Anyone care to share their story? Part 2.

asweepstake · 07-05-2009 8:38am

Even gas has a Flue, whether into an existing chimney or if you look on the roof you can see the vent. O.K.some are barely visible but they are there.Some just vent through a wall (balanced)but a flue none the less.These are cleaned at time of servicing the boiler by the engineer...You hope!! Think about it, If you burn fuel you get waste. Even a car has a flue. Admitadly super ser type heaters do not but the manufacturers state you must have a window open.

Dutchie · 08-05-2009 9:20pm

Getting back to the point of the thread, I think a lot of people start businesses for all the wrong reasons (hate their boss, bored in their job, hobby they think they can make money at etc)

Running my on company/companies is all i ever wanted to do.

At age 9/10 i was selling toys door to door (my sisters weren't to happy- the toys were theirs!)

In primary school I noticed that a lot of my school mates had no snack for breaktime so i decided to open a tuck shop operating out of my locker.

In secondary school I continued with my tuck shop, coming up against a lot of hassle from teachers as I was competition to the school tuck shop. But my competitive advantage was that I opened earlier, offered quicker service and was cheaper (lower over heads:)
I also rented bikes out to guys who lived close to the school but wanted to get home quickly for their lunch- the school was outside a large country town.

In college I started organising raves and battle of DJ's etc- this was the 90's after all!
Things got a bit hairy as I got bigger names over from the UK and Europe as I was stepping on some dodgy promoters toes.

Today I have 3 companies operating in 3 diverse industries. I employ approx 90 people.

For what its worth, my pearls of business wisdom are-

1. KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid
2. Don't get emotionally attached to any business or person in your organiation.
3. Plan, Plan, Plan.
4. Don't buy what you can't afford
5. Export, Export, Export- Ireland has only 4 million people.

binzibonza77 · 09-05-2009 1:34pm

Hello there, I'm Ben,

Myself and my wife and brother in law are setting up a business to get in to video production. I have just joined Boards.ie, I'm 32 nd should know better, but this is the first thread I have ever replied to. Please accept my apologies if my thread reply is not answering any particular thread that has been posted but I'm having a go all the same.

I have a question and wondered whether anyone would be able to help?

On the A1 form you need to complete to incorporate a Private Company Limited by Shares, there are two sections I'm not sure how to complete:

Subscribers to memorandum and Company Capital and Stamp Duty Statement. The first part shall be completed I suppose once I have completed the Memorandum (which is another thing I need to work out). Do he directors simply have to sign this section. There's no one else involved in our company.

Can anyone give me a heads up on what to complete in the Company Capital and Stamp Duty Statement?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.
Ben

SilverBER · 31-05-2009 10:13am

Ben,
I have never done the company registration process myself but I do realise that it can save a fwew hundred squid if you do it yourself. I saw a segment on TV3 recently about a new website called register a company.ie so I uised it to register a new limited company that I wanted to get started. I think it cost me a little under €180, it took a few minutes and I had the stuff inside 2 weeks. As far as I am aware I think the CRO will charge you €100 anyway and wont come across any quicker with the stuff.
It cant hurt to have a look anyway.

random.stranger · 04-06-2009 10:11pm

shoutman wrote: »

Great post Cormie, I'm still in college for at least another two years (probably three), like a lot of people on this thread I have lots of ideas but don't know where to start.
That said I already have started uber small sending off an email to a company who I hope to become an affiliate of selling their product around College and to my social circle.

Hey Shoutman,
college is a great place to be for gathering information. A lot of the colleges have business incubation centres now.They run training courses and have guest speakers in. I highly recommend you check out if your college has one- it's a great resource. You don't need to have your big idea to get on their mailing list & tune in to the events they are hosting.

shoutman · 04-06-2009 10:24pm

random.stranger wrote: »

Hey Shoutman,
college is a great place to be for gathering information. A lot of the colleges have business incubation centres now.They run training courses and have guest speakers in. I highly recommend you check out if your college has one- it's a great resource. You don't need to have your big idea to get on their mailing list & tune in to the events they are hosting.

Thanks for the advice random stranger.
I'm a student in DIT which has a great incubation centre in Hothouse http://www.dit.ie/industry/hothouse/

They organize guest lectures which I have gone to and are great.

random.stranger · 04-06-2009 11:34pm

Nice one Shoutman,
I heard good things about them. When you get an idea you want to run with it is worth finding out if they have resident experts to advise you on developing your business (for free).

displaced dub · 09-07-2009 11:33pm

hi everyone

thought i would give my fiver worth to this...

I started out on my own in May 08 just as the recession started to bite. My then boss was devastated at me handing in my notice as i was responsible for 45% of the companies turnover. He told me i was mad and that i should stay as things were really bad in the big bad business world.

I to be honest had lost all faith in the man, during the boom he got carried away with himself and his lavish lifestyle was basically affecting the day to day running of the company. Paying €15k of a mortgage per month plus mad holidays and k-club membership does this. As i had worked for him for 12years i thought that he would have my back or as he said "any probs you always have my ear" First problem i had in march 08 and he turned his head.

