Is it a good idea to have someone else do all market testing, etc for your business?

[fstep2]

Long story short i've been thinking of purchasing a business for a while. My initial idea was to get an established website on ebay, flippa or a similar service but then i got thinking that i wouldn't know what to do with it once i have it (my background is in insurance). So would it make sense to hire professionals to get my business to a point where all i really need to do is advertise it? Once interesting thing i found is startupmanufacturer.com they seem to do all 3, provide an established company, teach you everything, and setup the marketing, etc. Just wanna get some input on which direction to go? My mind is set that i want to take the entrepreneurial route in life but i don't have the time or money to go back to school so...

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm not a big fan of any "ready made" web based business service. Honestly, anytime I hear anyone say that they are going to teach you an online business, I get nervous and immediately think about Jeff Paul's Secret to Internet Millions, and others like him:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/get-rich-quick-scams-ftc_n_1467767.html

It's not really like, say, buying a fast food franchise. Yes, eventually you may have to pay someone to teach or do things for you if you don't have the time or inclination to learn on your own. But you will be better served getting into something that you know a little about. You already are going to need to learn the web, no sense in compounding that by having to learn a completely foreign business too.

In reference to Ebay. Making money on Ebay is hard. And it takes time to build your name and reputation if you aren't already an established retailer.

I took a look at the site you referenced:


The Right Way To Start A Business
Our one of a kind business development service allows anyone to start their very own company without going through the tedious process of starting from scratch or making a significant investment. Tested and established website, market analysis, advertising, and professional training all in one affordable package.

No Experience Or Specialized Skills Necessary!


..and the first thing I thought was "there is no way that this is legit", because the sales pitch isn't legit. Even the photos are stock photography. There isn't one real or verifiable thing on the whole website. And then there was this from what is supposedly a sister or parent company, which is just..bewildering: Sexy Samantha Hula Hoops for Final Step Marketing! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhTiTvL4Cy8)

If it were that easy to make money AT ANYTHING with no experience and no skills, wouldn't everyone with a computer be wealthy by now?

If I were you, I'd do some more looking around, but I'd seriously consider doing something related to what you already know, insurance. Or maybe even a service for the insurance industry. Or at least something that you are interested in. Making money can't be the only driving factor, or else you will waste time and money jumping around looking for the easy, quick hit.

Ready made, or "Anyone can make money online" programs or services are all usually....nope, they are all scams.

[huggytree]

there is no chance you'll survive by buying a ready made business with no interest other than advertising for it....you have to understand it and build it yourself unless you had prior business experience and had owned a dozen businesses

you dont start out this way....you must have a lot of money is all i can assume....you dont want to start at the bottom

dont do it

pick a business youd like to own
quit your job, get a job at a similar business
learn how it works, look for ways to improve it
save money
then start a business on your own....its probably a 2-10 year process....for me it was 8....the day i was eligible to go on my own was the day i did(i had to have a master plumbers license to do it and it takes 8 years)

good luck!

[vangogh]

My mind is set that i want to take the entrepreneurial route in life but i don't have the time or money to go back to school so...

You don't need to go back to school to be entrepreneurial. You will need either time or money. Being entrepreneurial is partly about figuring these things out. Sure you may not know now what to do with a website, but the entrepreneurial spirit is wanting to learn because it's the kind of business you want to run.

I agree with what's already been said. Find something you're interested in doing and learn how to do it. There are lots of ways. You can learn what you can after you're done with the work you do now or like huggy says, get a job doing what you want to do. You'll learn working for someone else and when you feed ready you'll be able to go it on your own.

Running a business is always going to be a lot more than just advertising. You'll need to do more no matter where your business is.

[Wozcreative]

In running a sustainable business you must first be passionate. When your passionate about something, you don't consider it work, you'll WANT to work. Don't you remember those kids from high school that picked a career outif a hat, spent thousands of dollars on schooling and are now working at a McDonald's because their just not interested in their chosen careers? This is the same concept.

Thenother thing is that I fear you may not know how to be a project manager, an accounts keeper, sales person, boss... For a successful business, the owner usually knows how to dip their feet in all these job rolls. In a small to medium business everyone contributes the same amount of work. You are your teams inspiration and you must be a great example of what is expected.

Entrepreneurs don't become one in a day. Money is Nil when it comes to these things when you are starting out. If you have no TIME, then we have serious problems. All you have in life is time, if your not spending it the correct way (learning, exploring, experimenting) you can't expect to have a business just fly off the ground.

[fstep2]

i mean i agree with that 100% that's why i was asking if it makes sense to just hire a company like that, buy the proven business and have them setup everything for me since they've done it before i'm sure they'll be much more efficient in it than i would be

[Harold Mansfield]

i mean i agree with that 100% that's why i was asking if it makes sense to just hire a company like that, buy the proven business and have them setup everything for me since they've done it before i'm sure they'll be much more efficient in it than i would be

Put plainly, I don't agree with or trust that as a credible option for starting a business. Even if it were, and if they do all of the set up work, you will have learned nothing and will not be able to sustain it, put out fires, promote it or run it effectively.

It can't be packaged like that. They are selling a dream. Not reality. There is no such thing as "set it and forget it" in ANY business. You can't just buy an additional stream of income. You have to build it, or at least know how to run it to keep the money coming in.

I used to watch this all of the time with website sales across the forums. People buying sites from others who were basically reselling the same cookie cutter template over and over again by getting up enough traffic to make a few bucks in adsense, and then selling them for 6x, 10x, even 24x's monthly rev. The new owners have no idea how it's done and expect that the same rev will just keep mysteriously flowing in. It really doesn't work like that.

[huggytree]

if someone is selling a business thats proven and running well it aint gonna be cheap.....could be millions....

most people sell a business because it isnt going well.....if it runs itself they can retire to Florida and let it run itself....why would they sell it to you?

im sure there are some easy deals like that....but its gonna cost you...

do you have $500,000+ to spend to get it? or are you like most new businessmen who have $1,000

id give up on the idea...you'll never find what you want

[billbenson]

Huggy, you and I both have profitable businesses. But what are they really worth. Without you, your business is worth nothing more that your customer database. I'm in worse shape because I really don't have repeat customers. In both cases we could hire and make real companies which would be salable by hiring.

I think you could find a business such as yours; some older guy who doesn't really want to quit but doesn't want to work. Someone could buy his plumbing business for a small amount and mandate that your are in the frield and / or office with him 20 hours a week. Ok, if he has no plumbing skills, you shouldn't sell to him.

The point I'm making is that you can buy an established business inexpensively.

[KristineS]

No one is going to hand you a business that will generate money every month. Even if you buy a franchise with a proven business model, you still have to figure out how to make it work in your location, how to bring in customers, how to manage employees and all the rest. This isn't something that everyone wants to do, and that's why some people work for others and don't own a business themselves. If you're looking for someone to hand you a business that's already running and for which you'll have little responsibility, you may be better off working for someone else.

[Harold Mansfield]

No one is going to hand you a business that will generate money every month. Even if you buy a franchise with a proven business model, you still have to figure out how to make it work in your location, how to bring in customers, how to manage employees and all the rest. This isn't something that everyone wants to do, and that's why some people work for others and don't own a business themselves. If you're looking for someone to hand you a business that's already running and for which you'll have little responsibility, you may be better off working for someone else.
^^Yep!^^ What she said.