Part time business while at uni?

S9L

I have a second cousin (or some distant relation) that I went to school with, he told me for years he wanted to open a restaurant which was perhaps a good idea, he was a chef in a hotel for a few years. I used to get on well with him but he's gone off the rails as an adult, I only ever see him very sporadically but I still keep in contact on Facebook now and then, just the occasionally jokey thing.

Maybe I should just go it alone or with someone who seems more reliable work wise, but I have no idea what to go for. I wouldn't be able to afford renting a shop

Takeaway_Addict

S9L wrote: »

Hi. I'm at uni, starting my second year in a couple of weeks. I was thinking about starting a little part time business, but I have no idea what to do, I'm thinking of going for advice somewhere. If it were something related to my degree (History and English lit), well, there isn't really much of a market for things like writing and publishing etc where I live.

I have a second cousin (or some distant relation) that I went to school with, he told me for years he wanted to open a restaurant which was perhaps a good idea, he was a chef in a hotel for a few years. I used to get on well with him but he's gone off the rails as an adult, I only ever see him very sporadically but I still keep in contact on Facebook now and then, just the occasionally jokey thing.

I was thinking about it the other day and spoke to him, it couldn't hurt to at least explore the option, he actually told me he has a small side bakery business, I think he makes stuff at home and then sells it. He said he could expand it and we could rent a little shop (there are a few empty ones where I live, I think) but still, I wouldn't be able to afford it.

When I discussed it with him last night, it was just a fledgling, highly theoretical discussion but something he said concerned me. He told me he's got a disciplinary at his main job over something small, and he then said that every job he gets, he ends up getting sacked or something over some small thing. I suppose I don't know the full story, but still.

It didn't exactly inspire confidence from me about going into business with him. I'd be worried that he'd just pack the entire thing in and leave us in debt (I don't know if that's possible when renting a shop) or do something else like that. If in my shoes, would anyone consider starting something with him?

Maybe I should just go it alone or with someone who seems more reliable work wise, but I have no idea what to go for. I wouldn't be able to afford renting a shop

Do not touch your cousin with a barge pole, either go it alone or get a job working for someone else

Mojisola

S9L wrote: »

If it were something related to my degree (History and English lit), well, there isn't really much of a market for things like writing and publishing etc where I live.

With the internet, why are you restricted to finding work just in your area?

motorguy

Dont go in to business with your cousin. Its a train wreck waiting to happen.

Find yourself a part time job somewhere and do that instead. Running a business on the side risks distracting you from your studies.

I might have a different view of the above if the circumstances were different but currently you dont even have an idea for a business, let alone a viable business idea.

gettingtheresometime

You're asking the wrong question.


You need to be asking why you want to set up a business in the first place.


If it's simply to increase your income then find a part-time job.

sazaccount

Personally I would get a small part time job in a bar, retail or leisure industry around your uni. you don't have to think too much about the job just turn up, work the shift and go home. Most uni jobs are casual/ "0" hour as in you can pick and choose your shifts so maybe a afternoon that your not at uni and one weekend shift.

Focus on uni first then maybe next summer look at starting your own business when you have time and no external pressures such as assignments and lectures.

Savvy_Sue

S9L wrote: »

It didn't exactly inspire confidence from me about going into business with him. I'd be worried that he'd just pack the entire thing in and leave us in debt (I don't know if that's possible when renting a shop) or do something else like that.

If you are in business 'with' him rather than employed 'by' him, then it's entirely possible he could leave you in debt.

S9L wrote: »

If in my shoes, would anyone consider starting something with him?

No. Do not touch with the proverbial barge pole.

Running your own business isn't the great flexible thing you can fit around the rest of your life it's often made out to be. The advice to get a job is sound. That way, you don't end up paying for someone else's mistakes, you learn what you're good at, you learn how to run the kind of business you're working in, and maybe, just maybe, you find a passion for something which could end up being a business for you at a later date.

Dox

S9L wrote: »

Hi. I'm at uni, starting my second year in a couple of weeks. I was thinking about starting a little part time business, but I have no idea what to do, I'm thinking of going for advice somewhere. If it were something related to my degree (History and English lit), well, there isn't really much of a market for things like writing and publishing etc where I live.

You don't inspire confidence. Comments like the one above... do you really think that people writing for publication all live within a mile of the publications concerned? Get a copy of the Writers and Artists' Yearbook (latest edition - library or buy one from Amazon) and get real.

Brynsam

This has to be a troll post. Nobody could be quite as dim as OP comes over.