Has anyone started their own business and NOT made any money?

[inabizzlefam]

am just starting out as self employed. Have signed off JSA and am absolutely terrified that it will all go tits up. I won't make a penny (online shop) and will end up not being able to support me and the DCs.
Am I overthinking it all and the majority of new businesses succeed ......eventually?

Blanche, interesting. I'm also an ex-teacher who's left teaching to set up my own business.

I agree anything is better than going back to the appalling work-life balance and stress teaching offered me.

Some figures suggested that 4 out of 5 businesses didn't survive the 5 year mark. Some of the main reasons for failure are lack of sales, poor organisation or lack of planning, unexpected taxes, regulatory costs, too much/too little stock, drawing out too much money. These days it's never been easier to start a business, mostly due to the internet, but a huge number of new start ups fail.

It IS possible to start a business on a shoe-string, many people do, but ideally you should be able to reinvest all profits back into the business to build it up. Needing to draw money out for personal/living costs is an added burden on a young business and will drastically slow down it's growth.

You really do need to be doing something that everyone else can't do. There's no profit in just buying/selling things that anyone else can buy and sell as it's simply a race to the bottom. Look for a niche or special interest that few other people are doing, or find/make unique products. You may think you can run a business on making just a few percent profit per item, but you'll just end up a busy fool, especially when you factor in postage, ebay and paypal costs.

I've set up 3 companies now and for all of them, any money made in the first 12 months has had to be re-invested and its not enough to live on for at least 2 years and thats if you do well. Selling on eBay is IMO very hard to make a living from. One of my brands is quite popular internationally and even when I tried selling these on eBay (as the only seller on eBay) they wouldn't have made me a living, and I can imagine with dresses its a lot harder due to the competition.

Its very easy for a business to fail, especially when you are relying on it making a profit to live.

Never ever put all your eggs in one basket.

With things like eBay you are 100% relying on one company for your entire business. Tomorrow they could change their rules, their fees, you could be restricted or banned.

Our sales were decimated last year for a few weeks when Amazon decided that all products needed to be on a white background - que hundreds of items needed rephotographing and editing.

Try eBay, Amazon, etsy, I think you can even set up your on Wordpress store. Diversify!

Also be warned that PayPal can put a hold on all of your funds indefinitely for no reason.

Some very interesting responses.
I do have 16 years experience in bookwork, so am comfortable with tax returns, vat returns, spreadsheets, marketing, invoices, etc. Also, I have about 12 years experience in retail/customer focused work, so it's not as though I have no experience to put into the business.
I am puzzled though by the responses that ask why I am going to stop claiming JSA. Surely claiming benefits AND running a business is classed as illegal?

Wow, ok. With all that experience are you not thinking of freelance bookkeeping as an additional income?

I think my first reaction on reading your op was that you couldn't have much business experience because surely most people know that the vast majority of businesses fail - I was afraid for you.

No I practically ran my STBX's Ltd company throughout the marriage, but I hated it as I find numbers, figures, etc boring. I worked in 2 family businesses after leaving school and gained a lot of experience in "window dressing" which I think will help me a lot with an online shop as I have an eye for putting on great presentation.
I don't have any start up expenses as I literally have a garage full of dresses which, as a mad shopper, I have accumulated over the years, mainly from charity shops and jumble sales. And I am intending to sell slightly different dresses, mainly steampunk, which, from my research on Ebay, seems to fetch the most bids and higher prices.

I thought you only had to sign off JSA when you were running at a profit. Given that your inventory must have cost you a wedge, the point at which you recoup the expenditure is probably a long way off and in the meantime you have no income.

What's the rough outline of your business plan? How much do you need to sell and at what price to make any profit?
Shame you find the figures bit boring, that's the most interesting part I think!

If you are running you own business then you are probably NOT Job Seeking, so the Job Seeking Allowance is not appropriate.

So you can heat, fill out applications, annoy people looking for employees and keep the JC Bod happy.... but that is still cheating the system.

Thinking more about this, selling whatever gear you've got knocking around the house isn't "running a business" is it? The tax maneoukdnt be interested at this point surely, and for the life of me I don't know why you've signed off JSA with no other income.

If you need to make a living, then you need to use your book-keeping skills, while trying to build up an internet retail business in your spare time.

and for the life of me I don't know why you've signed off JSA with no other income She did say she had registered her business and switched the the NEA. That is what you are supposed to do when starting a business when on JSA.

I too registered for JSA, stuck with the utter incompetence of the mentor for as long as was possible then switched to the NEA to extend the period of time I could legally claim benefits after starting my own business.

OP may not have chosen a business that works for her, but she has used the JSA/NEA benefits available correctly.

I really do find it strange (especially on MN), that PPs appear to endorse running a business, successful or not, AND claiming JSA.
I personally do not want to continue claiming JSA and that decision had a lot to do with my "career coach", who couldn't understand why I felt it necessary to bring my DCs along with me when I signed on. It never occurred to her that, as a single parent, signing on at 3.50pm was "difficult". I can only assume that she did not have DCs.
I also found her whole attitude towards me extremely belittling. she wanted to see me every week, not every fortnight and, when I specifically asked, refused to pass me over to her colleague, who specifically dealt with single parents.
I personally wasn't against signing on but it was the attitude of my job coach that made me realise I would rather lose £70 a week than have to go through that every week.
Also, I have no intention of being hauled up in front of the authorities accused of fiddling the system, which is why I went down the NEA route.

I don't blame you at all for not wanting to be on JSA. I feel exactly the same. But if you need the money (as a single mum you probably do?) then you have to bite the bullet and do something that will bring in money. The thing most likely to earn you money is something you are particularly skilled in, as against others. For you, that may be book-keeping. Even if you dislike it. Then, on the side, become skilled in something you actually enjoy doing, and grow that business until you can give up book-keeping.

Op - after NEA you can get WTC even if you're not making a profit - works out the same as JSA but you have the freedom to build your business.

Hi I am looking for Alot of advice on starting up a domestic cleaning business asvertising, the initial meeting with clients to price jobs ,cleaning products , paper work.neesed , insurance the whole lot I am a 35 yr old single mum of 6 I. work evenings as a support worker 4-11pm and every other weekend while my mother takes care of the kids and I'm tired of it ... I enjoy cleaning and Thought this job role will fit in perfectly with my family. So I can be home at the weekends. But I am terrified that I won't know what I'm doing and feel I will fail with the lack of info so please help me by telling me step by step how other cleaners succeed and get regular clients. Thank you in advance

We deliver the NEA contract and switching to that from JSA was the right thing to do.
Many start ups fail I'm afraid. Get all the help you can from Business Gateway, Women in Business, local Chamber of Commerce. Virgin Start Up have lots of resources on line.
Don't be ripped off my web designers or accountants. You can do a lot yourself or with free help.

Porsche answer as before. You need to do a business plan which will help you with pricing, market research etc. See what your competitors are charging and what demand is in your area.
Work out your survival budget. What do you need to earn from the business to survive? Make sure you have insurance?