Any people with their own business on here?

show the tax and vatman less as possible.

Sell before you buy.

Everything in your favour is against you
Check out if you can claim any start up grants etc
Expect larger bills than you invisage
Dont rely on friends or family  as staff..
Have capital €$££
Go for it hard
Good luck ,wtf are you waiting another year if its a profitable idea ?

What area is it in (as in type)??

You need to go in to it with your eyes wide open, it will be tough but has the potential to be incredibly rewarding.

I am sure that you are well aware of the high failure rate with start up businesses.

Many of these fail because they didn't have a viable plan.
However, many fail despite being fundamentally sound business ideas, they simply run out of working capital.

Thus my very generic and high level input would be to :

[1] Develop and write down a business plan
[2] Do your research as you have stated
[3] Find a mentor who you can discuss the plan with and who will be there to help you through the process
[4] Execute the plan
[5] Execute the plan

If its your first business do something that you know.  Many people that fail in their first business dive into something they have no experience of.  Starting part time is sensible. Keep your overheads as low as possible and don't take out long term financial commitments.

paulypaul - turning my hobby in to my business - gardening. In particular, supplying produce to restaurants that want local sources.

padlock - waiting because I want to make sure that my venture is as well researched as possible before I step in to it. However, more importantly my lad will be having heart surgery in the summer and I want to have nothing distracting me then. So, that is why I am aiming toward the latter part of 2017.

Angoose - I am already working on a rough draft of my business plan. I have an internet mentor, that though they aren't solely there to help me, they have given me loads of invaluable advice already on the practical side and the financial.

Only talk to people who have already started a business and made it a success.

Then get yourself a decent ladder, shammy leather and bucket and the best of luck.

Or you could do a pitch on Dragons Den.

Dr C - you need your windows doing?

Dr C - you need your windows doing?



Have you got a spare month?

HH sorry, I didn't see your post before I posted that.

Fantastic idea to turn a hobby in to a business, doing something that you genuinely enjoy will keep you going through the inevitable dark days that you will experience.

Your natural enthusiasm for doing something that you love will also be a great selling point, clients will see that you care about the work they are paying you to do and they will become your unpaid sales force.

Good luck with it Hank, sounds exciting.

Don't get bogged down in elaborate business plans.  If its viable it shouldn't take long to work out the figures.

Agree Ron, no need for a forty page glossy brochure but a business plan requires more than just some financials crunched on a spreadsheet.

Important to list your assumptions and the actions required to make them happen.
It's the good old P-D-C-A methodology i.e. Plan, Do, Check, Act

Consider selling shares in the business to the lads on here who find this idea 'exciting'.

Have you thought about selling fresh air, I've been all over the world and have collected fresh Brazilian air, fresh Malaysian air, fresh Tahiti air - would you like to buy some ?

http://www.aizle.co.uk

Here's a restaurant edinburgh,always busy using local produce



Aizle utilises the best produce Scotland has to offer. Our set 5-course tasting menu changes constantly, dictated by what is local and in season. A dish or garnish may be on for 6 weeks, others for only a few short days. We update the photo of our chalkboard monthly, however please check the Harvest section of our website for the most up to date ingredients list.

It's the good old P-D-C-A methodology i.e. Plan, Do, Check, Act

Anyone for a game of Buzzword Bingo?

It's at the core of any worthwhile QMS Ron and it's there for a good reason i.e. it is proven and it works

You don't perhaps work in the corporate world do you?

It's a tough and cut-throat world out there Ron, you've got to use all available tools and adopting a professional approach whereby you follow a process will help to deliver results. Repeatability and predictability, that's what your customers are looking for.

Angoose,

why don't you touch base with Hank by PM, make sure you are on the same page, and bounce ideas off each other going forward?

Does your job title include the word consultant?

The C word is a very dirty one Ron, I'm simply someone who has grown to appreciate the benefits to be derived from following a process in any area of your life. Humans like and need process to function effectively.

There is a very good show that is on Discovery called "Blue Collar Backers", very down to earth folks who have successful business interests getting involved to help others.

Hank, you could do a lot worse than to watch a few episodes, it's generally entertaining plus offers real life insights in to the practicalities of starting and running a small business.

SME's are the lifeblood of the economy.

Sorry Ron, some more bingo there, small and medium enterprises .....

People tend to over complicate things.  The basics of most small business is very straight forward.

Agreed Ron and Blue Collar Backers demonstrates your thoughts very well.

Hank - I've run my own business for many years.

Doing something you enjoy and have a passion for is key. Many businesses fail in the first 18 months so a belief in what you're doing and a financial buffer in that period is vital.

Working for oneself soon becomes a vocation rather than a job and that is the main benefit. I love not being ensnared by office politics, beaurocracy and the 'when do we get a pay rise?' mentality.

It's all down to you. Go for it. You won't regret it.

All the best to your lad..

Yes, I'd agree with everything Injera just mentioned.

We started in 2009 at the very height/depth (call it what you will) of the recession. People expected us to fail and suggested we were naive and foolhardy, but we were so determined and threw everything that we had at it that failure was not an option we even began to entertain.

When I look back I remember that we underestimated the amount of money we had to put in just to ease cash flow, so make sure you have plenty to back yourself because people are slow to pay and you'll find that you'll probably have to pay your suppliers up-front until you get a credit line accepted.

Good luck to you and when (not if) you succeed you'll never want to work for anyone else. The benefits are immense if you work hard at it.

Cash is king

You can survive without making a profit - and as soon as you do, put it into a pension to reduce your Corporation Tax

You cannot survive without cashflow. Get on top of debt from the word go.

