sooo... Thinking about buying the shop

[JasonB]

My bosses have gone bankrupt. They have shut their doors. But I wonder, is there a door opening for me? I have begun speaking with the owner of the shop about taking it over. Its something I have wanted to do for a long time. I have found someone who will probably back me financialy and I can do pretty much everything in the shop. I have a couple guys in mind to help me with work.

But heres the thing, I'm scared shitless over this whole thing! I mean, are we headed for an upswing economicaly? Or are we headed for an ultimate crash? How do I go about getting new customers? I want to take the shop in a bit of a new direction, how do I do that? I am exteremely naive about business and I wonder if I am even capable of succeeding out there. I've been an employee half of my life. I don't know how to be an employer....

I don't want to just build cabinets. I want to get into some custom furniture type stuff. End tables, coffee tables, dining tables, entertainment centers, liquor cabinets, book cases.... But I have no idea about how to get a customer base for such a thing. I'm kind of thinking that, if I could get a couple distributers to buy my stuff I might be ok.

I don't know, maybe more of a rant than anything...
Any ideas? Words of encouragement?
Are my eyes bigger than my belly?
Is this just a dumb idea?
Am I biting off more than I can chew?
Crap!

[JasonB]

So the lot that the shop sits on is 2 acres. I was thinking I could rent out spaces for motor homes and trailers and such. There is a house on the lot that I could rent out. And the shop is almost 12,000 square feet, big enough that I could work out of it and lease it to a small outfit trying to do the same as me. Or maybe someone like a mechanic that needs a small shop to work out of.

I'm trying to work out a plan with my backer that is more than benificial to me. I got two things on my side. #1 he's my aunts husband, thats kind of a plus. #2 Hes a property invester and I'm trying to present this in a way where he's investing in a piece of property that happens to have a shop on it and since its there he should let me try and make something of it. If I can't, then 3-5 years down the road he could get his money, and then some, out of the situation. The owner is offering the shop and all tools inside for the price of the land. So hes kind of throwing the tools in for free. Bonus right? Now I just got to figure out how me and a buddy can pull in about $8,000 a month. I'm figuring about $4,000 for shop utilities and ins. and stuff and $2,000 for me and my buddy each to pay our own bills. Is that too much? Seems modest to me, but, when you look at the three numbers together it seems unatainable.

I admit I am quite naive when it comes to business and I wonder if I am getting myself in over my head, but, how else do I get the this kind of experience? Sometimes you gotta take a leap of faith right? Maybe I lack the wisdom to make a good decision here, Maybe this is just a big mistake. Thing is, My back is kind of up against the wall, so to speak. There are absolutly no shops hiring in my area and woodworking is all I know how to do. Maybe my sights are too big and I should look for a smaller shop? Would be so nice to have a 1-2 acre lot with my house on it and a small shop in the back...

[Don]

Hey, Jason. Wow. I don't know that I can answer any of your questions, most of them really pertain to what you really want. Probably the most pertinent statement you made was the, "leap of faith" statement. Not to make it into a religious or spiritual statement, but only that you are closer to the mark there than anything else you wrote.

In a nutshell, we are the directors of our life whether we're aware of it or not. Simply put, when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. I'm the poster boy for this and I can attest to it's value. The first thing to work on is Jason; get that going in a healthy direction and the rest of it will take care of itself. Sounds "new age", but trust me on this one - take a leap of faith; better put, take a blind leap of faith. I think you would benefit enormously from spending some time listening and reading Wayne Dyer's work in this area. His latest work, "Excuses Begone" will give you the very inspiration that you need to help you answer your own questions.

As for the shop questions, it sounds like a dream come true deal. But that's where guys like us make our big mistake. We see the shop, the assets, the "opportunity" and start foaming at the mouth. We're working from the front end here and that's wrong. As you eluded to, where do I get new customers? I want to get into some custom furniture and such. With that in mind you really need to work from the end in order to have success with this and that means a business plan. What I'm going to make, what I'm going to sell it for, where my market is and how big, where my customers are. What are the numbers truly going to be. You need to plan for it, see it, think it, desire it, push for it and make it happen.

I've recently done this - I'm having success and I know that could change, but I'm alright with that because I know that if it does, I'll be somewhat/mostly responsible.

Yes, it would be nice to have a house with a shop in the back, that's exactly what I've got and it's nice. But I've got a plan and I'm working it, living it, pushing for it and seeing it every day. You can't live in doubt when doing something like this because it's self defeating.

