€350 biz startup

bluemoo

Ok guys i have €350 to start a business... i want this to be a business that will grow quickly etc...

Anyone have any recommendations as to what i should do with the money?...

p.s i dont have a car so it must be something that does not req too much transporting.

I am based in the city centre

Looking forward to your opinions.

Cheers.

iMax

Without sounding flippant, dismissive or demoralizing, for €350 you better be looking at a niche porn website.

Assuming you're not offended by it, you could very easily launch a site for that amount (maybe a little more) & with a couple of hours an evening have your investment paid back inside about six weeks, after that point you'd start to make profit.

Depending on how niche you had the site & the amount of work you put into it, you could greatly reduce your ROI timescale & increase profit.

Look at useful products - try get them cheaper abroad, find something different (example: silk scarfs from India with Indian materials - not saying do that, just trying to give you an example of something different) - buy one or two, try make a profit - repeat and try again - investing everything into alternative products etc?

Darragh29

Op what are your skills??? What are you good at and what are you not good at???

bluemoo

Darragh29 wrote: »

Op what are your skills??? What are you good at and what are you not good at???

Darragh,

Im a good salesperson i would like to think, im good at havin a chat.
Have a keen interest in marketing.

Hard worker, just dont know where to start.

bluemoo

Deleted User wrote: »

Look at useful products - try get them cheaper abroad, find something different (example: silk scarfs from India with Indian materials - not saying do that, just trying to give you an example of something different) - buy one or two, try make a profit - repeat and try again - investing everything into alternative products etc?

The entrepreneur,

Where or who would i sell these prods to?...i would think that shipping of a pallet of products alone would cost €350+ btw.

Thanks for input, any other ideas much appreciated.

forbairt

just started thinking about it ... thinking that 350 quid isn't a lot of money.

Obviously you can't get a premises for that / office ...

Given the climate at the moment I'd probably suggest something like doing trips up north loading up the vehicle with goods for people ... ikea / wine / furniture and so on and bringing it to people.

1: Get list of things people want and so on ...
2: Rent van for a day
3: do the deliveries

Profit ? not sure if it'd work or not .. petrol + toll + van = X .. just a suggestion though given the amount of people buying things up north I'm sure you could get enough customers.

Welsh Ninja

:eek: Have a good look around the house... what could you sell to generate more income. E-bay is the way forward . One mans trash and all that. 350 yo yo's is not alot of money to start a company up. Work towards 3500 then the world of business opens up!!! Good luck...you'll need it!!!

bluemoo

forbairt wrote: »

just started thinking about it ... thinking that 350 quid isn't a lot of money.

Obviously you can't get a premises for that / office ...

Given the climate at the moment I'd probably suggest something like doing trips up north loading up the vehicle with goods for people ... ikea / wine / furniture and so on and bringing it to people.

1: Get list of things people want and so on ...
2: Rent van for a day
3: do the deliveries

Profit ? not sure if it'd work or not .. petrol + toll + van = X .. just a suggestion though given the amount of people buying things up north I'm sure you could get enough customers.

Thanks forbairt,

I appreciate your suggestion...to be honest i think one would need a very tight business model to pull this off, i can only see myself breaking even...

I mean people arn't going to pay over the odds for this service as it is primarily in existence to save money for the customer, even if i were to charge a commission rate of 10%, i would need to be sure of having sale commitments of €3500 just to break even (as my €350 prob would just about pay for rental, petrol and toll and advertising)

Thanks though, if you have any other thoughts or ideas feel free to shoot.

gnxx

€350 is a great amount to start a life as an entrepreneur.

A good idea and some hardwork -- you could double this easily within days :-)

Personally, I would look for a product that could be sold door-to-door. Look for an inexpensive product where you can add value. For example, planted hanging baskets or similar.

I've sent you a PM.

Best of luck

Rex Manning

gnxx wrote: »

€350 is a great amount to start a life as an

Personally, I would look for a product that could be sold door-to-door. Look for an inexpensive product where you can add value. For example, planted hanging baskets or similar.


Best of luck

That's a fine idea, could print up a load of flyers for cheap and give people options on types of hanging baskets and types of flowers. Once you have your orders you make them up - no need for too much stock on your hands tying up your capital. Might be a bit tricky getting business in winter but once spring comes along you'd do a lot better i think

Best of luck tho

Sonnenblumen

A bit seasonal but why not buy yourself with a pushbike and sell other/complementary non-seasonal products?

gnxx wrote: »

€350 is a great amount to start a life as an entrepreneur.

A good idea and some hardwork -- you could double this easily within days :-)

Personally, I would look for a product that could be sold door-to-door. Look for an inexpensive product where you can add value. For example, planted hanging baskets or similar.

I've sent you a PM.

Best of luck

What a joke - I had a huge reply written for you and my bloody broadband messed it up! FFS!

Anyway, my point was and is baby steps. Start small - no pallets. Individual items. Sell and make a profit. Easy!

I used to sell supplements to people in my gym and people I knew before there were online supplement stores - I bought stuff from America and sold it to people making 10-15 euro profit per purchase, and selling it to people cheaper than the supplement shops could. It was handy money - never worked through college .

Most recently, I was working for a company (left as I'm going travelling - Am I mad? ) and they had LOADS of excess merchandise they wanted to get rid of, we were told we could have some - I got LOADS and sold it on ebay - 15 - 20 euro profit per item sold. I was making 300 - 400 p/w selling stuff out of my front room online via eBay in November/December.

My point is think outside the box. Try be different and creative. Go to closing down electronic stores, strike a deal with the owner! See if a profit can be made before you buy the stuff, analyse eBay, what does it sell for? How much mark up? etc...