We were in business with a large dutch company and from the day in 01 that i walked into there showroom and saw there set up i said "i want to work with these guys" problem was they had an Irish agent.

Anyway over the next 7years we became good mates and one night over a few beers in Amsterdam i called him a lazy boll*x and told him that with the agency he had he should be retired at this stage. At lot of home truths came out that night and we didnt talk for a few weeks after that.

He called me and said that i was right that he had become lazy etc and that he only really had max 7 years left in the business and that he would like me to come in under him for a few years and learn the ropes.

In a heart beat i said yes, so i became a sub-agent and it is now my plan to buy him out within the next year as i can see the potential.

On the money side i had saved €30k, €9k went towards a deposit on a commercial jeep to carry samples. The other €21k was lodged into the business account to pay salary and expenses. In my old job my package was basically €100k in my own company in year one i paid myself €54k plus expenses.

So if anyone out there thinks that this is the step to printing money think again. Its very rewarding in other ways but i knew when i left that my take home was going to go down big-time. In january next year my salary will increase by €10k and i hope to me able to start paying myself the odd bonus.

I love working for myself and i would find it very hard to go back to employee status again.

raimie · 14-08-2009 9:47am

Ben

I just did documents online for rgistering limited company. Cost €75 plus €100 CRO fee. Seemed very straightforward. lets hope all goes through CRO ok. You can check it out on www.registeracompany.ie. I have no involvement in this, just thought it made formfilling simple and not very expensive

mylove · 02-09-2009 1:31pm

This is a great thread. A lot of positive entrepreneurial experiences. Hats off to you guys..

Has anyone on here had success with internet income? There are so many of those 'get rich quick' schemes - that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about real internet marketing. Generating decent income (not millions) from marketing online. Any success/failure stories?

Culchie · 09-09-2009 11:57pm

shoutman wrote: »

Thanks for the advice random stranger.
I'm a student in DIT which has a great incubation centre in Hothouse http://www.dit.ie/industry/hothouse/

They organize guest lectures which I have gone to and are great.

Jeez shoutman, are you still in bloody college?;)

More study and less poker young grasshopper!

barry333 · 18-09-2009 1:58pm

refused refused refused refused thats the replys im getting from a business loans ,i have a great business idea have done every course know to man ,the backing of everyone out there ,no faults with business plan ,cashflow projections,profit & loss,and still those f****** banks and credit unions will not help me get a start up.is anyone else having this problem or can anyone help point me in the right way cheers

suey71 · 18-09-2009 3:05pm

Hi Barry, your better off starting a new thread on this forum.
You'll get all the advice you need.

paddyred9 · 07-10-2009 3:24pm

Forsaken1 wrote: »

Hmm, I too am an Enterprenewer!:)

Granty your story brings back memories, I think I may have attended your Atari and Amiga sessions being a computer junkie from early childhood...

Was that the club in the Northstar hotel?
That was when the Internet wasnt so well known, I trawled BBS boards for apps and software...with 19,200 bps modem !!

Also your business and shop?!

Around dublin at the time there was a string of shops called Computer City...

Did you have anything to do with them...

In my old Amiga days myself and a friend setup the Backfist Public Domain software club and advertised life-time membership for £20 and £1.50 per disk copied (public domain of course!). We stopped trading after a year...;)

Those were the days....

My current business is IT applications and is working out quite well...
2 years running and going strong...

Howdy..
Whats the IT business? If you dont mind me asking. I'm very interested in this market myself.

Sonnenblumen · 08-10-2009 11:31pm

barry333 wrote: »

refused refused refused refused thats the replys im getting from a business loans ,i have a great business idea have done every course know to man ,the backing of everyone out there ,no faults with business plan ,cashflow projections,profit & loss,and still those f****** banks and credit unions will not help me get a start up.is anyone else having this problem or can anyone help point me in the right way cheers

I was talking to my company's customer account manager earlier this week, and he was telling me how much money they (the bank) were handing out tons of money (bus loans), mostly small amounts though (< € 30k). What was interesting was that the bus plans/bus cases were generally not strong, but the bank was under pressure to offer credit, and despite dishing out plenty, the media were not picking up on it.

OP it probably require smore than qualifications and documentation to get a loan. Do you not have a history with any fin institution? It's not surprising in the current climate, lenders are likely to more cautious with 'strangers'.

Zodiacc · 04-11-2009 12:46pm

Darragh29 wrote: »

I decided to go out on my own after having a series of completely inept and utterly useless & highly devious managers.

