Small Business
Why Outsourced Transport Can Be Good For Small Businesses
Many small businesses think that doing the deliveries and transporting their own products is the most cost efficient way to get their goods to the their customers. When starting out, they quickly discover that the expense of a vehicle, fuel, insurances and then hiring a driver actually costs a lot more than they thought. The business then has to comply with corporate manslaughter laws, and that having employed a driver increases the amount of regulations they now have to comply with.
Often a small business doesn’t even realise there are regulations they need to comply with until it’s too late.
Outsourcing your transport is simpler than you think. You have the choice of using a local courier company, a pallet network or national parcel company.
Depending on the items needing to be delivered, depends on which option you choose.
If your items are within one county, or just neighbouring counties, a local courier company will serve your needs exceptionally well. If your items go all over the UK, the hub system of a national parcel courier will be hard to beat when it comes to price. If the items are palletised, then the pallet network can be excellent.
Where it starts to go wrong is using the wrong service for your goods. An example of this would be using a parcel courier for delivering items of furniture.
It can take time to sit down and go through all the available options for outsourcing, but to speed it up could mean problems with the deliveries.
Meet several local couriers, weigh up what each would provide and what is covered by their insurance. Often glass isn’t covered. Many insurance policies don’t cover second hand goods, and some policies pay per kilo rather than the items value. Check that your courier understands your requirements, ask what their environmental policies are and how often their vehicles are serviced. If the answers are not to your satisfaction, move on.
When talking to parcel carriers you need to compare what you get with them too. If it’s small amounts, don’t write off the Royal Mail as an option.
Pallet networks will also benefit from service comparison and insurance comparison. This may seem a lot of work. That’s because it is.
You may think employing a driver is a lot less hassle until your first speeding fine falls through the letter box, your first accident takes place or your vehicle is impounded due to investigation into a road death.
Starting a Small Business – Things You Need to Plan
Small businesses are easy to start up because of the low capital requirement and due to the fact that you do not need a high level of staffing. However, there are some basic plans you would need to do before coming on stream.
What do you need to do?
1. Starting capital: You need to have a starting capital ready. The amount of money you need depends on the kind of business you have in mind and the level at which you wish to start off. Generally. You do not need a large amount of money to start, but you need to plan other areas so that the small income you start with would be judiciously utilized.
2. Location: The location where you site your new business is very important. You should think of a place where you would be guaranteed of high traffic coming to patronize you. It would be wise therefore to site your small business in the heart of town/city rather than in outskirt of the city where anybody can hardly hear about it. If it is sited in the heart of the city people would not pay huge amount on transport before they can get to you. After all you have just started, nobody knows you yet. So why should they spend that much to locate you when there are several people rendering the same services you wish to render to them?
3. Accommodation: You need a decent and cheap accommodation to start up your new business. You have to think of a place where your customer can be comfortable and feel relaxed when they come to patronize you. Therefore you should not use a dilapidated place that would cost you a fortune to put in shape. As you look for a decent accommodation you must remember you do not have to spend your life savings securing an accommodation. You need to look for something moderate yet decent. If possible you should pay for a least a year upfront and relax thereafter to do business. Sometimes the business may not pick up on time; so taking care of your accommodation means you would not be kicked out by your landlord because of failure to meet up monthly rents.
However, if you are very sure of encouraging daily sales it would be wise to settle for a monthly rent so you have enough capital to plough into your business.
4. Staffing: To start up you need few to moderate staff; you should get competent hands that are willing to work for a moderate pay so that you would be able to meet up with their monthly salaries. You can increase their salaries as your business grows. You must as a rule avoid hiring incompetent hands simply because they are cheap; instead employ few qualified hands and add your personnel services to theirs to put your business on its feet. You may employ cheap labour for the non-sensitive areas like cleaning, security, transport, etc. Everything must be moderate; don’t start two big otherwise you would run out of cash too soon and also out of business
5. Running capital: You need to have some reserved capital available for the daily running of the business. You need money for transportation/fueling, staff monthly salary, and miscellaneous expenses. Therefore, you should remember to keep aside some money that would help you to keep your business running.
