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From $575k in 2018 to $1.1M in 2019. Now what?

MatthewFoster

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Hey Fastlaners!! I hope you all are making serious progress with your ventures!

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Long story in a nutshell...in 2011 a friend and I started a company from scratch. That business has grown exponentially in that time($0 in 2010, $5.8M in 2014, $31M in 2018, and $33M as of 10/31/2019). I am a minority partner in the company, but I no longer work there as an employee. Even though the partnership/friendship is ending on a bad note, I feel at least partially responsible for the company's growth and success over that time.

In late 2017 I purchased another business as an investment/side hustle. The business consistently performed at $550k annually netting an OK profit. In Oct. 2018 I was fired without warning from the first business we started in 2011. My side hustle quickly became my only hustle. So I went to work in and on the business. We wrapped up 2018 with a couple of strong months to finish at $575k. I'm happy to report that we finished 2019 with $1.1M in sales. Great news, right??

Well, for me, not so much. I still feel trapped in the slow lane!! I know I'm in the wrong vehicle, with the wrong people, in the wrong lane, and going the wrong direction. I really hope I don't sound ungrateful for the success, but I know I'm capable of more and this is just the beginning. I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money...again. I think I finally learned my lesson. I'm learning as much as I can along the way and I'm always looking for ways to improve and be better.

There is no blueprint for this so I'm in limbo on where to go from here. I'm thinking I should sell information. A "How-To Guide" on what I've experienced. So here I sit on YouTube watching videos on how to create a sales funnel. Haha. Pretty comical, but hey, I'm sure somebody somewhere will pay $9.99 to find out "How I Doubled My Sales in 1 Year" or "How I Doubled My Sales Overnight".

I'm sure you've all heard "you don't know what you don't know" so I'm well aware that I don't know it all. I'm here seeking wisdom, guidance, information, or an opportunity to put what I know to work in the Fastlane! Any advice, tips, information resources, or warnings are welcomed.

My question to all is; Now what??

Thanks all and many blessings in 2020!!
 
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You made $1.1 million profit last year? You do sort of sound a little ungrateful or like you have a low self-esteem. Have you read the millionaire fastlane ?

What do you mean by 'I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money'? Even if you're working 80 hour weeks, 52 weeks a year, $264 an hour still seems like a good time-for-money tradeoff. I know you're not free of trading time of money and that must be frustrating, but what you made in two days took me twelve months last year! I think you're being too harsh on yourself. You definitely have enough capital to be well on the way to freeing yourself from the time-for-money tradeoff.

I recommend @Andy Black's thread 'what if you already know enough'
 

Genius01

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Hey Fastlaners!! I hope you all are making serious progress with your ventures!

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Long story in a nutshell...in 2011 a friend and I started a company from scratch. That business has grown exponentially in that time($0 in 2010, $5.8M in 2014, $31M in 2018, and $33M as of 10/31/2019). I am a minority partner in the company, but I no longer work there as an employee. Even though the partnership/friendship is ending on a bad note, I feel at least partially responsible for the company's growth and success over that time.

In late 2017 I purchased another business as an investment/side hustle. The business consistently performed at $550k annually netting an OK profit. In Oct. 2018 I was fired without warning from the first business we started in 2011. My side hustle quickly became my only hustle. So I went to work in and on the business. We wrapped up 2018 with a couple of strong months to finish at $575k. I'm happy to report that we finished 2019 with $1.1M in sales. Great news, right??

Well, for me, not so much. I still feel trapped in the slow lane!! I know I'm in the wrong vehicle, with the wrong people, in the wrong lane, and going the wrong direction. I really hope I don't sound ungrateful for the success, but I know I'm capable of more and this is just the beginning. I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money...again. I think I finally learned my lesson. I'm learning as much as I can along the way and I'm always looking for ways to improve and be better.

There is no blueprint for this so I'm in limbo on where to go from here. I'm thinking I should sell information. A "How-To Guide" on what I've experienced. So here I sit on YouTube watching videos on how to create a sales funnel. Haha. Pretty comical, but hey, I'm sure somebody somewhere will pay $9.99 to find out "How I Doubled My Sales in 1 Year" or "How I Doubled My Sales Overnight".

