What business would you start with £5000

[Simplelife78]

My background is in administration but nothing fancy just healthcare. I don’t have any specific talent that I can think of to turn into a business.

i so want to start working for myself but just keep drawing a blank on what I could do.

Dont need to be earning millions, £30,000 after tax per year would be fine.

Ive researched and not really getting any suitable ideas.

Things I’ve looked into are …
Beauty - lashes, facials etc (wouldn’t want to do nails as would be rubbish at nail art)
Dog grooming - reputable courses are around £4000
Selling pet supplies - apparently a booming business but can’t lie, it doesn’t really excite me at all.

Im happy to start something that needs building up slowly whilst I stay in regular employment but the aim is to eventually be fully self employed.

Any ideas would be appreciated. I’m happy to do some training in something if needed.

TIA

Pet supplies or groomer. Both are super popular in my area.

Should add, I’ve also looked into home made dog treats but the red tape seemed massive.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain thank you. That does seem to be top of the list when looking online.

If you spend £4,000 on a dog grooming course then you only have £1,000 left - will you need to rent a premises and buy tools and all that other stuff?

Agree with previous posters re grooming.

The only places I know are shops. But online pet food seems to sell well. Lots of suppliers though.

Also, how are you with dogs and their temperaments? And the mess?

Could start from home in spare room.

The big pet shop near me shut down a few months ago...

You’d be mad to start a business in the current climate

You think? My DB is starting a coffee van business in SE London. He has 2 locations but will do 1 first. Then in a few years a cafe hopefully.

There’s a small pizza place near me that has music (records), amazing pizzas 🍕 and makes an absolute killing. Been open maybe 4 years now.

Pets at home near me is open but the pet store nearby closed and rebranded as pet therapy or summat.

I so want to start working for myself
Why?
£30,000 after tax per year would be fine
Why put yourself through all the risk and uncertainty of self-employment for barely more than minimum wage? You would have loads of overheads and unpredictable income. You would have no paid holiday leave, no employer pension contribution and probably no £5,000 safety-net in the bank.

This. Please OP look into costs and rules and regulations before even thinking of doing this. My family members have started and succeeded but also failed doing this. My own mum had a cottage industry business in her late 20s but little business sense so it lasted 3 years. My nana had her own very successful business years ago but was after WWIII ended and there was a gap in the market. She had to work bloody hard too. Evenings were spent working, even weekends sometimes. And wasn’t allowed to expand as her DH had all the money (he was wealthy).

@senuabecause that’s what I’d prefer to do.

Id be more than happy to work with dogs. I have a cockapoo and until last year had a Labrador.

My ideal would be to work from home but I rent from a housing association so it would depend if they’d give permission.
I could potentially increase the budget to set up the grooming business after paying for the course.

I think dog grooming offers a very low hourly rate given you can only do one at a time so, after outgoings the income is poor. Doggy day care offers a better return as you have multiple at once.

What are you interested in? The closer to your own interests, the better you will be at it & the more success is likely.

Round here, as well as nail bars, small gyms and coffee shops do well. Will writing and PA / care services also.

I’m definitely doing lots of research into it before I take the plunge.

@Chewbecca yes I’d also seen that about the low hourly rate with dog grooming. That was on my cons list.

Have you thought about a mobile grooming van & dog walking? Then you can set your own schedule & not be tied to a premises.

@SummerFrog2026thats definitely an option I can look into.

I'd spend some money on a proper career/women's coach, so that I knew what I was passionate about, and had some better ideas.

The one I mentioned was an independent, not PaH or similar.

Do you need a legal qualification to do will writing?

Ah ok. So was the other one I mentioned. Used to be 2 pet shops opposite the other years ago.

Apparently sports and luxury leisure is the fastest growing business sector, are you fit and healthy? Personal trainer, Pilates teacher, massage etc etc