Where To Go From Here....

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I decided to go it alone in 1989 . I did so because of a culmination of problems , and for some wrong reasons. I was also fed up making money for others , against continually moving goal posts for reward. At the time , I was 37 , married with three kids and a mortgage . Went into partnership with a couple of others , lost money , but refused to acknowledge that i should have stuck with what i was good at.
After nine years of ducking and diving , trying to keep the bank , vat man and creditors happy , i had to concede defeat and look for a real job , at the age of 46 , with no formal qualifications. Saw a job advertised that matched my experience , got it , and have stayed in employment since.
I have been with my present company for 6 years , not earning a fortune ,but great people to work for , and very tolerant of grumpy old gits! My wife went through hell because of my stubborness , but i had to try to do things my way , despite losing far more money than i could afford. Good luck with whatever you decide .
 
davidjpowell said:
I think that would be most businesses problem.

Too much flowing out and not enough in:D
Click to expand...

I've always made money, whatever I've had to do in life and from a young age. I used to hire chart music cassettes from the local library, copy them and then sell them at school with a photo-copied cover. I ended up taping over all my mums Queen tapes so that she would buy me some blanks cassettes!

I was 'advised' by my Dad to get a trade, which I did, but it was never really me.

I love the buzz of buying something for a certain price and selling it for more. Or having people work for me, earning me money.


All these bits of advice and info is really helping, so keep it coming. Thanks
 
Observations

I think that Jay Manek's suggestion has real merit. Get a job and build up the vans on the side. You have started a business in the recession. The economy is likely to stay subdued for some time yet. Maybe 2+ years. You need cash flow and the only way to reliably improve this is to take paid work. It need not be full time, just enough to balance the books. You need to work out what cash you need to live and what cash your business needs. Minimise your outgoings. Mr McCawber would be proud of you if you did. Income 20/- outgoings 19/6 result happiness.
 
Sweetpea , what exactly do you do to your vans , and how do you source/resell?
Do you modify to suit your taste or to customers specification? I have in the past converted a couple of vans ( American) . to suit my taste , but found their appeal to others to be rather limited , and just about broke even on them. (although i did not convert them with a view to selling).
As with any business your profit is dictated by how much you pay , how much you spend , and how much you can sell it on for in a reasonable amount of time. Could you improve on any of these areas , given that the time /money spent travelling and viewing vehicles which may prove unsuitable, eats into your profit? Do you have a skill/trade /mate that would allow you to earn a supplemental income ? Not being nosey , just trying to help! And do not lend money to "old friends" , seems the guy you lent money to has helped put you in this predicament . You could always sell your collection of Northern Soul ( not down south of course ).
Martin
:thumb:
 
sweetpea said:
This is the thing though; how long do I risk it for?

I can make money at this in the long term, I know I can, it's just how long will 'long-term' be?
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Its a bloody tough decision, and only you know the right decision. I ran my own business, made a reasonable living, and enjoyed it. The market changed slightly, and it became tough, but I kept on going, with 90+ hour weeks, stress and the worry of supporting a wife and kids.

One day (a bad one), I realised I'd slipped into earning about half the minimum wage per hour, and my family life was suffering badly. I hadn't been quite smart enough to predict he future accurately.

I gave up, owed no one anything, apart perhaps my family, and got a 'proper' job, predictable money, set hours, and a pension.

It was the right decision, I'm comfortable now, don't regret anything, and am glad I jumped when I did.

Talk to your family. and follow your head, as well as your heart.
 
keep b**gering on if you've done the research then you'll know how to get through.

If you go for the twin track approach i.e. full time job and also your business you will be a little knackered, speaking as someone who does a day job and then farms in my spare time I sometimes feel that way.

Stick with it if you believe in it.
 
8 months isn't long enough to see if the business will be successful. If the business is paying your bills in a recession, then I think stepping away from it could possibly be a mistake.
 
NOMONEYBUTAMERC said:
Sweetpea , what exactly do you do to your vans , and how do you source/resell?
Do you modify to suit your taste or to customers specification? I have in the past converted a couple of vans ( American) . to suit my taste , but found their appeal to others to be rather limited , and just about broke even on them. (although i did not convert them with a view to selling).
Click to expand...
I source my vans from any avenue I can find; mostly auction, free ads, eBay etc. I know what a van is worth straight off the top of my head, so I know a good price when I see one.
I make sure that they will be taxed and long test for the buyer as well as it being given a service. This means that the buyer can quite literally turn up, drive the van away, straight to work and it not cost anything until it's needs taxing next.

I generally buy/sell two types of van, one type being non-white or red, very clean with good service history. I sometimes convert these into six seaters or 'dual liners' for the sporting market ie bicyclists and also for tradesmen with a family. I can normally make on average £800-£1000 on these vans.

The other vans I source are like the Astravan/Combo/Transit Connect size, these I buy because even though the profit margin isn't as high at say £400-600, they tend to sell a bit quicker.
 
what makes certain members here that have successful car repair/ resale/ related businesses stand out from the crowd?

124 works
Olly/ Jack at PCS
Richard and Alfie at commandonline
Jaymanek

and a bunch of others on this forum...

for the sceptical; I'm sure this forum does serve as an indirect advertisement for showcasing their talents etc etc but at the end of the day it's their sheer hard work and commitment to offering their customers a high quality service that has built up their reputation.
Even though they might feel 'they'll never be rich'... if they carry on with their present work ethics; i'd be surprised if they don't end up doing very very well for themselves.
if there is a lesson to be gleaned from this; it's probably to persevere... and if you excel at what you do... there's no way you won't do well.
i also believe in the 'you're only as good as what you do next' philosophy...;)
 
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rascalmaster said:
what makes certain members here that have successful car repair/ resale/ related businesses stand out from the crowd?