Touche;)

Zodiacc · 04-11-2009 12:50pm

Starting up new wrote: »

Hi been trying to set up my own business but going to need more it support than first thought, I'm an accountant and will need help setting up a network and software support anyone out there that can rcommend packages or IT company to help

Thanks

I would recommend you put a post up in the Technology area of this forum.
Technology>Software & Web Development>Development. Someone might know in there:)

Dutchie · 19-11-2009 10:56pm

barry333 wrote: »

refused refused refused refused thats the replys im getting from a business loans ,i have a great business idea have done every course know to man ,the backing of everyone out there ,no faults with business plan ,cashflow projections,profit & loss,and still those f****** banks and credit unions will not help me get a start up.is anyone else having this problem or can anyone help point me in the right way cheers

Barry, have you tried private venture capital or semi state seed capital funds?

davemac83 · 01-12-2009 10:09pm

Hi All,

Before I begin with my story I just want let you all know what a great resource I have found boards.ie and in particular the business forum. It is a massive help to see others having the same issues as me from websites, to SEO, to invoicing and VAT. So I believe its a credit to all that contribute on this site.

Anyway, I had been working for the past 7 years as a health and safety consultant with a cork based engineering and health & safety consultancy working with some pretty large clients, including Diageo, Quinn Direct Insurance, Munster Joinery, KPMG etc. However being stuck in construction was great in the boom but in the bust things began to quiten down.

During this time I became increasingly unhappy with the company I was working for, the direction they were not taking and if I am honest, the only reason I ws still there during my last year with the company was fear......fear of losing my comfortable salary, fear of losing the cushy position I held, fear of the unknown in the middle of a recession. I must say that the more I worried about these things the worse things got in work, I lost motivation and drive. I found myself less energised to do daily duties, and eventually had enough.

So in July 2009 (yes this year?!) I inally decided to call it a day and set up my own environmental health & safety consultancy www.targetsafety.ie. July, August and September were spent getting things up and going. Business cards, letterheads, websites, templates etc. At times I felt like giving it up, there was nothing coming in by way of clients. Looking at the savings account getting smaller and smaller gave me a sick feeling. Luckily my girlfriend who was nothing short of brilliant, supporting me, providing an opinion when needed etc kept me focussed and listened when I needed to vent my fears.

I have been lucky enough to pick up two major contracts that will take me well into next year and for the minute I can honestly say that I have never worked harder, worked more hours, or spent so much time thinking about my company. I feel energised, excited and look forward to Monday morning with anticipation. That fear that kept me in my PAYE position is gone and has been replaced with a hunger.

During theummer months I had plenty of time to decide what kind of company I wanted to have. I know the perception of a health and safety consultant however I believe in the value of my experience and practical approach in which I carry out my profession. I want to be reliable, cost effective (but not cheap) and most importantly I want to provide a service which the client would recommend to someone else. I believe in what in myself and although I am only starting out, it is good start and I believe that's half the work................

Regards,

David McCarthy
www.targetsafety.ie
david@targetsafety.ie

teddy12345 · 02-12-2009 9:55pm

this is a great tread fair play to all. It is not easy
also agree with last poster great to have this place to go to get advice etc
My story (def. the short version lol)
I had my first venture in to business at the age of 9 got a projector for Christmas and so many of my friends wanted to keep watching spider man over and over again that i thought you could make a few quid here.
so as with a lot of my "PROJECTS" i had not all of the resources i needed (isn't that all of our story's) so i set a goal and started any way a pattern i was to repeat many times. my friend had a shed i rented it off him for 10 pound a week i then drew fliers and put them in the local shop.
i got 50 people the first day at 20 pence a go result rent covered
next day their was 60 and i showed it again and they all came back second time.to cut a long story short i hen rented a second film of my other friend who had one as well i then had an inter vile between them and sold a glass of diluted orange and cheep crisps for 20P 50% profit by week 2 i was making 35 pound a day (my da was getting 40 a day )but like all fads week tree saw my plans of world domination end with 25 people all week
but i had let the monster out of his cage and it wasn't going back ever.
my next one i rented school ties for 50 p a day in school so people didn't get detention for not having one (great business as every one forget at least once a week ) Ties only cost 1pound 50 in town tree days and rent payed for tie then 100% profit for rest of year i made about 40 pound a week in 5th. year and 6th. year
the bug had well and truly bitten now.
me and a friend ran a lottery , a sandwich round and a "loan company" (my brother was 18st.mussel 6.2" and liked pain)all with some success
but mostly a steep learning curve.
i have started a log cabin company and a poker club one failed miserably one failed slowly but with each go i got a bit better
i ran and still do a plastering firm (pays the bills and then some)
i started a maintenance company and sold it. i also started a magazine called Celtic tiger witch i sent to people who had applied for planing permission. it had tradesmen in it they were looking for tradesmen no brainer. i sold at markets and sold antiques at fairs .
i bought and sold cars.i done roofing for a year and window fitting for a year.
i am so glad i did all of these things as i have lived my life to the max. and will keep doing so i love it the ups the downs.making buckets of money losing buckets of money.
my latest venture came about after i fell off a roof and broke my ankle
not fun in its self but i had to for the first time in my life sit and do nothing witch gave me lots of time to think .
i decided to put my self to the test and i came up with an idea for a book("BREAK A LEG / HOW I TURNED 50 EURO IN TO 5 MILLION EURO IN FIVE YEARS") And so my next chapter in life begins.
it is one year on and i did start a company for 50 euro running psychic fairs
witch now makes a bit of a profit but witch promises to make 70+g next year and a sub idea has came about witch should make 40+
so im on the way i hope i get their but ill dam enjoy the climb as well as the veiw from the top.
i spend a lot of time making my self more positive and will do so for as long as i live hopefuly you can read all about it in 4 years thanke for takeing the time to read this and thanksd for the help.
top 10 things i learnt along the way.
10.make goals/write them down
9.ask for help
8.push your self
7.have pasion
6.make shure you have more money coming in than going out.
5.if you dont think your costmers are inportant try doing without for 90 days
4.find under serviced /badly serviced areas and go and over diliver
3.start now with wath ever you have and keep on keeping on
2.try to create win/win suituations
1.NEVER NEVER GIVE UP
amd rember a plane flying from la. to londen is off cource more than 80%of the time but the poilt keeps addusting for londen so set your target and keep addusting go around up over under and even somtimes backwards but keep addusting to were you want to go.

