I want to start my own business. I have quite a lot of cash and no idea what to do!

[VivaLeBeaver]

Qualifications I have are degrees, criminology and midwifery. I also have a massage qualification but never worked as a masseur. Did a years training and exam and that's it.

Interests, cycling, yoga (am really crap at it, can't touch my toes), reading, dogs.

Stuff I've done in the past; shop work, office work, farm work, clearing blocked sewers, been a midwife.

Vague ideas I have,

Set up a coffee shop. Worried it would go bust as I see ones opening and closing all the time. Plus I'd have to be at work six days a week 9-5. I'd maybe like something more flexible??

Setting up a dog walking business. Am worried it wouldn't make enough money although my mum knows someone (not in my area) who's done this and is having to take on staff as she's doing so well.

Getting a reflexology qualification and a nail technician qualification and setting my own business up. Again worried there's a lot of people doing this so would it take off?

Buying a jetter, van and some rods and set up a sewer unblocking company. Really not sure, money can be good but its hard, physical work and you spend all day covered in shit.

I've got about 120k cash.

Any thoughts?

And I used to do antenatal classes for surestart.

But we're a bit overrun with midwives doing antenatal classes in our town, along with nct.

Maybe I could train in hypno birthing?

She does day care so picks them up in the morning, walks them, takes them to her house, does an afternoon walk then takes them home. She has anything between 8 and 15 per day. So say an average of 10 x £25 = £250 per day, £1250 per week. Take away wages for a helper, petrol and insurance and she is left with at least 3k per month. It is hard work though!

Even I couldn't cope with ten dogs in the House. My house isn't that big and dh doesn't like dogs much.

Depends what you need from a job.
If it's just the money I'd say it is pretty easy to clear 1K a month without touching your capital.
How much flexibility do you need? cafes can be very time demanding, you have to be open at regular set times, you may employ staff, but if things don't work out then it could make a serious dent in your savings. If you like yoga you may like to train as Body balance teacher- ( Les Mills Body Training Systems) loads of work around, there is a shortage of teachers.

I sell second hand books on Amazon and write copy for a few local people and Textbroker ( a content farm) I clear 1K a month and work 20 hours a week. I required no real investment.

Interesting thread. I don't have lots of money, but a little bit, an am working on my Plan B.

Does soft play tend to make money? Do they cost a lot? We have a couple nearby but one is enormous and scary with a horrible cafe, and the other is tiny. I love the idea of combining with craft and good cake.

A cleaning business! Honestly, a really good cleaning business with properly trained housekeepers.

slightly different from the norm ante and post natal stuff is booming here, Lazy Daisy dancing for birth, yoga (don't need to worry about not touching your toes with pg ladies), baby bokwa and so on. You could combine your qualifications and interests in yoga, massage etc to offer some great courses.

Oh God - not a house cleaning business, it's a nightmare. Been there, done that, wore the t-shirt out!

Soft play, in the right place, turns over a lot of money - not sure how much of it is profit though and quite a bit of capital to set it up if you start from scratch. Well worth looking into if your area will support it - and plenty of helpful advice on MN :)

Doggy Daycare is good money - dog walking not so much. It's more a way of getting paid to get 4-8 hours of exercise a day, but wont build your fortune anytime soon!

A posh burger place

Can't believe dog sitters are earning so much! Shame I'm not all that keen on dogs.

You won't need anywhere near 120k to set up any of those businesses. I'd speak to a financial advisor about the best way to invest most of that if I were you.

How about being a doula?

As an ex midwife and someone who loves yoga, you might be interested in training as an Active Birth teacher.

No idea how popular classes would be, but I did classes in London for my three and they were always full, with a waiting list.

I doubt you'd make £1k a month, but it's something you could consider alongside another source of income.

Class times can be flexible as well; evenings for the working mums and daytimes for those on mat leave/sahms. Maybe combine it with being a dhoula/dogwalking?

Me personally I would look to going part time or something not too dissimilar from what you are doing now as per Indith and NoArmani suggestions, something where you have a proven track record and experience for doing that type of work

With the rest of the money perhaps I would look to buy some sort of investment property or invest it wisely so I could in years to come give the kids a hefty deposit for their first property

Doula or something else birth related

Buy and rent out a few static caravans in a nice location?

I don't know how much it would cost to set up a really nice soft play/craft centre, but I live in edinburgh and the ones we go to are always busy! Crap cafes though!

How old are you if you don't mind me asking? In the longer term getting a professional qualification will pay off more than starting a cafe.

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned it but dog grooming seems more lucrative than dog sitting.

Why not put it into your pension? It's grossed up at your highest rate of tax and just set up something low cost that doesn't need a huge outlay.

If you have £120k to invest that is serious capital. Most of your ideas involve too much physical work for someone who doesn't really want that. You seem to like the dog stuff and there's a lot of growth in this market so a dog styling parlour or selling luxury dog stuff (in a shop or online) might be a good idea - no walking dogs in the wind and rain. You want something that will bring good money in without too much hard graft and with £120k that shouldn't be difficult. If you budget right you should be able to get others to do the work for you. selling dog stuff - get a website or an ebay site and you can buy in stock as it's ordered. Alternatively you could buy a property on a mortgage, do it up and make a quick profit. With that kind of capital you don't want to be doing hard physical graft or spending the next few years retraining while your money drains away.

How about a kids cookery group? I run www.craftycooks.co.uk ad am always on the look out for franchisees x

I would avoid the nails, etc idea as more and more of it is doable from home. I got a gel nails set and light for Christmas, my friend has a beauty salon and tells me there is less and less nail stuff you have to use a salon for as products become easier to use and more available.

If you want to go down a complementary therapy route to go with the massage I was going to recommend KORE therapy I know a couple of people who make a fairly good living from this as it combines well with other therapies

Have you though about a cat hotel? Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotel have franchise opportunities and do not have one in Scotland. They offer good ROI and flexible working.

They have both a website and facebook page if you are interested.

I think hypnobirthing practitioner is the way to go...although I'm guessing it's mostly evening and weekend work.

I have always longed for a childminder for teenagers. Bearing in mind your coffee shop, nail technician, criminology and sense of humour (not to mention the blocked sewers) I should think you would be perfect.

Only just seen your thread and wondered if you'd decided on anything yet?
If not, if I could show you a fanatic business idea with minimal start up cost, that's flexible around family and other commitments and that doesn't take too much of your time, would you take a quick look at it and let me know what you think?