I've always wanted to start a Business

ifeelabreeze · 12-02-2023 10:30pm #1

I've always wanted to start my own business, I know it can be awful hard work with no guarantee of success but I've still wanted to all the same. I also haven't the foggiest notion as to what I'd do.

The obvious starting point is meeting a need - a need that people are willing to pay for. I haven't come across any of those yet!

A blue ocean idea is highly unlike, I'm not going to disrupt whatever industry kids are disrupting these days, so I'm just looking at what I could potentially do better, or at least different - and again I'm coming up short.

I work in Supply Chain for a fresh foods company - it's interesting and pays reasonably well. But it doesn't scratch that itch. It's also not something I could eventually do myself without serious capital behind me.

For those of you who have started your own businesses, or perhaps know of someone who has, how did you?

Any advice?

dxhound2005 · 12-02-2023 10:33pm

I don't know anyone who did it, but it seems to be very common. Dozens of new companies being registered every day.

https://www.vision-net.ie/Business-Barometer/Gazette-New-Companies/

Akrasia · 12-02-2023 10:41pm

What are your goals?

Do you want to be your own boss? Do you want to employ others?

(You could set up a small business providing local services without being innovative at all. )

Having a good idea isn't that necessary. What's more important is having capital, determination and the ability to get up and go to work for no income day after day for the first year or two until the business is on its feet ( or the balls to go neck deep in debt and pay your salary from an overdraft)

ifeelabreeze · 12-02-2023 11:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233980#Comment_120233980

I've always been interested in how Businesses get a competitive edge on one another, how they grow and why they fail

Ultimately I'd want to grow the business(es) as big as possible. Have one of those real success stories. I wouldn't be totally content with a corner shop down the line, if that's the line I'm taking I'd want to try and build a competitor to Musgraves.

But that's the goal. On a more realistic note, I'd like to employ others, grow and expand.

AndrewJRenko · 12-02-2023 11:08pm

Look for a local Start Your Own Business course

elperello · 12-02-2023 11:38pm

If you have dependants don't forget they are heavily invested in your success or failure.

Make sure they understand each step along the way.

Favour innovation rather than over reliance on borrowing.

By the way Musgrave's started in 1876 with , you've guessed it , one shop.

Donald Trump · 12-02-2023 11:47pm

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batman75 · 12-02-2023 11:57pm

If your ok paid job is secure, as much as any job is, I would stay at it. Working for yourself especially if employing others is no picnic. Plus the cost of labour is rising with the minimum wage increase and further increases coming on stream in the next two years, pension contributions, sick pay etc. Unless what you would like to do is high margin forget it.

cj maxx · 13-02-2023 1:26am

I know people who started their own business , in the food sector, and they all pretty much failed . But good luck

Ubbquittious · 13-02-2023 4:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233941#Comment_120233941

A good few of them farms that have been around for years that are now becoming a company because that is "all the go" these days. This is probably being encouraged by our overlords to make it easier for a big corporate farm to aquire them some number of years in the future.

Francis McM · 13-02-2023 11:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120234139#Comment_120234139

And did you know McDonalds was started with just one restaurant, and as far as I remember the fellow who started it was not young ( in his sixties or something).

pgj2015 · 13-02-2023 12:15pm

I think Glenisk started when 2 brother were gifted 2 goats, they didnt know what they would do with them but look at them now.

I started my own business a few years ago (2016), I quit a job I hated, saved 10,000 in the next year on the dole and started the business with that money the next year. Im not going to say what the job is as boards.ie is private for me and I will keep it to myself, im still a 1 man band but im happy with that, making good money, but saying that I have only made 10 euro so far today 😊 other days I might make 600 in a day. its a business that is unpredictable. In 2017 I didn't take 1 day off.

im using the money saved to set up an additional business.

Dont listen to anyone saying to stay in the job you have, take a chance and go for it, I had people telling me to stay in the job I had as well, I was 31 at the time, you wont be happy working for someone else if you feel like being your own boss and taking a chance.

B.A._Baracus · 13-02-2023 12:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120234062#Comment_120234062

This +1.

