Posts Tagged ‘startup ideas’
This is the second instalment of our advice on country selection. As we said last time when it comes to exporting it is always crucial to have done some homework before committing. continue reading
Introducing Aliara.ie – Your business in a box!
Aliara.ie is the brainchild of Alison Cummins and Tara Lane. If you are looking to set up your own business but don’t know where to start this is definately worth a look…
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How to price a product or Service? – Starting a business In Ireland
Going through Dublin Airport the other day I noticed this “special offer” sign… wow an Irish brekfast for only ¢11.60!
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New Business Startup Idea. Where do I start ??
All Businesses start with an idea!, How do you find the right one??
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Why people dont start their own business…..Some real reasons
(Extract from article BR Dowling)
1. Some people just don’t want to…great no issue, being an entrepreneur is not the be all and end all. The majority of people who work for themselves work extremely long hours just to get by. Many many others try and fail. Unless you are an extremely unbalanced individual most of us know that the ultimate goal is to lead a happy and fulfilled life during our short allotted time on planet earth. What is a happy and fulfilled life is for each and every one of us to define for ourselves. It is ones of life’s great gifts that we get to set our own standards and goals the fact that many people choose badly and end up miserable is outside the remit of this article. The fact remains that your family, peers, colleagues and every dog on the street may be telling you that fulfilment lies in money/ fast cars/ high profile promotions etc. You are free to decide that for you its flip flops a surf board and enough cash to get by. Screw them it is your life…if you can achieve true happiness for the majority of your life you my friend are the real winner in this silly little game.
2. The Fear Factor…. Given that you are reading an article like this you probably are not surfing at the moment, so you think that you want a crack of the entrepreneurial whip. Ok then. The Fear Factor holds more people back from starting their own business than probably anything else. The old ‘what if’ deamons have caused millions of would be entrepreneurs to turn back and walk away from the scary dark edge with its lurking dangers and uncertain hidden treasures. For its sheer ability to slay ideas and dreams the fear factor remains the number one reason that people do not give it a go.
3. People are lazy…..Sad but true may people would kind of like to be successful but will never make the effort to actually make it happen. It is so much easier to talk about doing stuff and to wait ‘till the time is right’ than to actually go for it. If you are in this category please take the following advice. Admit it to yourself!!. By giving up the game you will take the pressure off yourself, focus on something else that you enjoy and get on with your life. This may seem harsh but it is a case of being cruel to be kind. There is a window of opportunity in everyone’s life to start their own business, this is not age specific but for every Colonel Saunders who founded KFC in his sixties there are hundreds of people who put themselves financially and physically at risk at a time in their life when they should be looking to retirement. There are exceptions to every rule but being successful involves being smart and realistic.
Important note: beware the disgruntled would be entrepreneur, this is a dangerous breed that will be full of stories about how they nearly invested in this or that that would have made them a fortune. They nearly patented some form of widget that would have been a runner etc. Avoid at all costs, they will have nothing positive to say about your plans but will be able to tell you how they tried ‘something like that’ and it didn’t work out. They will hate to see you succeed, you don’t want to be around this kind of energy.
4. People lack personal confidence and therefore (they think) the ability to run a business. A lack of personal confidence will kill the entrepreneurial spirit in those afflicted by it. It undoubtedly has other negative implications on their life but again these falls outside the purpose of this book. Entering the battleground of business with little or no personal confidence or self belief is as stupid as it gets. Sort it out…life is too short.
Need 100k? No Problem! Just solve the national economic crisis…
www.yourcountryyourcall.com
Well points for effort I suppose, the idea is that there has to be one or two genius ideas out there that can save the nation from the mess that it is currently in. As the government is clearly devoid of any inspiration they have thrown the challenge back to us.
My 2 ideas are:
1) Sack the Government
2) Put Michael O’Leary in charge
I accept all major forms of cash as a government cheque would probably bounce….
The blurb goes as follows!
Your Country, Your Call is a competition to ignite imaginations and inspire thinking.
The goal is to pick two truly transformational proposals so big that, when implemented, could secure prosperity and jobs for Ireland. Proposals that could help change the way we do things, allow businesses to grow, employment to be created and prosperity to flourish
Your Country, Your Call gives you the chance to share your creativity to give life to new industry, revitalise or revolutionise an existing market, or even change the way we do business entirely. It’s not about creating new products. It’s about creating something that will make a long term positive impact on the future of Ireland, its people, and its economy.
