Valentin Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 (edited) If you where going to sell your shop/business how much woud you ask for it ? Or woud you not sell it? or give it away? I have become the slave of this shop no holiday no time to spend with friends no weekends just work and home and IFI ...that can also be considered work...And for what ? i only have 2 hands to eat with ! Edited July 24, 2008 by Valentin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zsartell Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 To sell my shop would be to sell my soul. When I have kids and die it goes to them. If I die before I have kids, then it gets distributed to a few of my good friends. It's worth a lot more than I paid for it in sentimental value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan W Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I'm not into selling and buying, I'd rather trade. As in 'I'll trade you this and that for those woodworking tools' or whatever. Hard cash sledom changes hands in our 1814 group. If I decided to just get out of blacksmithing all togeather, my cousin would get all my stuff. He's just getting started and my kids dont care about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 (edited) I have a day job so time in my shop is "holiday" for me. I try to to *not* get caught up in large projects for other people as that does make it more like a job than fun. I learned 25 years ago that I enjoyed smithing much more as a hobby than as a job and have been lucky enough to be able to keep it that way. If I were to sell my shop it would cost far more than I paid to assembly all the tools---even if you don't count time spent hunting things down on the cheap as well. Edited July 25, 2008 by ThomasPowers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 You see ... when u come home u start blacksmithing but when i come home ...i have to think what to give to 14 peopel to work tomorow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug C Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I would probably look on iForgeIron and find a few folks new to smithing and sell it to them for a very reasonable price like Finnr did recently. Charge them just enough so they understand its value but low enough in price so they can afford it. Take pictures of some smiling faces and post them in the gallery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I would probally get my cousin started by selling him the post vice , the MouseHole anvil real cheap . Then probally sell the rest on IFORGEIRON cheap enough like Finnr did for John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Wow Valentin! You don't ask easy questions do you? If I had to place a dollar value on my unfinished and ill equipped shop I MIGHT consider $150,000 and see how much higher I could push it. Like Thomas smithing is more a hobby to me than a job. What I hope the shop will do to break even or be profitable is as a fab shop. While I enjoy fab work it's more like a real job to me and I'm good enough at it to make it pay if the work comes in. If I had to give up my smithing tools My first student has right of first refusal though he doesn't know it. After than it'll go to the local Association to either use for club tools or auction off as a fund raiser, or whatever the members decide. If I'm not around, it's up to Deb to do with as she sees fit. The fab shop equipment holds far less sentimental value and would get sold. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I hear you Valentin - it's real easy to be chained to the anvil. While I'm not operating at anywhere near your level (I'm a one man shop), it is how I make my living so blacksmithing had better be what I like to do for entertainment because to make a living at it, it's all I have time for! I'm with Frosty on how I'd go about selling the shop - there's lot's o' stuff that needs to go to those who have earned first right of refusal then the rest can just be sold for whatever. There's no way to recoup the initial investment but it's payed for itself many times over through the joy I've gotten and the money it's made for me. As far as value - Don't know that I could say to the penny, but probably in the low 6 figure range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 You sure sound burned out and used up. When was the last time you thought of yourself? I'm not sure you really want to sell the shop but want to have the burden of marketing lifted form your shoulders. You need to be the artistic director and shop manager not the everything in the business. The the problem you have is that it is all on you. The other fourteen all look to you and you have no one else to look to. If you sell the business what are you going to do? Get a boat and go fishing or work for someone else? Either you become the the marketing/artistic director or you get someone else to it or you become it and get someone to become the foreman of the shop and keep him so busy that he has the problems you now have. You can't do it all and live long. You health will fail you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce wilcock Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 make me a offer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Like Thomas and Frosty, I smith as a hobby because I enjoy it. I used to work at what I loved (kayaking, sea kayak guide) then it gradually became a job and I not only didn't love it anymore, I basically don't do it anymore. I started rock climbing for fun instead. Now that I'm older and have more responsibilities (kids) and fewer climbing partners, I've turned to smithing. Less dangerous (in proportion) and I can do it by myself! Even with my new Nimba anvil and Hofi hammer I probably have less than $10,000 into my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 First of all please confirm you are not selling insurance. :-) How much is your (insert word) worth is usually a question they ask! I am in a strange position. If my contract here finishes and I need to leave China all my main equipment would have to remain here as it is all too big and heavy to move. So my 2 anvils at 125Kg each and my Vaughans post vice etc.etc. will either be left at the school or possibly given away to a Chinese blacksmith. I had considered trying to get a 20 foot container and packing everything (including the complete rack of welded dumbells and barbells) in that. Maybe I will. So what is it worth? Well during the fixing things stage of the earthquake it was very valuable. Would I sell it? Probably not unless somebody made me an offer of a lot more than it is worth in which case I would just set up again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awalker Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Exactly how much is it worth, where do you live and what time do you go to bed?:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdwarner Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 depends on who you ask ask my wife and she'll tell you "no more than $121.12 dollars " with blacksmith included ask me and i will give you the long version of the journeys i went on to aquire these wonderful tools and how much exactly each cost . estimate 6 thousand dollars plus or minus .32 cents another blacksmith would charge me to take all that junk away a scrap dealer would give me 20cents per pound a judge would give me a fine for 10 thousand dollars and a possible jail sentence for having such dangerous weapontry so sum it up values vary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Mine isn't for sale . Now or ever. