business offer , should we go for it? long but need advice

[*charmalea*]

Ok , so we have been given an oppourtunity which is pretty exciting but should we take it ?

a little bit of background ...

DH - works for mercedes , qualitifed mechanic and now 1.5 yrs ago got promoted to leading hand (off the tools and has a team , so he is a Boss ) coming up 10yrs of work .
atm is having issues getting a pay rise even though he is entitled to about 2 payrises . but merc is not giving it to him because of "cost cutting" grrr any way he should be on $29 p/h rather than $27 . currently on $60- 65 per year



sooooo we have always wanted a business together , me as the receptionist and him ovbisouly the mechanic .. but we wanted it out here where we live , so DH can be close to home ...

enter the next few people , Tim - the tool man , Steve - the other leading hand at work ( boss's the other team , is on more $$ than scott , even though its the same job)
Tom- scotts boss .

and Larry - the business owner

so larry has a business , mechanic , and his wife has just recieved job up north , so this business, is now for lease , sale , or he will close it down , he wants to GIVE the business to a mechanic who is exp in benz/european cars and a few japanese cars ... he has a good list of customers who will come with the handover and all tools etc ... he loves his business and doesnt want to close it down , so he has asked Tim if he wanted it , but his tool business is good for him , so he asked scott and steve ..

steve and scott are both keen on it , have the figures and have been doing alot of thinking ... the business potentioal is $135 g a year , currently LFY made $100 g as larry was away alot ..

steve said to scott - if he was younger he'd do it as its a great oppourtinity .. and tim also told him that .

there is a basic house on the premisis and will rent to us for $100 or $200 a week . which is great as we will be making and saving money . BUT i will be moving from my friends into the middle of brisbane where the house has no yard .. i have my life made out here , it will be hard to leave ...

this is the hard bit , do we take the business and the house or take the business and live out here 45 min drive away and renting for about $315 a week , dh's hours will be longer in the evening so he will be home if we live out here , in bris he's just out side .

i always complain hes never around and is always working so he sees the house and a good idea but i think eventually i will be bored of just him and lonely in a house in an industrial area ... i just dont see me being happy in that house .... but i think i will be unhappy if he comes home and the kids will etiher be going or are in bed ... .

potentially we will earn alot more money and enough to save to get a house and holiday etc... but i just want a sign that this is right for us .... should we just bite the bullet or stay safe working for a company that has been good to scott for 10yrs ??

what would you think .. i told DH im beside him all the way its his dream , but a week ago we agreed the kids are too young and it would be great to have this business when they are in highschool .. but now hes all keen again .

to be given your own established business at 27 and the potential to earn more and run it the way he wants .... or stay being a lackey to his boss. earning enough to get us by ..

its not like were goign to rake the cash in and its not a scheme its genuine , we have thought about it alot , but im scared of change so i though id see whant others have to say

[Arimeh]

I'd do it.

Mainly for DH. His dream is to have his own business too - so if an opportunity came up like that, sacrifices would be made on my behalf to keep him happy.

Houses don't mean a lot to me, if I hated it that much, I'd organise to go and see people every day - or go to the park, or even to maccas

But I would run the figures by a financial advisor and see what they said first.

[MantaRay]

Only you know the right answer hun. I wish you all the very best with making the decision. And don't forget that "middle of Brissy" is closer to many of us BBers!

[Phteven]

You can give it a try and if you hate the house you can just rent it out to someone else and move a few suburbs away to somewhere a little more congenial

[Lulu]

1) If you were to take it, I'd def move closer. You would both be working longer hours than you imagine (but you don't mind if it's your business!)

2) Is it the SAME business DH works in now?
3) If so - will Mercedes allow this deal to happen? What sort of agreements are there already in place? I'm reading it as Larry has a separate business - yeah?
4) That is a CRAPLOAD of tools to hand over....included in the lease yeah?

5) I understand they have the books, but I'd recommend a business expert/growth expert take a look at the books too.
6) I'd also get an IBIS report or something similar revealing the state of the luxury car industry. If Mercedes are cutting costs, I'd assume this new business would have the same issues Merc has.

7) Once Larry leaves the business will be different - are there staff to deal with?
8) You would need to be a bit more than a receptionist to make it worthwhile - can you do accounts/invoicing etc?
9) Did it turnover $100k, or was that profit?

