View Single Post
  #2  
Old July 28, 2017, 01:28 PM
Dien Rice Dien Rice is online now
Onwards and upwards!
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,357
Default The "buried treasure" in a "build your own job" type business...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert J. View Post
Clearly, this is the kind of "business" that isn't really a business at all. It is a "build your own job." But for this couple, who seem to get along well enough to work together, it looks like they have a decent job for both of them.

Best of all: No bosses! (OK, yes, when you are in business, EVERYBODY - all your customers and even prospective customers - are your boss. But in this case, you could even make the case that their "bosses" are all dead and buried!)

For me, it sounds like a lot of hard, hands-on work for not a lot of money. I can't imagine people are shelling out big bucks to brighten the tombstone on great grandma's grave.

In the pro column, somebody who enjoys the outdoors and working with their hands (and has a knack for attention to details), this could be a fun little Side Hustle.

And for the marketers out there, just imagine to potential for press coverage.

Newspapers and local digital media (like the Patch properties) should be easy picking!
Hi Robert,

Thanks - interesting topic!

About those "businesses" that sound like it's "building your own job"... Here are a couple of stories...

Earlier this week I met an entrepreneurial guy, who I've known for a while, but this is probably the first time I've chatted with him about his history.

He started working very young - around 5 years old, helping his Dad with his window washing business.

Eventually - when he was still a kid - he started his own window washing business...

Washing windows? Sounds very much like "build your own job"... You have to go around, and wash all your clients' windows... It's work.

At around age 15, he sold the business... I think it was for around $12,000. This was in the 1980s... Not bad money for a 15 year old kid in the 1980s!

That's one big difference with a job... You can't sell a job! But if you have a list of clients, who all regularly want their windows washed, you have a business you can sell...

He told me how his teachers were trying to persuade him to remain in school, because he was a smart guy, etc. But then, he inquired how much his teachers were making... And he found out he was making more money than his teachers were!

He switched over from washing windows to selling and installing security systems... Alarms, then security cameras.

From there, in the last few years he's developed a van which he decks out with the latest security gear. It has a huge pole out the roof of the van, with video cameras. It has a panel of screens inside, showing the video being captured by the cameras. He has a system where further video cameras can be installed on nearby trees, etc. It's a security system that can be instantly set up and used at festivals, large outdoor events, etc.

These vans sell for just under half a million dollars each. He told me he'd just done a deal to sell six of them to the police forces of a south-east Asian country. (I'm not sure if I should mention which country that is publicly.)

The key is, these "build your own job" businesses can also lead to other, bigger things...

Okay, a second story. There's a guy in Australia, named Jim. He started a small business mowing lawns.

That's another "build your own job" type of business... You have to physically mow the lawns of your clients.

However, Jim found he was quite good at generating new jobs with his advertising. Many others mowing lawns didn't advertise, or otherwise were not as good at generating jobs.

Jim found he was generating more jobs than he could handle himself. So, at first, he sold the jobs to other lawn mowing businesses.

So, not only was he making money mowing lawns, he was making extra money selling the extra jobs to other businesses.

He then changed his business model, and started a lawn mowing franchise business. He offered a great deal - he guaranteed each franchisee a certain amount of income every month. He felt he could offer this, because he had no trouble generating the jobs.

Nowadays, Jim Penman has a huge franchise business in Australia, called "Jim's Mowing." He's also now expanded into other areas (Jim's cleaning, Jim's antennas, Jim's fencing, etc.), as well as into other countries, such as New Zealand, the UK, and Canada.

You can see the boggling full range of franchises he offers now here (scroll down on the page)...

https://www.jims.net

I saw an article saying that, in 2012, Jim Penman's business (known as "Jim's Group") was worth around $50 million bucks... It would be worth more than that now...

The point? A "build your own job" type of business is not "really" like a job... First, it's something you can sell if you want to stop, whereas you can't sell your job! And furthermore, it can potentially build into something much larger...

Cheers!

Dien
__________________

Last edited by Dien Rice : July 28, 2017 at 01:45 PM.
Reply With Quote