How to Start a Fish and Chip Shop

Business Angels provide a source of funding which is different to that of a loan from a bank or investment from a Venture Capitalist firm. They offer anything from £50,000 to £250,000, sometimes more, in return for an equity stake in your company. On top of their capital investment, they also offer their own knowledge and experience, and are involved to some extent in the day to day running of the company - they will support and guide you in the best ways to move forward in your market. This is something which banks and other lenders are unable to provide, which makes Business Angels a unique and attractive option for entrepreneurs looking for help growing their business.

Business Angels rely heavily on well drafted business plans to make their decision and you can expect to be thoroughly grilled from all angles about your plans for the company - the plan therefore needs to be watertight. First and foremost, the yearly cash flow should be forecast, if not by you then by a qualified accountant. A Business Angel will want to see how you intend to use their investment, what sort of return they can expect and what time period this can be expected over. To do this, predicted sales revenue need to be integrated into the cash flow forecast, which means you need to be able to make an accurate estimate concerning how many portions of fish and chips (and other items) you are likely to sell and balance this against your overheads and outgoing costs.

There are a number of other factors which need to be considered when setting up your fish and chip shop - all of which will have an effect on your estimated sales:

• Will you have an area in/outside (summer months) the shop for customers to sit and eat their food? Or will it be simply takeaway only?
• What sort of prices will you charge? Will your products be premium quality? Or would a ‘no-frills' approach be better suited?
• What products will you stock? Kebab meat? Burgers? Pizzas?
• What opening hours will you decide upon? This will depend largely on your target market - late night clubbers or more traditional seaside tourist shop?

  It is important to remember that your target market selection will have the biggest implications on how successful the business is - you have to look at whether there is enough business to satisfy your needs in the area, and also which of your competitors are also supplying your intended market? How will you compete against them? How will you make sure yours is the favoured shop amongst your desired customers?

The price you charge should be low enough to compete with your closest rival chip shops and other fast food outlets, but also high enough to cover your own operating costs, such as fish, potatoes and other meats you sell. Chip shops rely heavily on passing trade as much as they do repeat customers, which means location is essential. If you are planning to target tourists, you should situate yourself as near as possible to other popular tourist attractions, e.g. promenade, shops, etc. Again, if you are targeting night club goers then it would need to be as near as possible to the entrance of the club, somewhere revellers have to pass when they leave. Investing in market research is a worthwhile option, to make sure you know what the general consensus is around the town before making any decisions.