What business did you set up?

MNuTz said:
We had to survive on beans on toast and fried chips, hard times.

Im all for taking the risk, but if it fails and there must be a large % that do, i dont really want my kids growing up in the environment i did. I may start something on the side, which is the bonus with working 4 on 4 off shifts.
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Been there, done that and got the t-shirt :p

I believe I am a better person for it, I learnt a lot and made sure I didn't make the same mistakes again, in my case it was cashflow were I first tripped up, thought I had it sussed and I didn't. Later it was the introduction of new EU legislation that quite literally put me out of business overnight, that was just pure bad luck though.
 
Tweek_1984 said:
I'm going to need some start-up capital and I just don't know where thats going to come from.
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Beg, borrow and steal.

If you have an idea that is worth pursuing you'll get there in the end, you will find someone to put the money up but it will take you time and be prepared to get rejected frequently. It's quite easy to find capital up to £250,000 if you have no money and no assets at around 1-2% over base. If you have a mortgage it gets a bit more complicated and more difficult.
 
Biohazard said:
To register will yell.com do you need to appear in the yellow book as well?
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No, but...

I have never had a response from my line listing which has been on there for 4 years. Trouble with Yell.com is some companies pay a premium to be at the top of the listing on the first page, the more you pay the higher you get. General paid for listings are then randomly jumbled afterwards so you have a fairer chance of appearing near the top, but this is normally always off the first page. You need to be damn sure your business is going to get new leads from Yell before you pay up huge amounts.

General rule: broken computer = no internet connection to look on yell.com
 
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BNI is a breakfast business networking meeting. It works because it is strict, runs every week and runs to certain guidelines.

Things like FSB, Chamber and other networking events are fairly open and you just end up talking to the people you know.

BNI only lets in one business per category, if you do not attend you must get a substitute (if you do not attend 3 times in a rolling 6 months you are thrown out) and the investment is around £800/year including your breakfast.

BNI starts at 7am and ends at 8.30am (mine is every Friday) I get there at 6.40am. It is usually held in a hotel. There is a chapter director which changes every 6months and they chair the meeting. Every week there is an educational slot fot 4 mins done by a member. Every week you get 1 minute to talk to everyone in the room about your business and who you are looking for. The main part of the meeting is given over to refferals, we pass business to each other. A refferal is a genuine lead into another business, when people expect your call and know who you are (makes all the difference).

Because its every week you really get to know each other, also they are like minded business people, so if you work alone they become a support network.

Anyway I have rambled a bit, but I will answer any questions...
 
Although mentioned in another thread I intend to quit my main job on Monday I also have my own business (part time).

I offer full IT services to independant training providers and full IT training. Although this is rather occasional I just confirmed a contract for 2 days a week.

Should soften the blow after Monday.
 
I have been self-employed for 14months now.
It has been tough to get my name around, I expected this though.

I run a Home Entertainment & Computer installation company.
Basically wall mounting plasma's and that sort of thing.
I am moving more towards "TV reception" as well now , satellite, freeview etc.

I also estimate that around 50% of my work is PC repair.

I haven't had very much money for the past 12months. Only recently have I started to do "OK". Re-investing as much as I can as opposed to paying myself. I spent about £1500 on a Yellow pages ad which has yielded NO work at all! Most disappointing. I am finding almost all my work is now word of mouth. Since day one I have done favours and the such to accelerate my reputation and name being known and afaik it's working.

The next target is to switch over to a ltd. company and purchase a company Van which I aim to do within the next 4 months.
 
Loki said:
Remember 90% of businesses fail first time round. You could be one of the 10% if you plan it right.
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My dad's Resturant will be 12 months in March, still making ends meet ! :) Quiet at the mo after Christmas but doing OK.
 
Chris, very pleased to hear you're starting to be a success. You've got some balls going for it at such a young age and you deserve to do well.

Problem is, there are so many AV installers in the yellow pages, that unless you've been around for a while you've got very little chance of getting new custom.

I don't plan to put much money into advertising at all... I'm just going to rely pretty much solely on word of mouth as I've found that's the best way to get new business.
 
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agw_01 said:
Chris, very pleased to hear you're starting to be a success. You've got some balls going for it at such a young age and you deserve to do well.

Problem is, there are so many AV installers in the yellow pages, than unless you've been around for a while you've got very little chance of getting new custom.

I don't plan to put much money into advertising at all... I'm just going to rely pretty much solely on word of mouth as I've found that's the best way to get new business.
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In Bristol there are about 0 other installers I can find like myself :)

There are about 4 other businesses who will ONLY touch custom installs and not a range including basic TV tuning and DVD Recorder Setup to small-scale custom installs. These guys all do £3-£4k+ installs, this isn't the market I target. Almost all of my customers tell me what an excellent idea for a business I have and that they have always wanted to know of someone like me :)

Also, with regards to age, It makes 1000000000x more sense to give it my best shot at this age. I have pretty much no responsibility to others.

I still live at home so don't have a mortgage and don't have kids needing money.

The only downside is experience and knowledge. I lack that compared to many older people. However, I would like to challenge any uni graduate over what I have learnt in just 14months compared to their same time!
 
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I setup an IT company providing PC support, web design and web hosting. not much happened for the first year or so but we earnt enough to be profitable and have enough money while in college - able to get good grades, not worry about needing a "proper job" as our friends called it, and also have some fun.

Since then I worked full time for a while on it and built/expanded our brands and product ranges. We now host a wide range of organisations and have designed websites for all kinds of people from small clubs to SMEs.

It's great fun.

We're both at university now and run the business between lectures (or vice versa!), and although there have been some hard times and steep learning curves the overall experience is definitely worth it.

Tesla said:
I spent about £1500 on a Yellow pages ad which has yielded NO work at all!
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We got conned into that too - it took *months* before we saw a return, and it's been fairly modest. But then, it seems to be picking up now. But other forms of advertising have also been a complete waste - however overall the return on advertising is positive so far, so it's all part of the learning I suppose :)
 
Tesla said:
I still live at home so don't have a mortgage and don't have kids needing money.
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Aye - this is an advantage I also had. Also without the help and support of my parents, I probably wouldn't be doing what I am.

I don't mean financial terms - just generally being helpful with their own experience and advice, etc :)
 
I have a few business ideas, but don't have a clue on how to go about it. I know it would be hard work, but, i feel the ideas that I have could work very well. Just haven't got a clue how to start :(
 
MarkLP said:
I have a few business ideas, but don't have a clue on how to go about it. I know it would be hard work, but, i feel the ideas that I have could work very well. Just haven't got a clue how to start :(
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In what way? You don't know how to get funding? You don't know how to find clients? You don't know if the idea is viable/cost effective? You don't know if you can afford to do it - i.e. leave your current job?
 
Adz said:
In what way? You don't know how to get funding? You don't know how to find clients? You don't know if the idea is viable/cost effective? You don't know if you can afford to do it - i.e. leave your current job?
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Im currently unemployed. I don't know how to get funding and not sure if I could get it big enough quick enough to get money in
 
MarkLP said:
Im currently unemployed. I don't know how to get funding and not sure if I could get it big enough quick enough to get money in
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I believe, and I may be wrong, that the job centre will actually assist you with setting up your business if you're currently claiming job seekers allowance. Can't hurt to ask :).
 
Adz said:
I believe, and I may be wrong, that the job centre will actually assist you with setting up your business if you're currently claiming job seekers allowance. Can't hurt to ask :).
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Can't Claim Job seekers allowance, im too young
 
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