People with their own business (help w/ project)

[Reed77]

Ok, here's the project. I want to 'interview' a few people who are in a successful business (you must own this business). The purpose of this project is to see where people went wrong and right with business decisions, ect. Please do not write one sentence answers, but it doesn't need to be a paragraph. One interview needs to be horse related and the others can be whatever business. Also, if you no longer own this business and it wasn't as successful as you'd like, you can be of help too! Here are a few questions -

1. What is your company name?

2. Why did you get started in this business?

3. What mistakes did you make and how did you correct them?

4. How do you make your business stand out?

5. How long have you been in business?

6. If you could do it all over again, would you? If so would there be any changes? If not, would you go into a difference business?

7. If there was someone wanting to get started in your field of work, what advice would you give?

8. Did you have a well thought out business plan?



If you think of other important questions I should have added, please ad them in your post. You can also PM me if you don't want to post it. (secret safe )

[Ronney]

I don't think my answers will be of much help - but maybe they will, who knows.

1. We don't have a company name as such - we operate as a partnership and use both our surnames for accounts etc.

2. We needed to pay the mortgage There was also a huge opening for heavy diesel mechanics in the area due to the amount of forestry going on. Given that this is what Kevin does, it seemed like the right choice.

3. Our biggest mistake initially was not charging enough - this was easily remedied.

4. We don't. There is no need to. We have never advertised, used logos etc. and Kevin turns away work.

5. 9 years

6, 7, and 8. I have combined these. Yes, we would do it again but next time get a bit more organised at the beginning and spend more time listening to accountants, and others, advice. We were a little naive when it came to the actual costs of running a business which did cost us initially. These have long since been sorted but with hindsight, showed how important it was to have a business plan and a budget on operational costs.

I should add that the partnership incorporates both Kevin's heavy diesel business and the farm. The loss on the farm (which is never going to make a liveable income) is offset against his business which is reflected in a lower income tax for both of us.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[SCRancher]

1. I would rather not say. But my company has a software package that is sold to state and local governments as well as private non-profit agencies.
(I don't want a search of my company to take my customers to my private views - I try to keep private life out of my business).

2. Got tired of being a cubical worker being managed and surrounded by people incapable of doing what I did. I also had a great opportunity to venture into a then new niche. I started the company when I was around 27/28 and I'm 44 now.

3. Partnership agreement was flawed and a single word out of place was twisted and I ended up having to buy out my partners - no choice - last payment coming up this year - it's been a LONG 11 years buying out my old partners.

Too many mistakes - not sure that they have all been corrected - just keep chugging along.

4. When started there was only 1 other competitor it was head to head for a while. Became hard to compete with them when I didn't have a sales person anymore. What made us stand out? Low cost, great service, good product. I have not had a sales person since I bought out that partner - just keeping as many of my original customers as possible - some fluctuation here and there but not actively selling.

5. Almost 17 years

6. Yes I would do it over again - of course hind sight is 20/20 - don't know if I could have done it differently w/o the experience of doing it the first time.

7. You can do 1 of 2 things -
1) you can try and either succeed or fail controlling your own destiny in a fashion. Failing is not the end of the world - the skills you have now to get a job for someone else will still be there if you fail.
2) you can work for someone else and put your (job) security in their hands.

8. No

Other question - why would I do it over again?
Because while I MAY have been able to make the same or possibly more money then I make now I would not have had the opportunity to work from home for the last 17 years watching and enjoying my children and wife nearly as much.

I could guarantee 1 thing if I had worked for someone else - I would have been a salaried employee, I would have been "paid" for 40 hours a week but would have been expected to put in 50-80 hours a week. I would have had a commute and I would have had to get dressed to be at work.

Right now I'm working (well sort of but I'll pickup steam shortly) - my commute was to walk down stairs in my pajamas starting work @ 6:30 ish am bringing my wife coffee while she got the kids ready for school and drove them there.
When I get done typing this I'll go take a shower and get dressed now they they are all out of the house and I'll get some real work done.

It's not all roses - I almost NEVER get to take a vacation 2x1 week vacations in 17 years - and if I do it's when everyone else takes theirs (4th of July etc...). My wife sees me every day - all day - so while we have our routine for her it has taken some of the polish off being married - she has no opportunity to "miss me" she says.

If I fail - I will have no one else to blame but myself.

Oh if I can no longer make a living doing what I'm doing now I'll probably switch gears and do something non-computer related - I have been burned out on technology for quite some time and yearn for a simpler job that involves some manual labor. Wish I had enough land and thereby cattle to make it my full time job making 1/2 of what I make now - now that would be my ideal job right now but I still have kids in school and am hoping to continue doing what I'm doing now for at least another 10 years to see my youngest through college.

