Start up retail business advice.

dartboardio

Axwell wrote: »

Some suggested updates on the design etc..

Remove the snow - its tacky and set too frequent and the opacity too high that its actually distracting and off-putting. Should be set to much slower and barely visible if you really want to keep it.

Hero image - Use a darker overlay and change the text to white. The black text on a darkened image is hard to read, more so for anyone with accessibility issues.

Products - put the label under the images, not on top of them. Same issue as above, very hard to read and e-kids crosses the image and gets lost in it. Remove the text-shadow also - it's probably there because you are trying to make the text pop a bt when on top of the product but it would be better to just move it.

Contact Us - mentions a contact form which users are going to expect to be there on the page to fill in so it looks like its missing or you dont have one. Instead its on the little pop up tab which is also called contact us - its confusing. Put the contact form on the contact page.

Scoot and Earn - page is missing, gives a 404 error.

Read More buttons on blogs and features posts is hard to read - its a very light colour against the white background, outlined buttons make it hard to see - if you can do filled buttons would look better.

how do you mean by 'hero' image, as in, the main image on the homepage with the text over it? I shall change it to a lighter colour now with the image darker.

thanks for the feedback, going to place the contact form on the actual page now.

Axwell

dartboardio wrote: »

how do you mean by 'hero' image, as in, the main image on the homepage with the text over it? I shall change it to a lighter colour now with the image darker.

thanks for the feedback, going to place the contact form on the actual page now.

Yes, that's the term for it.

Fighting Tao

Just noticed that www.e-scooter.ie does not work. If people are entering your website by memory, that is probably what they will enter.

drunkmonkey

dartboardio wrote: »

And if I was to add my partner as an employee to the company, what sort of figures would be be talking in regards PAYE etc..

Sorry I need to jump in here on 2 major points.....one being your partner is that a business partner or your hot water bottle. If this is a 50/50 thing with a friend your already gone wrong as it never ends up in a situation where someone does 50% of the work and gets 50% of the income.

Nail down what each of you are bringing to the table and agree a fair split it won't be 50/50.


The next is your business model, it's selling electronics online, your exposure to fraud is huge, when your putting your cash flow forecast together budget in you will lose one in ever 300 euro sale to fraud and see where that leaves you.



If your starting plan is a straight forward retail premises in a key location make that the nub of your plan and see can you burst a living out of it and have the potential to grow, with this I think you may possibly have the makings of a business in the correct locations. Put a 3yr plan together excluding the online part as I don't really see it as a runner unless you can absorb the fraud costs through sales.



I don't want to put you off as there's absolutely business out there in an lot of towns that have been forgotten over the last few years, 3yr plan, 4 locations, 200k salary for yourself at the end of it and a healthy mix of full and part time staff.

Park the online for the moment, your out of your debt on that one unless your partner knows how to spot the fraud trends

garrettod

Hi Dartboardio,

To give you a bit of credit where its due - you've started a small business, made some sales, and are clearly willing to ask for help / take constructive criticism, while also defending your business idea.

For what's it's worth, I think that's all very commendable. Others might have just stopped posting here, or refused to take on board, some of the comments posted here. But so far, I think you've been doing very well, for someone who I suspect is quite young, and after starting their first business venture.

Well done... keep at it!

dartboardio

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Sorry I need to jump in here on 2 major points.....one being your partner is that a business partner or your hot water bottle. If this is a 50/50 thing with a friend your already gone wrong as it never ends up in a situation where someone does 50% of the work and gets 50% of the income.

Nail down what each of you are bringing to the table and agree a fair split it won't be 50/50.


The next is your business model, it's selling electronics online, your exposure to fraud is huge, when your putting your cash flow forecast together budget in you will lose one in ever 300 euro sale to fraud and see where that leaves you.



If your starting plan is a straight forward retail premises in a key location make that the nub of your plan and see can you burst a living out of it and have the potential to grow, with this I think you may possibly have the makings of a business in the correct locations. Put a 3yr plan together excluding the online part as I don't really see it as a runner unless you can absorb the fraud costs through sales.



