Hi all,

I've been considering setting up my own business for a while now and I would be looking at going into two fields that are able to run side by side.
As I don't have any problems getting stock and have my list of reliable suppliers I could quite easily start now!!!

My problem is - that's as far as I can possibly get for now and am looking for any help and/or advice on how much is involved in the entire setup.

I know that Business registration is aroud £85 and Sole trader Licence is around 495 - can anyone else help me by outlining average costs please?

Hi, Give my central team a call on 0800 043 5522 there are teams of people employed around sheffield to help with exactly this sort of advice.

For more info
http://www.thebigwebsite.org.uk

Thanks for the info Liz, I'm going to give them a call on Monday.

There is no cost in registering a business, unless you mean forming a Limted Company and before you do that you should take professional advice. If you are intending to trade as a sole trader then the only registration you need is the one with the Inland Revenue. If you want an hours free support and advice just contact me.

What sort of shop are you thinking of opening?

A limited company businss can be registered for less than £40 a sole trader or partnership registered for free.

You may have licences is you want to sell alcohol or similar products.

Obviously your first major cost would be to sort out a shop.

If you rent a shop unit you will usually have to pay a deposit of at least two months rent, with rent being paid in advance.

Then you have shop decoration and fittings, before you start to think of the stock you will need.

You need to buy enough stock to ensure the shop doesn't look empty or like it is closing down.

Then you have insurance, for you shop, stock and public liability insurance, maybe some advertising, flyers printed, maybe a website.

You would have all the normal utility bills, gas, electricity, rates, water rates and telephone.

You would also need some money in the bank so you can pay bills if sales are slow early on.

Without knowing what shop you are opening, and the possible size, it is difficult to know how much the setup will cost.

I can't see, even on a small scale, how you could get up and running for less than £20,000, but I would be prepared for it to cost a lot more.

Good luck.

I take it you want to go into the greeting cards business.

If so, think how you are going to compete against the supermarkets and Clintons. For the local market, a lot of areas already have newsagents etc who are well set up for selling cards, wrapping etc.

A shop will be very expensive. Profit on cards is very small. Think of how else you can create an income.

Personally I wouldn't consider a shop yet. Think differently - what can you do that will be popular and does not need a shop? Think along lines of church and school halls.

If the shop is for greetings card it could be very difficult.

Newsagents sell cards but don't do a very good trade on them. People expect newsagents to sell cards but few buy from them now due to Clintons and other card shops.

As the BBC show last week on small shops showed, a gift shop could work, if you have a unique selling feature, like your own designs.

But running costs on a shop will be at least £200 a week, more if you are in a popular shopping location.

As other posts have said look at market stalls and craft fairs first.

Or if you do design your own stuff, try and get other shops to take them.

HI Craig
Good luck with the new business. I am a wholesaler and supply to a lot of new start up businesses. My initial advice is not to invest more than you can afford to lose.

The businesses that I see growing are those that start off very small and buy more regularly. Try to negotiate with your suppliers on things like minimum orders so that you can spread your range widely and without piling it too high. Once you know what ranges are more popular you may then need to buy larger quantities.

Not all wholesalers are particularly helpful to start up businesses, but find some that are and that will work with you on discussing best sellers and which ranges compliment which.

Starting with opening a shop is a huge risk and I would suggest looking at other routes. There is good old Ebay, markets, fairs, county shows, parties, ecommerce (doesn't need to cost a lot). Some shops might be able to rent out a section of counter or some shelf space for you if you go in and work with them.

Good luck. You will stumble and make some disasterous decisions in starting a new business, we all do. Keep going though and you will get through. Give your business a personality so that customers have a reason to visit you and buy your products.

Hi i have just seen this advert and know it may be a bit out of date.

Most small to medium businesses dont actually need a accountant at all but simply book keeping work. My business has been established nearly 30 years in Peterborough and we are expanding into Sheffield as we speak but dont have an office as of yet. We only charge for the work done so we charge bookeeping rates for book keeping work (probably about 80% of your companies work is just this) and then only charge accountancy rates as and when needed. We can set up business licences as well no problem and would probably be your cheapest option. We can pick your books up or you can post them/drop them into us

My business has been around so long purely because of this fact and that we do very good work and most of our advertising is word of mouth and recommendations. If your interested please give us a bell or check out our website (excuse the site as its a bit outdated but we are waiting for our Sheffield office to open before we update it)

www . abbeybookeepingservices . co . uk

or see us in the Yellow Pages

thanks Jon