Knifemaking does not have to be part of it.

My current boss (demolition company) likes me and the way I do things. He has asked me to come up with a business that I would like to start with him. He will front cash and I will front brains, together we will be partners.

I know about partners and protecting myself and documenting who owns what. I am looking for good ideas for a company that is profitable in the long run. The demo business is quite impressive in its ability to bring in cash. It would be great to do some kind of spinoff of Demo but we already recycle and resell good stuff so a spinoff might be difficult.

I would like to find something that would be able to be completed by unskilled labor.

What do you people think? What would you do if you had the opportunity?

Nothing is out of bounds to suggest but I would not be interested in some industries. Anything the average wife (or me) would object to is out (opening a porno shop or building cages for securing kidnap victims).

Prefer to think about things that can be done utilizing the shop, office and 5 acres I currently have.

Lets hear your ideas.

no idea what yoou should do but if it were me i would start up an sircraft charter business, preferably floatplanes in some exotic location, now thats a job.

i think manufacturing would be something you would be after, mabe you could think of a tool that isnt readily available and make it a mass produced easily accesible item, maybe make a brand name for your self, i think someone needs to make a hobby sized surface grinder, but im not ure if there would be enough sales for you.

good luck on your search.
brett

Interesting question.

I read a book once called: The Millionaire Next Door. It said that the most profitable single propriety business in America in a coal mine. Since you live in Texas, that's out of the question.

Now I'm thinking low overhead, high return. That means service industry. The problem there is personnel--They are the product, and that brings a whole new set of challenges to the table.

For me, I like to work alone or with a small group that I like and trust. I also like to work with my hands. I think I might try to develop a way to serve the industries in which I have an interest. I might design, test, and then make and sell a line of tattoo guns. It's simple technology that fetches premium prices. A guy who can heat and form metal and who has a basic understanding of current could do it and a creative artistic guy could do it very well.

It's very tough to make ends meet as a full time knifemaker, but a few guys who serve the trade do ok (or it would seem). Darren Ellis comes to mind. He has a product line that appeals to knifemakers and a great many other crafts as well.

Bob, I have you pegged as a builder--more than that, and inovator. A short tour of your shop and all the cool gizmos and "why didn't I think of that" gadgets you have created for your own convenience showed me that. You could design and build a line of forges for example. There's a guy by the name of Ken Scharboro (I'm sure I jacked up the spelling) who does this and has an enormous Ebay store. I don't know what kind of local presence he has, but I bought a forge from him for a very good price and it works great for what it is. Punch in an ebay search for 'poor boy forge' or hobby boy forge' and you should be able to visit his store for a glimpse of his business model.

In our far too brief vist, I didn't get a chance to explore all of your interests, but I'm betting they are quite varied. Just identify a need and fill it. Sounds easy, I know, but remember this: I was in a concrete mixing plant in Missouri once. Dirty smelly place--the dirt even had dirt on it. There was a poster on the office wall (covered in dirt) that I noticed when I was getting my shipping bills signed. It read: (paraphrased) "Successful people make a habit of doing what unsuccessful people think the are too good for". I took that as, "Dirty jobs pay good."

For what it's worth buddy. I hope you make the most of the opportunity. Good luck.

Bob , I agree with alot of what Andy said. I have never met you pesonally , but from what I gather your a real "hands on " type of guy , like me.
I had a great mentor told me once " if you want to be sucessfull , then surround yourself with sucessfull people "
If I had the chance you have ....it would be.... Big D's Rod's Rail's and Ride's.
I would build sandrails , streetrods and custom motorcycles. It would require a huge shop , some tallented individuals and customers with alot of money. Probably never happen , but thats what I would do.
Good luck in your venture , sounds like the table has turned for you.

Dwane

My 2 cents...As your already in the demo and recycling business, how about considering being a one of those large dumpster contracters....Own the dumpsters and vehicle and rent them out to building sites etc..., deliver, collect and dispose of. Not difficult to train someone up and can go hand in hand with the business your already involved in...may actualy compliment it.

It's a bit of a long term investment but NY State farmers have been saved by the Food Network. Many of them instead of competing with the mega-industrial farms have gone to organics and legacy plants. Many of them are just growing things so that they are not the hot house, barely ripe fruit. With that much land you might consider the possibility of an orchard with any of the stone fruits like peaches, nuts like pecans, or any of the other fruits that would do well in this area. One of my suppliers of mammoth tooth main job is pecan growing. They take care of themselves for most of the year with some major activity during harvest. Not that it is all as easy as he makes it sound with frosts fires droughts (like the one we are still in) but it's an idea. The Central Market stores, a high end foodie sort of store, brag about how they get locally grown peaches and Dallas has more restaurants than any other city in the US from what I've read.

It would also leave you some time for your knife making.