I think Sir Phillip Green pops in every now and again when he's not been banned.

cash flow

There are lots of things to take into account Hank. Always more things than you budget/bargain for. Make sure you have enough cash behind in the event of a slow start or quite time. Don't be discouraged and consider carefully all advice you take - different experiences lead to differing advice. One constant is, however, KEEP THE OVERHEADS LOW.
Shop around for your supplies, get whatever discounts you can, make sure you get free banking to start off with... then look at the bank's terms after 12 months!
Be careful about giving too much credit or working without enough margin just to get the business.

There's much, much more.
I'm running a business now which is completely different to any I've run before (5 businesses for me now) and after just over a year, it's going well (touch wood) but is still not covering its costs, costs which were needed to meet growth.

If I can help any further or you just want to cogitate, PM me.

In any case, Good Luck.

*quiet, not quite

Thanks everyone for your input. Study, I have got ahead of myself a little and have researched where I can get value on bulk seeds etc. Although I am obviously not going to purchase unless my market research backs me up. 5 businesses - well, you certainly have a lot of experience then! I'm sure I'll PM you with questions - you may wish you hadn't offered

I might not be the world's richest, Hank (actually there's no might about it), but I've learned a lot and I'm happy to share any mini pearls of wisdom. Even though you can't get much for the only seeds I know anything about!
Feel free to ask and filter mate.

Hope this goes well for you Hank, although unless i missed it there could be an early mistake
by not asking chitchat to name the business, you should have Lettuce .

Seeding

Hank's For That

My son and I have an allotment, and are real beginners. But have already learnt.....

You really need to be on top of your produce, with some crop or other being available, more or less every month of the year. Cash flow will be a killer if you are not very careful, with potential cash only flowing inwards, when you have a crop to sell.

Someone on here, said only take advise from someone with a business (which is sound advice). However, you need to take advise from similar business areas to your own. Your business I suspect will be unlike many others, so special considerations will apply. Unless of course you are a sprout salesman, who only sells his chosen product, once a year.

The very best of luck to you in 2017, in your chosen venture.

Jaysus lads, its a vegetable patch we are talking abut here.  And best of luck with it.

Chit Chat's finest queueing up for advisory and mentoring roles is shirley a little OTT?

Come on Ozy, 'tis the season of goodwill to all men and all that, all well intended stuff from the friendliest corner of the forum.

Hank, I obviously want to wish you success in this, but sometimes you have to be negative to be positive!

Rather than trying to prove that your business will work, you rally have to attempt to prove why it won't work!

Exaggerate the negatives so you can see the worst case scenario.

Firstly I can't see how you can do this part time, as you need to be available throughout all the different growing seasons.
Furthermore you will have to give your customers a reason to buy from you, rather than who they may be using now.

They may well require deliveries several times a week, and the first time you can't follow through for whatever reason,
you will be dead in the water.

Making sure you never fail on quantity will mean that you have to over produce, and then you will need something in place to
to sell the surpluses.

You will have crop failures along the way, and I just have to wonder how many businesses you will need to supply, to make any kind of a living out of it.

I reckon you would be better off having a market stall, a couple of days a week, where it won't matter if, for instance, you have a problem or two
with one of your crops.

Also you won't have the nuisance of having to be available, at the drop of a hat, to deliver what could be such small quantities,
and at a cut throat price, and barely covering your overheads!

Gosh, I'm sorry but I waffled on a bit here but cvan you see from that, at least, that you have to look on the black side?

Best of luck to you.....

Great suggestion Aunty regarding the market stall, dip your toe in and test the temperature before you plunge in headfirst.

Exactly Angoose.....never mind about all this local produce nonsense etc, and cut out the people who will want your produce at cut throat price.

Home deliveries of boxes of organic produce to more upmarket areas is worth looking at.

When considering starting your own small business remember this. You often work on ancillary stuff for which you don't get paid but costs you time. There are no sickies. No holiday pay. Depending on the business no unpaid holiday time. Employing other people can be an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE and may make you scared to answer your phone. Again,depending on the business it can be very stressful. Is it worth that? Some businesses obviously are very lucrative but if you can get a permanent job (especially a government one) you might find life a lot better.

Give it a go. Don't listen to the negative vibes.

Good Luck ! You deserve it.

Another good idea from Ron and will all be covered in the business plan which will include the Marketing Mix and it's Four P's.
Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

What am I going to sell, how much will I sell it for, how will I sell it and how will I make people aware of it.

Sorry Ron for more buzzword bingo but these tools are simply a way of ensuring that you consider all aspects in advance.

I can forsee a few resignations n principle from the Executive Advisory Bard when it comes to the prickly decision of employing cheap immigrant labour for the picking season.

Best to include an appendix section in the business plan on Employment Practice to avoid any embarrassment at board level down the road.

Very good Ozy, very good

Not sure we're going to be able to rope in Shakespeare to help out though ......

I forsee a sort of Kibbutz style arrangement whereby the great and the good of Chit Chat descend on Hank's Vegetable patch for the picking season.

I'd keep business small

decent/wage hours

Be wary of slugs

Good advice, slugs and dung beetles, nasty creatures.

Good Luck with this Hank, be aware of Restaurants changing their Menus. Try to get them to discuss this with you so you have time to change your produce.

Hank, here are the true odds of your business becoming a succsess....the exact odds are 1/3. When I say that, depending on what you're getting yourself involved in that odds could vary.

But overall 25% of new businesses go bust within a year. The odds are in your favour. Good luck.

But overall 25% of new businesses go bust within a year.

...and the rest the year after