Originally Posted by dan300

Yeah ok I agree, I think what I meant was more about my own knowledge than weighing it up against others..

If I hadn't done those courses - which I excelled in the enterprise one which was a level 2 course but got a call informing me that the awarding body had no choice but to award me level 3 as I did a much higher standard of work - then the thought of starting a business would be completely alien to me & I would probably laugh at the idea if someone proposed it.

However having done the courses & learning all the steps to starting up & maintaining it, as well as the financial stuff, I possess enough knowledge to enable me to take a chance on it if opportunity allows me.

There is a major e-cig chain called Kix (dunno if they're just here or if you have them over there too) who I would have thought dominated that particular market. However in this city I see smaller independent e-cig stores opening up. Just today I saw another one & bought a new barrel (or whatever it's called) out of it...

That's just an example of something I've noticed. People kicking up business off the back of larger, clearly successful franchises. I think that's quite clearly a risk because you'll worry about not being able to compete. But then again it's always a risk right?

I would prefer to do something unique, but not so unique it's rare & more of a luxury that people will get bored of or worse not even be interested in. But still something that stands out.



As a side note - A couple of my mates owned head shops back in 2009/10 & they kicked up quite a storm. Made a lot of money & got a lot of attention, from all angles - media, cops, politicians, gangsters, dealers, paramilitaries etc. One mate got his knee blasted with a shotgun, I got threatened by paramilitaries one day I was working..it was dangerously exciting.

Safe to say it didn't last forever.