Ambition. Man, I’ve got a shitload of it, but it has to be tempered. As I learned with my old blog, just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should. Priorities make it easier to pick and choose just how far I take my financial goals. And while I’ve definitely scaled down from wanting 50-60 units on mortgaged properties and owning an office with a secretary, there are some other financial ventures I’ll be starting. And the inspiration to get the ball rolling on these ventures came from an unlikely source.
Sam has a commercial property with two storefronts. When one of them became empty, he opened up his own barbershop. The evicted tenat had a barbershop there, so it made sense to Sam not to let the materials go to waste. I knew it was going to be a failure, as the biggest problems were the employees, customers, and business model. His employees were all low-income people with no ambition. His customers were the same. And he had a very loose way to charging rent per barber chair. Once the business failed, he rented one storefront to a Somali grocery store and the other he left empty. Then his wife decided she wanted to use the space to open up a clothing store.
The store, Sonya Styles, sells Muslim clothing and oils, and they get their inventory from NYC at a discount. They’ll buy a scarf for $5 in NYC, for example, and then sell it for $10. The location is perfect since they piggy back off the customers that come into the Halal grocery store. All the problems with his first business idea are eliminated. He has no employees, as he and his wife simply alternate who will be running the store for the day. His customers are tied into an already tight knit Muslim community, brought in by the Muslim store next door that PAYS HIM rent. And the stores in NYC sell at a low enough price to generate a good profit even with moderate sales. Their business appears to be going well, and I’m quite happy to see this. It makes me glad that I didn’t cut off communications with them just yet. One of Sam’s great qualities is his willingness to try something new, a quality that myself and every entrepreneur has. Have a good business plan and then go for it. Like selling used cars for instance…
When I first came to Smalltown my plan was to buy and sell used cars, and then use that money and experience to buy properties. Things took a dive when I discovered how difficult they make it to get a dealer’s license in New York State. The biggest issue was finding a place to do the business. Sam said that I could use his commercial property’s backyard but I turned him down because I didn’t want our monies intertwined (turned out to be a great decision). Recently however, I met a janitor at the bank job who buys and sells cars without a dealer’s license. He simply finds a good deal off Craigslist, fixes it up with another guy, and then sells it for a decent profit. NYS allows an individual to buy and sell 3 vehicles a year without the need for licensing, so that works out very well since I only plan to do it that many times a year.
The biggest variables with used car sales are finding the right car and the right mechanic. Craigslist has some very good deals for cars, but I’ll have to go to NYC or Philly to get the absolute best deals. Without a dealer’s license I’ll have to put some old plates from my old BMW on them and drive carefully back to Smalltown. Once here, I won’t have to worry about getting pulled over by cops for anything. I drove for 3 years with an expired license, registration and plates, so I’ll know how to get around with the used car as I take it to get repaired. As far as the mechanic goes, I may have already found one: Security Guard Joe (or SG Joe).
SG Joe's a security guard that works at the shipping depot who I’ve known for years. He’s been working with one of the truck fleet owners on weekends, fixing trucks and learning the trade. He’s extremely hard working and is one of those guys that can be easily swayed… no, that’s too kind of a word. I can control SG Joe. He has this high regard for me since I’m the only guard who consistently does his job, and will basically do anything I say. I let him know that I’m interested in doing “something with cars” in 2016, and he got excited at the thought of extra income coming in and working for me.
I spoke to the guy he works for to get an idea of SG Joe’s skill level, and he seems to be a decent mechanic who can fix regular problems… but not complicated stuff like rebuilding transmissions. His boss also said that he’d be more than happy to help SG Joe with whatever repairs he does. That’s very good news, as I’ll have an apprentice who will work for cheap and an expert to help him when needed. Whatever else I need, I’ll learn over the next several months, as I have a lot of time before this business gets started.
As with any business idea not related to real estate, nothing can be started until I purchase Property 4. I can’t take any more risks with money since real estate is my primary vehicle for retirement. It would help if the property I buy has a big driveway, so that I can store the unregistered car there without detection. If not there, I can always use the back of Property 3, so either way would be fine. That’ll also be the place SG Joe can work on the car. Sam knows a place on Smalltown’s Westside that does good work for cheap. I’ll test them out as well, just in case things don’t work out with SG Joe. The startup cash for this venture will be very low in the beginning ($2000 max). I’m only gonna buy cheap winter rats and fix them up for minimal profit. Once I get the hang of it, I’ll buy the more expensive vehicles for the larger profits.