Just know you have to be highly motivated to run your own business op Easy to say ah I'll do that tomorrow. Also there's no switching off at 5pm. One of the few luxuries of working for someone else. 9 to 5 and that's it.

enricoh · 13-02-2023 12:28pm

I would say to aim for a one man band business, it is difficult to get staff nowadays and hard to compete with the dole at one end and MNCs at the other end of the pay scale!

pgj2015 · 13-02-2023 12:29pm

You can switch off op, I have set hours I work, saying that, you will work a lot harder, I have only had 1 day off in 2023 so far but I turn my phone off at a set time most days. The same goes for holidays, you have to take them when you need a break, the world will keep spinning without you for a week.

Eircom_Sucks · 13-02-2023 12:44pm

same as myself , i come from a family that has a very sucessful business , but i didnt take that jump to work for them

i'd be like you i wanna set up my own business but like you again no idea what id like to do

i'd keep my current job and start a new one on the side until it either grows or fails then id decide if i have to leave my current job

elperello · 13-02-2023 6:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235439#Comment_120235439

Yes and closer to home Joe Murphy started Tayto going to the Corporation market to collect spuds in a Morris Minor. He ended up driving to work in a Rolls Royce.

And then there was Sean Quinn who first went into business with a digger and tractor and trailer selling sand from a pit on his farm and became a billionaire.

Of course Quinn's story didn't end well.

kneemos · 13-02-2023 6:36pm

Retail might be an option if you don't have a service to provide. Manufacturing would cost a fortune to set up,plus you're up against established firms and without outlets.

Count Dracula · 13-02-2023 8:17pm

Make sure you are confident that you can provide a product or service which is going to be in demand.

Starting a business is not something you should initiate without having some experience in the business you are contemplating, it should be something you have a good knowledge of.

Be passionate about what you are doing.

It sounds stupid or cliche, but money is not the root of everything. Starting a business is going to consume all of your time, be prepared for many sacrifices, in all aspects of your life.

Look for finance and investors before you start. If anything it should indicate how feasible your idea is.

Furze99 · 13-02-2023 9:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058284039/ive-always-wanted-to-start-a-business

You gotta have a service or goods that people want and will pay for.

You're only as good as your last customer.

What hobbies and interests do you have? Many people develop business ideas around these whilst working fulltime. This gives you security of income while you develop the idea. Eventually though you must commit to it fulltime if you want to make progress.

Try and work within your means - use income from sales to develop further. Loans and grants all possible but there's no free lunch as they say.

Get on top of basic book keeping early days - keep track of all income & expenditure at end of each month at least.

Don't buy goods/ services on credit from other businesses and leave them swinging, waiting for payment or worse defaulting.

Good luck.

ifeelabreeze · 13-02-2023 11:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120234139#Comment_120234139

I don't (thankfully) have any dependants, I'm a single mid 20's male with some disposable income, so I feel I'm in an okay position to make something happen.

I know Musgraves started as one shop, what I was trying to get at really was just that in 20 years time, I wouldn't want to have just the one shop.

ifeelabreeze · 13-02-2023 11:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235439#Comment_120235439

You're thinking of KFC! There's a movie about the origins of McDonalds which is very good it's called The Founder

ifeelabreeze · 13-02-2023 11:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237234#Comment_120237234

The thing is I'd like to stay put with what I'm currently doing before fully committing to self employment, I mean I'd like to eventually just run the/a business but I wouldn't like to give up my job in hopes of a business hitting the ground running, and a retail store would be difficult to do otherwise.

elperello · 13-02-2023 11:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238505#Comment_120238505

No time like the present then.

pgj2015 · 13-02-2023 11:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237622#Comment_120237622

I disagree with 2 points there.

1) You don't need experience in what ever business you start.

2) Don't borrow money to start it, use your own money.

ifeelabreeze · 13-02-2023 11:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237998#Comment_120237998

That's the issue - I've nothing really in that regard, only the desire to start a Business which isn't much good on it's own.

Hobbies and Interest? - Too many to count and they change often. I'm interested in fashion, I've bought and sold designer clothes in the past and I'm a guitar nut.

My father and I repair iPhones from home, nothing too uncommon. We can source good quality parts and have made a few quid buying and selling phones, but it's near impossible to get a consistent supply so we're just taking what we can get.

We're obviously not in an ideal location so repairs aren't plentiful. Plus there's 101 iPhone repair shops about.

