Buying a Business
- Thread starter a_skeleton_03
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OU Ariakas
Diet Dr. Pepper Enjoyer
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Aladain is right. Once you buy, renovate, and either sell/rent your first property it becomes an addiction. I stopped at 5 because we had 3 kids in 2 1/2 years so I don't have enough time to properly devote to finding a new bank with sweet reno/mortgage loan packages.
Yeah I am thinking about an AirBNB empire which isn't commercial but somewhat close.
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Not even close to what a_skeleton_03 is proposing. AirBNBing out a property you own vs an apartment subject to NYC rent stabilization law is very different.
Fogel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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The real crime in that article is that she rented the same place for 40 years. I can understand renting for various reasons like being able to relocate easily, but the same apartment for 40 years?
Arden
Blackwing Lair Raider
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I recently looked into quitting my govt job and buying a business. Met with a broker and had some long discussions. Impression I got was similar to what lots are saying: don't go near a brick and mortar restaurant. Also, I personally decided not to buy someone else's headache. If I were to run a business I would build from the ground up.
From what I've seen, food trucks are a great alternative to a restaurant. Low barrier of entry, low starting cost, low employee costs, etc.
There are some issues you have to resolve though. For one, as far as I know in most places you would need to partner with a restaurant and order to prepare/store the food. I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most places to do food prep and storage in your house. You need a commercial kitchen.
The other issue is that food truck success is extremely dependent on where you are able to park, what customers you are able to reach, and things like weather and season.
There are some pretty easy work arounds for these things though. I still havent entirely dismissed the idea of a food truck, but I'm looking to see what else is out there as far as business ideas that don't involve food.
From what I've seen, food trucks are a great alternative to a restaurant. Low barrier of entry, low starting cost, low employee costs, etc.
There are some issues you have to resolve though. For one, as far as I know in most places you would need to partner with a restaurant and order to prepare/store the food. I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most places to do food prep and storage in your house. You need a commercial kitchen.
The other issue is that food truck success is extremely dependent on where you are able to park, what customers you are able to reach, and things like weather and season.
There are some pretty easy work arounds for these things though. I still havent entirely dismissed the idea of a food truck, but I'm looking to see what else is out there as far as business ideas that don't involve food.
That is exactly where my focus is right now first before I start trying to figure the rest out.
BrotherWu
MAGA
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@a_skeleton_03 You are out of your fucking mind if you are seriously thinking about buying a restaurant. Restaurant are, generally, not big money makers and are a giant pain in the ass to run.
I do understand the boredom of a cushy job, which is why I quite mine and went into independent consulting. The big money is in making widgets or apps that people want to buy but you have to have a good idea and you have to know how to execute. Most people can't put both together.
I do understand the boredom of a cushy job, which is why I quite mine and went into independent consulting. The big money is in making widgets or apps that people want to buy but you have to have a good idea and you have to know how to execute. Most people can't put both together.
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I work in a trade, so those food trucks are pretty notorious for showing up on the job sites. Those guys make good money with overpriced shit lol.
I've seen plenty of them carry minimal prepared food though, especially if they're dealing with office building type clients, and depending on when they show up. Typically an account with places like a warehouse club can help them clean up, especially if you have a Restaurant Depot nearby.
A lot of times for the lunch crowd, a truck typically has a deal with a pizza place and gets a bunch of pies. The amount of people that grab a couple slices for lunch is ridiculous, especially construction workers.
Make sure you always have coffee.
I've seen plenty of them carry minimal prepared food though, especially if they're dealing with office building type clients, and depending on when they show up. Typically an account with places like a warehouse club can help them clean up, especially if you have a Restaurant Depot nearby.
A lot of times for the lunch crowd, a truck typically has a deal with a pizza place and gets a bunch of pies. The amount of people that grab a couple slices for lunch is ridiculous, especially construction workers.
Make sure you always have coffee.
Prodigal
Shitlord, Offender of the Universe
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Damn, was hoping you were going for Valenti’s. Although I haven’t been there in a while.
