]> http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/index.html bikes4rent's Blog en-us © 06:29:20 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Fri, Sep 06:29:20 5 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/on-line_shop_running.html Hi, Well, WWW.SHITHOTKIT.CO.UK is up and running! SliderHiders are taking off and the ShitHotKit clothing is becoming popular! We are now looking around for other products to sell, we have a few ideas but nothing definite yet. Take a look if you've got a minute. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:36:55 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/long_time_speak.html Well, the Bromsgrove council screwed us! They waited until the last possible day then began to freak about a bike business. Even though there had been no complaints, all our bikes were totally legal and we were a couple of hundred meters from a railway line they decided the noise may be a nuisance. We therefore would have to pay hundreds or even thousands having noise impact surveys done. What a load of stupid, pointless shit! The upshot was it was too late for us to find somewhere else so ... Sat, 8 Dec 2007 00:22:53 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/take_long.html OK, we are now waiting for planning permission which as I said previously will take eight weeks. Amazing as we aren’t making any alterations to the building and it’s been commercial before. Filling loads of insurance forms, account applications etc. etc…. It’s a bit scary now, we’ll have overheads to pay and in truth we have no idea if we’ll get many (or any) customers. We will advertise locally and we are going to try Google Ad words to see if that brings in any customers. On ... Wed, 3 Oct 2007 11:35:11 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/shop.html We are trying to sort out some premises. We've looked at a few, most of them are frighteningly expensive but we have found a place just up the road. It's a little small but it's a start. There is a problem because we have to apply for planning permission to change the use. Bike hire doesn’t fit any of the councils little categories so we will always have to apply for planning. The planning process takes a minimum of eight weeks! If we get it we’ll do our bike hire and probably sell MZs ... Wed, 3 Oct 2007 09:17:16 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/face_adversity.html Well, we are still going but it's been a rough couple of months. My Dad died in October and my uncle died in September. My uncle, who I didn't really know died in Brussels, his wife died a couple of month before him. I have had to go to his flat and find all documents. As I said I never really new him so it's like being in a strangers home, very odd. The up side is he left no valid will so my brothers and I will share his estate. I'll get enough to set us up with a bike dealership as well ... Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:16:00 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/still_going.html We are still going but are starting to wonder if it''s worth it. Had a good few weeks but now it''s quiet again. We''ve made contact with another training school who is sending people to us and has even booked a bike himself but it''s really not enough. I''m going to have to start looking for work again so if any of you need a part time Project manager (Prince 2)...... The SHITHOTKIT clothing isn''t moving as well as we had hoped but then we haven''t really been pushing it. Where is it goi ... Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:32:00 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/hows_going_far.html Well, things are ticking over. The boss of our local training school thinks we are going to get rich! Hope he''s right - thanks Simon of R.M.T. in Redditch for the support. We hope people doing their Direct Access training will be our bread and butter business. We have had a few rentals and are taking bookings. The website is working, we''ve had enquiries from Canada, South Africa and the U.S.A. The insurance is still a pain. Our minimum payment has doubled and the level of cover we get ha ... Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:41:00 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/bit_about_us.html Rog and I are both 41. We met at school - Bromsgrove, an old, posh Public school in our home town. When we first left our respective homes we shared a house together, that was when we were twenty. We have stayed in touch almost all of the time since then. I have worked in IT for the last fifteen years or so having previously been in sales. My last job was as a project manager for English Heritage and it was pretty well paid but I quit to try bikes4rent and other things. I am now working as ... Sat, 25 Aug 2007 22:39:00 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/first_post.html Hi, I''m Matt and together with my life long friend Rog I''m trying to start a Bike Hire Business in Worcestershire UK. I intend to use this blog to share our experiences and frustrations with anyone who is interested. The business is called bikes4rent, the website is www.bikes4rent.co.uk take a look when you have a minute. The idea came when I decided to do my direct access bike test a few years ago. While you are doing the training you can ride a 500cc bike with an instructor but only a ... Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:56:00 GMT http://greasy.com/bikes4rent/story_continues.html That original business idea was a few years ago and all I did about it was register the URL www.bikes4rent.co.uk. The story picks up again in the spring of 2004 when Rog moved back from the Welsh boarders and, lacking anywhere else to go, moved into my place. We both started trying to think of something we could do for our selves rather than working for others. After about a month of this I remembered bikes4rent and Rog loved the idea! Things started to progress..... very slowly! Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:02:00 GMT