New Business Ideas For 2008?

[theoriginator]

I'm going to establish a real business in 2008, but I'm not sure what type of business it will be. I have considered the following: tile flooring, welding, a construction trade, auto body & paint shop, rebuilding and selling vehicles. I have considered the latter more than any other because it is a field that I already have experience in, since I'm a painter. I don't have much money for start up ($ 10,000). I also thought about getting into the real estate game, but that seems like it takes a lot of time to really get into that and make good money. Any advice and or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank You

[justasquid]

If your an established painter already and have a good reputation, I'd start there. 10,000 isnt all that much to start up though. Sometimes, you can qualify for a government grant to start a small business. Don't forget about investors.

If your in a good area with high traffic. Consider trying to get new and used car dealerships on board before you go after investors. If you bring a list of possible clients, that will look much better for you.
Most new car dealerships will have their own bodyshop, but most used car dealerships won't. Plus, there is always the overflow.. if a new car dealership gets backed up, they may use you. Sometimes, you can just detail a car and a used car lot will pay you just so they don't have to deal with it.

Don't forget, its not just auto's to work on. Boats, motorcycles, RV's all need work too. Actually, if your in a area that deals with boats, get hooked up with a marina.. there is a ton of money in boats. The bad is you have to deal with fiberglass... "I'm not sure of the requirements environmentally," but the payoff would be great. But the downside is room. Most boats take up alot of room, so do RV's. I guess it all depends on how much you plan to take on and how big of a shop you can secure.

If you do decide to do this. Just remember to stick with it. It will probably be alot of long hours and not much pay for a while. A friend of mine started an autobody shop about 10 years ago. He is just now starting to make really good money. But it is Really good money. He has 3 guys working for him plus his shop is fully paid for. But I remember him working 7 days a week 12-14 hours a day, throughout holidays, missing alot family time. But he is now 40 years old and sitting very well. It will take disipline thats for sure.

good luck in your decision.

[paul67]

The bandwagon to jump on now is being green,anything to do with looking green even big oil companys are going that way.Friend of mine just bought a forest as they are a pa company using loads of paper ,so they can go to the clients and say look were green.Look into carbon offsetting.

[MrQuick]

If your an established painter already and have a good reputation, I'd start there. 10,000 isnt all that much to start up though. Sometimes, you can qualify for a government grant to start a small business. Don't forget about investors.

If your in a good area with high traffic. Consider trying to get new and used car dealerships on board before you go after investors. If you bring a list of possible clients, that will look much better for you.
Most new car dealerships will have their own bodyshop, but most used car dealerships won't. Plus, there is always the overflow.. if a new car dealership gets backed up, they may use you. Sometimes, you can just detail a car and a used car lot will pay you just so they don't have to deal with it.

Don't forget, its not just auto's to work on. Boats, motorcycles, RV's all need work too. Actually, if your in a area that deals with boats, get hooked up with a marina.. there is a ton of money in boats. The bad is you have to deal with fiberglass... "I'm not sure of the requirements environmentally," but the payoff would be great. But the downside is room. Most boats take up alot of room, so do RV's. I guess it all depends on how much you plan to take on and how big of a shop you can secure.

If you do decide to do this. Just remember to stick with it. It will probably be alot of long hours and not much pay for a while. A friend of mine started an autobody shop about 10 years ago. He is just now starting to make really good money. But it is Really good money. He has 3 guys working for him plus his shop is fully paid for. But I remember him working 7 days a week 12-14 hours a day, throughout holidays, missing alot family time. But he is now 40 years old and sitting very well. It will take disipline thats for sure.

good luck in your decision. great post, I agree. Since you are already trained in that field stick with it. Re-training can cost a lot of money.

My friend started out as a painter then started restoring specialty cars. That dried up so he makes most of his money doing insurance work. His advise is try to buy an already established body shop and expand from there.

[bigvegan]

Start a Home Staging Company.

If Texas real estate is headed into the toilet the way CA real estate is, this is going to be a gold mine.

Basically, you help people get their place ready for showing to buyers.
Paint the inside, move their crap to a storage locker, rent some nice stuff for them for the duration of the sale, and charge them a few $k for the service.

Your only expense is your labor, hired help, a rental truck, rental furniture, and storage space. (Plus some library books or HGTV on cable to get up to speed.)

Good income, necessary service (and moreso as this subprime bubble hits, people are going to be SCREAMING to get out of their houses), straightforward business model, get paid in advance, what more do you need?

Damn, this is sounding pretty good, especially since if I don't get my act together, I could be looking for a new job next month.

Anybody else in the L.A. area interested in meeting up to figure out how to get this whole "entrepreneurship on a budget" thing started? If so, drop me a PM.

[nvr2fst]

Where I come from staging is done by the interior decorator There cost for a 10000 sq. ft home on average is 800.00 Our company still has to buy the furniture/amenities. Im not sure how it works in Dallas but here in WI. its a non profitable operation. We are the 11 largest Co. in the three state region and are costs for profit margin per spec home and model are set. If we dont sell then we will stage which only helps towards the novice buyer who cant "picture" the space. As far as grants go, in construction and auto it will be almost inevitable for one reason. The market is saturated with multiple owners and start up co. You need do do one thing BE PERSISTANT in your approach and be able to talk the walk.
Dave- WI.