JoshC Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Doing some research on this at the moment but interested to see if anyone here has any similar experience in setting up a business from home, involving food or in fact just anything at all starting from scratch. Without saying exactly what my idea is it involves food but would be run from home. I gather this is doable if you register the property and meet FSA checks etc. My initial questions though, if you do have an idea but don't want to go spreading your idea to others before you even begin, what would be the best way to first and foremost do some market research? Also, other than a few Google searches that I have done, how can I be sure there isn't already someone providing what I'm planning? Does anyone have any useful links to check lists for setting up a business, what needs to be done, how I would register it and rough costs? Also, if I did go ahead I would be looking for some packagaing to be made up, where would I begin with this? This is literally just an idea in my head at the moment and never done anything like this before so just trying to gauge what's involved. My question regarding market research being my primary concern at the moment. Thanks in advance for any tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Before you do anything like that, check the deeds to your house: They're highly likely to contain a covenant barring the use of the property as business premises. Whether that covenant is enforceable is something you'd need to look into. For the rest of it, as far as market research goes just get out there and do it. If it means giving the game away then so be it, have confidence in your ability to do it better/cheaper than anyone else. It's unlikely you'll be the first person to do XYZ, but if you are then you either have to have a gamble with no research or let the cat out of the bag. Your call on that one. If it were me, I'd start by getting a good accountant to kick things off and do your books for you. They're not as expensive as you might think, and they'll normally save you a fortune in tax breaks in the first few years anyway whilst you're finding your feet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Before you do anything like that, check the deeds to your house: They're highly likely to contain a covenant barring the use of the property as business premises. Whether that covenant is enforceable is something you'd need to look into. For the rest of it, as far as market research goes just get out there and do it. If it means giving the game away then so be it, have confidence in your ability to do it better/cheaper than anyone else. It's unlikely you'll be the first person to do XYZ, but if you are then you either have to have a gamble with no research or let the cat out of the bag. Your call on that one. If it were me, I'd start by getting a good accountant to kick things off and do your books for you. They're not as expensive as you might think, and they'll normally save you a fortune in tax breaks in the first few years anyway whilst you're finding your feet. Cheers Dan, very useful! Hadn't even thought of checking the deeds to my home, good place to start I guess. My idea is more distribution than preperation of food tbh, so hopefully satisfying people like the FAS would be slightly more straight forward. You're right about not being the first person, similar products are already out there but mine is a slight twist I guess. I was thinking that apart from speaking to friends and family, maybe online surveys are probably the best way to start. I've found a few who specialise in provinf online market research but not sure how affordable they are at the moment. I may come up with something very informal and primitive of my own to begin with and post on various forums I use such as this one and see where I go from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If it's any help, I have zero interest in producing food goods at any stage of my life so I'd be happy to give you an honest opinion by PM if you like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Dan is only interested in consuming food, huge burgers come to mind!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 A Business Plan and forecasting are essential after your Market Research It could be this is where your deciding factor comes from before you go ahead. There are masses of Help Groups with all this usually provided by your Local Council or Local Business ran groups which are excellent for networking. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) A GREAT accountant is one of the very best things on which you can spend money, I know this because I got a GREAT VALUE acountant, so I've had to be much more hands on than I initially wanted to be. On the plus side, I've learnt alot. On the down side I've had more contact from HMRC than I would like. This might be a bit soon for your anticipated size of operation but well worth thinking about. Getting on the Flat Rate VAT scheme was one of the best things I've done. For my sector, that means I charge VAT at 20% (like everyone else) but I pay VAT back at a Flat Rate of 14.5%, this is obviously favourable. Also, when I enrolled you got a 1% discount in the first year, so paid it back at 13.5% - making it even more attractive. Having that coming in, even if you are under the mandatory VAT turnover threshold is very useful for cash flow, as you get the cash in upfront on top of your invoice. Do remember to put some away for the quarterly bill though and don't ever miss paying that bill, of all of them it's highly important! I'd also see what trade bodies might apply to your sector, as they often can get you good deals on services (a lot like being on here) and free advice from experienced people. I pay something like £260 a year for mine and I get legal support and access to cheaper tax specialists etc etc. I wish I'd done it sooner, as I paid nearly 4 times that for something like 6 hours specialist advice I needed becuase of what I've said in the first paragraph Edited July 1, 2015 by SuperStu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke0549 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Is not about who did it first, it's about who does it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squee Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I work from home (garment printer) and absolutely love my quality of life although you can get a bit potty not leaving the house all day. I am very lucky in that I have a spare room I use as a workshop/office so once my working day is done I can close the door to that room thus separating my work from my home. It sounds like this might not be as easy for you if you need to use a kitchen. One of the best bits of advice is find a forum dedicated to the subject you're wanting to work in. So for me there's a specific forum for t-shirt printers and no doubt there will be for those running a home business in the food industry. I know it might sound a bit of an obvious piece of advice and apologies if it sounds patronising even suggesting it but it will be a worthwhile forum to look on for all aspects of setting up the business. Best of luck! S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus01 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I started my business from home 5 years ago. I am now in an industrial unit. PM me if I can help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Thanks very much all, currently doing a bit of market research and speaking to some local bussiness advice orginisations. Will have a look for a relevant forum, I actually hadn't thought to look for that but could be very useful. Will possibly drop a PM to a few of you who have offered when I get a little further down the line for advice! Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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