I'm 16, and Im planning a business, could do with some tips

[helen12 10]

Really appreciable to think about own business at this young age. All the best.. Keep it up.

[cepiar 10]

Quick question do you know collectibles looks like an incorrect spelling of collectables? Is this on purpose?

 

i think there are on purpose, natonstan is Right, your spelling is wrong man

 

but "collectibles" isn't commercial

[Dave650 10]

oops just looked into it they're both right/have diffrent meanings - apologies

[natonstan 10]

Thanks for all the advice guys, That website I made isn't what I'll be using in the end, I'll be designing one on Dreamweaver and have more usefull information on it.

[Location114 10]

Speaking from personal expierence ideally you need to be selling something you take a genuine interest in and know alot about when I was 16 I started my own mini business where i would buy wholesale split down and sell seperately now I was selling all types of stock from Ipods to Designer Clothing however i made the mistake of dealing in things i know nothing about.

 

As a result of this I was constantly up for hours and hours on end researching different stuff ie is the product good quality?? whats general selling price on ebay?? Is there a large demand for the item?? And alot of time I was so tired from all the research I didnt really think about anything else.

 

Anyway when my ebay shop was at its peak i was bringin in about £100 on a bad week and about £250-300 on a good week not making millions but it was enough to get me by.

Anyway when it was at its peak i started taking like a salary for me ie id take abit of money out of the business account to spend on something I wanted however this got too repetive and i started to take too much which resulted in not having the money to re-stock my shop therefore not having the stock to earn more to buy more.

 

So because i hadnt kept my money under close check I ended up getting seriously stuck in a rut as I had no money, no stock and bills to pay ie ebay shop fees etc.

 

So after about only 8 months of opening up the business it ended and it was all because i didnt take notice of what was coming in and what was coming out.....as niave and daft as it was i thought id be able to keep everything in check in my mind without having any files to hand.

[natonstan 10]

So Planning is a must for a business to Thrive, and thats why I've chosen to start a Comic book/collectibles business, because It's my main interest so I know lot's about the subject.

[ViperK 10]

I would definitely look into the ebay market as starting a new online store from scratch can be very costly (although a nice looking store on the side is always a good idea with ebay stores).

Start your research now and you should be ready by the time you go live.

Good luck.

 

P.S. Try out http://www.thebigwebsite.org as liz said above.

[gingerboy 10]

For something so specialist i wouldnt bother with a shop and just use a website and ebay as you will reach a far greater people in that type of thing then 95% of people in cystal pit market. The over heads in a market stall will soon eat into your profit quickly and you will be bored selling nothing after a few weeks

[SimpyTimpy 10]

Hi Natonstan,

 

I think it's great that you're looking to start your own business at a young age. You've already got your plan and you've set aside a good amount of time to do the preparation for it.

 

What I do recommend doing is putting 110% effort into your education. From reading your blog (briefly) you come across as a smart kid, and having qualifications from school; both GCSEs and post 16 education, you'll be leaving your options open for when you're older.

 

The harsh truth about your business idea is that there's probably not a lot of money there to be made. If you've chosen to set up a comic store because of your interests, then that's great as it'll keep you motivated through the hard times, however you'll still need to make enough money to live.

 

Just keep in mind that the world is your oyster, and you'll need as many qualifications as you can get to keep it that way.

 

Cheers

[praises 10]

I'd advise you to see what help you can get for free (businesslink etc) and also get an acocuntant, or at least we aware of the tax situation. The latter will be less of an issue if you aren't earning much, but it's still important to keep records.

[Pr0187 10]

I recommend what gingerboy said, although first you need a proper paid domain and webpage (which you said you are doing)

 

Im also good in dreamweaver too so if you need any help just PM me.

 

im 17 aswell

[MTheo 10]

Anyone interested in comics would most likely just go that bit further and goto forbidden planet or sheffield space centre...they cater for everything in this field and have been around for aggggess. There used to be a guy in castle market selling as well... not trying to be negative but just saying it's a niche field and with 2 established 'big boys' it maybe little more than a hobby business...maybe it'd be worth trying online and also a car boot once a week first....just test the waters with what people want etc....i still have over a thousand comics in the attic and comic book price guides always quote about double what things actually sell for.