Any one here had first hand experience running a business?

[Jagosaurus]

CAM is Common Area Maintenance. You pay a base rent plus a price it takes to upkeep the building, HVAC, parking lot, etc. It also includes water and electric in some leases & comes out to roughly $10 per square ft annually.

We rent several satellite locations for my work and $17 per sq ft annual is about right.

($17 * 3000 sq ft)/12 months = $4,250 a month.

This all depends on the market & size of suite though. Rent will skyrocket your overhead though.

[Luke]

You guys are all silly.

You are giving business advice to someone who doesn't even know if he is selling a product or a service (or is someone who is bored and has nothing better to do). Might as well say "Location location location!".

[RCBH928]

CAM is Common Area Maintenance. You pay a base rent plus a price it takes to upkeep the building, HVAC, parking lot, etc. It also includes water and electric in some leases & comes out to roughly $10 per square ft annually.

We rent several satellite locations for my work and $17 per sq ft annual is about right.

($17 * 3000 sq ft)/12 months = $4,250 a month.

This all depends on the market & size of suite though. Rent will skyrocket your overhead though.

thank you, I am unaware of the concept because CAM is not used here where I live. Usually the rent price should include any of the maintenance , the land lord should take care of the maintenance.

That was very helpful...

@Luke

Why are you upset because I wish to open my own business?

[Luke]

I'm not upset, it is just odd that people are giving advice on a business that they no nothing about.

[samsonlonghair]

The original question is awfully vague. Perhaps a more specific question will yield better answers.

In the meantime, I will post this link which covers a lot of the basics.
http://www.sba.gov/thinking-about-starting

[Hobie-wan]

I'm not upset, it is just odd that people are giving advice on a business that they no nothing about.

In my case, I worked at a small store with only a handful of people. I saw the issues that were hurting and eventually killed the store.

[Nyukki]

...return on investment renting real estate in USA?...

Not sure about USA as until now we have only invested in UK and China, and are just starting out with our portfolio. Also, my wife and I have until now only looked at residential. ROI on our UK property is low as we bought it with full equity and no leverage, but the income is steady with little to no hassle. The (currently somewhat vague) plan is to build a small portfolio over the next ten years then, taking advantage of depreciation of the mortgage by inflation and appreciation in house prices, refinance and expand the protfolio.

I am flying back to UK this Christmas to look at a few city center flats in Manchester that go for about 150k and rental income is around 800 pcm. With a 75% interest only mortgage and 7% letting agent fee (plus a few other expenses), you're (roughly) looking at an annual return of about 12-13% including monthly cost of finance but excluding initial fees to setup the mortgage and lawyer fees etc (which can run into the thousands).

I learned a lot of my property investment stuff from podcasts, forums and books, plus I work in investments so often ask advice from friends who work for real estate or law firms.

[RCBH928]

Thanks for everyone's tips, i read your advice and taking it seriously .

@SamsonLongHair

Great link I will spend some time with it... thanks

[joehero]

I have to agree with Luke, the questions you are asking if very vague if you want to receive advice on starting up a business. But I will give it a shot. I am an owner of 2 businesses and started them from nothing with very little money. What you should determine is, weather you are selling a product or a service.

A product will require a location and inventory, also everything else( employees, payroll, advertising, equipment, etc). Which will be a huge start up cost. You will have to put together a business plan and submit an application for a small business loan.

A service can be started out of a bedroom of your house or garage, basically an office space. There should be no overhead involved and no inventory. Your chances of success with a service business is much higher and the cost of starting it up is minimal.

I love owning my own businesses, it gives me the freedom to spend time with my family and the money to do the things I enjoy. My advice is, if youre not self motivated, dont bother. Nobody is going to tell you to get out of bed and hit the streets building your business. One thing I always say to friends that are thinking of starting their own business is, What do you plan to do after you choose a name, make the business cards, tell all your friends and family about it, and still have little to no sales.

[Luke]

Exactly. I used to own and operate a catering business but my experience with that may be of no help. I run an online retail store, and every facet of it, but again that may not be of any help.

However, I'm also a business consultant so if I had specifics I could be of help.