As I continue to whine and watch my on-line sign business getting eaten up by those with more recent SEO updates and greater tolerance for Adwords expenses, I look for a new or new-to-me businesses to pour some energy into.  (Any business I pour my time into does have to have enough flexibility to allow me to be “dad” and “husband”, too.)

I have searched a couple of standard internet haunts:  eBay and Craigslist.  The pickings can be kind of slim, but occasionally I do get a “hit”.  And, this is where I sit now…do I really want a new one?

I spoke to the person with the eBay listing on Thursday.  And, he had enthusiasm and enough charm to make me believe he might really stick around to provide the support he promised.  I spoke with a friend who has some of the skills I don’t have.  (I don’t need to know how to do everything, but I need a way to learn.) The owner promised me some more info, so I sent an email to him requesting more info.  To make sure I crossed all of my “t’s”, I called the owner on Friday to make sure he received the email.  (In the past, I found an eBay business that I thought might be a fit.  I spoke to the owner, and we exchanged a couple of emails.  Somehow a new email address was introduced into the email thread.  After our previous conversation broke down and their was no reply on the “new” email address, I replied to the original email.  It got us talking again, but only brought more headaches.  This was described from a different angle in a previous blog.)  Additionally, I got a confirmation email from my friend who reviewed the eBay listing and the products website–he thought it looked good!!  So, now I wait to see if the owner will respond and where it goes from there.

In a sense, all of the other stuff is the easy part.  It is easy to “flirt” with the idea of operating a new business.  You can think about acquiring warehouse space in a safe but inexpensive place.  You can do a little dreaming as to how the product could be expanded.  You can think about what equipment would be needed (i.e. more expenses beyond purchasing cost) to make the manufacturing of this product most effective.  And, you can even think of how it might be fun to play around with some of the parts at the house–trying to impress my teenage daughters with what dad is doing now.  But, once all of the dreaming passes, it really comes down to whether the business can pay for itself.

This is where I do a gut check.  Do I care enough about this facet of my life (i.e. the working side )to commit the time, resources and sweat to give this business a chance at success?  The posting certainly will not answer the question, but it does force me to realize the answer is easier on this side of writing the check THEN on the other side.  (It is better I know now then pay for it and let it set.)