Small Business Idea, Advice Anyone?

novaboy80

Hi there, i am currently employed, in the same job for over 6 years, i got my hours cut a couple of years ago and now only work a 3 day week, i receive Job seekers allowance weekly but its very very little, i have an idea for a relatively small money making business which i can do from home, i take it that i will have to register as a sole trader and pay income tax, VAT wont be an issue for the near future as earnings will be very small from this, i got some good info. from Citizens Info. website but still have a few questions which i hope maybe you here can help me with.

Is there really any need for me to use the services of an accountant or should i be able to keep everything in order myself as i really do want to keep costs to a minimum?

Is there anywhere on the internet that provide a list of everything a part-time self employed person needs to know/provide in order to keep their books in order with revenue?

A checklist of some kind would be ideal,

Any help appreciated, thanks

jimmii

Go to your local enterprise centre and sign up to a start your own business course that should cover pretty much everything and then at least you'll know you are doing it right! Getting an accountant or not is going to depend on how much time you have to do the accounts and how good you are with numbers & spreadsheets as long as you are organised then you should be fine just make sure you keep everything going in and out that way if you do come unstuck you can just get an accountant to sort it out for you and get you back on track!

novaboy80

Thanks i think i will do that, hopefully it will cover most if not all the things i need to know, cheers!

daigo75

I agree with jimmii, a business course will help you understanding what's involved in running a business (sorry for the repetition). However, unless the revenue is very low, I would recommend getting a good accountant to help you with the bookkeeping. I registered last year as a sole trader and I had a tiny volume of transactions and expenses, 99% of which were tracked electronically (i.e. I could produce a CSV will all the income and expenses, ready to be reviewed). Despite having all the data tidy and clean, I still opted to contact an accountant and I'm glad I did. They saved me an enormous amount of time that I would have spent reviewing the accounts, which would have costed me more than the money I paid.

Of course, it's definitely possible to follow the good old DIY principles, but, personally, I feel that my time is better spent in generating new business, rather than bookkeeping (the fact that I also don't like doing it has an impact too, of course).

novaboy80

So what about registering for income tax etc., i will not need to register for VAT as my earnings will fall well below that limit, in order for this business venture to be anyway successful i will need to advertise and therefore expose myself to the public and in turn, the tax man, do i risk loosing my job seekers allowance if i become part time self employed, registered for income tax and all above board?

sawdoubters

what type of businesses are you thinking of starting

http://www.inc.com/ss/11-businesses-you-can-start-in-your-pajamas-2011

novaboy80

sawdoubters wrote: »

what type of businesses are you thinking of starting

http://www.inc.com/ss/11-businesses-you-can-start-in-your-pajamas-2011

Internet based, mostly.

I will provide a service, the customer purchases online, they will send their items to me, i will do the work and send them back to them.



Interesting site there, what are the main benefits of signing up with that site?

ironclaw

novaboy80 wrote: »

Internet based, mostly.
I will provide a service, the customer purchases online, they will send their items to me, i will do the work and send them back to them.

iPhone repair or similar?

novaboy80

ironclaw wrote: »

iPhone repair or similar?

Yes very much like that which you mentioned, i have many ideas though, loads of ideas but none of which i have started to work on haha

ironclaw

novaboy80 wrote: »

Yes very much like that which you mentioned, i have many ideas though, loads of ideas but none of which i have started to work on haha

Going to be honest, a friend of mine is in similar work and 90% of their business is drop in. As trusting as people are, its always nicer to drop a device / laptop etc off to a shop rather than pop it in the post. Time is also a factor. Even if you are €10 cheaper, I'd rather pay the extra and have the phone back same day.

Axwell

Going with what Ironclaw posted - imo there are 2 two main categories of people you are looking at when it comes to repairing phones etc. Those that are handy enough to dabble at fixing things and will buy the parts and just fix the device themselves. Then those that dont know anything about it and will more than likely not even know where to look for parts, they will go to a repair store and pay to get it fixed. They are unlikely to even consider sending their phone away for repair. It is those people that keep bricks and mortar repair stores operating day to day. No shop is really going to offer a similar service online as they charge for the parts and make a markup off that along with the labour cost of repair.

I think the biggest issue you are going to have though is time. These days people are attached to their phones like its another limb, they will want it fixed asap - very few will want to be told its going to take 1-2 days for it to get to you via the post and then another 1-2 for you to send it back - not to mention waiting on parts to be delivered in the first place. Most people as ironclaw said would rather pay a bit extra and get it back the same day or at least the day after if its a phone. You also have to consider other factors like what happens if an item gets broken or cracked during delivery, warranties etc. Just because you are providing the service online you will have to still operate with all these considerations and assure the potential customer that its safe to send stuff to you and they will get it back in perfect working order. People are still very cagey of online services even in this internet era especially when its an unknown brand/company online.

I know you said you only plan to do it as a small money making business from home but I could see it being a touch one to crack. However that being said you will have little or no running costs and nothing ventured nothing gained. Best of luck either way.