starting up a new company from nothing!

[Mark Bolam]

I'm not saying you're old and bald mate, but that was then this is now.

 

I agree about the graft though, if you work hard enough it will come, but you need to work mainly for others at first and build your own empire one step at a time, starting with wee Saturday jobs etc.

[Stephen Blair]

Mark i started in 1999, i couldnt get a loan, they wouldnt even give me a mobile phone contract, i was pay as you go for the first year or so.

My first loan for a van was £5k, i had to wear a suit and go and see the bank manager and it took a week or so to pass.

I couldnt get a mortgage until i had 3 and half years books.

So it wasnt any diferent than it is now, its just the stupid money lending days are over. I certainly made the most of those days though, thats for sure lol

[Old Mill Tree Care]

i have a lot of nptc certs all tree surgery and yea i know how much its going to cost just would rather build it up rather than buy it straight out, i already have the company but aint done nothing with it yet.

 

No you don't. It costs a heck of a lot more than you think with wear and tear being the least considered factor and a very variable factor.

As soon as you employ someone things get a whole lot worse.

I've been running for 7 years now and if I was going to set up today, knowing what I now know, I wouldn't. That's a fact!

 

Oh, and don't set up on my patch!

[Treemon]

Best of luck you can do it but it will be bloody hard - the best and oldest piece of advice is so true is " its not what you know but who you know " if i hadnt taken advantage of this and phoned everyone i know i wouldnt trading with 10 blokes!!!

[nick channer]

at the end of the day a high sided truck like a transit and basic tools is all you need... my 2 guys have bneen working for weeks while i've been harvestin with just that.. chippers etc are a nice luxury but not a nessesity... a cheap truck.. whatever tools you can afford, insurance and enough for a months advertisin in few local papers will get you started.. thats how i started anyhow..

[Mark Bolam]

Mark i started in 1999, i couldnt get a loan, they wouldnt even give me a mobile phone contract, i was pay as you go for the first year or so.

My first loan for a van was £5k, i had to wear a suit and go and see the bank manager and it took a week or so to pass.

I couldnt get a mortgage until i had 3 and half years books.

So it wasnt any diferent than it is now, its just the stupid money lending days are over. I certainly made the most of those days though, thats for sure lol

 

I don't believe you. I want pics.

[Simon Stewart]

This will be the hardest thing you have ever done, if you are not 100% comitted you will fail, banks wont look at you unless you can give them security or a guarantor, you will not get a mortgage, every penny will go back into the business and for every one person that will help you there will be ten hoping you fail. At some time you will need to start employing and thats when your problems will realy start, that truck and chipper that serves you well because you look after it will be constantly broken, you become responsible not just for your living but for those you employ and that good reputation you have spent years building will be lost in one moment by a stupid action by one of your staff.

If you think your man enough to deal with it all then you need to follow your dream and give it a go, if you succeed you deserve the right to stand tall and be proud, if you fail you still deserve the right to stand tall and be proud and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Good luck.

[gensetsteve]

I would say be honest. I assume you will start as a sole trader this is a business rather than a company. You will be a proprietor rather than a director. Present your skills and qualifications rather than an image at first. As you gain the trust your business will grow. Good luck I hope it goes well for you starting a business I think is a combination of luck, hard work and common sense.

[Treemon]

This will be the hardest thing you have ever done, if you are not 100% comitted you will fail, banks wont look at you unless you can give them security or a guarantor, you will not get a mortgage, every penny will go back into the business and for every one person that will help you there will be ten hoping you fail. At some time you will need to start employing and thats when your problems will realy start, that truck and chipper that serves you well because you look after it will be constantly broken, you become responsible not just for your living but for those you employ and that good reputation you have spent years building will be lost in one moment by a stupid action by one of your staff.

If you think your man enough to deal with it all then you need to follow your dream and give it a go, if you succeed you deserve the right to stand tall and be proud, if you fail you still deserve the right to stand tall and be proud and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Good luck.

 

OMG thats is so true - business link chap said to me "dont expect too much as you will never be able copy yourself"

[gensetsteve]

Getting a business of the ground and earning a good living was the easy bit. Employing people I never got the hang of and 20 years later still none the wiser.