6. Advertisement: Think of how to let people know about your business and the services you can render. You need to advertise your business either online or offline. You may need to print business cards or handbills which you distribute to customers. You may also need to place adverts on newspapers if you have the money. You definitely need to let people know your business exists so they would patronize you. On the internet you may use resources that wouldn’t cost you much – social media, blogs, e-books, newsletters, etc.
How to Apply For a Small Business Loan For a Franchise
The American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or even the old adage of two cars in the garage and a chicken in every pot is often exemplified in the American small business. Too many people seem to focus on the ideal of “being your own boss” while overlooking one of the greatest benefits there is to owning your own business: financial independence. While it’s true that not every small business owner will become independently wealthy, and it’s also true that all of those late-night infomercials promising to make you a millionaire over night are promising more than they can deliver, it is entirely possible to achieve your financial goals and love what you do with a small business.
Whether you’ve always wanted to own your own business, or you’re simply curious to see what it entails, the hardest part of starting up is inevitably finding the right small business loan. Small business startups can often be risky, and in an unstable economy, it may be harder than ever to secure a loan, particularly if you’ve never owned your own business before. There is, however, an alternative to the traditional small business startup that exists in the form of a small business franchise. The typical franchise is essentially a small business for sale where you (the franchisee) select the perfect business and then purchase the right to own and operate your own carbon copy of the business from the franchise headquarters (the franchisor). At first glance, it would be easy to assume that this is a step in the wrong direction, thinking that purchasing a franchise would only add more of a headache to the already difficult fundraising process, but in practice, it makes it much easier to acquire a loan, increases the likelihood that your business will survive and in many cases, a franchise will be cheaper than a similar non-franchise, small business startup.
We’ll discuss how a franchise makes the small business process much easier throughout this article, but the actual process of acquiring a small business loan is best broken into three categories. Each one is a question that you must ask yourself, and the answers to these questions will not only help you to think through your small business and figure out exactly what you need from your lender, but it will also help you to build the framework that your business plan will hang on.
How Much Do I Need?
This is most likely the first question any lender will want to know from anyone looking to borrow money, and if you want to gain a vote of confidence from your lender, you will need to know all of the costs associated with the business. It’s very easy to become short-sighted when asking how much you need, because the tendency is to think about what is the bare minimum needed to survive, rather than what is the best amount that will set you and your business up for a win. Typically, you will need to figure in startup costs (building lease, equipment, advertising, employee training, etc.) as well as the liquid capital that your business requires to operate for six months. This is because many businesses do not profit within the first six months, and if they do, the profits will generally go towards repaying the bank or investors, and not into your pockets. A franchise small business opportunity simplifies this process greatly by letting you know up-front all of the costs that you will incur as well as laying out the average costs for the business for the first six months so that all the work of asking “how much do I need” is done for you by the franchisor. For example, if you choose to open up a franchise with Famous Uncle Al’s Hot Dogs, you may have a rough idea of what kind of location you’ll need, but you will receive with your franchise packet a detailed list of all of the required equipment, signage and any other items you’ll need to purchase in order to have a successful launch.
What Do I Need It For?
The loan process can be difficult for a first time small business owner for a number of reasons, but most often it comes down to the business plan. If you’ve never written a business plan, it can be very intimidating, but working through it and making it accurate and attractive to investors will be well worth the time. Your business plan should contain detailed information about the total costs involved with the business, projected income and, perhaps most importantly, similar businesses and what kind of track record they have had in your area. If you’re not quite ready to craft your own business plan, consider that with a small business franchise, all of the work of writing the business plan is done for you ahead of time by the franchisor. Detailed analysis’ of other franchises will also help you to land the loan you need, since with a franchise, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of small businesses all over the country that have shown great success with the exact same business plan.