I'm sure you've all heard "you don't know what you don't know" so I'm well aware that I don't know it all. I'm here seeking wisdom, guidance, information, or an opportunity to put what I know to work in the Fastlane! Any advice, tips, information resources, or warnings are welcomed.

My question to all is; Now what??

Thanks all and many blessings in 2020!!
Congrats on what you've achieved so far.
What are your margins like?
If they are healthy, why aren't you thinking of scaling up possibly by opening in another location?
"Brick and mortar" isn't necessarily a bad thing....many of the largest companies in the world are brick and mortar companies, eg Walmart, Coca Cola, etc.
The challenge is just to find a way to extract yourself from the day to day working in your business, and find a way to scale it.
 
Last edited:

Ahash31

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You’re on the right path , starting to think the right way. Need to divorce your time from money. Selling a book about doubling sales does exactly that, you’ll have to put time into it but if it’s any good and has some good marketing it becomes a money tree with little upkeep.

You could also try rolling up similar businesses and having a large exit. Buy 2-4 more of the same businesses, anywhere in the country really just find GOOOOD deals, motivated sellers. SBA 100% backed financing, as long as ebita covers debt service you’re golden. Float them for 2years and BIG EXIT. $$$$
 

JordanK

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Have you tried investing in Real Estate? You could phase yourself out of the business over a few years if that is your plan. Or as a lot of successful people do, supercharge your Real Estate empire with the profits from the business. Grant Cardone is the best example that springs to mind.
 

RazorCut

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My advice is think long and hard about how you want to live your life. What your perfect day would look like. Perfect week, month, year.

Once you have that nailed down good and proper then you’ll know what sort of a vehicle you need to get you there.

Then the work really starts. I’ve been like you, built businesses that provided a good living but ultimately made me feel trapped. Money is poor compensation for feeling like you are on a treadmill or trapped in a prison.

A lot of people don’t understand until they experience it for themselves unfortunately.
 
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MatthewFoster

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You made $1.1 million profit last year? You do sort of sound a little ungrateful or like you have a low self-esteem. Have you read the millionaire fastlane ?

What do you mean by 'I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money'? Even if you're working 80 hour weeks, 52 weeks a year, $264 an hour still seems like a good time-for-money tradeoff. I know you're not free of trading time of money and that must be frustrating, but what you made in two days took me twelve months last year! I think you're being too harsh on yourself. You definitely have enough capital to be well on the way to freeing yourself from the time-for-money tradeoff.

I recommend @Andy Black's thread 'what if you already know enough'
Sorry for the confusion. The numbers are gross are sales figures, not net profit. I never meant to imply profit. Thanks for the "low self-esteem" swipe though. Haha. I'll check out Andy's thread.
 

MatthewFoster

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Congrats on what you've achieved so far.
What are your margins like?
If they are healthy, why aren't you thinking of scaling up possibly by opening in another location?
"Brick and mortar" isn't necessarily a bad thing....many of the largest companies in the world are brick and mortar companies, eg Walmart, Coca Cola, etc.
The challenge is just to find a way to abstract yourself from the day to day working in your business, and find a way to scale it.
Thanks. Great questions.

2018 was a net loss. 2019 I was able to put myself on payroll and make a net profit of about $90k.

I do have experience opening stores and expansion with my first company. When I left, we had 85 employees and 8 locations. Adding locations is definitely something I'll consider when this location finds a new norm. It's on such a trajectory that I'm still acquiring the right staff for it to function day-to-day without me. I really like this growth stage of the business, but I also know there are so many hours in the day I can spend on this model(Ex: I can't train staff after hours). That's why I'm considering finding ways(A side hustle) to help other people grow their businesses with information products.

I really appreciate your input.
 

MatthewFoster

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Congrats!

Can you franchise the model?
Thanks!

GREAT Question!! The short answer is yes, absolutely. The long answer is not yet. I have limited experience with franchises, but I have to imagine that most franchisees will want to see more consistency over time. I know one great year looks good on paper, but 3-5 profitable years is what most people would be willing to fork over cash to get involved with. Do you agree? Do you have franchise experience?
 
