Want to start my own business

[takingiteasy]

But not have a clue where to start?

My ideas so far include some sort of food van, a cafe with play bit for kids in town where there's nothing like that nearby. A shop which sells your decent 2nd hand stuff and takes a percentage or a beauty salon. I have no beauty qualifications but am partial to a manicure!

I also have no spare cash.

Maybe I just don't want to go back to work after my maternity leave!

Yeah me too! Any successful ideas let me know

The cafe sounds like a great idea. There is nothing round my way like that either.

Yeah I'm not thinking a proper soft play just somewhere parents and carers can go and relax a bit whilst the kids play.

I'd love there to be a cafe thats child friendly, where you can relax & not feel bad about having your children there - so I'd support that one!

I'd also support selling the 2nd hand stuff. Loads of friends sell stuff on eBay but I can't be bothered with the faff, but if I could take it to a shop for them to sell it for me, I'd do that too!

Anyway, I think that means I'm supportive of you not going back to work after maternity

YANBU! I look at loads of local businesses and wonder how they can do it and I haven't. I think I would start though by looking at rent for business premises and insurance - might be prohibitive and cause you to have to think again.

The best kids play area I ever came across, was in a furniture shop. It was cordened off by fencing, and you could leave ur lo to play in there, (as had a gate) whilst look around the shop. It had a tv, table and chairs for colouring in. Blocks, and a few push along toys. Was fab, like a mini cage

That sounds good long distance!

i think maybe you dont want to go back to work!
also- all of those businesses have high start up costs...

The thing is that you won't make much money if you have a cafe like that. I know it sounds a nice idea, but people will come in, buy a coffee and spend hours there. You'll make perhaps £1 per person per hour. When you factor in rent and heating, you wouldn't make anything. Also a place like that would need constant redecoration just to keep it looking OK. Children do cause a lot of damage.

I would've thought there's only a point in opening a salon if you can do the work in it. Otherwise, you are paying yourself for doing nothing, really.

Sorry if these sound like negative comments - I don't mean them to be. I think if you're opening a new business you should have to cope with every criticism and answer them in a positive way, so that you're prepared.

Paying myself for doing nothing sounds ideal! I am clueless and very guilty of running before I can walk. Case in point, I got acrylic nails for the first time a few weeks ago and decided I could do it myself, ordered all the stuff and my head was full of plans on how to make money out of it. The stuff arrived, turns out it's not as easy as it looks!

For someone with no spare cash they are not good options as require a decent upfront investment.

What do you do at the moment - can you do it freelance or similar? Better to make the best use of skills and experience you already have rather than have to learn how to run a cafe/do nails or whatever.

No, what I do isn't something people pay for or even really want half the time!

You could easily get around the staying-for-hours-and-nursing-a-single-drink issue by charging per child for the play area section. It wouldn't have to be a lot, say £1 for 45 minutes or an hour, which reinforces the fact that there is a time limit. It would be cheap enough for parents to be able to relax and have a coffee and you'd still be getting money coming in even if they don't get a second drink and stay for a few hours.

Hi there,

This one isn't really an AIBU, so we've moved it to the 'Going back to work' topic.

Thanks
MNHQ

The selling second hand stuff is the best idea. There is so little outlay. You take stuff, decide what it will sell for them when it sell, you split what you get with the person who let you have it.

Refuse anything not top notch, get yourself a reputation for only selling the best.

Clothes, toys, dress up stuff. We have one like this in our town. It is great.

What skills have you got?

Aw but I don't want to go back to work!

I've not really got any money making skills!

But if you can say what skills you have got we might be able to suggest a business idea that you might be good at?

The things I've done are people based support roles in the community. I'm good with people.

But working for yourself is ten times harder than working for someone else, so if you're feeling a bit lazy you're far better staying with your current job.

There are plenty of women on MN who work for themselves and will tell you how hard it is.

And when I meant you'd be paid for doing nothing, I didn't exactly mean that! I meant you wouldn't be a valuable member of the salon and as such wouldn't deserve payment!

I thought about the coffee shop idea when I was on mat leave. I did the sums, a "rough" business plan and realised that despite my area having nothing and all the yummy mummies talking about missing something like this, it just wouldn't make enough money.

The second hand stuff is a good idea, but it's already been done - Google or search on Facebook for "Little Pickers' Market" - It's a good concept and they are going nationwide