Читать книгу Finance & Grow Your New Business - Angie Mohr - Страница 22

It was then that the perfect business quite literally fell into Craig’s lap. It was his second wedding anniversary and he had taken his wife out for dinner at an upscale French bistro. As they were enjoying their desserts, the power went out, an occurrence that was becoming all too common on the Eastern seaboard where they lived.

There were auxiliary lights in the bistro, just enough for Craig to see most of the patrons leaving, despite the servers’ quick efforts to light candles on every table. The server looking after Craig and Marnie’s table told them that some were leaving because they were uncomfortable with the blackout and some because the bistro couldn’t accept credit cards because its system worked solely on electricity. Craig sipped his wine and contemplated the money that the restaurant was losing because of the blackout, when, quite unexpectedly, the busboy tripped in the aisle and dumped a half-eaten plate of gnocchi in Craig’s lap.

“I’m so sorry,” the busboy said, cleaning up the mess. “I couldn’t see where I was going. I hate these blackouts.”

Craig wondered aloud to Marnie how many businesses were facing the same problem at that moment along the Seaboard. Business was being lost because of the lights not being on. Craig then recalled an article he had recently read in the paper about a new company called Green Power Inc. that was selling solar and wind energy solutions to both businesses and residences. Craig hadn’t given much thought to the concept until now, but suddenly realized the benefits to both business owners and homeowners.

The next morning (several hours after the lights came back on), Craig called Green Power Inc. to find out more information. Craig met with the owner that afternoon and, two weeks later, Craig was presented with an offer to buy into a new offshoot of Green Power Inc. aimed at the residential market. Craig would have a 50 percent ownership stake in the new business with Gordon, the current owner of Green Power. Craig’s responsibilities would be those of the general manager; he would run the day-to-day operations and would head up all strategic and operational planning. For this, he would be paid a salary of $67,000 plus would receive dividends as an owner of the company.

Craig spent the following week with his accountant, analyzing the offer and the potential return. He compared it to the cost of starting up his own alternative energy company and determined that the cost of starting from scratch would outweigh the additional profit from owning the entire business. He would not only have to invest in all of the marketing materials, but he would have to develop the necessary expertise in alternative energy. Craig’s best opportunity would be to buy into the new offshoot of the existing company.

You will most likely open your doors before you take in the first dollar in revenues, and you will take the enormous leap of faith that customers will actually want what you are selling the way you had it laid out in the plan.

It sounds scary but designing and building the business that exists in your head can be an extremely fulfilling and gratifying experience. So much so, that many successful entrepreneurs design and build businesses, then sell them once they’re up and running. Then they start all over again and build another one.

Here are some of the pros of building a business from scratch:

• You can design internal systems the way you want them to work right from the beginning.

• It can be less expensive than buying an existing operation.

• There is no risk of acquiring the previous owners’ liabilities or having to satisfy pre-existing warranties.

• You can manage staffing needs more carefully (i.e., you don’t inherit employees that are sub-par and/or difficult to fire).

There are some cons to building a business from scratch:

• It can be more difficult and expensive to attract investors. Because the venture doesn’t exist yet, it will be riskier for them.

• It can take longer to generate profits than with an existing business.

• It can take a long time to build name recognition and goodwill with customers.

• There is a much greater risk of failure than with a business that has a proven track record.