Thinking about starting a little business - some input would be appreciated.

Defo, that sounds like a great idea. I'm stuck on activity packs just now, so if I could just go somewhere that had them all ready made up, problem solved.

You could have different ones for different age groups.

You could even expand down the road and do like hen party bags or birthday party bags!!!! x

You can get this sort of thing on ebay but i always thought they were expensive and figured i can do it cheaper myself to be honest x

Good luck though! xx

It sounds good, provided you get the legal and stocking details nailed.

I would use something like that - we've got a couple of small children attending our wedding and as neither OH or I have any children we didn't know what to put into the 'goody' bags that would be appealing and useful to children.

Only if she decides to trade as a limited company. I would personally start off as a sole trader as it's going to be a small business.

Forgetting the business side of things.... The platform you choose to pull this off (the web software) will make or break your idea. Feel free to drop me an email about this, I have used, developed with and implemented most of them

What CanterburyBride and Red Baroness said!

And for goodness sake hurry up and get this business sorted so I can buy some! ?

xxx

No real comments on your idea, Sammy, as we didn't have children at ours and, if we'd decided to, we'd have made the packs ourselves. That said, if you think there's a niche, go for it!

My comment is about starting a business. I've got no idea what you currently do so I apologise in advance if I'm telling you things you already know! Running your own business is hard but is almost the most rewarding thing you can do. You'll need to be very organised and be prepared for it to take over your life to start with (sometimes it doesn't stop!). You need to have a reasonable pot of money behind you (more so if you want to make a proper go of it, rather than just a hobby) and the support of those around you. It makes it easier when you spend yet another evening squirrelled away in your office.

Be prepared for clients who mess you around. Be prepared to invest in a decent accountant (even if you're a sole trader) - they should save you at least what it costs you to pay their fee and never miss a deadline!

It really is a fabulous thing to do if you can, though. I wish you lots of success if you do chose to go down that route.

It would depend I think on how much profit you would expect to make from your business as to which direction to take. For example, if you did 'middle of the road' goodie bags then I would imagine the profit would be minimal on the contents and the bag itself. However, if you go down the route of personalisation both in terms of the gifts and the bag, then you would be aiming at a different type of customer who is prepared to pay extra for that something special. Whilst people can buy party bags or fancy gift bags quite cheaply themselves and fill them with bits and bobs themselves too, there are always people who will pay for something out of the ordinary.

Best advice I can give is do lots of research and target your customer from the start. Work out how much time you have to spend on your business if you intend to carry on working as well. Inform the taxman as soon as you begin otherwise they will come knocking! If you work full-time, then chances are you will have to pay tax on your business earnings as well. If you do this as your only employment, then you can apply for a tax exemption certificate when you start which means you won't have to pay tax until you start making a profit. Spend a lot of time working out your costs, including your overheads which will be , cost of supplies, petrol costs, postage costs, cost of advertising, stationery, website etc but most importantly your time. It's a fine line for businesses at the moment balancing being competitive and working for nothing.

You can get lots of help from your local Business Enterprise Centre and the Tax office also has a useful leaflet for people starting up. Your bank will also advise you on keeping all your business money in order. You probably won't need an accountant unless you start to employ staff so wouldn't worry too much about that at this stage. As long as you keep a record of what comes in and what goes out and all your receipts, this will keep the taxman happy. Good luck and have fun planning!

No advice on starting a business, but just to let you know that there is a company that does this. I think it's called Event Smlies, so you may like to check out the competition first!