Dream you and me up a business

[Tinkerer]

Looks like redundancy is coming my way, to top off a totally sh!t couple of months of cascading disasters that I won't bore you with. <br /><br />I've been an employee and I've run my own businesses. I'm not likely to get a job I want or even one I'm qualified for, and quite possibly not any job, at my practically dead age of 56. Old blokes like me move too slow because of the weight of experience and knowledge we carry with us, unlike the smart young things whose only burden is the light weight of excessive hair gel and unbridled ambition.<br /><br />Rather than try to design a business for me knowing my skills etc, I'd like you to offer your ideas on your ideal businesses if you could do anything you wanted to do without being restricted by location or family responsibilities or lack of training or lack of finance and so on.<br /><br />I figure that this way somebody might come up with something I, or another member, could do that doesn't show in the routine "businesses for sale" ads and that might be satisfying as well as remunerative.

 

[pjc]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

simple........a small strip mall....<br />business #1..Pawn Shop..#2..Check Cashing Place..#3..Auto Title Loan Place..#4..Liquer Store..#5..Gentlemans Club

 

[dolluper]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Go to auctions pick up junk cheap and sell it at flee markets or e-bay the crazier stuff sells better on e-bay think grill cheese

 

[eeboater]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Judging by my latest spam emails... if you sell some kind of enlarging pill, weight loss pill, p o r n, singles dating service, or some type of work at home service................... you'll be golden.<br /><br /><br />Sean

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Lawn grooming, cut and trim. Cash on completetion, no taxes, and all the tools are probably in your shed.<br />Pet sitting, a bit more liability, but another unreported income source with no paper trail.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

My wife and I always talk about owning a "GAS-BEER-GRO-ICE-BAIT" shop beside a lake. Inventory of vienna sausages, saltines, maybe some Spam that's been on the shelf since 1969, plus nightcrawlers & minnows. Hand-poured plastic worms. Bud and Miller and maybe one Lite beer brand. One of those old chest-type coke machines with the 8oz bottles of ice cold co-cola. Jonboat rentals. Outboard repairs. Run some trot lines to supply the catfish restaurant down the road.<br /><br />"Also Fish Cleaned"<br /><br />If it works out maybe get a couple travel trailers to rent as "cabins."<br /><br />Name the place after the wife: "Gina Marina"

 

[jtexas]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Originally posted by pjc:<br /> simple........a small strip mall....<br />business #1..Pawn Shop..#2..Check Cashing Place..#3..Auto Title Loan Place..#4..Liquer Store..#5..Gentlemans Club

you forgot #6..Bail bondsman

 

[pjc]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

#6.....LOL jtexas.........

 

[Frankhanhart]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Fishing guide, on house motor repairs ?<br />Good luck Tinkerer!!

 

[neumanns]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Somebodys looking for a telemarketer in tech topics, Do I get a kickback for the referal?

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Running a brothel would be interesting.<br /><br />If it wasn't for family involvement and family greed, I would go back to my old life in a minute. I ran my families cattle ranch near the Black Hills of South Dakota. We ran cattle and horses and did little to no farming. In the evenings and slow times I opened my garage for auto repair. I repaired anything from farm equipment to vehicles to lawn mowers. <br />On other weekends and nights I worked as a reserve police officer. <br />After a tragic death in the family, the vultures came in wanting their share of the wealth, so I was faced with either borrow money to operate for the first time ever, or leave. Now here I am.<br /><br />One venture I have explored, build about 20 to 40 storage buildings near the lake. Rent them out to boaters, campers, and summer home owners. Easy money in that.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Originally posted by deputydawg:<br /> Running a brothel would be interesting.<br /><br />

There's an idea! <br /><br />I'd be a thorough interviewer with new staff and conduct regular performance appraisals.<br /><br />They're legal here and advertised in the businesses for sale column of the main newspapers. I reckon there'd still be a strong criminal element associated even with the legal ones. I'm not tough enough.

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

I had one Tink. The "Cavalier Lounge", Armagh St, Cristchurch, NZ.(pretty much smack in the middle of the city). <br />Sold it to a property developer who put up a high rise, called the BNZ building, back in '88.<br />Jeeeez, if all those little important people working in that building new what use to go on under them............<br />Had 14 on the staff. Hours ***** me out.<br />Cheers<br />Phillip I'm not joking......

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Alright just an idea I had once.<br />Lake Shasta is a very large and popular lake. During the summer months there is probably a hundred large houseboats that are commercially rented. In addition thereare literally thousands of people daily skiing, fishing, PWC's etc, etc.<br /><br />I've thought about a bait and tackle store complete with a food menu. And provide delivery.<br />Say deliver fresh bait, a hot pizza, beer, etc. via a small fleet of PWC's. <br />Everybody has a cell phone, call in your order, state location and boat number.

