Starting a new Business

KwackerJack

I am looking to start a new business in my Local town. I currently have 2 ideas.

1) Bakery offering a large range of freshly baked goods, goods to take home and bake,options for special orders. I would supply cakes, all kinds of pastries and also delicacies.

2) Men's +size clothing store. Supplying casual footwear, Jeans, trousers, shirts, t-shirts ect.

Both are obviously completely different. The bakery wood be a lot more work and also required trained staff and baking equipment.

Is there a demand for baked goods or +size Men's clothing?

I can organise the baking good and equipment, As for the clothing I see on here that Birmingham is the place to go?

Another question is do I set up a limited compmay or can I register a business name and run a store as a sole trader?

jimmii

No one is going to be able to say which to go for without knowing the location and the else is around locally. You can start as a sole trader or ltd but its easier as a sole trader and accounting is a lot more straight forward. With a sole trader you are liable whereas with a limited company your liability is limited. Most small one off shops would be sole trader.

Do you have any experience in either sector and do you have experience of running your own business? It may seem a simple thing to do but running your business is a hard slog you can forget days off and holidays and in your first 6 months you'll probably only have savings to live off.

KwackerJack

jimmii wrote: »

No one is going to be able to say which to go for without knowing the location and the else is around locally. You can start as a sole trader or ltd but its easier as a sole trader and accounting is a lot more straight forward. With a sole trader you are liable whereas with a limited company your liability is limited. Most small one off shops would be sole trader.

Do you have any experience in either sector and do you have experience of running your own business? It may seem a simple thing to do but running your business is a hard slog you can forget days off and holidays and in your first 6 months you'll probably only have savings to live off.

I currently work as a Credit Controller so I understand the Financial side to a business in regards to Credit etc. I am also studying credit management which covers accounts and Law. Does not mean I can run a business but at least I can revert to my studies for help!

I work for very large international Bakery Company so I can source the equipment and goods needed for the Bakery via the local sales agent.

I was thinkng about Mullingar but I am open to set up in other Areas.

jimmii

If you have bakery experience then that seems like the route to go there is going to be enough to have to learn so its better to know a bit about the industry! Clothing is a tough game you really have to be able to predict the trends etc. Do you think there is a strong enough demand for either in Mullingar?

KwackerJack

jimmii wrote: »

If you have bakery experience then that seems like the route to go there is going to be enough to have to learn so its better to know a bit about the industry! Clothing is a tough game you really have to be able to predict the trends etc. Do you think there is a strong enough demand for either in Mullingar?

The only Men's stores in Mullingar are high end, brand names, suits etc and as for the larger gentlemen there is no option really bar special orders. I would like to bring in affordable general clothing for everyday use.

There are some bakeries but there products have gotten smaller and more expensive over the years and I have also heard this from friends and neighbors. Some cafe's in Mullingar supply baked good but again are quiet expensive.

I woud like to supply decent baked, fresh goods at realistic prices. Deals for local business/factories etc.

I don't plan to make a fortune, If i make enough to cover costs and slowly grow over a few years id be happy.

jimmii

Are there a lot of heavy set people in Mullingar? Being a retailer in Dublin the thoughts of opening outside the city centre scares the crap out of me! I have no idea how retailers in low footfall areas survive! I think before you decide do a ton of research in the town literally just go round and ask people as crazy as it seems! Its too big a gamble to go in blind not knowing if the demand is there. Even for a small shop you would need to be selling €600+ worth of clothes a day.

KwackerJack

jimmii wrote: »

Are there a lot of heavy set people in Mullingar? Being a retailer in Dublin the thoughts of opening outside the city centre scares the crap out of me! I have no idea how retailers in low footfall areas survive! I think before you decide do a ton of research in the town literally just go round and ask people as crazy as it seems! Its too big a gamble to go in blind not knowing if the demand is there. Even for a small shop you would need to be selling €600+ worth of clothes a day.