Jeez, got enough questions Lulu?

[~Trish~]

Wow, what an awesome opportunity! But definitely a hard decision to make because there are so many factors to consider.

Have you drawn up a list of pros and cons? This might help you see things more clearly, sometimes the negatives seem like they overtake the positives until you see it on paper IYKWIM?

Consider whether or not you think that moving is worth the sacrifice for a few years of your life. What will that sacrifice mean for you in the long term? Is the result what you really want? Also - in 5 years time, do you think you will really regret that you didn't take up the opportunity and wonder what could have been? Or, on the flip-side - do you think you'll regret giving up DH's job and moving away if the business works well?

Do you have proof to show that the business is profitable? Is your DH passionate about it? (It sounds like he is). Sorry for all the questions! You don't have to answer them on here, they are just questions that I think are important to ask yourselves.

Good luck deciding

[*charmalea*]

1) If you were to take it, I'd def move closer. You would both be working longer hours than you imagine (but you don't mind if it's your business!)

2) Is it the SAME business DH works in now? sotra - DH works for a comapny - larrys business is a self employed business been running for 23 yrs

3) If so - will Mercedes allow this deal to happen? What sort of agreements are there already in place? I'm reading it as Larry has a separate business - yeah? yes larrys business is different to merc , mainly older cars out of warranty , Merc has nothing to do with it once DH has left and quit BUT it would be wrong if DH was fixing mercs outside of work if he was still working there .

4) That is a CRAPLOAD of tools to hand over....included in the lease yeah? yes inc in the lease , if he was to sell it would be $55 g all up inc tools , and the name etc . but we dont have the money to buy as we have no collateral of savings to buy outright


5) I understand they have the books, but I'd recommend a business expert/growth expert take a look at the books too.- yeah we though about that

6) I'd also get an IBIS report or something similar revealing the state of the luxury car industry. If Mercedes are cutting costs, I'd assume this new business would have the same issues Merc has.

im not sure if he have the same issuses as merc, hes not dealing with selling cars which is where car comapanies struggle . if anything as his prices are cheaper, people start to seach for a cheaper mechainic to fix thier car , merc has a huge mark up and charge a crap load per hr , Larry charges $100 in gst and its just larry , no staff. Larry doesnt do brand new cars , only out of warrnty and after market parts/OEM.

7) Once Larry leaves the business will be different - are there staff to deal with?
no, no staff , its just him doing the work , his wife does the books . DH can take on a part timer /apprentice if he needs a hand later on

8) You would need to be a bit more than a receptionist to make it worthwhile - can you do accounts/invoicing etc? yeah i ment all that , id take a course in bookkeeping to help out DH

9) Did it turnover $100k, or was that profit?
it was $100k income

Jeez, got enough questions Lulu?

keep em coming .

regaruing the house , we dont have to live there we thought about a unit nearby .

[Lulu]

6) If people are slowing down buying the cars that you will the in future be servicing, this will impact - maybe in 3-5 years, but it will impact. Get the IBIS report on the state of the 2nd hand car industry and service industry. Don't automatically think people will search for a cheaper mechanic, it's not necesarrily true at the upper end. In fact lots of people feel happier paying more iykwim? This is where the IBIS report comes in.

8) As part of handover, get the wife to train you in the books - a course will come in handy later but that's the bestest training you'll get to start with

9) DO get an independent expert to look at the books - WELL worth any $$$ it will cost you. Not necesarrily an accountant, a business growth expert...

[*charmalea*]

thanks Lulu , i will be meeting the wife this week .

what does IBIS stand for how do we obtain a report ?

[Lulu]

Hmm, not sure - I belong to a Business Enterprise Centre and get them freeeeeeeee woo hoo! Maybe Google IBIS World and go from there? It dpesn't necesarrily mean you shouldn't go for it, you might just have to adjust your approach with the knowledge of whats ahead.

I think the first port of call would be finding a business enterprise expert - they can lead you from there. They should be good (if they know their marketing etc) for helping you though the 'Under New Management' stuff - making sure people know there is a 'Merc trained Specialist' on board - that Larry has happily handed on the business because he knows his customers are in good hands yadda yadda yadda...

[*charmalea*]

thanks for the advice Lulu , we are into our 2nd week of business and tripled what we estimated to get us by so fas so good !!