There is an office in Limerick, The Paul Partnership, they give great advice to people starting up.
Sorry I don’t know what the Cork equivalent is. It must exist. They are different to the local enterprise office.
She needs two other things.
A good accountant.
A camera on the till.
Best of luck.
I’d love to set up my own business. Sick of working* for “the man”.
*Working would be a strong word to be fair.
@Kinvara_s_Passion mentioned this the other day. There’s some level of comfort with a guaranteed salary, being able to just come in and have days where you don’t want to really do much and get away with it. Unless you’ve a business idea which guarantees 100% of payment up front before you have to do a single thing then at some point you’re gonna get stressed about how you get paid.
Interesting you should ask @Mac. I’ve got a guaranteed way to make money, now before you ask let me assure you that this is not one of those shady pyramid schemes you’ve been hearing about. No sir. Our model is the trapezoid!
Is she currently employed @ChocolateMice? If on social welfare, or if she is eligible for it, there are back to work schemes for those on it where you can keep claiming the social for a portion of time (up to 9 months and potentially longer) and there is also grant money available for equipment and start up gear, anything from 1 to 2k available with that. The local enterprise office offer interest free loans too. The one in Wexford offers up to 2.5k I think, so I assume it would be much the same everywhere. There is a “New fontiers” start up entrepreneur program where you can get 15k in grants, but I dont know much about how hard it is to get or not. Go onto the local enterprise website, and there are a heap of alternatives and routes where you can look for support aids and grants. Most banks will provide free banking services and other shit for the first 2 years too.
I started out on my own there a few months back, but have fuck all start up costs, so didnt really bother looking too much into what was out there and available as it was fairly time consuming and you have to attend workshops and meetings and crap, and it didnt take much to get up and running other than setting up a website (thanks @TreatyStones) and getting out networking and stuff.
[quote=“Gman, post:26, topic:20839, full:true”]
Is she currently employed @ChocolateMice? If on social welfare, or if she is eligible for it, there are back to work schemes for those on it where you can keep claiming the social for a portion of time (up to 9 months and potentially longer) and there is also grant money available for equipment and start up gear, anything from 1 to 2k available with that. The local enterprise office offer interest free loans too. The one in Wexford offers up to 2.5k I think, so I assume it would be much the same everywhere. There is a “New fontiers” start up entrepreneur program where you can get 15k in grants, but I dont know much about how hard it is to get or not. Go onto the local enterprise website, and there are a heap of alternatives and routes where you can look for support aids and grants. Most banks will provide free banking services and other shit for the first 2 years too.
I started out on my own there a few months back, but have fuck all start up costs, so didnt really bother looking too much into what was out there and available as it was fairly time consuming and you have to attend workshops and meetings and crap, and it didnt take much to get up and running other than setting up a website (thanks @TreatyStones) and getting out networking and stuff.
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A market stall or something like that would be the way forward. Nice low cost startup that you could walk away from at any stage. @ChocolateMice is there money to be made in it?
How much would one of those small vans with the Barista machine on the back of them cost I wonder?
Sound lads… she’s already employed @Gman but I think a chat with citizens advice is in order… Yeah @Julio_Geordio, i’ve pushed her into it, why not branch out on your own and work your own hours if you can!! The smart thing is probably to take on a part-time job 2/3 days a week for the first 6-12months to have something steady coming in for bills while building up clients…the good thing is she has about 15 regulars that she returns home to see once a month as is so that’s her base and word of mouth… the dream is of course that she becomes a major success and i retire off the business… i’ll volunteer my services in around the salon of course.
@Fagan_ODowd I came up with the angle long before you, pal. And I was told fuck off… shit rolls down hill my friend
I think in Limerick they pay 60 a month for their space… some have their own stall, others are supplied. It’s all about product I guess but the lads doing burgers/hot dogs must make €300-600 depending on the day… Be alright if you had another small gig on the side or early pension… our place generally took €2000-3000 every Saturday.
It’s unbelievably hard to get going in Ireland, off the charts difficult compared to Oz/US.
However it is (will be in my case) worth it in the end.
Those machines start at around 7/8k for anything worth investing in.
Newer ways to go about it today too tho with the interweb and apps…depends what you are providing. I was at the wedding of the daughter of Dwyers electrical over the weekend, I believe he started back in the day selling stuff from the back of a van…multi-million business now 50 years later… tis only a few years graft really.
@ChocolateMice The local enterprise boards arent overly hot on giving funding to the services sector in my experience but its worth a 1 hour meeting with them just in case. Just ring them and you’ll get an appointment and ask them as many questions as you can.
I could write an essay about the ‘have a boss’ Vs ‘be your own boss’ arguments at this stage as its something that plays on my mind most days and I am biding my time before I jump off the corporate ship again. With a young family, mortgage etc there risks are a lot bigger so i wont be jumping anytime soon but when the time is right i’ll be gone.
For yourself and herself… no kids yet, no debt as such? Now is the time to throw yourself into something you might actually like doing.
Small debt - but no kids or mortgage… However, I’m staring down the barrel of a gun there pal and the sands of time are running low… but like you say, gives her two years to get it up and running and making enough to hire someone… On another matter totally unrelated, how’s are your legs for waxing? Need them done any time soon?
Waxing is a dying business mate. Its all about the Laser treatment these days.
Have you had your fanny lasered, pal? …And i’d strongly disagree, 70% of women in Ireland have still to get to grips with hair removal of any sort… A large percentage of those that go to waxing go for the service and ‘chats’ also… Not to sit there with a big gun pointed at them that’s left on manual while the operator is off checking their face book… You’ll also be glad to know that we offer tinting, threading, spray tans and nails, pal. 
Choco, why is fanny waxing so much more expensive in Ireland than in Europe? I have been informed that waxing in Spain costs about a quarter of the price it does in Ireland. Is it because the Spanish ladies are hairier or are they just more personal hygiene oriented leading to greater competition between fanny waxing outlets? Or is it that there are greater number of workplace associated risks in dealing with the Irish gee?
Fucked if I know… everything is cheaper in Spain tho, pal… but the next time you are getting waxed in Spain ask them what wax they are using… Lycon wax is used by the better places in Ireland and is expensive. I think it is only appearing in countries like Spain now so expect to pay more for your crack wax in future, pal.
