setting up your own business.

[Olive]

has anyone done this/tried to do it?

what did you find difficult?

did it work out?


i'm looking to go into business with my cousin. she has the knowledge, the contacts, the business sense and the money, and i have the skills, and the time.

we're really just wondering how possible owning our own business is gonna be...

[DG]

So what Business are you going into?

[hobbs]

it can take upto two years to get properly established.

talk to a business advisor at a bank - they have all sorts of information

my advice from experiance is
try and keep costs to a minium
support it with gaurenteed income if you can - a job - so if it is making clothes you can do this in the afternoons/evenings while working in HMV in the morning

as well as this set yourself some clear parameters - ie i will not work after 8pm or on sunday mornings. i will not answer business phone calls after 7pm etc...

hope this helps if you want more info let me know
:)

[ShyBoy]

I think you could do it Kaffrin :). My advice would be to get a website so people can see your clothes etc. I want some!!!! heh

Go to the bank thought they'll help and give you advice - Barclays are especially good with starting up small businesses. Then again HSBC have the international contacts, but you should start small heh. My brother owns the proffesional cookware company and they have 2 bank accounts - a barclays one cos... they need it, and they have a HSBC one so when they buy their products they have 90 days to pay for them - if they do their job right they've sold them by then so they never actually own the stock, heh :)

[MWF]

I run two of my own businesses and have done for a nearly two years now.

My first piece of advice is to only take advice from people who have been there and had some sucess, or at least know the reasons why they didn't have sucess.

Secondly avoid going into business with anybody else.

Third point, DO NOT go to your bank and tell them you are working for yourself. With banks money talks and your earning power dictates your equity, by telling them you are running your own business you'll only be burning bridges. Go to another bank to discuss business plans but the only thing a bank will be interested in doing is givnig you a loan and making money off you. Most banks wont organise a meeting until you have been trading for 18months anyway.

Most retail business work on a three year strategy, on the first year you make a loss, in the second you break even and the third you make profit. While this wont gurantee success you have to keep it in mind, do not expect to make big money for years.

Finally everything revolves around marketing, having a Web site is good but no-one will visit it unless you advertise the address. You have to get your name and products infront of people.

Hope that's an insite for you :)

[Olive]

Originally posted by MWF

Secondly avoid going into business with anybody else.


we wouldn't be able to do what we're planning without each other...

and no it's not clothes. i'm still going to make and sell clothes and stuff, but we were thinking about selling hand-made wedding paraphernalia. stationery, jewellery, maybe even dresses.

there is a huge market for it, and she has all the contacts. also she has a good job, so she can afford to lose money for a while...

[Makoto]

has anyone done this/tried to do it? Yes I have my own.
I'm about to start an online record label as well.

what did you find difficult? the sorting out of the whole legal side of it and all the tax and crap. This is the forst time I've done this stuff on my own and I don't really have a business head but I've just been learning as I go.

did it work out? So far so good.

[spanner]

Our factsheet on how to
Be an entrepreneur (http://www.thesite.org/magazine/work_and_home/be_an_entrepreneur.html)
and a whole section on being self employed here (http://www.thesite.org/info/careers/) will help get you started.
Good luck ;)

[Olive]

Originally posted by spanner
Our factsheet on how to
Be an entrepreneur (http://www.thesite.org/magazine/work_and_home/be_an_entrepreneur.html)
and a whole section on being self employed here (http://www.thesite.org/info/careers/) will help get you started.
Good luck ;)

ah, thank you very much :)

[Adiss]

Im setting up my own business this year while im at Uni. Im going to be working for the same company i work for now but as a contractor.

Ive just had to fork out £400 for an accountant and a set of advocates.
My experience so far is that bankers talk out of their arses. Dont get a business account stick with a personal account untill you know things will work out. Then use the first year free schemes to get free business banking at each branch. (its a scam but its my accounants advice)