They are still doing quite well. The kids go to high school with one of their sons I guess.
Prodigal
Shitlord, Offender of the Universe
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It was always good - since they built the bypass we never go by there anymore.
My wife’s aunt and uncle ran a successful restaurant here for 15 years - they worked 7 days a week for the first eight, cut back to six days a week for a few more and then hired a manager for several before deciding to sell it. They did well, but they busted their asses.
My wife’s aunt and uncle ran a successful restaurant here for 15 years - they worked 7 days a week for the first eight, cut back to six days a week for a few more and then hired a manager for several before deciding to sell it. They did well, but they busted their asses.
Urlithani
Vyemm Raider
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I would do something business to business instead of business to consumer, but that's me. Can't say anything about food trucks but at least you're doing your research.
Anecdotal, but in the franchise company I work for a lot of people that come from government jobs struggle or outright fail. Most of them complain about working around lazy, stupid people, and they're all gungho about going into business for themself. Usually reality smacks them in the face; they knew owning a small business was going to be hard, but not THAT hard.
You'll want to calculate your burn rate and break even (e.g. need to do $20k in sales a month just to cover expenses before you pay yourself, divided by an average of 22 working days, which is $909 a day, or $113 an hour, which is $1.89 a minute). Then you'll need a marketing plan (door to door marketing, handing out flyers, email campaign, chamber/BNI/rotary networking, telemarketing, promotional products, events, EDDM flyers), and trend your sales month to month and see how long it will take for you to turn a profit.
As for payroll and staffing, with the way the economy is today and good labor being hard to find, you can to do 2 things: Make your place of business something that your employees at least find bearable, and consider their needs for money and set their job goals based on that. Employees will take a little less to work with a good boss/manager (more money in your pocket, right?), and if you can set up a salary in the beginning that is manageable for them, they won't take the job and simply be looking for a higher paying job on their first day. Our franchises are 2-4 employees on average, and the most profitable locations have a good team with employees that could get paid a little more elsewhere, but the job security and a good boss is just enough to stop them from doing so.
If you want to PM me I'll tell you more and which company I work for if it'll help or give you some ideas.
Lastly, go to some trade/franchise shows over weekends to get an idea of what kind of businesses are out there.
Anecdotal, but in the franchise company I work for a lot of people that come from government jobs struggle or outright fail. Most of them complain about working around lazy, stupid people, and they're all gungho about going into business for themself. Usually reality smacks them in the face; they knew owning a small business was going to be hard, but not THAT hard.
You'll want to calculate your burn rate and break even (e.g. need to do $20k in sales a month just to cover expenses before you pay yourself, divided by an average of 22 working days, which is $909 a day, or $113 an hour, which is $1.89 a minute). Then you'll need a marketing plan (door to door marketing, handing out flyers, email campaign, chamber/BNI/rotary networking, telemarketing, promotional products, events, EDDM flyers), and trend your sales month to month and see how long it will take for you to turn a profit.
As for payroll and staffing, with the way the economy is today and good labor being hard to find, you can to do 2 things: Make your place of business something that your employees at least find bearable, and consider their needs for money and set their job goals based on that. Employees will take a little less to work with a good boss/manager (more money in your pocket, right?), and if you can set up a salary in the beginning that is manageable for them, they won't take the job and simply be looking for a higher paying job on their first day. Our franchises are 2-4 employees on average, and the most profitable locations have a good team with employees that could get paid a little more elsewhere, but the job security and a good boss is just enough to stop them from doing so.
If you want to PM me I'll tell you more and which company I work for if it'll help or give you some ideas.
Lastly, go to some trade/franchise shows over weekends to get an idea of what kind of businesses are out there.
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Gestahl
Trakanon Raider
- 20
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20 years experience working/managing restaurants, bars, pubs in the US and UK. Don't do it! Owners I worked for were either, at best, obsessed Workaholics who were never truly away from work or at worst depressed megalomaniacs who were full of loathing for themselves and everyone around them.
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