I don't want to put you off as there's absolutely business out there in an lot of towns that have been forgotten over the last few years, 3yr plan, 4 locations, 200k salary for yourself at the end of it and a healthy mix of full and part time staff.

Park the online for the moment, your out of your debt on that one unless your partner knows how to spot the fraud trends

Hi, the 'partner' is more so someone that created the idea with me, however everything is in my name and they were happy to do that so I think it will more so be that they will work for me as and when I need it, after some discussions.

Yeah I am definitely tied between the idea of online, and a physical location, I do like the idea of an actual shop, much more than online but I suppose I would be happy to build the brand up a bit first using online store, and advertising etc then try out a pop up store for a few months maybe early next year if we continue getting sales.

I hadn't even thought of fraud to be honest with you so there's another thing for me to do my research on and look out for. I'm sure there are many pros/cons with online and vice versa for the shop.

dartboardio

garrettod wrote: »

Hi Dartboardio,

To give you a bit of credit where its due - you've started a small business, made some sales, and are clearly willing to ask for help / take constructive criticism, while also defending your business idea.

For what's it's worth, I think that's all very commendable. Others might have just stopped posting here, or refused to take on board, some of the comments posted here. But so far, I think you've been doing very well, for someone who I suspect is quite young, and after starting their first business venture.

Well done... keep at it!

Cheers it works out better for me to want feedback of all types, instead of being stubborn, I'll learn much more! :pac: plus it helps me see what others may think

drunkmonkey

dartboardio wrote: »

Yeah I am definitely tied between the idea of online, and a physical location, I do like the idea of an actual shop, much more than online but I suppose I would be happy to build the brand up a bit first using online store, and advertising etc then try out a pop up store for a few months maybe early next year if we continue getting sales.

I hadn't even thought of fraud to be honest with you so there's another thing for me to do my research on and look out for. I'm sure there are many pros/cons with online and vice versa for the shop.

On physical location, you need to be where the footfall is, do not go down a side street you need to front and center that means higher rents but it should be able to justify itself with higher sales.

I'm going to be a bit blunt here as i've some experience, you could lose your shirt before you even know it's happened selling electronics online.

There was a report out earlier in the year some websites are experiencing 20%+ of orders presenting as fraud.

dartboardio

drunkmonkey wrote: »

On physical location, you need to be where the footfall is, do not go down a side street you need to front and center that means higher rents but it should be able to justify itself with higher sales.

I'm going to be a bit blunt here as i've some experience, you could lose your shirt before you even know it's happened selling electronics online.

There was a report out earlier in the year some websites are experiencing 20%+ of orders presenting as fraud.

Yeah I do have a couple of places in mind already for premises, there is one available on basically the main cork road through Waterford, a small, glass door/window office style unit which would be perfect.

what kind of fraud are we talking about here, people scamming me with some sort of dud orders, or what?

drunkmonkey

You name it they'll find away, I got hit with over 20k in the space of a few hours, luckily only a small bit had gone out but 24hrs later and I was goosed. That was in my early days like you are now.

Just on the main road one, it doesn't matter about the amount of cars it's the amount of people passing your door on foot. It's worth spending a couple of days checking out foot traffic at various locations.

dartboardio

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You name it they'll find away, I got hit with over 20k in the space of a few hours, luckily only a small bit had gone out but 24hrs later and I was goosed. That was in my early days like you are now.

Just on the main road one, it doesn't matter about the amount of cars it's the amount of people passing your door on foot. It's worth spending a couple of days checking out foot traffic at various locations.

This area would have an extreme amount of traffic but also quite alot of footfall, there is a college across the road (not that many college students would be buying but sure) and an awful lot of workers in general too, there is multiple bus stops on that road with the main buses, people getting off to walk up town and walk past the shop etc!


thanks, a shop is definitely something I wanna look into however would deffo need a loan for that, I would only be able to front maybe 3k, and look for 10k or similiar.

There is one place up for rent on the main Quay in Waterford City too only €1300 a month, a big premises too, i find that price crazy low for the main quay?..

