Had Enough

[Hardcoreruss]

I have had enough of working for a big corporation, just being a number etc.. So at the end of this month I will be quitting and starting my own business.

Obviously it will mean a massive pay cut for me but I think I can get my idea off the ground.

Watch this space, and soon you will all be working for me, Bill Gates pah!!!!

[flaninacupboard]

If you need a head of sales ledger, or a general IT monkey, let me know!

[Hardcoreruss]

I'll keep you in mind, to start off with my only Flunky will be Madame Stinky.

[northcat_8]

I'll head up your complaint department Russ.
I have good people skills.

[Hardcoreruss]

Northcat, I want to create a client base, not destroy one.

[pacmania_2001]

Whats the business idea if you don't mind me asking? Consulting?

[Hardcoreruss]

Nope, something totally off the wall. Nothing compared to what I do at the moment.

I am setting up my own pet shop both online and in premises. Looking to get going towards the end of this month, all depends on my suppliers.

I should have the first few drafts of my website ready soon so you guys can give me your opinion.

[flaninacupboard]

I'll keep you in mind, to start off with my only Flunky will be Madame Stinky.

Working with the enemy?!

[pacmania_2001]

Just don't pull a Pets.com

[Hardcoreruss]

What happenend with pets.com ?

[Hardcoreruss]

I'll keep you in mind, to start off with my only Flunky will be Madame Stinky.

Working with the enemy?!

Yeah I know, she has already quit her job (what a suprise) and is meant to be sorting stuff out. However when I get home from work at 8 (after leaving the house at 5.30) I then do all the prep and research.

[ZAPPER]

I f you need someone to carry the breifcase full of money, give me a ring!

[pacmania_2001]

What happenend with pets.com ?

In February 1999, Pets.com launched its Web site with the hopes of making substantial sales to the 60 percent of U.S households that own pets and spend more than $20 billion each year feeding, entertaining, and caring for them. More than 10,000 stores sold pet supplies. These stores included small retail outlets, grocery stores, discount retailers (such as Walmart and Cost-Co), and a new generation of pet superstores. Pets.com had acquired an excellent domain name and intended to exploit the opportunities presented by high levels of investor interest in funding electronic commerce companies. The plan for Pets.com was to spend heavily to develop a brand and a Web presence that would rapidly make the company the premier online source for pet-related products.

After launching the site, Pets.com raised $110 million from private investors in 1999, and another $80 million in a public sale of stock in early 2000. Pets.com spent more than $100 million of the money on advertising during its short life. It also spent significant sums to create a Web store that offered more than 12,000 different products. In November 2000 - less than two years after launching its Web site - Pets.com went out of business.

Pets.com had created an electronic commerce initiative in a line of business in which online businesses had few advantages over traditional commerce. The products had a very low value-to-weight ratio. The shipping costs for pet food, one of the company's best selling product catergories, caused it to lose money on every sale. Pet products come in all shapes, sizes, and weights, and are therefore , difficult to pack and ship efficiently. Pets.com was also spending money rapidly at a time when investors were beginning to question the long-run viability of all electronic commerce businesses. The lesson here is that Pets.com could not develop any sustainable advantage over traditional pet stores. Without such an advantage, customers stayed away from the site.

Learning from Failures; Electronic Commerce, Gary P Schnieder

If you're thinking about starting an electronic commerce business you could do worse than to check out that text book for a guide to the pro's and con's.

[Hardcoreruss]

We are going to be focussing on pet toys. I can get these EXTREMELY cheap from China and I am going to be focussing on selling them on in bulk.

[pacmania_2001]

As long as you sell them in bulk you should be good.

Are you designing your own site or outsourcing it to a professional designer?

[flaninacupboard]

Yeah I know, she has already quit her job (what a suprise) and is meant to be sorting stuff out. However when I get home from work at 8 (after leaving the house at 5.30) I then do all the prep and research.

So her heart's really in it then?

[VCDHunter]

We are going to be focussing on pet toys. I can get these EXTREMELY cheap from China and I am going to be focussing on selling them on in bulk.

I give you six months and then you'll be signing on. :P

Hope it goes well fella, with any luck you should be able to get back home whilst its still light.

