[Archived] Business Ideas

[CapeTownRover]

Hi Guys

Bit of advice needed to those of you who are self employed, or those who might know some things.

I would like to start a business on the side, without giving up my day job. However, is it possible to start something without capital ie money? i know it might seem like no, but im sure there must be something which one could do, without the need to initially outlay vast amounts of cash.

this is just so that i could make a bit of extra cash, so im not looking to make thousands or even millions lol. Just extra cash to maybe go on the occasional holiday with the family, etc.

Thanks

[ABBEY]

sell your body icers.

[CapeTownRover]

lol, no Abbey.. lol..

seriously though, i need to make something work, but just struggling as to what i should do.

[dave birch]

Find something that people want, with service that the others can't offer.

[CapeTownRover]

thats the tricky bit Dave.. in todays world, there are so many things already out there, that its not easy to punt something which has not been covered yet. Even Abbeys idea of selling my body has been covered lol

[ultrablue]

What is your day job? Whatever it is, get paid to teach it on the side. Young people right now are looking for anyway to set their CV apart when they are looking for work. Pass on your knowledge for a price a couple of evenings a week.

Or if there is a sport you are good at, coach it.

[dave birch]

thats the tricky bit Dave.. in todays world, there are so many things already out there, that its not easy to punt something which has not been covered yet. Even Abbeys idea of selling my body has been covered lol

That's alright, just find something you are good at, and then work out a way to do it better than those that offer it now.

You will be amazed if you offer a service that is better than your competitors how the custom will flow to your door. The problem then will be keeping up the standard.

Like ultra says, what do you do now, can that be offered in a better way?

[ABBEY]

one of my mates lads does mystery shopping and gets a lot of freebies.

[CapeTownRover]

What is your day job? Whatever it is, get paid to teach it on the side. Young people right now are looking for anyway to set their CV apart when they are looking for work. Pass on your knowledge for a price a couple of evenings a week.

Or if there is a sport you are good at, coach it.

i am in buying and planning(ie i work with budgets, i work with product, numbers, negotiations etc) within mobile phones. Basically i cant do this type of work, or be involved in Mobile phones on the side, as it will be conflict of interest.

[bellamy11]

A couple of mates of mine have made a nice chunk of cash in the last year importing and selling poker tables. The mark-up was ridiculous - around £50 for a table, bought at a cost of £12.

What are your ideas thusfar, CTR? Presumably you've thought of something more than "I want some more money"?

[CapeTownRover]

well i was looking to render some sort of sports service or activities for kids aged between 3 and 6. My idea was to get parents involved on weekends for a couple of hours and engage with their kids in these type of activities be it some footy, or just general inter actions where they would not necessarily be involved with on a day to . My idea to push this was that many parents work and have busy lives, and less time for their kids, so i was going to put that forward and see if that would take off. i was basically going to find a venue, and try and get a sponsor to cover the venue cost for the couple of hours. I would basically charge say a couple of pounds per kid, and in so doing getting in some sort of cash without really doing much, apart from putting the things in place. I know, its not the best idea, and it might not kick off, but its a low risk as i wont be putting much cash in.

[Baz]

Firstly, you need to find out if there is a market of people willing to commit and pay.

Try to get some coaching badges, it will make you more professional, and allow you to charge a higher price/ offer a course over a school term. Theres always plenty of demand over here for soccer skills coaching, although you need to be CRB checked (make sure your background is ok).

[Bundesburn]

I'd agree with what's been said, about services being the easiest way to start a business. Certainly the most cost-effective and, if it's something you love, the easiest to persist with through the difficult stages.

I own and run a fashion brand and we required significant investment through our own savings to get started. I wish, however, that I'd been aware of my finance options at the beginning. The UK is desperate for start-ups and small businesses. They're the real route to economic stimulation and, ultimately, recovery. If you're really serious about this, you need to spend a couple of months mapping out your business with some solid market research (both locally and further afield), writing a great business plan and then presenting that to the relevant bodies. There are a lot of non-repayable grants and other financing options available, you just need to make the best possible case and have a good idea that you really believe in.

Forgot to add, good luck with it. It's a bit of a struggle at times, but really rewarding when things start to come together!

[jim mk2]

An interest or hobby can sometimes become a business. For instance, there is a worldwide market on the internet for vintage old toys - particularly prewar tinplate models from Britain and Germany. These can be sourced at auctions and sometimes picked up cheaply as part of job lot.

A friend makes about £10k - £15k a year to supplement his day job - not a lifechanging sum but it's paid off his mortgage and he now uses it to fund family holidays.

[CapeTownRover]

Cheers guys for all the replies. Really want to make this happen, and will hopefully turn out successful if I can get a good idea going.

[dave birch]

Best of luck CTR.

Be prepared for some seriously long hours, lots of disappointments at the start.

If you stick at it, learn from your mistakes, always be a bit wary of people wanting to help, don't spread your ideas too wide to start with, you don't want anyone knocking your idea off.

If you make it work, It will take over from your day job.

[CapeTownRover]

thanks Dave, but this will really only be a sideline type business to earn some extra cash. If it does take off, who knows, maybe pay for that long overdue trip to Ewood, and maybe have some change left for some of the Blackburn Kebab and Curry food places lol