[Closed] Running your own business - what do you or would you do?

Cry quite a lot.

Crack cocaine. 8)

fast food franchise looking at majority of people!! remember thinking of starting a subway in sheffield about 6 years ago when there wasn't any, must be at least 6 now !

IT contracting - best of both worlds. Or worst depending on your outlook 🙂

Fast food franchise - the UK needs Taco Bells.

Me and my wife run a PR company although she set it up while I was earning "safe" money in a sales job.

The main thing is market research - so many just think their idea/service will work because they like it but find out no one else is interested. And don't be afraid of non unique ideas - doing something loads already do but better is usually the best route.

If it helps at all, we earn way more than we did in Bristol/London, have loads of flexi time with our boy (and to surf/cycle) and choose our clients; we don't work with ones we don't want to. You are also seeing all the money you make rather than your company taking the majority.

On the downside, holidays are hard to take, you can't just leave it behind at the end of the day and the responsibility can get to you sometimes. You also have to do accounts which is hateful but straightforward.

Proper old school toy shop.

You know Lego, Britians, Airfix and cap guns.

I sit in the corner of a darkened room, rocking back and too and gently sobbing. Occasionally I feel the merciful release as the blade punctures my skin.

DON'T DO IT!!!!! Not in the present climate. You'd have to be insane. If you really feel the need to do something similar, to go through the same joyous emotions - then simply go and draw all the money you have out in bundles of cash, douse in a suitable flammable liquid and apply a match

Oh.... then throw a petrol bomb at your car

open a nursery. Obviously not in a hands on role. A licence to print money imo.

Or I'd really love to open a good chippy. Do it right, in the right area and the hours would be pretty good.

I take a lot of time off when the weather is good to cycle. Never, of course making the time up.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say to a customer who has complained about everything and anything that I did back in May to $**^O+%X:
Ahhh, now that's better.

Go for it. You can always get a job if things don't work out as planned.

Drac - you do that already or plan to do it?

If the former, I want to come and have a nose around! Love that kind of stuff.

Not sure what you want from this. If its ideas for a business you're not going to get people giving out their carefully thought out plans online for free. If its encouragement to do it, then perhaps you might want to rethink your committment to the concept of being self employed.

General advice: In essence you are unlikely to get rich working for someone else. Having said that you are unlikely to be bankrupt either.

Drac - you do that already or plan to do it?

If the former, I want to come and have a nose around! Love that kind of stuff.

Nah! Don't have the balls to risk it. If I did that's what I'd do, maybe should encourage the Mrs as she's had enough of her current job.

I'm in a niche, that I identified whilst in employment over a few years for various employers, I started with low investment to see how it went and when it was going good I decided to make my first big investment which I was prepared to lose completely...

It helps if you can have a back up income ( we have rental houses which pays the basics mortgage and bills) so my business pays for the luxuries.

The majority of successful entrepreneurs start businesses related to their current work.

I know a guy whose Dad made an absolute killing selling light bulbs for instruments & the lights dentists and surgeons use. He'd been doing more or less the same thing as an employee, and realised he could do it better.

I'd agree with Surf Mat's sentiment about not necessarily doing something unique. There are a whole packages of problems with starting out in a new field, and the concept of first mover advantage is rather overblown.

I'd always wanted to set up a business teaching people how to become decent henchmen (or henchwomen) for super-villians.

Given that the vast majority of henching seems to be of a very low quality, there's bound to be a market for a henchperson that will, on catching the hero, either properly immobilise them with a shot to the kneecap, or just kill immediately, rather than locking in a shed with a lot of tools etc, or allowing them to talk their way out of capture in front of the villain.

Of course, there's a limited market for this type of service.

Not sure what you want from this.

Idle curiosity.

And the fact that significant career change may be forced on me in the next year or so. It would make the world my oyster, but I'd lose a decent income and may have to start at the bottom.

Once I would never have considered self employment, preferring the warm embrace of a monthly wage slip. But now it is weighing heavily on my mind.

Oh, and running a (decent) chippy is high up the list.

Ourman' are you talking working as a Ltd company/overseas for a construction/reconstruction contract?

whoops

I was self employed for about 8 years. I had two footwear shops and also did markets etc. WIthout doubt it was the most stressful time of my life and I would never, ever recommend that anybody tries the retail trade.