Hopefully you'll get a lot of advice from members. If you don't; what I'm telling you does have some hidden gold, take a minute and try to wrap your mind around it and it'll give you the confidence you seek. I know that it sounds like a lot of hooey now, but we want to enjoy this and any journey right? You said you are scared shitless - why do we want to live in fear?

Stay in touch.

All the best, Don

[AMF]

Hey Jason

I have a similar dream in mind, to own my own shop and create my own style of furniture. I studied business in college as well as cabinetmaking, but even with that I am not expereinced enough to start my own business.

For the last half dozen years I have been slowly building up my own tool inventory, and gaining expereince alog the way. This summer I was at a point in my life where I either needed to start my own business, or get a better job. I chose the later, and am happy with my choice. I still work ou tof my own shop for some customers, in fact I have had more interest in my work lately but what makes it nice is that I can take my time and enjoy it rather than worrying about "the business" side of things.

In my opinion jumping head first into a large shop like that will take alot of work and money, everyone I have talked ot says that the first 2 years you will be in the red, and that means alot of stress. If there was a way to use the shop by yourself and start to make your own name slowly, beit by going to shows, advertising, etc. that may be the best bet, atleast thats my 2 cents. It may be hard to change the way YOU do things and iron out the wrinkles when you already have employees working for you and the pressure of alot of overhead.

The company I started working a month ago has grown so fast that the owners are almost never on the shop floor, they are designing, installing, or talking to customers and to me that would take all the fun out of the trade.

Alex

[Domer]

Everything worthwhile I have ever accomplished in my life was because I just decided to do it without a lot of time between the thought and action. There are pluses and negatives in that approach.

Here are a few things you might consider.

Do you have some money saved to cash flow the business for a few months?

Why did the other guys close shop? Was the quality of work poor, if so can you distinguish yourself from them?

Are there enough people near you that have the money to buy your products?

If you are young and don't have others depending on you for support, what's the worst thing that can happen, you go broke. A lot of entrepreneurs have gone broke and it doesn't stop them from trying again and often time succeeding the next time around.

Domer

[JasonB]

Well, my backer didn't really have much faith in my ideas and I guess I was just too chicken about the whole idea to really try and convince him otherwise. Hes a smart guy and I really do respect his views. He brought up a lot of the things you guys brought up. Maybe I should start from the beginning instead of the middle. I've got the tools sitting in my way too full garrage. I guess its time to clean that thing up and make a small shop where I can build cool pieces to sell one by one. Maybe I could get a reputation around town and start making some dough. I wish I could hook up with a cool custom furniture builder around here. Oh well.

The owner of the building is looking at leasing to a door builder and dropped my name and he is also considering opening the shop back up and running it too, sooo.... Things might work out. Maybe I can curl up under his wing and learn some things about bussiness.

[Don]

I'm sure that's for the best right now, Jason. There's good stuff in the thoughts from the guys, just look for the answers that fit the best for you and inspire you.

The most important part of this is deciding what you what and working toward that goal, but you'll be most effective if you work backwards. See the end game first and foremost. Do you want your own shop? Do you want to be known for unique stuff. Those are good thoughts, but narrow that focus as much as you can and you'll be successful. I want to have my own shop, 3-4 great employees that I can also call friends, we are building ????? and selling to ????? for $000.000 each, and I am selling them at this profit, and I'm using the internet (or other) medium to get my message out there, we've got a room in the back for packaging and shipping stuff all over the world, etc.

Keep your desires and goals in mind constantly, put them out there and then look for and be open to ANY opportunity that even remotely appears to head in that direction. Don't be concerned about HOW, be more concerned with your ability to say YES.

We're all interested in where your personal journey leads you, please keep in touch and let us know how it goes. If you look at the number of "veiws" on any thread you will see that there are many that read the threads but don't respond. That means that people are interested but might not have a response. You never know how many people you may be helping by taking the time to post.

All the best, Don

[AMF]

Atleast you've figured out a direction you may take, thats a start. As for the starting of a small shop, thats a good idea. I hav been tinkering in my shop for about 10 years, and in the last 3 or 4 have been doing some jobs for customers. I have found word of mouth is more than enough to keep my busy, and now that I am in the cabinet making industry, I can take my time and enjoy building every peice because it is no longer a major money maker.

Good luck, Alex