Golden opportunity? What to do !

[magicalhello]

Regular poster but name changes just in case anyone recognises me from other posts in the outside world.

My husband has given me free reign - and a head start money wise - to set up my own business, with the view that I can be around more for our 3 children and not have to "go out to work"

The problem I have, is I have no idea what I want to do.

Help !

Need much more info here! If money is no object and you/your DH just want you to be around for the children more, do you need to start a business at all? Most businesses, even small scale ones, take really quite a lot of intensive input to make them profitable at least at first. Everyone I know who runs their own business works incredibly hard, has done for a number of years and is around less, not more, for their family compared to people who have regular employed jobs so not sure this is the best idea!

Why not take some time out of work as a SAHM, or go part-time/change jobs/do some volunteering or charitable work if you want to keep some interests outside of raising a family? What do you do now and do you enjoy it? What are your skills and interests? Do you have any hobbies that could be monetised in any way?

It's more a case, that we've got the funds now to be able to get something up and running, with the plan being that it'll be something secure for mine, and children's future and so I can be at home - if I go back to work, then we have to pay childcare etc and this is what we want to avoid.

We're not talking big business here, just something that has the potential to bring in money.

We looked at investing in bouncy castles / inflatables and doing a hire business, that's an idea of where our head had been but with Covid etc I'm not sure of the viability

I'd think it's a complete non-starter right now. Lots of children bouncing around in a 3 sided box...not great for Covid.

@Lougle exactly my thoughts so now thinking of another plan

If you don’t have a really compelling idea and the commitment to see it through then I would not do it tbh. Starting up your own business requires hard work and commitment and a really clear idea of what you’re aiming to achieve.

Maybe I should word it differently as I don't want people thinking I'm trying to think of a big business plan.

I need to find something, that I can do, that can cover what would've been my wages, but without me having to go to work, he is giving me the stepping stone to be able to do this.

I'm a trained nail technician but not done it for years, so I could go back into that, but again not sure how viable that would be ! More recently I've been doing admin work, again, not sure if that's something I can do from home.

I want to do something fun, and I'm not going to be suckered into a pyramid scheme!

Nails might be a really good start. It's always in demand.

What about dog grooming?

how about childminding? means you can look after your children and involve them in the activities you do with your mindees

If you are good at admin what about being a virtual assistant.

If you're a nail technician could you open a Nail salon.

I'm just cautious of what will work given Covid is putting a stop to everything !

I don't want to waste the opportunity or money !

can you be a franchisee on something? that way you get a 'kit business' with less risk.

You need to put the breaks on and really think about what you want to do and what you're capable of doing. How could you do nails if you still have to watch over your 3 children? The same goes for admin work and nearly anything else.

I had my own business for 15 years before I sold it, and I assure you the commitment involved is extreme. I'm not trying to put you off, but you do have to be realistic and prepared before you start throwing money into a venture that you can't handle. Believe me, the money goes very quickly when starting up a business.

I agree I would be cautious as well, you don't want to waste your money. Is there online business you could do?
Can you make gift baskets or letterbox gifts. My sister recurved one in lockdown. It had a card that said "thinking of you", a lovely scented candle, posh chocolate bar, 2 sachets of organic herbal tea etc.
You could do ones for birthdays, valentines, Mother's Day. Or some kind of subscription box.

I think it would help if you could elaborate a bit on your rationale for wanting to do this. Is it to bring some money in in a way that’s flexible around the kids? Couldn’t you just get a part time job that fits around their childcare for a few years until they are older?

Also, how MUCH capital have you got to invest?

How much do you have to invest and how much income do you need to generate?

I need to generate £800 a month, and have £15k to start up something.

The idea is so that I don't have to go out to work, so I can be around for DD.

Something with then potential to grow as she gets older etc.

I don't want to put a dampener on your enthusiasm, but surely most successful self employed people start off with an idea rather than a cash amount and set target to earn.

If you wanted to earn money without needing childcare there's lots of ways to do it, babysitting at hotels or cottages at the weekend, taking in ironing, offering online admin support. None of these would require much in initial investment

It does seem like he might be looking for you to earn money without him having to do any childcare and this is it parcelled up in a posh way.

How old is your DD now? Surely once she is at school then she won’t need you sitting at home all day for her? Or does she have some additional needs which mean she needs longterm care?

People around me pay ridiculous money to hire teepee beds for their kids. (not me but it's very popular!).

People will always spend money on their children, we started a children's party business at the end of the last recession and it's been very successful.
But my partner and family have put A LOT of time into it, you just can't rely on others to nurture your business.
Would you be happy to work every weekend and have the weekdays off?

The trouble is, all of these hiring things are non-viable because of Covid.

I had wanted to work for myself for years but I couldn't think of an idea.

Then I got into a project for my home and it just snowballed from there. It is something I love and I am learning lots. I have the flexibility to be there for my dc (two of who are disabled)and I can put it to n hold in school holidays.

It will never make me rich but I am very glad I did it.

@MrsBobDylan that's exactly what I want, I too can't think of anything ! What did it involve your project ? I'm thinking about maybe doing some prints, I've got some lovely ones for my Dds room but I couldn't find the exact one I wanted - so I could, potentially, make one