Question for people that have started their own business

[General of Darkness]

I've been in tech sales now for over 20 years, and I'm just sick of it. Most people might not recognize this but I'm a habitual hobbiest. Every hobby or sport I've done I've been successful at it.

So here's my idea because there is a void with this in L.A..

And it's a very simple one, rent a warehouse space and provide Dog Protection training, standard dog training, and providing dogs where the need arises. The big money is in selling dogs.

Doing a simple search, it seems like most places go for somewhere about $1.25 a square foot and I thinking about something around 2K square feet. I can get the trainers, and the dogs, and hopefully get some once a month trainings from people I trust.

There was a guy that did the same thing and made a kILLING, but shoved the profits up his nose.

I've got to work on the numbers but I think it's very much doable for a 12 month run.

So any advice would really be appreciated.

FYI - Michael Ellis is doing really good in the warehouse atmosphere in Arizona.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15QnSF_tZ8

[General of Darkness]

So no advice? Interesting.

[chad]

started, owned, and sold 3 of them. figure out what you think your expenses will be, and then double that number. DOUBLE IT. figure out the amount of time you have to spend fucking around with the city & state, and double that as well. don't even try the taxes yourself, get a GOOOOOOOD cpa. it can be done and is awesome when you do, but most people vastly underestimate the loss side of the balance statement. i got my ass cleaned on the first one. number 2 and 3 are why i can post on here all day long at 42 years old.

[midnight rambler]

I don't know how many entremanures there are on here, I'm thinking not too many.

My suggestions: Do your due diligence, LOTS of it. Check out the competition, how well are they doing? Have they been at it very long? Are they struggling? Have they been struggling for years? In the field you're considering perception is key - if you have a name built up you can sell plain old shit and the rubes will lap it up like manna from Heaven (e.g. Cesar Millan) OR you can be REALLY good at dog training and be in a constant struggle for cash flow (e.g. Ken White or Dean Calderon). I'm thinking you HAVE to have a draw in the field you're considering, something that makes you stand out above the din. Most importantly imo you need to be extremely personable yet very sincere when dealing with people regarding their dogs or any dog they may want to acquire. And you know as well as I do how much utter bullshit is involved with selling/placing 'protection dogs' - everyone hypes theirs as 'the best ANYWHERE, WITHOUT PEER'.

[Glass]

I think you should do the numbers. Passion for an idea is 90% of what you need to succeed. I'm not sure of the training you do, is it an internationally recognised method or grading?

I'm coming from only knowing of regular obedience training or what they call down here, police dog training or something equivalent. Apparently it's quite an achievement to have a dog that passes the police dog tests.

I don't know if its really police dog training but obstacles and all that kind of thing but that's what they call it anyways.

Are there places you can go and do demonstrations?

[osoab]

6 weeks ago you were still bolting back to Croatia. what gives? big investment for someone planning on bolting.

I am interested in answers. looking to make a change myself.

[osoab]

i wouldn't call the clientele cunts and cockholsters right off the bat either.

[Cebu_4_2]

Video rendering sucks, 12 minutes and I cant get the first 3 minutes.

GoD, anything that works is good, I have like 10 businesses and not one does the whole job. If you believe this will work than it will man. "if you build it than it will come" This is a pretty straight forward analogy of reality. Your there, do it!

[Cebu_4_2]

I try to quit overhead, that just makes other people money. Figure a way or move where overhead don't eat into the profits.

[Hitch]

i wouldn't call the clientele cunts and cockholsters right off the bat either.

This, and also don't stab anyone in the dick if they are late on a payment. :)

General, I too am interested in starting my own business. As suggested double the costs, what I'm told. Also, figure your business will not be profitable for at least 2 years. So, are you going to keep your current job, or plunge 100% into the business? Make sure you can live comfortably and cover your living expenses.

I'm going to wait at least a year before starting mine just to do more research. I want to minimize the surprises.

[crimethink]

Go for it! You love dogs, you're good with dogs, and protection dogs is a growth industry, especially in a state where "Evil Guns" are being ever-more restricted.

Train them well, and you'll quickly make a name for yourself - a brand name that will bring customers to you.

[madfranks]

If you need a California licensed architect to lay out your space and get the required permits, PM me.