JMR

drunkmonkey wrote: »

On physical location, you need to be where the footfall is, do not go down a side street you need to front and center that means higher rents but it should be able to justify itself with higher sales.

Disagree with this completely.
The OP is very early stages and needs to prove his business is viable before sinking money into a lease on premises.
Even if a physical store was required, which it isn't right now, the OP does not need a high rent location with high footfall. The business is selling e-scooters, not an impulse buy for passers-by.
A location with parking space would actually be more beneficial.

OP - invest your time and money in proving that a market exists, do this via the website you have already built, with which you can reach a wide audience. Educate yourself on all aspects of fraud prevention, rather than simply dismissing the idea of an eCommerce business because the risk of fraud exists.

November Golf

dartboardio wrote: »

Thank you. That information is really handy to know! Do you mind if I ask a few questions about being a sole trader? as that's what I've decided to go with, for the moment, I know I can change it down the line,

I am now registered with revenue for income tax, so in order to pay tax as a self employed person, is that just done in October of each year through a self assessment/Form 11? Do I need to do anything before then?

Unless you are currently registered self-employed, you will need to completed a Tax Registration (TR1) Form to declare you are self-employed. If you have not done so that would be your first step on the tax front.

Tax
You pay preliminary tax in Oct of the tax year which is 90% of your expected tax liability for the year. You pay the balance of your actual liability once you file your Form 11 the following year and the process continues. for example if you were to commence in January 2021 the process would be as follows:

In 2021
Jan - Business Starts trading
by Oct - Preliminary Tax for 2021 (90% of expected tax liability)

In 2022
by Oct - File Form 11 for 2021
by Oct - Income Tax for 2021 (Actual tax liability, less preliminary tax 2021 paid)
by Oct - Preliminary Tax for 2022 (90% of expected tax liability)

If you do commence trading before this years end, you would be best to file a Form 11 in January and pay your actual Liability for 2020. After that you can follow the process above from October.

See Revenue's - A Guide to Self-Assessment

November Golf

dartboardio wrote: »

Is it just my actual profits that are taxed? upto 40%?

(I am aware of VAT but haven't registered for that yet as we have not sold 75k worth of products yet)

And if I was to add my partner as an employee to the company, what sort of figures would be be talking in regards PAYE etc..

On a separate issue; Bank of Ireland use to offer one hour free session with an accountant if you setup a business bank account with them, other banks may offer similar.

your partners involvement would depend on if your single or married/jointly assessed, best off to ask an accountant for advise.

Essentially your taxed on your Adjusted Net Profit (Adding back any disallowed or personal expenses which your not allowed to claim for). However Tax computation is kinda complex to you should probably speak to an accountant about the process. Normally you do three separate calculation for Income Tax, USC and PRSI.

----
PRSI is €500 or 4% of your Gross Income

USC is: €0 – €12,012 @ 0.5%; €12,012 – €20,687 @ 2%; €20,687 – €70,044 @ 4.5%; €70,044 plus @ 8%

Income Tax:
for a Single person is €35,300 @ 20%; Balance @ 40% (less any tax credits)
for a Married couple with one Income is €44,300 @ 20% ; Balance @ 40 (less tax credits)

---

So for example: If you were single and earned 40,000 (adjusted net profit) in 2021

PRSI = €1,600 (40,000 @ 4%)

USC = €1,103 (12,012 @ 0.5% + 8,675 @ 2% + 19,313 @ 4.5%)

IT = €5,640 (35,300 @ 20% + 4,700 @ 40% LESS 3,300 *Tax Credits)

Total Tax payable: €8,343 (which is 20.9% of your €40,000 Income)

* in this case, €1650 Personal Tax Credit + €1650 Earned Tax Credit. This would differ for a married couple as joint assessment spouses share some tax credits.


For a more accurate estimate, you can check your own figures at Deloitte

Revenue Budget Summary

In any event, Once you get an understanding of what Income figures your dealing with & you can fill out the form 11, ROS does the above computation for you and your asked to agree or disagree with the amount they calculate.

Darc19

As I said, based on your first two posts you were doomed to failure.

