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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think i can start a business on &1.5k?

51 replies

melissasummerfield · 11/06/2018 19:59

Just found out I am being made redundant after maternity leave, not that fussed as I wasnt really happy there anyway!

My career is HR however I would be open to doing anything if it meant working for myself!

Does anyone have any ideas that I could potentially set up for £1.5k ?

OP posts:
boomboom1234 · 12/06/2018 09:45

T-shirts!! Sorry bloody autocorrect

boomboom1234 · 12/06/2018 09:45

A line not alone. Oh god. Think I need to slow down!!

JustGettingStarted · 12/06/2018 09:50

How long can you wait to get an income for your business?

It is hard to start a business and get it to the point where you are able to live off it.

If you have a few weeks, you can add another 1000 or so to your start up pot with matched betting (it's not gambling). It only takes an hour a day, once you've got your head around how it works. So you'll have time to research sourcing t-shirts or whatever. But it works best if you don't pull your money out as you need to maintain a float.

SurfingSally · 12/06/2018 10:01

I really don't think self employment is for you if you have no actual business ideas. If it was as easy as having £1500 in the bank and being able to 'just do it' and earn a decent income everyone would.

The market is saturated with plain white t shirts for bulk purchase. If you can't find anything at all to suit, you're not looking hard enough.

HamishTheTalkingCactus · 12/06/2018 10:10

Is there enough of a gap in availability in the plus size market? (I'm at the lower end of plus size btw so do get that not all high st stores cater for over size 18!). What would make me buy from you rather than Asda/M & S? Would you carry sizes larger than those readily available in stores? Do you have a "USP"?

Carry on thinking things through, and good luck!

Adventuritis · 12/06/2018 10:10

You could easily start a baking from home business on that. Baking cakes to sell at farmers markets or home delivery of brownies/ cupcakes etc Environmental health requirements for home baking are not too hard to comply with and you’d just need a decent mixer and packaging.

Curious2468 · 12/06/2018 10:27

Mdp is good for blanks.

T shirt market is quite saturated so find a niche

I’ve just started working my myself and love it

Monkeypuzzle32 · 12/06/2018 10:31

also, to be fair I doubt anyone is going to give you their really good ideas! I'd stick to an online selling business if you dont have a skill or desire to do something like gardening or dog walking.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 12/06/2018 10:37

Your niche is HR, so I would advise going self-employed in your niche. Baking, Tshirt printing - all has start up costs and you might not actually like it. It's one thing to enjoy knocking up a tray of cupcakes on a Saturday afternoon, it's quite another to be up at 5 churning out 300 of them. With a newborn. And by the time you figure that out, you've burned through your money...

peachgreen · 12/06/2018 10:46

Do you need your earnings to survive? If so, you can't afford to start your own business with £1.5k. Most new businesses fail and those that don't usually take 2 years to start turning a profit so you'd need to be able to survive for 2 years without a salary.

Ragwort · 12/06/2018 10:53

I believe there is quite a demand for HR consultancy, lots of smaller companies can't afford an HR department' so need to outsource their requirements - why don't you do some research into that, maybe get some contacts whilst you are still at work (if that is allowed).

That would be considerably better paid than making cupcakes or supplying T shirts.

MrsOprah · 12/06/2018 11:16

@Ragwort
has nailed it

SeriousSimon · 12/06/2018 11:40

to be fair I doubt anyone is going to give you their really good ideas!

Also, this.

We are in the process of setting up a business...we've researched it to death, priced and costed it over and over, practised and perfected the product.

It's taken us about a month and £500 odd in set up costs and should earn a realistic £30k income within a few weeks. And anyone could do it, it's not particularly difficult.

But for obvious reasons I'm not about to give away the idea or how easy it actually is!

MaggieDo · 12/06/2018 11:44

I have a t-shirt business and £1500 is a pretty good amount to get started properly at but it's well saturated so every day is a hustle. You're busy running the day to day work so that it's more time consuming to branch out into the niche that will pay you quite well.

