When discussing this idea with a friend recently, expecting everyone to talk me out of it, I realised that every time I had considered a new venture or starting down any path if anything ahead was not visible, I got serious cold feet.
The other realisation I had was that everything I have done, which was worthwhile – including a course during 2020 that paid a stipend and turned out better than expected for me – I would never have never got past putting a toe in without a push. Be that a deadline, some kind of inspiration or perhaps the pull of a vision I see possible.
If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend thinking about how you want your life to look in 10 years time and drawing it or finding a picture that represents it. Nothing beats a picture in mind to keep us on track and heading towards a purpose or desired outcome.
Trying to start a business and sell your services or self from home is at the opposite end of the spectrum from going out to do work you are being paid for. Freelancing must be the hardest thing for me to do. I love selling anything except myself.
It’s Friday 1st November and I just put an offer in for a cafe venue in Falmouth. Apparently I might hear back tomorrow. It is exciting whatever the outcome. I’m trying to stop myself getting too attached to this venue as there are more. However, very few have big windows facing the harbour and views beyond.
Firstly, I got out the spreadsheet given to me by Oxford Innovation. From the accounts I have so far, I have entered these into a spreadsheet with my brother’s calculations on how a business could turnover £100,000 with 4 staff and the overheads and costs listed. I added cost of sale and a 7 day week at 6 hours a day for £11 spend for 38 customers a day.
This shows that the cafe could currently make around £5,000 on this basis per month. As someone with assets but only passive income, which falls a little short of my regular living costs, outgoings and cost of income, using investments to takeover an existing business and give it a longer lease of life seems a low-risk strategy.
I love the idea of providing employment and opportunity and this is the first time I may be able to see what I am like at it. is this like having a friend as a tenant? I aim to build a team and maximise these people’s passions and talents to create a successful business, which showcases creative work. I think the best business is win-win.
Before 2020, a venue, which has since shut down, could host a solo musician or a piano player. I aim to use my live sound desk – bought but never used – and perhaps record player and stereo to play 80s 7″ singles and albums. I like the idea of Spanish food, Cornish seasonal produce, locally roasted coffee beans and a reasonable priced and inviting selection of cold soft drinks for the daytime.
Since I worked in a venue in the 1990s, I have always wondered why more effort isn’t put into soft drinks. Now that young people and students continue to drink less alcohol year-on-year and more expensive alcohol substitues are brought onto the market, using low-cost cartons of juice to make unique refreshing drinks without added sugar must surely be a way forward, with Sangria for warm summer evenings looking out to sea.
The centre of the idea is social connection and the vehicle is teamwork and word-of-mouth with social media and online content to create a buzz and a down-to-earth platform for artists. By not investing ego in fun and creative pursuits, so therefore to not add pressure and fester an environment for exploitation, who knows what could grow in this spot?
Sophie Sweatman 