Buying a small business

natmarie73 said:
joanmc said:
Natmarie, is thre any way you can turn what you do now into a business? QUOTE]

Hi Joanmc,

I work in the health and safety field, so yes, with some hard work I could become a safety systems consultant to small companies who wish to tender for work with large blue-chip resource companies, and I could probably make some decent coin doing it. At this point in time I don't have enough industry experience to break out on my own, and I'm still studying my post-grad but in a few years this is definately what I would be looking at doing.

I think I will probably end up staying in the field I'm in for now, put up with being an employee for a while longer and refocus on my investment strategy for the short term future rather than buy a food/franchise business at this time.

In the last two weeks I've come out of my career slump a bit and am starting to see some positives in what I do - enough to stick at it for a few more years yet anyway. But yes, once my properties are paying for themselves and putting a little bit into my pocket I would like to have a go at the consulting field and work for myself rather than an employer. It is something I could easily do on the side at first before quitting my day job too.
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some friends of mine entered that field around 3 years ago despite not having that much experience, making significant $$ now. dont be blinded by your inexperience, could always get someone on board to help out

there is so much terrible service in the resource industry that someone willing to step up can often get rewarded handsomely
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Ace in the Hole said:
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 sound.
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Do not buy or start a business without reading this book first.

There is nothing wrong with buying yourself a job, especially if it pays better than any other job you can get.


BUT BEWARE most people buy themselves a job not a business. Know the difference and make an offer accordingly.

Unless you are sure you can grow the business you need to get a fair return for your time/labour plus a suitable risk adjusted return on capital investment.

I remember once here someone asked about buying a backpackers (confusing it with a commercial property investment). When I ran the numbers I worked out that you would have to pay me to take over the business compared to my current job and that is with a 0% return on investment.
 
Ace in the Hole said:
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.
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my cousins run several hardware/paint distributorships overseas and are dependent heavily on construction industry..

they are money rich but very time poor.
 
sanj said:
some friends of mine entered that field around 3 years ago despite not having that much experience, making significant $$ now. dont be blinded by your inexperience, could always get someone on board to help out

there is so much terrible service in the resource industry that someone willing to step up can often get rewarded handsomely
Click to expand...

Hi Sanj,

Are you able to tell me what field they consult in, or provide a link to their website? I would like to look further into this area.

Thanks!
 
RightValue said:
Do not buy or start a business without reading this book first.
Click to expand...

Read it but didn't really buy into it all. The guy who wrote it tries to compare every type of business to running a McDonalds which just doesnt work, besides that isn't Mcdonalds on a decline anyway?

The book basically goes into details about implementing systems that can work on auto pilit. Not rocket science but not applicable to all business's and it tends to gloss over how loathsome it can be to rely on employee's as you get bigger.
 
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