starting a business - is it beyond me?!!

[cazsaz]

Having always been an employee (in public services) I've never had anything to do with marketing/sales etc. I'm not stupid - but it's all a bit of a foreign language and I don't know where to go for really simple, clear advice.

I was recently made redundant and would love to start a simple business from home that would need a website that included the ability to take credit card payments from clients.

At the minute it just all seems a bit daunting. Does anyone have any advice, or has anyone been in this situation? I would love to hear from you.

What are you passionate about?

Working from home is pants if you don't love what you're doing and believe in it because the motivation is the toughest part for most.
Having said that, it's the best if you love being productive, independent and free to follow your path.

There are many multi-level marketing opportunities that will come your way but beware, to be successful (and you can be very successful) you've got to be REALLY driven - it wasn't for me and cost me a lot of money in buying sample products, attending trainings etc. All valuable learnings but be clear about what motivates you.

I did some careers coaching which helped me see what I provided for people (my skill set which is transparent to me!), what I need from people (to fuel my fire and keep me feeling 'loved and appreciated') and what environment I need to work in.

Then there are franchises which come in so many shapes or sizes. They generally need a bigger investment to get set up, but with the right support are potentially bigger businesses.

Working for yourself, you'll almost certainly have to network and meet people, there are lots of networking and business clubs now in every town which can be lots of fun ...and also deadly boring. Cheesy, valuable, rewarding, expensive, lots of different formats and different times of day!

I think you need to start by looking at what/who/where you'd like to work.

I can think of a couple of great coaches I can recommend who might be able to help you, depends whether you've got finance/time to spend investigating!

It'll feel exciting and scary all at the same time!
Hope this helps!
Good luck

MagicFest,
thanks for the reply. I am passionate about the idea of working for myself - partly I think because I've spent my working life in education and the NHS and in huge organisations like that you see so much that could be better, but often don't have a voice to change it. I think a lot of my motivation would be the ability to make my own decisions etc.

I have done some reading around franchises, but have read so many horror stories and also get the impression that you can never really be that financially successful as you are obviously always bound to the owner.

I think my main worries are all the business skills of networking (that you mention) marketing etc - I've never done anything like that!

I was hoping if I start with a small service idea that doesn't require much stock and initial outlay, that I can learn the skills as I go along. But I'm not sure if that is very naive from someone who has nver had to do those things...?

First of all don't believe any crud about people who've worked in the public sector can't run businesses etc. This is a load of old cobblers. There are loads of people in the private sector who can't run businesses in my view ... and plenty from the public sector who can.

Second, in many ways, IMO, it's all about making mistakes (and learning from these) interspersed with some successes. In some ways, feeling daunted is a positive because it means you may be more likely to think before you act.

There are lots of people on MN who run micro-sized businesses in exactly the way you suggest.

You could go for career coaching as MagicFest says - but I would be writing a business plan at this stage, researching the potential market etc. Maybe you did this bit already?

Re sales and marketing: you could also go to your local bookshop, WHSmith etc and just have a flick through the range of books there on sales and marketing. If you see any that interest you search them down second-hand on Amazon (because as a small business you are keeping your overheads low, right?). All the books will tell you, as MagicFest says that success is correlated to networking - for an online business this is possibly as much about social networking as networking in the flesh. How about having a Google about on Twitter, Facebook etc to see what other successful small businesses (ie the market leaders in your field) are doing to market themselves online? And then start doing it yourself

I just saw your other post, Cazsaz.

None of what you are suggesting is naive.

And none of it is rocket science, believe me.

Think of all the networking you have done in your working life so far - making contacts etc.

As Lady Macbeth once said (although I'm not quite sure she is the right person to quote here): screw your courage to the sticking point and you'll not fail

There is a really good book I have about sales for beginners by Robert Ashton called How to Sell. Why don't you try that for starters

Look on Amazon for Robert Ashton complete list of publications. His other books are good too.

mrsbaldwin,

Thank you so much for all the positive comments and constructive ideas - it has really helped just being reassured that it is possible. I've had so much negative comments about my public service background and the fact that I won't know what it's like in the real world. Don't know exactly where I have been then! I'm just in the process of writing a business plan and spending time, as you suggest, exploring the net for what is out there and how other people do it.

I think the way is to just get on with it and learn as you go - like you have said. The great thing about your reply is that I realise I just need to do it. If my business plan doesn't look as professional as an experts I don't suppose it will make much difference in the long run. I can always improve when I get advice.

You have helped to take away a bit of the fear of the unknown and I'm off to have a look at Amazon for that book.

Didn't Lady MacBeth come to a sticky end though?!

Unless you are using your business plan to apply for a loan, then it doesn't really matter what it looks like. What does matter is whether it is real and whether it works for you and your business.

So do you know that there is a market for what you want to sell? How much of the existing market could you attract, and why would people buy from you rather than from anyone else? Could you increase the size of the market e.g. by advertising your product/service in an area where it is not currently available? And work out some realistic figures based on your research.

Starting small and experimenting is a great way to go, but you also have to be tenacious enough not to give up if things go awry, and to get over mistakes that you might make along the way.

Good luck.

So, it sound as if you had an idea. Do you want to share it?