And whilst you won't admit it, you realised I was correct and you did a 360 degree turn and neither holding stock nor needing a warehouse and going for a far simpler solution of agency/drop shipping where you don't need a warehouse or finance for stock.

And you should earn a few bob from it and learn pitfalls and then you may build experience to move further.

3d4life

dartboardio wrote: »

...what kind of fraud are we talking about here, people scamming me with some sort of dud orders, or what?

Reason Primark dont sell thru a website and reason Tesco pulled selling clothes from their website is the cost of the 'messers charter' that applies in the EU...and thats not even fraud !

I wish you well with your journey.

BTW you will be amazed what you can do when you dont know that other people think its not possible

dartboardio

Darc19 wrote: »

As I said, based on your first two posts you were doomed to failure.

And whilst you won't admit it, you realised I was correct and you did a 360 degree turn and neither holding stock nor needing a warehouse and going for a far simpler solution of agency/drop shipping where you don't need a warehouse or finance for stock.
And you should earn a few bob from it and learn pitfalls and then you may build experience to move further.

Wait, what are you on about? :pac: 360 degree turn in regards to what? It's not like I just 'decided' to after this boards forum, you clearly need to learn to read, I have been dropshipping all along and not holding any stock, nor applying for extra finance, but I want to in the new year since there is a demand for my products.

You seem to have some chip on your shoulder over something, not my problem anyway, no need to be an ****hole your entire life!

I came here asking for advice in regards to starting up possibly a shop, and looking for funds, or grants etc. I have been dropshipping for a few weeks now and already managed to reach about 9k sales (updated today)

I honestly don't know what your problem is, but Happy Christmas

dartboardio

Darc19 wrote: »

As I said, based on your first two posts you were doomed to failure.

And whilst you won't admit it, you realised I was correct and you did a 360 degree turn and neither holding stock nor needing a warehouse and going for a far simpler solution of agency/drop shipping where you don't need a warehouse or finance for stock.

And you should earn a few bob from it and learn pitfalls and then you may build experience to move further.

If you think someone is 'doomed for failure' because they ask for help/questions then I worry... pride comes before the fall

Graham

dartboardio wrote: »

If you think someone is 'doomed for failure' because they ask for help/questions then I worry... pride comes before the fall

In fairness, based on the very limited subset of information you gave in your opening posts it did look like you were about to launch into a full-blown retail operation without a modicum of research.

Had you have opened with the "I'm already trading online" I would hazard to guess the initial responses would have been entirely different.

dartboardio

Graham wrote: »

In fairness, based on the very limited subset of information you gave in your opening posts it did look like you were about to launch into a full-blown retail operation without a modicum of research.

Had you have opened with the "I'm already trading online" I would hazard to guess the initial responses would have been entirely different.

Yeah I suppose you are right, I kinda wrote my initial post in a frenzy, was just looking for information regarding officially setting up as a retail business, should have mentioned I was already trading online! nonetheless, no one should say anyone is doomed for failure just because they are asking questions to be honest, people have different ways of understanding/learning things

I like people to set it out straight and say this is step 1. step 2. etc.

Graham

To be honest, if your plan had consisted of get a grant/loan for premises/stock (without anything else). Doomed to failure would have been a reasonable assessment of the plan.

Grants just aren't available for that type of thing and any bank would be very likely to politely suggest you go and talk to your LEO.

You should lead with the fact you're already trading online. That's what sets you apart from the 27 gazillion others that dream about starting a business, and will still be dreaming about starting a business in another 20 years.

beauf

Maybe leading with you're doomed isn't the best way to get someone to listen you either. Even if you think you are cutting to the chase and saving someone some heartache. People can be stubborn to take advice, especially successful people. I'm reminded of something said about how do successful mountaineers get themselves into trouble, despite having vast experience. I think it was in "The Beckoning Silence by Joe Simpson" It because to get to the top they have to ignore all the things that would discourage normal people. But it can bite, as ignoring those things can get you into trouble.

Maybe business is a bit like that. I don't know I'm not a business head, more of project/techie. But I think the principle of looking for the shortest distance between two points, (or cutting out the middleman) is useful in both sectors.