Family/Business ideas...

[Regular Guy]

Of course, there are many entrepreneurs on this particular board, in a jewelry way...this is natural.

But, as someone who is 51 and untrained in this field of expertise...I probably will do better being a heckler in the grandstands, rather than a newly branded entrepreneur in this area.

But, I have 2 youngish sons (8 &12), with my wife and I at least contemplating a family business to involve our older son.

There is a franchise fair in DC this weekend, and though I don''t really look forward to going, and might rather have my own brilliant idea about how to have a happy career to take me and possibly my son(s) & wife into retirement...well...any other bright ideas out there?

I''d expect to continue my current livelihood in publishing and training for quite a period, and possibly gin up something on the side, during...

Obviously, such choices are individualistic, by their nature. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks in advance.

Warm regards,

 

[eks6426]

Going into business for yourself and be a very rewarding and a very frustrating experience. Before jumping into it, I would recommend doing a lot of research. Read up on the opportunities to get an idea of what sort of business you want to start...do you want to run a retail store, do you want to manufacture something, sell a service etc? Then look at the market--how would your potential business fit? What are the competitors like? Then look for specific businesses in that category. Franchises can be good or bad. A lot of times with franchises you are paying for the knowledge of how to do the business plus the brand name. A lot of times the brand name only matters if it is something really well known. So, before you buy a franchise consider if you could start the same sort of business without going the franchise route? If you do decide to go franchise, talk to other franchise owners about the good and the bad.

My husband and I own a Nextel dealership which isn''t a true franchise but has some similar factors. We''ve definitely learned a lot. I work full time outside of the Nextel dealership. My nights are spent doing things for the business...books, ordering, organizing etc. Plus we have 2 kids...10 and 17. Working full time and running a business is hard and tiring. If I could quit my "real" job and work on the Nextel full time, we''d get the business moving faster, but it''s a trade off because we need the income of my "real" job not to mention the insurance. My husband is full time in Nextel. I''d say I work about 70 each week between my real job and the business we own.

The best advice someone told me is to choose a business that will be profitable and is something you can be passionate about. Some day I am going to figure out a way to make living doing what I love which is landscaping/flower gardening.

Here''s a link to get you started:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/index.html