Starting a new business

[icmplasma85]

I'm thinking about going full time with my side business, but I'd like to hear from others about start up costs and other bumps in the road that you have experienced. How much money is adequate to start a small fabrication company with the basics: saws, layout table, setting up shop with electrical, exhaust, etc? I'm looking to do custom gates, rails, metal art, custom part burning, etc. I don't want to it to become a huge company, just something small with a good profit margin and only a handful of employees. I don't need a huge shop, and I will definitely be needing help from the bank, but I would like to know if I'm in the right ball park. Any advice is much appreciated.

[weldor2005]

i cant say that I can usefully give you prices like you asked. I am merely thinking that if you are going to go to a bank for financing, then you will need to have a great business plan put into place for the loan application. This business plan should include everything you intend to do, and what you asked is a small portion of it. If you got a time frame to do this, I suggest a small business class at a local community college. Most of them have a class entirely related to just writting a business plan.

Good luck with this, I fear that my set up will forever be a hobby, and hope that it simply pays for itself over time.

[icmplasma85]

Thanks for the response. I sometimes wonder if I should take the plunge, but I like to think I am pretty good at what I do, and would like to make a good living doing what I enjoy doing as a hobby/on the side. I'm definitely not in any rush to do this, I want to plan it out correctly, so I may look into business classes. I just always told myself if I didn't have enough spare time to do my hobby work, and it became me staying in my garage until all hours of the night to juggle side work and then go to a day job for 8 hours, maybe I would take the plunge. Its starting to get to that point, so we'll see. Thanks again!

[rotorimp]

Icmplasma85....I would not go into debt to start a business....Listen to a guy named Dave Ramsey for a while and you will learn everything you need to successfully start a business...

I completely agree that you should do what you love and you will never work another day in your life. This strikes a cord with me because I am about to do exactly that.....strike out on my own. I retire from the Air force in about 6 months and my plan is to jump into this business full time. I have a fully equipped shop and no debt except for a house payment which the retirement will take care of. That being said I still have a number that I need to meet every month and I would NOT want to be encumbered with a bank loan on top of that.

Build your business on the weekends and nights and reinvest your profits into the business until you can afford all the equipment you need.