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

I've often wondered why the tool trucks that come around, Snap-on, Mac, etc. <br />They should sell fishing gear, guns and ammo, etc.<br />A great way for the guys to buy some toys while telling their wives it's needed tools for the job.

 

[12Footer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

I've got just what you need. I gave considerable thought to doing this myself, but don't care to start up one thing to ramp-down another.<br />Here tis;<br />There are two products on the market that clean and polish plastic. These are put-out by 3M, and come in 8oz squeeze bottles. They are "3M plastic cleaner, #39017", and "3M plastic polish, #39010".<br />They are available at NAPA stores, or wherever 3M crap is sold. Cost is around 7 buks each.<br />You'll need a high-quality cordless drill with two spare power packs and 12Vcig lighter quick-chharger.<br /><br />Buy two of those generic catshup squeeze bottles used in resturaunts ,,to put the products in.<br />Open an add in your local classifieds, offering a repair for cloudy or yellowed headlamp covers on cars, $40 per side, or 60 for both.<br />Follow the directions on the bottles (write them down before you throw the two empty bottles away).<br />They take 10-15 minutes per side, and the end result is astounding! Truely as good as new, provided the inside is not moldy or dirty, which is rare. <br />Gaurantee for a year to three years, depending upon your acceptance of risk.<br />Ca----ching.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Originally posted by Kiwi Phil:<br /> I had one Tink. The "Cavalier Lounge", Armagh St, Cristchurch, NZ.(pretty much smack in the middle of the city). <br />Sold it to a property developer who put up a high rise, called the BNZ building, back in '88.<br />Jeeeez, if all those little important people working in that building new what use to go on under them............<br />Had 14 on the staff. Hours ***** me out.<br />Cheers<br />Phillip I'm not joking......

Phil<br /><br />You might have got it away with it in NZ, but there's laws here about doing things to sheep. <br /><br />Seriously, was it legal there?<br /><br />Even though it's legal here I've always suspected that if you tread on someone's financial toes you might get a visit from a couple of gorillas who explain most convincingly the advantages of shutting up shop. Or selling your shop to them real cheap. Or why protection money is a great idea if you want to keep your kneecaps on the front of your legs. And so on.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Originally posted by 12Footer:<br /> I've got just what you need. I gave considerable thought to doing this myself, but don't care to start up one thing to ramp-down another.<br />Here tis;<br />There are two products on the market that clean and polish plastic. These are put-out by 3M, and come in 8oz squeeze bottles. They are "3M plastic cleaner, #39017", and "3M plastic polish, #39010".<br />They are available at NAPA stores, or wherever 3M crap is sold. Cost is around 7 buks each.<br />You'll need a high-quality cordless drill with two spare power packs and 12Vcig lighter quick-chharger.<br /><br />Buy two of those generic catshup squeeze bottles used in resturaunts ,,to put the products in.<br />Open an add in your local classifieds, offering a repair for cloudy or yellowed headlamp covers on cars, $40 per side, or 60 for both.<br />Follow the directions on the bottles (write them down before you throw the two empty bottles away).<br />They take 10-15 minutes per side, and the end result is astounding! Truely as good as new, provided the inside is not moldy or dirty, which is rare. <br />Gaurantee for a year to three years, depending upon your acceptance of risk.<br />Ca----ching.

I've been thinking along parallel lines on a bigger scale about boat detailing / fibreglass repolishing.<br /><br />The problem is that the boats that need it the most are probably worth the least so the owners won't pay.<br /><br />I wonder about a lot of small job mobile services like car vinyl or paint chip repair. Do you think people really use them, outside the car trade?

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

Skinnywater<br /><br />Gun and ammo idea probably wouldn't work here because of licensing and gun storage requirements. They'd bring out the SWAT team if you were found demonstrating a gun in the street. <br /><br />Delivering stuff on the water is a neat idea, especially as a lot of people have GPS and you could find them OK. Used to be a similar service in my suburb that'd buy food or grog for you and deliver it for a fee. I used it plenty of times when I figured I was over the alcohol limit for driving to get more grog or pizza or whatever.<br /><br />Maybe it could be combined with a tow service and other things for add ons.<br /><br />Don't necessarily have to do the cooking. Just form an alliance with a food outlet that's already there.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Dream you and me up a business

jtexas<br /><br />You wouldn't be a fan of James Lee Burke books would you? Sounds like his place.