124 works
Olly/ Jack at PCS
Richard and Alfie at commandonline
Jaymanek
Click to expand...

It strikes me that what they have in common is specialisation. The trouble with selling vans is that the entry level is low. Anyone can source a van from Ebay and try and sell it locally. Nothing wrong with that, but without capital where you could for instance buy a whole fleet you'll be in with the crowd.

Perhaps you should look at gradually including something that everyone can't do, do some market research. For example sell vehicles with access platforms and get the qualifications to service and certify them. If the market is more limited you should get a better margin.
 
NOMONEYBUTAMERC said:
Sweetpea , what exactly do you do to your vans , and how do you source/resell?
Do you modify to suit your taste or to customers specification? I have in the past converted a couple of vans ( American) . to suit my taste , but found their appeal to others to be rather limited , and just about broke even on them. (although i did not convert them with a view to selling).
As with any business your profit is dictated by how much you pay , how much you spend , and how much you can sell it on for in a reasonable amount of time. Could you improve on any of these areas , given that the time /money spent travelling and viewing vehicles which may prove unsuitable, eats into your profit? Do you have a skill/trade /mate that would allow you to earn a supplemental income ? Not being nosey , just trying to help! And do not lend money to "old friends" , seems the guy you lent money to has helped put you in this predicament . You could always sell your collection of Northern Soul ( not down south of course ).
Martin
:thumb:
Click to expand...

I think the fact that that the economy is in recession right now may be the source of your problem. Unfortunately this downturn seems set to continue despite the optimism of some politicians. Its a confidence thing more than anything else. The businesses mentioned above, in the main cater for "high end" motoring where many individual owners won't be greatly effected by the general downturn. Mercedes specialists continue to benefit because they may lose some customers at the budget end but gain from above as folks with less money forsake MB dealer servicing for something cheaper.
Van dealing is more likely to effected by the downturn I would have thought?? Have you had a hard look at your business overheads to see if you can cut back on your outgoings--advertising is the lifeblood of trading but can cost quite bit unless you are careful.:dk: Think Jay's suggestion of a second "pay the bills" job is a good one.
 
312 Sprinter said:
Perhaps you should look at gradually including something that everyone can't do, do some market research. For example sell vehicles with access platforms and get the qualifications to service and certify them. If the market is more limited you should get a better margin.
Click to expand...

I've tried 'fleet buying' on a couple of occasions and having 5 vans on your forecourt all looking the same didn't do me any favours really.

This converting a van into a 6 seat alternative family vehicle is the path that I've been walking down, and it is an avenue that works for me. These kinds of vans are not generally sold at a CV auction, that's why I sometimes have to purchase them privately.
 
just a thought for another bit of product differentiation that wouldn't actually cost you anything to provide...how about offering a discounted or 'free' wrap/partial wrap/decals (cost plus margin built in to the price, of course) - come to an arrangement with someone local to you, and your buyers can come along, buy the van as it stands or all logo'd up ready to advertise their business as they drive away....one less job for the busy tradesman to think about, one more sale for you and probably another £100 or so on the margin.
 
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PXW said:
just a thought for another bit of product differentiation that wouldn't actually cost you anything to provide...how about offering a discounted or 'free' wrap/partial wrap/decals (cost plus margin built in to the price, of course) - come to an arrangement with someone local to you, and your buyers can come along, buy the van as it stands or all logo'd up ready to advertise their business as they drive away....one less job for the busy tradesman to think about, one more sale for you and probably another £100 or so on the margin.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that idea, I'd flirted with it before but I'd never give it a good enough chance.

But the way you've write that statement would make great business sense.

Thank you.:thumb:
 
I'm not sure the recession is necessarily bad. Good businesses succeed regardless. The van we use in one of our businesses has just come off lease. Three years ago we'd just have signed up for another. This time we looked more carefully at the costs. £200 a month + VAT for a new one on a three year deal with no ownership at the end or buy 2nd hand for the equivalent of £110 a month and it's in our ownership with some residual value. So there are potential customers for sweetpea precisely because of the recession.

Personally, I think the signing of the vehicle pre delivery is a good one. It's one less hassle for a purchaser who wants to get on with their business rather than have the van off the road for half a day.

All new businesses go through 'death valley curve' - cash outflow exceeds cash inflow for some time before the opposite applies. The test is whether you run out of money before the curve bottoms out and starts to rise.

Good luck.
 
Dunno whereabouts you are based but surely what with all the new London LEZZY rules coming in January there must be a massive demand for quality late vans just round the corner :) (fortunately my 2 vans just sneak in I believe :) )
 
Just a quick update for anyone interested.

I'm going to stick with what I'm doing. I've had some good chats with my close friends who have their own businesses and they pointed out the biggest problem with me working for someone else; I can't stand being told what to do.

When I started out with this venture, I said to myself that if I can make a business flourish in a recession, it will be easier once we start to climb out of it.

It also helps that I'm rather stubborn and I wouldn't like to be seen as I've given up.

Thanks for all the advice, it has been a genuine help.
 
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