924Board.org

[Neil924]

I am very tired of working for other people. I get up, bend, flex and twist until the best possible result is obtained. I think that everyday unappreciated effort would best be utilized if it was going to benifit me directly. I have a few very good ideas that can get me a start in the entrepreneur world. I am asking for advice on the unforeseen problems I will encounter. By unforeseen I mean, problems I know are out there to slow down and hamper the progress of newbies. Like governments {I have gone a few rounds with a couple of different officals) and the added stress of being responsibile for everthing that happens. If you have any suggestions please feel free to share. I'm 21 and looking for a real future.

[Lizard]

I know what mean about getting nowhere, I do tech support for HP Pav notebooks and talk to the stupidest people in th USA who no nothing about computers and go and spend 2k on a brand new unit because it looks pretty, or people who buy a consumer notebook and rely on it for there business, hey people get a brain! I am really considering going tback to school to be a mechanic as I have an aptitude for it
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3 928s,

[Porschephile]

I was thinking of opening a cigar shop, but it would only last for the summer, so i decided it would be pointless.
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werd B.

[Neil924]

One of my ideas was a driving range. We have a few of them here and it is relatively cheap to get off the ground. A building, golfball collector that doubles as a grass cutter, a mini putt {you don't make much money with them but it is needed and adds to the attraction}, a juice machine and bar and chip machine, with a few sets of clubs to use. You have to watch where you buy your land though. Like not too close to low lands. Too many flys and other bugs and low lands may take a longer time to dry out. If you have to start a month late in the season that's cash your losing. Also with no natural drainage it might look awful after acouple passes with the ball collector, muddy, puddles and tracks.
Any advice from self employed people would be welcome.

[kabok]

I feel your pain. For the past couple of years I have been trying to get my leather car seat/accessories business off the ground. It's not easy. You need to slowly step-by-step do it, just like a restoration. I have talked to many people who own their own businesses. The general consensuses are not to quit your day job until you are 200% sure and off the ground with your small business. Do the research to find out if there's a realistic market for your product.
I am 29, but like you I don't want to be working for someone for the rest of my life. Pick a business that you will enjoy and at least you will look forward going to work

[Stu2j]

Several years ago I started my own business. I have my own CPA firm and specialize in..... advising small businesses.

BTW, that's why I wasn't around much the last couple of months and the restoration was on hold. Little thing called tax season always gets in the way.....

I'll give you some free advice: I've never met a self employed individual who wished that he worked for someone else.
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-Stu
924 owner since 1988
924S owner since 2002
Click here to view them:

[Peter_in_AU]

unless it's a "cash-n-carry" business, cashflow is the biggest stress. Your suppliers will always demand to be paid instantly and your customers will always wait as long as possible before paying.

Another thing to watch out for is the sudden loss of life. It's easy to find yourself working 18/7.
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1979 924 (Gone to a better place)
1974 Lotus 7 S4 "Big Valve" Twin-cam (waiting)
1982 924 (As featured on Wikipedia)

Learn to love your multimeter and may the search be with you

[wdb]

if you have the money, starting a business is faily simple. rent a store front ($500.-$1000. a month) . buy supplies/inventory, put out your shingle . if you dont have the money, its gonna be challenging to save the needed funds from whats left after paying your bills . you need to start a business to make the money to start YOUR OWN BUSINESS . I mean the business that you would like to do for the rest of your life ,should be your end goal ,not your first step . making the leap from employee to business magnate is a hurculean task , that requires a college education ,a rock solid business plan, (this 1 is especially hard to find)a multi-millionair who likes and trust you ,a good idea and months of research . so what are we looking at ,something that can be done before or after work, that does not cost too much money to get started . getting started, it be best if you supplied what every body needs or at least alot of people need often , that cost relatively little. more oportunity , more potential customers . mowing lawns ? and other home related chores . fixing cars ,there is money there, but its sporadic , need to do alot of networking , keep the prices low , AND have a place to do the work , your niegbors will complain to the city, after the 20/30/40 oil changes ,tune ups and you hadnt made any real money yet . you could prolly find an acre of land, 20 miles out of town, for 3-5 grand .assuming your not in L.A. N.Y. chicago etc. maybe get some business cards and list everything you can do and have friends and relatives pass them out , put a line on the card that says what your trying to do , start your own business/change the world etc, some people like to help those with grand plans . its easier to make a million dollars by making $10 off each customer, than it is to make $10,000 off 10 customers .take your shot while your young and know everything , it gets harder when your old with a family . if you want it bad enough ,you CAN do it and succeed, but you gotta want it . set a date ,and stick to it .even if its only mowing lawns for a few months ,its a start. so you dont spend/waste too much time researching,planning .dont ask me how I know this .remember ,time is money ,so buy the best tools you can afford , a compressor is faster than a ratchet , a $500 double wide lawn mower is faster than a $99 sigle blade lawnmower. your only limit is your time . good luck
edit:
oh about the future problems , there are professionals available . lawyers,accountants , consultants,city/state economic developement office, business incubators ( state funded ,they supply offices, warehouse space and equipmement etc at a reuced cost to you to get your business off the ground ). to get you over 99% of the humps . call your city ,county and state economic development office for a list of resources and programs available , also the (SBA) Small Business Administation for info about financing and S.C.O.R.E. ( senior council of retired executives ) they volunteer there time to educate and inform people like you about starting a business .

