UK Shopkeeper Flips the Script with New Business Opportunity
By Ishanullah Badawi
(This as told by essay omits names and contains fictionalized elements. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.)
If I’m honest, I’ve always been a bit of an entrepreneur at heart. So after getting out of Uni, it seemed only natural I try to get some kind of proper business up and running.
After getting me business plan together and me financing sorted, I opened a proper shop on the high street.
The place offers clothing and high end decor, the kind of establishment that pulls in the posh birds – and their husbands – for a look see.
Mind you, doing all this took some hard graft on my part. First came registering with Companies House, which here in the UK incorporates all LTDs. Then came registering with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for tax purposes.
I’ll spare you the details of hiring employees and sourcing merchandise, not to mention choosing the perfect location, negotiating a property lease and renovating the place.
High Costs and Razor Thin Margins
As anyone who's done this knows, investing in bricks and mortar proves a slog. With high costs and razor thin margins, I spent my nights worrying about bills instead of down the pub having a pint with my mates.
I wanted to try something else but I never got a top drawer idea until this lasse and I took a holiday to Spain. We had a real row while there and came back early.
But what really stuck with me about the trp turned out to be something that happened when we got back to the UK.
When I exchanged my Euros back to Pounds I discovered something brilliant! I got more back then I had originally exchanged. Turns out the valuations of Pounds to Euros fluctuated while we were gone.
I started wondering if this might be a business model. A short time later poking around on the Internet I discovered something called Forex (or foreign exchange.) Basically, it involves making money on the rate of exchange between currencies. And it represented my first big step into a larger world.
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More Ways to Make Money
My next business idea came as a surprise as well. Obviously, I wanted my high street business to do well, yeah?
So I spent a lot of time marketing. And I mean a lot of time, mate. It bloody well took up me every waking hour.
My most successful marketing ended up being on social media, specially on Facebook, YouTube and what they used to call Twitter but is now called X.
Well, soon a mate of mine who owns another business here on the high street – this one a restaurant – called me on the mobile. Could I help him market his restaurant as well, he asked. He even offered to pay me a few quid a week if I would.
Bloody hell! I told him sure. But I never realized I could make money just by using Facebook.
Get the Picture?
My latest scheme involves another simple way to earn a few bob from something I already do.
Recently my missus (that’s right, we patched things up after Spain!) bought me a nice camera. I immediately started taking snaps all over London – and every time we went on Holiday.
But soon I realized someone would pay a few pounds for some of my pics. So I began to sell them online.
Conclusion
Before long I sold my high street business to another mate who had always wanted his own shop. I don’t regret it!
I won’t miss the late nights worried about mounting bills and making payroll!
Instead, I spend my days trading U.S. dollars for Euros, making money as a social media marketer and selling photos online – whilst still taking plenty of time for friends and family.
What business could you start to make your life better today?
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Ishanullah Badawi is a UK-based writer residing in West London where he writes on business and online media and supports the Chelsea F.C.
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