Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Punta Gorda - Port Charlotte
 [Register]
Punta Gorda - Port Charlotte Charlotte County
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-10-2014, 05:21 AM
 
Location: Anthem, AZ
2,118 posts, read 3,765,909 times
Reputation: 665

Advertisements

With the wide spread reputation that service oriented businesses in Southwest Florida are greatly lacking in actual service, what sort of business is begging to be started or improved upon in Charlotte County? I'd look to start something with repeat business fueled by highly satisfied customers who don't mind paying a little more for that satisfaction and attention to detail. The usual a come to mind, like pool service or landscape maintenance but those markets are so over saturated here and the profit margins are so low, you'd need 50 clients a week to make a decent living.
Dock repair? Regularly hear complaints about finding someone to respond to work requests, but again...is there a living waiting to be made?
Fishing guide? Likely too seasonal and tons of competition from those way better than I.
Real estate?
Private investigations? Probably not enough of a market for PI work in this small community.

What business is sorely needed here? Or is the next business started here, the next one to go down?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-10-2014, 06:25 AM
 
Location: Lemon Bay, Englewood, FL
3,179 posts, read 5,980,807 times
Reputation: 1170
The problem in Charlotte Co is dealing with the gov't. I wouldn't want to start any business that requires permitting. What a headache & mess that system is!
Did you know that a pool service person has to have a FL contractor's license!?!?!?!? Yep, good old Charlotte Co. No other counties require that. That's why many do so under the radar with no vehicle advertisement.
Real Estate.... everyone's a realtor down here. Another over-saturated field with fierce competition. Plus, there may be a BIG change coming in RE commissions that will benefit the sellers, which is WAY overdue.
Keep thinking MA, as we all do!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2014, 06:44 AM
 
Location: sittin happy in the sun :-)
3,645 posts, read 7,129,770 times
Reputation: 1877
i think the problem may lie in a part of your post

''fueled by highly satisfied customers who don't mind paying a little more ''

people expect to pay peanuts for everything , and as the saying goes 'pay peanuts , get monkeys'

I set out to get good quality subs, and I have to pay higher $, which I am prepared to do.

this means I either reduce my margins or keep my prices higher..........I try to find a happy medium, but then Im not out seeking lots of business.......I heard this week of a serious player in the construction game offering carpenters $1.49 a square foot, we pay closer to $3.............they expect a guy to hang a door for $3.

so if you pay that ,what sort of work are you going to get ?
But people still buy their homes................yup because they are cheaper...............
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2014, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Florida
1,646 posts, read 3,014,894 times
Reputation: 1126
Just a reminder: Nobody starts up a business saying "I want to provide crappy service and inferior products". It just ends up that way because the owners have to change plans and do what it takes to make money.

There are companies that give great service at a higher price and make it work, but it's rare....and could take years of establishing a good reputation with minimal profit margin before raising their prices above the rest. I won't pay top prices to a new, unproven company. And most others wouldn't either, so getting your foot in the door and gaining reputation is not always easy unless you have competitive prices.

I think you'll do very well, just stay flexible!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2014, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
3,979 posts, read 10,521,052 times
Reputation: 1940
Here is a link to the Charlotte County Business Start up Guide which has information and resources that might be helpful to you - http://charlottecountychamber.org/wp...t-up_guide.pdf
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2014, 02:46 PM
 
Location: PGI-finally here!!!!!!!!!!
325 posts, read 505,477 times
Reputation: 128
Having just moved my belongings from San Diego to this area, and going thru trying to find someone here to help, I have a suggestion.

I used a company called You move me, dot com I think. They charge me $105 per hour on site for 2 men and all the materials are included, 2 hr. minimum. THEY did a great job and very professional, on time and even changed the start time at the last minute because Penske screwed up on the truck delivery time.

They packed the 26 ft. truck from a 10x30 ft. storage unit in under 2 hours. Now I had everything padded and wrapped when I put my stuff in the unit several months ago, but still they did an amazing job. The truck was packed tight and they knew that I was going almost 2700 miles and they did a great job. There are a few things that went wrong, but I must say they were great.

