For the older guys around here... business related

[Rhino]

If you were middle age, entrepreneurially bent, and wanted to do something that would benefit the local economy / provide US jobs / maybe doing something food chain or manufacturing related in the Central Texas area, what are some ideas??? I like my current job, but feel an urge to do something soon for myself and try to build some sort of business that a kid of mine could inherit. I like working with people, don't like solitary work as much as my employers might think, have even enjoyed teaching people as a flight instructor, but not necessarily sure I want to start another aviation business.

 

[Grumps21]

You lost me at “ like working with people” . I find that many are either idiots or a$$holes, but then again maybe I’m just burned out dealing with folks on the job after 30+ year?

On the serious side though, what about opening a farmers market? Chicks dig those... or at least the ones in my family do. Get home grown organic food for less than a supermarket. Either use a consignment or rent the space to the seller. Or, open up RV pads if in a desirable area like hill country or oil patch. When the oil companies started fracking the Eagle Ford, gravel rv pads with hookups were sprouting up everywhere to support the oil field workers

 

[baboon]

Fresh herbs, baby veggies for high end restaurants!

 

[Grumps21]

You could do Uber, but then I dont see how anyone makes any money at it unless they do their own vehicle maintenance

 

[Axxe55]

Open a restaurant.

 

[ghostrider45]

primer manufacturer?
(Come on, man. Somebody had to say it :-) )

 

[Axxe55]

OP could always get a paper route. I have heard those can be quite lucrative.

 

[stdreb27]

I’d do something with airplanes.


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[Texasjack]

When I was a consultant, I did some work for a company in NY that did very specialized heat treating. They had hired this Russian engineer who knew this stuff inside and out and the company was doing really, really well. Then, some little thing happened. They had a concrete vessel crack, so they placed it in a storage area that was on leased property next to the little plant until they could recover the material inside the vessel. The landowner was paranoid and called the state about the vessel. Suddenly the company was hit with fines and threats from the EPA and the NYDEC. Their attorney informed the owner that he might go to prison. (Meanwhile, there was no danger or damage to the environment. It was just a licensing issue.) Now the guy had started this company so he could pass it along to his sons (who were actively working there.) After going a few rounds with EPA, he told me he should have taken his money and bought his kids each a McDonald's franchise.

I tell you this story because there are many land mines out there for businesses. You can be sued by the government or by customers. You can be crushed on social media for any perceived indiscretion - like the pillow guy who supported Trump. If you're going to set up a business, make very sure that you have all the right inputs to avoid issues long before you open the doors.

Everyone thinks that China is manufacturing most of our goods because they have cheap labor. That's not entirely true. The main reason is because nobody is willing to invest a billion dollars in a computer chip manufacturing company in the USA because of all the government interference and all the corruption among the politicians. A new company in the USA will be gone in less than 30 years, on average, and that time is rapidly shrinking.

 

[baboon]

OP could always get a paper route. I have heard those can be quite lucrative.

I know a guy who brought papers into stores, filled the vending machines & had the idiots selling roadside. Very crappy hours, dealing with more idiots then just the street vendors and people trying to rob him & his vending machines.

He had some stories about his street vendors that many of us would have been done with the very first one!

 

[TipBledsoe]

Open up a drive-in movie place maybe? We used to really enjoy them back in the day. We rarely see them anymore - maybe worth investigation.
... And since you're a gun-toting people-person you can be the security officer

 

[Fishkiller]

Find something in your area that no one is doing. About 30 years ago the FIL (may he rest in peace) moved to the big town, Fredericksburg. Looking for something to do to kill time as he was recently retired. Anyway the only place to buy Ice was at the HEB. So he started bagging ice. He had 5 older ice machines that his nephew had from a refrigeration business. There was a void at the time and he had customers calling in for ice deliveries for a 40 mile radius. All was going good until some outfit with more capital $$ moved in and he go too old to tote 10 pound bags of ice.

The moral is he found a niche in the market and was able to capitalize.

 

[BuzzinSATX]

Fresh herbs, baby veggies for high end restaurants!

This is an excellent idea. Hydroponic greens, sprouts, and fruits are pretty easy and highly successful if you have the right set up.

you can start small and scale up or down pretty easy.

There is a lot of info on the Internet…

Commercial hydroponics- Should you go pro? - Hydroponics Gardening Simplified

Thinking of starting up a commercial hydroponics operation? Read this discussion about the pros and cons of going pro first

www.hydroponics-simplified.com

 

[Lonesome Dove]

Figure out how to grow Rainbow colored weed.

 

[Axxe55]

Open up a drive-in movie place maybe? We used to really enjoy them back in the day. We rarely see them anymore - maybe worth investigation.
... And since you're a gun-toting people-person you can be the security officer

I still like drive-ins. I just wish we had some closer.

Biggest downside to a drive-in, is they take up a lot of real estate. That was just one of the reasons many have gone by the wayside over the years.

 

[oldag]

First, are you prepared for the extremely long hours and stress of being a business owner? Having close friends who owned restaurants (successful places) for some years, I would strongly advise against that. Incredibly long hours and impossible to get good help.

Also, many times the kids don't want to pick up the family business.

I have owned my own company in the past. Plenty of stress to go along with the rewards.

 

[toddnjoyce]

Couple of things top of mind

1. Small Business Development Center / S.C.O.R.E. can be great resources
2. @Fishkiller got it right: find a niche, then exploit it
3. Answer these questions: what is my the market segment, who is my target population, how do I position my product/goods/services
4. Understand the finances of running a business; they’re different than starting a business

 

[Dawico]

RV parks and storage facilities seem to be the future right now.

Everyone wants toys but they can't park them at home. Expand that into service work or even just cleaning/ prepping/ fueling up said toys so the owners can just grab and go.

Tie little moving jobs into the storage facility. Get a little covered trailer and move furniture into and out of your own storage buildings.

Here's the truth. People want to own shit but they don't want the hassle of dealing with their own shit.

I think you could do well to deliver a person their own boat/ RV already fueled up with coolers of ice ready to hit the road. Then pick it up from their house and get it ready again.

The easier you make it for them the more they'll use your service.

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[toddnjoyce]

Oh yeah, never buy a storage facility or build a laundromat.

 

[SQLGeek]

Oh yeah, never buy a storage facility or build a laundromat.

This feels like a story is involved.