Buying a small business
- Thread starter natmarie73
- Start date
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but dealing with idiots day in and day out does not stop when you own your own business. You can rarely eradicate them from your business, only difference is the idiots now cost you time and money whereas previously they were costing your employer that time and money.
I don't know what businesses you owned but I've worked for large and small businesses. A lot of small businesses are struggling at the moment because people are saving instead of spending unless you are selling smart phones which is a different market.
I think you have to deal with different idiots. You are swapping idiots staff/colleagues to idiots cutomers/clients. At least at work you can ignore the idiots but in business, you can't ignore them because they are the one paying your bills. So there are pros and cons for being a staff or being your own boss.
I believe there are always opportunities out there. Yes certain sectors are struggling so dont start a business within that sector, eg i wouldnt start importing furniture to sell as that is completely saturated. Alternatively, if you are within that sector work out if it is worth continuing on, what is the opportunity cost of struggling along in a business with no genuine prospects for great improvement? Often cutting your losses can be a painful but beneficial exercise, especially if it frees someone up to then go into another more profitable venture.
So many people out there are too negative, i have always believed that there are significantly more opportunities in Australia than there are people willing to take them. Long may it continue.
Nice work! I know quite a few people who had record years too, another mate of mine started a new bsuiness in November 2011 and by June 2012 100% of startup costs were paid off and they were profitable. Easy to be all doom and gloom, people seem to constantly focus on retail figures as if retail businesses are the only ones out there.
Ha ha yeah I know - you can't get away from idiots no matter what
I will continue to do my research and see what happens - it may be easier just buying another high yielding property or two.
I agree - I currently have 3 business starting and not one of them is in retail. One is a goer without any risk - the two others have risk, but are more "things I want to attempt".
Unfortunately none of them are overnight startups
We've been building a business from scratch for the past 6 years.
Until a couple of days ago, I thought I knew about all I had to know about running a sucessful business, considering we (wife and I) are making close to 7 figures in salaries/profits per annum now.
But, in the past couple of days, I've finally had to face the truth out of frustration.
The truth that we do not run a business, we are run by our business.
We don't have a real business, we are basically self employed with a few staff members helping us with our workload.
If we get sick for a long time, or take time off, we don't make any money and the "business" will fall apart.
So, it's taken 6 years for our "business" to mature to realise we need to implement systems to take our business to the next level - auto pilot.
Just reading E-Myth Revisited now, and it's scary how familiar the story sounds.
I'm a typical technician, need to do it all myself, can't let go of the responsibility.
That has to change, I feel confident that with the right systems, the business can succeed without us, at least for short breaks to start with.
Found this information source the other day, very motivational - http://www.achieversgroup.com.au/
Anyway, I've just come to realise a business is only worth the systems it operates under.
There may be some exceptions though, like contracts in place, future supply agreements, etc, which add value
So, our business building journey is just starting from the beginning, properly this time, and I actually feel a new sense of excitement for how far we can go.
We're taking a pit stop, losing a bit of ground, but replacing a tired old engine with a brand new model, many times the power.
If I were to buy an existing business for whatever reason, I would first look at the systems it operates under, not the figures, which can change in an instant.
Until a couple of days ago, I thought I knew about all I had to know about running a sucessful business, considering we (wife and I) are making close to 7 figures in salaries/profits per annum now.
But, in the past couple of days, I've finally had to face the truth out of frustration.
The truth that we do not run a business, we are run by our business.
We don't have a real business, we are basically self employed with a few staff members helping us with our workload.
If we get sick for a long time, or take time off, we don't make any money and the "business" will fall apart.
So, it's taken 6 years for our "business" to mature to realise we need to implement systems to take our business to the next level - auto pilot.
Just reading E-Myth Revisited now, and it's scary how familiar the story sounds.
I'm a typical technician, need to do it all myself, can't let go of the responsibility.
That has to change, I feel confident that with the right systems, the business can succeed without us, at least for short breaks to start with.
Found this information source the other day, very motivational - http://www.achieversgroup.com.au/
Anyway, I've just come to realise a business is only worth the systems it operates under.
There may be some exceptions though, like contracts in place, future supply agreements, etc, which add value
So, our business building journey is just starting from the beginning, properly this time, and I actually feel a new sense of excitement for how far we can go.
We're taking a pit stop, losing a bit of ground, but replacing a tired old engine with a brand new model, many times the power.
If I were to buy an existing business for whatever reason, I would first look at the systems it operates under, not the figures, which can change in an instant.
Import to retail - fitness equipment
I think import to retail would work well with almost any product.
Keep it predominantly online based for best results.
Congrats Ace
It can be hard when you are making decent money to stand back and assess what works and what doesn't and why you should make a change.
Have you considered, when you get all your systems in place, whether you may benefit from removing all the IP from it and possibly providing some separation between the trading entity and where the value lies in the website, name and systems? This can benefit further is you were considering doing any geographical separation, although by the sounds of it that is not necessary in your business.
Good luck with it, I am sure it will be time consuming and a hard slog but will pay off.
It can be hard when you are making decent money to stand back and assess what works and what doesn't and why you should make a change.
Have you considered, when you get all your systems in place, whether you may benefit from removing all the IP from it and possibly providing some separation between the trading entity and where the value lies in the website, name and systems? This can benefit further is you were considering doing any geographical separation, although by the sounds of it that is not necessary in your business.
Good luck with it, I am sure it will be time consuming and a hard slog but will pay off.
Natmarie, is thre any way you can turn what you do now into a business? That is how we started many years ago. Hubby worked as a technician for a company that paid cr@p wages so we went out on our own. Charged a better hourly rate and picked up some other clients in the same industry. Ended up with a few extras working for us which really cranked up our earnings.
We have just done the same thing again as we have found that we are not very good at working for others.
I agree with what the others say, you do often work longer hours than if you were an employee but I have found that the benefits are worth it.
My biggest tip would be make sure any business that you have has the potential for repeat business. We once had a concrete edging business and it was terrible. Once you have done someone's yard- guess what? They don't call you back to do it again. so you are constantly looking for more business.
You want something that can be used up and bought again. Food, toilet paper, pencils or be in an industry where breakdowns are common and you fix them. Something where humans are involved can be good. When we fixed ATMs we loved weekends as all the drunks would hit the machines or pour beer into them. Most of our work was because of human error or stupidity!
We have just done the same thing again as we have found that we are not very good at working for others
.I agree with what the others say, you do often work longer hours than if you were an employee but I have found that the benefits are worth it.
My biggest tip would be make sure any business that you have has the potential for repeat business. We once had a concrete edging business and it was terrible. Once you have done someone's yard- guess what? They don't call you back to do it again. so you are constantly looking for more business.
You want something that can be used up and bought again. Food, toilet paper, pencils or be in an industry where breakdowns are common and you fix them. Something where humans are involved can be good. When we fixed ATMs we loved weekends as all the drunks would hit the machines or pour beer into them. Most of our work was because of human error or stupidity!
Sounds like a mate of mine who does criminal law
If you have the right product import/sell online is the best providing the supplier is good
