Starting a business. (1 Viewer)

[Latex lizzie]

O.K.

has anyone set up a shop ever? Where did you start? what were the things to look out for? what wouldn't you do if you had it over etc. Did you have to get capitol from a bank or what? Ngggbbllth is there a standard format a bank would need in the form of a business plan to gte cash from a bank...

basically where do you start?

 

[Corey]

Sticky please pete.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

I wanna start a dubplate business for some reason.

 

[Latex lizzie]

I thought it cheeky to sticky but would second this.

 

[Corey]

I'm currently gathering up the balls to work for myself too, but being a full time artist as opposed to a part time, tweed appreciating coffee shop whore is a vast grey smudgy area when it comes to funding and loans etc. Working for yourself is the only way to go in my book though, better for your drive and all that.

Del9 shoulda hopped into this hours ago. code ninja should too, but he's busy pissing us all off from the prettier side of this cursed rock. The cunt.

 

[ICUH8N]

Get a good accountant. Look for a firm that specialise in SME stuff/sole traders (Off the top of my head, Byrne Moreau Connell are good, they're family, AND they have a lot to do with Phantom FM)

 

[frambosenshmak]

O.K.

has anyone set up a shop ever? Where did you start? what were the things to look out for? what wouldn't you do if you had it over etc. Did you have to get capitol from a bank or what? Ngggbbllth is there a standard format a bank would need in the form of a business plan to gte cash from a bank...

basically where do you start?

yes.

from the beginning. you got to decide are you going to be:
a)sole trader
or
b)company.

if answer is a - then register for vat.
benefits are: you can claim vat back on purchases such as materials and equipment needed for your business plus you will get more reputable and higher paid work if you are registered for vat as clients will see you as a proper business if your invoices have VAT number.

if answer is b - then register a company and a business name. go to ww.cro.ie and it will list all forms you got to fill out to register a company name. then you register a business name (ie what the outside world will know you as e.g deadly business). the company name is what the bank and the tax man know you as and they dont have to be the same as the business name. the reason you have a business name seperate from a company name is if your first attempt goes bust you keep the company and just trade again under a new business name (what dodgy restaurants do).

benefits: if someone sues you or you owe people money and have to fold the bank/debt collectors can only come after what the company owns (anthing purchased by the company) and not your house, car, children, parents house, etc. you dont have this protection as a sole trader.

 

[frambosenshmak]

what wouldn't you do if you had it over etc. Did you have to get capitol from a bank or what? Ngggbbllth is there a standard format a bank would need in the form of a business plan to gte cash from a bank...

basically where do you start?

get a proper 6month to 1 year detailed business plan in place for the bank manager. it should outline what you expect to pay for rent, overheads, costs and who you intend to get business from, buy your goods for sale from, what service you offer, how you are better than your competitors or if you are offering a unique service and you've spotted a niche in the market, etc. you want to meet the manager and tell them openly and honestly what you're trying to do. regular contact with your bank and bank manager is good as it will make it easier to squeeze a loan out of them when times are tough or when you need to expand. go to ibec for some free advice on how to get started in business.

you will need to get an accountant for a day in the beginning to show you how to keep track of income and outgoings. then again when you file your end of year returns which is a fucking nightmare.

 

[frambosenshmak]

a few questions to ponder that will help you:

what is my target for my business - do they need a shopfront to come buy my goods or can i sell through the internet, over the phone?

rent can be one expense you can cut out if you really dont need an office/shop space and can afford to work from home. if you need to meet people cafes or their office are good until things get busier and you need a dedicated space.

do i need to bring in a business partner?
if you dont have a strong head for business, selling and numbers then GET A BUSINESS PERSON. cant emphasise this enough. if you cant get someone who is solely driven by money then you need to find someone who you can partner with - someone who will sell your services for a cut of the profits or who may advertise your services as part of their business.

do i really need to start my own business or is there someone doing the same thing elsewhere around the world who could do with me as part of their team?

think about this long and hard. running your own business is great as you are your own boss but you will not have anyone kicking your ass to get out of bed in the morning. you will have to take a substantial financial hit in the beginning to invest most of your income in sustaining your business costs, the first 1-3years can be fairly tight until you become established. having said that its very rewarding when the money comes in and you know you earned every bloody cent of it. you will have to make contacts with people, turn up at whatever promotional thing is being run that gets you in contact with people you want to see your stuff. you got to keep people aware all the time that you are out there. selling yourself. euugh! its horrible if you dont like it but unless someone happens to come across your work and tell the world about it then you got to go out there and promote yourself a bit.

good luck. any more questions post them here. theres equal amount of horror stories as much as there are success stories for every business. got to get your hands dirty at some point and at the end of the day its only money. plus you get to make a living doing something you like.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

benefits: if someone sues you or you owe people money and have to fold the bank/debt collectors can only come after what the company owns (anthing purchased by the company) and not your house, car, children, parents house, etc. you dont have this protection as a sole trader.

but
If a bank lends to a company it needs security. In many cases the directors sign a letter of guarantee in favour of the company. This basically says that if the company's debt is called in, the bank will call on the guarantor to stump up.

