By George Yammouni, CEO of the Bathroom Werx Group
Make sure you have the support of your partner and family as being in business is going to consume a lot of your time so it is important that they are behind you in this undertaking.
Then start saving money so that you have at least half the purchase price in cash. Then you don’t have to borrow more than 50% of the purchase price and that will take a lot of pressure off you.
The next thing is to start thinking about what sort of business you are going to enjoy getting up every morning to go to.
Then look at the skills you currently have. Can you use those skills in your own business? If you can, that’s one thing less to learn about as there are plenty of new things to learn about in running your own business.
If you are going to be doing something completely different, then see if you can go out and work for someone who is already in this business for at least a week. Make sure you like doing this work and enjoy it! Take annual leave from your job if you have to; work for free if you have to – this will be the most valuable thing that you do and will help you enormously in making your decision.
If you are looking at buying at existing business, then I would recommend a two week trial shift with the current owner. That way you get to determine whether you like the work, confirm the weekly sales of the business, see first-hand how it runs and what is involved on a day to day basis, etc.
And there are lots of web sites that you can research to find out more about the business you want to get into and the industry that it operates in. It is very important you have a good idea of the big picture and how that can impact on the business you are looking at.
It’s not that hard. You just have to make the decision and then make a start. The more research and preparation you do the better chance you give yourself of success.
About the author
George Yammouni is CEO of the Bathroom Werx Group – a national Franchise System specialising in quick and affordable bathroom makeovers and renovations.
He is a 30year CPA veteran by profession and started his business as a Franchisee in 1986 after a career in merchant banking. He acquired the Franchisor in 1988 and began franchising in 1990.
Bathroom Werx renovates over 200 bathrooms every month around Australia for Customers, including the world’s leading Hotel groups and Government Housing Departments.
George is one of Australia’s leading exponents of service franchising and is a Past Chairman of the Franchise Council of Australia.
To contact the author email [email protected]