teddy12345 · 02-12-2009 10:33pm

just forgot to say everything is sales
you sell yourself ideas product service get good at sales
and i think the people posting here should be running the country
its what we need people who get off their ares and do something using a lot of common scene.
lets start anew party lol

kazzer · 03-12-2009 1:58pm

Very nice teddy, thanks for the tips.

tombull82 · 18-12-2009 12:30am

Mickk wrote: »

Do Bob Procture, Richard Brandson, John Lavenia and Michael O Leary tell you they use these principles or does the dvd...

Looks like a spammy DVD sales pitch tbh.. John Appoliges if not it just looks that way..

johntoc · 18-12-2009 1:34am

No offence taken Tom.

John Lavenia, Shannon Lavenia, Gene Braxton, Tony Rush and many more self made millionaires are interviewed on it.

Its well presented with very valuable info on it.

They are also conducting a training event in prague near the end of January for entrepreneurs.

I just thought it might help anyone who is struggling in these harsh times!

tommurphy73 · 18-12-2009 5:44am

I would say that if you really had a business that you would spend more time promoting that rather than promoting another motivation dvd

Tom

johntoc · 19-12-2009 1:05am

Thats a fair point Tom.

But I believe i cannot promote my own business here.
If an administrator tells me that I can I will tell ye all about it otherwise I am going to play it safe!

shoutman · 19-12-2009 1:34am

Johntoc if you want to discuss it, do so through pm. Otherwise you are correct in assuming that you can not promote your own business.

Lazare · 16-01-2010 1:01am

teddy12345 wrote: »

this is a great tread fair play to all. It is not easy
also agree with last poster great to have this place to go to get advice etc
My story (def. the short version lol)
I had my first venture in to business at the age of 9 got a projector for Christmas and so many of my friends wanted to keep watching spider man over and over again that i thought you could make a few quid here.
so as with a lot of my "PROJECTS" i had not all of the resources i needed (isn't that all of our story's) so i set a goal and started any way a pattern i was to repeat many times. my friend had a shed i rented it off him for 10 pound a week i then drew fliers and put them in the local shop.
i got 50 people the first day at 20 pence a go result rent covered
next day their was 60 and i showed it again and they all came back second time.to cut a long story short i hen rented a second film of my other friend who had one as well i then had an inter vile between them and sold a glass of diluted orange and cheep crisps for 20P 50% profit by week 2 i was making 35 pound a day (my da was getting 40 a day )but like all fads week tree saw my plans of world domination end with 25 people all week
but i had let the monster out of his cage and it wasn't going back ever.
my next one i rented school ties for 50 p a day in school so people didn't get detention for not having one (great business as every one forget at least once a week ) Ties only cost 1pound 50 in town tree days and rent payed for tie then 100% profit for rest of year i made about 40 pound a week in 5th. year and 6th. year
the bug had well and truly bitten now.
me and a friend ran a lottery , a sandwich round and a "loan company" (my brother was 18st.mussel 6.2" and liked pain)all with some success
but mostly a steep learning curve.
i have started a log cabin company and a poker club one failed miserably one failed slowly but with each go i got a bit better
i ran and still do a plastering firm (pays the bills and then some)
i started a maintenance company and sold it. i also started a magazine called Celtic tiger witch i sent to people who had applied for planing permission. it had tradesmen in it they were looking for tradesmen no brainer. i sold at markets and sold antiques at fairs .
i bought and sold cars.i done roofing for a year and window fitting for a year.
i am so glad i did all of these things as i have lived my life to the max. and will keep doing so i love it the ups the downs.making buckets of money losing buckets of money.
my latest venture came about after i fell off a roof and broke my ankle
not fun in its self but i had to for the first time in my life sit and do nothing witch gave me lots of time to think .
i decided to put my self to the test and i came up with an idea for a book("BREAK A LEG / HOW I TURNED 50 EURO IN TO 5 MILLION EURO IN FIVE YEARS") And so my next chapter in life begins.
it is one year on and i did start a company for 50 euro running psychic fairs
witch now makes a bit of a profit but witch promises to make 70+g next year and a sub idea has came about witch should make 40+
so im on the way i hope i get their but ill dam enjoy the climb as well as the veiw from the top.
i spend a lot of time making my self more positive and will do so for as long as i live hopefuly you can read all about it in 4 years thanke for takeing the time to read this and thanksd for the help.
top 10 things i learnt along the way.
10.make goals/write them down
9.ask for help
8.push your self
7.have pasion
6.make shure you have more money coming in than going out.
5.if you dont think your costmers are inportant try doing without for 90 days
4.find under serviced /badly serviced areas and go and over diliver
3.start now with wath ever you have and keep on keeping on
2.try to create win/win suituations
1.NEVER NEVER GIVE UP
amd rember a plane flying from la. to londen is off cource more than 80%of the time but the poilt keeps addusting for londen so set your target and keep addusting go around up over under and even somtimes backwards but keep addusting to were you want to go.

