I have an idea and an urge.
What else would i need to start a small business?
:thumbsup:

Investment?

Hi, I'm Basil and I'm willing to offer £20 for a 110% stake in your company. Interested?

Depends what sort of business, but like basil says, MONEY

I have an idea and an urge.
What else would i need to start a small business?
:thumbsup:

IMO Firstly you need to write a business plan with your aims and projections etc...your visions and what you are planning to sell and do.
What if this and that goes wrong, what will you do then.
A breakdown of your costs, a marketing strategy and research on why people would use your idea and not someone elses, why your product or service is so good and why you think there is a gap in the market.
Market research (extensive is usually best) and then a meeting with a business advisor and maybe if you can't do it yourself, look into investment and what you are prepared to give and lose etc....
How much it will cost you to say buy from supplier what you need to do it, and if their prices change.
How you will still make the money if there is a quiet patch in your sales etc....
You need to answer every question someone may pose you, and have a back up to 'if things were to..'

There are lots of sample business plans on the web that can be easliy found. And Sheffield Chamber of Commerce are good for small bits of advice.
Bets thing to do is get a business manager I'd say.

Visit SENTA and have a chat with them

and follow the above advice

Capital. Assume that no one will pay you on time, and that your bills all need to be paid immediately. Most startups go bust because they run out of cash - not bcause they lack work in hand. You can have £10,000 of work 'on the books' but unless you have liquid cash, you'r in trouble.

Cashflow is king. :)

Whilst planning is essntial, don't get toohung up on developing teh perfect business plan. What's more important is to validate what you do in the market place - i.e. get a couple of customers as soon as possible.

Would the business be part time along side your day job, or are you throwing everything up and going full pelt in to the new business? I'd avoid doing the latter; I'd try and keep the day job going until you've got three or 4 months worth of outgoings in the bank, PLUS enough money to keep your business going for 2 or 3 months, even if you set 30 day terms.

Try and avoid borrowing money if you can - and certainly if you do need to borrow money try not to borrow it off family or friends. If things go pear shaped you can lose more than just the money.

Be prepared to serve your customers. Go the extra mile in giving good service, and be prepared for long hard hours -- at least for your first year. When you're well established, you begin to get some freedom.
Understand what your customers want, be prepared to supply it.
Think about what they need, and persuade them to want it.

Talk to an accountant. Get registered as a company and do it fast as getting a Vat reg number takes for ever and nobody'll sell you owt without it.

Draw up your business plan, get your suppliers in place, book an appointment with the bank manager of your choice, makes no odds they're all slimy and want your cash.

and....

Get ready to not sleep again. Ever.:thumbsup:

Don't open a business bank account too soon. Some banks offer free banking, but you want this when you're trading, not waiting to start.
How long can you survive without any income?
Watch out for the con artists selling advertising space that never materialises.

Wait and find the RIGHT staff.

You'll only regret it if you can't wait and rush into recruiting people.

Sit down and write a detailed job spec. Once you've done that leave it a few days, go back to it and tweak it if necessary. This needs to be perfect or it could come back and bite you later on.

This is of course if you plan on employing people. Mind you even if you don't still write the job spec and ask yourself if YOU fit the bill. You may be surprised and identify a skills gap you need to work on.

Other than that, as above, but i would emphasise only the best customer service. That's what people really appreciate these days.

Thanks for all the info everyone. Lots to look into. If it helps im wanting to turn a hobby into a business. I want to start small hopefull using word of mouth as my main source of advertising.
Joe, it wont be a 24/7 affair to start as it will be more a spare time thing. Is this possible do you think or would i need to drop everything and put everything into it?
Thanks again everyone..:thumbsup:

Talk to an accountant. Get registered as a company and do it fast as getting a Vat reg number takes for ever and nobody'll sell you owt without it.

Draw up your business plan, get your suppliers in place, book an appointment with the bank manager of your choice, makes no odds they're all slimy and want your cash.

and....

Get ready to not sleep again. Ever.:thumbsup:
Cant wait...:hihi:

Ive been trying to set up my own little business, its a long hard slog at first but dont give up.

good luck

jane

Thanks for all the info everyone. Lots to look into. If it helps im wanting to turn a hobby into a business. I want to start small hopefull using word of mouth as my main source of advertising.
Joe, it wont be a 24/7 affair to start as it will be more a spare time thing. Is this possible do you think or would i need to drop everything and put everything into it?
Thanks again everyone..:thumbsup:

I'd definitely stay part time until you're established with a couple of 'regular' customers. Just keep your accounts nice and tidy - I think you need to register with the taxman to let them know you're doing soem extra work, and you'll have a 'short form' self employed tax return to complete as well as the standard return.

The Tax Office at Young Street will be able to tell you what's needed from their perspective.

This may be useful Daddy http://www.thebigwebsite.org.uk

Over 17 years we ran our own buisness, a store front on a busy street......I wouldn't do it again, you can't go away anywhere, no matter how you're feeling you still have to go into work, unless you can afford to pay someone when you first open the buisness.

We did have a good location though, we had the choice of 3 emptystores on the same street, we picked the one that had a traffic light out front, you would be amazed how many people came in and said they had just noticed the shop while stopping at the red light :)

ANyhow, working a 9-5 job for someone else after those 17 years is just so relaxing....not a care in the world after 5pm :)

I have an idea and an urge.
What else would i need to start a small business?
:thumbsup:

Believe in yourself! Don't let be anyone put you down, Belive in yourself! Get yourself a book (idiots guide to small buisness etc) not that i think you are an idiot! (you now what i think!) Believe in yourself! Way up all the pro's & con's, so you can turn con's into pro's! Don't jump into anthing! Research, Research, Research! Oh and Believe in yourself!:D You can do it!!!!!

