New business venture

CyrildoSquirrel

I'll be coming into a bit of money in the coming months and I really think the best thing to do would be to set up a small business. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head but I'm finding it very hard to come to a final decision regarding the exact type of business I want to get involved in.

Do any fellow Boardsies have any ideas for sensible business ventures? As I said it would be a small business, I wouldn't be taking on a lot of staff. Any advice greatly appreciated.

eoindon

Some ideas .... what type of business are you interested in ?

Like you I have some money and I'm considering what to do with this! Would be interested in know how you are getting along.

Keep costs low. Always negotiate cost downwards.

I'm looking at a cost reduction business, internet business where i sell advertising and a couple of other ventures

enviro

What is your own background/strenghts? It will help people suggest business ideas which you will consider runners.

Neil3030

CyrildoSquirrel wrote: »

I'll be coming into a bit of money in the coming months and I really think the best thing to do would be to set up a small business. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head but I'm finding it very hard to come to a final decision regarding the exact type of business I want to get involved in.

Do any fellow Boardsies have any ideas for sensible business ventures? As I said it would be a small business, I wouldn't be taking on a lot of staff. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Can you give a ballpark figure of how much you'd be willing to invest?

stepbar

The only business adventure I'd suggest getting into is one that you have prior experience in. Anything else is doomed to failure TBH.

CamperMan

if possible, start something that you will enjoy doing and that you have experience at.

byrne0f56789

Find something that you like. List 20 problems in that area. Pick the top two that annoy the most people. Do a bit of desk research on them. If one looks like it could sustain a business then try to solve the problem.

The important thing is that you enjoy your business. This means that you will go the extra mile to make your business a success. Also, business success comes from incremental improvement so you don't have to be right first time.

Bandara

stepbar wrote: »

The only business adventure I'd suggest getting into is one that you have prior experience in. Anything else is doomed to failure TBH.

Well said Stepbar, I agree 100%.

deepriver

I think anyone contemplating starting a business, should consider the business opportunity in great depth, ask themselves are they suited to self-employment and most inportantly are the willing to take a significant financial risk & if it fails what do will they do and what impact will this have on their future

There seems to be a lot of hype around starting your own business right now, driven by the likes of the Dragons Den, various goverment / college ventures (hothouse etc), increased funding into development agencies and general media hype resulting from the same increases in funding

with the economy in its present condition, the goverment are promoting growth from within, as opposed to relying on american multinationals, we also have an increase in redundancies and a lot of skilled and confident workers searching for work, those same workers are now looking at pouring their cash into a business on limb, I think this is a very worrying situation

the reality is, starting a business is a tough and lonely path that can be infuriating and overwhelming for some, that 9 times out of 10 fails

think it through, before doing anything

Now is really not the time for starting a business. Its great to be positive about opening something, but unless it is taking advantage of this recession in some way, logically with everyone spending less and that only going to get worse it doesn't make sense to start anything.

Personally I think if you have time and money on your hands, I would read a load of books on stocks and shares, pay good attention to bloomberg and absorb all the financial news for a while. The major stocks exchanges are all overwhelmingly undervalued at the moment, especially switzerland. I think theres a lot of money to be made in the next 1 to 2 years as some stocks start bouncing back.
Obviously starting small would be the best option to see how it goes

I think starting a business that relies on sales at a time like this is fairly suicidal...it wont matter how good your marketing is if people cant afford to buy what your selling. of course if you could come up with an idea that somehow takes advantage of the recession it could be a different story

D.W

Give consideration to setting up something online. This could be a far cheaper route to go with no overheads, staff etc.. Basically theres not a lot you can't sell online. Focus on what your passionate about and do some research into whether there are products out there you could sell that might tick your boxes.

If of interest explore "dropshipping" "affiliate marketing" and some terms like these to get an idea of whats possible online.

You could also consider buying into an existing business that shows potential?

CyrildoSquirrel

Thanks for all the replies/advice. I'm certainly not going to rush into anything. This money is a good oppurtunity for me and I don't want to waste it.

I've been trying to think of Recession-themed industries but am not having much sucess. I'm more of a "numbers" guy than a "creative" guy. Maybe a partnership would be a better bet? Half the profits but half the risk.

CyrildoSquirrel

CyrildoSquirrel wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies/advice. I'm certainly not going to rush into anything. This money is a good oppurtunity for me and I don't want to waste it.

I've been trying to think of Recession-themed industries but am not having much sucess. I'm more of a "numbers" guy than a "creative" guy. Maybe a partnership would be a better bet? Half the profits but half the risk.

what kind of money are you talking about? are you an accountant?

D.W

CyrildoSquirrel wrote: »

I'm more of a "numbers" guy than a "creative" guy. Maybe a partnership would be a better bet? Half the profits but half the risk.

Have you any experience in online business? I may be looking for a partner in a few ventures. Feel free to PM me for details.

maninasia

byrne0f56789 wrote: »

Find something that you like. List 20 problems in that area. Pick the top two that annoy the most people. Do a bit of desk research on them. If one looks like it could sustain a business then try to solve the problem.

The important thing is that you enjoy your business. This means that you will go the extra mile to make your business a success. Also, business success comes from incremental improvement so you don't have to be right first time.

I like this idea and I have seen it work in concrete form previously. In fact I have two or three 'problems' that I often think about in my own area of business that I know, if they were solved with a little bit of ingenuity or research, would make some people very rich indeed.

newfrontier

Well why not go ahead and try them out.. you can update us here and let us know how you are getting on..The important thing now is getting the timing right.

CaraFawn

Deleted User wrote: »

Now is really not the time for starting a business. Its great to be positive about opening something, but unless it is taking advantage of this recession in some way, logically with everyone spending less and that only going to get worse it doesn't make sense to start anything.

Personally I think if you have time and money on your hands, I would read a load of books on stocks and shares, pay good attention to bloomberg and absorb all the financial news for a while. The major stocks exchanges are all overwhelmingly undervalued at the moment, especially switzerland. I think theres a lot of money to be made in the next 1 to 2 years as some stocks start bouncing back.
Obviously starting small would be the best option to see how it goes

I think starting a business that relies on sales at a time like this is fairly suicidal...it wont matter how good your marketing is if people cant afford to buy what your selling. of course if you could come up with an idea that somehow takes advantage of the recession it could be a different story

There is always opportunities in any situation and time.
A recession is not the end of the world, especially knowing this is far to be the first in in the last 100 years. It simply means the plan and idea should be considered much more carefully that's it and take into account the new market developments.