This is a really inspiring post. Fair play Teddy.
Visions of a nine year old running a cinema and flogging lemonade to the local kids, while making almost the same wage as his father had me smiling.

Mylesie · 06-02-2010 3:16pm

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who are constantly thinking up new ideas or ways to independence, unfortunately, some become so engrossed in their latest “great thing” they often lose the substance for the shadow.
Being one such sado, albeit having a few successes on the way, I would suggest that “playing” (because that’s the only word to use for it) with these ideas should never interfere with your normal means of earning a living.
A simple example might be taking ‘sickies’ from your proper work to chase the dream. This in itself should be a reminder - if you cannot be ambitious or loyal to the job you are being paid to do - what makes you believe you would be able to take the pressure going it alone?
Set yourself a challenge, if you are in work, use that ambition and give yourself at least six months “ideas free” to chase every opportunity for advancement within your current employment.
If you are currently unemployed, forget all the get rich schemes for the time being and volunteer your spare time to a worthy cause, chances and opportunities come in all manner of places.

Mylesie · 07-02-2010 2:45pm

mylove wrote: »

This is a great thread. A lot of positive entrepreneurial experiences. Hats off to you guys..

Has anyone on here had success with internet income? There are so many of those 'get rich quick' schemes - that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about real internet marketing. Generating decent income (not millions) from marketing online. Any success/failure stories?

Quoting Mylove: “I'm talking about real internet marketing. Generating decent income (not millions) from marketing online. Any success/failure stories?”

Don’t know how it works in the Republic re import duties. I had a brainstorm and aimed to make a fortune on inks; worked out the initial costs and postage etc from US, advertised the product to include my imagined profit and waited expectantly for stock - THUD - unable to deliver note from UPS! Rushed off to collect and discovered, not only an EXTRA charge for non-delivery - but wait for it - the import duty on the parcel worked out at THREE times as much as the cost of the original item!!!

chowdown · 07-02-2010 6:28pm

I’ve been thinking about trying to tell my story. I’m a relative newcomer to the entrepreneurial world, and I’m really enjoying it.

Over the last year I became really frustrated with working in an office for a salary. It was a classic shirt-and-tie 9-to-5 job in the city centre. I ran the research function of a fairly major industry body in Dublin but after a few years, I was a bit tired of the organisation in which I worked and a lot of the daily work was becoming quite routine. Nonetheless, it was well-paid and I made some great connections.

I took voluntary redundancy at the end of 2009 and set up on my own, selling my research services direct to Irish corporations. Some of my new clients are clients from my old job, but rather than receive a salary, I invoice them directly. I put a lot of time and money into setting up a decent website (available on my profile), learning new business practices and developing a good client list. The first month without a pay-day was quite weird, and it has been strange not to have an office to go to. I work from home.

I work on a number of projects at the same time, which I split into writing and research. Much of my writing work – in trade magazines, for business newsletters and as a specialist in broader reports – I do pro bono, to raise my profile and expand my client list. The money comes from undertaking research work for clients who have occasional need to commission research, but don’t need (or can’t afford) a full-time paid researcher, economist, analyst or writer. I look after the whole spectrum – from initial project scoping, to first hand research, surveying, data analysis, to reporting, writing, editing and presentation, so at any minute I can be analysing data from an online survey as well as writing up a report. I love the variation.

The variation in work is easily the best part of the job. I love learning – I’ve two Masters degrees and a PhD so I’m used to being self-motivated and learning new things.

There are a few downsides. It can be quite frustrating pitching for work which never materialises, and not having someone to turn to, in order to get a second opinion can be quite lonely. Because I don’t manufacture or export anything, it’s hard to get support from Enterprise Ireland or the County Enterprise Boards. I’m lucky that my overheads are very few, but there’s a lot more the State could do to encourage service sector entrepreneurs.

Overall, I’m really enjoying working for myself rather than working for someone else. I love the freedom; the fact that I don’t need to toe a corporate line or seek my boss’s approval before doing anything.

