Low start up business ideas

[crosseyedlion]

Tony Angelino said:

Hoofy said:

Tony Angelino said:

ReaperCushions said:

Congrats OP for getting it off the ground. Nice to see a success story in the making actually happen.

Maybe a few others of us can take the baton from you now you are on your way as a way of keeping the thread alive?

My situation is somewhat different, but I'm after similar ideas.

I have around 2 hours per day free right now outside of my regular job that I think I can spend more productively.

I don't have huge amounts of space to store things, or any particular manual skill (Like being a mechanic). My day job is in sales and marketing.

Ideally, it would be something that I could spend those 2 hours a day in front of a computer. I'm also happy to invest some cash so doesn't have to be a super low startup idea.

I don't like the idea of these borderline scams (Matched betting, FX trading, Crypto trading) etc... As I'd like to build a sustainable business that provides some degree of passive income in the future, so a business rather than a second job (Data entry, uber driving etc)

Any bright ideas for internet-based startups you can do at home?

Much the same situation so I am watching too.

If it's a business rather than a second job, I'd think about scalability and how you can take what you can do well and move it into a scalable business that ultimately means you can sit back and sleep while people throw money at you.

Thanks for the reply, neither my Mrs or myself have any particular specific skills - our day jobs are sales and accounts administration. We are competent on computers enough to get by but have no knowledge of programming or design.

Other half works 3 days a week and has a couple of days that she could fill doing something, we are both fairly reasonably accurate and conscientious but probably not enough to do proof reading or anything like that (just waiting now for somebody to pull my posts to bits!). We are both hard working and could be 'trusted' to work alone either for ourselves or for somebody else if one of these 'work from home' jobs actually existed.

If I was you I'd get good at something like Wix or Squarespace, Facebook, Ok at Photography (with a DSLR) and sort out the sea of small businesses run by people who are 'old school'. I've seen countless good businesses (particularly in the process of setting up this) with an online presence that does not reflect them well, in fact doing more damage than good.

And, if anyone is curious. The business is doing really well, still so much to do - which I'm having trouble getting around to due to too much demand. So much so I'm throttling back already so to speak. Last weeks average profit was near £150 a day, this week will be £110 (taking on less work on purpose). Not a lot of money, but fulfills my original criteria for very few hours actual work. Lets hope it continues.

If you're good with people, able to do all the setup inhouse and enjoy networking - setting up a simple service-based business is scarily easy in a city. I'm looking seriously at waste clearance for 2019 actually, and maybe premises for the mechanic's business. but that would mean taking on people...which brings a world of potential problems. It seems a shame to not start more new ventures though, I'm loving the process.

I'm spending lots of time walking the dog and enjoying life right now! I'll start to really ramp it up in a couple of weeks and see where the cracks appear!

[Tony Angelino]

Glasgowrob said:

emails sent over to anyone that mailed me, might not be for everyone but hopefully it will click for someone.

if I've missed anyone give me a shout

Also emailed, not sure if you've seen it.


thanks to the others who have replied, plenty to think about. Will look into Wix etc.

[georgefreeman918]

My brother and myself have been debating starting our own business over the last couple of years, but we have never come across the opportunity to do so, however this thread has proved inspiring.

Does anyone have any experience in the holiday lodge rental market. I live in a popular tourist area of the UK, and there is a local (within 5 miles to my house) established holiday park, selling brand new log cabins. These retail at about £40k. Does anyone in this sector have any experience?

I am unsure yet of the % of the time that the lodge will be occupied but my calculations have proved that even based on a low occupancy rate, the numbers will make between £350 - £1500 per month profit. Not big numbers, but this would be ran alongside both of our current day jobs with a view to increasing the number of cabins owned if successful. A lot of research to do, but if anyone does anything similar I would be very grateful of any wisdom you can share.

[Jakg]

georgefreeman918 said:

Does anyone have any experience in the holiday lodge rental market. I live in a popular tourist area of the UK, and there is a local (within 5 miles to my house) established holiday park, selling brand new log cabins. These retail at about £40k. Does anyone in this sector have any experience?

I am unsure yet of the % of the time that the lodge will be occupied but my calculations have proved that even based on a low occupancy rate, the numbers will make between £350 - £1500 per month profit. Not big numbers, but this would be ran alongside both of our current day jobs with a view to increasing the number of cabins owned if successful. A lot of research to do, but if anyone does anything similar I would be very grateful of any wisdom you can share.

If the established holiday park thought they could make £900pm out of the cabin, why would they sell it for £40k to let someone else do it?

[200Plus Club]

Quite a few very wealthy business men own multiple park home sites and holiday lodge areas. Methinks you might be a bit late to that party and the lease/sale terms will stop anyone renting them out as a business?

[singlecoil]

If I had the energy and wanted to get started in something solid I would get a van and fill it with tools to tackle a wide range of DIY tasks, including gardening. I would get on YouTube and learn those areas of handyman and gardening work I am not already familiar with. I would do this while still employed if I was working. I would advertise in parish magazines covering villages where there is a preponderance of older people and well-off younger people.

Whenever I got a call I would quote per job if at all possible, but a healthy hourly rate where not, and make sure I did a good job whenever I got the work. I would expect it to take some time but eventually I would expect to have a good many regular clients and others obtained through word of mouth. I daresay there are depressed areas of the country where this might not work but in most parts of the UK a satisfactory living can be made this way, full or part time.

[crosseyedlion]

Quick update folks.

The weather's turning but I'm still surviving! Not regretting the decision at all. Have throttled back the business a little to focus on cultivating the customers I want, leaning on my TVR and engineering background, which is starting to work...





