: »

I’m looking for advice on starting a business. A removals company to be precise. It’s something I have always wanted to do but never thought it would be achievable. I am at a stage now where I am 31 with enough cash to get this up and running so I am very tempted to give it a go. Is there anyone in this field with any advice/tips? Or anyone in general with some good pointers to get the ball rolling? Where do I start??
Thanks in advance.

How do you know what kind of amount of money is needed to get it up and running ?


Do as advised and get a job with a local firm and get inside knowledge of what entailed, preferably 1 who deal with a mix of different items.
With the experience you will be able to pick up some tips.

mikul182

DCFC79 wrote: »

How do you know what kind of amount of money is needed to get it up and running ?


Do as advised and get a job with a local firm and get inside knowledge of what entailed, preferably 1 who deal with a mix of different items.
With the experience you will be able to pick up some tips.

From the rough estimates of whats needed to start this up falls safely within my budget.
The only thing with getting a job within the territory is the fact I am currently in a well paid job and getting a job within the field would mean a drop in wages. Hence the firm interest in this type of work and the want to run my own rather than work for someone else's.

Tallaght

mikul182 wrote: »

That is the exact sized vehicle i was looking at. Are you speaking from experience?

I knew a few people who did this and they leased a 3.5 tonne van with tail lift.The UK market seems to be over saturated though and it is very competitive.There seems to be a lot of one man van businesses on places like ebay and other forums.The student market is a good one pre term and end of term etc.