Thinking of Starting your own business?

‘If everyone who has talked about starting a business actually went out and did it, the whole world would be self-employed. But most people would rather fantasize about it than do it.’ Mark McCormack author of What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School

According to the Department of Work and Pensions figures there are 3 million of us who are self-employed and the rate of new business start ups is higher than ever - 400,000 a year. Could you be next?

If you want to get a flavour of the huge diversity of business options available for self-employment, buy a copy of ‘Daltons Weekly’ from your newsagent or have a look at their website: www.Daltons.co.uk 

Make sure that you integrate your career and life goals into your business plan. Tell yourself that you can and will succeed! When I started out on my own 18 years ago, I never entertained the idea that my business might fail! Some (negative thinkers) would have said that I was naïve. I prefer to say that I have a Positive Mental Attitude. Remember - ‘the glass is always full’.

Gather as much information as you can. The Department for Work and Pensions / Jobcentre has an excellent ‘Induction scheme’ for new business start-ups (more details below). The high street banks produce free information packs, some of which even contain software packages to help you to produce a business plan.

Read books on self-employment. I can recommend: ‘Lloyds TSB Small Business Guide' by Sara Williams (now out of print, but still available on amazon), ‘The complete Small Business Guide’ by Colin Barrow, ‘From Acorns - how to build your brilliant business from scratch’ by Caspian Woods. ‘Start Your Business Week by Week by Steve Parks’. ‘White Ladder Diaries’ by Ros Jay (a personal account of starting a small business). And finally for a real shot of inspiration read ‘Anyone can do it’ Sahar and Bobby Hashemi’s truly inspirational story about the building of Coffee Republic, from an idea at the kitchen table, to a multi million pound organisation employing thousands of people, with over a hundred outlets in the UK.

Talk to as many people as you can who run their own businesses: your friendly restaurant owner, local landlord, newsagent, etc. No matter what the business, the potential problems are usually the same – cash flow, marketing, obtaining supplies. With the greatest of respect to college lecturers and career counsellors and coaches, you’ll find out what it’s really like by talking to self-employed people. You’ll also hear, no doubt, of the enormous satisfaction that comes from being self-employed.

Research, research, research. Most important of all, talk your idea through with your partner (if you have one). His/her support is essential.

Good luck

Malcolm Hornby

Websites to help you to start your business

BusinessLink (different name in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) An absolutely essential first port of call if you’re thinking about starting your own business. They offer courses and advice on how to start and grow your business, along with advice on grants which are available..

Business Link (England)

Website: www.businesslink.gov.uk Phone: 0845 600 9006

Business Gateway (Scotland)

Website: www.bgateway.com Phone: 0845 609 6611

Business Eye (Wales)

Website: www.businesseye.org.uk Phone: 0845 796 9798

Enterprise Northern Ireland Tel

Website: www.enterpriseni.com Phone 028 7776 3555

PRIME is a national organisation dedicated to helping people aged 50 and over to set up in business. Prime can help with business support, advice on training, and can provide financial support as well.

England and Scotland Website: www.primeinitiative.org.uk Phone: 0800 783 1904

Wales Website: www.prime-cymru.co.uk Phone: 0845 601 8693

IrelandWebsite: http://primebusinessclub.com/around-the-uk/northern-ireland Phone: 02890267809

HM Revenue & Customs provides a helpline for people who have become self-employed, where you can register and get help with tax, National Insurance and VAT. Other services include a nationwide network of business support teams and advice about tax credits.

Contact HM Revenue & Customs before going into business so you can understand your obligations.

Website: www.hmrc.gov.uk Phone: 0845 915 4515

BT - Useful resources for going it alone from BT at: http://sme.bt.com/startingabusiness 

Business Angels Network Provide financing for business start ups www.VCR1978.com 

Business Planning Services www.bizplans.co.uk 

Companies House To register a Limited company. www.companieshouse.gov.uk 

Franchises for sale in the UK www.theukfranchisedirectory.net 

Franchising information at The British Franchise Association www.thebfa.org 

Patent Office. To register your trademark or logo www.patent.gov.uk 

Earn a living on eBay

'England is a nation of shopkeepers.'  Napoleon Bonaparte

Have you ever wanted to open a shop but been held back by the start-up costs?  Well now you can open a 'virtual shop' for virtually no cost and sell to the whole world by using internet auction sites.  All you need is PC access and a bank account.

There are a number of internet auction sites, but the market leader by far is eBay.  I have to confess to being something of an eBay addict as a seller and a buyer.  I got hooked a number of years ago when we moved house and I cleared the loft. My wife and I are great hoarders and collectors and we go through phases of ‘simplifying our lives’ using eBay.   Since I first joined I have attended eBay university and I’ve achieved a rating of over 1,000 and I became a Powerseller at one point – no I didn’t get a leotard and a cape!  If you enjoy ‘wheeling and dealing’ and have basic computer skills then you could easily supplement your income this way, or even start a brand-new business and earn a full-time income.  Don’t think you’ll become an instant millionaire though!  Yes I know there have been a number of articles in the press about people earning their fortunes on eBay.  But for every one of them there are many thousands making respectable, but modest amounts.  That said, eBay can produce a steady income for you if you’re prepared to approach eBaying like any other job and put in the hours.   