[Joes924Racer]

Residential drywall & painting..Thinking about doing it again
with a partner or get a job away from consruction, either or.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

[melon]

I have often thought of opening an internet cafe, but living in a small town, where at least half the population are seniors, I wonder how many people would actually use it, making me wonder if it would actually be worth it.

I am going to do the mechanic thing, but unfortunatly it has to wait, since class size in max 18 people, if you don't register early you don't get in and I didn't get to kelowna to register early enough so I have to wait for at least another year

OT: I saw an 944S2 (or at least I'm pretty sure - there were no decals) at the VW dealership near me, it's not for sale, it's the owners car. The guy telling me about it was like "I think it's only a turbo, but I have no clue, and you'd have to offer the guy alot of money for him to part with it, it's his baby" It was beautiful *sigh*
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1980 n/a with EDIS and Megasquirt II Injection v2.684 betacode.
Porsche - Live it, Love it, Fix it

[wdb]

[RageLtMan]

im 18, and i've been working in CS for 6 years now, i've worked for small companies, big companies, huge companies, and universities. I'll tell you what it is about all of them that sent me into the consultant sector: beauraucracy. In a large organization the individual becomes nothing more than a work unit, a drone, whatever you want to call it, and the job goes from being a career move, or a rewarding experience, to mindless babble and bullshit through hundreds upon hundreds of pointless forms and the like.

Honestly though, as it stands now with my car being de-trannied and all, it looks like i've no choice but full time. BTW, anyone around boston looking for a good IT guy, gimme a call .
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1987 924S 2.5L SOHC.

[endwrench]

I have owned an auto repair shop for the past 15+ years and could give you a ton of advice on that. If I were to give general advice about opening a business I guess it would be this:

Start young! Before you have a family and others to worry about.

Try not to borrow money if at all possible. Makes it easier to walk away from a bad decision later.

DO NOT start a business with a partner. Stacks the deck against you. I have seen atleast 10 different shops start up and since die in the 15 years I have been here. They were all partneships. I can think of only two sucessful partnerships I personally know.

When you first start you will put in 18 hours a day. This is good and is what is needed to get off the ground. Soon, you will realize you can't work any harder to get any further. At this point you need to start working smarter not harder. If people are spending money with you because you are cheap you will need more volume. IF they are spending with you because you are good at what you do, you need to raise your prices. It will be up to you to recognize this and act correctly otherwise customers are just like a bad boss and they will use you up and move on to the next dumb sucker they can find. These are not the kind of customers you want anyway.

Todd

[wdb]

endwrench , I have a few questions about the auto repair business . do you know about how much the computer systems like ALL-DATA cost, is it a 1 time fee or a subsciption , paid on a monthly basis ?

where do you get your forms and contracts from, are they generic , or did you have an attorney draw them up ?

how much does it cost/make to have the old fluids hauled off ?

it seems to me that there is a limit to how much a shop can make . the limiting factor being how fast a mechanic works/gets a job done . if all the bays are full 100% of the time , after overhead and payroll , your only making (arbitrary number) $10 an hour per bay x's 40 hours. so would it be a good idea , to have an mech assistant/trianee for every 2 or 3 mechanics . 2 people turning wrenches on the more time consuming jobs ,would get it done quicker, or at least the trainee could be preping the car, draining fluids ,starting the disassembly ,and reinstalling parts , while the mech is doing the work thats calls for experience (diagnosing etc). the added employees will increase payroll , but will also increase the shops capacity to make money,by getting jobs in and out faster . it seems obvious to me ,but I have to wonder why most shops dont do it that way . or have I just been in poorly run shops ?

[Paul]

wdb, most all shops work flat rate where the mechanic gets paid by book time, not the actual time spent on the car. When I ran a shop, the mechanics only got paid the first time they did a job. If a customer had a problem, the subsequent repairs were free.

With this setup, a mechanic will not tolerate a trainee touching "his" work.