hi im wanting to find some info out on what i need to do next. Iv got an idea witch i think will work, but at the min i cant put any money into it and i dont no where to go and who to talk to any advice would be much help thank you

Go to SENTA/BiG to speak to an advisor.

You should put your idea together in a business plan and work out all the financials such as cashflow forecast and sales forecast for the first year at least, maybe years 2 & 3 depending how much investment you think is needed. You could approach lenders but this all depeneds on your own financial stable situation, any assets you might be able to secure on, and how good the business plan stacks up. A pro can see right through a weak idea, an un-thought-through idea/plan, etc etc. There may also be funding but again, they will want to see a sound business plan first.

How much do you roughly think you will need? £2k, £20k, £200k? What level of start up are you talking about?

If you PM me, I can help. There are a number of schemes available which my company can help you with; however I do not want to beak the ethics and codes of the forum.

If it's a good idea,and ethical,I have contacts who may help you. Contact me by PM (private message).

im very gratefull for all the info but at the min its just in my head i dont no where to start or anything realy dont no anything at the min. i dont want to tell people all happley just for it to be taken away and made by some one eles who has the contacts and knows where to go and who to talk to if people are willing to work with me than i will tell you what my idea is hopefully when it works we will all make of it.

Then starting writing it down and put your plan together. If its an invention or something that can be copied that is unqiue, you might consider a patent. But that will cost. You cant keep it all cloak and dagger without speaking to someone eventually and anyway you can ask them to sign an NDA (Google what that means - that's the start of your homework!).

If you are hoping someone will do all the donkey work in the hope of a share then you may find your idea going nowhere. You have to do your donkey work to put the business plan together to pitch to investors or lenders that your product will sell.

I can knock business plans out i my sleep, but I wouldnt do one for anyone on the basis I might get a share if it were to get off the ground and sell. That risk is too big and I wouldnt be able to see what your investment at this stage was, apart from an idea in your head. You dont even know if this idea will work, if there is a demand, if people will buy it, and so on.

indizine im just about to look at setting a business plan up but i dont expect me to sit around saying what it is and then everybody to do things for me i no its not going to be over night its going to take a bit of time but in my 1st post i did say i was looking for some info about what to do next im just looking into what i need to do all the info if being taken on bored and im very gratefull for it thank you

Ive interviewed hundreds of people with business ideas. A lot start out the same - only an idea in their head and nothing more, but the first step is to get a template business plan and go on a start up course if you dont know how to do one or what might be involved. From there, you will find out more about what you need to do as well as speaking to an advisor on a 1-1 for advice specific to you. Because you arent or cant give much away here, no one can be specific with advice for you.

Business link are another government body that could help. They've got a lot of information on their website & you can speak to their advisers.

I've had a chat with Danny and his motives for his idea (which I do not know about yet) are exemplory; I'm really hoping that his idea is good.

I have sent him an NDA which I've told him he can use. If you do speak to him, please make sure you sign an NDA with him first before discussing his idea. This young man deserves our help!

god i hate how most people are when it comes to "business ideas". everything a big secret, how you going to find out if your "idea that might work" is plausable without getting honest critical feedback?

someone could come along and copy you after you launch your business, and they could do a better job at marketing than you and your gonna have no success anyway... if someones gonna steal your idea they will.

so unless your talking patents, you should stop worrying so much, have some faith in humanity, your idea probably sucks anyway! but you wont know unless you get feedback! most ideas i have had over the years have sucked when i thought they were good, ive had so much of my time and money saved by people been critical of my ideas and pointing out flaws and problems which i had not considered.


forget about investment and funding, focus on finding out if your idea is actually worth investment.

There's an old saying. Never underestimate people's apathy.

ben just because your ideas have sucked dont mean you can beat other people down for it and to find out if its going to work its called a little bit of market research and i will be looking in to patents and everything else to protect me and my idea.

Ben's words are a reality check and wise, just perhaps a little tactless (referring to 'your idea probably sucks anyway') as most people don't have a thick skin when they are about to, or have just, started in busines and they can take all criticism to heart.

Unless you have a real money spinner of an invention, that does require a patent, then keeping it under wraps forever won't help you get feedback. Dyson patented his working part of the bagless vacuum but it didnt stop hoover and the rest of them following suit soon after. Ben's right, they will find a way to copy or get a look-a-like under way.