Your Country, Your Call is all about Ireland. It’s about helping to create sustainable employment and prosperity, whilst at the same time generating hope, confidence, and positive thinking.
Your Country, Your Call is open for proposals.
Company: Storage Plus Ltd
Website: www.storageplus.ie
Founders: Barry Rabbitt
Age: 29
Based: Ashbourne, Co Meath
Staff Number: 3
Date started: March 2009
Tell us what your business does?
We offer a range of logistical services. Our most popular is the fulfillment service for online sellers. We store our clients products in our fully racked and shelved 7000sq foot warehouse. When orders are placed on their sites we pick and pack each individual order and dispatch it the same day for delivery anywhere in the world. In most cases we can do all this for less than the customer was previously paying for carraige only, so its a no brainer really! By us handling all the fulfillment it leaves our customers to concentrate on other aspects of their business. We also improve delivery time in most cases, which helps to attract repeat business for our clients.
Our other services include general packaging requirements, for example a recent client asked us to pack 5000 units of a laptop accessory along with installation CDs and plugs into new packaging ready for sale.
We also offer a cross docking service for businesses who may not hold a quantity of stock but simply order from their suppliers ‘just in time’. The goods are delivered to us in bulk, we then break this bulk order down and send out the individual orders.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
Due to my background in the logistics industry and access to warehousing space and good courier rates I started thinking that I should open an online store as I had the delivery aspect of the business sorted. Then one day I thought to myself that I should let someone else worry about the selling, and I would simply create a service that took all the logistical headaches away from these sellers, who in a lot of cases run their ecommerce sites as a sideline. After talking to a friend who described the packaging and shipping end of his ecommerce business as the most hassle, I knew I was onto a good idea.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
Yes, other than packing shelves of the local supermarket while in school I have pretty much always worked for myself in a sense. Being involved in the family transport business www.deliverance.ie meant that I was to a greater or lesser extent my own boss.
What planning did you do before you started up?
I did some tests to evaluate how long it would take to pick, pick and prepare for shipping an average order. I divided that time into a fair hourly rate and that determined the labour charge I should apply along with courier and packaging charges per box. This figure came up as €8.50 which I felt was a great value price for the complete service I was providing. I ran the idea past some non biased people who mostly thought it was both a good idea and a fair price. So, apart from that basic research I didn’t go into too much detail, I feel that too many people think about things far too long – go with your gut feeling, there is nothing wrong with failing once you try and try again!
Which Irish Entrepreneurs do you admire?
I have a lot of time for Michael O Leary, though I wouldn’t like to come up against him in negotiations – which is probably a compliment in itself!
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
Probably generating sufficient finance! I approached a number of banks for very modest business loans and they just aren’t available so I have used my own limited savings….and made sure they went as far as possible. My next biggest challenge was juggling setting up Storage Plus alongside running the family business.
How have you promoted your business?
I have done limited promotion so far, in fact most of my customers have come to me despite not having a very well indexed website. In the last few weeks I have set up a google adwords campaign which is generating some leads. Promotion is at the top of my list for the new year! We have everything running smoothly now so we’re in a good position to sell our service.
What has your growth been like?
Steady but controlled. We are currently shipping approx 40-50 orders per day, but already we have had to move to a new warehouse as we have filled our old unit to bursting point. Come the new year I would hope to grow the business at a consistent steady rate.
What’s the impact on your home life been like?
I suppose thats a question that would be better pointed towards my partner, Andrea! From my point of view it has had limited impact other than being there less. I think its important to try keep both aspects of your life seperate.
God decided to take the devil to court and settle their differences once and for all. When Satan heard this, he laughed and said, “And where do you think you’re going to find a lawyer?”
Legal advice is a necessary evil. My advice re lawyers is as follows; to succeed you will need a good team of professionals around you. You will need a great accountant, a Tax adviser and at least one good solicitor. The danger when dealing with professions such as lawyer, accountant etc is to assume that because the person you are dealing with is qualified they must be good.
You need to get the sense that your solicitor is taking you and your case seriously. If your calls are not being returned promptly and you get the impression that you are wasting their valuable time, tell them that you have resolved the issue, settle your surprisingly large bill and walk. Bring the work that the previous crap solicitor did for you to another one and tell them that you fired the last guy because he was not up to scratch.
