Feasible business optios?!

SarahRicoh said:
I am prepared to put money & get trainibg but theres no point putting money into a business unless im a 100%... Same with training... Iv posted varyingvthreads with diff ideas & questions.. I cant make any sortvof plans/research if i have no basis...
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Ok, well even if you don't know what KIND of business you want, that shouldn't stop you looking into taking/learning general business management/accounts training - those are transferable skills no matter what you go on to do.

ETS: cross-posted with Scrunchie - still think it's worth doing.
 
Just a thought, but I know that in my area mobile dog grooming businesses are doing very well, one doesn't even trim dogs, but baths and grooms them and trims nails. I think there are far more opportunites in the canine sector tbh; more dog owners than horse owners!

If you were going to do it I think it would be worth getting the relevant qualifications and of course there would be start up costs for a vehicle etc, but you could perhaps sell food/accessories from the vehicle as well?
 
had no business training or marketing most of it is common sense, you do however need a good accountant they can save you a lot of money.
 
I started my own business 9 years ago after being made redundant. Yes, it's great being my own boss, but it is very time consuming. I work much harder for myself than I did for any employer. Taking time off becomes difficult because no work equals no pay, and of course taking a holiday can really hit your profits! I drew no income from my business for the first six months, but that was only possible because I had some redundancy money left. If you can get employment as opposed to self employment, it is a much better option, UNLESS you have an amazing skill or idea. With a paid job, at the end of the day, thats it. Self employed you will have your books to do, look for new customers - well, I could go on, but the day never ends.
Sorry if I am putting a dampener on things, but self employment is not an easy option, especially if you don't know what you actually want to do.
 
Buying and selling I would say is a definite no no.

Its not something I would go near unless I had decent facilities (an all weather school at least), my own transport to go competing and a fairly decent other stream of income. The market is absolutely dire at the moment, and you'd need to be turning horses around fast and selling them for a fair whack more than you paid for them to make even a small profit.

I relatively recently started my own business offering freelance schooling and training, and as part of that I do take on horses to school them for sale but its not my money on the line.

The best idea I can give you is to carry on working full time and learn about businesses - take a course in business management maybe, get some qualifications, gain an understanding of marketing and accountancy and all the fundamental (but less exciting) components that make up a business. And in the mean time, get a job doing something that you'd one day like to do for yourself - for a feed merchants perhaps, or maybe working for a dealer. If you learn how successful people are doing it, that will give you the skills when you are ready to start up on your own.
 
Agree that buying and selling on is probably a no unless you have the facilities, own the land (renting is dead money) and are well known in the area for your riding abilities etc. Even then it will be very hard to break even let alone make any sort of profit.

I work in a tack shop and we probably spend about £1000 a week on ordering feed in. We barely make any profit on it. No matter how much we order in we still can't even seem to buy it in at the prices that countrywide/mole valley etc are selling it for! Doesn't help that I think they have their own mill now so they can produce their own range of feed at low cost. Unless you live in a giant warehouse I don't think you would be able to buy it in very cheap. We don't really do delivery due to high fuel costs, there's no profit in feed and bedding anyway, let alone trying to find the money for diesel.

I would agree with others that leaving your current employment is very risky, especially when there are so many people out of work at the moment. If you have steady full time work at the moment then cling on to it. If I were you I would try to keep my full time job and sign myself up to a few business courses at a local college in the evenings. Especially as you do not know what kind of business you want, being on a course may help you to realise what it takes to start up a business and give you a few ideas.

Good luck. I could never be self employed, I like regular pay and holidays too much!
 
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Umbongo said:
Good luck. I could never be self employed, I like regular pay and holidays too much!
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So do I. I am self employed but I get paid a regular salary and I have regular holidays. It can be done.

There is an old saying that you never make a fortune working for somebody else. Its true.
 
I'm now buying and selling ponies and galloways, but the only reason I have any success is because I'm a fairly known rider in the area, getting good national/international results; and I've also been schooling dressage/pony club mounts to a sought for almost 10 years :rolleyes:
Honestly, stick to the day job, these things require business savvy, time and an awful lot of energy and disappointment
 
My current job isnt full time & i wont get paid much less to change jobs and il be happirt working with horses so im going to chamge jobs anyway... Thanks for advice on free business courses il look into that!
I thought buying & selling would be a big no lol! I thought of doin freelance riding etc but there seems to be an awful.lot of grooms & no market? Correct me if im wrong...
I agree dog sector is bigger than horses though
 
SarahRicoh said:
I thought buying & selling would be a big no lol! I thought of doin freelance riding etc but there seems to be an awful.lot of grooms & no market? Correct me if im wrong...
I agree dog sector is bigger than horses though
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There is work out there, but really it depends how good you are - you have to be brutally honest with yourself on that one about your capabilities.

It's also not the safest way to make money - a lot of the ones I get are ones that people are at their wits end with already.

Just another word of advice, and not meant disrespectfully, but if you do go self employed you might want to work on your spelling. People might not be hiring you for your writing skills but it is important to present yourself professionally, and reasonably correct spelling and grammar are a part of that.
 
I think you are being extremely naive I'm afraid. The economy is suffocating people who are well trained / qualified and looking for jobs.

I would continue with your current job and try to get additional training and qualification wherever possible. It's great you have ambition and drive but you need to be realistic.
 
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