deadlydarcy – Member
Work hard. Be honest. You get lucky.

So true, i work by this rule, luck usually finds me.

Be very careful looking at businesses to buy. Been there, done that – usually being sold for a (bad) reason, often have dodgy figures, don't often work out. You pay a lot for old stock/kit and they always exaggerate profits.

If at all possible, start from scratch with very few overheads.

Some friends of ours run their own businesses. I'm sure they started out by going part-time at work. Might be worth looking into going 3 days a week first?

John sells photos at http://www.newfocusphoto.com/ and also helped set up
http://www.helptrainingcourses.com/

Claire-Louise makes jewellery http://www.cielcreations.co.uk/

Miketually has hit the nail on the head.

Set up while still employed, that way you can build up a clientel, see how things are panning out and still have money coming in.

Warning though, this is hard work. When I set mine up, I was working 7 days a week often 10 hour days for 2.5 years. Luckily I was very young and had the energy and no overheads.

Now you probably have no energy and zero hair on your head!

Warning though, this is hard work. When I set mine up, I was working 7 days a week often 10 hour days for 2.5 years.

Yeah, John told us that working twice as much for half the money is a good guide for the first year or so…

So true, people. Still not put off, though.

It's that or training to be a teacher. Believe me, I'd be more use battering fish than bettering kids.

Trust me. Becoming a teacher will just make you consider the self employed/business owner avenue even more. I'm pretty sure miketually would agree with me on this one – and any other teachers on here!

If setting up/running a business is a decision made just because you aren't happy in your current job, it was almost certainly fail.

You need a spark of an idea/enthusiasm for it to work.

I'd go for it if I were you.

As others have said, start off part time, keeping your existing job, and keep overheads to a minimum. You may well find you can undercut the competitors due to working from a spare room and low overheads / lack of offices/staff to pay for.

Work out what you need to be able to make a year, then add tax, and all the costs involved, plus a bit extra in case of emergencies, and then divide that by 52 – if you think you can reasonably bring in that much a week, then you've got a good chance.

Also, when you start out, doubtless friends/family will use your services/buy your products – discount this from any projections of earnings, as 90% of the time this is them being nice and supporting you, and won't be an ongoing thing.

Look at what your competitors are doing – find ways you can improve on what they are offering. Also work out who your target market is, and how you are going to reach them – contact any potential customers now, and find out the situation with their current suppliers – they might be convinced to use you instead if the service/products they are receiving is not up to scratch.

Oh and get *everything* in writing – no matter how small the order – comes in handy in cases of disputes.

I started doing websites about 12 years ago, did part time for about 5 years, 3 of which I was stacking shelves in a supermarket.. I then left when I had enough work, and things have been going pretty well ever since.

I've never met anyone who regrets having a go at setting up on their own – even the ones who failed are glad they gave it a shot – and as long you don't invest all of your savings in it, and risk everything – then you should be ok.

Hope this helps – all just my opinions

If setting up/running a business is a decision made just because you aren't happy in your current job, it was almost certainly fail.

You need a spark of an idea/enthusiasm for it to work.

It isn't the motivation, though I don't want to go into the details of that here.

I have enthusiam. Just looking for the right idea.

I've done this for over 20 years http://www.peterflynnclassiccars.com but am thinking of making bespoke steel bike frames, for myself initially then maybe commercially, in the future. Do you think there is a market for another hand made frame builder?

Ourman – sorry wasn't trying to put a downer on things but having set up something we weren't all that enthusiastic about (following on from a family business), I know it's not a great idea. We made money but not a lot and soon decided to knock it on the head.

I've also seen people buy a company/franchise assuming it will be the ticket to immediate big profits, but without having their heart in it, it just won't work.

But if you find something that genuinely fires you up – it may be something a bit off the wall – it makes all the difference. Just be cautious!

Just looking for the right idea.

I can recommend Ingenuity in Practice (book, available on Amazon, £6 or so) and Winsquared.co.uk

Ingenuity in Practice is has a very good methodology for coming up with ideas, and winsquared provides a good way of checking your business plan out. I was a little sceptical at first, but the method provided us with an idea that was potentially worth £shedloads, but unfortunately turned out to be a little too close to a patent application filed by HP 😆

Surf-Mat – funnily enough, I don't want mega bucks, but an aim of being mortgage free by the time I'm 40 (I'm 34 now) is what is part of what is driving this.

To my mind, that tells me I need to generate (1) profit and (2) a saleable business.

tron – I'll check that out.

woodsman – yes, though the key is to consider what niche you want to enter into.

I'm convinced that the viability of the (relatively) large number of US framebuilders is because the costs are no different, but the potential market is a whole lot bigger.

joeydeacon – Member

Work out what you need to be able to make a year, then add tax, and all the costs involved, plus a bit extra in case of emergencies, and then divide that by 52 – if you think you can reasonably bring in that much a week, then you've got a good chance.

Divide by 48 or even less unless you are planning to work every week….

Geoff Burch has a book Go It Alone which is worth reading.

Does CEN affect custom-builders?

No probem in US I guess.

Good point Cynic-al. Not sure, it might be different, as each item will be bespoke and unique possibly, and not available in shops. Hmmm – I visited Roberts yesterday, they said their 'DB' frame has hardly changed since it's origin. Can't imagine, they, Dave Yates, Robin Mather have had cen acreditation, nothing at all on their websites. That's the sort of market, obviously it takes time to build status.

?

If I thought there was any demand for them, I could be a very happy, yet poor, boat builder.

Sadly the initial investment alone would be tens of thousands, and I'd have to charge a few grand each as well. Not many folk willing to pay that.

I thought DY had stopped building?

Says a lt to me about the market if so.

"Do you think there is a market for another hand made frame builder? "
some people do

Interview: Will from Hammoon Cycles

I'd encourage anybody to go for it.

Worst that can happen is it doesn't work, then you go get a job again.

I'd be happy to pass on the knowledge I've gained if anybody wanted it. email is in the profile.

CEN only applies if you're selling more than 50 of a particular frame per year, I believe.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/07/10-reasons-you-should-never-get-a-job/

this guy has some good points.