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New buisiness opportunities
Jonb_5 - 10/1/19 at 12:33 PM

Afternoon All,

I thought I would post up here and ask if anyone had any advice, I have been working at a small engineering firm for just under a year and have been asked to take up position of general manager and run the company full time.


It is a small machine shop, all manual machines, although in the future I would perhaps like to get a couple of CNC machines in as that is where my background is in engineering.


I would say 75% of our work is done for the marine industry, machining couplings, tailshafts, sterntubes, rudders etc for a wide range of boats and the rest is general machining for all sorts from water utilities companies to general public repairs.


With this new role I am very keen to expand the business and thought getting some outside opinions would be extremely useful. I love anything automotive but it seems the market is flooded with this type of thing and therefore probably not the easiest marketplace to break into.


I am currently developing our online presence and am designing a range of products with marine applications however I would love to hear from anyone who has any idead on gaps in the market in terms of engineering solutions and proudcts etc. Let me know your thoughts..

Regards

Jon

Tiger Super Six - 10/1/19 at 02:12 PM

Personally, I would not expand the business unless I had some form of shares in the company or a contract in place to confirm the split of profit on the new business I had brought in and developed.

Great idea, but make sure you don't line someone else's pockets.

nick205 - 10/1/19 at 02:49 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tiger Super Six
Personally, I would not expand the business unless I had some form of shares in the company or a contract in place to confirm the split of profit on the new business I had brought in and developed.

Great idea, but make sure you don't line someone else's pockets.



Very true - don't work hard filling someone else's pockets!

That said I have a few product ideas for you and I'm happy to U2U them rather than publicise them on here - let us know how you'd prefer to hear about any ideas?

Jonb_5 - 10/1/19 at 07:54 PM

Thanks for the comments.

Any ideas would be very welcome, its going to be a steep leaving curve for me for sure and am keen to get stuck in.

[Edited on 11/1/19 by Jonb_5]

femster87 - 10/1/19 at 07:59 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tiger Super Six
Personally, I would not expand the business unless I had some form of shares in the company or a contract in place to confirm the split of profit on the new business I had brought in and developed.

Great idea, but make sure you don't line someone else's pockets.


Eh , the main requirement of the GM's role is to ensure continuity and growth. Don't get yourself sacked by saying am only going to keep it ticking over. If i owned a company and the GM just did bare minimum, he/she is gone.

miskit - 10/1/19 at 09:56 PM

^^^ WHS
Jonb has absolutely has the right attitude - which is why he got promoted !

Don't have anything specific to suggest but niche markets and ones that people are passionate about are always good (boats being a good example)

Also you might fine a whole range of suggestions and ideas over on the very friendly MIG welding forum https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/ - though be prepared to post pictures of the workshop!

tegwin - 10/1/19 at 11:00 PM

I think if you are moving into a GM position and need to ask an internet forum for business growth ideas id be worried.

I guess only you know the ins and outs of the business but there's value in doing one thing well rather than spreading yourself across loads of sectors and not satisfying any particularly well.

Automotive has much smaller margins than marine stuff. Can you innovate in your current sector and increase revenue that way?

russbost - 11/1/19 at 10:09 AM

Slightly shocked by the negativity of the first couple of replies, I wonder what they think a GM's job entails? Not a question of lining others pockets at the expense of your own, it should be more of a mutual expansion, if I found an employee capable of taking my business forward I would have no hesitation in making sure he was well rewarded for it.

Well done to Jonb for seeking advice, I am a trained engineer with experience of running my own garage business & kitcar business, but I still ask for advice from anyone or anywhere I think may have greater knowledge on a subject than I have!

To respond to the Q, could you offer a bespoke one off engineering solution for people, irrelevant of the trade they are in, for instance I use a local engineering firm, old style machine such as you describe, to make tapers, rack extensions & various other bespoke bits for my cars. I've just paid over £300 for specialist parts & modification of a propshaft for my latest project, I wouldn't consider that to be low margin stuff, I think people are very happy to pay decent money for a job done properly & a solution to their individual problem. Other than that, higher end marine stuff where perhaps margins are higher & people are prepared to pay for a high quality job?

coyoteboy - 12/1/19 at 10:01 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Tiger Super Six

Great idea, but make sure you don't line someone else's pockets.


Almost everyone is working to line someone else's pockets with the hope that it will be recognised and they will be correctly rewarded. Some people even do these things just for their own pride and self worth.