I have had two professional goals in life. The first was to be involved in international business. Check. The second was to own my own business. As of a few weeks ago, I can now officially say: Check!
Prior to moving to Jakarta, my wife and I were considering buying a business. I spent nearly two years researching different businesses, franchises, and start up opportunities. I researched the success rate of business (low) and what caused them to fail (too small a market). My research indicated that new businesses were more likely to fail than to succeed. For franchises, the opposite was true - success was the greater likelihood.
We seriously explored opportunities of owning party stores, laundromats, a Bounce University franchise and restaurants. We finally settled on an opportunity we believed would be successful in good times, and MORE successful during a recession: a Kid to Kid franchise.
Ultimately, we decided moving to Jakarta was our best option at the time. In January of last year, my company outsourced the majority of its IT operations. My division - software development - remained in house, but the outsource was a further reminder to me of just how fragile any job is, regardless of industry or skill set. Every company I've worked for in my fifteen year career has had layoffs, downsizing or outsourcing. I was no longer comfortable having all my income eggs in one basket.
I had a long conversation with my sister, someone I knew had an entrepreneurial spirit, about opening a business. I had the cash to fund it, and her phase in life permitted her to take a larger professional risk. We decided to go for it, and in June I bought the franchise.
Fast forward 9 months and gloss over the inability to obtain financing, lost time negotiating with a potential landlord struggling through bankruptcy reorganization, and a setback when our new landlord had to renege on a promise to pay for the build-out (an $85,000 expense), and we are where we are today. Lease is finalized, funding is in our account (after cashing in my life savings) and we have the keys to the store.
Our store will be opening in August. We are targeting a 4 August Grand Opening. I hope everyone of you in Arizona will be able to make it and help make our opening day a great success!
Prior to moving to Jakarta, my wife and I were considering buying a business. I spent nearly two years researching different businesses, franchises, and start up opportunities. I researched the success rate of business (low) and what caused them to fail (too small a market). My research indicated that new businesses were more likely to fail than to succeed. For franchises, the opposite was true - success was the greater likelihood.
We seriously explored opportunities of owning party stores, laundromats, a Bounce University franchise and restaurants. We finally settled on an opportunity we believed would be successful in good times, and MORE successful during a recession: a Kid to Kid franchise.
Ultimately, we decided moving to Jakarta was our best option at the time. In January of last year, my company outsourced the majority of its IT operations. My division - software development - remained in house, but the outsource was a further reminder to me of just how fragile any job is, regardless of industry or skill set. Every company I've worked for in my fifteen year career has had layoffs, downsizing or outsourcing. I was no longer comfortable having all my income eggs in one basket.
I had a long conversation with my sister, someone I knew had an entrepreneurial spirit, about opening a business. I had the cash to fund it, and her phase in life permitted her to take a larger professional risk. We decided to go for it, and in June I bought the franchise.
Fast forward 9 months and gloss over the inability to obtain financing, lost time negotiating with a potential landlord struggling through bankruptcy reorganization, and a setback when our new landlord had to renege on a promise to pay for the build-out (an $85,000 expense), and we are where we are today. Lease is finalized, funding is in our account (after cashing in my life savings) and we have the keys to the store.
Our store will be opening in August. We are targeting a 4 August Grand Opening. I hope everyone of you in Arizona will be able to make it and help make our opening day a great success!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment