Give me some ideas...
StevieB - 30/8/10 at 05:11 PM
It's just occurred to me that I'm fed up.
I'm a quantity surveyor and own my own business, working on a consultancy basis. Things are relatively good and profitable, and I've
managed to keep it that way through the recession (not easy in construction!).
The thing is, I'm bored and feel limited - there's only so much per hour/day I can charge for my services and only so many days/hours in a
year.
So, I know you all have ideas to make yourselves millionnaires - would anyone mind sharing some with me?
In seriousness, I do fancy the idea of taking on a small kit company and selling kits on the side - having all the bits made via subcontract etc. I
could then keep my business running and run the kit operation as an on the side thing - a hobby that pays for itself, if you like.
This has nothing to do with the fact I watched Wall Street last night, either...
MakeEverything - 30/8/10 at 05:54 PM
quote:
Originally posted by StevieB
In seriousness, I do fancy the idea of taking on a small kit company and selling kits on the side - having all the bits made via subcontract etc. I
could then keep my business running and run the kit operation as an on the side thing - a hobby that pays for itself, if you like.
This has nothing to do with the fact I watched Wall Street last night, either...
Cant you see if you can be a distributor of many kits? - A One Stop Shop?
[Edited on 30-8-10 by MakeEverything]
iank - 30/8/10 at 06:11 PM
Very few people in the kit business make much money at all. Most do it for the love of engineering.
Worth doing a detailed business plan to sanity check the idea, even if you aren't going to need a loan from a bank, before doing anything risky
IMO.
Is there no way of expanding your business into other areas related to QS.
RK - 30/8/10 at 06:12 PM
I think if you subcontract all the important work it doesn't leave a lot of profit. That was what a certain maker that I know did, and his cars
were stratospherically priced. The service had better be perfect if you end up charging more than average. This won't be the case if you work at
it part time. So, I see problems with the business model.
StevieB - 30/8/10 at 06:23 PM
Expanding the QS business is a bit difficult as the market is full of multi-national firms that are all competing hard for money and commissions at
the moment - they can afford to work at a slight loss while the bad times tide over.
I don't really think the kit idea would necessarily work anyway, just a flirtation with the idea of doing something I find interesting as a
business. I have had some good ideas of how I could make it work though.
As for subcontracting, I know of at least one of the big names who contracts out all of the fabrication.
Krismc - 30/8/10 at 06:42 PM
Listen mate, money isnt everything do a job you like even if the kit car business doesnt make money if you can do it why not.
I made 38k yr 07,08 and 45k 09 but i quit without having another job too go too as i was working 50 - 65hrs a week and didnt enjoy some of the job, i
now earn 26k only work 36hrs a week, but im back in the job a love and at home every night and weekend.
Much much happier. 
Bladerunner - 30/8/10 at 06:46 PM
There is a garage just outside Hawes in the Dales, it is lying empty, just the thing to run some Kit Cars out of hiring to anybody how wants an
interesting break in the Dales. Keep your two businesses in the one place.
MakeEverything - 30/8/10 at 06:52 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Krismc
Listen mate, money isnt everything do a job you like even if the kit car business doesnt make money if you can do it why not.
I made 38k yr 07,08 and 45k 09 but i quit without having another job too go too as i was working 50 - 65hrs a week and didnt enjoy some of the job, i
now earn 26k only work 36hrs a week, but im back in the job a love and at home every night and weekend.
Much much happier.
Ditto.
MikeR - 30/8/10 at 06:57 PM
i was lying in bed wondering if i could set up a business to cover cost of a unit and make a decent living. Decided that i needed to turn over 1k a
week. My random thought of tuning mega squirts and similar stuff wouldn't seem to cover that. Looks like i'm going to have to go back to
looking for a job as an IT project manager.
StevieB - 30/8/10 at 07:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Krismc
Listen mate, money isnt everything do a job you like even if the kit car business doesnt make money if you can do it why not.
I made 38k yr 07,08 and 45k 09 but i quit without having another job too go too as i was working 50 - 65hrs a week and didnt enjoy some of the job, i
now earn 26k only work 36hrs a week, but im back in the job a love and at home every night and weekend.
Much much happier.
The thing I love is business - what I don't like at the moment is that my business is pretty stagnant in terms of growth.
Profitability is very good, as is turnover. Best bit is that the hours are fairly low - less than 40 per week at the moment.
The problem is that my mind can't rest and I'm not the sort of person who can sit back on that, make what is a better than average living
and be content knowing that there's more I could be achieving.
Hammerhead - 30/8/10 at 07:28 PM
Become an angel investor to business startups, get some equity, give advice, maybe make a profit, but above all it could be exciting to involved with
other projects without spending loads of hours on it
StevieB - 31/8/10 at 06:11 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Hammerhead
Become an angel investor to business startups, get some equity, give advice, maybe make a profit, but above all it could be exciting to involved with
other projects without spending loads of hours on it
Hmmm, you have to be genuinely liquid for that sort of thing, not aspirational!
My sister is meeting with someone from Dragon's Den tomorrow to talk about her business making cake based confectionary (they are really cool and
all her own design too). She's only 16.
As if that wasn't enough to make me look like the under-achiever in the family, she just bagged 9 A* GCSE's too 