Hi all,
I’m not really too active on the forum but I thought for the benefit of aspiring entrepreneurs I would start a thread documenting my journey of building a business from nothing to one being worth millions of pounds. I’ll happily document the process, sharing stats , sales figures etc so you have a clear picture of exactly what is happening, although I won’t initially reveal the name of the business. This is to protect it during the early stage of development.
Some background
I am 31 year old male, live in the UK and have about 9 years entrepreneurial experience. I have most definitely been through the process (walked a very long and hard path but that’s another story) and have a very comprehensive understanding of online marketing.
I am leveraging all I have learnt and the contacts I have built up during the 7 year walk to make this project a success.
I already run a successful business (with business partner) and have capital to invest.
This is project is another venture we are setting up to run alongside our existing business.
The venture is currently an idea in our minds that we are rolling out. I am documenting it for the benefit of others on the forum. So it really is being created from nothing.
Assumptions
Business Fastlane Commandments
Obviously the business is going to follow the five commandments to ensure its success. Its most definitely a fastlane business that has all the ingredients for massive success.
The business is going to be completely online. As this is the area I know best.
Need
The only reason the business exists is to serve the needs of other people. I know for I fact already that a large number of people NEED this product and are prepared to pay for it. The business is built purely to solve other people’s problems. I left my own selfish desires to make money behind. Making large amounts of money will be a nice by product of solving people’s needs.
Entry
The business has a big barrier to entry for the simple fact you need to be FSA (financial service authority) regulated to run it. It is very time consuming and difficult to get an FSA license which means a large portion of people will never have any chance of entering this market. This is a big barrier to entry for most people. Also without a lot of online marketing experience, there is very little chance of making this a success.
Control
There is some element of weakness in our business as there will be companies how are 1 chain higher than us who we send business to however we will also have a pool of affiliates who send us leads. There is always the risk they could cut us off. High unlikely considering how much money we will be making them. We will be in complete control of the affiliates and be at the top of the pyramid for them.
Scale
As its purely online business, we have not restricted our pool of customers. Our product can be sold throughout the entire United Kingdom giving us access to a market of tens of millions of people. It is not a worldwide product but the whole of the UK is more than enough.
Time
As the business is completely online and automated it will generate revenue on a nearly 24 basis. I will not have to be glued to it 20 hours per day. Once the system and website is set up it will work automatically and will need minimum admin.
In summary it is a very strong business model that follows all the commandments for success.
Competitors
Of course there are competitors who are doing it and having looked at their accounts they seem to be making a lot of money. I believe I can execute a lot better than them and believe that my superior internet marketing knowledge and experience will give us the winning edge. I am glad there are competitors because it shows there is a demand for the product.
Goals To Aim For
It’s quite hard to value but I would assume 6 – 10 times EBITDA would be quite achievable.
With that in mind I would like the business to be valued at, at least £1 million pounds within 1 year. (My experience with the online space says that this should be more than achievable)
I would hope to exit for a sum greater than £10 million within 5 years. I’ll be 36 years old so still relatively young enough to enjoy my life.
Ok that’s enough to begin with. Next post I’ll go into more detail on how I intend on marketing the business.
Hope you enjoy.
I’m not really too active on the forum but I thought for the benefit of aspiring entrepreneurs I would start a thread documenting my journey of building a business from nothing to one being worth millions of pounds. I’ll happily document the process, sharing stats , sales figures etc so you have a clear picture of exactly what is happening, although I won’t initially reveal the name of the business. This is to protect it during the early stage of development.
Some background
I am 31 year old male, live in the UK and have about 9 years entrepreneurial experience. I have most definitely been through the process (walked a very long and hard path but that’s another story) and have a very comprehensive understanding of online marketing.
I am leveraging all I have learnt and the contacts I have built up during the 7 year walk to make this project a success.
I already run a successful business (with business partner) and have capital to invest.
This is project is another venture we are setting up to run alongside our existing business.
The venture is currently an idea in our minds that we are rolling out. I am documenting it for the benefit of others on the forum. So it really is being created from nothing.
Assumptions
- I am based in the UK so when I am talking about money I am referring to pounds sterling £.
- I already have self made capital to invest in the business. I don’t need to borrow it from anyone, get into debt, take out credit, ask family. I estimate initial capital requirement will be about 30 – 40k UK sterling. I would imagine that this would be a barrier to a lot of people already. If you don’t already do not let this stop you achieve your goals.
- I also have a existing business which I can leverage, office, telephone system, desks, 2 full times developers and 1 designer.
- My existing business generates cash which should I need I could inject into the new venture. I am hoping I won’t need to.
Business Fastlane Commandments
Obviously the business is going to follow the five commandments to ensure its success. Its most definitely a fastlane business that has all the ingredients for massive success.
The business is going to be completely online. As this is the area I know best.
Need
The only reason the business exists is to serve the needs of other people. I know for I fact already that a large number of people NEED this product and are prepared to pay for it. The business is built purely to solve other people’s problems. I left my own selfish desires to make money behind. Making large amounts of money will be a nice by product of solving people’s needs.
Entry
The business has a big barrier to entry for the simple fact you need to be FSA (financial service authority) regulated to run it. It is very time consuming and difficult to get an FSA license which means a large portion of people will never have any chance of entering this market. This is a big barrier to entry for most people. Also without a lot of online marketing experience, there is very little chance of making this a success.
Control
There is some element of weakness in our business as there will be companies how are 1 chain higher than us who we send business to however we will also have a pool of affiliates who send us leads. There is always the risk they could cut us off. High unlikely considering how much money we will be making them. We will be in complete control of the affiliates and be at the top of the pyramid for them.
Scale
As its purely online business, we have not restricted our pool of customers. Our product can be sold throughout the entire United Kingdom giving us access to a market of tens of millions of people. It is not a worldwide product but the whole of the UK is more than enough.
Time
As the business is completely online and automated it will generate revenue on a nearly 24 basis. I will not have to be glued to it 20 hours per day. Once the system and website is set up it will work automatically and will need minimum admin.
In summary it is a very strong business model that follows all the commandments for success.
Competitors
Of course there are competitors who are doing it and having looked at their accounts they seem to be making a lot of money. I believe I can execute a lot better than them and believe that my superior internet marketing knowledge and experience will give us the winning edge. I am glad there are competitors because it shows there is a demand for the product.
Goals To Aim For
It’s quite hard to value but I would assume 6 – 10 times EBITDA would be quite achievable.
With that in mind I would like the business to be valued at, at least £1 million pounds within 1 year. (My experience with the online space says that this should be more than achievable)
I would hope to exit for a sum greater than £10 million within 5 years. I’ll be 36 years old so still relatively young enough to enjoy my life.
Ok that’s enough to begin with. Next post I’ll go into more detail on how I intend on marketing the business.
Hope you enjoy.
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