aaarrrgghhhhh - all that hard work for nothing?

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

I started up the fruit and veg box business 18 months ago - for a wee while there I was posting a regular update on my progress - I'll maybe try find it and link it on later I started the company as I was expecting to be made redundant from my regular job Anyway, I got news that I wasn't being made redundant and a few weeks earlier I had the even better news that my wife was pregnant. So i made the decision to sell the business - as between the job and the business it was close to a 24/7 commitment Anyway, the guy who took the business on worked for me for the past 8 months 7 weeks (6.5 if we want to be accurate) after taking the business on, the guy says he can't cope & he doesn't want to carry it on - so it's gonna close. I'm raging Anyone in central scotland want to pick up the bones of a pretty decent fruit and veg box business - get in touch. Could possibly be relocated if you wanted to come up and get some training/experience and the website grrrrrr - i'm raging tonight. On the plus side, at least i'm not out of pocket! Just sad to see the wee business will be no more.

SparkMediaIndustries · Jul 12, 2011

sellickbhoy said:
I started up the fruit and veg box business 18 months ago - for a wee while there I was posting a regular update on my progress - I'll maybe try find it and link it on later I started the company as I was expecting to be made redundant from my regular job Anyway, I got news that I wasn't being made redundant and a few weeks earlier I had the even better news that my wife was pregnant. So i made the decision to sell the business - as between the job and the business it was close to a 24/7 commitment Anyway, the guy who took the business on worked for me for the past 8 months 7 weeks (6.5 if we want to be accurate) after taking the business on, the guy says he can't cope & he doesn't want to carry it on - so it's gonna close. I'm raging Anyone in central scotland want to pick up the bones of a pretty decent fruit and veg box business - get in touch. Could possibly be relocated if you wanted to come up and get some training/experience and the website grrrrrr - i'm raging tonight. On the plus side, at least i'm not out of pocket! Just sad to see the wee business will be no more.

Am confused what is the business exactly all i got out of that was that it was closing and a fruit and veg business is it based in a shop on the high street.

Whats the problem with employing someone

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

its a fruit and veg box business - no shop, just deliver to homes If I simply employed someone - I'd still be involved in the day to day of the business. Bills, complaints, issues - employees don't look after the business the way you'd look after it yourself so I'd end up working as many hours as them! and with a child on the way, I'd rather close it than miss anytime with my new family some of you may understand that position, i suspect many of you won't - but as i have a comfortable (and no stable) regular 9-5 income, I'm choosing the easier life

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THE FORMATTING? Why can't i get nice paragraphs anymore instead of one long incoherent ramble??????

SparkMediaIndustries · Jul 12, 2011

sellickbhoy said:
its a fruit and veg box business - no shop, just deliver to homes If I simply employed someone - I'd still be involved in the day to day of the business. Bills, complaints, issues - employees don't look after the business the way you'd look after it yourself so I'd end up working as many hours as them! and with a child on the way, I'd rather close it than miss anytime with my new family some of you may understand that position, i suspect many of you won't - but as i have a comfortable (and no stable) regular 9-5 income, I'm choosing the easier life

Can you email me some more information about it please like website how it was ran by the other owner, how was orders processed. [email protected].

I will look into it and maybe run it for you but am Liverpool based would that be a problem.

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

wee PM sent Spark!

the customer base would be worth nothing to you in Liverpool, but would be happy to let you ahve the website/name/logo whatever to trade with

will happily help you out with some training on the business/etc as well - but i'm in scotland, doubt there would be much "good will" to pass on - you'd be starting from scratch really.

MASSEY · Jul 12, 2011

sellickbhoy said:
WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THE FORMATTING? Why can't i get nice paragraphs anymore instead of one long incoherent ramble??????

You

Must

Be

Copying

And

Pasting

Formatting

Go

Out

Of

Window

MASSEY · Jul 12, 2011

So really what you sold your partner was the customer base?

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

naw, its not that at all.

I have installed a plug in called noscript - and that seems to stop me formatting my posts on here. I've now disabled it on this site and look - formatting is back

woohoo

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

MASSEY said:
So really what you sold your partner was the customer base?

no, he got lock stock and barrel - existing customer base, vehicle, premise, equipment, supplier contacts, marketing materials, staff, training

But of course, unless you are near me - almost none of that is any good to anyone else

MASSEY · Jul 12, 2011

Maybe you should offer him half of what he paid you to buy it back, then re sell it? do a delboy on him.

sellickbhoy · Jul 12, 2011

why buy it? if he wants to pack it in i'll let him close it and simply start again

If someone wants it and is willing to put in the effort, I'll gladly consider some form of silent partner type arrangement. I'll provide the training, know how, customer base and some capital - someone can do the work!

luvbusiness · Jul 13, 2011

Seems such a shame ..I remember reading some of your posts when you were starting up.As you say you put some hard work into that

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

luvbusiness said:
Seems such a shame ..I remember reading some of your posts when you were starting up.As you say you put some hard work into that

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=153888

think that was my last weekly update - week 14, it has a link to week 13 - and all the way back to week 1

i might read them all again later this week - when i'm not in such a foul mood

deniser · Jul 13, 2011

I can understand though that the person you employed to work for you may not be capable of running the business himself. Maybe why he was looking for a job in the first place. Some people are not cut out to run a business.....

