Best Businesses To Start With £50k
Many people want to break away from 9-5 life and become an entrepreneur. If you have solid financial resources, you have already overcome what many people consider to be the most challenging barrier in starting a new business.
With £50,000, there are many options for what to do next. If you’re stuck for ideas, we’ve collected a list of some of the best businesses to start with £50k.
IT Support Specialist
It’s very common for IT support specialists to have a relevant bachelor's degree, usually in IT, Computer Science, or Information Systems. Otherwise, extensive knowledge and experience will be very beneficial to those who wish to become an IT support specialist.
If you’re going to travel to customers, you’ll have to invest in reliable transportation. Your vehicle should be able to carry valuable equipment around without damaging it. If you wish to work remotely, you’ll still have to invest in a decent office setup. Other costs associated with starting up an IT support business include the IT equipment itself, specialist hardware and tools, insurance, and marketing.
Launching an IT Support business requires an initial investment of roughly £9,000- £20,000 [1]. The average base salary for an IT support specialist is £31,400 [2]. For an entrepreneur running their own business, that salary could be much higher.
Events Planning Services
This £364 billion industry is expected to grow by 7%-11% by 2026 [3]. It’s a booming industry with a huge variety of lucrative sectors and niches:
- Conferences and meetings – £19.9 billion
- Corporate hospitality and corporate events – £1.2 billion
- Outdoor events – £1.1 billion
- Festivals, cultural events, and musical events – £2.4 billion
- Sporting events – £2.3 billion
Some expenses you may face as an events planner include rent, marketing, communications, insurance and licensing. The main expenses, however, are equipment and inventory. If you plan large events, you might want to purchase professional equipment such as staging platforms, speakers and transport. If you offer entire events setup, clients are undoubtedly willing to pay extra for complete packages.
The average cost of setting up an events planning business in the UK is £12.5k and £25k [4]. Many events planners might have a degree in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism or EventsManagement, though this isn’t always necessary.
On average, event planners charge between 15-20% of the total cost of an event as part of their fee, so the average salary varies greatly [5]. Based on the markup margin, it’s clear that events planning is a profitable business.
Gym owner
If you’re passionate about fitness and have a head for business, you may have already considered opening your own gym. Opening a gym will be on the upper side of the £50k budget. Entrepreneur Graham Bertrant of Physique fitness says “you can kit out a 1,000 sq ft gym for about £45,000 to £50,000 using remanufactured equipment” [6].
Aside from equipment, other costs you must consider include the price of building and plumbing for shower and bathroom facilities, installing changing rooms, air conditioning, a point of sale system, customer and business insurance, and your salary. It’s well known that gym owners work quite long hours, so factoring in the price of paying yourself while establishing your gym business is important.
Despite high overhead costs, the average salary for a gym owner in the UK is between £28,000 and £39,000 [7].
Food van
Food vans have been labelled one of the most profitable small businesses to start in 2021. It costs between £20,000 and £50,000 to open a food truck business, and this price can vary depending on whether or not you choose to be a new van and refurbish it yourself, or buy a custom-built, pre-used van. It can also vary depending on what you’d like to sell, as coffee vans are cheaper to open and operate than restaurant-type food vans.
This business model is far more affordable than a brick-and-mortar restaurant, yet has the potential to generate equally high profits. Some prices include fuel to generate the equipment, cooking oil/gas, additional storage facilities, cooking equipment, wholesale food cost, and ground rent.
How much food truck owners make varies greatly depending on location, the type of food/beverages you sell, whether or not there is a seasonal menu, whether or not the truck caters to those with special dietary requirements.
Removals company
Most removal company owners have an HGV license or professional driving experience. This is for safety, plus the fact that you’ll be driving heavy or valuable goods around very often. It’s quite a well-paid role, with the average removal delivery driver earning around £30k a year [8], this salary reflects the price of a start-up, individuals who own their own company with numerous staff have the potential to earn more.
The most expensive element of starting a removal business is transport. You’ll need a small truck, if not a decent-sized van. If you’re willing to pay more upfront, the cost of an electric vehicle will be higher, but they are considerably cheaper to run and maintain [9]. Not to mention they are much better for the environment and will show customers that your company cares about sustainability.
You’ll also need packing and moving equipment, and more than likely at least one other employee to help with the physical element of moving furniture or heavy equipment. To market your removal business, partner with estate agents to offer your services to their clients, or invest in some dedicated marketing software.
Beauty salon owner
Opening a beauty salon costs between £3,000 and £35,000, depending on a few factors [10]. Opening a salon from home is the much more affordable option, however, this could simply lead to more costs further down the road if you choose to expand and relocate into a dedicated premises.
If you do choose to open an external salon, costs include rent, heating, electricity, extra plumbing, accountancy software, product costs, specialist chairs/ sinks/ desks, and salon booking software.
Depending on whether you’re a hairdresser, barber, nail or eyelash technician, makeup artist, or beauty and waxing specialist, one way to earn your money back on initial salon costs is to invite other beauticians to rent a chair in your salon. This way, you’re expanding your client base and offering a range of services to existing customers.
Professional, established salon owners earn around £100,000 per year in profits alone [11].
Succeed with Epos Now
Solid financial management is the key to success for all businesses. With Epos Now, you can access hundreds of resources designed to meet your specific business needs, whether you work in hospitality or retail.
- Invest in a dedicated point of sale software that takes the hardship and hassle out of business management.
- Access reports that highlight your most and least profitable stock and services, sales performance by a specific time and date to spot trends and money-saving opportunities with ease.
- Gain an overview of customer trends in order to better meet consumer demands and exceed expectations every time.
- Automatically sync your sales and expenses data with your accountancy software for simplified money management.
- 100s of integrations are available to allow business owners to access everything they need in one location.