For small overdrafts/loans an unsupported guarantee is sufficient. But for larger amounts the bank will want collateral to the guarantee - i.e. a charge over a property/assets that the guarantor owns. There is little value in taking a guarantee from someone who isn't good for the money.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

get a proper 6month to 1 year detailed business plan in place for the bank manager. it should outline what you expect to pay for rent, overheads, costs and who you intend to get business from, buy your goods for sale from, what service you offer, how you are better than your competitors or if you are offering a unique service and you've spotted a niche in the market, etc. you want to meet the manager and tell them openly and honestly what you're trying to do. regular contact with your bank and bank manager is good as it will make it easier to squeeze a loan out of them when times are tough or when you need to expand. go to ibec for some free advice on how to get started in business.

yep all true. Regular contact is a must.
Cashflow projections are important. Keep them realistic. A cash business which has no debtors should not require an overdraft.

 

[frambosenshmak]

but
If a bank lends to a company it needs security. In many cases the directors sign a letter of guarantee in favour of the company. This basically says that if the company's debt is called in, the bank will call on the guarantor to stump up.

For small overdrafts/loans an unsupported guarantee is sufficient. But for larger amounts the bank will want collateral to the guarantee - i.e. a charge over a property/assets that the guarantor owns. There is little value in taking a guarantee from someone who isn't good for the money.

yeah thats a scary one alright but you only take that leap when you have a bit of business guaranteed down the line. an overdaft facility to cover the production costs of jobs before cheques come in is handy once you know you got the cash to cover it down the line. Its a worry but its best only put into practise when dealing with pricks who dont understand the words "pay invoice in 30days". same with credit card facility only use IF YOU REALLY REALLY HAVE TO. if you're watching your books you'll know if what you're spending on the overdraft/credit card can be covered by invoiced payments.

 

[broken arm]

firstly - nice one on taking the leap

secondly - hate to just post a link but this should have some useful info - http://oasis.gov.ie/employment/starting_a_business/starting_up_a_business_in_ireland.html

 

[frambosenshmak]

firstly - nice one on taking the leap

secondly - hate to just post a link but this should have some useful info - http://oasis.gov.ie/employment/starting_a_business/starting_up_a_business_in_ireland.html

good link batman

 

[broken arm]

good link batman

why thank you robin.

TO THE BATCAVE!!!

 

[frambosenshmak]

why thank you robin.

TO THE BATCAVE!!!

i dont know batman it looks a little small

 

[frambosenshmak]

all messing aside some more links:

www.ibec.ie - small business representative body, probably better off popping in to them in person as they'll be a bit more forthcoming with info. website looks a bit WHOOSH over the head to me.

http://www.dbic.ie/noticebrd/notice1.htm - free start up business seminars.

www.revenue.ie - gives you info on VAT, etc plus you can pay online. woopdeedoo

 

[egg_]

If it's an online shop you're setting up I'd recommend keeping your old job until it's up and running for a while (and get someone like me to build it rather than a cowboy or a big expensive agency), and thinking out your marketing very well. "If you build it they will come" just doesn't happen in the real world

Apart from that I think you can put yourself off by thinking too hard about tax and loans and shit. Keep your costs down, fund it out of your own pocket if you can (or maybe get a credit union loan), keep your receipts and just start trading. No point wasting time registering for VAT, making a business plan, retaining an accountant etc etc if the business is not going to fly at all

 

[Latex lizzie]

Currently flying along.

not an online shop (yet)

thanks for all the advice you guys.

 

[IFF]

i have adviced concerning if your having your outsourcing your accounts (doesn't always happen when a business starts):

try to make the information you give to your accountant as easily understandable as possible. this saves your accountant time and you money (accountants charge by the time they spend on it). if your accounts are a mess, then the accountants going to charge you more than if you had some kind of order to your affairs. no accounant expects perfvection form clients, otyherwise why have an accountant if you can do it perfectly but what we do expect is to put care into your record keeping

if you do, the accountant willb e happy and charge you less

of course if you don't outsource your accountancy then disregard what i said