When you have a sound business plan and a prototype in place, do let us know how you get on. I always find it interesting to see how things pan out eventually. Did they get off the ground, did they not, if not why not., etc.

i can take criticism all day it dont bother me what people think about me as long as im happy than i dont care what other people think.i dont intend to keep it under wraps forever im just hopeing it will take of but untill then nobody will no then when iv got a prototype and a patent and its on the market then i dont care if people copy my idea because i will have the head start to get mine selling. i have had some contact with an american company about another idea i had but because of the distance it wasnt working out to good so i didnt take that idea any further

what i meant was.... if you have an entrepreneurial mind, then your going to get ideas and see what appear to be gaps in the market all the time. some of these you will think are brilliant, but then you look into it, get feedback from people, and 99% of the time you will learn there is no real market for your idea, or plenty of people have already taken advantage of the market.

so the odds are your idea does suck, or at least has flaws. flaws your not going to find without constructive criticism. the best type of criticism will come from people with no emotional involvement with you, or your idea. people with nothing to gain from it.

you can tell your family, your friends, your patent lawyer... who ever you want... but if they have anything to gain or if they care about you, they will (most of the time) tell you what you want to hear.

i havent said anything about it so the people that tell me about it will be the people that have nothing to lose im only hopeing it works and saves people money and for my daughter so she can have the things she wants im in it for the money but not to benefit me. because its my idea im hopeing it will take of but like most people if they think of something they will be wanting it to take of its only the same for me i want to see my idea work but only time will tell.

Ben,

Ideas people are often not entrepreneurs; when they are it's great, when they are not there are two types:

1) Those who recognise it and seek help (which is what Danny is doing)
2) Those who do not and end up losing their shirt for the reasons you describe

(1) are great to work with
(2) we avoid like the plague!

Ben,

Ideas people are often not entrepreneurs; when they are it's great, when they are not there are two types:

1) Those who recognise it and seek help (which is what Danny is doing)
2) Those who do not and end up losing their shirt for the reasons you describe

(1) are great to work with
(2) we avoid like the plague!


Nice :hihi:

The OP has just had a thread closed. Talking about pyramid schmes, 1.5 billion turnover etc.

Their words were 'i've got an idea but have no money'.

Your advice should be 'GET SOME MONEY'. Which may translate into 'GET A JOB'.

Why do you keep saying to people 'Go and see Business Link, Senta etc'?

Senta / Business Link love people with rubbish ideas. Cause they chat to them for 2 hours and the consultants get paid for 2 hours work. The peope don't come back and they then talk to another wannabe for 2 hours.

We waste so much money in this country cause Terry has watched Dragons Den and he thinks he can create a mobile phone network from his attic bedroom. People want money to start biusinesses - like it is their right. Thus we have people who instead of getting off their backside and finding a job will drain the country of more resources because they want to start a business selling Cheese to the Frence,

You are in a position to start a business when you have money to support that business. If the business is your idea then you must have money to support it.

You havent taken any notice of anything said on this thread so don't be surprised no one takes you seriously. If you'd have come back on in a few weeks and said "i've now put together a serious business plan which business link advisors have looked over and have said it holds weight, now I need advice on where to find investors" you might have got some serious replies on who to approach.

As it is, I can't take you or your idea seriously and it sounds like no ne else can either.

go4it just to let you no its was nothing to do with pyramid schmes and at this time im looking for a job all the time just not geting anything back if you are in a job than you might not see how hard it is im allways online looking in the paper doing anything to find a job i dont want to be 1 of these people that dont want to do anything and just sit around.

Nobody in their right mind is going to put money into a mystery scheme. You have to have a proper business plan to show to potential investors before you can get any investment. Otherwise it just looks like a scam.

Senta / Business Link love people with rubbish ideas. Cause they chat to them for 2 hours and the consultants get paid for 2 hours work. The peope don't come back and they then talk to another wannabe for 2 hours.


Well said mate, well said

sorry to tell u go4it it had nothing to do with pyramid schmes just because you seen some one eles say that does that mean you have to say it? if you look at computers and see how much they are worth a year than you will see its worth 1.5billion a year. i do everything to find a job so you cant say anything about that.

anywebsite i did say i would tell the people what it is if they was willing to come onboard. its a big gap in the market that will make a lot of money i no i not said much about it. but thats because i want to get there 1st

ok well i have 20 grand and i would be willing to come on board

so come on whats the plan? how can you turn my money into more money?

Me too :hihi:

ok well i have 20 grand and i would be willing to come on board

so come on whats the plan? how can you turn my money into more money?

Well, it's like this. You pick 10000 lots of 6 numbers @ £1 per bank of 6 numbers. You do this twice this week, once on Wednesday, and once on Saturday. These numbers then go into a national draw.....

Joking aside, d1n14y, have you approached your bank manager with your idea?, if it's as sure fire as you keep saying, I'm sure he won't hesitate to arrange finance.