KatieCat - Profile

Thanks for the input, sorry if I didn't make things clear but Steve is right in assuming that I only have a couple of years left in my current business (medical aesthetics) before European regulations will make my overheads too high for the business to be viable.

After taking a few days to mull things over I know that I need to look into things further rather than be put off at the first hurdle. The irony is that I made the appointment to get advice about how best to approach my market research & have realistic figures to work with so I didn't have to guess whether or not this would be profitable. Instead I sat & listened to someone else guessing whether it would be profitable or not

On reflection I will take on some of the advice given at the meeting about marketing options & I will work on my research & business plan then get a second opinion.

The comment that sticks in my mind that this guy made was that "if your idea was profitable someone else would have thought of it already & be doing it". Surely if everyone thought like that there'd be no such thing as entrepreneurs!

Thanks again guys.

Today I had a first meeting with a business advisor to discuss my decision to wind down my existing business & set up a new venture (food van).

Due to upcoming changes in legislation (mainly due to European regulations filtering over to the uk) I know that realistically I will only be able to stay in my current business for 1-2 yrs max. These upcoming changes have made me stop daydreaming about a complete direction change business wise & made me act on it instead.

I am nowhere near completing my food van business plan. I still have to do a lot more market research, secure a plot & finish costings etc.

On the positive side I have said for many years I would like my own food van; I worked many long days in a burger van & in cafes etc as a teenager so I know & enjoy the work. I am used to the discipline of self employment now so that doesn't phase me either.

So I attended today with the bones of a business plan & was looking for feedback on my ideas on how to do my market research & any other help I could get.

Basically without even looking at my ideas the business advisor shot my idea right out of the water & said I won't be able to make a profit as too many people have food vans. This is before I even mentioned where I wanted to put it. Everything I said he disagreed with, even telling me that a certain places doesnt allow cooking when I personally know someone who's been cooking there for 12 years

I still have confidence in my ideas but I know the difference between confidence & arrogance so I'm looking for any input from anyone who knows the field well (I worked in catering in a seaside town & I'm in the city now MANY years later!) also, the guy I met today was from a free service in Manchester, is it likely I would get a different opinion from a different advisor elsewhere?

Thanks in advance