Some questions for you dealers...

[Brad101]

One thing I have going for me is a strong pre-established location in a high traffic area. Another, total overhead costs will only be around $500 per month. Yes, that number is correct, and all costs have been considered. I will be sharing the location with a well known hardware store.
If this goes through, on board will be Jonsered/ Tilton. Troybilt is next on the list to look at, Toro possibly at a future date.

One problem... This all comes at a big time in my life, with some big family changes on the way. I think this an opportunity that I wouldnt have had, or been prepared for a couple years ago.
I presently have an excellent paying job, with excellent benefits, even though I am miserable with it. I would never put my interests above my family's, and have to make sure that this move wouldnt better suit my needs, but my family's. I have been praying about this, and has my wife- and will hopefully have an answer soon.
Everything else, including the lease is near a full go.

I have been reading this thread and you have been givin some good advise. I will not go into prouduct lines or the other things that have been covered.

I have a lot of experience in this business and have been running my own for almost 3 years now after coming from a couple family owned shops that do a ton of businees and sell most of the major brands.

I think you really need to look into your business plan a little closer if you think you can keep the doors open for $500.00 a month. I do not believe that is realistic in this type of business. I don't care if your rent and utilities are free, just not gonna happen with any kind of volume. Remember, what you have to pay yourself to live also counts as overhead.

One thing you will learn very fast is it costs a lot of money to run a business like this. The more business you do, the more money it costs. The more business you do does not mean a lot more money in your pocket either, it means more work and more bills and a little more money in your pocket.

You are not going to get rich selling wholegoods. Wholegoods tie up a lot of your money for not a lot of return. To make any money versus the investment you have to turn a lot of inventory. It's all about cashflow.

Service/repairs is where you will make money and also grow and potentialy retain customers. Are you going to be doing the repair work or are you going to have to hire someone else to do it? You need to have a great mechanic to keep customers coming back and to make any money. You will not be able to afford not to know a lot about every type of equipment that will come through the door. That comes with experience. If the service aspect of the business is not there, the business won't be either for very long.

From your post it seems that you are a man of faith, and I believe faith is a good thing to have but I would warn you to keep the religion aspect of it out of your dealings with the public. This is business, not personal, remember that.

Building a business from scratch and getting and keeping customers takes a long time and a lot of hard work. It may take you 2 or 3 years to even see a profit if you do everything right.

Remember to take time for yourself. Believe me, after you are 2 or 3 years into this thing you will start to wonder if all the work is really worth it.

I hope it works out for you if you decide to go for it. But learn all you can about the business before you jump in with both feet.

Good Luck!

 

[brages]

Husqvarna is a good brand, but around here they expect the dealers to
carry their line of mowers, which need floor plan credit, and they are hard to sell, as they are just Orange Poulan/Craftsman mowers with an extra 30%
added onto the sticker.

Also, they would expect you to do the warranty work for the Lowes and TSC stores.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[Fish]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

A bad thing in my opinion, if I had to make a living doing warranty work,
I wouldn't......

To compund the headaches and paperwork, there are "extended" warranty plans to deal with too, it is almost a full time job for someone to keep ahead
of it all. Dealers can easily lose their arse on warranty work.

Plus the customer walks in with his Lowes POS already mad. Not at Lowes,
but at you, the Husqvarna dealer.....

Time dealing with the customer is very consuming as well, which Husqvarna will not pay for.

 

[Kingsley]

So what happened? Start up a business or?

Just curious,
M

 

[procarbine2k1]

I think you really need to look into your business plan a little closer if you think you can keep the doors open for $500.00 a month. I do not believe that is realistic in this type of business. I don't care if your rent and utilities are free, just not gonna happen with any kind of volume. Remember, what you have to pay yourself to live also counts as overhead.

One thing you will learn very fast is it costs a lot of money to run a business like this. The more business you do, the more money it costs. The more business you do does not mean a lot more money in your pocket either, it means more work and more bills and a little more money in your pocket.

You are not going to get rich selling wholegoods. Wholegoods tie up a lot of your money for not a lot of return. To make any money versus the investment you have to turn a lot of inventory. It's all about cashflow.

From your post it seems that you are a man of faith, and I believe faith is a good thing to have but I would warn you to keep the religion aspect of it out of your dealings with the public. This is business, not personal, remember that.

Building a business from scratch and getting and keeping customers takes a long time and a lot of hard work. It may take you 2 or 3 years to even see a profit if you do everything right.

Remember to take time for yourself. Believe me, after you are 2 or 3 years into this thing you will start to wonder if all the work is really worth it.

I hope it works out for you if you decide to go for it. But learn all you can about the business before you jump in with both feet.

Good Luck!

Thank you for the advice. I know I let this thread get a bit old, and this reply is a bit late... But yes, without discussing the potential lease, my operating costs would have been less than $500/ mo., as unrealistic as it may sound to you, it was the reality of what my lease agreement was with the building owner (obviously my time is not factored in this). I understand small business and the OPE indsutry well (and a lot to learn), and the operating costs werent as great of a concern to me as our current economy and the local OPE business.
My decision to not pursue this business at the moment was a personal one, but may consider something similar to this in the distant future.

Just wanted to thank everyone for the words, advice, and wisdom.

 

[procarbine2k1]

So what happened? Start up a business or?

Just curious,
M

Without sharing too much of my life story, I would like to say that I put this all on the back burner- for all the right reasons. I like to think that I put my wants behind the needs of my family, 100% of the time. I have never done well at predicting the future, but looking back- I am happy that I held off.
Could I make this work? No doubt in my mind. Looking back now, I feel that there was much more to loose than gain. If I were single, I probably would have given this a go, just because I am THAT passionate about the industry.
I am either into something 110%, or not in it at all. I knew before I considered all of this, that two jobs would be a must. With my current line of work, I know that one or the other would suffer... and I'm not up for that.
On a positive note, my job is going good, and I actually enjoy it. It gets better and better by the day, and I received a promotion within the last month (changed a lot for me, at work and on a personal level). I feel that I am getting good use out of my education, and feel that I am challenging myself every day, not just putting in time. My family is doing well (especially with the new addition), and they are my everything.

Financially, I dont know that I could ever do as well in the OPE industry as I can with my current job. Very happy with the pay, benefits, and security of what I do. Could I be happier in the OPE industry? I suppose, but would rather not take the risk now, at my families expense. Six months ago, things werent the same for me at work... A lot of things at work and circumstances that surrounded me were much different. At that time I didnt have the security, mobility, pay, or longevity of my career that I do now.


Sorry for being so long winded. I appreciate you checking up on me Marty! And again, thank all of you guys for your support.