Hope this helps.

[BoldViolet]

1. What is your company name?
Ares Industries, LLC
Ares eCig http://www.aresecig.com

2. Why did you get started in this business?
My husband was always a smoker and tried several times to quit. He eventually got an electronic cigarette, but no one could tell him exactly what was in the liquid for them. Most of the stuff was made in China. We wanted to offer a high-quality product where we KNEW what was in it, and offer it for a reasonable price.

3. What mistakes did you make and how did you correct them?
We used GPal at first, as we wanted to support another online processor that would allow transactions of nicotine products, and they supported gun rights, too.
Unfortunately, they were a scam, and we had to shut our business down for three months (except to local cash customers) while we found another credit card processor that would accept us since we sell nicotine products.

4. How do you make your business stand out?
At the time that we started, we were one of the only electronic cigarette liquid vendors whose liquid was derived entirely from products made in the USA. We offer stellar customer service and want good relationships with our customers. Plenty of other vendors charge either far too much and rip off their customers, or far too little, and then have no desire to offer good customer service since they're not making enough money to care.

5. How long have you been in business?
18 months

6. If you could do it all over again, would you? If so would there be any changes? If not, would you go into a difference business?
I would absolutely do it again. I love being my own boss.
I do wish we'd gotten into it sooner.

7. If there was someone wanting to get started in your field of work, what advice would you give?
Try to find a mentor who has owned businesses before. It's kind of intimidating at first to try to tackle owning your own business with no prior knowledge, so it's nice to have someone to fall back on to give you advice.

8. Did you have a well thought out business plan?
Yes and no. We knew what we wanted to offer, but never really put it down to paper as an official "business plan."

[Reed77]

Thank you, both of you, for your time and information!!! I just finished writing (not typing) 6 pages of what you have given me, you have helped me quite a bit! again thank you

[Reed77]

*now starting writing on boldviolet's* - thank you

[tonyb]

Originally Posted by SCRancher

I could guarantee 1 thing if I had worked for someone else - I would have been a salaried employee, I would have been "paid" for 40 hours a week but would have been expected to put in 50-80 hours a week.

Hmmm, sounds vaguely familiar SCRancher. I'm a software engineer and I've noticed this same pattern in my own career.

[tonyb]

1. What is your company name?
No name. I operated as a sole proprietor (I didn't fully appreciate the liability risks this posed), although I partnered with someone who had an established business -- to 'leverage business synergies' if you want to sound fancy.

I went door to door selling family practitioners on the idea of performing their own lab tests, instead of sending blood work to outside labs. I sold them the necessary equipment, chemical reagents, and did the lab tech work.

2. Why did you get started in this business?
I wasn't seeking my own business, but the opportunity presented itself.


3. What mistakes did you make and how did you correct them?
My sales efforts weren't very organized due to inexperience. Eventually I learned to keep a contacts database and to do market research. I also didn't have a vision. Nowadays I believe strongly in mission statements, well defined goals, etc.

4. How do you make your business stand out?
Customer Focus. This is the number one fundamental principle of any business, even when you work for someone else. It is even higher priority than making a profit. Of course you need to make a profit, but satisfying your customers needs should be the core focus of your business.

My business stood out by showing my clients how to bring more money into their practice, and then delivering on that objective.

5. How long have you been in business?
I was only in that business for two years; I made a career switch and have been working for a company for 13 years.


6. If you could do it all over again, would you? If so would there be any changes? If not, would you go into a difference business?
I would do it again, because the learning experience was terrific. But I would also make the decision to get out and work for someone else again, too. Working for a corporation gives me stability and allows me to focus on the part of the job that I like (the engineering and management) and letting someone else focus on accounting, finance, payroll, IT, HR, etc.

7. If there was someone wanting to get started in your field of work, what advice would you give?
If you don't love the work, don't start the business. Otherwise you'll be in it just for the money and you'll burn out.

Start the business before you start a family.

Be as well capitalized as you possibly can before launching the business.

Find a way to minimize startup costs and grow into it slowly.

Research your market continuously.

Surround yourself with smart, positive people and avoid naysayers.

8. Did you have a well thought out business plan?
No, and that was a HUGE mistake. I have since considered two other businesses and ditched them because the business plan exposed too many risks. Saved us big bucks, rather than finding out the hard way.

Good luck in your endeavors!! Let us know when you make it big. :-)