Business funding in sheffield

[pisces1 10]

can anyone suggest the best place for securing business funding in sheffield.

 

or can anyone offer me two days per week work to secure financial survival income whilst business generates invoice revenue.

 

I will be using a factoring company for invoiceing but placing people takes time..

 

I could do with a leg up.

[indizine 10]

Can't you get some agency work in the meantime? That way you can pick and choose when you work around your business. Or go work in one and pick up some tips

[pisces1 10]

yes that is the plan to take some shift work that will provide the survival income. somewhere like next that do 12 hour shifts saturday and sunday.. i have a factoring company already set up ready to go to deal with the cash flow to start and also plan a series of placements that will be on a retained basis.. i have just finished working full time in a professional services discipline of recruitment and now need to wholly focus on actually starting as it has proven very difficult to do both. I just wondered if there was funding /grant funding available in Sheffield to help a legitimate business grow that is business planned up to the hilt .

[indizine 10]

That's the only thing about starting a business....at some point you have to leave your job and bite the bullet. Best way is to save to make sure you have enough to tide you over the first say 6 months to cover, by which time you will have hopefully started generating your own income.

[TJC1 10]

Listen funding is a pain in the bum, its run by beaurocrats with absolutely no interest in giving you the money quickly. You can be working on funding for weeks / months because of these incompetents. Trust someone who has a load of experience with both public and private funders (all kinds). It really can get very frustrating, very quickly even if you have a hot Business plan and a wonderful idea.

 

My advice, if you consider yourself a true entrepreneur is to start with the bare minimum and refine if you can. If you don't need a fancy office dont get one. If you dont really need staff to start with, dont hire them. If you believe in your Business passionately, sell your car, sell every item you own but don't need, ditch that annoying girlfriend who spends your money and holds you back..seriously. Nothing else should matter at this stage.

 

Do anything you can Just to get started and get some points on the board. At the very least you will prove to yourself if the idea works or not. At the best you will make some revenue and you may be able to fund the enterprise yourself, then you won't have to deal with time wasting funders.

 

Part time jobs are good too, especially if its related to what you propose. Best of luck finding something.

Edited October 8, 2012 by TJC1
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[TJC1 10]

That's not to say you should not go for funding. Just try not to make it the focus of your efforts because it will frustrate you. Most service Businesses can be started on a shoestring, I suspect recruitment is no different.

[pisces1 10]

That's not to say you should not go for funding. Just try not to make it the focus of your efforts because it will frustrate you. Most service Businesses can be started on a shoestring, I suspect recruitment is no different.

 

Hi Yes i totally agree with you , having had prev experience of working with SENTA and Business Link. Yes they can get you to see a business plan advisor.. erm ive already done that.yes they can get you on a course to identify how you trade..yes i have done that. What i would need is some essential funding to be operational and thats where these quangos fail.. So the only alternatives are banks who are not lending and private equity who decide whether its right for their portfolio or not.. It is ludicrous. I know full well that welfare to work programmes are funding people who lets say do not have business savvy and have major issues such as drug addictions .. One said chap actually sold his capital equipment ie car valetting gear to fund his habbit and claimed it was stolen.. As I say there is systematic failure for likeminded people like me who requires a leg up but fail to get it.

[Chez2 10]

That's the only thing about starting a business....at some point you have to leave your job and bite the bullet. Best way is to save to make sure you have enough to tide you over the first say 6 months to cover, by which time you will have hopefully started generating your own income.

 

I agree. When we started our business we only spent on essentials in the business and at home. We used our profits to grow otherwise you are always on the backfoot. If you take out loans it will be longer before you generate profits and hence wages. We used our profit to grow the business and take on more clients. Banks do lend if you can show you are both profitable and stable. We had a loan in December 2010 and only started the business in 2009. We had the cash to buy the vehicle but wanted a loan so we could keep enough in the bank to maintain a good cash flow.

 

Its worth tightening your belt for a while to get started.

[TJC1 10]

Hi Yes i totally agree with you , having had prev experience of working with SENTA and Business Link. Yes they can get you to see a business plan advisor.. erm ive already done that.yes they can get you on a course to identify how you trade..yes i have done that. What i would need is some essential funding to be operational and thats where these quangos fail.. So the only alternatives are banks who are not lending and private equity who decide whether its right for their portfolio or not.. It is ludicrous. I know full well that welfare to work programmes are funding people who lets say do not have business savvy and have major issues such as drug addictions .. One said chap actually sold his capital equipment ie car valetting gear to fund his habbit and claimed it was stolen.. As I say there is systematic failure for likeminded people like me who requires a leg up but fail to get it.

 

 

It's a nightmare mate. It's a completely redundant system, I'm having huge problems with donbac right now simply because they can't get officers who communicate properly, it's really frustrating.

 

IMHO they should dismantle SENTA and the quangos and all that balls and set up a fund with the money with proper entrpreneurs as the gatekeepers and advisors.

 

Then people like me and you can have access to finance when and how we want it. When you have a Business that's ready to go and grow and can't get quick access to finance its the worst thing in the world, every Business owner knows that.

[Chez2 10]

I think you are forgetting that banks have to weigh up the risks when giving out loans. They can't just hand out money willy nilly to anyone that asks. Part of running a successful business is managing cashflow. You can have a good business that is brought down by poor cashflow. Why not use some savings or liquidate some of your personal assets to get the business off the ground? If you aren't prepared to do this then why assume someone else should?

 

Didn't your parents teach you to save some money for a rainy day? Its your rainy day now.

[TJC1 10]

I think you are forgetting that banks have to weigh up the risks when giving out loans. They can't just hand out money willy nilly to anyone that asks. Part of running a successful business is managing cashflow. You can have a good business that is brought down by poor cashflow. Why not use some savings or liquidate some of your personal assets to get the business off the ground? If you aren't prepared to do this then why assume someone else should?

 

Didn't your parents teach you to save some money for a rainy day? Its your rainy day now.

 

There not banks. They are quasi-governmental organisations that cream off european money and don't help enterprise properly in this country.

[indizine 10]

There not banks. They are quasi-governmental organisations that cream off european money and don't help enterprise properly in this country.

 

 

@ TJC1, Making statements like you have in this thread is now in Google and public, is not ideal if you are trying to get freelance work delivering start up training by these very people who successfully win funding to help start-ups.

 

"Listen funding is a pain in the bum, its run by beaurocrats with absolutely no interest in giving you the money quickly. You can be working on funding for weeks / months because of these incompetents."

 

There was nothing incompetent about me and my staff let me tell you.

 

You have to know the full story and work behind the scenes to be able to give a factual account of how it really is. Giving funding is by a set criteria, and not at an advisor's discretion. It also sorts the wheat from the chaff.

 

You would be surprised how many people think they are entitled to fill in a quick form and get a few £kkkk within 10 working days to run off and buy a nice shiny laptop, ooh and an iphone for the biz, ooooh, and a 10-in-1 wifi printer why not....and finally, a nice shiny website which sits at the bottom of Google like a dormant titanic - beautiful when built, it a brick wall, and left to sink....then reminisced about it's flaws for the rest of it's days.

 

When actually, many businesses can be set up on a shoestring, and it's rarely money that helps you start ad grow....it is hard work, determination, patience, perseverance, and managing cashflow once you start earning.