I don't really find many plus size tee blanks so there's definitely a market there but I suggest you would need more than £1500 due to the high costs involved in trial and error when finding the right products. Getting FOTL tees you can easily jump in but it's cost me a lot to find the right quality tees in a good colour range. I must have bought 30 tote bags minimum to find one I'm proud to sell etc. So if you're sourcing fabrics, manufacturers I image there's a lot of waste.

Honestly, if you still like HR I'd knuckle down and work in this area - it's a high barrier to entry with the qualifications and obviously a lot of HR people want the security of employment - therefore you can ride through with a consultancy - find your corner, work at it, find new areas and form your own market. As above a lot of companies can't afford their own HR depts so there's opportunities there and not something I could do.

LolaL · 12/06/2018 11:49

Hi,
I am self-employed, as a horse riding instructor and also have an online store selling bikini's/swimwear/dresses.

My advice would be to find a niche and stick with it. I worked in recruitment for years, and agree that lots of companies do not have any HR structure at all. I think HR outsourcing is something that is widely sought after, and in a year or so, IF my online store continues to grow at the rate that it is, it's something I'd personally be looking for.

Best of luck xx

Monkeypuzzle32 · 12/06/2018 11:51

my friend has an online HR business as a sideline to her full time job-shes not gone all out to get it going as she wants to keep working until she retires (not that far away for her) but its very doable I'd say.

GoldenButtercup · 12/06/2018 12:18

Starting your own business is hard work for often little reward in the beginning. You will probably be working every hour god sends with a newborn baby. You don't yet know what you want to do, if you have to ask for business ideas in a forum then respectfully I would suggest that self employment may not be the best way forward for you.

astoundedgoat · 12/06/2018 12:28

Are you in an urban area? A cleaning agency. If you have the HR background that's half that battle, really. Use a platform like Launch 27 for your booking software.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 12/06/2018 12:33

Sorry, but if you have to ask on a forum because you can't find a supplier yourself, it's not a great start and a big worry for the rest of your journey!

Consultancy in your own area seems a much safer bet if you really want to be self-employed.

Or do your own research that no one else can do for you: what can you do, what's the market in your own area, what are your skills, not just your qualifications.

NameChanger22 · 12/06/2018 12:34

You could work as a middle man for artists and craftspeople.

Advertise everywhere that you will sell arts and crafts for a percentage of the profit. Then set up an Etsy shop for each of them and sell their stuff. There are lots of people that would use this service as they don't want to waste time dealing with marketing, sales and business; they prefer to spend their time creating.

It would cost you very little to start up and could be a good business.

GummyGoddess · 12/06/2018 12:42

Can I suggest you don't just offer the usual t shirts if that's where you're going? I hate t shirts, I would love tank tops or v neck shirts with longer sleeves.

Something more flattering than round necked tops that make your boobs look odd and shirt sleeves that end on the fattest part of the arm. Even at pre pregnancy size 10-12 I think round neck t shirts are rather unflattering if you have large boobs.

astoundedgoat · 12/06/2018 12:50

Advertise everywhere that you will sell arts and crafts for a percentage of the profit. Then set up an Etsy shop for each of them and sell their stuff. There are lots of people that would use this service as they don't want to waste time dealing with marketing, sales and business; they prefer to spend their time creating.

I've worked in an associated area and it's a surefire way to a HUGE amount of work for zero profit.

FrangipaniBlue · 12/06/2018 12:59

lots of smaller companies can't afford an HR department' so need to outsource their requirements

Yep @Ragwort beat me to it!

If your niche is HR go into consultancy, it has high hourly rates and low overheads (it's what so do, just not HR!)

Your initial outlay would be:

  • Laptop/Pc
  • Professional membership subs
  • Insurance (professional indemnity definitely, public liability if you're going to work from client sites)
  • Marketing (business cards and website)
  • Companies House registration

If you're smart (low end laptop to start, build your own website or at least do your own copywriting) you should be able to do all that for £1500-2000

FrangipaniBlue · 12/06/2018 13:00

Argh meant it's what I do!

Rosie1976mini · 12/06/2018 13:03

Know this is a bit random, but know someone who is making posh candles in jars in nice scents (along the lines of the Jo Malone range) - pennies to make, and making a small fortune through Facebook page and attending niche markets.