Running your own business

N

nathan

New member
Hello peeps!

Just after some opinions. I'm looking to start my own business with a good friend of mine and wanted to hear from anyone who's done the same thing. I'm well aware i need to do a fair bit of planning etc but wanted to here some feed back of anyone who's done it. Things like mistakes you made, if setting up again what you would do differently. How it feels to run your own business, stress levels etc.

Many ta's!
 
what kind of business pc's building I assume....

Would have imagined this would be an overly populated business at the minute, with alot of big boys in the game, id imagine theres alot of very stiff competition as well as this we are in the middle of an economic downturn, whilst people are still spending and earning, its not as much, we do run a business of our own (not pc's) and threre is alot of stress involved at times like this, but when things are good you have much more potential....

this not only goes for pc's but in many many other business...except poundland :)

My advice...if you have a good stable job that is keeping you at the moment, I strongly strongly suggest you stick to it for the minute!!!!

name='nathan' said:
Hello peeps!

Just after some opinions. I'm looking to start my own business with a good friend of mine and wanted to hear from anyone who's done the same thing. I'm well aware i need to do a fair bit of planning etc but wanted to here some feed back of anyone who's done it. Things like mistakes you made, if setting up again what you would do differently. How it feels to run your own business, stress levels etc.

Many ta's!
Click to expand...
 
Don't dive straight in. Try 'soft' running the business together for a few months first before you start thinking about setting up a proper partnership or Ltd at companies house. Just make sure you keep tabs on any money you make/spend during this time to prevent the taxman jumping up your arse.
 
Cheers for the advice, it is PC related. It would be providing services to primary/secondary schools (what I do now). Services such as Installation, SLA's, Consultancy etc. Good thing about schools is their good payers and i doubt the recession will have an effect on their budgets. I'm looking at 6-12 months away before starting. Trying to get 3 months (pos more) wages in at the moment.

I cant really "soft" run it as it would be conflicting with my current job. I only have a car loan and mobile phone for outgoings, so doing it whilst im young is prob the best bet for me.
 
name='nathan' said:
i doubt the recession will have an effect on their budgets.
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Unfortunately not. I've just landed a lil job with a collage, and they have been hit HARD. I won't go into details but they just plain won't be spending on anything that's not 10000% needed for a fair while.
 
name='Ham' said:
Unfortunately not. I've just landed a lil job with a collage, and they have been hit HARD. I won't go into details but they just plain won't be spending on anything that's not 10000% needed for a fair while.
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collage's are different, there budgets are huge compared to the primary's/small secondary's. the government has always started at the bigger budget places and worked down. I dont think they'll get down to primary's/small secondary's level before the recession starts to fade. In the 30-40 schools we do, none have expressed any concerns of budgets being reduced.

Ofcourse, this could all change.
 
You really think that........maybe your right there I would be suprised gov is borrowing more money than it can possibly afford its going into trillions of pounds of debt for this country, councils are tightning there belts...of course college would be number 1 as its important to the countrys growth...but money don't grow on trees the government cannot just keep spending...beleive it or not, although there doin a good job at it LOL....I highly doubt that things are all rosey, despite what they say...With respect your still young and studying people here myself included are on the front line....be very very carefull!!!

name='nathan' said:
collage's are different, there budgets are huge compared to the primary's/small secondary's. the government has always started at the bigger budget places and worked down. I dont think they'll get down to primary's/small secondary's level before the recession starts to fade. In the 30-40 schools we do, none have expressed any concerns of budgets being reduced.

Ofcourse, this could all change.
Click to expand...
 
name='SwaleSmith' said:
You really think that........maybe your right there I would be suprised gov is borrowing more money than it can possibly afford its going into trillions of pounds of debt for this country, councils are tightning there belts...of course college would be number 1 as its important to the countrys growth...but money don't grow on trees the government cannot just keep spending...beleive it or not, although there doin a good job at it LOL....I highly doubt that things are all rosey, despite what they say...With respect your still young and studying people here myself included are on the front line....be very very carefull!!!
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Thats what the logical thinker would think, But do you honestly think our government thinks logical :p
 
name='nathan' said:
Thats what the logical thinker would think, But do you honestly think our government thinks logical :p
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if you live in great britain did you no that g-b stads for gordon brown and hes from scotland government thinks logical not in my book it dont lol.
 
To be perfectly honest, if it were me - I would wait. Maybe when the economy picks up a bit then have a look. The IT side of things is looking rough at the moment.
 
name='charlie-j' said:
To be perfectly honest, if it were me - I would wait. Maybe when the economy picks up a bit then have a look. The IT side of things is looking rough at the moment.
Click to expand...

yeah, but i still dont think in the education side of things. Budgets still havent been effected. Although im not planning on making the jump just yet.

Went for an interview today and out of the 1000's of CV's they got. I was one of 200 odd that had a current job.
 
Follow these steps closely.

1. Planning - You need to PLAN everything, every little last detail, nothing must be overlooked

2. Funds - You must NEVER run out of money, your project/company should always be on target or less than the target spending price.

3. Be good with advertising, advertise in shops/online websites such as this one etc...

4. Use Microsoft Project, and use GANTT charts to plan out your business.

5. Keep confident, never get into debt if there is no way of you paying it back. The first few months are hard, but you should always come out in a profit.

6. Good luck

(no order btw)
 
I've been running my firm since 2005 now and the first year or two is extremely hard. Don't expect to get rich quick is the first thing I would tell anyone who is starting up on their own. You also have to be realistic have clear goals to aim for.

As for getting into debt, this is something almost every business has to do at some point or other. When I first started up, I had to take a loan out on the strength of purchase orders quite a few times. This isn't something that will have a negative impact on your business and is common practice.

The most important thng in any business startup is to identify your intended market and create something unique to offer, whether it be in the level of service or products offered. That way, you have something over your competitors. In my business, I chose to offer a much greater level of service than my competitors, while this has bitten me on the bum a few times and caused a few sleepless nights, it has also generated a great deal of repeat custom and positive free marketing (word of mouth).

You need to be able to multi task when you run a business and be able to communicate at all levels, whether it be to a MD or a rep. You need to be able to put your points across and listen too. I struggled with this in my first year, as I didn't feel confident talking to, and selling my business to, MD's etc. I learned quick:)

Cheers,

Stu
 
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