P.S.: Try and fail. Try and fail. One has to be willing to fail in order to succeed, as the great Paul Heyman implied.
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| An Indian-owned black barbershop. Doomed from its inception |
Sam has a commercial property with two storefronts. When one of them became empty, he opened up his own barbershop. The evicted tenat had a barbershop there, so it made sense to Sam not to let the materials go to waste. I knew it was going to be a failure, as the biggest problems were the employees, customers, and business model. His employees were all low-income people with no ambition. His customers were the same. And he had a very loose way to charging rent per barber chair. Once the business failed, he rented one storefront to a Somali grocery store and the other he left empty. Then his wife decided she wanted to use the space to open up a clothing store.
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| Prices range from $10 to $250 |
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| Oils and Perfumes |
The store, Sonya Styles, sells Muslim clothing and oils, and they get their inventory from NYC at a discount. They’ll buy a scarf for $5 in NYC, for example, and then sell it for $10. The location is perfect since they piggy back off the customers that come into the Halal grocery store. All the problems with his first business idea are eliminated. He has no employees, as he and his wife simply alternate who will be running the store for the day. His customers are tied into an already tight knit Muslim community, brought in by the Muslim store next door that PAYS HIM rent. And the stores in NYC sell at a low enough price to generate a good profit even with moderate sales. Their business appears to be going well, and I’m quite happy to see this. It makes me glad that I didn’t cut off communications with them just yet. One of Sam’s great qualities is his willingness to try something new, a quality that myself and every entrepreneur has. Have a good business plan and then go for it. Like selling used cars for instance…
When I first came to Smalltown my plan was to buy and sell used cars, and then use that money and experience to buy properties. Things took a dive when I discovered how difficult they make it to get a dealer’s license in New York State. The biggest issue was finding a place to do the business. Sam said that I could use his commercial property’s backyard but I turned him down because I didn’t want our monies intertwined (turned out to be a great decision). Recently however, I met a janitor at the bank job who buys and sells cars without a dealer’s license. He simply finds a good deal off Craigslist, fixes it up with another guy, and then sells it for a decent profit. NYS allows an individual to buy and sell 3 vehicles a year without the need for licensing, so that works out very well since I only plan to do it that many times a year.
The biggest variables with used car sales are finding the right car and the right mechanic. Craigslist has some very good deals for cars, but I’ll have to go to NYC or Philly to get the absolute best deals. Without a dealer’s license I’ll have to put some old plates from my old BMW on them and drive carefully back to Smalltown. Once here, I won’t have to worry about getting pulled over by cops for anything. I drove for 3 years with an expired license, registration and plates, so I’ll know how to get around with the used car as I take it to get repaired. As far as the mechanic goes, I may have already found one: Security Guard Joe (or SG Joe).
SG Joe's a security guard that works at the shipping depot who I’ve known for years. He’s been working with one of the truck fleet owners on weekends, fixing trucks and learning the trade. He’s extremely hard working and is one of those guys that can be easily swayed… no, that’s too kind of a word. I can control SG Joe. He has this high regard for me since I’m the only guard who consistently does his job, and will basically do anything I say. I let him know that I’m interested in doing “something with cars” in 2016, and he got excited at the thought of extra income coming in and working for me.
I spoke to the guy he works for to get an idea of SG Joe’s skill level, and he seems to be a decent mechanic who can fix regular problems… but not complicated stuff like rebuilding transmissions. His boss also said that he’d be more than happy to help SG Joe with whatever repairs he does. That’s very good news, as I’ll have an apprentice who will work for cheap and an expert to help him when needed. Whatever else I need, I’ll learn over the next several months, as I have a lot of time before this business gets started.
As with any business idea not related to real estate, nothing can be started until I purchase Property 4. I can’t take any more risks with money since real estate is my primary vehicle for retirement. It would help if the property I buy has a big driveway, so that I can store the unregistered car there without detection. If not there, I can always use the back of Property 3, so either way would be fine. That’ll also be the place SG Joe can work on the car. Sam knows a place on Smalltown’s Westside that does good work for cheap. I’ll test them out as well, just in case things don’t work out with SG Joe. The startup cash for this venture will be very low in the beginning ($2000 max). I’m only gonna buy cheap winter rats and fix them up for minimal profit. Once I get the hang of it, I’ll buy the more expensive vehicles for the larger profits.
P.S.: Try and fail. Try and fail. One has to be willing to fail in order to succeed, as the great Paul Heyman implied.
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