I love helping people out and I enjoy nothing more than saying to a stressed out client that I can take all of the work of their shoulders and I’ll deliver the report as they want it, when they want it and they can concentrate on something else. That’s when I feel like a therapist!

Lazare · 14-02-2010 3:38pm

Mylesie wrote: »

Set yourself a challenge, if you are in work, use that ambition and give yourself at least six months “ideas free” to chase every opportunity for advancement within your current employment.
If you are currently unemployed, forget all the get rich schemes for the time being and volunteer your spare time to a worthy cause, chances and opportunities come in all manner of places.

I think this is pretty bad advice tbh, and a little strange.

Why on Earth would an entrepreneur (or anyone) want to challenge themselves to quell ideas? I'm baffled

It's pretty easy to work on an idea and hold down a job at the same time.

No offence to you but negativity is probably the worst personality trait for an entrepreneur to have, and that post is riddled with it.

Bizarre.

Mylesie · 14-02-2010 4:21pm

Lazare wrote: »

I think this is pretty bad advice tbh, and a little strange.

Why on Earth would an entrepreneur (or anyone) want to challenge themselves to quell ideas? I'm baffled

It's pretty easy to work on an idea and hold down a job at the same time.

No offence to you but negativity is probably the worst personality trait for an entrepreneur to have, and that post is riddled with it.

Bizarre.

We can all think of airy fairy schemes but unless we challenge ourselves in the real world ???????

Lazare · 14-02-2010 4:47pm

Mylesie wrote: »

We can all think of airy fairy schemes but unless we challenge ourselves in the real world ???????

Not entirely sure what that means.

If you're making the point that shutting down creativity is a good idea and sound advice, well I'm sorry but I think you're wrong.

I think it's pretty terrible advice actually.

shoutman · 14-02-2010 6:05pm

Mod note: If you want to argue, do so via pm and not in this thread pleas. I'm going to delete some of the posts.

jenn1980 · 23-02-2010 9:29am

Hi All,

Sorry if i have hijacked a post here but i can't seem to see how to start my own !
Does anybody know where i could get singers from ? Its for a play i am hoping to do! Is there any agencies or anything that i can contact?

Thanks
Jenni

Colm_purchase · 23-02-2010 10:38am

jenn1980 wrote: »

Hi All,

Sorry if i have hijacked a post here but i can't seem to see how to start my own !
Does anybody know where i could get singers from ? Its for a play i am hoping to do! Is there any agencies or anything that i can contact?

Thanks
Jenni

A sewing machine shop;)

Sonnenblumen · 05-03-2010 7:29pm

chowdown wrote: »

I’ve been thinking about trying to tell my story. I’m a relative newcomer to the entrepreneurial world, and I’m really enjoying it.

Over the last year I became really frustrated with working in an office for a salary. It was a classic shirt-and-tie 9-to-5 job in the city centre. I ran the research function of a fairly major industry body in Dublin but after a few years, I was a bit tired of the organisation in which I worked and a lot of the daily work was becoming quite routine. Nonetheless, it was well-paid and I made some great connections.

I took voluntary redundancy at the end of 2009 and set up on my own, selling my research services direct to Irish corporations. Some of my new clients are clients from my old job, but rather than receive a salary, I invoice them directly. I put a lot of time and money into setting up a decent website (available on my profile), learning new business practices and developing a good client list. The first month without a pay-day was quite weird, and it has been strange not to have an office to go to. I work from home.

I work on a number of projects at the same time, which I split into writing and research. Much of my writing work – in trade magazines, for business newsletters and as a specialist in broader reports – I do pro bono, to raise my profile and expand my client list. The money comes from undertaking research work for clients who have occasional need to commission research, but don’t need (or can’t afford) a full-time paid researcher, economist, analyst or writer. I look after the whole spectrum – from initial project scoping, to first hand research, surveying, data analysis, to reporting, writing, editing and presentation, so at any minute I can be analysing data from an online survey as well as writing up a report. I love the variation.

The variation in work is easily the best part of the job. I love learning – I’ve two Masters degrees and a PhD so I’m used to being self-motivated and learning new things.

There are a few downsides. It can be quite frustrating pitching for work which never materialises, and not having someone to turn to, in order to get a second opinion can be quite lonely. Because I don’t manufacture or export anything, it’s hard to get support from Enterprise Ireland or the County Enterprise Boards. I’m lucky that my overheads are very few, but there’s a lot more the State could do to encourage service sector entrepreneurs.

Overall, I’m really enjoying working for myself rather than working for someone else. I love the freedom; the fact that I don’t need to toe a corporate line or seek my boss’s approval before doing anything.

I love helping people out and I enjoy nothing more than saying to a stressed out client that I can take all of the work of their shoulders and I’ll deliver the report as they want it, when they want it and they can concentrate on something else. That’s when I feel like a therapist!

Thats a very good post and captures well the thrill of managing your own destiny. Your motivation and indeed job satisfaction are not unusual and I wish you well in your professional pursuits. I'm not sure if or how I could use your skillset, but your confidence, enthusiasm and motivation would encourage me to find a way.

