Investment Ideas

[Deleted member 285665]

Hello everyone!!!

I know its a Friday evening and most of you may be busy however looking for some expert guidance as I have not been getting a lot of sleep these days. Im turning 34 this year, have just become a dad recently and the last 6 months have been pretty hectic! I work within the public sector service development domain and make a decent earning circa £50k/year (before tax) with overtime etc. I don't have a great educational background nor can I carry along the skills acquired at my present job to another one as the experience gained is very exclusive and the service is a monopoly. I've been in this role for the good part of 10 years. Now here is my present situation;

A. I do not enjoy the role one tiny bit any more as its very repetitive and hours are not very sociable.
B. The management here do not recognize their staff, dont offer any courses or guidance and I haven't been promoted as mainly my supervisor and manager have been in their roles for almost 15 years and there are never any openings. I've not got a lot of chance moving to other areas or to consider any lateral movements due to lack of experience or qualifications.
C. In the coming years I could be made redundant as we are going to have a restructure and I must act at the earliest.

Having said that, it is because of this job that I have accomplished everything in my life till date. Now here's my scenario at present and which is where I need someone to guide me. I know a lot of you would suggest me to avoid getting into business which is understandable considering I do not have any background but I do need to start working for myself. Its that voice from within! I was thinking along the lines of;

A. Opening a cab firm (as I have gained a lot of experience in a related field)
B. Something e-commerce or import/export related
C. Something travel related or
D. Lastly something related to call centres.

I know the mix is vague but my interests lie in these fields. On the other hand I have even considered franchising but the options out there are too many. The only thing I was confident of was - Subway! Again I know a lot will say its as good as 'one day time job' if you only have one Subway and the hours are long however these are the facts! I'm a bit of a 'jack of all trades, master of none' kinda person so right now I am heavily confused.

I have a mortgage, a BTL mortgage, a car loan and am looking to find a way to do something I enjoy whilst making a decent living by working for myself. I am not looking to make millions, just something I would enjoy whilst having a great work life balance. Don't we all!!! Anyhow...

Financials:

- I have about 150-200k in savings. (mainly from previous property sale and some good returns on funds and stocks).
- I am looking to invest in an existing business/franchisee or a new setup with a partner.
- I am looking to make anything around £5k per month with a good work life balance.

Anyone out there who can offer some good sound advice?

Many thanks in advance

Kayne



-

 

[Alan]

I am looking to make anything around £5k per month with a good work life balance.

Very difficult.

£50k per year is a very good wage. Most people running their own business would struggle to make that ever , let alone within 3 years of starting.

If I were you ( as you have BTL ) I'd use the capital to get another BTL and stay in the job and count the money month by month.

 

[Deleted member 283937]

You sound like someone who is thoughtful and considered. Good qualities to go into business with.
You also have a decent enough lump sum to do something with.
My concern is the 'good work life balance'. Without a doubt if you work for yourself you will be putting in many long hours, especially in the early days. However it is much easier working for yourself than to work for someone else. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like work. And the sense of being in control of your own destiny is empowering.
Best of luck with which ever direction you take.

 

[Deleted member 285665]

After tax the salary averages to £33k a year or there about. Decent enough considering the times we are in, no doubt!

Staying in the job wont be an option soon when I am made redundant unfortunately and am trying to plan ahead.

The BTL is an option surely but the new tax rules dont make it very attractive and was very keen to work for myself on the lines of what I mentioned above. I love to work and a BTL wouldnt give me that pleasure! Will keep thinking...

 

[Deleted member 285665]

Thank you for your kind words Cafe Course!

If I enjoy what I am doing, the long hours will be secondary. I am not looking for any easy way out and am convinced there are no short cuts to success. I am prepared to give what it takes to be successful. Hopefully I am able to...a very confused soul right now!

 

[Clinton]

- I am looking to invest in an existing business/franchisee or a new setup with a partner.
-

My expertise is in buying and selling businesses. I've bought in excess of two dozen businesses over my career (with my own money). My warning to you: buying a business is not for the faint hearted. There are a lot of bad deals out there waiting for you. And if you haven't bought a few businesses before you are headed straight for those deals unless you have some expert advice on your side.

This is especially so when it comes to online businesses. There are so many scams there, and such sophisticated ones, that describing them would fill a whole library.

If I bought an online business today, there's a good chance I'd lose all my money. And that's despite my extensive experience with buying online businesses, my ability to do due diligence on them (hey, I wrote the book on due diligence. Literally!), the fact that I'm a qualified accountant and can understand their books, the fact that I've owned so many online businesses .... there's a 50% chance I'll get stung.

With odds of 50% why buy a business? It's easier to take a punt on GBPUSD or the S&P500.... in any direction, buy or sell, it doesn't matter. Sit back a few months and then check my account.

That's a lot less hassle than working for a living.

My advice is to steer clear of online and ecommerce businesses unless you have a partner who really knows what they're doing in this area.

