[charlie1173]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some recommendations as we're planning to move to Citrus County, possibly the Citrus Springs area. I'm looking to do something different with my life and am considering several self-employment paths. Some of the ideas I have are a painting business, lawn care and possibly power washing. Any thoughts, comments, concerns? Thanks in advance.

[logybogy]

Citrus County has a very large population of senior citizens. Census shows 36% over the age of 65. Median age in the upper 50's.

So think services geared to this senior population.

I think you are on the right track with handyman type services. Pool cleaning, painting, plumbing, AC, roofing, lawn maintenance, home renovations. Stuff that older retirees that don't care to do or may not be physical able to do would pay for someone to do for them.

[charlie1173]

Gotcha. Makes sense... I was actually thinking about going the "Handyman" route.. Much appreciated.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by charlie1173

Gotcha. Makes sense... I was actually thinking about going the "Handyman" route.. Much appreciated.

A friend of mine is doing that, in another County, and is busy all the time.

[Yellow Submarine]

Best of luck to you. Your much braver than I. What is your age? Do you have a spouse/partner you can depend on for income when you start up? Where do you plan on living? Do you have a bank account with a few dollars to cover the move and restart? Children? Schools? Your from Ohio. Why is Florida your choice? Relatives? Search for similar posts like yours and you will find much better advice than I can give. But, your braver than I am.

[logybogy]

There's a huge market demand for reliable handymen who are not criminals or drug addicts/alcoholics. If you charge a reasonable hourly rate and are competent, you will never be short of work once word of mouth gets going. The assumption is everyone is a crook or addict in Florida, so that is your barrier to entry. It's buyer beware out there. Lots of shady people scammers.

[charlie1173]

@Yellow Submarine
I'm 45 and have been a cop for 21 years... And I'm sick of it. We're moving to, most likely, the Citrus Springs/Pine Ridge/Hernando area I think... They schools look pretty good on Zillow and we are planning to buy a house outright. The big move to Florida is to help with elderly parents. We wanted to move to Florida as a place to retire in about 10 years so, this seemed like the stars were aligning just right.

@logybogy
I'm hoping you're right... I'm thinking once the fact that I'm a semi-retired cop, my phone will ring off the hook.

And thanks for you both taking the time to write me back

[FireStation46]

Check with https://www.sba.gov/

Check with https://www.score.org/

Check with you skill set and bank account prior to launch

Good luck

[RedneckRebel]

As a fellow entrapraneur in Citrus County, I say welcome. I too live in Citrus Springs.

The Handy Man idea is not a bad idea, because there are a lot of scammers out there. But, honestly, there are a lot of handy men around here (scammers or not), because everyone has the same idea.

One thing to know about the county is, there is a lot of money here. Finding Start-Up capital shouldn't be too hard if you wanted to start a business that needed any capital.

And it is an "out-doorsey" place. People like their boats, hunting and they like to fish. If you are handy and know how, maybe build high quality/custom boats, or motorcycles (There are a lot of motorcycles in Florida). Or repair them.

People here also like their guns. As a former cop, I am sure you know a lot about guns. You could open up a gun shop, cross-sell CWP classes, and/or gun education/training classes, and even manufacture your own guns, bullets, and or accessories (holsters, targets, hunting accessories ie: turkey calls etc...) on the side, and sell them in your store.

You could also leverage you image as a former cop to start a security company; provide security for homes and/or businesses.


Food Trucks. If you know how to cook, open a Food Truck. We have almost none around here. Not restaraunt. But specifically a food truck. You can even work with the City of Inverness, Crystal River or even Citrus Springs to start monthly Food Truck rallies after you open one. It doesn't even have to be fancy food, just good food. One of my favorite food trucks (that operates around Orlando), sells Chicken and Waffles. It aint fancy, but its good!

Then, there is always farming, if you know anything about it. There is plenty of open land around here. Tomatoes grow like weeds here, Corn does fine, and there are plenty of BBQ joints to sell pigs to if you want to raise them. There is also several Farmers Markets that always seem busy that would almost certainly be open to buying local produce.

Finally, the last idea that I think of that the county could need would be maybe some kind of a sign maker. A lot of signs for businesses around here seem a bit old, ratty, and outdated. if you have any kind of graphic design skills and know how, I can't imagine that would be a bad business around here.

Obviously, make sure ou do your market research before starting anything around here. Citrus is a good community to have a small business in. Not a lot of big chains, but a lot of mom & pops here. People like to help each other out, and shop local. Take your time to get to know your neighbor, get plugged into a good church, and let your roots grow deep. The county will take care of you.

Welcome to Citrus County.

[charlie1173]

Awesome... Thanks very much for the ideas...