One letter from a solicitor can cost up to €500 so make sure you have an idea of costs before you engage one. Let them know how much you have to spend. Most business disputes can only be resolved in the high court which will set you back at least 10K so avoid even venturing down the legal road at all costs because the only people who win at the end of the day are you know who!.
Starting a business general advice from Ruairi – www.kro.ie
Kro IT Solutions is only a baby still (12 months old, and only about 6 months trading) but already I have learned some serious lessons. I’m happy to share them in the off chance that you are six months behind me and starting out on day one.
My Top Five Tips for New Business Owners
1) Don’t listen to anyone’s advice unless they are a business person who is a success and has walked the talk. Enterprise this and Resource that and your local Rural whatever office are full of farmers daughters who couldn’t sell a bone to a dog. Take their grants if you can get them but don’t let them direct your company. My mistake was almost to stay in Roscommon because the local board there offered me a few bits and bobs. Instead I moved to Galway and opened up much more work for myself. Of course I am asking you to listen to me and I am not a huge success yet, but my advice hopefully takes that into account!
2) If you decide to work for free or at a discount then work as if you are getting paid full price. Lots of people advise against working for free. I agree to some extent but you also need to prove yourself. However my mistake was to take on a fair bit of free or low cost work and then not give it the attention I gave paying work. The result is that work you didn’t get paid for ends up becoming a bad mark on your record and you ultimately begin to lose money because of it. If you decide to do something at a low cost then don’t be fooled into thinking you are working for someone for nothing. You are working for yourself to further your position. If you work for free for a family member then you are giving them a gift so make it the best you can.
3) Don’t offer credit to strangers. Why in this climate would you offer credit to complete strangers when banks won’t offer it to their own customers? An exceptionally good book about starting a [custom software] business is http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/sdg3.htm which outlines some advice to ensure you get paid. The main advice is to draft an acceptance letter stating what work you will complete, how much it will cost, and when you will invoice. Your client is required to sign the acceptance letter and return it before you start work. For all projects over a couple of grand I ask for an acceptance letter to be signed and I insist on staged payments or a retainer. So far only one client has refused and informed me “just do the work and then you will get paid”. As they said in The Holy Grail “run away, run away”.
4) Forget about marketing – it doesn’t work in Ireland (although do it anyway just in case I am wrong). Twitter, advertising, Facebook, etc are all pretty much useless. We all know the old cliché that word of mouth is how all business is done in Ireland. That is unfortunate when you have a big mouthed client who for reasons beyond your control ends up unhappy with your work, however it is also a blessing as it is a damn cheap way to market yourself. You need to start at day 1 and treat your customers like gold. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they are like – if they are your customer then they are your business. Treat them right. I made mistakes with customers and probably will continue to do so but I keep striving to do better every day. In recent weeks I have had to revisit three websites that were completed by my company as the customer was (rightly) not entirely happy. I’ve broke my back and lost a fortune reworking those sites and getting them right but I am now very proud of them and would happily stand over them. So would my customers.
5) Don’t trust anyone, and don’t rely on anyone. Once you enter the world of business it is shocking how people treat you. Everyone considers you a cash cow and everyone is willing to drop their moral standards when dealing with you. You are no longer the bread winner for your family who is doing their best to get by and make an honest living. Once you become XYZ Limited expect your bank to treat you like an almost guaranteed failure and protect their every five euro as if it was the only one they had. Expect former friends to ask you to sponsor every charity event they get involved in without a second thought as to whether you have it or not. Expect people who you get on well with and form a bond with to pay your invoices two months later than they are due. The type of people who would formerly be co-workers that you could have good relationships with are now employees who want to ride you for every cent they can get. To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling “If you can keep your decency when all around you are losing theirs then you’ll be a man my son”. Wish me luck on that one – it’s early days yet. Although being the next Mr Burns has it’s attractions. Exxxcellent.
If I had a 6th tip it would be to find a mentor and make use of them. However 5 tips is a nice length. This is a bloody hard time to start a business in Ireland, but if you didn’t like a challenge you wouldn’t be doing it to begin with. I could finish off by advising you to get a great website and then mentioning that we can do you a deal, but since you have just read number 5 you might not believe me.