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmercier Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I figure i've probably put between 5 and 6 grand into my shop, but it'd probably take 10 grand to get me to part with it, because there was a lot of time and effort and traveling etc into obtaining what's in my shop. That and a lot of rock bottom bargain deals. It'd probably cost 10 grand just to get back to thep oint i am.... and i'm someone who only gets out into my shop one or two days a month currently with all the other things going on >_< I'm at the point however that i can only really think of 2 more things that my shop needs... A hydrolic forging press and a digitally controlled electric heat treating oven. That and I might convert one of my horizontal forges into a vertical one to be a better welding propane forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Valentin, Sounds like you are asking a serious question about changing your life. Businesses are typically sold on either "good will" or asset value - or some combination of both. Assets are the hard items such as equipment and the building. Good will is that intangible quality that made the business successful - for example, the Coke trade name has an enormous amount of good will so any purchaser would be buying that famous logo and name plus their considerable assets. If you are feeding 14 people, then you are likely billing US$500K to $1MM or thereabouts in annual sales - please don't feel obliged to share that information, it's just my estimate for the sake of conversation. If you have no repeat business and are in a bad location, you may well not have any good will value in the business, so you would have to sell the assets and pay off any creditors to get any monetary gains. You might also want to consider the business to the employees - they know how it runs and they would keep their jobs if the enterprise is successful. You could either finance the sale (retain possession in case they fail - and probably make more money in the end) or have them obtain a loan through a bank, then you walk away with a lump sum and no worries other than how to spend it. You could also sell to another business or individual and negotiate a continued position as an employee or consultant. This can be lucrative and free you from the grind of managing. There are a lot of ways to value a business so if you really want to sell it, you should consult someone who is experienced in selling small to medium sized companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mende Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I could say that everything in my shop was obtained for 2000-4000$. Including the building it's housed in and such ...Plus the power tools and coal .. But I would never sell it. I'd probably give it away to a good friend who likes metalwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I've got maybe $500 in mine... more in the roof than the bucket of tools... it's all I need for now. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuk Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 i have three hammers. two are homemade, a blower and a forge that was welded out of a tire rim. only thing that can't be sold as scrap is the blower im going to make sure that is passed on and USED for as long as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 When i worked with my father and my father only it was a pleasure ...to work. Now when i go to the shop it's just ... i don't know i don't whana say ugly things but ... i just don't go with pleasure. I see so many flaws and nobody is responsable for them... but i have to be. Today i just sent home 2 of the people working with me. One was drinking during job and the other was doing everything that i sayed but in the oposite way(no need to say that after this show...everybody did his job right). I want to be able to do blacksmithing work with pleasure again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 My shop has two different values. An A/O torch,arc welder. anvil, couple of blowers, post vise, a few beat up hammers. Not worth a whole lot on the open market, really. But what the shop has allowed me to do,.......and what potential it holds for the future..........are priceless! James Flannery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mills Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 You do sound very tired. Is selling a passing thought? Will you shake loose some time to breath? I just finished a tough job that went waay over budget in time and money and my help didn't seem to be. I reached your point and my wife talked me down (helped me get through it). Now I have had a couple of days recovery and am ready to get at it again. I planned for recovery time. Just like maintenace on equipment. It is a part of the cost of business. Do you allow for that? As well when two people are dedicated to the same goal as you and your father were the details are handled readily and gladly. When some one is hired to weld they do NOT want to dig a hole and set a post. That irritates me no end. I have adapted the idea that like an orchestra those who work for me do one thing only and I point the way and train them to do what *I* want so that when the music is made it was there labor and my brains. and We All take a bow. If you would rather be somewhere else then see HWooldridges advice, especially since how to value and sell a business in Romania may be some different than US, Canada or Great Britain. I like your work and think you simply need a rest and a restructuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I won't reveal what my shop is insured for, especially compared to what it would cost to replace the difference makes me cry. I will say that if I was to sell it, the price would be considerably higher than either. That said, when my time comes to close the door my shop would go to my daughter and she could with it whatever she wished. Otherwise my Blacksmithing and my shop are my legacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.