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

deniser said:
I can understand though that the person you employed to work for you may not be capable of running the business himself. Maybe why he was looking for a job in the first place. Some people are not cut out to run a business.....

i know what you mean, however, this guy approached me with the idea of taking it on from me (or getting his own area) - and apparently he has ran his own business in the past. I guess the key point there was that he HAD ran them in the past - but what happened to them

roydmoorian · Jul 13, 2011

How sure are you that redundancy won't rear it's ugly head again ?

If I were you I would seriously consider keeping a finger in the Veg-box business if it really is as good as you suggest, still growing and not being affected by the current downturn in the economy.

Yes, you do need a certain amount of time with your new family but you also need to provide for them

tony84 · Jul 13, 2011

I wasnt aware you sold it. I quite enjoyed reading the successful updates.

It seems strange that he is closing a successful business! Surely he must know someone he could take on to help wth the running?

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

roydmoorian said:
How sure are you that redundancy won't rear it's ugly head again ?

If I were you I would seriously consider keeping a finger in the Veg-box business if it really is as good as you suggest, still growing and not being affected by the current downturn in the economy.

Yes, you do need a certain amount of time with your new family but you also need to provide for them

Can never be sure that it won't raise it's ugly head again, but won't be in the next 12 months..........if at that point there is no more signs of it reappearing, then chances are my good lady wife will not be going back to work, but if it's on the horizon, she'll go back to work and I'll stay at home with the baby

I did have plans to keep a "finger" in the veg box business and i will probably continue to do so - but will now need to be in another guise.

basically, I don't want to be involved in the day to day running of the business anymore (not on top of my 9-5 job and a new baby on the go) I am more than happy to be a partner/investor/adviser working with someone else wanting to set up their own business - but just not the 24/7, always on call type involvement running your own business means.

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

tony84 said:
I wasnt aware you sold it. I quite enjoyed reading the successful updates.

It seems strange that he is closing a successful business! Surely he must know someone he could take on to help wth the running?

its not so much he's closing a successful business, simply enough he's not prepared to work on the business.

I think he thought he could simply turn up in the morning, count the cash, go home at night and largely do nothing all day long. If it was that simple - i'd never have sold the business in the 1st place.

All things considered, i'm pretty shocked at his attitude. in the 1st few weeks I'd be surprised if he put in more than 20 hours a week - mon to fri. he certainly made absolutely no attempts to LEARN about the business, meet his customers.

its really baffling as it was a complete about face from all the things he was saying before taking it on.

really confusing situation.

So, i'm now working with him to find someone else to take on the existing business - he'll just need to keep it going until then.

Billmccallum · Jul 13, 2011

Were in Scotland?

Chris Ashdown · Jul 13, 2011

Is it fair to blame him

Maybe it's just a difference in percieved attitude or personality.

Like a well run pub changes landlord and every one leaves to look for a new watering hole. the new persons face just does not fit the expectations of the old customers and soon the landlord gets disolusioned and that increases the problem

Matbe he cut the quality or over priced the service or just found he could not live on the income

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

the company is based right smack bang in the middle of the central belt near Falkirk/Linlithgow

we have customers throughout west lothian, a wee touch in Fife, Edinburgh and falkirk - well placed for expansion from Stirling, North lanarkshire, Edinburgh, Midlothian and Fife.

sellickbhoy · Jul 13, 2011

Chris Ashdown said:
Is it fair to blame him

Obviously I think so!!!!

Maybe it's just a difference in percieved attitude or personality.

Like a well run pub changes landlord and every one leaves to look for a new watering hole. the new persons face just does not fit the expectations of the old customers and soon the landlord gets disolusioned and that increases the problem

thats not the problem. he has actually worked in the business since September last year as a delivery driver, almost ALL of the customers know him, they get on with him, certainly no complaints or issues - he's very good at speaking to people he's just met and I thought that his way with customers would be perfect for the feel/vibe of the business and the existing customer base.

Maybe he cut the quality or over priced the service or just found he could not live on the income

Nope, not that either - as part of the transition I was still updating the pricing on the website for him and he was using the same supply base/produce.

I would agree he he couldn't live on the income though......that's because instead of doing any work himself, he doubled the staff hours and paid them to do work for him - leaving nothing left for him at the end of the week

his personal circumstances are such that he was only looking for a small income of around £500-600 a month to pay the household bills. (ah, the joys of being mortgage free after a couple of nice property deals and a wife with a decent paying job)

Ding · Jul 13, 2011

I read your 14 week story this morning. I was so interested, I searched for the nine month planning process too.
Alas, If you ever wrote about it, there is no longer a record of it.
Perhaps put the whole process into an ebook and sell it.

vvaannmmaann · Jul 13, 2011

Some people are just not cut out to "take the lead" and are happy to be told what to do.
If the guy was happy just doing the driving and carrying the boxes,perhaps it was the level he was comfortable with.Also he may not have fully understood what you actually did behind the scenes?

KateCB · Jul 13, 2011

Can I PM you about this - have someone in Arbroath who I think may jump at this chance?

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