The risks are just horrendous,I almost lost everything, house, bankruptcy the lot. In the end it just cost me my marriage to the first Mrs B so I suppose every cloud...... 😆

Many people would consider the job I do now to be stressful but, at the end of each month, no matter what I get paid enough money to provide my family with food and a home and if I ever get stressed at work it only takes a second to remind myself of that. If it were me, I would only consider going self employed again if I had a "trade" (which I don't)

hora - no. Fish and chippy. My carpentry skills aren't up to much. Unless, of course, you have an opening I couldn't possibly turn down.... 😉

I sit in the corner of a darkened room, rocking back and too and gently sobbing. Occasionally I feel the merciful release as the blade punctures my skin.

Poor Binners. All that and he has to put up with Hora, too. 😥

D'you want a hug Binners?

Agree with not taking the risk in present economic climate. Depends on the business though I spose. Recycling stuff seems to big big atm. And I'd imagine businesses that repair stuff people can't afford to replace.

Charity shops seem to be doing well atm.

Manchesters crying out for a decent Fish and Chip shop. Bloody kebab/shitty friend chicken shops.

Serious? You'd (possibly) be rolling in it if you chose the area right (Dids etc).

Whats happening with the alternative fish stocks?

What do you do at the minute, OMITN?

I'd personally look to do something I had experience in, and something I could sell on easily when I'd had enough. It's difficult to scale something like a chip shop (ie, you can only open whole shops, whereas with other businesses you can just move to bigger premises). And you need to get scale to get a saleable business - most sole traders ARE the business, and it's worthless without them.

Dids is getting a good one (the award winning one from ALderley). West Dids has just got one, and it's doing roaring trade.

But plenty of other places could do with something similarly upmarket.

Don't want to go into reasons for this change of direction...!

double post

ourmaninthenorth - its not always the 'trendiest' paths that make the money or are the most rewarding.

I was thinking a decent one would clean up here in the right area however I could never open one as I have a weakness for alcohol or food ontap 🙁

A hug would be great thanks

The thing is with your own business is that you have absolutely no insulation from the vagaries of the market. There's no 'trickle-down effect' at all. When times get hard, you're the very first to feel it. And it was like a Tsunami when it all went tits up the other year. We went from virtually coasting with stable clients and steady work to staring down the barrel of bankruptcy within a couple of months. It was breathtaking how quickly it happened

One of your clients hits hard times, you lose your contract.
Someone goes bust, you write off thousands (possibly tens of thousands)

Once it starts snowballing. You're doomed. And it hurts!

tron - good advice.

binners - I do recall your tales of woe. Any better these days?

Geotechnical / Contaminated Land Consultant. Set up last year in the middle of the recession. Plenty of contacts from employment by earlier companies and with low overhead I have managed to stay very busy since day 1. As has been said before though you have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth and you get huge highs and massive lows. be warned, once you've made the leap you will never go back to work for someone else.

I ran an IT consultancy for five years. Ended up being about 20 of us. When it was good, it was fantastic, when it was bad, it was pretty horrible. As technical people, we weren't always good at asking for money, but we got a lot better at it!

I really enjoyed working with the customers and being able to shape the company to do the stuff we really believed we could do better than anyone. I didn't enjoy the people management and sleepless nights!

Glad I did it, but if I did it again it'd just be me!

Binners - same happened to my dad in the late 80s. One minute worth a fair wad of cash running a commercial interior design business, the next minute two plcs went bust owing him sh1t loads and his company went into liquidation. Us kids went from well off at a posh school in Surrey to skint at a comp in Cornwall.

If you run a chippy, avoid eating too much of what you sell...!

Alex, how did you go from being a drone to actually selling services? I wouldn't mind making the jump.

And another thing, go Ltd if you can. You stand more chance of keeping your house!

benefits claimant ?

or do I misunderstand the concept of self employed ?

Today I'm very happy we've got £xxx,xxxs of pounds in the bank and there is no worry about wages for the 25+ staff.

Then again 5 months ago I posted this.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-just-cant-be-fing-bothered-anymore

tron - that I know all about. Saw my father nearly lose the family home as a result of not doing that.

Chippy sprung to mind as they tend to have reasonable (gross) profit ratios - often c.50%. Then it's just down to turnover....

I run a Ltd co. with the missus. Stresses are: staff, customers, banks, taxes...the usual stuff. You do need to learn to switch off, otherwise the stress will kill you (and your relationship) at 6 I just stop, otherwise, you wouldn't...ever. Saw a drop in disposable income, but gained time with children, no boss to watch over your shoulder.