Now on this end I arranged for a company ( 2 weeks advance notice ) that I would be here late Friday night, the 8th, and did not want to unload until Sunday and he said that that would be fine and set the appt. for 10AM Sunday morning.
As I pull into Mobile Al. about 6PM Thurs. he call me and asks if we are still on to offload Friday at 10AM, mind you I am 640 miles from home and I was amazed as I made sure he knew I wanted to unload Sunday. Then he said that he would rather do it Saturday due to his overscheduling too much work for Sunday and I told him that I need to take a break on Saturday from all the driving and he said OK that he would see me 10 AM Sunday. He called and left a message for me that he needed to unload Saturday afternoon, which I didn't get until @ 8:30 PM Sat. He said he had too much work on Sunday and needed to do this early.

Needless to say I got someone else, I hope. And by the way his price was not that much less than the company in San Diego.

I have unloaded 90% of my stuff so far by myself. And all I have left is the bulky items which will be done tomorrow.


You move me is a franchise and I think they have a good idea. I talked at length to the guy in charge and he gave me an impression that it is not a bad business model and he is currently expanding his franchise to Orange Co. Ca. and even to Las Vegas. He quoted me $100k for every 1 million residents in your area. Here that would include a lot of territory. This also includes setting up a website and training and other things.

As we all are getting older and it is harder to move your stuff under any circumstance this may be a good area to look into.

This may be something I would be interested in as well, well I can't fish all the time. LOL

Ok sorry for the long post but the fact that you can't get good help here really ticks me off. I came from a construction company background and if you did not take care of your customers they would be someone else's customer next week.
I used to tell my boss that I did not work for him I worked for our customers, which he finally got way before my 25 years service with the company was up.

MA I hope this helps. Just my venting a little with trying to get good help on time for a reasonable rate.

Clint
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2014, 05:57 PM
 
Location: North of South, South of North
8,704 posts, read 10,864,460 times
Reputation: 5150
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine View Post
i think the problem may lie in a part of your post

''fueled by highly satisfied customers who don't mind paying a little more ''

people expect to pay peanuts for everything , and as the saying goes 'pay peanuts , get monkeys'

I set out to get good quality subs, and I have to pay higher $, which I am prepared to do.

this means I either reduce my margins or keep my prices higher..........I try to find a happy medium, but then Im not out seeking lots of business.......I heard this week of a serious player in the construction game offering carpenters $1.49 a square foot, we pay closer to $3.............they expect a guy to hang a door for $3.

so if you pay that ,what sort of work are you going to get ?
But people still buy their homes................yup because they are cheaper...............
Exactly. Not enough people see the value in sometimes paying more to get better quality. Bottom dollar price is all that matters to so many.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2014, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,420,842 times
Reputation: 3457
I don't mind paying for quality, but the current 'you have to be a licensed contractor' has led to a shortage of companies to do the work, coupled with inflated prices.

Charlotte Co has the second oldest population in the US, which equates to limited incomes. As a result, this system adversely affects the elderly, taking a disproportionately amount of their income for needed repairs.

There has to be a happy medium between what exists now and a completely unregulated system.

That rant being said, whatever you decide to do, 1)return home calls; 2) show up on time and don't over-schedule ; 3) do the work competently. You will succeed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2014, 01:02 PM
 
Location: sittin happy in the sun :-)
3,645 posts, read 7,129,770 times
Reputation: 1877
Quote:
Originally Posted by Restrain View Post
I don't mind paying for quality, but the current 'you have to be a licensed contractor' has led to a shortage of companies to do the work, coupled with inflated prices.

Charlotte Co has the second oldest population in the US, which equates to limited incomes. As a result, this system adversely affects the elderly, taking a disproportionately amount of their income for needed repairs.

There has to be a happy medium between what exists now and a completely unregulated system.

That rant being said, whatever you decide to do, 1)return home calls; 2) show up on time and don't over-schedule ; 3) do the work competently. You will succeed.


Abso freakin lutely spot on
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2014, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Florida
1,646 posts, read 3,014,894 times
Reputation: 1126
Quote:
Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy View Post
Exactly. Not enough people see the value in sometimes paying more to get better quality. Bottom dollar price is all that matters to so many.
The problem is, more times than not, higher price does not guarantee higher quality. Buying a car? Sure, you get what you pay for (hopefully). But when it comes to service, joe blow handyman with no shop, no employees and low overhead etc might offer much better quality at a much better price than the big xyz company that has to raise prices to stay profitable, and probably sends you a guy making minimum wage to do the work.

Fishermen here know Fishin Franks has the best service and competitive pricing. Why do you think he is doing so well? Can he raise his prices? Sure, but he doesn't...and that is why it is the best shop around.

90% of new businesses fail. Most of them thought they deserved to charge higher prices. LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Punta Gorda - Port Charlotte

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:05 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top