[Ponce]

Dont get a business license till you start making some money.......meanwhile is just a hobby.......and even with a business license you can say that you havent made any money for three years.........the more that the government knows about what you are doing the more that they will try to get from you..........."Don't talk to much, and you wont pay to much"

V

[zap]

Don't forget everyone is out to sue you... Liability Ins.

[Glass]

Liability Insurance is a good one. Pricey though. I've had some close calls. You can't imagine every scenario that could happen. Mine takes about a month to get sorted every year. Pages of questions and going through the last 5 years of records and checking what you said on last years proposal. It's just about the most important thing I do every year. And I don't do it for myself. I do it for the people I do business with. To cover them. That's the way I look at it.

[Serpo]

Don't forget everyone is out to sue you... Liability Ins.


Yes we wouldnt want insurance companies to miss out on their slice of the pie......................

[Serpo]

Plus this sounds like a great business proposal, if you have it in your mind to do then it can happen ,as long as it dosnt go to the dogs .

[Shami-Amourae]

You seem to already know what you want to do. You are doing something based on a passion you have (dogs.) The most important key to success is loving what you do, and doing that with passion. Your customers will see your passion, and it will build customer loyalty.

My business is 100% online and its such an obscure niche that no government agency knows WTF it is or how to regulate it so I've virtually zero regulation. When you get into things with buildings and stuff I cannot help you but expect to get taxed to death in LA. The good thing about it is you'll meet a ton of likeminded people. Most of my friends were/are past customers. It's a great way to meet people.

Just some advice from my experiences:


If you mess up on your product/service it may be an opportunity to rectify/fix it in a way that seriously impresses a customer (if you suck you will just piss off the customer.)
I've had bloggers and critics who have bashed some of my work, and then I'll contact directly and ask them how I can improve. Then I fix the problems and many are deeply impressed and go from critical to supportive. Getting local bloggers/YouTubers in your area to support you is important.
Consider offering free services for the first time or so when you're first starting up your business. Offer lower prices than your competitor for the first time to break into the scene and give a serious challenge to your competitor. You will want to shine to try to steal some of his/her (potential or re-occurring) customers. This is how you get your foot in the door. I have a friend who runs an independent house cleaning service. She moved to a new town a year ago (then came back later since of other reasons), and had to re-establish her business in this new town where she has zero contacts. She went to girly places like beauty salons and just talks to people, being friendly, and offers her business to free. It helps to have good social skills where you can just meet people and work it into a conversation "Oh I am starting a so-and-so business. Would you like to try it for free? No strings attached." So she cleans a few people's houses, does a great job. Many of them tell their friends and word spreads. Within a month she is already charging people and making good money and after a couple months she can't keep up with work demand for her services since she has good customer repertoire, works hard, and is passionate about everything, which her customers recognize.
Watch YouTube tutorials. No seriously. There's great tutorials for everything including starting a dog training business. Dealing with building codes. And stuff like that.
In a place with heavy regulations like LA it may be smarter to buy out a business who already has the permits and building foundations set rather than doing everything from scratch, which is more costly and you're at more of the mercy of bureaucrats. Do research about how many businesses like yours succeed and fail. Do a lot of research before you make this decision. Expect failure and dream of success. You'll work harder and that may push you to succeed.
Do whatever you can to get customers to LOVE you. Create a logo and business name that is easy to remember. My business name is actually quite simple and stupid, but everyone remembers it and everyone remembers my logo (my business partner came up with it and she's an expert on marketing.) That is also important to brand awareness.
Build symbiotic relationships with other businesses with barter. For example, you may need a web developer for a website, so find one who is into dogs and wants dog training, and exchange services for free. Barter with other businesses whenever you can. It helps build business relationships that last. Doing this is smart since you can also cross-advertise. I may advertise another business that doesn't directly compete with me but offers me services, and vice-versa with the other business. This is a great way to get free marketing and people working for you.
Make a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog, and whatever. Post related news informations relating to your interest (dogs) so you can also have dog enthusiasts follow you who later may consider your services. Having a web presence is important and try to build a cult following. This helps establish you as the expert (even if you aren't,) and people will take you more seriously.