Starting my own business....any advice?

[Raging Squirrel]

I'm thinking of starting my own business. I was made redundant from Comet's returns department in December, and was given a job by my fiancé's dad as a labourer for his building business.

The local area to me is scarce on the job front, the biggest employer in the area being Edge Hill Uni, where I've applied for many jobs but not yet been succesful (family who work there say usualoy jobs advertised usually have someone already lined up for the role).

I've never had my own business before, so it's a bit daunting to think I'd be responsible for pulling in my own work load.

I have some ideas as to advertising, and I've just walked past a business being renovated and given my details to the foreman should he need my services in the future.

I'm struggling with a business name at the minute, but something will come to me soon.

Has anyone else got any advice that may be useful to me?

 

[colly]

Have a look on one of Shuan's other sites:

http://www.mybusinesschat.net/

You can use your existing name and password to get in.

 

[MarkF]

Don't wait by the phone.

Get flyers printed A5 colour, both sides, pic of you with business description, get them out there.
Laminate others and use them outside.
Don't underestimate "old style" advertising, newsagents, hairdresser, post office boards/windows.
Always have business cards on you.
Get upvc banners (Ebay) and use them. ( I knock on doors and ask if I can use the householders hedge, fence or wall! Many agree for a fee or %)

 

[swee'pea99]

Do you know what it is you want to do?
Who's going to buy it?
How can you reach them?
What if any is the competition?
What do they do right (that you can copy); what do they do wrong (that you can do better)?
Is your idea easily copy-able?

Names are important, but far more important is knowing clearly what you can do, and what makes you different from and better than others who do it - and how you can reach customers and let them know.

 

[Raging Squirrel]

Have a look on one of Shuan's other sites:

http://www.mybusinesschat.net/

You can use your existing name and password to get in.

Excellent, thanks for the link, I'll take a look

 

[Raging Squirrel]

Don't wait by the phone.

Get flyers printed A5 colour, both sides, pic of you with business description, get them out there.
Laminate others and use them outside.
Don't underestimate "old style" advertising, newsagents, hairdresser, post office boards/windows.
Always have business cards on you.
Get upvc banners (Ebay) and use them. ( I knock on doors and ask if I can use the householders hedge, fence or wall! Many agree for a fee or %)

Thats my main goal, advertising, ive always been pretty good at designing things that are eye catching and stand out. I wanted to be a graphic designer when I was in school but no where was offering the kind of courses I needed.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely take them on board.

 

[EltonFrog]

What do you do?

 

[MarkF]

Thats my main goal, advertising, ive always been pretty good at designing things that are eye catching and stand out. I wanted to be a graphic designer when I was in school but no where was offering the kind of courses I needed.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely take them on board.

I have no idea what you are doing but 5000 glossy (both sides) A5 leaflets can be had for less than £100, get them out & target appropriately.
A website is must, it might never be stumbled upon but it's a good facility to host your business description and pics for your potential clients.

I've worked for myself for 16 years now, I earn less than I did in 1999 (which was a lot but I was unhappy) but I get by and am as happy as can be. I am a "free man" and no amount of money or security could make me an employee again.

 

[Raging Squirrel]

Do you know what it is you want to do?
Who's going to buy it?
How can you reach them?
What if any is the competition?
What do they do right (that you can copy); what do they do wrong (that you can do better)?
Is your idea easily copy-able?

Names are important, but far more important is knowing clearly what you can do, and what makes you different from and better than others who do it - and how you can reach customers and let them know.

The business is simple in itself, and I suppose its a part of being a shop fitter, but my services would mean that I would specialise in a certain area, freeing up the shop fitters time to utilise it on something else.

When I was labouring, we tried to get quotes for what im looking at doing, and no one was interested in even coming out. This meant I had to learn it and do it myself, and I ended up doing the whole renovation area myself. I saw there was a gap in the market just from how difficult it was to get a professional company to come and even quote the job.

I'm quite conscientious and methodical in how I work, organised and quite old fashioned when it comes to customer service and how I present myself to a customer (I can't stand people being over familiar or swearing infront of clients/customers/bosses)

 

[Raging Squirrel]

Thats a pet hate of mine, and I was guilty of it when I was a stores manager at a fork lift truck servicing company. I soon learned my lesson when I opened the file to find over 250 receipts and purchase order notes. Unknown to me, the service engineers where putting their paperwork and receipts in MY filing.

