Archive for January, 2010
Written by Advisor on 19 January 2010
Could you use or modify your skills and experience that you learnt while working for somebody else to meet the needs of a niche market?
For example, if you are a joiner you could concentrate on manufacturing a limited range of quality furnishings instead of competing against well-established tradespeople doing joinery work in people’s homes. A mobile beautician could specialise in preparing brides and bridesmaids in their homes so that they don’t have to rush into town to get their hair done on their wedding day.
Tags: existing, product, skills, supply
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Written by Advisor on 18 January 2010
Could your hobby be used to form a basis for a business?
- Do you like gardening? Could you set up a landscape gardening firm?
- Do you enjoy cooking? What about a catering service for people having parties at home or a specialist cake making business?
Don’t discard your hobby as a business idea just because you do it for fun; somebody will probably be willing to pay for it. Besides, a lot of your business’ success will come down to the amount of work and enthusiasm you put into it, so it helps to base your idea around something you enjoy doing already.
Tags: hobby, maker, money, profit
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Written by Advisor on 17 January 2010
Think about how changes in society might lead to new business ideas.
For example, more people are starting social enterprises with a community focus to improve the quality of life for people in their area.
Organisations in sectors including the arts, education and healthcare often operate in this way and funding for these kinds of organisations is growing.
Tags: fashion, modern, popular, social, trends
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Written by Advisor on 16 January 2010
What type of person are you?
- If you have persistence, persuasive skills and the gift of the gab you might be good at sales. There are always openings for self-employed salespeople or agents to sell other people’s products and services. If you are good at dealing with people, you might wan to consider starting up a retail franchise, party planning opportunity or multi-level marketing scheme.
- If you are one of the thousands of people who enjoys selling items at car boot sales, you could start a legitimate business trading over the Internet by opening your own online shop perhaps by using ebay. Specialist suppliers such as businesses selling to a niche market are often particularly popular. See www.ebay.co.uk for ideas and products to specialise in.
Tags: business, ideas, personality
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Written by Advisor on 15 January 2010
Look around your home and hink of the problems and difficulties that you have experienced in getting things for your property, or at work, or in your leisure activities:
- What problems could cause you most inconvenience or cost you most to correct?
- What type of services were not available locally when you most needed them?
- Which spare parts, or items, were hard or impossible to obtain locally to you?
- What do you and your neighbours, friends and familymost frequently complain about?
- What service or product could you offer to local businesses – for example, a sandwich round to isolated industrial estates?
Listen to people talking in the pub or club, the supermarket checkout queue or cafe. Find out what they have difficulty getting. Is there any way of fulfilling their needs by providing a local service or product for any of these markets, which somebody will pay for?
You can research local businesses by checking out directories like Yellow Pages (www.yell.com), as well as your local Chamber of Commerce (http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/).
Tags: area, idea, local, missing, product, service
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Written by Advisor on 14 January 2010
Is there an opprtunity to set up a business revolving around tourism or leisure in your area?
A business like a tea shop or gift shop, for example, may thrive in an area with a high population of pensioners and a high influx of tourists. You could consider opening an activity centre in a rural area. Try contacting the local authority, Tourist Board or Regional Development Agency, as they may be able to suggest ideas or even run support schemes for businesses setting up in particular rural areas.
For more information go to www.visitbritain.com. and www.enjoyengland.com to find contact details for local Tourist Information Centres in England. To find local Tourist Information Centres in Wales see www.visitwales.co.uk and to find TICs in Northern Ireland see www.discovernorthernireland.com To find Visitor Information Centres in Scotland, see www.visitscotland.com
To find your Regional Development Agency look at www.englandsrdas.com www.wales.gov.uk www.scottish-enterprise.com or www.investni.com
Tags: leisure, local, made, market, opportunity, ready
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Written by Advisor on 13 January 2010
Look at the ways in which people live their lives in the modern world and see if you can think of ways to exploit new technology to build a business. For example, almost everyone now has a mobile phone and Social networking is also popular and sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter can be used for marketing and networking purposes.
Blogging (like this one) is also growing very fast and can be used to launch new ideas or get yourself noticed. A blog is a website maintained by an individual with regular entries on a particular subject.
Tags: build, business, idea, technology
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Written by Advisor on 12 January 2010
Research large firms, local authorities and other public bodies in your area and find out what they buy in from outside the area. They will most probably not be buying goods locally because there is no one to supply them. Similarly, local authorities, schools and organisations like the Police are purchasers of equipment and services. Sign up with them to receive news of tender opportunities or visit sites which advertise available tenders.
Go to www.direct.gov.uk to get the contact details of your local authority, and see www.supply2.gov.uk for an overview of the purchasing procedure of public authorities and details of contracts and tenders issued by the Government.
Tags: area, businesses, local, make, produce
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Written by Advisor on 11 January 2010
Many new firms start off by selling goods that somebody else makes. A number of opportunities exist to distribute foreign goods in the UK. For example, the United States of America Department of Commerce (US Commercial Service) publishes a regular magazine listing businesses looking for facilities and distributors (this is available from all US embassies and consulates). For more information. Look at www.buyusa.gov/uk/en
Chambers of Commerce also publish regular listings of businesses seeking partners willing to manufacture under licence or to act as sole distributors. See www.britishchambers.org.uk Also see sites like www.alibaba.com for more information on distribution, import and export opportunities.
You may even want to consider dropshipping. This is where a customer buys a product from you, but you then purchase the item from a company who sends it direct to the customer using your labeling. The difference between what the customer paid for the item and what you purchased it for is your profit.
Tags: goods, people, profit, resale, sell, used
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Written by Advisor on 10 January 2010
TV, Radio, Newspapers, magazines, online discussion forums, blogs and e-zines are all sources of new and emerging trends and problems that need help or a solution. Looking through the small ads section of your local paper is a good way to get a feel for supply and demand and you should also read the business opportunities sections in the national newspapers. Try the following resources as a starting point:
Tags: business, help, internet, media, newspaper, radio, sky, television, tips, tv
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