I've thought of getting into motherboard repair but I'm not too sure about it.

pgj2015 · 13-02-2023 11:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238505#Comment_120238505

who knows what you will want in 20 years time, you might be happy with 1 shop. The bigger they are the harder they fall, I saw a lot of businesses go under here in the recession, the 1 man bands survived but a lot of the bigger businesses didn't.

Start off small and don't be thinking too far ahead yet.

Larbre34 · 14-02-2023 1:11am

The Local Enterprise SYOB courses are really good, but they do require some notion of what you plan to monetise into a business.

The old saying goes, 'if you are good at something, don't ever do it for free.'

Maybe start there.

CPTM · 14-02-2023 4:12am

It doesn't have to be something new either. It could be something that already exists which is currently being done badly in your area.

There is a section on adverts that has businesses for sale.

Search for people on LinkedIn who have set up their own company. Message a load of them to see if any would be available for a 15 minute chat for advice on how to map out your next steps.

Get an understanding of what sort of life comes with this path you're taking. A lot of people like the idea of something, but once the romantic exterior wears off and they get into the nuts and bolts, they realise it's not all it appeared to be and there's a reason they never took that route in the first place.

Count Dracula · 14-02-2023 7:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238581#Comment_120238581

I would rather borrow the money than use my own.

At least if the business fails you will still have your own money?

pgj2015 · 14-02-2023 10:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238793#Comment_120238793

More chance of failing if you use someone else's money in my opinion, you will be hungrier if you use your own money. Plus you would then have to pay them back, at least if its your own money you don't have that problem. I have seen people set up businesses like restaurants, borrow big money from parents etc and then the business fails and they owe their parents 50,000 or whatever, I would be depressed if I owed that to my parents after a failed business venture.

Borrow it off the bank and fail and they will hound ya for the next few years and good luck ever getting a loan again.

Francis McM · 14-02-2023 10:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238793#Comment_120238793

Few people (unless family or something) or banks would fund the money in a new start up by an inexperienced person without a personal guarantee and / or security.

elperello · 14-02-2023 2:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238793#Comment_120238793

You are generally required to put up some capital yourself.

Lenders like borrowers to have a stake in the business.

Shouldn't be a problem for you.

Furze99 · 14-02-2023 2:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120238583#Comment_120238583

"I'm interested in fashion, I've bought and sold designer clothes in the past and I'm a guitar nut."

If I were you, look into those areas so. It makes a big difference when you have a knowledge of and interest in what you're trying to monetise. The other side of that is that it can cloud your judgement, so be aware of that too.

ifeelabreeze · 14-02-2023 3:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120240031#Comment_120240031

Unfortunately it's not/wasn't sustainable. I was just one of the few fellas in the west of Ireland who knew about these designer brands, so I paid €90 for a pair of shoes from an outlet and sold them online for €300+

screamer · 15-02-2023 7:21am

If you’re young and have no financial responsibilities I’d suggest you go and work in as many different industries as you can to get insight and experience of other companies. I’d give it max 3 years, save as much as you can and then start your own thing. Look into what sorts of grants your local enterprise board gives also. Do all this when you’re young and financially free, don’t be afraid to fail, just do it early. If it works then wonderful, if not you can always go back to a job. Good luck, any epic journey starts with a single step.

rob316 · 16-02-2023 9:28pm

It's really **** hard making the jump from a salary to self employed.

I run 2 companies and gave up my guaranteed salary and security with 1 of them to jump in. It was an established company really declining fast and I've taken the good with the bad.

Prepare to give everything and I mean everything, forget about 9-5, getting off the ground on your own is 24/7. If you have dependents the pressure on you is absolutely immense to succeed for them.

When you succeed though my god that feeling can't be replaced.

antiskeptic · 18-02-2023 6:48pm

My mam moved from Liberty Market (absolute gold mine, no income tax no VAT) to newsagent. Goldmine but a lot more hassle. She went on a start your own business course run by a Gov agency. One participant on it said he wanted to sell bottled water .. and they all laughed their heads off.

Ballygowan was the name, iirc.

Not for the faint hearted - if you're going ltd co. I did house flipping and whilst there was plenty of money in it, the paperwork was hell, along with the amount you end up paying here there an everywhere for tax, vat, insurance, etc. There's a lot of paperwork these days. And a lot of costs associated with just being a company.

You'd want to have a very clear idea of what you want to do and have a business plan that sees light at the end of the tunnel. Then add some.

I've always wanted to start a Business

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