I have noticed a good amount of heavy set Men and Woman.

Good Idea. I must do a survey and see what the results are.

I do not have to set up in Mullingar, I just picked Mullingar as live nearby.

jimmii

Go where the demand is its worth travelling to make it work. The more information you have before you start the better.

JMR

If you open a bakery, in time it might help create a market for men's plus size clothing :-)

JMR

If you open a bakery, in time it might help create a market for men's plus size clothing :-)

jimmii

JMR wrote: »

If you open a bakery, in time it might help create a market for men's plus size clothing :-)

Ha! Double up bakery and over sized clothes and then in the evening run a walking club.

robet001

Hi,
If you have experience in bakery, go through with it.

Atomico

JMR wrote: »

If you open a bakery, in time it might help create a market for men's plus size clothing :-)

Then your third venture can be a nearby gym...

GarIT

KwackerJack wrote: »

I woud like to supply decent baked, fresh goods at realistic prices. Deals for local business/factories etc.

High quality low price means no profits. Their are bakeries in the area, therefore they are in competition and already operating as cheaply as possible.

Atomico

Every third or fourth person is heavy set these days, but I can't see there being enough demand for a XL clothing shop in your average Irish town. Even in Dublin it might struggle a little, especially as those in the target market probably shop online in the majority..

Bakeries are probably tough to operate and make a profit from, but best bet would be to scout for locations - all about footfall I am sure.

jimmii

Atomico wrote: »

Every third or fourth person is heavy set these days

Its actually way higher than that! Ireland is one of the fattest countries in Europe now 66% of Irish men are overweight/obese and its just tipped over 50% for women too. Thats a pretty decent target market! High St shops are definitely catering more for it than they used to though.

Volvoair

fourth venture...undertakers ...guaranteed work.

GarIT

jimmii wrote: »

Its actually way higher than that! Ireland is one of the fattest countries in Europe now 66% of Irish men are overweight/obese and its just tipped over 50% for women too. Thats a pretty decent target market! High St shops are definitely catering more for it than they used to though.

I don't know about men's sizes but for the women example that 50% figure includes some people that are a size 12 and everybody above. Most shops stock up to 16-18 the majority of fat people are already catered for, your target market would be fairly small in a single gendered XL clothing shop.

jimmii

GarIT wrote: »

I don't know about men's sizes but for the women example that 50% figure includes some people that are a size 12 and everybody above. Most shops stock up to 16-18 the majority of fat people are already catered for, your target market would be fairly small in a single gendered XL clothing shop.

Depends on the area might be able to find somewhere without a large high st chain possibly. Not many around these days I would guess though! Littlewoods is there for everybody though too I guess they take care of a lot of that market.

jimmii

Volvoair wrote: »

fourth venture...undertakers ...guaranteed work.

I deal with a company that does a lot of woodwork and one thing they do is make coffins and they are insanely busy it really is a steady line of work!

Senda

Folks, am new to this forum and sorry if this subject has been dealt with before now. I am looking to franchise with Lidl or Tesco in Zambia, Africa.
Does anyone know who I can contact or how I can go about setting this franchise?
Thank you.

Saipanne

KwackerJack wrote: »

I am looking to start a new business in my Local town. I currently have 2 ideas.

1) Bakery offering a large range of freshly baked goods, goods to take home and bake,options for special orders. I would supply cakes, all kinds of pastries and also delicacies.

2) Men's +size clothing store. Supplying casual footwear, Jeans, trousers, shirts, t-shirts ect.

Both are obviously completely different. The bakery wood be a lot more work and also required trained staff and baking equipment.

Is there a demand for baked goods or +size Men's clothing?

I can organise the baking good and equipment, As for the clothing I see on here that Birmingham is the place to go?

Another question is do I set up a limited compmay or can I register a business name and run a store as a sole trader?

