Have you setup a business without, initially, having any clue on what to do?

[InterstellarDrifter]

I have an idea but really don't know how to progress and have doubts in my own ability and confidence in doing it. It's linked to my work and experience so I think it could work well.
Has anyone started off like that and then managed to be successful?
Any words of wisdom or encouragement would be good

dh and I set up a restaurant, he was a chef previously and me a people pleaser 😂 but as far as restaurants went, that was the extent of our knowledge.
Its been going for 8 years now and very successful. Have won a couple of regional awards to go with it.

Massive risk for us but it worked out. The first couple of years also really hard, our life was put on the back burner and we both worked 7 days a week for two years solid we did get Xmas day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day off

If you can afford to take the risk, are prepared to put in the time and effort, and are also confident in your abilities, then go for it.

Wow. That's amazing. I'm always so impressed with success stories like that.

I started a gardening business with my husband and made a real success of it.

We both love gardening and I had relevant training. Starting the business was one of the most thrilling and satisfying things I've ever done and I'm excited for you just reading your post.

My hints would be..
Do a load of research beforehand...find out what other people are charging, who your client will be, what they'll need etc.
Don't be tempted to undercharge for your service during the early days in order to attract business. You'll be stuck doing work cheaply for those clients in the coming months and by then you'll be inundated with clients who are happy to pay more.
Don't take on work you don't like or work for people who give you a bad feeling.....it'll always be rubbish and the people will be a PITA.
If you are reliable, polite and do a good job you'll be in demand.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Honestly it’s hard, but also very rewarding.

I also think it’s very normal to have doubts with anything that has the potential to change our lives as we know it - but that’s just part of being an adult and thinking critically, if you have confidence before those doubts, focus on that.

My one piece of advice would be MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHARGING ENOUGH!

Sorry to shout but I don’t think I have ever met a woman in business who wasn’t undercharging. I think it’s a confidence thing because men never seem to do it!

My business is 25 years old this year. When I started out I was very clueless.

Good luck!

Reading this thread with dread and recognition as I've very recently started my own cleaning business and am charging v low rates 😫
Not confident enough to price myself in line with established cleaners locally, but it's a line of business that obviously is likely (hopefully) to get repeat clients - how on earth do you find a middle ground??

@foxp3 I'd really urge you to start as you mean to go on and charge as the same as the competition. Have confidence now. There is no middle ground, charge the going rate and keep working to get new clients. They're out there as good cleaners are so hard to find and you will soon be inundated with work. Cleaning is hard work and you want to be earning what you're worth from day one. Speaking from experience once you've got to know and like your clients you will find it harder to put the rates up and even harder to drop them in favour of more lucrative work.

dh decided to become a bee keeper, 40 hives later and 500-800 jars of honey a year in sales.

it's a hobby that pays for itself (almost).
packaging and branding would be my two cent's worth.

I think that setting up a business is the best bit!
Try not to spend too much money up front and keep it simple. If it's not working then change direction.
They say in war it's better not to wait for the perfect moment to but to start an offensive and then sort out the problems along the way.
Good luck!

I set up an interiors based business around 15 years ago and I didn’t really have a clue. Expect to work hard, make sacrifices and ALOT of mistakes initially . Every day is a school day.
I turn over a lot now and never expected it to be so successful. It’s very hard but wouldn’t really want to do anything else.

Thanks everyone. Some impressive stories here. I've taken a few first steps now so fingers crossed!