Any money you make can be re-invested into your starting capital and when you have enough money to set up a business to do what you want to do - you can use it! Or you may get other ideas, find a product not here yet etc etc. The possibilities are endless.

Be creative and take a chance! Risk takers are exciting! But just be smart - don't buy crap nobody wants. It's up to you to decide who wants what!

Welsh Ninja

When we had a store (small home and garden store) in Blessington Co Wicklow. We and the other shops in the area could not get a WINDOW CLEANER for love or money. All you need is a bucket, a ladder and a sponge... you can get the hot water from your client if you ask nicely. Nobody wants to do it... and that's from experience!!!
"A bit cold today thou...." hahahahaha
I bet if you just walked down Rathmines main shopping area and went in to every store, ask the owner or manager if they would like such a service I bet 9 out of 10 would say yes. 20/30 Euros a shop front. Happy Days!!!

Lplated

350 isn't a lot, but it is something.

If it is all you have to start, i wouldn't 'bet the house', as in use it all.

Here's something that might work - have a look at those free stuff websites - like dublinwaste.ie, the free section of buy and sell, jumbletown.ie - people are giving stuff away for free once you go and pick it up - by definition the 'stuff' won't be worth an awful lot, but it won't cost you anything to get it.

Look for stuff that is easy to carry (as you don't have transport), maybe musical instruments, when you pick something up, search online for ways to improve its appearance/condition without spending much (e.g. using bicarbonate soda to polish silver etc) - then put it on ebay or maybe free/low cost classified advertising sites.

Don't be put off by the amount of money you have to get going, its your ideas and execution that will count.

Magnet

OK im in rented accommodation but most people have a garden so with €350 buy seeds for sowing veg and with a little tending - not much in a garden - sell your produce in the local farmers market or get a schoolkid to do it for you?!?! Hell wouldn`t carrots grow in window boxes?
At the end of the day if the country runs outta money and you don`t have any money for goods or services a kilo of beetroot might get you a haircut!
Result!!!

MAGNET

delllat

Magnet wrote: »

OK im in rented accommodation but most people have a garden so with €350 buy seeds for sowing veg and with a little tending - not much in a garden - sell your produce in the local farmers market or get a schoolkid to do it for you?!?! Hell wouldn`t carrots grow in window boxes?
At the end of the day if the country runs outta money and you don`t have any money for goods or services a kilo of beetroot might get you a haircut!
Result!!!

MAGNET

i know nothing about growing vegaetables but i would guess that any veg u can grow in a bucket on a window will will not be saleable quality

something to do with the lack of nutrients in the soil

if you lived out in the country and had a big garden maybe but carrots aree worth f/all anyway

u can get a kilo in aldi for 69cent

and theres always the chance that bad weather or pests or disease could destroy your investement

i wouldnt risk my last 350 growing veg if i wasnt a farmer

fmcc

Bluemoo as was asked before what are you good at? If it sales why not become an independant sales agent working on staright commision many companies may be letting reps with car phones and hefty salaries go and may go for a part time option especially if you are an agent for like minded products.
Otherwise keep it web based to keep overheads down look at information marketing maybe if you have an interest in something unusual become better at it and lauch a blog etc see if you cant get specific advertising for that interest then.
I presume you will still be working full time so this is something that could be done at times that suit you.

antoinolachtnai

Welsh Ninja wrote: »

When we had a store (small home and garden store) in Blessington Co Wicklow. We and the other shops in the area could not get a WINDOW CLEANER for love or money. All you need is a bucket, a ladder and a sponge... you can get the hot water from your client if you ask nicely. Nobody wants to do it... and that's from experience!!!
"A bit cold today thou...." hahahahaha
I bet if you just walked down Rathmines main shopping area and went in to every store, ask the owner or manager if they would like such a service I bet 9 out of 10 would say yes. 20/30 Euros a shop front. Happy Days!!!

There are severe restrictions on the use of ladders for window cleaning as a result of the heights directive, and you need to be aware of these.

Welsh Ninja

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

There are severe restrictions on the use of ladders for window cleaning as a result of the heights directive, and you need to be aware of these.

Crying out load... You could clean the windows in Blessington with a step ladder. I don't expect the guy to absail from the roof to clean the windows Mr Safety Officer.

nearly

I'd recommend teaming up with someone. Find someone with a like-mind, ideas will flow, and you can throw your shoulders into the work.

Get rich quick ideas just don't happen. Find out 'what colour is your parachute', you know that idea? Then ideas will come to you.

Go register quick-smart for http://www.bizcamp.ie/ - one in Dublin soon. I expect it will fill up v fast.

Look up the OpenCoffee groups in your local area. If there isn't one nearby, go set one up.

Get a spiffy profile on LinkedIn, join the OpenCoffee network there.

Go get a stack of Moo cards printed with your contact info on it.
http://www.moo.com/products/minicards.php

Use images from http://flickr.com/creativecommons (make sure you give attribution for good karma) Pick five images which you respond to, which describe you, which look good. These can be good conversation starters when you meet people at BizCamp, or OpenCoffee events.

And remember, claim authority- don't be shy, like.

I love this presentation by Sabrina Dent. She shows a "before" description about a person, and then an edited version.
Compare these two, and think about how you'd present yourself.
http://pix.ie/sabrinadent/474600/in/album/320034/detailed
http://pix.ie/sabrinadent/474599/in/album/320034/detailed

The registration form for BizCamp boldly asks: "Why someone would want to talk to you.." How would you answer that question? You don't have to tell me here, but just for yourself, think about what you can bring to a place like that.