I have started looking for premises, may have some exciting news and a proper update soon.

[Zoon]

Jakg said:

georgefreeman918 said:

Does anyone have any experience in the holiday lodge rental market. I live in a popular tourist area of the UK, and there is a local (within 5 miles to my house) established holiday park, selling brand new log cabins. These retail at about £40k. Does anyone in this sector have any experience?

I am unsure yet of the % of the time that the lodge will be occupied but my calculations have proved that even based on a low occupancy rate, the numbers will make between £350 - £1500 per month profit. Not big numbers, but this would be ran alongside both of our current day jobs with a view to increasing the number of cabins owned if successful. A lot of research to do, but if anyone does anything similar I would be very grateful of any wisdom you can share.

If the established holiday park thought they could make £900pm out of the cabin, why would they sell it for £40k to let someone else do it?

Why would they use their own capital to buy an additional unit when they can make a profit selling it to a mug and then charge them £300 a month ground rent.

[Hoofy]

crosseyedlion said:

I have started looking for premises, may have some exciting news and a proper update soon.

Well done!

[BoRED S2upid]

Zoon said:

Jakg said:

georgefreeman918 said:

Does anyone have any experience in the holiday lodge rental market. I live in a popular tourist area of the UK, and there is a local (within 5 miles to my house) established holiday park, selling brand new log cabins. These retail at about £40k. Does anyone in this sector have any experience?

I am unsure yet of the % of the time that the lodge will be occupied but my calculations have proved that even based on a low occupancy rate, the numbers will make between £350 - £1500 per month profit. Not big numbers, but this would be ran alongside both of our current day jobs with a view to increasing the number of cabins owned if successful. A lot of research to do, but if anyone does anything similar I would be very grateful of any wisdom you can share.

If the established holiday park thought they could make £900pm out of the cabin, why would they sell it for £40k to let someone else do it?

Why would they use their own capital to buy an additional unit when they can make a profit selling it to a mug and then charge them £300 a month ground rent.

Exactly. They make their money on ground rent which is very high!

Whoever asked originally about this as a business sure you can make money out of it but how are you intending to buy it? You can’t get a mortgage on a £40k cabin.

[crosseyedlion]

So Very Cold.

[singlecoil]

crosseyedlion said:

So Very Cold.

Sorry to hear that, but as updates go it's not very informative. Perhaps when the frostbite eases you can write a bit more.

[Frankthered]

singlecoil said:

crosseyedlion said:

So Very Cold.

Sorry to hear that, but as updates go it's not very informative. Perhaps when the frostbite eases you can write a bit more.

I'm tempted to infer that the OP doesn't yet have any premises!

[bluesatin]

I am also thinking of winding back from the stress and travel of corp life. I am in a comfortable position but want something to motivate me, bring a revenue to support future pension and lifestyle. I have access to 5 digit investment and would love to combine my hobby of boats/cars with a future job. Any suggestions welcome!

[singlecoil]

bluesatin said:

I am also thinking of winding back from the stress and travel of corp life. I am in a comfortable position but want something to motivate me, bring a revenue to support future pension and lifestyle. I have access to 5 digit investment and would love to combine my hobby of boats/cars with a future job. Any suggestions welcome!

Making and repairing actual physical objects can be very satisfying. I used to make kitchens and I enjoyed that, working for myself on my own, retired a couple of years ago but would love to get back into it if the right set of circumstances presented themselves.

If you have any interest in woodwork then you might look into doing some boat building? If it was cars then you will want to specialise and avoid dealing with people who are just trying to keep their cars on the road, they can't afford any more than a patch up job. I often thought about rewiring classic cars, (comparatively) clean work and it wouldn't use up too much of your investment.

One thing I found when working on customers' kit cars was that when I warmed the workshop up in the morning (can't work in the cold) the petrol in the fuel tanks would expand and the smell of the vapour can be pervasive and unpleasant after a while.

[Chicken Chaser]

So how are things going OP? Just read this thread with much interest, and in a couple of years will have several hours every week available to be able to pick up a second job. I'm considering garden work, although there are a few already established players in this area and window cleaning seems to be fairly saturated.

[singlecoil]

Gardening can be a good start in self-employment, but it all depends on the area. Villages and small towns are best because there's a lot more networking between residents (vital for the all-important word of mouth marketing, and the residents are likely to be older and less capable of doing stuff for themselves.
An obliging and not too expensive bloke with a van full of tools would soon find plenty of work in such areas, I reckon.

The larger outfits with employees tend to be more expensive and less personal so aren't necessarily strong competition.

[crosseyedlion]

So, I finally have news.

I've been gradually finding my niche over the months and have worked on some interesting cars and completed some interesting projects. At the moment I'm building a mercedes sprinter camper conversion, in April I turbocharged a Mercedes 190e for a customer. You can follow it all

https://www.instagram.com/aw_automotive_engineer/
and
https://www.facebook.com/AlexWheatleyAutomotiveEng...

It has been bloody cold and wet though, there have been multiple times I've questioned my sanity choosing this as a startup but i've survived the winter.
The big news is that I've just agreed on some premises! All being well I'll be in by the end of the month, with a big of an open morning/grand opening at the end of July.

Photo's once I have the keys.

The van has served me very well and I've only had to invest in a few odds and sods tool's wise, nothing too substantial. It was a very cheap start up, but I'm increasingly finding jobs taking a lot longer than they could with a ramp/workshop and (more importantly) a lot harder physically. Hence the unit.

[Shnozz]

Great news and many congrats!

[Hoofy]

Well, I've started building an online training programme to help busy, overwhelmed people to deal with stress.

Cost: £0
Time: 10000000 hours