Starting a business

Slinkie · 2 Sep 2006 at 21:59

Hi Folks,

I'm after a bit of advice from those who have started their own businesses. I am edging towards starting my own company but am being as cautious as possible about it. I have been working on this for the last few months and after talking to business start up advisors and other business owners I am at the point now where I either go ahead with it or I forget it.

A bit of background. I am currently unemployed and have been since I returned, in June, from a year long around trip the world. After lots of interviews and being mucked around by agencies (I hate agencies! :mad:

) I am fed up of the job hunt and it just so happens I have this business idea to fall back on. I am thinking while it is in development I will get a rubbish evening/ weekend job for a bit of pocket money and some investment for the start up costs. Has anyone any experience of doing this and what were the results? I am in the position where I don’t have bills to pay as I am living with my parents (

) so a lot of money can be spent in investment.

I have the skills necessary for a start up (Accounting + finance degree, work in finance, work in customer service and dealing with suppliers, book keeping and business law etc) but it seems to me that it is an extremely big step to take and so I am definitely taking my time making my decision.

Also has anyone who has started a business got any advice for a new venture? I am edging towards doing it, even if it doesn’t make any money I still think it would be a cool experience to do it? I’d like to hear of OCUKs experiences similar to mine.

Thanks all

Matt

Adz · 2 Sep 2006 at 22:00

You'll never know unless you try

.

Can I ask what you're thinking of doing?

Slinkie · 2 Sep 2006 at 22:03

Adz said:
You'll never know unless you try .

Can I ask what you're thinking of doing?

Hi Adz, sorry again me being cautious but the business involves what I believe to be quite a gap in a market so I'm keeping the details safe and sound for now.

Adz · 2 Sep 2006 at 22:09

Fair enough, thought that might have been the case.

In that case it's hard to offer any specific advice. General advice:

- Get yourself an accountant from the outset. It might seem like an unnecessary expense but they pay for themselves very quickly

- Keep *all* paperwork, file it neatly. Preferably get someone else to do it.

- Don't ignore anything from the Inland Revenue

- Have a contigency plan

- Keep cash spare - you never know when you'll need it

- Don't work too hard or you'll burn out

- Be careful, don't rush into decisions but don't be too cautious either. If you don't take some risks, you'll never really get anywhere

All common sense really. At the end of the day, running a small business is all about hard work, dedication and a lot of luck.

Alwayz Dead · 2 Sep 2006 at 22:42

Adz is certainly right in what he states. Having an accountant from the start makes sense but if you were starting very small, sole trader on a fairly low input of time/money which is after your main work then maybe not straight away. However, as Adz says keep records – there are tons of useful simple accounting software progs available. If you were to open a Business account with Lloyds TSB you get a freebie cash book which is great for simple accounting. Besides you have the skills it seems for this already.

Once you start trading you have 3 months I believe to notify the IR or they can slap £100.00 fine on you after this.

A business plan is must though. You need to know where you are going, how you intend to get there and so on.

Good luck mate, I wish you every success.

Slinkie · 2 Sep 2006 at 23:04

Alwayz Dead said:
Adz is certainly right in what he states. Having an accountant from the start makes sense but if you were starting very small, sole trader on a fairly low input of time/money which is after your main work then maybe not straight away. However, as Adz says keep records – there are tons of useful simple accounting software progs available. If you were to open a Business account with Lloyds TSB you get a freebie cash book which is great for simple accounting. Besides you have the skills it seems for this already.

Once you start trading you have 3 months I believe to notify the IR or they can slap £100.00 fine on you after this.

A business plan is must though. You need to know where you are going, how you intend to get there and so on.

Good luck mate, I wish you every success.

Thanks for that, I have a business plan, cash flow, predict future earnings etc I have done all the preparation work it's just whether I take that final step and get on with it! Having done business studies and finance at degree level I deffinately enjoy it and tend to get a lot of business ideas that after initial thought or a bit of research turn out to be not as good as I expected. This one however is different as I have spent two months on it so far and it still semms like a good idea! Maybe I should just take the plunge and find out.

Thanks for the advise

Matt

i know nothing · 2 Sep 2006 at 23:08

Cashflow.

Assuming your business model is sound, the single most important factor is cashflow as far as I'm concerned.

Assume worst case scenario!

Good luck

blade007 · 3 Sep 2006 at 00:41

just go for it!

and don't hold back. If it doesn't work out after a year, then that's it. But give it a go.

bigredshark · 3 Sep 2006 at 02:53

as before, get a *good* accountant, make sure you can work effectively with them. It depends on the business idea to be honest, particularly in IT and related areas, I'd also get a solid second opinion or twenty on your business idea, you really need to get a dispassionate assessment of it's feasability.

Phate · 3 Sep 2006 at 03:10

Your name isn't Matt Harding is it?

returned from a year long trip around the world?

Slinkie · 3 Sep 2006 at 07:39

Phate said:
Your name isn't Matt Harding is it? returned from a year long trip around the world?

Nope, clues in my travel website address in my sig. Thanks for all the advise!

Paul11 · 3 Sep 2006 at 08:19

blade007 said:
just go for it!

and don't hold back. If it doesn't work out after a year, then that's it. But give it a go.

Best advice !

Slinkie · 3 Sep 2006 at 15:05

Thanks for the advice so far! I'm still waiting on figures for the price of advertising and insurance so I can make a definate decision this week, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Has anyone got any recommendations for good websites to set up Ltd Co.'s such as these?

http://www.eacbs.com/

http://www.westbury.co.uk/company_formation/companiesmadesimple/

Or any advice on the best route to take? If you have used one of these or a similar service can you let me know how you got on?

Thanks

Matt

Boycie · 3 Sep 2006 at 15:13

Hey there,

I was in a similar situation to you, me and a partner setup a business and while we were developing it we both got bar jobs at weekends just to keep us going since like you we were both living with parents. It's now been six months and we have just quit our weekend jobs to concentrate our full efforts on developing the business further since it's making enough money to live off.

Hope this helps

Luke

Matthew-1985 · 3 Sep 2006 at 15:22

Slinkie said:
Has anyone got any recommendations for good websites to set up Ltd Co.'s such as these?

I used http://www.sfsgo.com/ last year. I can recommend them. :cool:

jcb33 · 4 Sep 2006 at 10:37

Sorry Ignore This, Posted In The Wrong Post Somehow :rolleyes: