New to this site...

Hi All,

We are both new to this site, hoping to have others help us through the stages to get back on our feet after loosing our jobs, after the airline Ansett Australia closed its doors. We lost a lot after that as we both had full time jobs there. This also included the start of our protfoilo in investment properties. This was back in 2002, then thinking we were doing the right thing buying a franchises in a food chain "Healthy Habits" Melbourne central, that was a disaster from the start…. (Never trust franchises) with a HUGE loss over $500k..
However here we are trying to start again….Any input would be very much appreciated..

Kind regards
Christopher And Jason

 

Welcome aboard guys

With property investing - my advice is to educate yourself before jumping in. There's plenty of books - and free resources like this forum.

Spend time working out what you want out of property investing - and then devise a plan to meet that goal.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Welcome Chris and Jason.
Its not all 'loss'. I believe you did gain enough knowledge not to repeat some mistakes.
Tell us about your foray in investment properties.
Also, share with us the story of your 'healthy habits' franchisee.

 

Hi Christoher and Jason
I don't like franchises either but I love building businesses - my favourite form of real estate.

Welcome to the forum and as Jamie said, self education is key.
What would you like to know?

 

Welcome to the site,500k is a serious kick in the balls,but look at the experience you both have
and i think a few would be interested in how it all went pear shape and why?,were the books cooked from the start or was there a simple difference with the probability and expectation from the start..

How To Embrace Failure..

 

Welcome, @Christopher and Jason.

Sorry to hear of your troubles; hopefully you can get back on track soon. I agree with the advice above to educate yourselves first before jumping in, and recommend this forum highly as a great source of reading/learning resources.

My uneducated "spidey-sense" tells me buying a food service franchise is more often than not buying yourself a full-time job.

 

That's a lot of cheese in most anyone's language.

Did you have it to lose? (not suggesting you could afford it)

Or did it leave a crater for creditors?

Because its one thing to be wiped out with your own cash.

It's something else when it goes beyond that and creditors lose out too (and your credit rating suffers). And it would impact quite a bit on your way forward I expect - but a good broker (of which there are several on this forum) may be able suggest a pathway ahead.

 

Hi Chirstopher and Jason

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear your story, hopefully your situation will improve.

I wrote my story about what happened to us some 6 years ago in another thread on this site - How many hours a week do you "work"? - hopefully it will inspire you to move on to bigger and better things.

Fast forward today and we have now replaced both our incomes, so from a very dire financial situation things have completely turned around and we continue to invest etc.

My advice would be to look at ways to generate cash flow/income streams, whether it is property or another asset class and never give up.

 

Thanks
I think if we can see the glass half full rather than half empty it will make for a much better life, not to mention it will rub off on your children, the greatest gift you can give IMO.

 

Wether its credit lost or cash (or both) it still hurts.

 

Welcome guys. Looking forward to your contribution.

 

G'day and welcome. If you want to make money, losing money (in big or small sums) is inevitable.

Financial hardship & loss doesn’t seem pleasant at the time you are going through it. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of prosperity for those who have been trained by it.

My advice, learn your lessons and explore your character & beliefs. You can look into "what" went wrong and you can also look at "who" you were and your thought processes that led you to make those choices. Mindset is the most important part of the wealth creation journey. As you evolve as a person, so will your investment choices and the people you attract into your life.

 

Welcome to the other side of what is hopefully the beginning of a new life and path forward

Do you still feel the passion for investing in property that you had in 2002? I hope you do.

Anyway - I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Hopefully it built some strong characteristics but don't go looking for investing in property to be a magic saviour. Like anything, it doesn't take much to lose money when poor decisions are made. Take it slow, learn and grow and it may be a time to invest with a more moderate risk profile until you get your feet.

 

I wasn't suggesting otherwise.

But starting with nothing and ok credit.

Is a lot more preferable than starting with a crater (creditors) and terrible credit.

 

Before going into business, one should ask oneself "Are you looking for a job or something more?". If you are after a job, go get one; don't go into business.

There is a big difference between going into business and getting a job. In business, typically the hours are a lot longer, the risks are a lot greater, the rewards can be a lot more, ...

With my wife, we have owned 4 businesses, spanning 30 years. In one (food service but not a franchise), we opened our doors 84 hours per week (12 hours/day, 7 days/week), had it for 18 months (wife became pregant) and made nothing. But we gained a lot of knowledge. With this knowledge and the knowledge we gained from business #2 (also worked long hours and made nothing), we were able to retire after selling businesses #3 and #4.

I trust you will see yor franchisee experience as a deposit on your future. Use that 'deposit' wisely and you will do well.

Christopher and Jason, welcome to PC.

 

Hey guys, welcome aboard.
Some good suggestions above, would agree with doing plenty of research and reading some books.

 

of course, however whatever their situation is can't be changed. You just got to deal with the hand you got and focus on moving forward and if you lose your credit rating in the process just got to deal with it and keep moving forward.

 

Welcome fellas!

Sorry to hear about the hard times with losing your job and a bad business venture. Some franchises really suck.

I was actually thinking of getting a Jim's Mowing franchise at one stage but I thought stuff it, I'm not going to spend each day cutting peoples' lawns and arguing over the job. I'd be worn out in six months time.

Property is a much easier proposition in my opinion.