What Am I To Do?

I am only in my first week of keeping this blog and my Business Start-Up course, but i am still suffering from the problem that i haven't quite defined my end goal. I know that i want a market stall, on a touristy/high end market, but i haven't fully decided what i am going to stock on my market stall. It is making some of the exercise we do in class, based on our business ideas, hopeless. As one minuet i am fully for a Jewelry stall and the next a yarn stall. 

This is not a new problem for me, it has taken me years to narrow down just what it is i would like to do, and even now i don't believe that either of these two options is the end game.

When i started dreaming about being my own boss, the ideas i were having about the type of business i would like to run would ranged from hostels and hotels, to coffee shops and clothing stores. Now i have narrowed this down to a market stall. My reasoning behind a market stall, is the low(ish) start up costs and a market stall being mobile, as i often find my self moving a lot. I also would like to work in the slightly posher markets, such as farmers markets and touristy city markets, such as Spitalfield or Portobelo Road markets, because i enjoy the fun atmosphere. 

So now i have narrowed my choices down to two ideas. A yarn stall selling mid priced to expensive yarns and a jewelry stall selling, mid priced and handmade jewelry. These are both somewhat based on my hobbies.

Here are the Positives and Negatives as i see them currently. 

Yarn Stall Positives

• I knit and have a good knowledge of knitting and techniques
• I see a market, for a good yarn stall in the right area.
• Would fit in nicely with my other blog knottedrose.blogspot.com.
• People buy more than one ball at a time, especially when they want to make larger items such as jumpers.
• This is potentially a growing market.
• Only really a handful of expensive yarn shops in London/UK.
• My heart says yarn.

Yarn Stall Negatives

• I would have to carry all the yarn on public transport in order to get it to the market, this would limit how much variety i could stock.
• I would have to store in at home, as home would be a room in a rented house, again this could be a problem.
• The market is very limited to knitters.
• Low demand for yarn in the warmer months.

Jewelry Positives

• Almost all women and some men buy jewelry.
• Would not need extra space for storage.
• I could accessorize the things (dresses) i make on my blog, and advertise like that.
• I could compact my stall/stock down to a reassemble size (one or two suit cases), and take on public transport.
• I could stock my own hand made jewelry. 
• I would not need too much special expertise.
• I am going to be studying jewelry making part time and therefor would gain potential useful contacts.
• Could sell all year round. though obvious peak towards Christmas and trough in January.
• Could sell on internet and expand to other accessories. 

Jewelry Negatives

• The jewelry market is over saturated with sellers. 
• Would need to offer something very unique.
• Finding good quality suppliers, styles would be more confusing than yarn as i have less expertise.

Conclusion

So with this in mind i should probably go for Jewelry, but my heart says yarn. However if i am successful at selling jewelry there is nothing stopping me experimenting with yarn at a later date, while i keep the jewelry stall going too. 

I am Unexpectedly Starting a Business Course

On Wednesday i was crouched on the floor of the accounting section of Waterstones, when i received a phone call from the Job Center saying that they were initiating disciplinary action because i failed to attend sign-on interview. Opps, it was totally my fault. I had not read all my bumph from the job center properly and had failed to notice i had to sign on so soon. I was aware of the next date, but not the first, it had just got lost in all the disorganization in my suitcase. One of the down sides to living in a hostel.

I hate the job center and i do everything in my power not to sign-on, when i am unemployed. But now, despite the fact i am not totally broke, i realise that i need to sign-on in order to pay enough stamp, so i can collect a full pension when i retire. This is because i have had so many periods when i have been working/studying abroad or been unemployed but not claiming. Also having a little money coming in helps while i sort out my business, or find a full time paid job.

So on Thursday i marched into the job center with my booklet filled out, explaining that i am now working part-time (though not nearly enough) and have had enough of the job center and their rude staff and stupid rules, which in my opinion hold people back from finding work.

This last part went wrong, when i was directed to my adviser, who i had yet to meet, who happened to be one of the more helpful members of the Job Centre staff. He managed to persuade me to stay signed on, and when i mentioned i was looking to go self-employed, he immediately signed me up to a Business Start Up Course, which i would not have to pay for as long as i was still claiming.

