Anyone care to share their story?......

wixfjord

Great thread, a goldmine of information for budding entrepreneurs like myself.

Culchie

kazzer wrote: »

So, back to the original theme of the thread......

As a successful business owner/entrepreneur, HOW did you get where you are today? How did you get things off the ground?

I realise people may not want to share sensitive information, but I'm just asking for general info. Like what have you done right, what have you done wrong? How has your life changed, i.e do you have more or less free time working for yourself? Is it worth it?

Thanks again for all the input.

Location ... take your time and get it right....you can't change it (typically).

Suppliers ... you need to be tough with these people. You are opening a business, as a result you are increasing their business ... so make sure from day 1, you require the best prices possible, if you hear someone is getting a better deal... pull in the rep and break his balls until you get a similar deal. You'll be surprised that they respect you for this, and you'll have a good relationship going forward, as it's on mutual terms.

Overheads/Utilities ... Negotiate the best rent you can (try and get first 3 months free) ...it's a soft rental market at the moment.
There are good electricity brokers now that can save you a small fortune by identifying the best electric supplier to meet your business needs.
Insurance ... again shop around.

Staff
This is sooooo tough, and will be the toughest part of any business. The more staff you recruit, the more problems you will have. Treat them well, treat them fair, but you have to always have your eyes and ears peeled. If you can pinch/poach a good manager that you feel you can trust, then do it. If they come from a competitor, even better.

Customers
Respect them, if you say you'll have that widget ready for them for Tuesday 5pm, then have it ready for then. If something has gone wrong in the mean time, for god's sake ring them and tell them. 99% of them will understand, just don't let them down by not having it ready, and having them arrive looking for it, you will look like a twat. They will tell others you are a twat, your business sucks.

Pricing
YOU DO NOT TO BE THE CHEAPEST If you have priced your good/service correctly, and ABC Co Ltd down the road is 20% cheaper, then let the deal go. You cannot win every job you quote for, if you do, you are too cheap. You need to establish what your margin is to be profitable, and you have to stick to it. Think "Let ABC Ltd win the job at the wrong margin, they will be out of business soon enough anyway, if they can do the job at that price". Maybe ABC don't even know what margin they should be operating at.
Base your business on quality and service.....not price. You are in business to make a profit, do not be ashamed of this.

Accounts
Sole traders especially have to keep on top of this... waiting for year end for Accountant to tell you that you are losing money is too long.

In Summary .... "You need to take a birds eye view of your business, you have to look at the big picture" You'll meet challenges every day of the week, deal with them (this is how you build your credibility) and keep moving your business forward.
Listen very carefully to your gut instincts.

shoutman

Culchie wrote: »

Location ... take your time and get it right....you can't change it (typically).

Suppliers ... you need to be tough with these people. You are opening a business, as a result you are increasing their business ... so make sure from day 1, you require the best prices possible, if you hear someone is getting a better deal... pull in the rep and break his balls until you get a similar deal. You'll be surprised that they respect you for this, and you'll have a good relationship going forward, as it's on mutual terms.

Overheads/Utilities ... Negotiate the best rent you can (try and get first 3 months free) ...it's a soft rental market at the moment.
There are good electricity brokers now that can save you a small fortune by identifying the best electric supplier to meet your business needs.
Insurance ... again shop around.

Staff
This is sooooo tough, and will be the toughest part of any business. The more staff you recruit, the more problems you will have. Treat them well, treat them fair, but you have to always have your eyes and ears peeled. If you can pinch/poach a good manager that you feel you can trust, then do it. If they come from a competitor, even better.

Customers
Respect them, if you say you'll have that widget ready for them for Tuesday 5pm, then have it ready for then. If something has gone wrong in the mean time, for god's sake ring them and tell them. 99% of them will understand, just don't let them down by not having it ready, and having them arrive looking for it, you will look like a twat. They will tell others you are a twat, your business sucks.

Pricing
YOU DO NOT TO BE THE CHEAPEST If you have priced your good/service correctly, and ABC Co Ltd down the road is 20% cheaper, then let the deal go. You cannot win every job you quote for, if you do, you are too cheap. You need to establish what your margin is to be profitable, and you have to stick to it. Think "Let ABC Ltd win the job at the wrong margin, they will be out of business soon enough anyway, if they can do the job at that price". Maybe ABC don't even know what margin they should be operating at.
Base your business on quality and service.....not price. You are in business to make a profit, do not be ashamed of this.

Accounts
Sole traders especially have to keep on top of this... waiting for year end for Accountant to tell you that you are losing money is too long.

In Summary .... "You need to take a birds eye view of your business, you have to look at the big picture" You'll meet challenges every day of the week, deal with them (this is how you build your credibility) and keep moving your business forward.
Listen very carefully to your gut instincts.

Great post. Culchie.

duncanb

I am very confused.

I want to start a business as a sole trader offering a service to business'.

I know everthing there is to know about the tax end but unsure about business names?so heres my question....

To set this all up do i just need to register a business name, and not register a company?

After i register the name and pay the fee can i immediately start trading?
will a bank let me open an account in the business name's name?

THANKS

kazzer

Duncanb, I hope you dont mind me saying, but how are your questions related to this thread? Perhaps a new dedicated thread might be better. I was hoping this thread would be personal experiences from entrepreneurs about how they got into business.

So any other other successful entrepreneurs interested in posting their experiences?

shoutman

Hey Kazzer I started a new thread as I thought this one ended up as a how to run your business type thread.