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Well… I finally took option 2
Not been around on UKSB for a while – been head down, nose to the grind and generally killing myself.
After 15 years as ‘AW signs’ – working as an employee, but with the role of ‘it’s all on me’ the company owner had to bow out due to serious medical issues.Option 1:
Go stack shelves for an easier life & better money.
Option 2:
Be a dumb-ass and buy the company over, hire staff & rebrandI took option 2…
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20 Replies
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Good choice David. You wont regret it.
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Congratulations! A brave, bold decision. That said, you’re probably well suited to taking the role on with your experience working within the company. You may even have ideas on how to ‘improve’ and now have the ability to do so.
Can’t help much on the money front though 😂
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Well done David. I always thought you were the company anyway. Onward and upward
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I’ve not met anyone yet who’s taken a giant leap like that and regretted it, well done.
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Congratulations David. 👍🙂
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Cheers guys. Yes, not my first rodeo with running a company…(3 in the last 20 years) but first as full owner.
Bought a new van for myself a month before it was official, kinda a ‘hey ho…doing my own thing no matter what”
Bought all the kit that wasn’t already mine, stock and paid a “goodwill gesture”.
Books are rammed full and can’t get it out fast enough, creating the issue of turning away jobs, jobs from good customers.
Being kinda ruthless, dropping more and more waste of time jobs and customers…a trick I’ve spent the last year perfecting by ejecting people from the office for getting stroppy!The First month under my belt…
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This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 👍
Very easy to get bogged down doing sh**y little jobs, or pandering to demanding customers over tiny orders. I’m quite fond of showing customers the door, let them be someone else’s problem 😂
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Good to see you back on the boards Dave and even better with the news of you taking over the company.
I am sure you will have a list of things you want to chop and change as well as try new ones. Exciting times ahead, I’m sure! -
Congratulations Dave. Can you send me the details on that shelf stacking job at Tesco please
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🤣
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Good luck – I’ve just done the same thing…..
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Well done, David, you seem to know what you’re doing and always churn out nice work, you’ll smash it!
Best
Hugh
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congrats 🙂
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nice move. 👍
when you say rebrand, are you changing the name? -
A wee change. Went to A1 from AW…and colour scheme from red, black and white to grey, blue and white.
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brave leap of faith but i think you made the right choice. 😎
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A couple of years down the line and another major change just been completed.
Year 3 was going to be ‘Dave’s year” as it was finally where i wanted it.
Very solvent, equipment all updated and everything bought outright…sweet!
Then…
After pandering to and putting up with my trusted and pretty competent employee doing a protracted quiet quit (turning up late, then more and more days off with sore back, culmination of which was IN for 4 days in a month with only notice each morning at precisely 9.00am. Cut them loose.
Left sort of high and dry, a few mates dug me out of the hole in was in with a mountain of work, other stuff i just let die as ‘meh, wasn’t worth doing’. Got a part time employee training up now.
So it was, until Mr Council man dropped a ££££ bill on me for 3 years of backdated rates on TWO properties: as my one building has two independent doors to access each floor. Good eh!
Anyway, closing down was an option, but would be liquidation so very messy and costly anyway. Still to thrash out a deal with them, but sticking around as a business.
So, it took from April until a month back to do a unit share with another sign company…mostly organising my downsize and de-cluttering of 20years of ‘handy stuff’.
Each brings something to the table and although separate entities we (after a bit of stress response regret) gelling well and resource sharing.
The future looks promising, although a bit more compact!
Got most of my mojo back!
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Good grief – People think running a business is easy and we’re all walking around with wad’s of cash in our pockets.
I’m in a similar position to you, where I don’t have aspirations to grow, have employees and have a business that’s sustainable by myself. I work with a couple of trusted companies and share resources (man power mostly), I can call on a friend to lend a hand installing where needed, or see if another has their fitter at a loose end, and we help each other out.
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One of the reasons I pulled the plug was because of the council hounding over a rates bill.
I’d taken on the neighbouring building and knocked through, I appealed the initial bill with the .gov department and after 6months of too and fro, I won the appeal and had a maneagable amount to pay. That was awarded in the Jan 2023. My main argu=ment was that the mezanine was a temporary structure as it was free standing, and that with no fire escape and limited ceiling height, it breached fire and H&S regulations. Happy days.
Then in April 24 the new revised rates came out and the rates were now nearly £25k (from £18k, reduced to £14k on appeal). My appeals and protestations that I’d just won the appeal and they’ve completely ignored it fell on deaf ears, I submitted new appeals on the exact same basis and was told they’d be at least 6months due to the backlog, in the meantime the council wanted around a grand a month… I said I’d wait until the appeal, only to be met by court summons after 4months. Dec 17th I went to court, let them waste all their time and then gave them the letter from my acuntant that we’ve sold all assets to repay the bank and legitimate companies / suppliers we owed money to, and had ceased trading on the 16th Dec. The look on their faces!!
Anyway, appeal the hell out of it, merge the building perhaps, get the other co to take on the other building officially? Whatever you have to do… Best of luck!
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well done
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