I am thinking of setting up a music/computer games shop. Reasons for setting up this business include the big gap in the market. Middlesborough, 10 miles away, is the closest place to go and find a computer games shop and I’m sure many young people / teenagers in the local area would be pleased and buy games from my shop. This is where market research, that I will be doing soon, will help me find if I am correct. I think that demand is high in the area and a profit wouldn’t be hard to make. I also have a personal interest in computer games and music and I think I have a sound knowledge to help me progress in my business.

As to reasons why a business like mine wouldn’t either succeed or isn’t around in the area is unclear. There is no competition in the area apart from Middlesborough, but I think that people would stay in Stokesley to buy video game and music products. From my own personal experience as a customer, I find the fact I need to catch a bus for a 2hour round trip to Middlesborough to buy video game and music products, a bore. But again, Market Research would help me understand if my theory is right. Maybe Stokesley is the right place for this business.

Maybe not. There is a big Comprehensive School in Stokesley catering for 1,500 teenagers, of which about 500 are allowed out on a weekday lunchtime, which I think, would provide a reasonable percentage of my total customers. If I set up this business, I would become a Sole Trader. This allows me 100% control of the business, which is an advantage to me, as I prefer to be able to make all the decisions by myself. I would also be able to keep all the profits. The Capital I would be paying would be small as well, as I only have to fund for myself.

Flexibility would be another issue; I could be as harsh or as lenient as I want to be on myself. And finally, the privacy you are allowed with being a Sole Trader is also a key factor. One disadvantage about being a sole trader is that I would have unlimited liability. This would be a problem if I had financial problems but I hope to avoid these with a firm plan to help me succeed in my business. I am planning to set up my business in Stokesley, a market town in the north east of England, 10 miles from the industrial town of Middlesborough.

I would be setting up in the main high street, located in the shopping district of Stokesley. Areas I would need to look at before deciding if there was a scope for a new business would be finance. Do I have the finance to start up my business? And if so, it would stretch for times of most need? What competition would I be facing? How would I advertise? How many staff do I want to employ? What market research would I need to do? Who would my supplier be? What is my Market Segment? These are just a few answers I would need to question in research before setting up.