For months I have been looking for a new business venture to setup within a fifty mile radius of my home.  It has been a long time since I have started anything new, and I have been craving a new challenge.  Instead of picking something at random, I have been listening and watching the market looking for a good opportunity to jump in.

I think I have found it.

While browsing a local sale for barbers & stylists aprons I overheard a conversation between a couple of business owners.  I guess the local hair care supplies shop owner was looking to retire and was trying to sell their shop.  Like many businesses trying to change hands, this one had no one that was interested.

I decided that it was worth a look.

I met with the owner and asked if we could go over the numbers as I was interested in buying his shop.  Pouring over the accounting records showed me exactly what I was looking for – the business was profitable and had been for years.  It was going to be a profitable investment provided I could get a price that I could live with.

Which is exactly what I did.

The shop will be having its grand opening in just a couple of weeks and I am so excited to see how we make out with it.  I’m thinking that it will be the shining jewel of my investment portfolio.

• Found my Next Business
  2017-01-05T22:25:00-08:00
  Steven Locke
  Business|
  Comments

Sometimes being a volunteer firefighter isn’t all that it is cracked up to be.  Sure, we get to be the ones that can save your burning house, rescue someone from a car crash and be the first responder when someone calls 911, but there are times when our job is less glamorous.

This past weekend we had an incident occur at our firehall sometime in the evening.  Our tanker truck is old and while we knew the tank was rusting on the inside, we would never have expected that it would fail.  But when the fire chief walked up to the building early Sunday morning, he knew there was a problem.  Water was leaking out from the garage doors on the front of the building, but when he checked inside, he discovered that it had flooded the basement as well.

It was potentially a big problem.

Instead of trying to figure out this situation on our own, he called a company that specialized in flood repair to see what we should do about the problem.  We needed to make sure that all of the water was removed properly and any damage repaired as we couldn’t afford to be in a situation where the volunteers could have health problems in the future.

It was the right thing to do.

We are expecting to hear what the game plan is to deal with this problem when the come by in the morning.  Hopefully it won’t be too hard for us to fix without a lot of problems.

• Getting a Professional Opinion
  2017-01-03T19:54:00-08:00
  Steven Locke
  Business|
  Comments

After having some success flipping homes for a profit, I decided that it was time to try something a little bigger.  I had been crunching numbers on commercial properties in the city for quite awhile, but there were no real good deals that ever made it to my desk.  Since investing is a game of numbers, I knew that I just had to be patient and something would eventually come my way.

It took about three months to see an opportunity worth grabbing, but when I did I put an offer in right away.

That was about a month ago.

Since I took possession I have been working to renovate the office building that I purchased as quickly as possible so that I can flip it for a profit.  Last week, I was able to get commercial glass doors Los Angeles installed and now all I am waiting for a painter to come Thursday.  Once the painting is done, all that will be left is staging the building and then listing it.

I am hoping for a quick sale.

Provided I make enough money on this sale I will be looking for a larger project for my next flip – I think I am ready for a more challenging project.

• Commercial Building Flipping Project
  2017-01-02T21:55:00-08:00
  Steven Locke
  Real Estate|
  Comments