Brow Art 23 is a perfect example of how a franchise can help you start your own small business. They offer a decidedly unique line of products and services including eyebrow threading, henna tattoos and permanent makeup. This is definitely a niche market business, so imagine the difficulty you would have trying to convince a bank to loan you the money for such a unique type of small business. Brow Art 23 has done the hard work for you by setting up their small business, proving that it is a viable and money making endeavor and then creating franchises that can get into this unique market with the backing and strong track record of a successful franchise.
How Long Do I Need It?
Finally, lenders will want to know your plan for repaying the loan. Although it would be nice if every small business was an instant success and you could pay back the loan in the first year, often times the lender will need a strict timeline for the repayment. This can be tough to nail down because there are so many variables associated with starting a small business that it will be hard to say with any confidence how quickly you will be able to pay back the loan. Once again, enter the small business franchise. Franchisors will be able to offer many comparable franchises in similar locations to yours, show how quickly they were able to become profitable and then set you up with a good idea of how quickly your business will be able to recoup. Snip-its Haid Cuts For Kids is a successful hair cut franchise with an angle that makes it a cut above the rest. This kid-focused business elaborately decorates the inside of the business to be fun and inviting to kids, which not only puts frightened children at ease, but also allows the small business to charge a premium for its experiential atmosphere. With several new franchisees in the last few years, Snip-its Haid Cuts For Kids will have a very realistic idea of when the business will become profitable, how long it will take to recoup and what kind of profits a franchisee can expect out of the business once the business loans are paid off.
Small businesses of any kind can be financially lucrative as well as personally rewarding, but the security and ease of a small business franchise is often more appealing to the average small business owner than the prospect of having to start everything from scratch. If you’re looking to own your own small business without having to take such a large risk or having to re-invent the wheel when coming up with your business plan, take a look at the franchises mentioned above as well as the many other small business franchises available and you’re sure to find one that suits you perfectly.
Starting a Small Moving Company
Setting up a moving company is commonly mistaken as a business idea that requires a big amount of working capital, especially that we commonly associate moving companies with big or commercial sized trucks and a number of personnel and staffs. Yet if you look at when general moving is concerned, only 20% of the job are for really large furniture items and objects, the other percentage of 80% is for common small pieces. In this logic, a small moving company has an advantage since if you were the customer, you would most likely avoid hiring a major removalist to transfer your small items or only a few pieces of your belongings. Instead it would be logical to opt for a smaller locally owned moving company as it’s service would probably have lower cost and fees.
If you own a truck or a van, it is possible for you to start a small moving company. Of course no job or business is easy to do. If you want to earn profit and succeed, then you have to invest in this business with your diligence and skills. It would often require you to carry some heavy objects and therefore it would be best for your to stay fit enough to accomplish such task with caution and ease. While some items would also be necessary to hire an extra hand. Remember that you are rendering service and thus you must handle your customer’s belongings with care.
With your own truck ready at hand, you will also need to invest in petrol, ropes, ties and moving blankets or plastics and boxes. A dolly may also be purchased if you do not plan to have an extra hand, it would be very helpful in lifting larger and heavier items. Advertising your small business may range in cost such as local newspaper ads or maybe even free ad posting websites on the internet. Another way to promote your business is via word of mouth, ask your friends and relatives to recommend you if they know anyone who need the services of a small moving company. A local furniture store might need you in delivering their products to their customers, so it would not hurt to also ask. Small movers may charge an average of 50 to 200 dollars, based on the size of the furniture and the distance to be traveled. If you can possibly allot 10 to 20 hours a week in this small business, it could be possible earn a small fortune of $700-1000 a month.
After deducting your monthly expenses such as gas and mileage, there will surely be extra amounts as profit. It would be wise if you would save a part of your profit for future repairs or upgrades on your truck and moving equipments. Who knows, in the near future your small moving business may grow into a major one. So if you are planning to make this a full time business, consider some tasks where your truck can be used with maximum utility. Aside from inquiring from local furniture shops if you can deliver their goods, another good idea is to offer and expand to junkyard hauling. Most people need moving services not only in moving residences from one place to another. Moving services may also be required in transporting and transferring discarded items to the junkyard or any appropriate places.
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