Looking for Business advice

charleville

Hi guys,

I’m looking for some sound business advice, I’m hoping to expand my current business but i would like some advice before I take the plunge.

If anybody can recommend anyone who would be knowledgable and In this line of work it would be much appreciated.

TIA.

duploelabs

Can you be a bit more specific

YellowSheep

You need to tell us a bit more about your business.

charleville

I run a small carpentry and Construction business and I am hoping to expand and setup a home renovation showroom,
I’ve been in operation for around 15 years now, mostly Mobile, and I understand what’s required to run a business, but I’ve never been in retail so to speak and I was looking for some advice on that end of things.

Should I start in a Small place and build up ?
Should I just go for it and get myself in the deep end with a large (and expensive) premises ?
Should I concentrate on marketing and online audience which would allow me to move to a bigger premises out a little further where there would be cheaper rents, or would most of these type places be more dependant on footfall and ease of location.

What should I be asking when seeking a premises etc ?
Hidden costs ?
Rough total costs for setting up ?

At the minute I have around €50k in savings, should this be enough to get me going for now or am I being unrealistic with my figure.

All advice gladly welcomed.

Borzoi

Do you really need a showroom? Do your competitors have them?
Big capital outlay in setting up plus they then have to be staffed on at least a six day week basis. will it pay for itself and more?

scwazrh

what type of home renovations do you intend to display in your showroom.If its kitchens and bathrooms or Windows and doors , its a hard market to establish in and a lot of competition .Hard to know if 50k start up is realistic without knowing what market your aiming for .

charleville

scwazrh wrote: »

what type of home renovations do you intend to display in your showroom.If its kitchens and bathrooms or Windows and doors , its a hard market to establish in and a lot of competition .Hard to know if 50k start up is realistic without knowing what market your aiming for .

I’m planning on concentrating on any aspects of home building/renovating that you might not see in most places, as in not specialise in one particular thing but rather in everything, a one stop shop if you will, insulating/air tightness, interior design, Heating systems, full building works, supply and fit of everything wether it be bathrooms, kitchens, windows and doors or painting, I’ve built up a good database of suppliers over the years so I’m hoping they will contribute their products for a showroom at low cost etc and of course I will fit it out myself which is usually where most of the setup costs go or am I wrong ?
The main aspect of this I think will be design which we will be concentrating on strongly to hopefully give us that edge.

I have a good team of tradesmen around me but I would like to take it to the next level now, there’s plenty of bathroom stores, kitchen showrooms etc and I agree with that, but not many are offering what I propose to do, I’ve found with my customers they run from pillar to post and I’m trying to capture the market of people who like a turnkey service, and want somewhere to look at what they can get, as much or as little as that need be.

€50k is what I have, but I can be approved for a business loan in the morning if that’s what I would need to do which is why I’m asking about costs etc as stated in my original post.

I appreciate the feedback guys and welcome advice.

charleville

Borzoi wrote: »

Do you really need a showroom? Do your competitors have them?
Big capital outlay in setting up plus they then have to be staffed on at least a six day week basis. will it pay for itself and more?

I plan on staffing it myself for as long as it takes, I’m at an age now where I would like to down tools if I’m being honest but also stay in the industry as It’s what I know best.

I would hope that it would pay for itself, what do other suppliers do and most are around a long time, I understand there’s a risk but everything has risk which is why I would prefer to ask the (even silly) questions now.

JMR

charleville wrote: »

I’m planning on concentrating on any aspects of home building/renovating that you might not see in most places, as in not specialise in one particular thing but rather in everything, a one stop shop if you will, insulating/air tightness, interior design, Heating systems, full building works, supply and fit of everything wether it be bathrooms, kitchens, windows and doors or painting

I'll admit I am not knowledgeable in your industry but this seems like a huge venture to take on. the space needed alone to display what you have in mind would be huge.
The costs involved might be prohibitive.
Is there a reason why this kind of premises doesn't exist already, at least to my knowledge?
It sounds to me like you have a successful business and are now looking to step it up to the next level. Maybe this can be achieved by taking on more tradesmen, bigger jobs, different geographical markets.
Have you considered taking on someone to run the day to day business, allowing you to down tools and concentrate on growing the business?