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MatthewFoster

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You’re on the right path , starting to think the right way. Need to divorce your time from money. Selling a book about doubling sales does exactly that, you’ll have to put time into it but if it’s any good and has some good marketing it becomes a money tree with little upkeep.

You could also try rolling up similar businesses and having a large exit. Buy 2-4 more of the same businesses, anywhere in the country really just find GOOOOD deals, motivated sellers. SBA 100% backed financing, as long as ebita covers debt service you’re golden. Float them for 2years and BIG EXIT. $$$$
Very cool! Thank you.

I have been offered the opportunity at a few other businesses nearly identical to mine in the past few months. I've declined for 2 reasons. 1) Staff. Everyone says good people are hard to find. I call BS. Good people are everywhere. The RIGHT people are hard to find. I'm 1 or 2 right people away from being able to hand the keys to a GM and only play the owner role. Until then I'm focusing on finding the right people for this store. 2) Cash. I have an SBA loan with this business and the down payment ate my lunch back in 2017. However, when I bought this business I also purchased the property. That had a huge impact on the cash I needed upfront. You're right. I could look for similar models that are business only without the property. Thanks for the perspective. You sound like you're familiar with SBA and business brokerage. Thanks for your input.
 

MatthewFoster

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Have you tried investing in Real Estate? You could phase yourself out of the business over a few years if that is your plan. Or as a lot of successful people do, supercharge your Real Estate empire with the profits from the business. Grant Cardone is the best example that springs to mind.
I have not. I'm certainly interested in Real Estate investing, but have been moderately intimidated on where to begin. The whole "I don't know what I don't know" thing holding me back. For example, my business is on Main St. in an old dairy farming community sandwiched between 2 growing metro areas. The city is expected to double in population over the coming years. People are moving here from all over, and they can't build houses fast enough. I'd love to start building multi-family units stat. The city is also undergoing a Main St. renovation over the next 2 years(Sidewalks, bike lanes, roundabouts, walk-able downtown, etc.). The city is literally begging companies, businesses, and developers to come in develop Main St. and the surrounding area. I've talked to the Economic Developer in charge of the project from City Hall. He pretty much blew me off. My age? Lack of capital? I don't know. If I had the capital, I'd buy everything that is for sale in this town.

Do you invest with Grant Cardone? Or are you recommending his content and books? I read his book Sell or Be Sold and loved it. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for a beginner on the Real Estate front?
 

MatthewFoster

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My advice is think long and hard about how you want to live your life. What your perfect day would look like. Perfect week, month, year.

Once you have that nailed down good and proper then you’ll know what sort of a vehicle you need to get you there.

Then the work really starts. I’ve been like you, built businesses that provided a good living but ultimately made me feel trapped. Money is no substitute for feeling like you are on a treadmill or trapped in a prison.

A lot of people don’t understand until they experience it for themselves unfortunately.
Amen to that. Thanks for the comment. That's exactly how I ended up on this forum and reading MJ's books. I know where I am is not where I want to be. In many ways my businesses own me and not the other way around. I know I have what it takes to lead the life I want, I just have to develop the skills to do it. I read a book called The Big Leap and really helped me see the limitations I put on myself and what I thought was possible. I've spent the last few years chiseling away and defining what I don't want. Now I'm focusing on what I do want and acquiring the skills to make it a reality.

I'm really happy to hear from people like you that have been here and made it through to the other side. Thanks for your time, input, and motivation.
 
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MatthewFoster

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You made $1.1 million profit last year? You do sort of sound a little ungrateful or like you have a low self-esteem. Have you read the millionaire fastlane ?

What do you mean by 'I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money'? Even if you're working 80 hour weeks, 52 weeks a year, $264 an hour still seems like a good time-for-money tradeoff. I know you're not free of trading time of money and that must be frustrating, but what you made in two days took me twelve months last year! I think you're being too harsh on yourself. You definitely have enough capital to be well on the way to freeing yourself from the time-for-money tradeoff.

I recommend @Andy Black's thread 'what if you already know enough'
Just wanted to say thanks again for turning me on to Andy's post. Great recommendation.
 

Everyman

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Congrats on your success!!

