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Starting a new business

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Hi everybody,
I kindly welcome any suggestion for business ideas under £1000.
This is basically my situation:
  • I have professional background in dealing with customers and working in a professional service environment. I have a law degree but I am not yet a solicitor. 
  • I am currently working full time;
  • I have a pretty decent IT knowledge, although I don't know anything about developing.
  • I do not want to want to invest more than £1000
  • I do already know matched betting but the profit margin at the end of the month is low.
I am not looking for a get rich quickly scheme, I just want to set up the basics for a new business I would like to let it grow steady and patiently. 
I was thinking about professional services, lettings, reselling, consultancy,  something I can also easily manage from home with my pc. 
I am not interested in translation services, i have also unsuccessfully tried to set up a professional CV review company.
Do you have any ideas for me? I don't really where to start from.


Thanks for your help,
Francesco.

Comments

  • pramsay13
    pramsay13 Posts: 2,142 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You need to pick something you are particularly good at or enjoy doing. 

    If you can do odd jobs there will always be people needing something done.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Do you have a hobby or a particular interest? 
  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 9,236 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    How much time can you devote to this business and when are you free to work on it. This may determine the sorts of customers you can service. 
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • megalith
    megalith Posts: 13 Forumite
    10 Posts
    Do you have a hobby or a particular interest? 
    I have a particular interest in IT, business planning and real estate.
    I have thought about rent2rent or  similar.

    tacpot12 said:
    How much time can you devote to this business and when are you free to work on it. This may determine the sorts of customers you can service. 
    Flexible. The entire weekend starting from Friday. My girlfriend can help me during the week when I am busy.
  • DireEmblem
    DireEmblem Posts: 930 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    megalith said:
    I am not looking for a get rich quickly scheme, I just want to set up the basics for a new business I would like to let it grow steady and patiently. 
    I was thinking about professional services, lettings, reselling, consultancy,  something I can also easily manage
    If you become a gardener, some plants can grow slow and steady if you are patient and nurture them.

    You can keep an eye on them as well from home if you setup a webcam.
  • valiant24
    valiant24 Posts: 453 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    megalith said:
    Hi everybody,
    I kindly welcome any suggestion for business ideas under £1000.
    This is basically my situation:
    • I have professional background in dealing with customers and working in a professional service environment. I have a law degree but I am not yet a solicitor. 
    • I am currently working full time;
    • I have a pretty decent IT knowledge, although I don't know anything about developing.
    • I do not want to want to invest more than £1000
    • I do already know matched betting but the profit margin at the end of the month is low.
    I am not looking for a get rich quickly scheme, I just want to set up the basics for a new business I would like to let it grow steady and patiently. 
    I was thinking about professional services, lettings, reselling, consultancy,  something I can also easily manage from home with my pc. 
    I am not interested in translation services, i have also unsuccessfully tried to set up a professional CV review company.
    Do you have any ideas for me? I don't really where to start from.


    Thanks for your help,
    Francesco.
    Conveyancing?   I've tried to persuade several lawyer friends to start a reliable conveyancing business with me, without success so far.
  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 9,236 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Conveyancing is a good idea, but it's a complex field. If with your law degree, it could be a good move. I don't think the start up costs would be excessive. The market has many firms that don't appreciate the frustration felt by clients as to how long the purchase/sale process for property takes. As a conveyancer, you may not be able to influence the time it takes the other parties, but you can do you own tasks promptly and most importantly you can communicate with client regularly as to what the next step is, why it is being held up and who is actively working on the issue. Your client satisfaction scores will be though the roof if you regularly communicate with clients who have had experiences of conveyancers who don't communicate from week to week or even month to month. 
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • megalith
    megalith Posts: 13 Forumite
    10 Posts
    edited 19 March 2021 at 9:44AM
    valiant24 said:
    megalith said:
    Hi everybody,
    I kindly welcome any suggestion for business ideas under £1000.
    This is basically my situation:
    • I have professional background in dealing with customers and working in a professional service environment. I have a law degree but I am not yet a solicitor. 
    • I am currently working full time;
    • I have a pretty decent IT knowledge, although I don't know anything about developing.
    • I do not want to want to invest more than £1000
    • I do already know matched betting but the profit margin at the end of the month is low.
    I am not looking for a get rich quickly scheme, I just want to set up the basics for a new business I would like to let it grow steady and patiently. 
    I was thinking about professional services, lettings, reselling, consultancy,  something I can also easily manage from home with my pc. 
    I am not interested in translation services, i have also unsuccessfully tried to set up a professional CV review company.
    Do you have any ideas for me? I don't really where to start from.


    Thanks for your help,
    Francesco.
    Conveyancing?   I've tried to persuade several lawyer friends to start a reliable conveyancing business with me, without success so far.
    tacpot12 said:
    Conveyancing is a good idea, but it's a complex field. If with your law degree, it could be a good move. I don't think the start up costs would be excessive. The market has many firms that don't appreciate the frustration felt by clients as to how long the purchase/sale process for property takes. As a conveyancer, you may not be able to influence the time it takes the other parties, but you can do you own tasks promptly and most importantly you can communicate with client regularly as to what the next step is, why it is being held up and who is actively working on the issue. Your client satisfaction scores will be though the roof if you regularly communicate with clients who have had experiences of conveyancers who don't communicate from week to week or even month to month. 
      


    I am really interested in becoming a conveyancer but I don't really  know if I hold the mandatory qualifications for this.
    Law degree in itself is like a provisional driving licence.
    But how can I start getting into?
  • Zanderman
    Zanderman Posts: 4,863 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You might get more advice in another part of the forum - you've posted in the savings and investments board, which is not a particularly logical place to look for business start-up advice.

    There is the Work and benefits section - which has a board on 'boosting income'.  That might be a better place to post, though it is often pre-occupied with threads about earning points on surveys etc rather than actual business ideas.  But worth a try.   

    It's at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/boost-your-income
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    megalith said:
    Do you have a hobby or a particular interest? 
    I have a particular interest in IT, business planning and real estate.
    I have thought about rent2rent or  similar.

    tacpot12 said:
    How much time can you devote to this business and when are you free to work on it. This may determine the sorts of customers you can service. 
    Flexible. The entire weekend starting from Friday. My girlfriend can help me during the week when I am busy.
    I was referring to a personal interest. As with just a £1k of starting capital. The only other way is committing time. While fruitful in the end, can be a long road in the making. Being known and creating a customer base isn't easy. Marketing is an expensive outgoing. 
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