There are different ways of making an income on eBay:

• Sell new items – if you have a special interest or expertise you might be able to find a manufacturer or a wholesaler who will supply you.  You can set up an eBay shop and if your prices and service are right people will beat a path to your door.  For example if you live in the ‘Potteries’ area of England you might be able to set-up an arrangement with a supplier of ceramic ornaments or crockery.  When I checked there was nobody selling fresh haggis on eBay so (perhaps) there’s an opportunity for someone – other people sell smoked salmon and prime beef, so why not haggis! We bought our dishwasher and fridge from a man on eBay who had set-up a relationship with a top brand manufacturer of white goods.  I asked how he could undercut high street retailers and yet offer first quality products with full manufacturer’s guarantee.  He explained that he and his wife run their business from home in a converted garage.  They carry no stock.  They simply take orders and each day they fax over the orders to the manufacturer who delivers the items.   He said that they sold 15 – 20 dishwashers a day, and they also sell fridges, freezers, cookers…. Now you don’t have to be a great mathematician to see that if they only clear £10.00 per item profit then the earnings are considerable. And the dishwasher and fridge arrived just as promised, and are still working just as they should!

• Buy second-hand on eBay, at car boot sales, at traditional auctions and re-sell them on eBay.  I’ve done this on a number of occasions.  Some people list items on eBay with poor descriptions and if you’re prepared to do the searching you can pick up some bargains and re-sell them, but you must know what you’re buying.  Before you invest your hard-earned cash, research the market and ensure that you can sell at a profit.  I bought an antique on eBay a year ago from a seller in the USA and in spite of paying the airmail costs I re-sold it on eBay the same week for a £200 profit!  I bought a limited edition Lowry print at a traditional auction one Saturday and by Thursday I’d sold it and made a clear profit of £250.  Two words of warning if you’re thinking about taking this approach.  HM Revenue and Customs do allow you to make some money each year from selling personal items, without paying income tax, but if you plan to use this method as an income stream you should register as being self-employed.  The second word of warning is; do make sure that you know what you’re buying and that you can re-sell the item.  The objective isn’t to add to your collection of Steiff bears or model steam engines – it’s to make money!

• Buy wholesale lots of ‘graded items’ or catalogue returns on eBay and re-sell them through car boot sales or adverts in your local press.  Most manufacturers aren’t interested in selling anything other than ‘perfect goods’ and they need to get rid of ‘last year’s models’ and so there is a huge market in ‘graded items’, seconds or discontinued products.  The manufacturers sell to distributors who aren’t interested in selling individual units – which is where you can come in.  In the past these items have been sold to market traders, but there’s no reason why you can’t buy a job-lot and re-sell on eBay at a profit, IF you buy and sell smartly.  I’ve just seen a pallet of 35 top-brand vacuum cleaners for sale on eBay for £350 – that’s £10 each.  And there was a pallet of 75 hardware items with a RRP of £1430, for sale for less than £200. There must be some profits there to be made.

• Work as an eBay trading assistant.  Trading assistants sell things on eBay for other people and charge a commission. To become a Trading Assistant you need to have good experience selling on eBay, and have a feedback score of at least 50, and at least 97% positive feedback, so you'll need to build up track record before you can do this.

The downsides to selling on eBay are that it can take a lot more time than you can imagine to photograph items, write descriptions, upload the information and answer questions.  The commissions and money handling fees can cut big slices out of your profits.  And it can take ages to pack and ship items. All of that said you can sell to an international audience and sometimes you can achieve prices that you never imagined possible!  I advertised my old company car twice in the local newspaper and didn’t get one phone call.  I photographed it well and wrote a good description. I advertised it on eBay and sold it for £500 more than I’d asked in the paper, to someone who paid for it by bank transfer, arranged for a driver to collect it and the first time he saw it was when it arrived with him after a journey on the Isle of Man ferry! 

Everything you need to know about selling on eBay is right there on ebay.co.uk. Register on eBay and give it a go.  Here’s a challenge for you.  I guarantee that you can start your own business for no cost whatsoever.  Have a look around the house for 10 -12 items that you no longer use / need / want and advertise them on eBay.  You’ll find oodles of excellent free advice on the website on how to do this, with a very easy to follow step-by step guide.  Re-invest what you make and then sell the items on eBay – and then keep repeating the process.  You probably won’t achieve the same level of success as the story in the Bible which doubles ears of corn on each step of a chess board; but you will make money if you buy and sell right and put in the hours.