Well done Chowdown and keep going!! Not everyone can do it, and the state agencies supposedly responsible for developing enterprise should be doing alot more.

jUNK · 18-03-2010 3:55pm

Im 24 and a half years old and currently still working for someone else and running my own stuff at night.

I started my first business when I was very young, I grew up beside the sea and one day my friend and I went down to the dunes and collected a bucketful of caterpillars. We then went door to door selling them. Some old people bought them and promptly set them free in their back garden.

We continued with the same tactics selling various other things, sticks we found on the ground were sold as firewood and my mams baking was nabbed and sold off to the neighbors.

When I was 14 I made my first 100 pound online by gaming a company that is now long shutdown called alladvantage. Basically you got payed by referring people who signed up as members. Always having been quite good with computers I soon found out how to make fake accounts and profited this way. My parents however almost killed me when they got the phone bill.

During my teens I started all sorts of businesses most lads do; grass cutting, hedge trimming, fence painting etc. I also went to a private boarding school and found out that pot noodles had a great resell value along with the odd porno mag that I could mark up about 400% I remember once coming home from my holidays in Lanzarote with a dozen packs of porno playing cards and 400 cigarettes. The cigarettes were sold individually for 50 pence a piece while a single porno card fetched a whole pound. Incredible mark up there.

Currently I work as a web designer and have an OK steady job. At the same time as this I am running my own affiliate websites (not spam) and the profit from this is running close to four figures a month(not a lot I know but this is recurring each month for work I have done in the past). I have a bit of money in the bank albeit not much and am currently in talks about renting a small shop that I will advertise all my services from: web design, SEO, computer and phone repair and pretty much anything else I can think of.

hinault · 18-03-2010 4:12pm

My story :

I am an accountant having worked in industry (not practice) for my entire career.
I worked in multinationals, public sector and the private sector.

I took up a Financial Controllers role with a small SME five years ago and had worked there as part of the management team.
Unfortunately the company went in to receivership this time last year.
The market in which the company operated was a product of the Celtic Tiger.

At that stage, I had to make a decision.
Do I apply to another employer for a job and run the risk of handing my future over to that employer again?
Or do I try to get on my own bike and get business for myself?

I decided to setup my own company and offer my accounting services to interested clients.

I canvassed a huge range of companies and I get out my contact book and started cold calling.
It was very very difficult at first to get business in.
Companies/contacts were prevaricating and I started to really doubt my decision to go it alone.

But I stuck with it and eventually I got two clients who have given me projects/work to do.
Then this lead on to other accounting-based work.

I am happy to say that things are going relatively well 12 months in to it.
Although my income is down from the time that I was employed, I am my own boss and I am getting by.

I would suggest to those thinking about going it alone that they need to have fortitude and you need to be flexible and you need to take rejection.

I Drink It Up! · 19-03-2010 8:58pm

I have spent the last 3 weeks putting together what is now a 20 page business plan explaining the rationale behind the idea and why I believe it will work. It's quite pithy....I try to demonstrate just how the business will work and why/how the public gets shafted on the products they are currently paying for. I hope to go before the pertinent authorities with it inside the next 2-3 weeks.

Shambo · 20-03-2010 12:00am

Well, having worked in Sales and Operations in International Logistics for 15 years, I could see the storm clouds gathering from July 2008, imports in my field of expertise fell off a cliff and they never really recovered, to such an extent that I was laid off for the first time in my career in September 2009. Even though I was expecting it, it was still a culture shock to be standing in the dole queue later that month.
Anyway, I took my time to think what I wanted to do and one thing was clear, I had had enough of working for other people.
Eventually, after much soul searching, I decided to start my own company, which reduces the amount of money companies spend on freight, usually by sourcing rates direct from wholesalers instead of paying a premium to a middleman.
I also came up with the idea of offering an outsourced shipping management departmemnt to smaller companies, the logic here being that for a monthly fee we organise all the shipments and it frees the owner manager to get out and sell more goods instead of getting caught up negotiating shipping rates and tracking shipments.
So far so good, the average reduction I bring to the table for my clients is 16.77% to be precise!
I am quite confident that the company will succeed.
One thing I must underline is the Back to Work short term Enterprise Scheme I enrolled on with the Social Welfare. I get the dole as normal, but it is deposited direct in to my account and I do not have to sign on.

Zenga · 22-04-2010 9:19am

Great thread all,

Im just going 25, ive worked in finance for the last 6 - 7 years, for construction, pharmaceutical multinationals etc. Ive been told that the chances are im getting let go this year.

I immediatly thought about starting my own business, its something ive wanted to do for the last number of years just never got the right idea i was confident enough would work. less than 2 months ago myself and my brother started our own company providing all types of sports equipment to GAA, Rugby & Soccer clubs in Ireland. I was amazed at the money voluntary organisations spend on some equipment, and being a sports enthuisist myself i was more than happy to talk "shop" with potential customers. To date we have a turnover of just under 8k, which should see us doing close to 50k this year. This is with both of us working at it part time which is really encouraging!

