Turn key business opportunities

Water Cooler
#1

In my quest to eventually retire from finance with some kind of low maintenance business, I did a Google search for “turn key businesses” and got this result:

http://www.franchisedirect.com/businessopportunities/8

Here is the rosy self-description of the website:

“Find your next career in our comprehensive business opportunities directory. Below, you’ll also find information on great business opportunities for sale. With turnkey business opportunities in cleaning, food, retail businesses and much more, the opportunities for entrepreneurs are endless!”

I’m not sure if this is the optimal approach, but this seems pretty useful for generating ideas.

#2

For instance, I probably would not have thought of this on my own:

http://www.franchisedirect.com/entertainmentfranchises/adult-prepaid-06990/

“ADULT ENTERTAINMENT IS 100% RECESSION-PROOF AND PROFITABLE.”

" Adult Prepaid, a company owned and operated by Big Hitters Incorporated, is looking for a limited number of serious entrepreneurs desiring to sell and distribute our adult entertainment cards to consumers and retailers in their city or state.

Adult Prepaid Cards provide consumers with a safe and anonymous way to view the very best adult entertainment online:"

#3

Kidding aside (BIG HITTERS, HEH HEH) there are very many successful entrepreneurs who simply own and operate franchises. It’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t entail huge risks the way starting a business from scratch does. It’s also very scaleable - lots of people start with a single frachise and then open several in the same area.

I think this is one of those paths to being successful that a lot of college-educated people overlook. Saying that you own 10 subway locations or a chain of dry cleaners doesn’t have the wow factor of working for a big law firm or some such, but it’s certainly possible to make an excellent living doing this.

#4

I used to work for a franchisor, and we had pleanty of franchisees that were millionaires, barely worked, and didn’t go to college. A good percentage of those guys were second or third generation owners, though, so take that with a grain of salt

If I found a business that could keep me intereseted and was scalable, I’d jump all over becoming a franchisee. My buddy and I are currently looking (although fairly passively) for something to invest in and run.

#5

My dad is a relatively successful franchise operator. He runs around 40 branches of a popular fast food/restaurant brand. Getting all those stores started doesn’t seem easy. His job looks more stressful than my job. He gradually developed high blood pressure and other stress-related illnesses.

Part of the reason is that it’s hard to find quality people to staff this sort of store. He has to micro manage everything. It would probably have been easier if he found a good general manager, or if he had entered a business where more people aspire to work in at the entry level.

Anyway, I’ve been doing some research, and it seems that running rental properties might be potentially lucrative. The problem is, the best deals are at the low end of the price range. This sort of property attracts… less scrupulous tenants, and rent/property price is high because most landlords don’t want to deal with this sort of renter. However, if you have a lot of muscular friends and do not mind the stigma of being a “slum lord”, this might be worth looking into.

#6

slumlording paid for my college. definitely a good sidebusiness.