Never again!

 

[swee'pea99]

Keep good, well ordered records right from the off. Don't stick a load of receipts in an envelope and promise to yourself that you will sort it out later because it will just give you a load of grief.

Good advice...but as a halfway house, if you do nothing else, get a hole puncher and a ring binder. Everything you need to keep, hole it, stick it in the folder. Then whatever else, you have everything neat, in one place, in chronological order.

You say "The business is simple in itself, and I suppose its a part of being a shop fitter,". I'm none the wiser. Don't mean to be harsh, but one priority is, spend time getting it very clear exactly what you offer. One of those wanky American business terms that nevertheless has gained widespread usage because it actually works is 'elevator pitch'. What do you say between the fourth and the Ground floor in response to the question: "So, what is it you do?"

 

[Raging Squirrel]

I'll be supplying and fitting suspended ceilings and light fittings.

My clientèle will be businesses, shops, schools, surgery's, hospitals, sports facilities etc etc.

The competion is small in my area, I found a company in liverpool who did LiverpoolOne
but I'm not sure if they're still in business. As I say, it was near impossible to get someone to do it at my last job, but I do understand there's almost always competion.

 

[swee'pea99]

"I supply and fit suspended ceilings and light fittings."

Perfect.

You say your clientèle will be businesses, shops, schools, surgery's, hospitals, sports facilities etc etc. Might you also be selling to shop-fitters, or people having shops fitted? If so, you need to think clearly about what you offer to each of those very different kinds of customers, then use your design and communication skills to craft messages to meet their needs. Think less about 'what I offer', and more about what they need - then mould your 'offer message' to their needs. (My guess is, eg, that whereas a local shop might go direct to you - to get a good price for 'that bit' - a school or hospital would be more likely to want to just use one contractor to refurbish a ward or eight classrooms, so if you fit into that picture, it would be as a sub-contractor to a main shop-fitter type company.)

What, in each case, is the message? And what's the medium? As has been said above, you'd do well to get at least some kind of a website together, even if it's pretty basic, along with business cards you can give to people, along with 'check out my website'. It doesn't have to be big or fancy, just enough so that when people take a quick look (which is all 9/10 will bother with/have time for), the impression they get is: 'well, he looks kosher'. My wife did some poking around recently and came up with these people - http://www.create.net - have to say, I found the software pretty intuitive and easy to use, and the results look good.

I'd guess that when it comes to shop-fitters, you might actually find it worth phoning around, using Thomson or yellow pages or something. My guess would be that those kinds of businesses are often run by people who like to do things on the phone/in person, rather than going by flyers or whatever. Nine out of the first ten will probably say no, but one will want to meet you, and once you get started, you're in business.

Don't get discouraged. Getting started is the hardest by far. But once you get off the ground, if you do good work and don't muck people about, more work will follow.

 

[MarkF]

I'll be supplying and fitting suspended ceilings and light fittings.

My clientèle will be businesses, shops, schools, surgery's, hospitals, sports facilities etc etc.

The competion is small in my area, I found a company in liverpool who did LiverpoolOne
but I'm not sure if they're still in business. As I say, it was near impossible to get someone to do it at my last job, but I do understand there's almost always competion.

Strange, IMO it's a very competitive industry, I used to install my own in the 1990's. I'd add on lighting design to your portfolio, if you can design as well as install systems then that's a big plus, shop displays, galleries, everywhere needs to know how much light they need & where they need it (working plane etc). Free programmes are now available so you can!

Things are moving fast in the lighting industry and IMO electricians move s.l.o.w, try and get into something new/different.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI7Vx0m40Zc

 

[Saluki]

If you are unemployed, see about going on the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. £65 a week for 13 weeks then £33 a week for the next 13 weeks to give you a bit of a financial cushion. They send you on a 2 day business course - you don't have to go but its very helpful and there are about a dozen other business starters there. I made some useful contacts.
Ring up the HMRC and get on their free, one day book keeping course, very useful too and they show you how to do your tax return online using baby steps and small words (just what I needed).

Vistaprint is your friend. I got my magenetic cars signs, business cards, some flyers and a ton of free stuff from them.

If not unemployed, see if there is some sort of business enterprise trust start up scheme locally to you. Our Mark has just found one to help him set up his dog biscuit treat business. Free courses with a wealth of info. They assist all sorts of businesses.

Good luck. Its well worth striking out on your own. What have you got to lose.