Small business

[subby]

Hello all, just wondering what are some small businesses that you have started and how sucessful are they. I live in a small town in NY and am driving myself trying to think of a good business opertunity that will not backfire. I have the funds and can also spply for a small business loan if needed. I have thought about pizza/sub shop but there are about 10 in town and i would not be able to generate compotition. it would come down to marketing and the quality of the food. I was wondering.. what are some good business that have a low failure rate?
i also thought of buying some mowers and starting a lawn service but that would only run for 1/2 maybe a little more then the year due to season chance.

please all suggestions are welcome..

[klowndog]

What about selling buttplugs on ebay? Just kidding man, it would be cool to start up a small gym. Your main investment is probably in equipment. And if it doesn't work out and you want to try something else you could sell the equipment. I have though that it would be cool to have my own gym. If you have the money to invest that would be a good one.

[pesty4077]

I have a couple small businesses. A general contracting company, and a pest control business, both are slow now, so I started to do home inspections, wich are in demand, because of the amount of foreclosures. If you did only 20 a month at $300, you would generate $6000 per month, with hardly any operating costs and start up money. Not bad!

[cpesloco]

Originally Posted by pesty4077

I have a couple small businesses. A general contracting company, and a pest control business, both are slow now, so I started to do home inspections, wich are in demand, because of the amount of foreclosures. If you did only 20 a month at $300, you would generate $6000 per month, with hardly any operating costs and start up money. Not bad!

what do you need to have to be able to do home inspections.

[subby]

Originally Posted by pesty4077

I have a couple small businesses. A general contracting company, and a pest control business, both are slow now, so I started to do home inspections, wich are in demand, because of the amount of foreclosures. If you did only 20 a month at $300, you would generate $6000 per month, with hardly any operating costs and start up money. Not bad!

ya what do you need to do home inspections?

also i have thought about opening a gym, but theirs 3 in my town of about 25,000 people. I know it would not work out.

[Sassy]

I always thought my dad's accountant had some good advise for people. He would suggest to people who are working full-time jobs for a company to turn a hobby into a small-home office business. His main thing was for the tax write-offs. For example: someone who loves to play tennis/golf can give tennis/golf lessons, a friend of mine bake cakes for weddings, birthdays, etc. My first husband and I started selling hidden fences for dogs. We eventually sold the business. There are a lot of people who turn small-side business into something successful.

What are some of your hobbies or interest? That's a good place to start.

[pesty4077]

To start a Home Inspection business, you will first need to know how to do them. There are on line courses that you can complete in 3 months, shop around for reputable ones. You will need a truck, ladder, computor, flashlight and a few small tools. After you take the course and complete it, you will need a program for your computor(PM when you are ready) around $700. I also have my client sign disclosures, to protect me, forget E/O insurance. I have never been sued. When you are ready, you should go to real estate offices, since they will give you repeat business. You can make up flyers, forget advertising, waste of money. I do 20 a month, which is 1 per day. This is by choice, I do not want to do more than that, because, I run 2 businesses, which are starting to pick up. At $300 x 20 = $6000, not bad for part time work. When you start to get Home Inspections, ask and I will show you a secret to almost double you money. It will be alot of footwork in the beginning, but will be while worth the effort. When I started in January, I was almost bankrupt, now I am making a comfortable living again, even in today's bad economy. Just like anything in life, it takes effort, hard work, and a positive attitude.

[Pekkerwood]

I think you have received some good advice from Sassy and Pesty. I agree that a service business seems to be the way to go. You said something in your post that I would like to comment on. Restaraunts and low risk investment, do not belong in the same sentence. People with a lot of experience, franchises, etc, can help lower risk, but odds are you will fail within two years otherwise.

Service businesses usually have lower startup costs, lower fixed costs, costs generally rise in step with revenue, etc. One possible suggesting in a residential window washing company. We just paid about $300 for our house and it took two guys about two hours. The also offered to clean the gutters, and gave a price for pressure washing the driveway. A nice thing about this particular business is that you can build customers year after year, it is not a "one and done" propositon. Get to be the "goto" guy in a few subdivisions and word spreads fast. I like businesses that you can keep your existing clients as you add new ones. Your pressure washing clients are naturals for your gutter cleaning and vice versa.

Good Luck

[Curiousity]

Originally Posted by Sassy

I always thought my dad's accountant had some good advise for people. He would suggest to people who are working full-time jobs for a company to turn a hobby into a small-home office business. His main thing was for the tax write-offs. For example: someone who loves to play tennis/golf can give tennis/golf lessons, a friend of mine bake cakes for weddings, birthdays, etc. My first husband and I started selling hidden fences for dogs. We eventually sold the business. There are a lot of people who turn small-side business into something successful.

What are some of your hobbies or interest? That's a good place to start.

agreed

Originally Posted by pesty4077

To start a Home Inspection business, you will first need to know how to do them. There are on line courses that you can complete in 3 months, shop around for reputable ones. You will need a truck, ladder, computor, flashlight and a few small tools. After you take the course and complete it, you will need a program for your computor(PM when you are ready) around $700. I also have my client sign disclosures, to protect me, forget E/O insurance. I have never been sued. When you are ready, you should go to real estate offices, since they will give you repeat business. You can make up flyers, forget advertising, waste of money. I do 20 a month, which is 1 per day. This is by choice, I do not want to do more than that, because, I run 2 businesses, which are starting to pick up. At $300 x 20 = $6000, not bad for part time work. When you start to get Home Inspections, ask and I will show you a secret to almost double you money. It will be alot of footwork in the beginning, but will be while worth the effort. When I started in January, I was almost bankrupt, now I am making a comfortable living again, even in today's bad economy. Just like anything in life, it takes effort, hard work, and a positive attitude.

Another thing you can do is to use a digital camera and take pictures of the issues you report. Include a CD with those pictures in your final report. This will make you stand above the people that don't. (i.e. looks like there is water damage in a section of the attic, an outside buried electrical line not up to code on how it enters the ground, etc.)

[Designbuilt]

One thing that I would like to add to Pestys post is to check for existing violations, stop work orders and pending court cases involving the property.
This is done through freedom of informations records in the City Hall of where the property is located.

A lot of people think that they will buy a property and flip it to make a quick buck, but they fail to realize that they inherite all of the existing violations of the property and need to come into compliance with those issues first before continuing to improve the property.



DB