What mentalmomma said -
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF !!!!!
Best of luck with it :thumbsup:
Lotsa love Kazza Xx

Believe in yourself! Don't let be anyone put you down, Belive in yourself! Get yourself a book (idiots guide to small buisness etc) not that i think you are an idiot! (you now what i think!) Believe in yourself! Way up all the pro's & con's, so you can turn con's into pro's! Don't jump into anthing! Research, Research, Research! Oh and Believe in yourself!:D You can do it!!!!!

Do all that...but keep your cashflow positive and always have a few grand in reserve. :)

Visit SENTA and have a chat with them

and follow the above advice

Agreed - if you can get on one of their courses - go for it! They're fantastic. Go to one of their open days and enrol on EVERYTHING that's free. It's amazing the quality of training you can get for nowt. Good luck.

I know someone who is very skilled at his trade but found it was quite a different kettle of fish when he started his own small business. As others have mentioned you're likely to need quite a bit of stamina and resilience. Some aptitude for sales and networking is probably also necessary (though that will vary according to the business). How would your business be affected by a downturn/recession, ie does it depend on 'discretionary spending': things people might stop spending money on if they're hard up?

:thumbsup:well daddy if its your cakes go for it the one you made me was great !!!!!!!!!!!!! you forumers if you ever need a cake the daddys yer man:thumbsup:

An acquaintance of ours buys failing businesses; he and his family WORK REAL HARD in them; the business turns round and makes good profits; then he finds another and sells the first.
Some 40% of these revived businesses go broke again, because the buyer isn't prepared to keep up the hard work.

Another friend worked in a country motor service station. The boss bought it because it had a tyre service, which was all he was interested in. Our friend served petrol (not yey automated) and two ladies served food and sold things. Boss, being a boss, sat in his office; "OK, there's a queue, but I have employees to do that, I don't need to help". When a local transport business boss came in to talk, our friend was told to deal with him. For some strange reason, this ended in the boss's fourth bankruptcy.
Our friend took up lawn mowing, and (age 50) playing with an old computer (IBM AT level). He got good at stripping it & rebuilding, took some courses, and now runs a successful computer sales and service from home, giving good prices, 18/7 service, and generous warranty. He's made a lot of people consult him rather than the computer "warehouses" which flourish here.

Thanks for all the advice. And yes Sharon, i want to turn making cakes into a business and thanks for the advert:thumbsup: and im happy you liked it.:)
Im definatly going to do it as only part time to start with as i have no training in either business or baking (great start eh:roll:..) so ill be doing a lot of learing on the way.
Thanks again for all the useful info and if anyone wants a cake let me know:):)

We did have a good location though, we had the choice of 3 emptystores on the same street, we picked the one that had a traffic light out front, you would be amazed how many people came in and said they had just noticed the shop while stopping at the red light :)



That alone should give you plenty of scope in Sheffield then...

Thanks for all the advice. And yes Sharon, i want to turn making cakes into a business and thanks for the advert:thumbsup: and im happy you liked it.:)
Im definatly going to do it as only part time to start with as i have no training in either business or baking (great start eh:roll:..) so ill be doing a lot of learing on the way.
Thanks again for all the useful info and if anyone wants a cake let me know:):)

Besides the desire to work for yourself and the vision of how that will take shape you need:

Premises (location location location & suitability for purpose ie OK for catering use)

Money, more than you think you will need.

Publicity, not all publicity is good publicity contrary to popular belief, but word of mouth is by far the best advertising medium for food shops.

A 'run your own business' course at SENTA is a good starting point.

Unless you need a bank loan don't bother with a detailed business plan, we've managed to do 5 businesses so far without one.

Please don't 'buy into' the business cards & letterhead syndrome, it drives me crackers. If you are a food related business have a small brochure or leaflet done that covers, what you do, where you are, ideas for customers to see as purchases, how to contact you, ideas of prices (not essential). Business cards end up in the bin, a leaflet or glossy postcard gets put on a notice board.

We have a customer who comes in occasionally who makes cakes on a part time basis and I can see what an awful struggle he is having converting it to a full time occupation. IMO if he grasped the nettle and saved a bit of capital he could open a shop in a good location and it would go from there but committing to suitable premises is too much of a financial gamble for him.

Good luck.

Don't have a business partner and don't employ family or friends if you value their relationship. Make friends with your business contacts but don't make your friends business contacts. I've been in business for over 25 years and had a partner for 8 months, it was the worst 8 months I've ever had and I'm just about catching up on the sleep, that was in 1984.

Thanks for all the advice. And yes Sharon, i want to turn making cakes into a business and thanks for the advert:thumbsup: and im happy you liked it.:)
Im definatly going to do it as only part time to start with as i have no training in either business or baking (great start eh:roll:..) so ill be doing a lot of learing on the way.
Thanks again for all the useful info and if anyone wants a cake let me know:):)

well im only to pleased ANYTIME XX you go for it you should xx id recomend you to anyone not only did my cake look fantastic it teasted extremely yummy too :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Hey The_DADDY, I've seen you post on the forums before :)

I'd honestly avoid making the dive into creating your own business at this moment in time. With the markets being as volatile as they are at the moment, you could find yourself having a harder time than say three years ago. Saying that though, the killer product is likely to succeed in any market.