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Selling Property To Raise Up New Business Capital
The drive toward entrepreneurship is so strong that some people sell property to raise capital. In 1977, Alice Cunningham worked for the Department of Labor. Neither she nor anyone in her family had any experience owning or running a business. Then she met her future husband, Blair Osborn, a professor at the University of Washington, and they decided to start a business so they could work together.
Wooden hot tubs were a relatively unknown product that the pair believed had great growth potential. So they started Olympic Hot Tub Co. in Seattle, Washington, to construct and install these tubs. To finance the start-up, Alice sold a triplex she owned in Berkeley, California, which was a source of ongoing income. But real estate investment wasn’t the type of business Alice and Blair had in mind.
“We wanted to do something together, and we believed in the future of the product,” Alice explains. “But it was a huge transition from being a specialist to being the one who sells the product and empties the trash and everything else. In a small business, you’re it.” (more…)
Business Tips – Move To A Lower-Cost Location
Some companies can save a substantial amount of money by moving to locations with lower cost of living and taxes.
The Buck family has been making sport and utility knives since 1902, first in Kansas, then in San Diego, California, after World War II. It moved to El Cajon, California, in 1968. Its knives are considered the best quality on the market and hold a sharp edge longer because founder Hoyt Buck, a blacksmith apprentice, figured out a better way to temper steel. In January 2005, Buck Knives made its latest move to Post Falls, Idaho. The company estimates it is saving $1.2 million a year in the new location.
Business owners choose their location for many reasons: access to transportation, labor pool, or supplies; lifestyle or personal reasons; and proximity to customers. Cost is another major consideration. It certainly is a factor for Buck Knives, which has faced increasing overseas competition and demands from major retailers for lower-priced products. At the same time, costs of doing business had steadily increased in Southern California. Electricity prices skyrocketed in the early 2000s. Wages and other labor costs, such as workers compensation insurance, are among the highest in the United States. Everything from gasoline to land cost more in California than most other states. (more…)
Cost Management of Landlord Insurance
In cases where you have been able to commission landlord insurance it is important that you look at the cost implications of the decision that you have made. After all the other factors have been taken into consideration, the costs of your insurance will be one of the critical factors that determine the level of profitability. Most of these decisions have to be based on logic rather than assumptions. The initial cost is just the beginning of the process and you need to take other factors into consideration.
Generally speaking these are the issues that might be of relevance :
1. The deposit : You will have to pay some sort of deposit before the landlord insurance becomes active. This will vary depending on the value of the product that you are buying but also the type of insurer that you are using. Some insurers will give you discounts on the deposit in order to ensure that you continue to select them as the preferred provider. This is part of the marketing strategy that you have to get used to in the long run. You also need to work out the details of the various additional costs outside the initial deposit. This will enable you to plan well for all eventualities. (more…)