Why not minus as well as plus? If you're going to cater to the fringes, you may as well gather all of them.

jimmii

Senda wrote: »

Folks, am new to this forum and sorry if this subject has been dealt with before now. I am looking to franchise with Lidl or Tesco in Zambia, Africa.
Does anyone know who I can contact or how I can go about setting this franchise?
Thank you.

Funnily enough the opening of a lidl or tesco franchise in zambia hasn't been covered on this Irish forum before!

I would imagine you would want to be contacting their corporate headquarters if its a new market. I think you would need to have a hell of a lot of money and a great business plan for them to be remotely tempted to be honest.

smcgiff

What's your unique selling point? Why would I go into your bakery instead of another bakery.

Setting up a clothing store without experience in retail and fashion could be a disaster. What attracted you to this idea?



And pretty sure Lidl/Tesco do not frachise.

jimmii

Tesco have franchised abroad before they would never consider it in UK/ire obviously but they have in other markets. I would imagine with the trouble they are having in the UK right now they are unlikely to be wanting distractions like that but you never know!

Senda

Thanks, Not sure about Lidl, but Tesco have recently expanded their growth into Franchising with their first trial in South Korea in 2010.

jimmii

Senda wrote: »

Thanks, Not sure about Lidl, but Tesco have recently expanded their growth into Franchising with their first trial in South Korea in 2010.

South Korea seems to have gone quite well for them too. Wouldn't be surprised if they rolled it out in another market I would imagine that market wouldn't be Zambia though. If you have the money and the expertise that makes you think they would be interested then you are probably better off creating a local brand rather than importing one.

BorneTobyWilde

I was born in a bakery and raised in an oven .

Senda

Thanks Jimmii a Franchising I think takes away start up set up challenges, and if they can take away the stress, why not! However, I take your advise. We have so many local brands and will be highly competitive. Imported brands can give me a unique selling advantage.

jimmii

Senda wrote: »

Thanks Jimmii a Franchising I think takes away start up set up challenges, and if they can take away the stress, why not! However, I take your advise. We have so many local brands and will be highly competitive. Imported brands can give me a unique selling advantage.

If they were interested you would need about £10m of your own money to put in they wouldn't want to enter a market and just have a couple of outlets they would want to be reaching several hundred as soon as possible and they are going to want to minimise their risk initially. Definitely best to look at other options. You might find some of the companies that focus more on franchising are a better option.

threeball

jimmii wrote: »

If they were interested you would need about £10m of your own money to put in they wouldn't want to enter a market and just have a couple of outlets they would want to be reaching several hundred as soon as possible and they are going to want to minimise their risk initially. Definitely best to look at other options. You might find some of the companies that focus more on franchising are a better option.

Centra is the way to go. Get them atein' breakfast rolls and chicken fillet baguettes and you're set for life.

jimmii

threeball wrote: »

Centra is the way to go. Get them atein' breakfast rolls and chicken fillet baguettes and you're set for life.

I can see chicken fillet rolls being huge there!!

threeball

jimmii wrote: »

I can see chicken fillet rolls being huge there!!

They could give a free high viz with every fifth roll.

I'm off to be a marketing guru in Zambia...

Senda

Centra? Mmm sounds good. How do I get contacts to make enquiries about their Franchising terms pls?

jimmii

Senda wrote: »

Centra? Mmm sounds good. How do I get contacts to make enquiries about their Franchising terms pls?

Centra is part of a larger group that would give you a few options Become a retailer

KwackerJack

It cost over 40k to Franchise Subway....Just imagine the cost to Franchise Tesco!!!

A friend of mine owns a shoe store, She gave me the idea for a clothes store. Mullingar consists of Penney's / Dunne's stye clothing. The other Men's store are exspensive casual Jeans, Shirts ect.

I was looking at more of a TopMan selection of clothes and small selection of shoes. My Sister and her partner wear that style of clothing as do their friends, they buy most of the clothes in Dublin as Mullingar does not have a great selection. .