Starting your own business
- Thread starter ruxCYtable
- Start date
He was really looking for us to validate his already cemented opinion. :twitcy:
Not judging . . . I'd do the same thing. :wink:
No, I didn't actually. If you re-read my post, I asked for entrepreneurs to share their experiences. I got some of that but most of what I got was a lot of criticism.
Partnerships are the area where I would be hesitant. It is really hard to be on the same page and without clearly defining everything before you start you are asking for problems. I am just starting to run my own small business but its not a franchise and has been in business for 20 years. I could never work in a corporate setting as there are too many idiots making too many decisions so I like the freedom. The money, however, is not as good at least for now.
I would do it without question. I had a franchise locked up for something else in CR about 15 years ago and walked away because it didn't seem like it was the right time. Now someone else has it and is making all my $$$$.
Wife still whines about us not doing it. Sounds like you're in great shape so go for it......Let's face it though, it's a sales/marketing job in the end and you first need to polish those skills and sell your wife on it. If you haven't done so, first find out if you can lock up the franchise without risk. Then get busy on the business plan and if needed get professional help. Do all that on your own and go to the wife with the business plan and sell her on the idea. If you can do that, you're ready to get going on the pizza sales!
Good luck!
Criticism isn't bad, it makes us all better. I am sorry if any of my posts offended you. I wasn't trying to attack or criticize you and your plan, just saying that in my experiences of being my own boss that if the wife wasn't on board it would cause major issues. Like choose the farm vs wife type issues.
Like I said in earlier posts, I hope you can get the wife on board and do it. It sounds like you are passionate about it and have the financial situation to make it happen.
It seems you also got a number of common responses from respectable posters indicating that there is a red flag in your proposed scenario that needs attention. If you don't value those opinions, at the least, you might get the advise of the franchisor regarding what to do if the spouse is not on board.
Was in your shoes 13 years ago. Wife is risk averse. I would have been divorced most likely at my old job. Went against the wife's wishes and went self-employed. Within a year wife was happier and about five years ago I considered doing a part time gig since my job was kinda auto pilot and wife didn't want me to lose the freedom I had.
Tell her how miserable, if you truly are, you are at your job and lay out the benefits. One other option is if you can continue with both jobs even for a few months, would get you on your feet a little at least.
Tell her how miserable, if you truly are, you are at your job and lay out the benefits. One other option is if you can continue with both jobs even for a few months, would get you on your feet a little at least.
In case anyone cares, I decided to pass on the opportunity. Reasons were mostly financial and risk-related but also because Mrs. ruxCYtable wasn't fully onboard.
So, if any entrepreneurs out there are interested, the North Liberty PM's will be showing up on their website soon as available.
So, if any entrepreneurs out there are interested, the North Liberty PM's will be showing up on their website soon as available.
was interested in seeing how this went. Hopefully a better opportunity that you are both comfortable with will present itself.
The main sticking point was me quitting my job four years before we'd have a kid in college. Although I feel we could have made it work in the long-term, we were just never 100% comfortable with it. Moving on...
You have my sympathy.
Just remember this the next time she wants to spend money on something and throw it back in her face
You have my sympathy.
Just remember this the next time she wants to spend money on something and throw it back in her face
Because that always goes over well.
I'm not upset. Her concerns were valid. She's onboard with me starting a business but preferably something that allows me to keep my current job for a while with lower up-front costs.You have my sympathy.
Just remember this the next time she wants to spend money on something and throw it back in her face
There were other issues that emerged that concerned me as well so it wasn't as if she just slammed the door shut on it unilaterally.
Sorry to hear that.
You will never be 100% comfortable, the way you describe it, your wife is fairly risk averse, so is mine. Now, our procedure is I handle the businesses and she stays out of the way. We would be divorced if we didn't do this.
You will never be 100% comfortable, the way you describe it, your wife is fairly risk averse, so is mine. Now, our procedure is I handle the businesses and she stays out of the way. We would be divorced if we didn't do this.
Well....hopefully he doesn't have your mentality then. He needs to expect to succeed not hope he doesn't fail because you cant become successful that way.
Thanks for the update. How was dealing with the franchisee? Did they help with financial projections and/or were they close the yours? One concern I've always heard from franchises is they over-inflate your revenue.
And with their recent price increases and the competition in the pizza industry, you can get pizza baked pizza for cheaper than unbaked now. The only major benefit I can see by having a PM is they take food stamps.
I have a good impression of the company and feel they were being forthright and honest.
They broke their stores into three categories: High-performing, mid-performing and low-performing and gave average revenue and expenses each category.
They make no promises and encourage you to do your own due diligence, which included speaking with existing franchisees. What we found was that area franchisees didn't want to speak with us because they saw us as incoming competition. One flat-out refused to speak to us, others were friendly but "guarded" about sharing much in the way of financial information.
My gut feeling is, a NL store would fall somewhere in the mid-performing but I have nothing on which to base that feeling.
Good company, good product, I'll still be a customer, just wasn't the right thing at the right time.
As for the cost of their products, it is getting up there with the big names and that has to be a concern. That said, they are committed to using fresh products, making their own dough daily, mixing their own sauces, etc. I know that Pizza Hut has gone to doing everything frozen in the last two decades and there is a noticeable quality decline from their product now to when I was an assistant manager for them 25 years ago. Frozen dough, premade sauces and fake cheese and fillers in their toppings. Whether they can continue to make it work or not, who knows, but PMs is committed to making a quality product with natural ingredients. That much I will say about them.