Small Business Thread

[Cromulent]

I've been thinking about setting up a business recently for a variety of reasons and was curious if there were any small business owners or people hoping to start a business on this forum.

At the moment I need to finish off a business plan and make sure I have the correct numbers in terms of budget and costings.

I'm a bit nervous of jumping on it as starting a business is a massive job and requires a lot of effort but having said that I think it could work out. I'm mainly looking at doing website development and website hosting / sys admin.

How many of you run / want to start a business?

 

[Cromulent]

You need to really want to do it to make it work, but it can be very satisfying to see the fruits of your labour. What's your main reason for wanting to do it? Do you want to remain a personal services company or are you looking to establish a business that employs others to do the work?

Context- started a business with 3 others around 6 years ago and we now employ around 50 people. Happy to answer any questions you (or others) may have on the journey.

My main goal is to be self sufficient but it would be nice to earn some more money and have others do some of the work but that won't happen in the short to medium term I don't think.

I'm just nervous about actually registering the company as once you do that there is no going backwards . I'll go through the figures tomorrow again just to set my mind at ease.

 

[Cromulent]

Not a business owner but I have taken significant self employed career risks over the years. If you frame the risk appropriately ahead of time and have an exit strategy then follow your gut and swing away.

Most businesses go bust in the first couple of years so prioritise surviving as you're learning and growing. Tightening overheads in your personal life might give you extra time or reduce mental pressures.

Glglg

Yep. Good plan. I already have a reasonable grasp of what I spend so I can budget effectively but I'll go through my bank and credit card statements again tomorrow just to make sure. Problem nowadays is that just about everything is a subscription and they add up quickly.

 

[Cromulent]

Registering the company is like step 20.... This sounds like peak cromulent thread again.

I mean I'm pretty confident with what I can and what the market is like but there is a big difference between planning and learning and actually taking the huge jump to get started.

When you start to spend money it becomes a whole lot more real. At least to me.