Finding Ideal Business Opportunities in the UK
Table of Contents
- Knowing What You’re Looking For
- Searching for Business Investment Opportunities in the UK?
- Business Franchises as an Investment
- Starting a Home-Based Business
- Set Up a Home Business to Sell Goods Online
- Have You Got a Skill or Hobby That’s in High Demand?
- Other Low-Cost Business Opportunities in the UK
- Will Your New Business Need Its Own Premises?
Finding Ideal Business Opportunities in the UK
In the modern-day, especially as a result of a new, post-Brexit market, more people are looking for business opportunities they can start-up in the UK. Here, we’ve put together a few professional suggestions on what to do and what you should look for whenever you’re planning on starting a new business, or if you’re looking to invest in an opportunity.
Knowing What You’re Looking For
When searching for new business opportunities in the UK, you should always begin by knowing what you’re looking for. There are a variety of reasons people across the country keep their eyes open for business ideas, whether these are online and internet-based, have a premises as part of their assets, or choose to rent their space and will move if the company grows or goes up for sale.
Many people, especially current business owners, will see new businesses as an investment or as part-time franchise opportunities. They may even choose to buy a business outright if they feel it’s worth the risk.
Others who are just starting out may come up with their own ideas for a small business that they want to see get bigger. If this is the case for you, you may wish to think about how you’d like to make money, and consider your current skills and talents, before you get started on making your dream a reality.
Searching for Business Investment Opportunities in the UK?
If you’re searching for a business to invest in, you will first need to understand the difference between business opportunities and business franchises. The two may seem very similar at first, but knowing how to differentiate the two will be vital if you want to make the best choices for you and your company in the future.
Business Opportunities as an Investment
This is a low-cost investment opportunity that you can use on a new or an old business idea. It allows you to start a business in order to gain a profit, and may involve a new, novelty idea that you’ve put together yourself or one that you’ve bought from the current owner.
If you decide to buy a small business, you’ll assume all control over its functions. The previous owner will have no stake in how well it does, either. This leads to a number of pros and cons you may wish to take into consideration. The pros include:
- You can set your own goals and targets on a timeline of your own creation, while deciding what’s best for your business
- All the company earnings will belong to you
- It offers job security, as no one has authority over you
- You can use new ideas to skim the market with a first mover’s advantage, which may make large profits
- You’ll get firsthand contact with customers, getting an insight into what consumers want
- You may be able to help fill a gap in a post-Brexit market
- You can put the business up for sale when you retire, setting yourself up with a comfortable plan
On the other hand, the cons you may experience include:
- The investment itself may be low-cost, but the financial risk is high
- You’ll need to spend a lot of time and work hard to see a new business venture take off
- Starting a new business means working out the problems you could potentially face
- You will be on your own, without any help from the former business owner
Business Franchises as an Investment
Unlike a business opportunity, business franchises are brand names bought after an initial investment has been made. There will already be an established business, with a brand name and customer base up for sale that an investor can choose to buy.
When you choose to buy into a business franchise, the parent company will have a say in the operations, while also helping you by providing support and training where needed. You will also be allowed to make decisions related to your business, but these should fall within the guidelines provided by the parent company.
The parent company needs your business to do well, as everything you do will reflect on them and the reputation of the brand is paramount.
The pros of getting involved in a business franchise include:
- You will always have support from your parent company
- You’ll be starting off with a loyal customer base, which may save you money on marketing and advertising
- You’ll be inheriting well-established policies and goals with the brand name
- Depending on the industry you’re investing in, you may not need experience
- You’ll be your own boss
- You can work from home
- It’s a lower risk option than becoming self-employed and starting up a business by yourself
The cons of getting involved in a business franchise include:
- You won’t have as much control or privacy over the functions of the business
- The parent company may not always give the advice or support you need
- Investment costs are higher compared to business opportunities
- A minimum net worth will be necessary for most businesses before they let an investor buy into their franchise
Starting a Home-Based Business
If you’re looking to become self-employed, you should find that you have a number of options. Creating a home-based business you can run part-time is one of the easiest ways to get started, as you can operate around your current schedule and only spend what you need to keep customers coming to you and the profits coming in.