I'd struggle to go back to being employed now I reckon

Chippy sprung to mind as they tend to have reasonable (gross) profit ratios - often c.50%. Then it's just down to turnover....

Fair enough. If you're thinking of doing it, you probably know rather more about it than I do. 😆

I reckon quality and consistency will see you ahead of much of the pack in the food trade. The consistency is the difficult bit - everyone knows a takeaway or restaurant that goes downhill for 2 weeks of the year when the owner's on holiday - I'd try and study how the big chains and franchises go about it.

Don't open a bikeshop though, you'll have to feign poverty to avoid questions about expensive/overpricing 😆

If you're thinking of doing it, you probably know rather more about it than I do.

Only what I've gleaned online.

You're right that a reputation for quality is the key. the point on scalability is interesting, as of course creating a brand does mean additional shops, which incur the same levels of cost (with probably only a minimal saving on materials purchasing). Need to think about that.

It's either that or low rent fast food sold in huge volume to drunk people while frantically paying down the mortgage....

I think you should enrole on some evening hygiene courses etc as a starting point?

Gain the certificates required for food handling, prep, storage etc (for insurance purposes).

Then start looking online for businesses for sale (existing) that you could utilise/adapt?

Oh, and the thought behind a chippy is that it's a feel good purchase at a time when people aren't dining out.

hora - you encouraging me to go ahead and do this?

I have a strange urge to open a bakery out on the main road near my house.

Loads of commuters going past so could make up lunch packages, make a coffeeshop/breakfast shop kind of area. Also selling hugely nice and expensive cakes for people to take home at the weekend too.

Not going to happen because I am not into cooking, not arty farty enough to make fancy cakes and eventually I would be unable to fit through the door due to snacking.

hora - you encouraging me to go ahead and do this?

Treat it as a 'hobby' for now, halfway through your research you might actually summurse its the wrong business or time to go into it.

Plus it will take you AGES to find the right spot. Probably upto a year+ but imagine you find the premises, its ideal but you've no idea on all the other bits? Get the groundwork in now IMO- and keep looking for sites.

I want you to succeed as I love fish and chips!

ivantate - it's a succesful proposition where I live. Mrs North still kicks me for not letting her do it when she wanted to. Now there's *another* place opening up this week....

cheers hora - tell me where your latest whim for living location is, and I'll site it near there. 😉

Oh, and the thought behind a chippy is that it's a feel good purchase at a time when people aren't dining out.

Hmm, maybe it's a regional thing, and maybe I'm spoiled by the vast choice here in That London's famous London, but I and most folk I know wouldn't go out of their way for fish and chips when there are more 'exciting' things available. Maybe something to give it a twist, fish'n'chips with an edge? Special unique beer batter? Exotic varieties of fish? I dunno. Just a thought.

doing something loads already do but [s]better[/s] [b]cheaper[/b] is usually the best route.

It may change....very soon.....

If it actualyly goes through I 'may' need the services of an exorcist as the previous owner sadly died (and lay) in the kitchen...

Oh, and if you know any students, go and buy them a pint. Near enough every uni has access to Mintel, and the better ones will have Euromonitor and Keynote.

Its true that once you've made the move, you CAN'T go back. I wrapped by business (limited company) up but I'm still self-employed. No option

And to be honest, its all fairly academic. in the same way you won't to work for anyone else, they won't want you working for them either.

When they see 'running my own business for X number of years'. An employer will enterpret this as

a) Couldn't really be arsed working for a living, so bummed around mainly, but picked up the odd piece of work to keep the wolf from the door
b) I'm so anti-social and offensive that people can't bare to be in my company for more than an hour. And frankly I don't blame them

or most likely:

c) I've got the measure of this capitalism lark. I have a deep-seated resentment to working for people i generally consider beneath me.
alright I was unlucky this time, but given the first whiff of an opportunity, or a bit of an upturn in the economy, I'll be out of here like a Polaris missile to do it all again. And I'll probably take half your clients with me 🙂

doing something loads already do but [s]better[/s] cheaper is usually the best route.

There goes a man who's not studied business 😀 . Altering prices has a hugely disproportionate effect on profits. Not a viable proposition for small business who can't exploit economies of scale.

That kind of scenario planning is so easy to do now with the likes of Excel (ie, profit margins at various prices) that you'd be insane not to do plenty of it.