Maybe I missed it... Are you considering starting from 0 in the same industry/area and using what you already know? "The easiest path". Or this is not 'easy' or you don't want to anymore because of other reasons?

I am wondering why you want to go to youtube instead of building your own brick and mortar business?

Use what you have learnt, do it better, use any 'gaps' or potential improvement areas to your advantage, that have previously been neglected because you were not 100% in control (?), build a business that will surpass your previous ventures?
 
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Ahash31

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Very cool! Thank you.

I have been offered the opportunity at a few other businesses nearly identical to mine in the past few months. I've declined for 2 reasons. 1) Staff. Everyone says good people are hard to find. I call BS. Good people are everywhere. The RIGHT people are hard to find. I'm 1 or 2 right people away from being able to hand the keys to a GM and only play the owner role. Until then I'm focusing on finding the right people for this store. 2) Cash. I have an SBA loan with this business and the down payment ate my lunch back in 2017. However, when I bought this business I also purchased the property. That had a huge impact on the cash I needed upfront. You're right. I could look for similar models that are business only without the property. Thanks for the perspective. You sound like you're familiar with SBA and business brokerage. Thanks for your input.

Yes you want to talk to many financial institutions. You should be calling and “woo”ing Bankers as part of your regular days duties. Look for new branches as they are looking to loan. There is SO much money available to you, many banks will do no deposit 100% financing you just have to find them.

you may consider recruiting a board of directors off linkedin and give a few % of the business away. Finding older smarter or more experienced industry vets can make all the difference.

dont just jump on any deal either, make sure the numbers are GOOD.MOTIVATED SELLER is BEST.
Overall sounds like you need to talk to more experienced industry vets and get a mentor or two. Find a chairman for your board and then start talking to dozens of lenders. You can have multiple lenders on acquisition deals. You are in the thick of it now get the business lean and profitable, hand keys to a competent manager and move on to find the next deal. You might have to cold call 30-40 stores before you find that killer deal with a motivated seller, slam dunk deal. Make sure you have a good in house financial guy. This is the fast lane path of building a large conglomerate of similar businesses and making a large 8 figure exit.
 

MatthewFoster

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Congrats on your success!!

Maybe I missed it... Are you considering starting from 0 in the same industry/area and using what you already know? "The easiest path". Or this is not 'easy' or you don't want to anymore because of other reasons?

I am wondering why you want to go to youtube instead of building your own brick and mortar business?

Use what you have learnt, do it better, use any 'gaps' or potential improvement areas to your advantage, that have previously been neglected because you were not 100% in control (?), build a business that will surpass your previous ventures?
Thank you so much!!

My intention is to move from the slow lane to the fast lane. If I start another business like the ones I already have from 0, I'll be right back where I am now in a short time. I'm looking to get over the hump, not start back at the bottom. Maybe I'm not understanding your questions.

Sorry for the confusion, I'm using YouTube to research how to build information products because I have never created them before. I have an existing brick and mortar business.

Improving on previous experiences is part of the daily process. I believe that's been a big part of the growth and success to this point. I'm looking at the business from a bird's eye perspective. Even in a best case scenario, the model is limited. Yes, being a small business owner is slightly better than being an employee, but being the owner of a small brick and mortar business feels like the slow lane to me. When I consume MJ's content, he's constantly emphasizing fast lane thought processes. I feel like I can continue to build a successful brick and mortar business with multiple locations or even franchise the model once it shows consistent profit margins over a few years. Both of those scenarios require massive amounts of my time over the course of years. Slow lane.

Also, I want to start working in my zone of excellence rather than my zone of competence. What I mean by that is I'm starting to understand my strengths and weaknesses better. I understand that I'm better at working on the business than I am working in the business. I feel like I have knowledge/information that would be valuable and beneficial to small business owners with the opposite skillset. Info products...Fastlane!!

Am I following your thought process? Thanks again for your input!
 