Jim

Living in Texas and having a small piece of land already the posibility of a dirt contractor is where i would head. Build locations and lease roads. Haul dirt and rock. or maybe a hotshot company hauling oilfield equipment and supplys around.

:gossip: "Gentleman's" club! :D :rockon: :banplease

I've thought about the same thing myself. (If I've gotta work for an idiot, it might as well be one I like!) 'Course, you kinda limited the scope by cutting out anything illegal or immoral. :D

A friend of mine that has successfully started (and sold off) several businesses tells me that the most important thing is to line up customers before you start the business. If you have that, it's not a problem to get cash. Sam Colt's original pistols were very popular with the Texas Rangers. During the Mexican War, the US Army was so impressed by the effective use of the pistols by the Rangers - who were acting as scouts for the Army - that they sent a huge order. Colt had gone bankrupt and closed his business when the order came. He took it to the bank and the rest is history. If you walk in with work orders, you'll get the same response.

So, perhaps TKN is the wrong place to ask the question. Ask the customers served by the demo company what they need most. You may be surprised.

One thing that comes to mind is for you to do training. There's usually a pretty strong demand for qualified welders and such, but they can be hard to find. Same could apply to other trades. Training people to do that could be a decent business, and wouldn't require much capital. You may be able to get government money as well!!

Well shoot...if a on-line porn site is out, I can't really think of much more.:lol


Construction rental equipment is always good in TX. Try and get a small business loan or grant and hit the auction circuit for universities and state agencies. I go to a lot of these and have met several guys doing it. They buy up large dozers and such and then just lease them out.

Check out some of the medieval armouring sites. The business isn't in armour production...but tooling production. Every week it seem another 20 "new armouries" spring up. I was selling shotputs welded to 1" square bar for $40. More specialized items like creasing stakes made from 4140 or 1045 rod goes for $40-60. If you want more info on this, shoot me an email.

Making something like this for the hobbiest

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@0018833813.1168235300@ @@@&BV_EngineID=cdccaddjkllkmklcefecemldffidfki.0&adCell=P3&pid=00921754000&vertical=TOOL&ihtoken=1

There is a lot of info on doing it out there, but with your skills, could be right up your alley!

--Carl

I would think with all the time/money saving instructions that used to be on your website (by the way what happened to all of those), you could make a few of the gadgets/fixtures such as the engraver for far cheeper than some of the other places are selling them. Or even making your own knife grinder. If you could keep it competitive with KMG's prices or even better them than I know you would get buisness.

I know my step-brother was looking into one of those hydro jet cutting machines, there is a little investment up front, but the pay off seems good, espically if you could find a source for rims and wheel blanks or even making blanks for kit knives.

I don't see them as much as I used to, but five acres is plenty big enough for a car salvage, and if you specialized in say corvettes or mustangs I know people who have driven cross country to find a part to restore theirs.

A guy I go to church with makes a very nice living making custom metal fences for private individuals and larger companies.

Or you could go with metal building fabrication. I know the couple that installed my parents made pretty good money because they had seven kids and both drove new vehicles, but then too she was pretty much all he had for a crew so there wasn't as much going out to pay salaries.

Real estate is always lucrative, you could join the house flipping sensation. Or, if you don't mind putting up with people and repairs, you could invest in some rental properties.

Personnaly my dream job would be training horses with my wife and building knives. But that's me. I guess the real key is finding something you love to do and figureing out how to make money at it.

Jayson sort of touched on what I was going to suggest, real estate. The only difference is that I would look into commercial properties. The owner of your company is going to know contractors, realtors... everyone. If he demos property then he's close enough to that industry to know who to ask about deals. Commercial realestate is *huge* money. Look at it like this, you look at a property appraised at 10M and purchase for 9.5M. 5% turnover isn't that high, but when it's $500,000 it's not too shabby. Use the banks money and your boss's credit to get low or no-money down deals. The name of the game for short-term realestate is to use someone else's money, because it increases your profit margins.

You already have a bit of expertise in this area and it's not difficult in most states to get qualified as a real estate agent. It's not hands-on or shop oriented, but that's one of a few things I would do if I had someone willing to invest in me.

Buy a "gut-truck"--one of those mobile kitchens on wheels, hire a darn good cook that does authentic but simple mexican stuff, and make lunch and dinner time stops at all the warehouses, beer bottling plants, and other places with dozens and dozens of 18-wheelers waiting to load and unload, and you'd make a mint! A MINT I SAY!

I was a trucker for several years, and the gut-truck was like a visit from a favorite aunt that always showed up with goodies to eat!

Service industry pays very well..., for excellent service.

1. A mailing/printing store.
2. a pizza place eat in w/delivery or take and bake
3. espresso coffe drive through hut(s)

BOB!!

