Start Your Own Business

[#1]

The 10,000th person to receive a loan under the Start-up Loans initiative received a loan today to help set him up in business. The government backed scheme is run by the entrepreneur  James Caan.
Start Up
The initiative has provided £50M so far this year and plans to increase this to £150M by 2015.

[#2]

It would be nice if the "start up" linky worked.... perhaps you need to go and ask James Caan how to get it working  ! ! 

[#3]

http://www.startuploans.co.uk/10000-new-entrepreneurs/

[#4]

Thanks, Strat.... did you fix the original?  cos it works now ! ! ! ... 

[#5]

No...artmo did.

[#6]

Quote from: shutter

It would be nice if the "start up" linky worked.... perhaps you need to go and ask James Caan how to get it working  ! !

Sorry about that Shutter. I've corrected my link and I see Strat has provided one as well so you have 2 to choose from.

[#7]

I've always believed that if a real start-up business needs capital to 'get-started', perhaps either the person or the business idea is wrong.
Look how many business have started from a Saturday market stall or a back bedroom in somebodies spare time
It's the expansion of an existing business that needs capital.

[#8]

You couldn't have put it better Journeys; starting a business using debt seems to indicate a willingness to continue using debt rather than profit to fund the activities. That way lie dragons.

[#9]

Dependent on the size and type of business a loan could be the only way to start it up.
This initiative not only offers a loan but it also offers set-up advice and ongoing mentoring from successful business people.

[#10]

I for one would love to start a micro brewery, However I don't have the capital to do so, ~£20K for equipment etc.

[#11]

Well put in a request Hairy, I'd buy your beer if it's any good.
We can never have too many good independent breweries IMO  

[#12]

Agree with w23

Quote from: w23

. We can never have too many good independent breweries IMO

@HB:- every thought of crowd funding? indiegogo is a good place to start.
£20k is only £100 from 200 people, do you have the space and water supply?
Whim micro brewery runs from a small barn not much larger than a garden shed.

[#13]

Some friends set up a micro brewery a couple of years ago - they now supply Selfridges own label, I believe - and the £20K for the equipment is but a start.  The kit has to be installed by approved fitters/plumbers etc who are few and far between and consequently calculate their rates by thinking of a (big) number and doubling it.  Then there's a hideously frustrating and time consuming mass of regulations, inspections, licenses etc that have to got and of, course paid for ..
You also have to actual develop a good recipe, get art for bottles done, pay for marketing etc etc.
Finally, you actually have to find someone to buy your beer.   Fortunately for my friends, the hubby has been in the trade (though more on the wine side) for decades so had lots of contacts both among buyers and - equally important - in the meda and he'd been involved in other micro breweries (though not as directly) before.
They have been working minimum 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for a couple of years now - most of that before they were in a position to sell anything - and still aren't quite paying their way.  Having started with pretty much every conceivable advantage.
Don't know about you, but the whole thing exhausts me just thinking about it  

[#14]

At the risk of being negative there are lots of experienced people who have been in Business for years yet despite that the business goes bust.
So what chance does someone with little or no experience have in starting a business from scratch. ?
Some successful businesses have gone to the wall because those they supplied goods too went bankrupt and they were left with losses they could not meet.
Clearly some people succeed but it can be at the cost of their personal life as they devote all their time to the business and little to their family.
If you want a stressful and short life..........start a business !

[#15]

Quote from: gleneagles

Some successful businesses have gone to the wall because those they supplied goods too went bankrupt and they were left with losses they could not meet

The most common reason is cash flow: customers failing to pay you but you still having to pay others - like your staff.  This regularly kills businesses that are otherwise doing very well with excellent 'sales' volumes and low overheads.  There are ways to mitigate the issue, but they're so expensive they can swallow your entire margin.
Somewhat counter intuitively, this is a particular problem if you do work for large corporations: you can wait months - and occassionally years (2.5 years is the record I've come across) - for payment.