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MatthewFoster

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Yes you want to talk to many financial institutions. You should be calling and “woo”ing Bankers as part of your regular days duties. Look for new branches as they are looking to loan. There is SO much money available to you, many banks will do no deposit 100% financing you just have to find them.

you may consider recruiting a board of directors off linkedin and give a few % of the business away. Finding older smarter or more experienced industry vets can make all the difference.

dont just jump on any deal either, make sure the numbers are GOOD.MOTIVATED SELLER is BEST.
Overall sounds like you need to talk to more experienced industry vets and get a mentor or two. Find a chairman for your board and then start talking to dozens of lenders. You can have multiple lenders on acquisition deals. You are in the thick of it now get the business lean and profitable, hand keys to a competent manager and move on to find the next deal. You might have to cold call 30-40 stores before you find that killer deal with a motivated seller, slam dunk deal. Make sure you have a good in house financial guy. This is the fast lane path of building a large conglomerate of similar businesses and making a large 8 figure exit.
Excellent! You're right. Great perspective.

Understanding leverage is definitely a weakness of mine. Overall lack of knowledge. I've lived by the "save up and pay cash" philosophy most of my life. Great advice.

A BOD is an excellent idea!

I've always browsed business brokerage websites for businesses for sale. Never thought about contacting businesses directly. Thank you!
 

ADayattheRoxbury

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Hey Fastlaners!! I hope you all are making serious progress with your ventures!

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Long story in a nutshell...in 2011 a friend and I started a company from scratch. That business has grown exponentially in that time($0 in 2010, $5.8M in 2014, $31M in 2018, and $33M as of 10/31/2019). I am a minority partner in the company, but I no longer work there as an employee. Even though the partnership/friendship is ending on a bad note, I feel at least partially responsible for the company's growth and success over that time.

In late 2017 I purchased another business as an investment/side hustle. The business consistently performed at $550k annually netting an OK profit. In Oct. 2018 I was fired without warning from the first business we started in 2011. My side hustle quickly became my only hustle. So I went to work in and on the business. We wrapped up 2018 with a couple of strong months to finish at $575k. I'm happy to report that we finished 2019 with $1.1M in sales. Great news, right??

Well, for me, not so much. I still feel trapped in the slow lane!! I know I'm in the wrong vehicle, with the wrong people, in the wrong lane, and going the wrong direction. I really hope I don't sound ungrateful for the success, but I know I'm capable of more and this is just the beginning. I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money...again. I think I finally learned my lesson. I'm learning as much as I can along the way and I'm always looking for ways to improve and be better.

There is no blueprint for this so I'm in limbo on where to go from here. I'm thinking I should sell information. A "How-To Guide" on what I've experienced. So here I sit on YouTube watching videos on how to create a sales funnel. Haha. Pretty comical, but hey, I'm sure somebody somewhere will pay $9.99 to find out "How I Doubled My Sales in 1 Year" or "How I Doubled My Sales Overnight".

I'm sure you've all heard "you don't know what you don't know" so I'm well aware that I don't know it all. I'm here seeking wisdom, guidance, information, or an opportunity to put what I know to work in the Fastlane! Any advice, tips, information resources, or warnings are welcomed.

My question to all is; Now what??

Thanks all and many blessings in 2020!!

While I understand that to some you seem ungrateful but to me you feel jipped. You thought you were going to get to put in 5-10 hours a week and instead you got yourself a new full time job.

There are quite a few things you can do in your position. But first let me ask, 1.1m rev, what is your profit on this?

What are your actual hours spent on the business?

What are you wanting out of your business/life?

I can post my long drawn out response but it’d be nice to have some direction first with which of the possible paths would suit you the best.
 

MatthewFoster

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While I understand that to some you seem ungrateful but to me you feel jipped. You thought you were going to get to put in 5-10 hours a week and instead you got yourself a new full time job.

There are quite a few things you can do in your position. But first let me ask, 1.1m rev, what is your profit on this?

What are your actual hours spent on the business?

What are you wanting out of your business/life?

I can post my long drawn out response but it’d be nice to have some direction first with which of the possible paths would suit you the best.
Thanks for your response. Ultimately, I don't feel like I've reached my full potential or performing in my zone of excellence. Yes, I can run this business at a very high level, but just because I can doesn't mean I should. I enjoy working and really enjoy solving problems. I'm not interested in cashing out or retiring tomorrow. I want to grow and develop into someone that can help thousands of people per day rather than 15-20. I have an industrious quality that I don't believe success or money can change. I will always want progress and improvement regardless of account balances. I just feel like I can handle more on a larger scale.