I came across a business op this week!!!!!!!!

I work in a rather infamous chemical/plastics plant. As per some government regulations, we need to test emissions from a couple units. In the past, the stack testing company would roll in a small trailer with their testing gear in it and set it up near the unit being tested. One or two guys would work with the gear on the stack while one or two sat in the trailer and ran the instruments. But this time our safety people refused to sign off on the project. Since the BP explosion in Texas City - and the subsequent government report on that - companies will no longer allow trailers in any kind of blast zone UNLESS the trailer is rated not to collapse under the pressure in that area.

Who has trailers like that? Not many - and none of the testing companies (emissions, NDT, acidizing, etc.)

The ports are full of shipping containers (because the Chinese can build them cheaper than we can recycle them). They could be strengthened and have some doors and ports added. You'd have to get an engineer to certify a blast rating. Lease or sell them. Or build some other buildings or such that can withstand the pressure without collapsing.

Your connection with the demolition folks could prove useful in setting this up. Seriously big $$$ are potential from this as every plant in Texas has turnarounds or testing scheduled for this year.

TexasJack, I sent you an email.

Bob, my weekly Rotary Club had a speaker this week that has all the answers for you, and I'm dead serious. It's called "SCORE". It's a Non-profit organization of vollunters that provide information to people wanting to start their own business. It's free for the asking. He had piles of manuals and information that covered everything. The guys that help you are businessmen in the community that donate time each week for counciling. There's no hidden charges, this is not a gimmick. I don't have the brochure in front of me, but just google it and you'll hit right on it. It's the most amazing free service I've ever seen. The #1 thing they'll help you do is set up a Business Plan, one of the most essential plans anyone in business should have. If I wasn't already established in my current job as a self employed woodworker, I'd be on their doorstep. For those that are already in a business, this "Score" thing can offer all kinds of services for you on anything, it's absolutely unreal, please contact them.
Robert (I'm not connected, I just know that I really liked this organization).

Robert,

I have used SCORE in the past. Unfortunately I did not have as much luck as apparently others have had. I went to them and asked for help in creating a business plan and was just told to research it on the web and copy one already out there and change the parts that affect me. I also worked via email counceling with them for a long time and got very wishy-washy advise that usually led to just figure it out yourself.

I quit using them and plan to just figure it out myself after I find a business I think I will like and that will support my family.

After probably 10 trips to the local SCORE office I left frustrated. Wish I could try it in another city, might be better but the Dallas area SCORE office is not living up to the hype SCORE in general has. It is as if they are afraid to get suede if their advise does not work out for you so they stay very vague in their replies.

That's to bad Bob, it's fantastic in the San Antonio area. I don't know the problem with them up there, but I'm going to send your email (less name and address) to the guy that addressed our Rotary club and see what he has to say. I wouldn't hesitate to go to the bunch in this area, and in fact I'm going to in order to talk to them about sorting out a few problems I have.

Umm, Bob, your email never got to me. Try texasjack @msn.com, or drop a pm.

Bob, have you thought of a knfie making school? Somewhat like the one in AK?

Jayson,

I have been giving classes for years but don't have the facilities for a school and doubt I could keep it busy enogh to live off of. I would love to do it but as a business I would not think it would succeed.

As a good, fun weekend, like a hammer-in, I am sure a few bucks could be made but I have to concentrate on full time income.

Thanks for the suggestion.

what about a cat or dog motel,they make a lot ,can be run buy unskilled labour(mostly)and youve got the room to build it by the sounds of it.i know 2 people who have them and there allways out fishing !!!

Barbecue ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, garlic bread/corn bread in a truck/lunch wagon.

I was thinking along the lines of that guy Hugh Hefner, he started the Playboy Club. That probably would be a fun business with a good profit margin to boot.

nothing specific to suggest but a fella I know who is extremely well off and I were chatting about business at his summer home. he told me something very interesting.

" you want to be a household name, something that someone associates with the product. ie people dont think of ibuprofin they think of 'Advil'....barring that level of market saturation just remember that those that serve the masses sleep with the classes"

I have owned and operated several businesses; ranging from extremely successful to just barely profitable. My advice is to sit down and do some soul searching as to what you are really good at and what you are passionate about and go from there. Not everyone is cut out to be in real estate nor is everyone cut out to run a SubWay. Go through the yellow pages of a big city to get a few ideas.Good luck and God bless

Thanks Murf. I have gone through the yellow pages (Dallas) several times. I have a couple things that make it hard for me to determine what to do.

First, at 50 years old, I STILL do not know what I want to be when I grow up.
Second, I have issues that restrict my physical abilities so many things are out due to that.
Third, most things I am passionate about I am not very good at.

I am to the point to thinking that Extremely profitable is more important than enjoyable due to the need to take care of my family and get some insurance coverage.