Did you risk it for a biscuit?

supermouse

Hi all,

I wonder if you can shed some light for me. Currently live in Nz and have done for more than a decade. Trudged my way through the corporate world and finally found a happy place, within the wellness sphere, which has ben my side-hustle for the last 3 years. I have a massive pull to come home and I would look to work within my wellness passion when I do.

My questions for you are;
Did you have a definite nest egg before you took the leap? I read most people advise enough savings for 24m no income, which I am nowhere near.
Any advice for someone who has never taken the plunge before and is UBER conscious of the lack of a security net?
What was the biggest lesson you learnt in your first few years as an entrepreneur?
What would you tell yourself on Day 1 of your new business adventure?

Thank you for anything you can share. First hand knowledge is invaluable to me right now.

SM

fankity flank

Hi Supermouse

Sounds very exciting - is your "side hustle" now your full time hustle?

24months of a safety net is huge, and for most very difficult to obtain. I started my own business in 2017, and in my mind I had accumulated enough funds to sustain the household and family for around 4-5 months.

But I did have a safety net in that if it didn't work out I knew I could always find another job. Having that in my mind made me less afraid of failing.

It turned out really well for me, but I'm not one for projecting my own situation onto that of others.

In your own situation you may want to ask yourself;

1. Can you continue to earn through your existing business/clients after making the move back to Ire?
2. OR can you accumulate enough online business or other type of income that isn't dependant on you physically being in one place or another?
3. Is there a market for your wellness service in Ireland (my experience is that it's a thriving and growing market, which the affluent people of Dublin and outer regions are willing to pay for)
4. Can you prepare for your move to Ireland by networking and/or marketing your services ahead of arrival?
5. What are the set up costs associated with setting up this business in Ireland?
6. What is the minimum amount of money you will need to live on and establish yourself in Ireland, as the business gets started?
7. What's the worst that can happen? If the business fails, can you go get a job with your skillset?
8. If so, what is the job market like in this particular industry?

Hope this helps get the juices flowing, good luck with the thought process!

supermouse

A great perspective, thank you kindly flankity.

In NZ my side hustle is now my full time hustle yes, it's been a massive learning curve and I have to bust my @ss for every cent, but it's amazing. The market here is absolutely flooded though and so it is a much tougher gig than somewhere where hasn't yet fully adapted a holistic wellbeing outlook.

You touched on my main concern, how well received my idea will be accepted in Ireland, especially regional city Ireland. I have received a lot of encouraging feedback from peers at home - yet getting them (and others) to actually commit is a different kettle of fish. I see a massive gap in the market, so it *should* be an easy audience to convert but that is wearing my NZ-bias glasses.

At this stage it will be location based, but there is scope to service clients in NZ and Ireland should I take my offering online - which is also a possibility. Its not very niche, certification isn't that hard to achieve and it seems to be quite popular lately. However, my offering is using a different approach, with a different mindset and end goal.

I've given myself the afternoon off to really jump knee deep into your suggestions below, thank you again.

pedroeibar1

A basic rule of marketing is never to try a new concept in a new market. That is because you have no benchmarks, nothing to measure against and see where / why / how it is succeeding or failing.
In your position I would return to Ireland on an extended 'holiday' and spend the time on market research in the sector/locality(ies) here. The cost would be considerably less than uprooting the household and returning to something that could/would not get off the ground.

supermouse

Hiya pedro - thanks for your response I was home for 6 weeks over Christmas and did some research then, from what I can see it's an untapped market.

I am lucky in that it's just me uprooting and I have PR here so can return at any time. It is a risk, it may fail and I may fall flat on my face. But, it may also take off. I've lived most of my life on the edge, what's one more edge!

Sure, coming home to launch business is a goal, but also my family all reside in Ireland so it's a bigger picture for me. I will be coming home to them essentially and my business dream is the icing on the cake. I'm lucky in that I have a home in Ireland already so a roof over my head isn't the issue - it's more food on the table haha

Even if it doesn't fully work out in the way I expect, it will work out in a smaller scale. People may not be fully open to the entire idea yet as NZ is, but in *some* capacity there is space.

* I HOPE!*