The profit margin this year was less than 10%. Sounds horrific, I know. I invested a lot of money in the business this year. Everything from a new HVAC unit for the lobby, equipment and tools for the shop, front of house and back of house software to manage the business, to even severance packages to get the wrong people off the bus. My goal for 2020 is to see 10% growth in gross sales and net a 20% margin overall.

Currently I acting as the GM. It requires 55-60 hours/week.

In business and in life, I want to help people better their circumstances. I want to help people solve their problems. I can't do it for them, but I can definitely share my experience with them and show them that they already possess most of what they need to get the results they desire.

I hope this answers your questions and I greatly appreciate your input. Thank you again.
 
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NMdad

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You grew by nearly 100%, generated $1.1M in top line revenue, and had operating margins of about 8.5% in an automotive repair business...and you're looking to spend your time on a side hustle?

In my opinion, that's a bad idea. I would do one of two things:

1. Focus all your time and attention on increasing revenue and improving margins (though those seem pretty good for that industry).

2. Sell the business and find a new full-time endeavor.

If you go the side hustle route, you're going to find that your revenue and margins are going to drop, and not only will you not generate nearly as much profit, but the value of the business will decrease as well, giving you fewer exit strategies.

Time to either double down on this business or get out. At least that's what I'd do...
Agreed. You might want to check out Jay Abraham's book "Getting Everything You Can From All You've Got".

On a slight tangential note, you might also be interested in @eliquid's post about alignment & fulfillment, since it might give you clarity about what you want to focus on: HOT TOPIC - Not Fulfilled? Depressed? Maybe You Need An Alignment
 

MatthewFoster

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You grew by nearly 100%, generated $1.1M in top line revenue, and had operating margins of about 8.5% in an automotive repair business...and you're looking to spend your time on a side hustle?

In my opinion, that's a bad idea. I would do one of two things:

1. Focus all your time and attention on increasing revenue and improving margins (though those seem pretty good for that industry).

2. Sell the business and find a new full-time endeavor.

If you go the side hustle route, you're going to find that your revenue and margins are going to drop, and not only will you not generate nearly as much profit, but the value of the business will decrease as well, giving you fewer exit strategies.

Time to either double down on this business or get out. At least that's what I'd do...
Thank you, JScott!

Yes! I know it probably doesn't make sense.

I agree the business will not be the same without me as the GM. Don't I need 3 years of financials to sell the business at a new valuation? So I need 2 more years of these sales/margins to exit at a new valuation?

I will definitely be spending time on increasing our margins. I believe this business can yield a 25% margin. We invested a lot of money back in the business last year. Margin is at the forefront this year.

What are your thoughts on how to grow the business from here? What I mean by that is we are only open so many hours and we only have so many bays. This facility is running at near capacity. We are implementing new software to increase per ticket averages, but we are still limited by the size of our building etc.

Thanks again for your input!
 

MatthewFoster

Contributor
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Jun 1, 2019
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Crowley, Texas
Agreed. You might want to check out Jay Abraham's book "Getting Everything You Can From All You've Got".

On a slight tangential note, you might also be interested in @eliquid's post about alignment & fulfillment, since it might give you clarity about what you want to focus on: HOT TOPIC - Not Fulfilled? Depressed? Maybe You Need An Alignment
Thanks for the book and thread recommendation!
 
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21elnegocio

WholeFlips Wholesaling Houses Virtually
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Feb 28, 2012
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Hey Fastlaners!! I hope you all are making serious progress with your ventures!

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Long story in a nutshell...in 2011 a friend and I started a company from scratch. That business has grown exponentially in that time($0 in 2010, $5.8M in 2014, $31M in 2018, and $33M as of 10/31/2019). I am a minority partner in the company, but I no longer work there as an employee. Even though the partnership/friendship is ending on a bad note, I feel at least partially responsible for the company's growth and success over that time.

