I talked to a guy who owns three McDonald's stores (friend of a friend), including one on Wall Street (NYC). He's a multi-millionaire, but he said owing the stores is just a huge headache, with 100% worker turnover every few months. He can't wait to get out of that business!

 

Dave Ramsey calls the mistakes "stupid tax". Don't worry all business owners pay stupid tax.

God knows that I have paid my share

 

 

How do you not get into debt? Are you recommending using your savings to start the business instead of a small business loan?

OR

Are you suggesting to start small so you can have no debt?

Thx

 

If you have to borrow to start a business, you put yourself in a tough situation. Now, you are trying to make a profit to pay a payment first, before you pay yourself.

You may be surprised how much of a burden even a small payment can be.

If you can't go full steam without borrowing, maybe it would be a good idea to start small. This could be done from a home office or garage.

I always loved making signs (vinyl or painted signs and vehicle lettering). In 1997, I bought the equipment needed. A sign plotter, inventory, home-made table etc. I started in my basement and parlayed my profits until I could open a retail store in 1998, all done while I kept my full time job. That was a wise move. The market was tough and I lost money for six months. After I became profitable, I was able to sell the business to one of my employees in late 1999 for a nice profit. Now, I still enjoy making signs for my own business and my autocross numbers .

I started my most recent business with $120k in savings and 12 years experience. As I mentioned before, 9/11 really hurt my business and I was faced with the possibility of needing to borrow. Thank goodness, I worked through it instead. My recovery was much faster and I am doing well.

Another example: I had a 100 hour consulting contract working for a business similar to mine; wireless. They ignored my suggestions regarding spending and borrowing and they went out of business within 1 year of starting.

Sorry for the rant. I just strongly advise against borrowing. Another alternative is to look for investors that want a piece of the business in exchange for cash up front. To get this done, it has to be a killer idea with a very detailed business plan.

 

I'm not doubting the claims from people neting millions a year from owning mcd but i am very, very curious how they are doing it.

i looked into the mcd franchise before.. crunched the numbers and to make 7 digit net profit a year from them didnt add up.

Especially that 100k gross a day claim.. Spiting out a meal every 6 seconds on a 24 hr basis seems hard to believe.

A MCD shop doesnt even have the space to accomodate that many people coming in every 6 seconds to pick up the meal being prepared every 6 seconds...

you would need a line out the door stretching around a few city blocks to make that a reality.

or put it another way. such a shop would have to have a person enter the store and another leave every 6 seconds for 24 hrs around the clock to do 100k gross a day.


something isnt adding up here..

 

this is the best thread I've seen in a while

I keep telling myself I'm destined to open my own business. I've run pretty large independent P&L for a fortune 5 corp going on 4 years now. It's very profitable & growing like crazy and it kills me to think how much cash I'd have if I was sole proprietor.

My HS best friend owns a 40 man steel fab/weld/finishing business. He started by leasing a tiny industrial space and sleeping in his office. Now he does quite well for himself. I really believe it's all about the owner/person.

Also, my wife is a independent interior designer...she brings "Trading Spaces" to the common person. It's not a ton of cash but more important, she loves it! That is the key.

 

I love this thread, its given me a lot of good information, but it's scaring the hell out of me really. I dunno, I've seen a lot of stupid people that own their own business and have many of the finer things in life, I wonder how they do it? Maybe daddy is rich and will bail them out every month or whatever, but something tells me I could do it better.

 

Kai....

The McD's im talking about are open at what?...6 am till about 10 PM.

They have about 10-20 registers, about 20-40 workers at a time, and serve well over 10 meals a minute. But remember, this is like a Times Square McDonalds, or 57th street......with millions of people worth of traffic a day.

 

Rule #1 in business.....

There are NO stupid rich people.

They might not know the names of 9 planets, but you cannot get rich by being stupid.