Becoming a small business owner (Page 2)

From your FB page: "Remember, 25% of everything sold goes toward the 2013 Triathlon Season!!"

Right there I wanted to become a customer

The wife started her business, we are now buying one and combining. She has a line of credit... but how much should you have. I don't think it is enough for the new business.

And I did not understand what you meant by the SBA lending. Thanks.

Run away while you can... some days it's just not worth it.

In the course this AM I have:

1.  Learned that the space next door which we have been trying to obtain for months (and were led to believe would be no problem) is not available (other people are not willing to move) So now I have to move my business which just relocated to this space 2 years ago (at a large cost).

2.  One of my employes is jut not working out.  However it took me 4 months to find a person with the right skillset.  So now I'm off looking again.

3.  Have been buried in legal paperwork as we attempt to purchase a machine shop (hence the need for more room in #1).  It was a deal that should take 2 days but has turned into a nightmare.

4.  Have 8 employees and 12 employees worth of work.

5.  And we just ran out of coffee.

I think #5 is making me the most angry/stressed out right now.

One thing I like to do for my customers is let them know why I do what I do with the business.  Right now, I'm pushing to cover entry fees, a new bike, and a full wet suit.  I'm also trying to raise funds to fuel my daughter's budding triathlon habit.  :-)

For 15 years I owned and operated 6 restaurants in 5 cities across 3 different states.  Thank goodness that I could fly my airplane between them and have some sort of fun and relaxation other than working 80 to 100 a WEEK.

At the same time we also owned and operated a fresh juice and smoothie distribution company across the Los Angeles basin, a glider flight school, and an art business.  Talk about being business whores.

Here is my only word of advice....whatever you think it will cost triple that.

Now after 6 years of being out, and working for someone else, I can tell you I really miss being in charge of my own destiny.

We recently bought a rotorcraft company out of bankruptcy, so here I go again, but the love of aviation will offset the business stress.

Tell me about it!!  I usually go with the following formula: actual cost = 4(expected cost).  lol

Wow, talk about an interesting mix!

My dad had his own business, but he did it for a job, and was not really a good business man. My wife has wanted to have one and I know she can run one and grow one. I make pretty good money, but last few years the wife has not as she was going to school. So I would love to tell you we have a huge bank roll and are well funded, but we are not. It certainly isn't ideal and where most of the worry comes from, but we are going to take a chance.

We have talked to the bank about increasing our credit line after we purchase. We have a couple of good employees. The wife is going to work at marketing and advertising the crap out of it. There is a lot of room for improvement there as there was none with the previous owner. Right now is the slow season though so things are going to be a little tight. Come Spring though we should be positioned well to do good.

Oh, it's something to worry about for sure. Like I said, it is not ideal. But also this is a running business, not a start up. It does not need capital investment, it needs sweat investment. We have numbers to go on, and it is in the black right now. We are combining the two businesses which will help each, and we have plenty of room for improvement since the current owner has not done anything except keep it running.

So I totally agree it's not ideal, but there are reasons to believe it is an acceptable risk. We are not just diving in eyes closed and hoping for the best. That certainly isn't a guarantee....