the right business to make money

[beastmonkey]

The other day in our office our boss was talking to his daughter about their new house, when the daughter asked why didn't we buy the really nice one, his response was ''it cost £400,000''. now don't get me wrong, i can't raise a mortgage for that amount as i'm an employee of the firm, but seeing as the md owns half the business does this mean i am in the wrong industry? As £400,000 is not that much in terms of housing.

I work for a firm of auctioneers, is this a bad industry for making money, or is maybe the firm i work for not very well run? i could own a single a newsagents and probably not make much money, but if i expanded the business to 200 newsagents then i would be rich.

I am keen to have my own business and prepared to work hard to make it work, but in 20-30 years i don't really want to look back on my life and think oh i was in the wrong industry there.

i guess ultimately my question is, do all business sectors give the opportuntiy to make money, or are some industries better suited for those seeking wealth.

[redcrx]

so just the fact that your boss said he didnt buy a £400,000 house means you can tell if hes making lots of money or not?

did he tell you he couldnt get a mortgage? that he even has one?

He may just not want to spend that much money, perhaps hes careful in this current financial climate to not want to put his money into property.

Find a career choice you are happy with, not for the potential of what money you can make but for the enjoyment you get from the job.

[Twenty20]

Just because he owns half the business doesn't mean he'll be rolling in money. In our own business, for many years our employees earned a lot more than we, the owners, did.

[squarebear]

He may also have just been saying that to keep his daughter quiet.

[beastmonkey]

redcrx, just because he didn't buy a £400,000 house does not mean that i don't know if he is rolling in it.

the fact i bought the company accounts off companies house, only cost a couple of pounds and shows the out goings, not too hard to figure out his earnings as there are only 8 of us in the business, i KNOW he is not rolling in it.

believe me he is the type of person who if he could afford the big house he would buy it.

the question was not to do with his house, but more to do with the industry i am in.

[redcrx]

perhaps the staff arent working hard enough to make the money
maybe the company cannot really support the staff it has
perhaps he takes his wage as a small amount and keeps his money within the company
or takes a small wage and takes rest as drawings from company

a business is really only as good as its staff (directors included). There will be auctioneers who only make enough to keep above the poverty line and those that make a fortune.

[Im a BusyBee]

you need to know more than you do in order to understand how much money he is making or is worth. there are various ways and means to get money out of a company that would not directly show on the financial statements as lodged at companies house. unless you knew how to pull the figures apart and have detailed breakdown you would not be able to work it out. any line of business will be as profitable as the management of it allows and it does not follow that one company is making a good margin therefore that particular trade has good results for every company. i should worry about yourself, how good your management skills are and how you can make a profit at whatever you are going to do rather than other company's

[beastmonkey]

the fact that i work in the business, and hear about and see the life style my boss leads, and know the type of person he is, i know he isn't making loads of money. However, it doesn't seem to stop those who read what i write from deciding they know better.

the fact is the question was to do with auctioneering as an industry AND not what my boss earns. However, his earnings seems to be the point that everyone chose to pick up on.

Oh and to eliminate any further thoughts for those who think he maybe taking money out other ways, the other day he was telling me about a woman he hates, (his words not mine) he passes her at a cross roads each morning, when i asked why does he hate her, his response was, because she drives a porsche.

Now i know the next response will be someone saying, 'oh perhaps he lost a family member in an accident to someone in a porsche, thats why he hates people who drive them', but no he hasn't.