I just started a business in September. It is an Ebay consignment shop.
Business is going pretty well for such an early stage. My store is located at probably the best place it could be in my town, the downtown area. Most of the business I get is from people who drove or walked by and saw my sign. The rent is about 1/2 of what anyone else is paying in this area plus it's about 3x the size I need now!
I work completely by myself. The place could use a few improvements to make things look and work better. Having just 1 other employee would help tremendously.
I have put together an excellent business with great location, standing, awareness, management and selling style.
I started this with a very small investment. It seems like I didn't think about the economics clearly. While I do have money coming in, I haven't made money yet, so I have no income!!
I would love to sell the business because I'm sure with just a little more investment, things would be doing much better.|||The business is to young. If you need money to expand think of a partner or financier.
A finansier is the safest, but they will be looking for a business or marketing plan that will turn the business around as well as surety.
Partnerships can be mutually bennefitial, but make sure about your parner. Think it through.
Choosing a business partner is something you want to put a great deal of thought into. Like anything else, having a business partner has an upside and a downside. So before you sign those partnership papers and head out for a celebratory drink, you want to make sure you鈥檝e chosen the right one for your the business. Here are some questions to guide you in making your decision.
Are you compatible? Being great golfing buddies does not mean that the two of you will get along well as business partners. You want to be comfortable with your partner and enjoy being around them. Still, in most cases, a too-close friendship is not advised.
Being extremely close friends with you business partner can keep you from challenging them or offering constructive criticism. This might inhibit your partner also. This can cause resentments to flair up between you that are difficult, if not impossible, to resolve. So when choosing your business partner, make sure the person is someone you鈥檒l enjoy being with, but remember that your business must take priority over feelings and friendship.
Do you share the same values? A business partner should share your business values. You may not approach business or your work in the same manner, but when it comes to the big picture, like how to grow the business and what the goals of your business are, your partner should be in agreement.
Sharing the same values with your partner gives both your partnership and the business a better shot at success and greater productivity.
Is the person鈥檚 personal life stable?
Knowing this is important because too often personal dramas have a way of spilling over into a person鈥檚 work life. While everyone will go through times when this cannot be helped, a person whose life is a high drama all the time can be a drain on you, rather than a help. The whole purpose of having a partner is to have someone to share the load. If your business partner is something of a drama king or queen, it鈥檚 likely they鈥檒l be unable to give the business the attention and dedication it needs to be successful.
Do you have a common vision?
Where your business is concerned, the two of you need to have the same goals and beliefs about what your home based business is about, where you want it to go, and how you want it to get there. Agreeing on these fundamentals can make or break a home based business. While differences of opinion are always going to occur and can even be good in that they may open your eyes to new, better ways of doing things, agreement on the fundamentals is vital to ensuring the business will succeed.
What skills and abilities will the person bring to the business? This should be a lot more than just wanting to have his/her own business, just like you do. And it鈥檚 usually better when the partner has a totally different skills and talents than you have. If both of you are only interested and capable of doing the exact, same tasks, then the business will not be a well-rounded one. This can also cause jealousy down the road when one of you, perhaps, gets more recognition than the other. Good business partners have abilities that complement each other鈥攎uch like they do in a good marriage!|||I am not a business advisor, although I am a business owner.
It is going to be hard to sale a business that is not yet profitable.
Everything you state about the business sounds great, and it might sale, but not for nearly the amount if you were well established.
The value of your business appreciates as you gain customers and your profit potential increases.
My answer would have to be no, do not sale the business yet, as if this is true that it will be profitable, its current market value could be 100-fold when it surpasses its break-even point.
It takes at least two years for a business to be well established, on average.
In China, they plan about a 7 year break-even analysis, and invest so that they can lose money for seven years.
