BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
BEING YOUR OWN BOSS !
So you want to buy a business ………many people have the same idea.
How do you go about it, what kind of business will survive the next decade? With all the technological advances happening so quickly many business services will be redundant in the next five years! Once upon a time a great business to be in was making buggy whips……until Henry Ford came along. Photography kiosks in the mall were a busy business……..until the advent of the digital camera and the computer.
Without a crystal ball no one knows what new product or service will materialize and change everything. But there are some business concepts you can test to measure their viability. Here are some questions you can ask yourself. Does the concept depend on the status quo ? What changes in technology, government regulations and economy will affect your business? The food business will almost always be viable ….except that fast food in a recession or depression will not be as viable as when times are good. That applies to most business concepts………..if the economy is good they will survive, if not, which businesses will be able to continue?
I had been involved in several businesses before I invented the Gravel Doctor machine. I had a gas station with a service bay ( the big oil company increased my gas prices to put myself and many other small stations out of business ), I bought real estate to rent and re-sell ( it was good until the interest rates tripled in the early 1980’s ), I started a heavy equipment company with bulldozers, backhoes etc. again business was good until the economy changed and the bigger companies targeted my work and cut the prices. I started a compact high pressure water-blasting business which was so successful it drew the attention of other businesses and they flooded the markets and drove the prices down to where it made no sense to stay in the business. Eventually I came up with the Gravel Doctor machine. In analyzing the business concept it was clear to me that the repair and maintenance of gravel driveways and parking lots was viable. In a good economy the lower and middle class would appreciate my services – in a not-so-good economy the middle and upper class would welcome the opportunity to maintain their driveways and parking lots in an economical fashion.
The compact equipment used in the Gravel Doctor System is very inexpensive ( in comparison to bulldozers and backhoes ) and the operating costs are far less per hour. The compact size does not impede the ability to rip up and repair the hardest packed granular surfaces. The tractor can be used for other types of work such as gardening, grass cutting or you can attach almost any attachment to it. The truck and trailer can also be used for other purposes or to generate income from other sources. The relatively low cost of insurance ( because of the size of the equipment and also the type of work we do ) surprised me as well. I took all this into account before taking the Gravel Doctor leap. As it turned out I had more work doing gravel driveway and parking lot repair than I ever expected. I have been doing this work for over 25 years now and have made a good living in the process of being my own boss.
I don’t feel at the mercy of the economy, technology changes, or government regulations. As a matter of fact the government restrictions on herbicides has actually increased my business because people don’t like grass and weeds in their driveways.
I invite you to examine the Gravel Doctor opportunity and see if it might be a good “fit” for you and if you have any questions please email me at
norm@graveldoctor.com – or – call me @ 519-677-5935.