Binners you terrible old cynic, you... 😀

I've had quite a few tempting offers.

a) Couldn't really be arsed working for a living, so bummed around mainly, but picked up the odd piece of work to keep the wolf from the door
b) I'm so anti-social and offensive that people can't bare to be in my company for more than an hour. And frankly I don't blame them

Do you know me??? 😯

Can't stand working for others. having some clueless **** as my boss, getting credit for my ideas and then giving me shit when things aren't going well. Nah, bollocks to that. Rather be poor.

tron - good plan. Mrs (Dr) North works at a university. She might know someone who knows.

Oh and you seem to be getting yourself closer to unpaid employment doing my research.... 😉

It's top of the head stuff. I'm up to my arse in a business master's, and did a massive business planning exercise earlier in the year 😯

I also reckon you take max of a year off your job as a 'sabbatical' with the view to taking staff on and a supervisor who is effectively up and running with the business. Anymore than a years sabbatical and you'll loose touch with your profession?

(Sorry just throwing ideas into the mix)

Myself and a friend are currently trying to get a small media business going, just doing low-end stuff for clients who are yet to make use of things like websites, corporate video etc. This is because it's seemingly impossible to get into the "real" tv and film industry even with a 1st Class degree in Media Production as I have. It's all about who you know and not what you know and all seems a bit cliquey. If this works out it'll be pretty good as I'm enjoying being my own boss and the money is better than runner positions!

Just to get a quick plug in, the website (currently being updated) is meadowsmedia.co.uk 🙂

Offer what you do freelance to companies who may not be able to afford a full time 'OMITN' but could use you for one day a week etc. You may find three days a week at a consulting rate is all you need. Mate of mine does this as a financial director, another as an office manager, I've done it before as a marketing advisor. There could well be enough clients within a mile of where you live, it's about how you present your service to them.

idave - my profession doesn't really allow for this under its rules. Bit of a PITA.

could you not do something [i]slighty[/i] different though? maybe market it as a contract advisor, compliance type of person thingy??

EDIT - on second thoughts, they sound really dreary - just become a local novelty

Was thinking of something along those lines. Would ahve to be careful not to hold myself out as a solicitor.

Yes, rightly or wrongly people will think 'so your burnt out as a solicitor' or 'exactly why have you been out of it soo long' (are there skeletons etc)..

There goes a man who's not studied business

Guilty. However, such a policy does mean I get the scrag ends others price themselves out of. Gotta take what's there. Seems to work for Tescos etc. And I know plenty of people who've not 'studied business', but who do pretty well.

No good saying 'I'll only do it for £X' when someone is only offering £<X. Plenty around who will. And they'll eat while you starve.

If everyone is doing it for £X, then doing a better job than them may get you the gig, sure. At the moment though, it's a 'buyers' market.

Going back to the original question, we run some holiday accommodation in the Western Highlands.

We gave up our jobs, sold our house and got a massive business loan 3 1/2 years ago. It's got its stresses and strains like everything else but I'm delighted we did it.

TS

As a sole trader I
a. spend a lot of time wondering where the next few quid will come from. (photographer so, 'anyone' can do it, a [i]lot[/i] are trying... saturating the market, battering prices...)
b. roll around in shock when (this genuinely happened just 3 hours ago), a couple I've never met, who've never seen my work, did not know I existed, and only passed my studio 'cos the co-op truck had blocked the village, stopped by, looked, chatted and booked me to shoot their wedding next year - paying the deposit there and then... 8)
c. get rather bored of the statement 'how much! anyone can take a picture like that, and I can get it printed at boots for 20p....'
d. generally love what I do, just need to be doing more of it i.e. earning more- paying the bills ain't easy - it's getting better though - just entered my 3rd year as a full timer (yep, jacked in the old day job just 3 weeks before the ar*e fell out of the world - timing Chris, timing...!) background was selling welding gases for a living.
e. know that I will (have to..) make it work - can't see I could ever go back to working for someone else...
f. don't regret a moment, though I'd be a liar if I said point 'a.' has not troubled me more than I like recently...

HTH... 😉

I'd love to and have thought about it plenty....

My current favourtite idea is micro-brewery, but the chance of losing a lot of money is high!

Lol @ Binners (not your poor sorry state, but your accurate observations of being a self employed person.)

If you're good at what you do and enjoy the job, then being self employed is a really good move.
You'll care about your work, your customers and probably be a hardworking type.

