b"\x1b\x1a\x19 \x1f\x18\x1d\x17\x16Managers DeskBUYING AN ESTABLISHED SHOPO n my first day at my machine shop, I hadstartups experience. I had to decide whether money in the bank, jobs on the floor,to leave my day job and commit to the startup an experienced crew, working machinesat perhaps half my regular wages or continue and customers. Everybody knew what theyboth endeavors and exhaust myself. In the needed to do, and we had tooling for everyend, I sold my business to an established job. Better yet, I made money on each job.competitor in my town.There was no I have to buy $100 in toolsAs the saying goes, the third time was the to do a $200 job to suck up all the profitcharm. While working for another defense and then some. This may sound like a shopcontractor, I passed a shop and was curious fantasy. But I was able to do it because Iwhat it did. I believe in miracles, and this bought an established, working shop, whichqualifies in my mind. The shop had been was far easier than starting one from scratch.in business on the same site in Pittsburgh I know this because I twice had tried to start asince 1906. The founding family owned the business by myself. company, but no heir was interested in taking When I worked for a large defenseover. It had been for sale for six months and contractor, I traveled the country checkingwas about to be torn apart for an auction. The on jobs subcontracted to family-ownedmachines were a bit dated, but there were shops. I saw families doing very well forcustomers and experienced employees, and themselves, and I wanted that for my familyit was a profitable business.too. So I formed a company nearly 25 yearsThe owners shared their previous five ago. As a degreed engineer, I began withyears of financial data. After three months a business that required almost nothingof coming in weekly, reviewing operations except a professional engineering license: aand records and talking to banksa period manufacturing engineering consultancy. that professionals call due diligencemy It went well, and I made more moneyfamily took money from our life savings and than when working for someone else.put down 20% on the business, including its However, the travel and time away fromfacility. Four years later, we have updated the home were hard on my young family. Itmachinery, we are financially strong, and I see didnt make sense to risk losing the people my family every night. I consistently work 10-I was trying to do something good for, sohour days but only because I want to, and that when a client offered a permanent job to me,still beats the 14-hour days of a startup.I took it. If you want to own a shop, think about For my second attempt six years later, whiletalking respectfully to older shop owners in still employed, I chose to start a shop so Iyour area. They may be looking to retire and would not have to travel frequently. I rented acash in on their lifes work, and you may be the space and began the grueling task of callingperson who can provide an exit strategy.CTEon customers, planning and running jobs, packaging and delivering, programming and purchasing tools. I found that profits mostlyabout the author went toward buying tools. Also, I was away from my family in evenings. I reached a pointMatthew Mawhinney is gen-at which the business provided 30% to 50%eral manager at Pittsburgh-based Gazzam Machine Inc. of my salary, but my waking hours were 100%Contact him athpgazzam@gone. Its a moment that many eveningverizon.net.12JULY 2020Manager'sDesk.indd 12 6/17/20 2:38 PM"