Is this a good idea for a business? Be Honest.?

I am really into making Cards and cakes. My fiance's sister is a trained florist too. I would like to set up a business in my local area in which you can get everything, all your cards, birthday cakes ect, balloons and flowers. Would this be a good idea for a buisness, is it a good idea to turn my hobby into my dream? I would also like to keep my weekend job would that be possible, I just work in a shop.

Is this a good idea for a business? Be Honest.?
That would definately be possible and sounds like a great idea. Just have someone run the shop for you or have one day off (on the weekend). You will have to invest in it, but if it becomes a great business, then you will get all the money back and more.
Reply:That is a really good idea.
Reply:I think its great as it is convenient. You can get all your special occasion stuff from one place. You should come up with whole package plans etc etc. Its a great idea. Good Luck dear!
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Reply:Sounds good! If it's something you enjoy, then go for it!
Reply:It does sound like a really good idea and if you're good at it and enjoy it, it's perfect.





The only thing you might want to consider is doing one thing at a time. Why not start out with say, the florists on it's own, give it time and see if there is a demand for it and gradually bring in the other elements. If you try and do everything at once, you might make money from one thing and loose a shedload on everything else. I think it would also be confusing for customers, how would you advertise yourself for example? If you advertise yourself as a cake shop, card shop and florists all in one, you may not be able to cater for a particular customer group, which may drive custom away.





I would start out with one idea, make it successful, clearly define what you are doing, and then try and bring in other bits slowly over time. Good luck with it anyway.
Reply:go for it you can do anything if you want it enough
Reply:Sounds like a goer to me, you go for it!
Reply:That does sound like a great idea it would be nice to get everything in one place! Saves a lot of time for the customer plus it would be probably be cheaper to buy it all in one place too.
Reply:I would say that you have to believe that it is a good idea for it to succeed, the most important thing is to research your area, find out if there is a need for what you want to offer in your area, work out a business plan. As to keeping your job on, probably to start off with as a back up,but when the business takes off, as I am sure it will you will not have time. Good Luck.
Reply:Be careful with your decision. Think about who your competition would be? How many similar services are there in your area? The big supermarkets are increasingly monopolising...well everything it seems and some people would pick up all the things you're thinking of selling while they do their grocery shopping. Also bear in mind that, initially, you may not be able to take salaries from your business' takings until you are more established. Sorry to be negative, just trying to add some balance to your answers.
Reply:That sounds like a good idea to me! I set up in business myself a while ago, through the Princes Trust, if you're under 30 they help fund loads of projects. Its a great idea to turn a hobby into a dream, it means you'll be earning £ for doing something you enjoy - how many people can truely say that?!


The only thing I would say is research your competitors, if there aren't any, thats even better! If there is any, then make sure you offer a better service than they do.





And another mistake alot of people make is to try and undercut the competition - but especially in the market you're thinking of, if people pay more they perceive it as being worth more, think of Sainsburys. Alot of people think its expensive, but the ones that shop there think its better quality due to the price. In all fairness, its no different to Asda though.





Bloody good luck to you though! I would say, wholeheartedly, GO FOR IT!!
Reply:yeah go for it carpe diem they say but be prepared to put in lots of hours and probably quite a lot of investment so give up your weekend job and put 100% into making your business work not lining someone elses pockets good luck
Reply:Yes but I would use market research, primary, so hand out questionnaires in your local area, your place is just as important as prices and promotion. I hope your business becomes very successful, good luck :)
Reply:Hiya it sounds like a great idea but you would have to quit your job or get somebody to work for you at weekends as you would be catering for birthday party's and wedding etc.





P.S Good luck hope you do well with your dream
Reply:yes, i think its cool. its great that you actually enjoy your hobby and turning it into a business would be a good idea.


remember in order to make a profit, make sure that your income (all the money that goes into the business) is greater than your outcome (money that goes out of your business)





you probably only know this since your the one starting the business, but oh what the heck!





btw, good luck


xx


nansub2003


x
Reply:Many start up businesses fail because they start with the PRODUCT rather than with the CUSTOMER. Your idea sounds good - but you have to find a way to test whether prospective customers would like it. Get yourself a clipboard and write on it (say) five key questions in relation to customer approval of your idea. Then spend a morning in a shopping mall and ask as many people as possible the questions. Test your idea on real people in a real shopping environment. What seems a great idea to you may not gel with real people. And don't forget to have some Price points in your questions. For example "If someone offered you this in a shop [list the deal] what would you be prepared to pay for it. If it was priced at $50 do you think this is (a) Expensive. (b) A fair price (c) Cheap.... you get the idea.





