Business Venture Advice

[111Robin]

I've been out of work for some 15 months now. During this period I've had several ideas for starting up on my own but never progressed with any, mostly due to lack of bottle. Well I now feel I should look into the feasibility of one of them but would like a bit of help if possible. I have previously contacted Business Gateway but I really need a less formal sort of guidance just to figure out if it makes sense or not financially. Would anyone be able to help creating a simple financial model to enable me to determine things like what I would need to charge and volume of business required to make it work ?. I know it sounds simple but I would rather take some knowledgeable advice than make assumptions and get it all wrong. I still have my Ltd company set up from contracting and am vat registered. I also still pay an accountant as I still draw a small salary to live off however he doesn't seem too forthcoming with advice on the new venture side of things. I'm happy to pay if the advice is more formal but any assistance would be appreciated to start with,
Thanks,
Robin

[campbell]

Robin,

Good on you. I may be able to help. Give me a call - 07768 813031.

Feel free to look me up on LinkedIn if you want some background first.

Campbell

[Dominic]

Hello Robin,

First off, good for you, go for it! It is not easy to make the jump to self employment, but ultimately can be very rewarding. It is a process that I have been through, and have helped many of my clients through also (including quite a few SE'rs). I am happy to have a chat over the phone or in person - no charge. Feel welcome to give me a shout. Will PM my number.

Cheers

Dom

[Andy G]

Hey Robin

Always happy to have a chat if it would help

Andy

Ps. Just drop me a pm

[Rag_It]

Robin,

It might also be worth mentioning what field your new venture might be in...

It's a scary jump, but you seem to be approaching it in the right way!

Dave

[111Robin]

Thanks all for the support. It's nothing extravagant, car transportation. I plan to buy a Brian James Race Transporter fully enclosed trailer, quite expensive but I want to do it properly and hopefully cater for those who want more protection/privacy during transportation. Mainly aiming for the classic/collectors market but depends on how much business I can create. I also want to offer a package for transporting a car to Scotland for those who want to have a driving holiday up here but without the hassle of driving their classic all the way up from the South. I can meet them with the car at the airport/railway station of their choice and then deliver to their home on completion. Might work out quite pricey but it may appeal to those with high end classics who would prefer not to waste a couple of days driving on the motorways or congested A roads. Just an idea. It will all be done with full motor trade insurance and tacograph to meet VOSA regulations. As far as tow vehicles are concerned, I'm looking at the Isuzu D-Max double cab. It has to be a commercial so I can claim back the VAT. I've had a couple of cars I bought delivered on some really ropey looking trailers (and by equally ropey looking people) so think I can offer a far better service. There are plenty who can do it on the cheap but they won't be properly insured.
Anyway thanks for the responses to date, I have a couple of you to speak with already and will be in touch sometime this week,
Robin

[douglasgdmw]

Robin,

Sounds like a good idea.

I do not know whether any Scottish hotels actively publicise the N500 but if you can maybe partner with some of the higher end hotels on the route it may well benefit both parties

George

[j2 lot]

You should consider motorbike transport too

[111Robin]

Thanks, both good ideas. I think if I can promote the best roads up here it might attract some business. Time to get the camera out and take the S1 around the country for some publicity shots I think.

[kerryxeg]

There is definitely a market for something around the NC 500, I've given routes to quite a few traveling up from England in their much underused super cars. Given they only have a few days holiday they wish they could have had 2 more days in scotland and flown up rather than driving. An association with super car clubs, car storage solutions etc might be beneficial. There are companies arranging tours of the NC 500 on behalf of clubs/groups. Seems easy enough, booking hotels, sorting out car delivery, a bit of onsite support and a souvenir route map........makes me laugh, but I can understand how some may just want to turn up and be taken care of.

Also noticed a van tonight near Inverurie advertising motorbike transport, which I've never seen before around these parts.

One thought is to be careful with the trailer width and door opening options. My Mclaren was taken south on a covered trailer, but they initially struggled to find one which was a) wide enough and b) they could open the flip up door in.

[111Robin]

Thanks Kerry, that may be the type of market to aim for. Unfortunately if I want to carry anything like a McLaren my insurance would be through the roof, at least untiI i build up motor trade NCD. So to start with I'd need to cater for a maximum payload value of £50k which is a bit restrictive but does cover a wide range of classics. I would look to increase the value after a couple of years all going well.