And that brings me to partnerships. They can work but make sure you are both on the same page and have a proper legal agreement covering whatever understanding you've reached.

 

[Mr D]

Can get going with ecommerce relatively quickly and easily. Both amazon and ebay are big sites that many items can be sold on.
However there are pitfalls and if you fall into one then the site stops you selling. Learn to sell on each of them, they are not the same.
£5k a month would not be that hard with that kind of funding you are looking at. Good work life balance however could be tricky.
Not that uncommon for new business to work hundred hour weeks. When everything is down to you then you either pay someone to do something or do it yourself.

 

[The Byre]

If I bought an online business today, there's a good chance I'd lose all my money. And that's despite my extensive experience with buying online businesses, my ability to do due diligence on them (hey, I wrote the book on due diligence. Literally!), the fact that I'm a qualified accountant and can understand their books, the fact that I've owned so many online businesses .... there's a 50% chance I'll get stung.

And that's @Clinton, who actually knows what he is doing!

I would not even bother to start to look for an on-line business. The only ones that are for sale and are actual viable and profitable companies that are not being brokered by the partnership of Dowee, Cheatem & Howe will cost a couple million, usually more.

I work within the public sector service development domain and make a decent earning circa £50k/year (before tax) with overtime etc. I don't have a great educational background nor can I carry along the skills acquired at my present job to another one

50k gross is a good income and there just is no private employer that will pay that kind of money for a man with no qualifications or experience in a field relevant to their business.

A. Opening a cab firm (as I have gained a lot of experience in a related field)
B. Something e-commerce or import/export related
C. Something travel related or
D. Lastly something related to call centres.

Or, to put it another way (and to be brutally frank) you have no idea what it is you really want to do.

- I have about 150-200k in savings. (mainly from previous property sale and some good returns on funds and stocks).
- I am looking to invest in an existing business/franchisee or a new setup with a partner.
- I am looking to make anything around £5k per month with a good work life balance.

Anyone out there who can offer some good sound advice?

- The moment Pinocchio mentioned his savings to the lame fox and the blind cat, the fox stood on two legs and the cat looked with both eyes wide open! There is (they said) a secret website where you can plant your money and it will grow into a virtual money-tree!

- Another way to lose your money is to invest with a partner. All my businesses are partnerships of one sort or another, but boy am I careful! Each and every one is a deal I (and they) can exit at any time, or at least at a few months notice and each side is 100% responsible for their own profits and losses. And I started my first proper business back in 1979, so I have some experience in this game.

- You and a million or five others! Maybe 5k after a decade or two. Business isn't like that. There is no quick fix, no instant money-tree you can plant. It took me 20 years before my ships came home to port. Until that day came, all I did was build equity in the company, real equity, such as making sure that there were profitable systems for everything and that we had an exclusive range of services and know-how.

£5k a month with a good work-life balance? That's what you probably have right now!

 

[ADW]

From the way you have described your situation and aims, I would not be dropping my job for a chance to be in business solely. Yes, go for property as a sideline but you seem to have done very well so far. You say hours and really sociable in current job. It will be considerably worse in business for the vast majority. I haven't had 1 single day I the last 10 years where I have not spent some time doing something work related. Holidays, Xmas day....... it doesn't stop. Took quite a while and loads of grief and substantial risk to get past the 5k part. Many don't ever. Plenty lose everything even after getting good past the 5k part. Security can be fragile even when you think it is going well. You need to be prepared to sacrifice so much.

If I were you, I would try and stack the cash up on some property deals or similar and take the wage. If redundancy comes then reconsider then with a bigger lump sum pay off that might be easier to risk. You have done well thus far which has made it harder to jump in the deep end as you have more to lose. Nice place to be in.

 

[Deleted member 285665]

My expertise is in buying and selling businesses. I've bought in excess of two dozen businesses over my career (with my own money). My warning to you: buying a business is not for the faint hearted. There are a lot of bad deals out there waiting for you. And if you haven't bought a few businesses before you are headed straight for those deals unless you have some expert advice on your side.

This is especially so when it comes to online businesses. There are so many scams there, and such sophisticated ones, that describing them would fill a whole library.

If I bought an online business today, there's a good chance I'd lose all my money. And that's despite my extensive experience with buying online businesses, my ability to do due diligence on them (hey, I wrote the book on due diligence. Literally!), the fact that I'm a qualified accountant and can understand their books, the fact that I've owned so many online businesses .... there's a 50% chance I'll get stung.

With odds of 50% why buy a business? It's easier to take a punt on GBPUSD or the S&P500.... in any direction, buy or sell, it doesn't matter. Sit back a few months and then check my account.

That's a lot less hassle than working for a living.

My advice is to steer clear of online and ecommerce businesses unless you have a partner who really knows what they're doing in this area.

And that brings me to partnerships. They can work but make sure you are both on the same page and have a proper legal agreement covering whatever understanding you've reached.

@Clinton - Appreciate the sound advice given here which makes total sense. When I mentioned e-commerce I was more hinting on the lines of getting a store on Amazon. I have seen enough dodgy opportunities out there and am very much on the ball with watching out for scams etc.

