Any small business owners?

DH and I have felt in limbo for a couple of years now... he is in upper management for a larger company. He has moved up the ladder well over the years (he interned there in college, was hired right after graduating/getting married - literally, we got back from our honeymoon and he started the next day :lol: ). He was Plant Manager by 27... They think very highly of him, and up until recently he enjoyed his job. Lately? He's tired. He's just burned out at this point. The company has grown a LOT over the last 11 years and he has an overflowing plate.

He felt being called to ministry, but we aren't sure what route. Also, even though the only debt we have is a relatively modest mortgage that we are paying down/off as fast as we can, we feel like we should get that done before he considers other options. Currently he is looking at school options, but we have no idea what route to go so he doesn't want to jump in until he has a general idea. One idea was barber school which he has entertained for years (his gpa is a barber), then maybe PT ministry?

Fast forward to yesterday. We were blindsided with the news that his best friend from HS is losing his business. He bought a well established mom and pop company a few years ago and evidently it wasn't managed really well. It's heartbreaking on so many levels. Then I thought, huh, why not us? Now, this is just the beginning thought process, and we have no idea how many financial skeletons are hidden in the closet... he is evidently pretty hush hush about that side of the business. DH wants more freedom, he wants to be "home" (with us, wherever that may be). There are SO many questions to ask. We aren't sure if it's even an option at this point, or what that would do to the relationship? It might be helpful rather than it going totally under...

So... running a business... buying an already established business... thoughts? I know that's broad, but my good friend and I are talking things out (she used to work there, before kids. I met her through the couple that currently own it several years ago). She has her own small business(es) and knows a lot about the company... more than some of the current employees.

Downside is, he's already starting the closeout process. Doors are set to close on Aug. 31st. The idea of becoming business owners is not at all a new one... it's something we have talked about often for a couple of years now, but just didn't know what route to go or even where to start. This is something that, if I could choose, would be exactly what I would want to do (an old-fashioned feed and seed). But AHHHHHHH!

Starting (or re-starting) a small business in this political climate is darn near suicide. Our current regime hates small business and independent minded citizens. Tell your hub to grin and bear it to retirement. Stress and limited time at home with a decent salary and benefit package is much better than stress and limited time at home, hunger, bills, shipping headaches, employee headaches, rules and over-regulation from a struggling small business. However, I can understand where he is 'cause I'm there too. Sorry .... it's just life in the 21st century; might as well get used to it.

That's a big broad question! And there are probably many areas in which to provide advice. If you want some focused advice... Don't Rush Into This! And trying to work something out before the end of August is rushing.
The current situation can be the nudge that starts your DH down the road to a new career. You might eventually own a feed and seed. You might even open one up where your DH's friend had his. But any sort of action will require a lot of thought, a lot of planning, and also a lot of time.

You aren't aware of the full story regarding the store, and without examining every aspect related to the business you probably never will. People tend to leave out details. Did he go out of business because of things out of his control like overhead costs? Did he alienate his customer base? Did he overprice his goods and drive customers away, or underprice them and couldn't generate enough profits? Did he provide inferior goods? Did he install gold-plated toilets? Did a chain feed store open up across town and muscle him out of the market?

There are probably a number of reasons the friend's business failed. Some you might be able to improve upon but there are probably some important ones that are out of your hand. This could be a situation where a great manager like your husband could come in and turn things around; or it might be beyond anyone trying to save it.

Also, this would be your dream job; does that necessarily mean your husband will like doing this? Do his skills in upper management necessarily translate to a small feed store. (Sure he can manage a supply chain for a large company, etc. but can he convince a town/county to chose this feed store over another? Sure he can accomplish a lot with a great team behind him, can he do it all on his own?)

But to end on a positive note. There is nothing wrong with wanting to change careers, there is nothing wrong with wanting a less stressful career, and there is nothing wrong with going from upper management to mom and pop. Any of those moves will contain some risk; you can't eliminate all of the risk but you can take calculated risks. Maybe use this as a good exercise. Try writing up a business plan for this feed and seed. Maybe your husband can take some business/entrepreneurial type classes at a local college at night.

Dh would likely keep his current job for a coupe years anyway... Making it a little more interesting. The business was successful for 75 years prior to him taking it over which is the odd part. We think he just made poor financial decisions - some we saw first hand so I am sure there were others that weren't as obvious.

I wondered about small business with the way things are currently - part of my wandering thoughts actually.

Will comment more when I am not on dh's phone. I hate touch screen!