Where do I start?

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by yammiman

Wow..listening to you guys I wonder how I ever reached 50 plus employees with my current business!!!...I guess I should have just done it myself without any employees!! LOL!!...you can make someone a "partner" with shared profits without making them an "owner"...e.i. stockholder...if the market is that competitive as you guys say, I need to make the deal more enticing than just an hourly wage....25 years of running a business makes me a pretty good judge of character, believe me...what I'm looking for is a top notch guy that eventually wants his own gig some day, but doesn't have the means to do it himself...they have to be out there, where do I start to find them??

Yeah now I'm confused.

Doesn't sound like you need much help.


Try a trades school. Sometimes they have job fairs and business owner meet and greets.

Again, where is your prospective location or state.

[Stuart Adams]

Originally Posted by yammiman

Wow..listening to you guys I wonder how I ever reached 50 plus employees with my current business!!!...I guess I should have just done it myself without any employees!! LOL!!...you can make someone a "partner" with shared profits without making them an "owner"...e.i. stockholder...if the market is that competitive as you guys say, I need to make the deal more enticing than just an hourly wage....25 years of running a business makes me a pretty good judge of character, believe me...what I'm looking for is a top notch guy that eventually wants his own gig some day, but doesn't have the means to do it himself...they have to be out there, where do I start to find them??

I think I'm clueless after reading this. Why are you so needy about making someone else successful when you have no experience in the business your trying to get going. It just seems real odd. Fill me in.

[yammiman]

It would be in the Lansing, Michigan area - I'm nearing retirement and this is what I want to do - I have a couple guys that are working toward taking my current business over and I'm not the type to sit around - always been a car guy and would love to have a small shop -just figured that a profit sharing/partnership arrangement would attract the kind of person I'm lookin for

[Stuart Adams]

Originally Posted by yammiman

It would be in the Lansing, Michigan area - I'm nearing retirement and this is what I want to do - I have a couple guys that are working toward taking my current business over and I'm not the type to sit around - always been a car guy and would love to have a small shop -just figured that a profit sharing/partnership arrangement would attract the kind of person I'm lookin for

It may, just hate to see a love for cars turn into business and take the love out of it.

Personally I love golf and have played at a high level in the amateur ranks since a kid, then 2 years ago I made it to the finals of Senior Tour Qualifying, seeing it as a business or a job took alot of the fun out of it. I had fun because I had a real job to fall back on, but the others were grinding to eat.

Just a little perspective, wish you the best, good luck.

[Sieg]

What type of business are you transitioning out of? Will the new venture be more similar to a vacation than work?

[yammiman]

Will the new venture be more similar to a vacation than work?

Exactly, I'm coming out of the construction business - had as many as 70+ employees one time - average about 40 - gets pretty stressful at times - small shop with one or two guys I would think would be easily managed

[BBT FAB]

It's not as glamorous as you might think and if you have no "shop" knowledge it will be really easy for you to get burnt by either employees or customers. Ask yourself these questions.... How do I explain to my customer why this seemingly simple task took 22 hours? What do I say to my employee who took 22 hours to accomplish this that it should have only took 8 when he was busting his ass to get it done?

Building cars for customers with employees involved is a whole lot different then building them for yourself.

Having a facility and the capital to make this happen are just small elements of actually turning out a quality product.

I wish you the best of luck. Make sure you do a lot more research before you jump into the industry.

-troy

[yammiman]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I'll keep ya posted

[ironworks]

Originally Posted by yammiman

Will the new venture be more similar to a vacation than work?

Exactly, I'm coming out of the construction business - had as many as 70+ employees one time - average about 40 - gets pretty stressful at times - small shop with one or two guys I would think would be easily managed

Until you find out that hot shot profit sharing partner is not as smart as you thought he is. There are so many elements needed to build car properly that if the guy with the wallet is not as well versed and as knowledgable or more then the workers, then your money is along for the ride with customer liability forever haunting you.

[DBasher]

Maybe ask a different question. Like, Hey shop owners, how did you all get started and would you do it again?

You've got the money, the space and the drive to try something new. Sure that's not everything you need but it's more than some have started with.


Dan