Another opportunity I was considering was to import from emerging markets and selling in UK/Europe but again since I have no background its way too risky. This is where a partnership would be handy. I bring in the cash...the partner brings in the expertise! Would be good to network with someone working in this domain with extensive experience.

With your suggestion of Forex and Stocks trading, I might have to do a course or get a lot of insight as this is an area I have never considered (even though of lot of my childhood friends are now traders or investment bankers) mainly due to a lot of probability and mathematics involved. What are the basic prerequisites to get into this?

 

[Deleted member 285665]

Can get going with ecommerce relatively quickly and easily. Both amazon and ebay are big sites that many items can be sold on.
However there are pitfalls and if you fall into one then the site stops you selling. Learn to sell on each of them, they are not the same.
£5k a month would not be that hard with that kind of funding you are looking at. Good work life balance however could be tricky.
Not that uncommon for new business to work hundred hour weeks. When everything is down to you then you either pay someone to do something or do it yourself.

Totally up for the hard graft! The work life balance was more related to quit working a 9-5 from a cubicle, stuck to dual screens and an IP phone. If I am working for myself that would make me a lot more happier as an individual and the balance would automatically be achieved. Having no experience in "working for myself", I hope its not a case of the grass being greener on the other side? Who knows...ha!

 

[Clinton]

Yikes! I wasn't suggesting you play the forex markets!

... am very much on the ball with watching out for scams etc.

And how, pray, do you recognise a scam? (I'd genuinely like to know as I still haven't figured it out.)

This is where a partnership would be handy. I bring in the cash...the partner brings in the expertise!

In theory. In practice you'll have to think about structure, shares and stuff. So how do you see that working? You open an ltd company with shares split 50-50 and deposit your £200K into it without your partner having to invest anything?

 

[Mr D]

Not everyone can handle it. Yes you can set your own hours, the cost being you have to set your own hours. Friends pop in when you are working, people ring you when they are free not you free. And if your income isn't as high as you wish then you get to blame the person deciding the income. You.
Don't get me wrong, it can be immensely enjoyable and rewarding. You know that you achieved xx yourself. And what the process makes of you - having to learn lots of new things, dealing with customers, sales reps, businesses - and people wanting your money (usually, not always).

 

[Jasonmikelsson]

Hi all,

Kayne, I think it wasn't the best decision to make public your available funds. Now you don't really know who's on your side or who wants to lure you into buying something they sell.

Regarding your plans, you know best what's in your heart. You have 2 scenarios

1. You make the jump, start doing business and in the worst case scenario you decide to go back to the employee lifestyle. I am 200% it will be easy for you to find a job having all that experience! If not in the same sector then in a related one.

2. You make the jump into the unknown and do your best. Make no mistake, the business opportunities aren't on websites like this one, nobody talks about good business opportunities - everybody takes them! Without talking about it! If I were you, I would start with the one I like most - the cab firm! Do not spend too much on it because you are only at your beginning! DO NOT be disappointed if it fails, every single businessman/businesswoman had failed his/her first 1-3 business! But only being out there, in the marketplace you have the chance to come across REAL business opportunities, not navigating the Internet. You will meet new people with different businesses and all sorts of needs and ideas. That is why you need to have some money on the side, to jump on those opportunities as they come across.

So follow your instincts, your heart but be wise! Start light with what something you love doing just to have good energy and enthusiasm to carry on. Interact with other business owners to build up the "information channel" so opportunities can reach you. Thus, for example if you started a mobile catering you will be all alone in certain areas not having the opportunity to meet other business owners, therefore this kind of business won't help you on your real goal. On the other hand, if you go on the high street the chances are to actually be "in the loop". Also, if your business would "glow" everyone would like to know you and you'll receive plenty of inviting to lunch, BBQ on weekends...which is what you want. That is when you will be engaged in these "business opportunities" talks. NEVER EVER reveal you business plans (or at least not your REAL business plans) always play the not interested / not good enough card but ALWAYS do the research in every idea comes across. Whoever knocks at your door either has a good idea but no cash or an already existing business but in need for cash. Do not buy a failing business, unless you plan investing in it. Look for ideas to start YOUR future new business.

But nothing would ever come across unless you make the jump into the unknown. Not too many people have the courage of doing it and believe me, it is always better to regret something you have done than something you have not done.

Do it. Never look back, only ahead start with something you think you love.

Of course, there is the 3rd option. Go on with your life as it is. But think about the role model every parent is likely to be. Which one you prefer - the one in which you are the dad who comes home upset and always sad, without the courage of fighting the fight or the one in which you are happy, had the courage of going on his own and face the music as a man?

 

[Local Plumbers Near Me]

With that kind of money I would invest in some online courses to find out where would be the best option to invest that money.

a couple that I have found useful is tailopez.com and omgmachines.com

 

[Deleted member 285665]

Great piece of advice! Thank you much