Thanks for the post Ruairi!!
http://www.kro.ie/blog/
We rewiew the good, the bad and the ugly of business books. Do you have a favourite business book? why not review it on Startups.
Entrepreneurs –Autobiography/ Biography
Business Stripped Bare – Richard Branson (Virgin Books)
This is a sort of update on Sir Richard’s business empire taking a more philosophical view on what makes a business successful. This is not a patch on Losing My Virginity and in fact many of the same stories are repeated. Unless you are planning to take over a chain of banks, buy a railway monopoly from the state or build a spaceship you can live without this one. 2/5
Anyone Can Do It – Building Coffee Republic From Our Kitchen Table – Sahar and Bobby Hashemi (Capstone Publishing)
Sahar and Bobby Hashemi are the sister and brother team who built Coffe Republic the UK high street coffee chain. Giving up highly paid professional jobs, she as a lawyer in London and he an investment banker in New York, they staked everything on their dream. This is a great little book and well worth a read. It takes you step by step through the process of building Coffee Republic , from the original idea and brainstorming to Growth and customer service. 4/5
Making Bread – Brody Sweeney (Liberties Press)
A refreshingly honest, direct and jargon free book, Brody shares his experiences, good, bad and difficult of setting up O’Briens Sandwich Bars. This book is well worth a read as it offers good practical advice from an Irish perspective. The chapter on bank finance is particularly relevant i.e ‘Banks only like lending money to those who don’t need it’ and how to get around this. 4/5
Anyone Can Do It – My Story – Duncan Bannatyne (Orion Books)
Grumpy dragon Duncan tells his story from a tough upbringing in Clydebank, Scotland to multi millionaire entrepreneur. Duncan was a self confessed dosser until he finally set his mind to making money in his thirties. Starting with an ice cream van business he built business after business each more profitable than the last. This book also shows Duncan’s charitable side which is pretty inspiring stuff. 4/5 This book is also reviewed by FiscalStudent (See post below)
Enter the Dragon – Theo Paphitis (Orion Books)
Theo Paphitis has built one of the most successful retail empires in the UK. Theo founded his first company at 23 and his big skill is in seeing untapped potential in loss making business which he then makes profitable. Of particular interest to anyone in retail this is worth a read although there is a big middle padding section where he covers his period in charge of Millwall football club, this is just boring. 3/5
Tycoon – How to turn dreams into millions – Peter Jones (Hodder & Stoughton)
I hated this book and to be honest could not finish it. From the arrogant title ‘Tycoon’ to the incredibly annoying ‘Tycoon Tips’ throughout the book you get the impression of someone who is a bit too dizzy in the glare of fame. Tycoon Tip – Avoid. 0/5
Business Nightmares – When Entrepreneurs Hit Crisis Point – Rachael Elnaugh (Crimson)
A novel approach from the fallen dragon. After the high profile loss of her business ‘Red Letter Days’ and subsequent removal from Dragon’s Den, Rachael interviews other high profile contacts such as Jeffrey Archer and Doug Richard. The book has a pretty bitter and angry tone particularly towards some of the remaining Dragon’s. Despite this it is relevant to see the dark side of business when things go wrong as they do more often than not. There is also some good advice and tips that could save you lots of money and heart ache. 3/5
Dragons’ Den – Success from Pitch to Profit – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan (Collins)
This book is a bit of a con. Someone got an hour interview time with each of the Dragon’s and turned it into a lightweight mish mash in order to cash in on the show’s popularity. You will walk away none the wiser. 1/5
How They Started – How 30 good ideas became great businesses – David Lester (Crimson)
This is a great little book, each chapter is a perfect bite size, just long enough to tell each story while maintaining your interest. The book covers businesses such as Bebo, Moneysupermarket.com, Pizza Express and Cobra Beer and gives a brief outline of how they got going and the challenges that they faced along the way. 4/5
Marketing
Purple Cow – Transform your business by being remarkable – Seth Godin (Penguin)
A good ‘Loo’ read. Marketing Guru Seth Godin urges everyone involved in creating, designing or selling to think in new ways about their market. By adopting alternative approaches to your business, you and your company will survive to innovate another day. 3/5
Online Marketing Heroes – Michael Miller (Wiley)
Terrible and boring. Interviews with 25 ‘succesful online marketing guru’s’. If you are having trouble sleeping, this one is perfect for you. 0/5