Remember it's not like being employed. Every holiday or hour off is not being paid. Every phone call, pencil, bit of paper etc is paid for by you.

Customers may not always go for the cheapest option, many will pay that little bit extra for personal attention.

I remember many years ago having to go out and measure a persons lavatory window. The customer wanted a Roman blind. After a full days work I hauled myself into the car and went over to her house. This measuring service is free. The blind was eventually made out of her own fabric and seemed not to be worth my time and effort. However a couple of years later, this same lady phoned me, saying they had moved. She now wanted the whole house curtaining and this place was quite large. I've since done all her other properties, also friends, neighbours and relatives all from her recommendation.

I try to treat every customer the same, whether it be a very weatlthy footballers wife, or the little old lady down the road who's saved up for ages for some new curtains in her box room.

Sorry for the long waffle.

tartanscarf - friend and I have talked about similar type of business in the Pyrennees. Like your website.

marsdenman - I have zero talent in such areas, and I know how hard it can be for friends who take pics for a living (one has packed it in at least twice). My mother also does it (albeit she's otherwise retired) and is yet to make any money..!

supersessions - it's a nice idea, but not money making enough for me. I want cash..!

bunnyhop - so you don't just make posh handbags then..?!

"Alex, how did you go from being a drone to actually selling services? I wouldn't mind making the jump. "
@Molgrips: I was doing that for my old company. Just found myself having more in common with the customers than my own boss! And two of us thought we had a service that no-one else was properly offering, so we started with that.

Amusingly that service never did that well, and we ended up doing anything (and I mean anything "know about 'intelligent buildings' we were asked on a Friday "no but we will my Monday" was our response) that the customers asked us too.

We were good (I hope) at finding solutions to difficult problems and working really hard deploying them to the highest standard. We were useless at strategy, marketing, sales and anything that didn't involve a) clever IT stuff and b) Beer.

Still it was fun until the end. Never go work with a Mate, if you fall out it's ugly.

@NickC - you could never be employed again? That's true, you were borderline unemployable before 🙂

OMITN - Nope main business ( 25 years now ) is specialist curtains, Roman blinds, supplying poles and various window furnishings.

Luckily have many customers in th Hale, Bowdon, Prestbury, Bramhall type areas, some would you believe are downsizing.

Also in my area of work, loads of small business's have fallen prey to the recession so us lucky ones are still around and getting busy again.

Handbags, aprons, bunting, confetti etc. are from my design business, which is new and starting to grow.

Marsdenman- know what you mean about worrying about the money side of things. Keep at it though, 'cos you are a jolly nice and talented person.

P.S. How is little Beatrice?

Make friends with George Soros and shadow his moves...

How is little Beatrice?

Ace! Keeps us awake at night, but I wouldn't swap her for sleep any day (or night)..!

Proper old school toy shop.

You know Lego, Britians, Airfix and cap guns.

Can you still get cap guns?

Work hard. Be honest. You get lucky.

We both have ideas for our own businesses, but it's taking that first step that's hard. A secure monthly salary is very hard to walk away from.

My wife's about to go back to work now the youngest is off to school. I'm trying to persuade her that we plough pretty much every penny she earns into the mortgage over the next couple of years, while also minimising all our outgoings. That way, in a couple of years, we'd be in a brilliant position to go for it.

And if we bottle it, we'll have paid off the mortgage before we're 40 anyway 🙂

Her: related to teaching and animals
Me: a way to make dicking about on the internet pay

Rumour has it the owner of our local cinema is considering retirement. Could be an investment opportunity for someone with the right vision (and funds, which counts me out!)

OP, we are in the same line of work and I started mny own firm. It didn't work out but I learned the following lessons:

1. Don't think of starting your own business if you are a worrier / don't like uncertainty. The stress will drive you bonkers.

2. Never borrow / invest more than you can afford to lose.

3. Partners are for dancing.

4. Banks will ask the directors of limited companies to provide personal guarantees against the company borrowings. Going limited is not the bullet proof vest many think it is.

5. Focus, focus, focus. Don't let your own or others emotionality distract you. You have to be more ruthless than I was prepared to be to succeed.

6. Keep your overhead low. No staff or drawings if you can avoid it.

On the chip shop thing, I don't think putting staff in at the start is a good idea. It's a cash business and cashflow is king. You don't want your profits going into someone's back pockets.

Also work out what you need to turn over on a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily basis and ask if that figure is achievable.