So i jumped at the chance. Now i am going to study 3 days a week for 4 week. The course covers, things such as business plans, marketing, bookkeeping, tax, profit and loss. I am so excited at now i feel as though i see a way through the mine field of the unknown and wading through tons of books on the floor of Waterstones, trying to find inspiration and a path.

The moral of this story is if you are unemployed don't assume that the job center cant or wont help you start a business. Maybe they can do more for you than you think!

Though i still don't know if they expect me to search for and find a full time job, and what happens to this course if i do find a full time job. Anyway, i am still looking for work, because it will mean that i can move into more permanent accommodation and i will then have a proper address i can register a business to.

Week 1 - Getting Organised

As part of my plan to get me through the process of setting up my own business I am following the book Start Your Business Week by Week, by Steve Parks. The book is divided up in to 26 chapters/weeks. I don't think i will use all of them and i will probably get side tracked at various points, but for now following this book and somebody else's experiences seems like a good plan.

Chapter 1 - The Beginning 

This chapter is mostly focused on getting organised and ready for the months ahead. Simple things like having some where to work and pens and paper and stuff.

Here are the suggestions and what i have done.

Time - Get a calendar and block sessions in you week to work on your business.

This is a little difficult for me as my work situation is unemployed/temp will drop everything to work. So i never really know when i will be free to work on this and when i wont. So my best plan for now is just to put as much effort into this as possible, when i can.

Workspace - Sort out where you are going to work.

I am living in a hostel. So my workspace is basically the bottom bed in a triple bed bunk. This is OK for now, i can just catch the hostels WiFi, and i have curtains around the bunk, so i can get some privacy. The bad point about this situation is that hostels are social spaces and i am often engaged in conversation. I have already learnt that working in the lounge is nearly impossible.

Technology - Its usefully to have access to the internet and computers.

I am lucky in that i have a lap top, WiFi, Smartphone and pretty much use all the recommended programs. Though not sure how i would replace them if the were stolen or broken.

Support and Advice - seek out advice

Some thing exciting happened yesterday. I wont say now because i plan to write a whole post on it, because i have so much to say. Apart from that i want to give www.meetup.com a try. It has been recommended to me by somebody else. So finding other who want to do what i am doing is to be helpful.

Set up an suitable email

I don't have a name for my business yet, so for now i am using my personal email, which is basically just my name, which is not so unprofessional.

Chose some useful and inspiring books 

I have chosen Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T Kiyosaki and Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography, by Richard Branson. I will review these once i have read them. 

Welcome to My Business Start Up Blog

A few days ago i bought a book, Start Your Business Week by Week, by Steve Parks. Now i am working through it bit by bit. Week 1, it suggests that you start a blog on its website. www.weekbyweek.net/startyourbusiness. I am all in favor of blogs. I have two already and have a few that i started just to experiment with the layout and design. So instead of keeping a blog on the website i have decided to resurrect an old blog, currently called KnottedEarth and blog about my foray into the field of self employment.

I have been thinking about starting a business for so long, i can't even remember when it started. When i started to think about this i just wanted to be my own boss. To run what ever business i was working in better than my current boss. If i was working in a hostel, i would dream of one day owning my own. I would lay out in my head, everything from what kind of bunks and duvet covers i would use to the check-in procedures. When i was in a job i hated, i would day dream about opening my own clothing store, where everything would be handmade by me. I had no idea about how to make any of this a reality, it seemed scary. Some times i would look to find out how much rents in the local shopping mall would cost and i would just be shocked the cost and stop there.

As the years and years have past, i have researched more on the internet. I have had two goes at starting small internet shops (one never had any stock and the other never sold anything). I have also stopped being scared, because i have realised that. That the worst that can happen is that i don't succeeded and end up working a dead end job and living in a hostel. As i am living in a hostel and working as a part time waiteress/housekeeper i figured that i am already at rock bottom and my only real way out is to make my own money.