SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I've always wanted to start my own business but just can't seem to locate any suppliers no matter how far I look online I can't seem to find any! Does anyone know how/where to locate suppliers, surely there must be some kind of directory somewhere!? i've heard of esources and Alibaba etc but they just seem quite useless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 without wishing to sound like I am asking a dumb question here.......but what kind of supplies are you trying to locate?.....That info may help people here answer your question better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maccaman Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Steve, I'm not sure any of us could tell you where to get "those" type of supplies from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 The best place to start has to be the manufacturers, if they won't supply you with the goods direct, then they should put you in touch with their distributers who will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 That would help wouldn't it. jap performance parts being a car enthusiast this is something I would enjoy. Also looking at packaging as an option also, as I would be doing it as something on the side to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Steve, I'm not sure any of us could tell you where to get "those" type of supplies from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 The best place to start has to be the manufacturers, if they won't supply you with the goods direct, then they should put you in touch with their distributers who will Ok. Do you think I should call, write or email the companies, is there a right way about requesting to be a supplier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 The best place to start has to be the manufacturers, if they won't supply you with the goods direct, then they should put you in touch with their distributers who will Ok. Do you think I should call, write or email the companies, is there a right way about requesting to be a supplier? I would call asking for the name of the person who deals with becoming a distributed or reseller, if they put you through all well and good, if not you will have the details to email or write to them. They should in any case tell you the correct procedure, some companies have different ways of applying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 The best place to start has to be the manufacturers, if they won't supply you with the goods direct, then they should put you in touch with their distributers who will Ok. Do you think I should call, write or email the companies, is there a right way about requesting to be a supplier? I would call asking for the name of the person who deals with becoming a distributed or reseller, if they put you through all well and good, if not you will have the details to email or write to them. They should in any case tell you the correct procedure, some companies have different ways of applying Thanks mate, gives me an idea on how to approach them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Your welcome, and good luck, I hope it all pans out for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'm not giving you any advice Research research research. If it's importing then you need to know loads of stuff and you WILL need an accountant. Getting a business established is hard work and takes hours and hours, some suppliers won't go near you without being established, have a business premise, website etc. Can be quite disheartening at first, you can send a thousand emails and get no response. It might look easy from the outside but trust me it ain't . You have to have an edge and get a lucky break. My edge I guess was having a courier business so I can import stuff at decent rates. Good luck, although business is business so I will have to price match or better you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Good luck, although business is business so I will have to price match or better you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I started Prstne Detailing last year and detailed 11 cars in my first 11 months which as a starting point wasn't too bad. But getting your name out there seems the hardest part of all for me. As this is only a weekend thing for me there's no great pressure. I'm hoping by 2013 it's fully up and running and I'm solely detailing throughout the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'm not giving you any advice Research research research. If it's importing then you need to know loads of stuff and you WILL need an accountant. Getting a business established is hard work and takes hours and hours, some suppliers won't go near you without being established, have a business premise, website etc. Can be quite disheartening at first, you can send a thousand emails and get no response. It might look easy from the outside but trust me it ain't . You have to have an edge and get a lucky break. My edge I guess was having a courier business so I can import stuff at decent rates. Good luck, although business is business so I will have to price match or better you I was wondering how long it would be until a trader turned up. I'm not expecting it to be a walk in the park by any means and I'm not afraid to work hard, especially if i see results at the end of it. Don't worry, I haven't made any progress business wise yet so your ok for now............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Did you not notice I said I wouldn't give you any advice and then preceeded to give you some Hard work is definately a factor, but there are other factors. I've been approached by investors twice now and it would be nice to go out and buy a load of stock to drive down prices but I've not gone down that route. I've not invested any money or taken a penny out as yet. My advice would be find a niche, like CF bonnet dampers, then become a member trader and take it from there. Also the yellow pages of performance parts suppliers is Google, well worked for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Did you not notice I said I wouldn't give you any advice and then preceeded to give you some Hard work is definately a factor, but there are other factors. I've been approached by investors twice now and it would be nice to go out and buy a load of stock to drive down prices but I've not gone down that route. I've not invested any money or taken a penny out as yet. My advice would be find a niche, like CF bonnet dampers, then become a member trader and take it from there. Also the yellow pages of performance parts suppliers is Google, well worked for me Thanks for that Tarmac! It sounds like your doing really well. I've always admired people who have set up their own company and has always been a dream of mine to do it myself, finding the right thing to go into is one of the more difficult parts. I tried google for about 4 hours today and nothing promising came up for me. (Note to self: must look harder) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 It's very rewarding for me, I got into it for personal reasons really, I want to build an empire for my little girl, that was the catalyst. My accountant said to me the other day that we need to start