[enstg8er]

good luck, russ. as a small business (co)owner, i can say for certain that i would never want to work for the big biz again. it has its pluses and minuses but the best aspect is your future is dependant on you and not someone else.

also keep meticulous records. the gov't likes that kind of stuff.

as a matter of practice i do business with smaller locally owned businesses when posible. better, more personal service. most importantly, good for the community. i just shake my head when people whine about walmart, then stand in line there to save 3 cents on shampoo.

get to know your area's small business community, they can help you out. and pac's advise on the book is well founded. i've been impressed with his economic acumen......

[pacmania_2001]

good luck, russ. as a small business (co)owner, i can say for certain that i would never want to work for the big biz again. it has its pluses and minuses but the best aspect is your future is dependant on you and not someone else.

Can I ask what your business is enstg8er? All I know is that you're a former soldier.

get to know your area's small business community, they can help you out. and pac's advise on the book is well founded. i've been impressed with his economic acumen......

Thanks for the compliment. If you have anything you want to ask about eCommerce Russ drop me a PM because it's my area of study (Bachelor of eCommerce). I'm not an expert by any means but I can hopefully point you in the right direction.

[enstg8er]

?

Can I ask what your business is enstg8er?

industrial refrigeration. we service and manufacture machines that provide chilled water for industry. we sometimes stray outside and troubleshoot or fix rotating equipment others have difficulty with. our specialty is reconditioning parts anr re-using them. saves the company big bucks. that keeps the contract going. our current plant lost 100,000 pound of refrigerant (freon for you oldsters) before we took over. now the loss is about 100 lbs a year. popular with the epa and the company.

one of my personal highlights was an epa audit. they requested our records for refrigerant losses for the previous year. i told them we had no recordable losses. after a lengthy exchange, they warned us of penalties for false record keeping. then they went to purchasing to check refrigerant purchases. lost ref must be replaced to keep the equipment running. after finding no purchases, they told us they had never seen an operation this size with no loses and left. we've not seen them since.

I'm not an expert by any means but I can hopefully point you in the right direction.

i can't verify your expertise, but your understanding of economic fundamentals is something that will take you far..

[pacmania_2001]

?

?

hehe...

[pacmania_2001]

industrial refrigeration. we service and manufacture machines that provide chilled water for industry. we sometimes stray outside and troubleshoot or fix rotating equipment others have difficulty with. our specialty is reconditioning parts anr re-using them. saves the company big bucks. that keeps the contract going. our current plant lost 100,000 pound of refrigerant (freon for you oldsters) before we took over. now the loss is about 100 lbs a year. popular with the epa and the company.

What sort of refridgerant do you use? Is it the same type as cars, R134a and the older gas R12?

[enstg8er]

sadly, my typing is representative of my spelling and grammar. don't expect too much from someone who never finished school

[enstg8er]

we have four machines that use 134a. old r-12 equipment that we converted 12 years ago. 1500, 1500, 1250, and 3100 tons. we also have some older r-123 machines that started out as r-11. 1000, 1000, 1000, and 1250 tons.

as an odd epa note- my license permits me to purchase any refrigerant in any quantity. the lone exception is 1 pound cans of r-12. i can buy a 2000 pound cylinder but not 1 pound........

[Hardcoreruss]

As long as you sell them in bulk you should be good.

Are you designing your own site or outsourcing it to a professional designer?

I am having someone do it for me, my friends son. He is dead good here is the company logo: -

[pacmania_2001]

Nevermind. Looks good.

[Hardcoreruss]

Nevermind. Looks good.

Why?, do you do that?

[pacmania_2001]

No. When you first posted I couldn't see the logo. When I reloaded the page I could so I edited my post to say nevermind.

[Hardcoreruss]

You must finish your course this year.

Any idea of what you want to do?, did you get that internship overseas?

[pacmania_2001]

Nope, missed out on the internship at Morgan Stanley. Their online application form is horribly designed and it made me end up sounding like a dumbarse so I wasn't too suprised when I didn't get the internship. They were hiring for full time graduates again lately but I didn't even bother because of how shit the process to apply is.

I'm hoping to get into business/eCommerce consulting and I've applied for jobs with Accenture and Deloitte which are the two biggies. I'm also applying for a bunch of other consulting jobs with smaller boutique firms and also some investment banking jobs.