Can anyone give me some good advice about starting a business?

My wife and I would love to start a business by making sandwiches for companies i.e. taking into offices sandwiches, crisps, fruit, etc, and eventually selling from a van. But how do we get started, and are there any qualifications needed before we can start? Also what sort of cost would it be to get started?


Any helpful and good advice is required and would be very appreciated.





This has been a business my wife has always wanted to do, and I inturn believe that we both can make it happen, but we need advice, can you help us?Can anyone give me some good advice about starting a business?
Yeah im a Business studies teacher, who also runs a business. A lot of useful advice can be found on the following website www.businesslink.gov.uk that will provide you with all the basic information about how to set up a business. Lots of enthusiasm and confidence will help. However you must really check your figures. will it be worthwhile spending your time doing this than anythingelse? is there a large market for this in the area? what is the competition like? Would offices require this service ?Can anyone give me some good advice about starting a business?
Agree with person above on food hygiene etc - those are a given. and local authority people will generally offer good advice on how to comply.





in terms of the business side, you need to think about putting together a business plan. there is loads of help for people to do this and my advice would be to talk to your bank for one thing and for an independent view go to the local Business Link. they get public money to support people just like you to get your business off the ground. they will have experts who can advise about how to make it successful - website below to get in touch with them.
food hygiene and health and safety certificates you will need these also a licence from your local council. do some research does the area need such a service .do you have a area to prepare the food
I can`t be specific about your start up costs but put your figures together and add 50%, you will not be far wrong.


Enquire at your local college about any hygiene qualifications you may require. If you need anything they will be most helpful.


The most important thing to do of is a sensible business plan.


You need to forecast what`s going to come in and what`s got to go out, down to the tiniest detail e.g. changing the insurance on a vehicle from private to business.This may sound trivial, but it looks good in front of a bank manager plus I`ve seen countless small firms go under due to cash flow problems in the early days , it`s great having a full order book but not if you can`t afford the materials


The Very Best of Luck

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