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

Gardener (obviously you’d need to train)
Dog walking
Cat sitting. A service that will visit a person’s home to feed their cat/change litter?
Cleaning
Ironing
Child minding
Massage/Reflexology

Hopescope set upa luckyscoop as part of her make some money in a month challenge. She didn't have a single customer.

Earwax removal is what I'd do if I had to choose something.

GP waiting lists are massive and many no longer offer it.

You could offer a mobile service or rent a room/s somewhere.

A quick Google suggests that course and equipment could be had for under budget. Set up social media page and post in local community Facebook groups. Get professional leaflets made and have them delivered locally and ask other local businesses if you can leave some with them. You may already have some useful contacts.

Self employment on a small start budget is best kept as a side hustle or after you retire and have a steady pension. Then if you work from home you can pass a good portion of your expenses back to the tax man as business deductables. I write off about 1/3 of my fuel and utility expenses. Obviously you can also claim for transport, stationary, computer equipment etc.

Stick with where your skills lie and look at becoming a virtual assistant. Flexible, few start up costs and as full on as you want. Lots of info out there, facebook groups etc.

Hi @Loobyloot , this sounds interesting! Could you give a rough estimate of how much you’re able to earn doing this and how difficult it was to get these jobs?

How about training as a Life Coach? Could work online with clients. All you need is a laptop and wifi.

There are some really good ideas on here the AAT and the will writing or virtual assistant all solid ideas

Have you thought about joining him in his business? Maybe you could do a garden design course, and offer that service alongside his landscaping? Lots of people want an outdoor room as much as they do a garden, and will want advice on outdoor furniture, garden rooms, barbecue areas, lighting, ornaments etc.

I'm in a similar situation. Have some availability money to look into starting something but I'm hesitant for lots of reasons.

Have you considered looking for a part time job admin that will at least give you a cushion of security? Maybe something 3 days a week, then spending the other 2 building up your business. That will also help as it will include paid holiday/sickness and some pension contributions.

I think realistically earning £30k in the first year might be a struggle unless you're buying a franchise / existing business with a ready made client based.

If it's going to be your only source of income then I think you need to have at least 9-12 months in reserve funds for covering your outgoings while the new business builds it's reputation and client base.

You say your partner is also self employed and you're planning on moving in together soon. Is it going to be 50/50 split for outgoings? Can you afford to cover that out of savings / reserves if you have a month that is slow? What about covering a higher % in case your partner has a slow month?

One thing that jumped out from your post is that you're unsure what business to start. I think if you're going to start a business then it does have to be doing something you're passionate about (or at least have more than a passing interest in). You're going to be spending hours doing it for very little pay right at the start - much more than the usual 40hr working week. It's unlikely to be a 9-5 thing - you'll be spending the working day doing the work itself, so evenings and weekends are when you're going to get to do the admin like accounts, advertising, social media, stock orders. If your not passionate about the job itself then it's going to get old very quickly.

In your situation I'd be inclined to stick in a permanent job, use the £5k to train and then spend 18-24 months using that training in a side hustle. That will give you an indication of if you actually like the job and it's income potential before jumping into it full time.

Thanks again for all of the advice.

The virtual assistant role does actually really interest me and as you say, would fit with my current experience.
My partner and I had a good chat about all of this last night and he also thinks I should play to my strengths and do something I’m already good at.

I think I’d need to maybe do a couple of short courses to brush up on some skills like excel for example but I’m happy to do that.

In response to the poster who asked if I could work with him in his business, it’s not really my thing, but I could definitely help him with the admin side of things as he’s very unorganised with all of that and I’m constantly trying to get him to sort it all out.

I do plan to continue to work in my current job until I find my think and then take it slowly from there.

Dog walking, pet sitting/feeding? Both easy, low cost to set up, just need a website and maybe a bit of local advertising like door flyers.

My local college is doing free excel courses so might be worth looking if they have them in your area

Not terribly easy to earn £30k a year doing that though.

Maybe. Just checked a post from a dog walking company that says many full-time walkers earn in the £25,000–£30,000 range, while those in high-demand areas like London may see higher rates. Not sure how many is many… and that’s just one data point but the one pet feeder I know works with her partner and they’re both living on the proceeds, north London.

Nw