Neighbourhood call shop and calling credit

Migrants and international students, travellers, and people without a phone plan or data who want cheap calls abroad.

A per-minute fee for booth calls and a margin on calling cards, SIMs and top-ups bought from wholesale suppliers. Many owners add small extras such as phone accessories, printing or basic repairs.

• Friendly, patient customer service
• Basic bookkeeping and cash handling
• Comparing wholesale call rates
• Understanding the needs of your local community

• Free calling apps have cut demand in many areas, so test the local market before committing to a lease
• Check with Ofcom whether reselling calling services means you must notify them or follow any conditions
• Check the lease terms, business rates, planning use class and any shop fit-out rules with your council
• Public liability and contents insurance, and check whether you need employer's liability insurance if you hire staff
• If you add money transfer or currency services, these have their own registration rules with HMRC or the FCA, so check first
• If you use CCTV or keep customer details, check your data protection duties, including whether you need to pay the ICO fee
• Long opening hours can be hard to cover alone

Startup costs are typically around £5,000 to £20,000, depending on the premises, fit-out, phone booths, stock of calling credit and SIM cards, and insurance. Treat this as an estimate and get quotes for your own location.

Monthly revenue is typically around £2,000 to £8,000, depending on location, opening hours and local demand. Free calling apps have cut demand in many areas, so test the local market before committing to a lease.

Check with Ofcom whether reselling calling services means you must notify them or follow conditions. Also check lease terms, business rates, planning use class, insurance, and registration rules if you add money transfer or currency services.