Comments on: Top 5 Business Startup Myths

By: G Web

G Web — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:45:42 +0000

Hi John

Starting a business does seem daunting and its better to hide behind these myths then do it. As an entrepreneur that has helped many people start their own business its easy to hide behind the myths then face the FEAR.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:22:26 +0000

i don’t imagine the current financial climate will help matters any!

By: Small Business Blog from Microsoft : Some light relief

Small Business Blog from Microsoft : Some light relief — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:36:06 +0000

[...] Some light relief As a counter-weight to depressing economic news (although how often have you heard the powers that be say something like “everything is going fantastically well. Business rates are down, orders are streaming in across all industry sectors, and there’s absolutely no excuse for businesses not to thrive…” ), here are some recent examples of entrepreneurial innovation that may provide some encouragement. A north Devon farmer is diversifying by trying to set up a swingers’ club in a nearby village. Following the BSE crisis in the late 1990s he first set up a holiday park and then moved into weddings and functions in a nearby barn. (Wonder what kind of market research was carried out…) An American investor based in the UK has won an international design competition for his Reactiv cycle jacket, which changes colour as the cyclist brakes. Initially starting with LEDs stuck on with gaffer tape, Michael Chen moved on to incorporate a traffic-light signal system - red when braking, green when accelerating and amber when turning, to give motorists clearer visibility of cyclists’ anticipated actions. More from the BBC website here. Animal dung coffee at £50 per cup is being sold in a London department store (with all profits going to Macmillan Cancer Support). The reasoning is that Asian palm civets (they’re a bit like a raccoon) are said to pick the best coffee berries. If you want more detailed information on the processes involved (!) visit the BBC website here. If you’re looking for more down-to-earth inspiration, try looking here for some business opportunities and ideas. Filed under: starting up, Microsoft Small Business: Business climate, business planning [...]

By: John

John — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:50:35 +0000

Catherine,

Thanks, yours looks interesting too.

By: CatherineL

CatherineL — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:31:59 +0000

Hi - interesting results. I’m surprised to learn that only 10 to 15% of small business start ups are turned down for a loan. Perhaps the figure is higher for those who get a DTI loan guarantee, but they should realise that they’ll be paying a significant chunk of cash to do this.

I have a good trading history with my bank and a year ago I sold one business and started another, which has been trading for about 8 months. I just called them re: an overdraft to enable us to take on larger contracts and my bank manager said that although my track record will go in our favour, I only have 10 to 15% chance of being accepted.

I guess it all depends on the amounts you’re borrowing too.

Regarding profits, I think it all depends on the type of start up. You could probably set up on your own cleaning windows, with little cash outlay and become profitable very quickly.

On the other hand if you need to lay out a lot of cash initially and employ staff straight away, you’re not going to get profitable in a couple of months.

Interesting blog by the way. I’ll certainly be reading more.

By: John

John — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 08:29:05 +0000

Because it’s only the top 5

While planning to loose money is not a good idea, for some businesses it’s unrealistic to expect to turn a profit with the first years. Amazon is an example of this, it ran for several years at a loss as it developed a capital intensive infrastructure and pursued a strategy of rapid global expansion.

I would argue however such businesses are not small businesses.

I’d suggest all small businesses should be looking to be profitable ASAP and should keep refining their plans until they establish how to do so.

By: Paul Simister

Paul Simister — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 08:19:02 +0000

Interesting blog.

I am surprised that you didn’t add another to your list

“All small businesses will lose money in the first year”.

I hate it when I hear people say this because I believe that it just sets them up for a period of poor performance and easy excuses.

We planned to lose money, we are losing money. Bingo we are on target.

Complete nonsense of course.

I don’t have the statistics but I believe that most small businesses should be aiming to make a good profit in Year 1.

OK it may not be as much as they’d like and I don’t believe in paying salaries out of the business until the business can afford it

By: Ed Kohler

Ed Kohler — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:46:18 +0000

Great tips. Starting is easier than people realize, but it’s also the easiest part.

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Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:53:42 +0000

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