STEP 1: COMMIT TO THE IDEA THAT YOU YOU WANT TO BE A BUSINESS OWNER. RESEARCH ALL THAT IT ENTAILS!
Are you interested in being self- employed but do not know which industry is for you? That is where my husband and I were about 4 years ago. We no longer wanted to work for others and we really wanted to have something to leave to our children.
While we knew that we wanted to be self-employed, we did not know where to start. There are hundreds maybe thousands of industries out there. How could we narrow it down? Would we open a retail shop? Work from home? Would we be an independent shop or a franchise?
It took us about a year to figure out what we wanted to do and this is how we did it.
STEP 2: MAKE A LIST OF YOUR ABILITIES, STRENGTHS, INTERESTS/HOBBIES, JOB SKILLS/WORK HISTORY, AND EDUCATION. DO NOT BE SHY ASK SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOU WELL TO MAKE A LIST AS WELL.
The first thing that we did was identify our collective skills and our work history. What were we good at that we enjoyed? We created lists on our own about ourselves and each other then talked about them. For me, it was paperwork, research and I did have some experience using Quickbooks https://quickbooks.intuit.com/oa/online/ . For my husband, it was mechanics, heavy equipment operation and repair, and being a strong leader.
STEP 3: RESEARCH INDUSTRIES THAT PERTAIN TO YOUR LIST
After deciding that my strengths would be in the behind the scenes part of any business we chose, we focused on my husband’s experience. We decided that we wanted to have a business in either the automotive, heavy equipment, repair, or trucking industries.
We looked into opening a diesel repair shop on our property and decided against that thinking that we could not earn the living that we hoped to being a one or two man show. We would be limited on space and have limited growth potential.
STEP 4: CONTACT BUSINESS BROKERS & READ CLASSIFIED ADS OF BUSINESSES FOR SALE
Local papers and online classifies list numerous businesses for sale. We scoured these listings. I think we knew all along we would rather build our own business rather than buy one however we were open to all options. We usually searched for businesses that were for sale to find a business type that interested us. We did look into buying a couple ranging from a fleet of oil field trucks to a power-sports repair and sales shop but they had some red flags that turned us off.
STEP 5: RESEARCH FRANCHISE OPTIONS
After exploring businesses for sale and not finding the right fit for us my USMC veteran husband decided to look up the best franchises for veterans ( https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/topfranchiseveterans ). He found a list of great options and we reached out to a handful that interested us. Considering my husband’s background the Big O Tire franchise was the most appealing to us. We submitted an application and got to work. ( https://www.bigofranchise.com/ )
STEP 6: REACH OUR TO OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. OFFER TO TAKE THEM TO COFFEE SO THAT YOU CAN PICK THEIR BRAINS
We reached out to a local tire shop owner who was willing to discuss the business with us. We also asked the bank we planned to lend from if they had any clients in the tire industry who would be willing to talk to us and lucky for us, there was one who was a wealth of knowledge. After doing our homework we agreed that this was the business for us to be in.
It turned out that after a few meetings, conference calls, and punching numbers that franchise was not the best option for us. Most of this decision was about location. The corporate office could not allow a new location where we wanted to be. They did give us contact information for tire shops that used to be a part of their franchise whose owners were interested in selling and retiring. We explored buying an existing tire shop but found that it would cost more money than we were prepared to spend.
STEP 7: DO THE MATH ON WHAT IT WILL COST YOU TO OPEN AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS IN AN AREA THAT INTERESTS YOU
Realizing how much money it would cost to buy an existing business we began to research local real estate listings and building costs; it turned out to be more affordable than we thought. Long story short we went through the building process and opened our shop.
STEP 8: BE PATIENT
Deciding on what kind of business to start or buy can take time. You need to do your research, do the math, and ensure that it is the right option for you. Do not get discouraged if nothing seems to be a good fit. Something will come alone if you continue to work toward you goal of business ownership. Overall it took us a little more than two years from the time we agreed that we wanted to be business owners to the day that we opened the doors to our shop.
STEP 9: KEEP AN OPEN MIND
As you have read, we started with the hope of self-employment. We had no idea what kind of business we would start or buy. We simply liked the idea of being our own bosses. We considered a Sports Clips franchise (https://www.sportclipsfranchise.com/) , opening a movie theater, and a smoothie shop. We spent a great deal of time finding our niche. It is not an original niche by any means. Tire and automotive shops are a dime a dozen, but it was the option that made the most sense to us.
Here is a recap of the 9 Steps to Decide on the Right kind of business for you:
- Commit to the idea of being a business owner
- Make a list of your abilities, hobbies, work history, and education. Ask someone else to make one too.
- Research industries that pertain to your list.
- Contact business brokers and read classified ads of businesses for sale.
- Research franchise options
- Reach out to others in the industry that you are interested in.
- Do the math on what it will cost you to open the business of interest
- Be patient
- Keep an open mind.
photo credit: solutionist999 21819257_m via photopin (license)