Good Luck!!
Reply:Starting any new business requires a lot of hard work and dedication. You need to be willing to give lots of energy to get this kind of project off the ground.


Do some research in your area, know your local market. What is the competition like?


I really like the concept so why shouldn't you make a successful business out of it.


Good luck!
Reply:sounds good


a sort of supermarket specialising in events
Reply:I would go for it there is a shop locally that does the same sort of thing and they are doing really well


Good Luck hope it all turns out well for you
Reply:Yes I think it is a very good idea and hope you go 4 it and make it a success.
Reply:I think it's a good idea, but it would need a hell of alot of hard hard work to get it going. To start with you probably couldn't employ anyone full time, so it would be mainly you doing it, as well as running the rest of your life.





I'd guess that once you'd had your first few customers, the most important marketing would be word of mouth - everyone at the party would have to know that your business had provided everything, and that also means that everyone there would know about it if anything went wrong or wasn't good.





Basically you'd be a Home Event Co-ordinator. I know someone who started their own events management company, basically providing this kind of thing for business events - it's hard work for less than great profits. As yours would be smaller scale, your profit margin would be less, so you'd have to think about why people would pay you to do something they could easily do themselves? I mean anyone can blow up a few balloons, buy a cake and some cards. What would you offer that would make your service worth paying for?





I think you'd have to kiss goodbye not just to your weekend job, but also to your weekends!
Reply:Sorry, but Tesco, Asda etc already do this. So you would be left with starting an on line business. You would have to drop the cakes if your working from home. Food hygiene certificate etc. Average kitchen would not get one. You could rent space of the Florist owner and sell your cards and balloons, but then you are competing with Clinton's etc. Is a fantastic idea you came up with, but your market is just not there. Also venture capitalist reading this would not support you as you want to keep your weekend job. Sorry just being honest...
Reply:This is a really good idea however you may not be able to keep your weekend job as well so it may be worth checking if you can work evenings instead. Go and see your bank manager with a sound business plan. If you have difficulties in setting one up check out the website below, but also keep in mind the possibilities for expanding e.g. hand crafted jewellery. so you could sell products in a package e.g. flowers, necklace, earrings and card!
Reply:Clinton Cards and the party shop do a similar thing baring the cake .People are not orientated to getting a cake with their cards under the same roof . If you could come up with a tailor made service at a price people are willing to pay then I reckon you could make a go of it . Why not produce a menu of what you can provide and do it door to door and see how it goes
Reply:There is only one thing annoying about getting ready for someones birthday, wedding, christening etc and that is traipsing round several shops buying the card, cake, decorations and flowers. Of course this is a good idea! All of it in one place, do you know how much if a time saver that sounds!? I hope this works out for you and your fiance's sister, go for it!! x
Reply:It depends on the competition. Say you have clintons in the same area or another similar store, there is no possible way you can compete on a massive scale, so like you said: selling everything, would be a bad idea. This means you should go for a niche market, say for example selling one product but with lots of variations to it as there are more profits to be made that way.





Whereas if there is little or no competition you should by all means go for tryin to sell a much larger range of prouducts as there are more profits to be made
Reply:That's a good idea - a "one-stop". You should tap into the market quite well.





One small piece of advice: you need to do a little work on your spelling, as you may be writing cards to go with the flowers, if you take orders over the phone.





Good luck!
Reply:Getting into cards is certainly a good idea. Even if there's a recession, people may dumb down on the present but they always buy a card, and possibly buy a better one because it helps their conscience about the present.
Reply:i think it is a very good ideal.but you must have a very good product.has for the weekend job thats touch and go.good luck.
Reply:yes it sounds good





but you need to look at the area where you plan to open the shop and look to see how many, cards, birthday cakes, balloons and flowers shop there is... will be a good idea or will you be just another shop....





start think of names and this could be important some thing catchy and funny would be good... and look at how shops in the area fitted out... you want to entice people through the door, but not say we are cheep and provide a crap service or we are too expensive so exclude 90%of the areas population,,,. this something you will need to look at... the population of the area and how much disposable income they have for this type of business





i wish you all the luck in the world....