In late 2017 I purchased another business as an investment/side hustle. The business consistently performed at $550k annually netting an OK profit. In Oct. 2018 I was fired without warning from the first business we started in 2011. My side hustle quickly became my only hustle. So I went to work in and on the business. We wrapped up 2018 with a couple of strong months to finish at $575k. I'm happy to report that we finished 2019 with $1.1M in sales. Great news, right??

Well, for me, not so much. I still feel trapped in the slow lane!! I know I'm in the wrong vehicle, with the wrong people, in the wrong lane, and going the wrong direction. I really hope I don't sound ungrateful for the success, but I know I'm capable of more and this is just the beginning. I'm still stuck in a brick and mortar business model with a low ceiling trading my time for money...again. I think I finally learned my lesson. I'm learning as much as I can along the way and I'm always looking for ways to improve and be better.

There is no blueprint for this so I'm in limbo on where to go from here. I'm thinking I should sell information. A "How-To Guide" on what I've experienced. So here I sit on YouTube watching videos on how to create a sales funnel. Haha. Pretty comical, but hey, I'm sure somebody somewhere will pay $9.99 to find out "How I Doubled My Sales in 1 Year" or "How I Doubled My Sales Overnight".

I'm sure you've all heard "you don't know what you don't know" so I'm well aware that I don't know it all. I'm here seeking wisdom, guidance, information, or an opportunity to put what I know to work in the Fastlane! Any advice, tips, information resources, or warnings are welcomed.

My question to all is; Now what??

Thanks all and many blessings in 2020!!

I completely understand where your coming from brother, I myself is running a business that has to operate from a brick and mortar building and it has been feeling so slowlane for the past 5 months. I started to see what I can do about this and I myself will be rolling out with a course online, we will see how it performs since it is a saturated market but there is always room for to make money. I just want to make sure whatever I end up doing has the following three things so its worth my time and energy. Years can go by really quick last thing I want is to end up with another slowlane business.


I am looking for a business that is

-Scalable
-Gives you freedom
-And has an exit strategy as far as it being able to be sold or franchised


What platforms are you using to release your online course ?
 

21elnegocio

WholeFlips Wholesaling Houses Virtually
Summit Attendee
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Feb 28, 2012
570
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Downtown Phoenix, AZ
Yes you want to talk to many financial institutions. You should be calling and “woo”ing Bankers as part of your regular days duties. Look for new branches as they are looking to loan. There is SO much money available to you, many banks will do no deposit 100% financing you just have to find them.

you may consider recruiting a board of directors off linkedin and give a few % of the business away. Finding older smarter or more experienced industry vets can make all the difference.

dont just jump on any deal either, make sure the numbers are GOOD.MOTIVATED SELLER is BEST.
Overall sounds like you need to talk to more experienced industry vets and get a mentor or two. Find a chairman for your board and then start talking to dozens of lenders. You can have multiple lenders on acquisition deals. You are in the thick of it now get the business lean and profitable, hand keys to a competent manager and move on to find the next deal. You might have to cold call 30-40 stores before you find that killer deal with a motivated seller, slam dunk deal. Make sure you have a good in house financial guy. This is the fast lane path of building a large conglomerate of similar businesses and making a large 8 figure exit.


I hired a mentor a few months back to teach me this, I have my eye on something that ties into real estate since its the industry im in.
 

MatthewFoster

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
214%
Jun 1, 2019
21
45
Crowley, Texas
I completely understand where your coming from brother, I myself is running a business that has to operate from a brick and mortar building and it has been feeling so slowlane for the past 5 months. I started to see what I can do about this and I myself will be rolling out with a course online, we will see how it performs since it is a saturated market but there is always room for to make money. I just want to make sure whatever I end up doing has the following three things so its worth my time and energy. Years can go by really quick last thing I want is to end up with another slowlane business.


I am looking for a business that is

-Scalable
-Gives you freedom
-And has an exit strategy as far as it being able to be sold or franchised


What platforms are you using to release your online course ?
Nice! Congrats on your success.

How big is your staff? Are you at the store full-time, part-time, or absentee?

I haven't created any course content to post. The info product is an idea I haven't pursued. Where are you in the process? What tools did you use to create your info product?

Thanks for your time and input!
 
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