Ideas for a small business?

[cheb]

Religion, start your own church. All you need is a bit of charisma and a USP.

[Horse]

Religion, start your own church. All you need is a bit of charisma and a USP.

And acolytes. And a big whicker man to burn?

[Taipan]

Religion, start your own church. All you need is a bit of charisma and a USP.

“Potters Hatches, Matches & Dispatches Emporium”! It does have a bit of a ring to it!

[Yorick]

Religion, start your own church. All you need is a bit of charisma and a USP.

“Potters Hatches, Matches & Dispatches Emporium”! It does have a bit of a ring to it!

Icarus, the God of War

[v8-powered]

Turn a hobby in to a business.....

Folks where I grew up were boaty people - they both gave up their day jobs and purchased a Chandlery business. Mixing with people with similar interests, selling products and services they were familiar with and had a good knowledge of....

[Wossname]

See my post, away up there somewhere ^^^^. But if you insist - you've got lots of useful practical, manual skills. Put up a card in all your local shops, Facebook/Nextdoor if you do, advertising your availabilty as a DIY/handyman, free estimates etc. Pick/choose the jobs you fancy and are capable of. No need for premises, outlay, much gear, no real commitment time-wise. Give it a go, stop if you don't like it - no harm done.

[Horse]

Turn a hobby in to a business.....

... Can be the end of enjoying it as a 'hobby'.

[DefTrap]

In the same circumstances I'd probably get a van and be a bit of a do-anything. Move stuff; gardening; tidy ups; fixing things; basic DIYs; odd-mechanicing etc.

EDIT: If I had to have premises, it'd be some space I could share with other complimentary businesses to maximise the footfall etc. I 'found' a great location in Biarritz, lovely art-deco run-down garage - would have made a great caff / workshop / hangout. But someone with bottomless pockets had better ideas and it's now a fancy boutique hotel. Ruined.

[Rockburner]

Move all your workshop tools in* and open a small publicly accessible mechanical workshop where you can make whatever people ask you to make** while chatting to them over the counter*** and they can watch you work****.





* and pay oodles in insurance and security.

** especially stuff you don't have the tools for

*** answering damn-fool questions from idiots

**** "Ooooh, you don't wanna do it like that...", "My Dad used to do this sort of stuff, but his widgets were far better made.", "Japanese lathe? Nah, the old british made ones were always far better, what's wrong with inches and feet?" etc etc etc etc.

[Horse]

**** "Ooooh, you don't wanna do it like that..."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-68379930

[Greenman]

I met a mate of a mate last week and he told me we works as a paramedic in ambulances. I gave him a bit of respect via a fist bump as i have a lot of respect for people who do that job helping people on a daily basis, he came back to me with "nah mate, it's crap, everyone is a wanker now, i hate it" which was probably accurate but a bit disappointing!

I've not encountered it yet but I've heard that, post-covid, public attitudes have deteriorated. A greater 'I want' attitude. Filly is seeing it from parents in schools too.

It's that kind of attitude that "drives" the poor standards of driving that have been reported on regularly since the Covid lockdowns.

That is also shocking around here in Bristol.

I had 2 people pull out on me in the space of about 200 yards yesterday and when you give them a tonk they seem to think they are all innocent or have no clue what they just done.

I drive around the south west a lot and it's getting dangerous out there, next the French will try to get us to drive on the right hand side of the road and be telling us their driving standards are better than ours!

[Couchy]

A shop sounds like a pain in the arse tbh. Set up on your own as sparky/handyman and only take the small easy jobs you’ll easily make £1k a month. Have your van kitted out for your hobbies too so the expense of that gets the tax relief. I’ll be doing similar in a couple of years once life has settled again.

[asmethurst99]

I've not encountered it yet but I've heard that, post-covid, public attitudes have deteriorated. A greater 'I want' attitude. Filly is seeing it from parents in schools too.

It's that kind of attitude that "drives" the poor standards of driving that have been reported on regularly since the Covid lockdowns.

That is also shocking around here in Bristol.

I had 2 people pull out on me in the space of about 200 yards yesterday and when you give them a tonk they seem to think they are all innocent or have no clue what they just done.

I drive around the south west a lot and it's getting dangerous out there, next the French will try to get us to drive on the right hand side of the road and be telling us their driving standards are better than ours!

Try Hackney or Tower Hamlets sometime

[Count Steer]

Having thought a bit, I think in similar circumstances I'd like to find someone with an idea of a business they want to build that I could help with, based on what experience/skills etc I've got or just providing labour. eg if someone took on one of those craft supplies businesses I mentioned I'd be about covering some of the shows or acting as casual labour helping cover peaky demand (cranking out cappuccinos if need be).

That way they can have the vision, drive etc and I get the pleasure of helping them, paid, part time, as needed (keeping things 'business real') or, possibly, buying in/investing and taking a share in the success (or not ).

Be nice to help someone build something they're passionate about. I'm a bit too old to get passionate but it's refreshing to be involved with folk that are.

[Noggin]

I've not encountered it yet but I've heard that, post-covid, public attitudes have deteriorated. A greater 'I want' attitude. Filly is seeing it from parents in schools too.

100%. I see it on the slopes and rather than getting better as I’d expected, once people got over the selfishness of lockdown and the ‘focus on myself’ mantra, it’s getting worse

To the point that, due to the leg break being down to some selfish arsewipe taking me out, I’m scared to ski when it’s busy, and due to lack of snow in lower resorts it’s been bastard busy all season so far - I’ve never had a season pass have less use

[Mr. Dazzle]

Having thought a bit, I think in similar circumstances I'd like to find someone with an idea of a business they want to build that I could help with

You and Iccy can set up mild mannered Dragon's Den.

[Cousin Jack]

How far are you from a biggish city? A mate runs a storage business, a pice of hardstanding with containers on it. His is a fair size, obviously took a wedge of capital, but it looks like an ideal business. He had a couple give notice last week, 3 phone call and people on the waiting list bit his hand off. No bad debts, 3 warnings for late payment and you are out.

He makes a very good living out of a fair sized yard, but if you just want a business to play with, and to run a new van on you could choose a small patch with just a few containers.

Obviously you need to be close enough to your market to make it work.

[Yorick]

How about Man With a Van?
Pick and choose your work and get family to help as and when needed.

[Wossname]

I know 2 people who got into the storage thing, both right out in the country but out of sight. They were amazed by the demand even in the middle of nowhere. Main problem for you would be buying the right bit of land, and planning might be an issue.

[Cousin Jack]

I know 2 people who got into the storage thing, both right out in the country but out of sight. They were amazed by the demand even in the middle of nowhere. Main problem for you would be buying the right bit of land, and planning might be an issue.

Planning, plus you really need hard standing to exist. Surfacing a big area is expensive!