For many people, this may mean starting up a blog. As these are an internet-based equivalent to magazine articles and columns, they can easily be set up for free to cover an array of topics that interest both you and your target market. You’ll then be able to work from home (or from wherever you want) to set up a strong content plan that draws in readers.
Once you’ve got yourself an established following, you’ll be able to start making a profit. The simplest way to do this is through third-party advertising. By applying to join AdSense, a program run by Google that will let you place relevant ads on your blog, you may soon see readers on your pages helping to pay you money. This is achieved every time they click on the ads, as they are a “pay per click” feature.
Set Up a Home Business to Sell Goods Online
If the idea of starting a blog doesn’t appeal to you, but you still want to work from home or need to create a home-based business, you may also be able to make money by finding and buying, or even creating, goods to sell online. There are a host of internet-based markets you can choose from to begin, including Amazon, Etsy, or eBay.
Whichever route you decide to take with your home business, you should always make sure that the products you’re selling have good quality photos, clear descriptions (including information about the item’s condition), and give an accurate estimate of how long the product should take to deliver. In a post-Brexit market, you may be able to draw in a UK audience based on shorter shipping times, and may also save some local suppliers money that would have been spent on fees when shipping goods abroad.
You should also ensure that the items are categorised correctly and have a title your target market can understand. This means they can then be displayed properly on the website when your intended customers browse and search for what you’re selling.
Have You Got a Skill or Hobby That’s in High Demand?
If you’re searching for leads that could turn into creative business opportunities, you may wish to start by looking at your own hobbies and particular skills. For instance, if you love to write and you know you could put a novel together and edit it (or have a professional do this part), you could easily publish the work yourself on a website such as Kindle or Smashswords.
You can then market your book on your own website, on social media, or on the platforms you’re using to sell it. However, you must be sure to get as many good reviews as possible if you want business to start taking off.
If you know your particular skills are in demand with other businesses, you may also be able to become self-employed, working freelance contracts with companies as you see fit. For example, if you are already a web developer or even if you’re just particularly gifted at web design, you may be able to offer low-cost services on a part-time basis and build your reputation (and raise your prices) until you can turn it into a full-time career.
This can be done from an office space, or even run as a home business if you would prefer.
Other Low-Cost Business Opportunities in the UK
Starting a part-time business doesn’t necessarily have to involve marketing, advertising, or selling products. Helping out other people by becoming a professional dog walker, virtual assistant, or personal trainer can all offer you a low-cost method of becoming self-employed. The only costs you’ll need to consider will be the money spent on any qualifications or insurance you might need, and any equipment that will then be used in your work.
Getting leads for more work will all depend on building a great reputation. For a virtual assistant, this might mean building up a professional portfolio, while personal trainers may prefer to set up their own website and get a business number for clients to call. Advertising on social media will also help, as your reputation will often be built on word of mouth.
Similarly, you may wish to advertise on social media or specialist service websites if you’re planning on becoming a part-time or full-time dog walker. This is a great way to build up a list of clientele in your local area, and the reviews you get from your clients will determine how many requests you receive.
Will Your New Business Need Its Own Premises?
If you’ve found the ideal route for your new business to take, you may wish to start thinking about the office space you’ll need to see it grow and expand into your dream franchise. If you need the room for future employees and equipment at a prestigious address in London, we can provide one for you to rent.
Get in touch with our team and we can help you to find the property which best suits your company’s ethos and brand style. Each of our available buildings has its own unique look and personality, so you’ll always have your pick of a varied selection. We’ll even help you save money on costs by handling in-house services, such as IT and bespoke catering, ourselves.
If your business idea is for sale, or if you’re looking to impress potential investors to help the firm grow more quickly, we can also lend you one of our meeting rooms to hold those important pitches and presentations. No matter what you need to see your small business get off the ground, we’ll lend you the space to make it happen.