DPQ
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So here's my current situation.
My parents run a horse stable/riding school.
The facts:
What's the problem:
The job is physically extremely demanding, which is why my parents want to stop. After all, someone has to clean out 45 boxes every day, feed all the horses, and handle all the customers. It's pretty much a 24/7 job and 100% dependent on them. More than a 3-day vacation a year was never possible because you couldn't find anyone who would do the job for much longer and good employees quit once the winter hits.
I could take over, which would leave me to do most of the physical work, while my parents would continue giving the riding lessons since I don't have the skills nor the licenses for that.
In the long term, I could get those to take over the lessons too, which is honestly where most of the money is.
The big problem I see is the rented stable. It's way too big and rent plus a way too big chunk of the income. But buying a smaller stable in the area feels unfeasible since those start around 1.5mil and that's usually a fixer-upper.
I'm really not sure if that is an opportunity I should take or something to pass on. On one hand, it feels like a gold mine due to the word of mouth and the giant waiting list. On the other hand, it feels like a trap due to it being a full-on 24/7 physical job and feeling impossible to take myself out of the business.
I'd love to get some outside views on the whole scenario. Maybe someone even has an idea how to handle that situation.
My parents run a horse stable/riding school.
The facts:
- ~45 horses, 7 of which are ours (for beginner lessons etc.), the rest rent boxes from us.
- The stable and land are rented, but all the machinery and equipment are ours and paid for (no current debt or anything like that)
- The whole area is full of horse stables (literally 3 in walking distance and multiple surroundings, the area has a history with horses), but my parent's place is one of the best known. They are 100% booked out all the time and usually have a big waitlist. All of that is only from word of mouth. No website, social media, or anything.
- Both my parents work all day and night and with age, they are not physically fit enough to do large parts of the work anymore.
- Yearly numbers are somewhere around 300k income, and 100k profit a year (before taxes). Although I think there is a lot of potential to increase income and reduce expenses.
- They have one full-time employee who deserves to be fired (always late, doesn't show, not trustworthy and so on), but they can't find anyone else. It's pretty much a hard dead-end job after all.
- Location: Western Europe
- Software Engineer with a steady but boring full-time job
- Somewhat experienced with horses since I grew up at the stable
What's the problem:
The job is physically extremely demanding, which is why my parents want to stop. After all, someone has to clean out 45 boxes every day, feed all the horses, and handle all the customers. It's pretty much a 24/7 job and 100% dependent on them. More than a 3-day vacation a year was never possible because you couldn't find anyone who would do the job for much longer and good employees quit once the winter hits.
I could take over, which would leave me to do most of the physical work, while my parents would continue giving the riding lessons since I don't have the skills nor the licenses for that.
In the long term, I could get those to take over the lessons too, which is honestly where most of the money is.
The big problem I see is the rented stable. It's way too big and rent plus a way too big chunk of the income. But buying a smaller stable in the area feels unfeasible since those start around 1.5mil and that's usually a fixer-upper.
I'm really not sure if that is an opportunity I should take or something to pass on. On one hand, it feels like a gold mine due to the word of mouth and the giant waiting list. On the other hand, it feels like a trap due to it being a full-on 24/7 physical job and feeling impossible to take myself out of the business.
I'd love to get some outside views on the whole scenario. Maybe someone even has an idea how to handle that situation.
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