Ever thought about buying your place of employment?

[Gumbo4x4]

I've been entertaining the notion of late - I must be nuts!! LOL

 

[Tigerlulu]

I have thought about it--a photography studio I worked for. And then I ran the other way.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My brother teamed up with a co-worker to buy the locksmith business they worked for. The owner wanted to retire and offered to sell them the inventory and the work vans for a good price. Unfortunately for my brother, his partner flaked out on the payments and barely did any work for the customers. My brother eventually was able to dissolve the partnership and buy the other guy out. He changed the company name, retained most of the customers, and now has his own thriving business. It was rough for a few years, but it turned out well for him.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I already own my place of employment. Well, about .00001 of it. ESOP, ya know.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I've been entertaining the notion of late - I must be nuts!! LOL

What type of business?

 

[LilyWDW]

I would have to be really really really really rich...

 

[eliza61]

Lol, dude the object is to retire from the work place!!

I grew up in my family's restaurant, back in the good ole days when you could put your children to work without someone calling child welfare on you. that pretty much cured me of any notion of entrepreneurship.

Then the ole guy walks in and says him and two buddies want to take out a 500k small business loan and start their own business. you should have been a fly on the wall for THAT conversation.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My brother teamed up with a co-worker to buy the locksmith business they worked for. The owner wanted to retire and offered to sell them the inventory and the work vans for a good price. Unfortunately for my brother, his partner flaked out on the payments and barely did any work for the customers. My brother eventually was able to dissolve the partnership and buy the other guy out. He changed the company name, retained most of the customers, and now has his own thriving business. It was rough for a few years, but it turned out well for him.

That's kind of where we are - boss is eyeballing retirement, or more likely semi-retirement. Business is profitable, established, and for the most part we have excellent personnel in place. I think he'd be willing to sell, but he'd probably want way more than it's realistically worth LOL

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Lol, dude the object is to retire from the work place!!

I grew up in my family's restaurant, back in the good ole days when you could put your children to work without someone calling child welfare on you. that pretty much cured me of any notion of entrepreneurship.

I think I could get out sooner if I owned it LOL

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What type of business?

Lighting wholesaler.

 

[Sabeking]

My DH wanted to do it...instead he started a similar company. Turned around and sold it 13 years later to a major corporation. Were you thinking of raising VC money or doing it on your own, partners?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My DH wanted to do it...instead he started a similar company. Turned around and sold it 13 years later to a major corporation. Were you thinking of raising VC money or doing it on your own, partners?

Really just a "what if?" right now. Creating my own startup is a definite no-go.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

And then firing half of my coworkers? Yeah, I've had those thoughts before.

 

[Sabeking]

Like anything there are pros and cons. My DH is in the process of buying an established company. It is interesting how your perspective changes when you are actually operating a business. When you have more risk/skin in the game you have a better chance of losing your money BUT you certainly have a chance of making more money. I think the biggest issue my husband has had is the responsibility you feel for your employees. Being a level headed person helps!

One story of many!:

One year they bought 4 SUV's for the executive team. My brother who was an employee at the time had a fit because he had not gotten a raise in awhile and was angry that they were now driving SUV's paid for by the company. The whole story...they had purchased another company about six hours away from their current office. Over the next year they would be traveling there in teams extensively. They bought the vehicles to drive their employees because they did not have the cash to buy everyone an airline ticket weekly. Once the acquisition went down and the company grew they were then able to give raises. These things happened all the time where employees did not know the reason behind some decisions and became upset.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Really just a "what if?" right now. Creating my own startup is a definite no-go.

Glad to hear it's just a "what if" right now. Your original post, "I must be nuts LOL", says you're not ready yet. I'm sure you'll give it serious thought if you decide you want to proceed. Good luck.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

And then firing half of my coworkers? Yeah, I've had those thoughts before.

I used to work with a guy whose dream was to "win the lottery, buy our place of employment, and then fire everyone he didn't like" LOL

 

[Missy1961]

I used to work with a guy whose dream was to "win the lottery, buy our place of employment, and then fire everyone he didn't like" LOL

After I got downsized, I had the thought of buying the place and firing the two who pushed me out.

 

[indygirl99]

Since my employer employs 10,000 people no way. I am trying really hard to move much closer to that retirement day from my day job.

My parents had a business while I was growing up so I know the amount of work it is. I often dream about retiring and training therapy dogs.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I could not buy the one I worked at, it is a corporate store. But I would like one of them on my own.

 

[ronandannette]

That's kind of where we are - boss is eyeballing retirement, or more likely semi-retirement. Business is profitable, established, and for the most part we have excellent personnel in place. I think he'd be willing to sell, but he'd probably want way more than it's realistically worth LOL

Sounds pretty tempting actually, especially given that you're the Operations Manager, correct? You know enough about the state of the company and its' future prospects to make an informed decision. Of course you're not going to make a deal if the owners over-value it, but don't totally brush the idea off either. I realize it would seem like a huge risk, but maybe one that would improve your life forever. Spend some time daydreaming about the possibilities and if you're compelled, start the due diligence.