Author Topic: Have a question for the community (Read 217 times)

Hornet33 · « **on:** January 02, 2008, 04:59:43 PM »

OK I know there are quite a few of you folks here that have your own buisness.

A couple of friends of mine and myself are looking to start up a marine electronics company, installs, on site repair and trouble shooting, in house depot level repair and hopefully be distributers for marine electronics i.e. Raytheon Marine, Furuno, Motorola ect.

We're looking to stay with small boats, not going to get involved with large military contracts or work on ships and stuff.

Anyway I'm already retired and my 2 friends will be also in a couple of years so we're trying to get a game plan together now with the goal of opening our shop up in 3 years.

Anyway I'm looking for any advice and knowledge the private buisness owners here can provide. Things to look for, things to avoid, advice on how to contact major corporations that we might want to work with in the future (see the above mentioned list). Is three years a realistic goal? Is it really worth it to be your own boss?

This is all new terrirtory for me. I'm excited about the prospect of doing this but also have some concerns as well.

Thanks guys, and gals.

Tac · « **Reply #1 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:04:12 PM »

just make sure a good lawyer oversees your stuff and make sure all 3 of you are liable for anything as equals in the partnership (or depending on how much money each of you put in, etc).

Ive seen a couple of people start small enterprises, something goes wrong and it ended up with just one or two of multiple 'partners' in the venture being legally liable for expenses and stuff while the others walk away losing friends but not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

think of it as a pre-nup

Airscrew · « **Reply #2 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:08:50 PM »

What Tac said, plus get a CPA, so you dont get murdered at tax time. something I learned after watching my BIL...

Hornet33 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:09:05 PM »

You know, my sister just told me the same thing in an e-mail. We haven't discussed that yet but knowing those two guys as well as I do I know they'll agree with that statement 100%.

Sound advice to put on my list of things to do. Thanks!!:aok

Rolex · « **Reply #4 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:35:35 PM »

The lawyers aside, here are some basics:

1. You'll need double the operating money you think you'll need for any given time period.
2. If the market you're entering has 3 large competitors, there will be no room for you, especially if it's an old-style service industry.
3. Don't base your plan on capturing x% business from competitor A, and y% from competitor B, etc.
4. Define precisely what you have to offer that others don't. Be your biggest critic.
5. Having a partner with different, but necessary skills and experience is fine. Having 3 co-owners with similar backgrounds will likely destroy the business and end your friendship too.

Added: Information is readily available on-line from large manufacturers to be a distributor. You'll need to have banking and credit references (among other things) to qualify. You'll also need to be prepared to accept minimum order requirements and understand that payment terms will short. See 1. above.

LePaul · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2008, 05:47:24 PM »

Two things:

Talk to a Lawyer about being an LLC
Talk to a CPA about the same

Its interesting you mention that line of work. When I worked for the folks that made TheCapn navigation software, we had great experience giving referrals to people that were doing what you wish to do.

Getting an experienced electronics person to help with a computer/radio/GPS/Radar hookup was great. Most of the guys we referred knew our program inside and out...made great tutors for people who were not super computer savvy but wanted to learn the software.

Good luck, there certainly is demand for that type of work.

Just cover your butt....

eagl · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2008, 06:18:53 PM »

Regarding Financing...

Ask HT about what happens when you accept financing from someone who actually gives a damn about your business

My thoughts on that would be to look into govt grants and other loan opportunities from parties that are more or less uninterested in your business. You might not get as favorable terms up front, but you may be less likely to have some guy walk in one day, pronounce that he is the new owner, and find yourself in debt to an prettythanghat.

Since you're retired, there ought to be some sort of grant you can get from the govt or some other group that is interested in old farts running businesses. If I ever wanted to start a business, I'd have my wife be the owner 'cause there are more grants and low-interest loans available for women and minority owned businesses than there are for businesses owned by middle aged white guys.

eagl · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2008, 06:23:43 PM »

Also...

At the VERY least, have at least one of your partners get an MBA. Even if it's just some distance learning deal, you'll learn a lot. You can get an online MBA from an accredited university in 2 years without breaking a sweat. The one I'm doing costs about $1500 per course, and it takes about 12-14 courses to complete. You may be able to find some group or another that will pay for that too... Again, look for govt grants and maybe even AARP since you're close to retirement.

If it's an online deal, all three of you guys can do the coursework even if only one is officially enrolled. My MBA is mostly based on CDROM courseware and publicly available resources (except for some stuff available only through subscriber-only academic online libraries) so my wife is considering going through the courses someday, just for her own benefit.