wite_rabit wrote:Cool! I want to open a business sometime... Do you have any advice?
never rush into it, that's the mistake I made with my first business.
save up enough money for the initial outlay - 2 months rent on business property - 2 months bills etc make sure that while the business is getting off the ground you wont go bust, this is the worst thing that could happen and the biggest mistake some people make, business wont come to you straight away, depending on the work you want to do, try to get a few contracts wich = regular work = regular pay. I now have the contract for a car hire company, a taxi company and we service, repair and valet a lot of company cars for other businesses in the area. this is our main work.
be prepared to take ANY work you can. don't be specific in just one area. spread yourself out a bit. accept any work you know your capable of doing. we initially started out doing just servicing and repairs for bikes, that work soon dried up a bit so we got a car lift and work soon started to come in. we now have 4 car lifts.
make sure you NEVER go into the red. ever.
profits? yeah. some point you will start making profit. don't go spending it. take enough off of it so you can live comfortably. make sure your mortgage/rent is paid, you have clothes on your back and theres food on the table. for the first year or two. want that nice Mercedes? forget about it. put any profits left over into a safe or a company account. that will be expansion money or money to keep your business going when work dries up. weve had weeks where theres only been a few bikes or cars coming in.
don't hire people just because they have the qualifications. hire them for the experience they have and hire them because of who they are.
keep ontop of your accounts. keep money business private. its between you and your bank only. don't let any other companies interfere, don't let any outsiders interfere, the only time an outsider should be involved with anything to do with money is when theyre paying you. that's it.
other than what ive said above -
don't be stupid with prices but don't be super cheap.
don't become best buddies with clients/customers, business is business, theres good customer service but business is just that.
choose something that there will always be money in. ive gone into bikes/cars because people will always want to buy cars or bikes and have them serviced and repaired.
that's all I can really say to be honest.