So when I get the date of my redundancy i will be looking at it with excitement rather than despair, We have only hit a tiny bit of the market and all our current customers are delighted with our service. I already have idea's for expansion, the problem at the moment is the capital and the time to make them a success.

bfh · 22-05-2010 7:14am

Hi all - very interesting thread here with very good storys.
My story is I am just gone 24 and since the age of 18 iv been keen to either start up on my own or go into partnership with somebody. I have a construction backround and initially was just goin to try and get a cheap site and start building houses but oviously this simple plan isnt just right at the moment so now I have turned my attention to trying to set up/invest in other businesses such as newsagents/pubs or maybe a good franchise - Iv looked at plenty (mostly in prime locations with big turnover) but i found the key money demands were to expensive for my taste. Iv around 70k euros saved to get into business and im waiting to find something really good - its gotta be a good business that generates cash in year 1 for me. With all ye hardcore entrepreneurs on this it is good place to get in contact with likeminded people. All yous with the ideas who would welcome a partner with 70k to invest simply drop me a PM. Im interested in any business to do with construction (my industry at the moment), retailing (any type of shop), pub trade (lease or freehold) or any type of manufacturing or distribution business. This may seem like a simple approach but hey thats the way I like to do things!!

pawnacide · 31-05-2010 10:09pm

There I was, newly married with a middle of the road job with a salary to match. Decided on a total career change and became an auctioneer .. the year was 2006 .. How's that for timing .. I now dream of the dizzy heights of the middle of the road.

Chet Zar · 02-06-2010 10:59pm

pawnacide wrote: »

There I was, newly married with a middle of the road job with a salary to match. Decided on a total career change and became an auctioneer .. the year was 2006 .. How's that for timing .. I now dream of the dizzy heights of the middle of the road.

Must have been good while it lasted though ay?!

Swings and roundabouts and all that...

newman10 · 18-06-2010 12:05pm

Mid 40s Retailer.

Started at 25 with one shop and went to three. Worked 60 - 70 hours a week every week now one and it may just about hang in until Sep 1

Serious decisions to make this weekend and will have nothing to show for a lifetime.

:(

Have been told @ 45 that I am not "dynamic" enough wtf:mad::mad:

Where to from now nobody knows but a word of advise for anyone reading this thread think very carefully before you go into retail

newman10 · 18-06-2010 12:08pm

will.i.am wrote: »

Hi all - very interesting thread here with very good storys.
My story is I am just gone 24 and since the age of 18 iv been keen to either start up on my own or go into partnership with somebody. I have a construction backround and initially was just goin to try and get a cheap site and start building houses but oviously this simple plan isnt just right at the moment so now I have turned my attention to trying to set up/invest in other businesses such as newsagents/pubs or maybe a good franchise - Iv looked at plenty (mostly in prime locations with big turnover) but i found the key money demands were to expensive for my taste. Iv around 70k euros saved to get into business and im waiting to find something really good - its gotta be a good business that generates cash in year 1 for me. With all ye hardcore entrepreneurs on this it is good place to get in contact with likeminded people. All yous with the ideas who would welcome a partner with 70k to invest simply drop me a PM. Im interested in any business to do with construction (my industry at the moment), retailing (any type of shop), pub trade (lease or freehold) or any type of manufacturing or distribution business. This may seem like a simple approach but hey thats the way I like to do things!!

Are you for real William

lube5150 · 06-07-2010 1:20pm

I started a sign and graphics co 5yrs ago,was i mad?,i hadent a clue about the business,i came from a motor trade back ground,but lost most of my savings from an insurance claim,land lord screw me over,i did some homework and the signs seemed to be a good idea,,,i spent days and nights learning signlab,photoshop,and in october 05 i made and fitted my first graphic,,,,over the next year i was swamped with work,i wouild rather work on my own,and i managed to do so,with out burning myself out,,,then i spotted an market that other sign makers had missed,,,TRUCKERS,,,their the only people that adorn their vehicles with stickers,naked ladys,window banners,so i started making them,,,and over nite,,more sucess,,then i spotted LED boards inside a few trucks,and asked some friend of mine(who are truckers)where do you get those led boards,,,they had to order them from england or germany,,,so i got the head down,and learnt all their is to know about Led lighting,(theres a lot more that a little red bulb)and over the last 2 years i have made and sold at least 200,,,,im just a regular guy,,allways on the look out for the next big idea,,,my sign business has suffered over the last year or so,,,but im a fighter,,and firmly belive that things will get better,,,,,,if you've got an idea,,go for it,,,hard work never killed anyone,,,,some day we'll all reap the rewards,,,,,,,

DOC09UNAM · 21-07-2010 4:52am

I'm 19 years old and want to start a business of my own, I have an idea, but haven't a clue where to go for investment, advice or anything at all really, It's the kind of idea where if i mentioned it to someone with the money, they'd end up doing it themselves, and them im out of luck, any way to prevent this?

Anyone care to share their story? Part 2.

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