flipping it to a ltd company and to get the business into a position so it can be sold. I told him that was not in my plans but he reckons subconsiously everyone creates a business to sell. Still don't think that's the case for me as I just love the thrill of it. I love it when people are happy with my service and I think that's what drives me more than anything, obviously i'm a petrol head like all of us on here but to do a job and build a brand without taking a wage and enjoy it like I do is pretty special to me. It's still early days, Tarmac Sportz is only 7 month old but if you google it it fills page 1 which is nice. I tried all those places you tried, esources etc, waste of money. Follow your passion and something will come up, may take a hundred hours and a thousand emails but if it's what you want then you will find something. Think of a name, register it at 123Reg and set up a business email address. Least if you have that it will look better than joebloggs@yeehaa.com. If you want anymore advice I'm happy to help but pm me as before we know it there will be a hundred business's on here I will have to price match against Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 It's very rewarding for me, I got into it for personal reasons really, I want to build an empire for my little girl, that was the catalyst. My accountant said to me the other day that we need to start flipping it to a ltd company and to get the business into a position so it can be sold. I told him that was not in my plans but he reckons subconsiously everyone creates a business to sell. Still don't think that's the case for me as I just love the thrill of it. I love it when people are happy with my service and I think that's what drives me more than anything, obviously i'm a petrol head like all of us on here but to do a job and build a brand without taking a wage and enjoy it like I do is pretty special to me. It's still early days, Tarmac Sportz is only 7 month old but if you google it it fills page 1 which is nice. I tried all those places you tried, esources etc, waste of money. Follow your passion and something will come up, may take a hundred hours and a thousand emails but if it's what you want then you will find something. Think of a name, register it at 123Reg and set up a business email address. Least if you have that it will look better than joebloggs@yeehaa.com. If you want anymore advice I'm happy to help but pm me as before we know it there will be a hundred business's on here I will have to price match against Thanks again for the help Tarmac, it's really inspiring to hear something like that I know what you mean about people being pleased with you service and products, I get that exact same feeling when I just sell something second hand on eBay and I always go out of my way to make sure people are happy, do it right the first time is my motto I just hate to see people disappointed. I've tried various ideas in the past through drop shipping etc, with fancy dress costumes and various other items but the suppliers were completely useless and I couldn't find a better one so I gave up on the idea. Funny you should say that I'm on 123reg as I type Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squee Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 One of good my friends runs his own bike part business and he's told me that the margins on many products are very low (Brembo being one - damn!). He runs his own business thus has a small buying power but he used to work for a local well known motorbike company and built up very good contacts - I believe he can access trade prices usually reserved for larger companies. Based on the above I'd say if your starting off and don't know anyone in the trade then, from the sounds of things, you're not going to be able to access very good rates. Price isn't everything of course so if you really believe your custmer service is going to be sh*t hot, and you have plenty of knowledge in your field, then you could be on to something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thinking of a business name is tough! The domain names have been taken already for the ones I think of. What are the general thoughts on domain names ending with .uk.com, more expensive, but would it confuse people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 setting up a brand is the first thing i did, registered the names etc set up business emails and a website i ended up using the Z on the end of customs instead of the S purly as someoen else who did landrover engines already had rtcustoms etc. i went for the .co.uk and the .com and linked them. didn't bother with the others etc as most people use the .com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 setting up a brand is the first thing i did, registered the names etc set up business emails and a website i ended up using the Z on the end of customs instead of the S purly as someoen else who did landrover engines already had rtcustoms etc. i went for the .co.uk and the .com and linked them. didn't bother with the others etc as most people use the .com Yeah that's my plan too, so i can start sending emails. I'm looking for a .co.uk domain if I can get one, all depends on the business name though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 setting up a brand is the first thing i did, registered the names etc set up business emails and a website i ended up using the Z on the end of customs instead of the S purly as someoen else who did landrover engines already had rtcustoms etc. i went for the .co.uk and the .com and linked them. didn't bother with the others etc as most people use the .com My friends company is also called RT Customs but he renovates VW Campervans etc. Good luck with the business Steve... I run a family business with my dad, we've about 35 staff at the minute but things are tough and it's hard work so be prepared to work your arse off!! But you usually don't get the nice things working for someone else.......... I've often contemplated starting another business with the intent to sell, but we'll see! Most ideas are covered nowadays, hard to find a real niche! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 setting up a brand is the first thing i did, registered the names etc set up business emails and a website i ended up using the Z on the end of customs instead of the S purly as someoen else who did landrover engines already had rtcustoms etc. i went for the .co.uk and the .com and linked them. didn't bother with the others etc as most people use the .com My friends company is also called RT Customs but he renovates VW Campervans etc. Good luck with the business Steve... I run a family business with my dad, we've about 35 staff at the minute but things are tough and it's hard work so be prepared to work your arse off!! But you usually don't get the nice things working for someone else.......... I've often contemplated starting another business with the intent to sell, but we'll see! Most ideas are covered nowadays, hard to find a real niche! Thank you, much appreciated. I'm pleased to say that I've got the ball rolling I really dont mind hard work especially if its something I'm going to enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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