Juice,
I really value my privacy and it would be impossible to disclose what they are without giving up that. I mention these kinds of things about my situation for a couple reasons. The first is that people will understand that I am as objective as an insider could be given that RE does not feed my family. The second is hopefully to inspire people to chase their dreams. People succeed and prosper in bad times as well as good times. It was very frustrating for me to listen to others present a doomsday situation several months ago. They were and continue to be guided by fear in their lives. Rest assured, I am as conservative and cautious as a person could be but I am not afraid of failure anymore. I have seen many successful people prosper with this attitude.
In general, when I look at businesses I look for high margins and very simple product lines. Here’s an example. There was a pasta Shop in Encinitas that the owner sold a few months ago called Russo’s Pasta. Some of you may have heard of it. The owner was getting ready to retire and was lloking to sell. He made fresh pasta and sold a ton of it out of a small storefront off El Camino Real. Can you imagine the gross margins on a product that consists of flour and water? It had a good reputation, a loyal clientelle and had been there many years. It sold for about $210,000. It had growth opportunity by adding pizza and opening on Sundays. The new owner has done both. It’s not glam orous but as long as he sticks to the basics, this business will feed his family as long as he’s willing to work at it.
Without dislosing too much, my latest business is in a completely different field but one in which I have plenty of knowledge about and great passion for. It is completely recession proof, rapidly growing and has great margins. I had no idea how great it would be until it opened. If I had known, I would have done it years ago.
