Inheriting an electronics business So Confused....

[ToastyMallow]

Sooooooo I am extremely new to Electronics repair and maintenance my father recently passed and owned a shop repairing just about everything electronic tvs to toasters.  I never wanted to learn the trade or skills til it was too late. I am currently a college student going to school for Computer Science. He left the business to me.... I have no idea about anything electronic I know what a capacitor and a resistor look like but that's about it. So right now I am sitting on tons of gear wires and things staring at these wavy lines on a screen from a personal project he left connected. Where can I start to learn about electronics any starter material? I would love to keep his business going....  ANY HELP WOULD BE AWESOME!!!!!

[ebclr]

It's time to find a partner

[Adam60]

First of all, I am very sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is difficult and by the sounds of it, you were close to your father. It is admirable that you want to carry on his passion but before you do that, give yourself some time to grieve and then as yourself if this is something you really want to do because it is a large undertaking with many avenues to follow. If you still want to do it, there are tons of courses you can take and books you can read, one of the best is Forresr Mims - Getting Started in Electronics. The website "All About Circuits" has a very good library on Electronics with easy to read/follow projects etc. Dave here has many very good tutorials and there are other really good Youtube bloggers. Sky is the limit in this trade. Take your time and when you are ready, start firing off questions......someone will answer. Good luck in your journey.

[bitseeker]

Hi Toasty,

Sorry to hear about your father's passing. Sounds like he was quite the electronics whiz with the variety of devices he worked on.

I'd say not to worry about running the business right away. Give yourself time to take care of things at home and school. In addition to the resources mentioned by Adam60, above, you could also look into electronics classes at your university or community colleges. Then try fixing a few things on your own, before adding the complexities of making it a business.

[retrolefty]

 So many details needed to determine if your wish to continue the business successfully. Was it a one person interprize or are there other full time employees? What is the overhead costs for the business, rent, utilities, etc? If it was a one man operation I would suspect you might find the learning curves of operating a business and learning how to repair consumer electronics an awful hard task. Such businesses are a dying industry as consumer electronics are cheap enough to not make repair all that practical.

[Whales]

Some business things:

• Was he still working on any customer's items?   
• Are they still around?
• Did he keep paperwork/lists of what item is whose or other invoicing/customer details?

The journey to electronics repair does not happen overnight.  If you want to continue the business, finding someone that you can (A) work well with and (B) knows how to repair electronics, even slightly, would be a good first step.

Where in the USA are you located?

[Seekonk]

Ask yourself if that is what you really want to do.  If you had any interest in it, you would already know everything about it.

[bitslice]

Ask yourself if that is what you really want to do.  If you had any interest in it, you would already know everything about it.

to be frank, this.
it's a nice tribute to want to follow your Father, but it's an area that requires a bit of experience, and probably an existing nerdy interest in the topic

I'd sell it as a package and concentrate on your own career. 

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Please do not take this the wrong way. Loosing a father at your age (or any age) is not at all easy. There's a ton of emotion and now a bunch of worries. Rather than beating around the bush, about the business. There are some things you need to check out very soon:

The business likely has obligations and they need to be taken care of.  I don't know if this is a one man shop or a 500 person enterprise. Some of the stuff below is slanted towards the smaller end of things since I simply am guessing.

1) Do you (yes you, it's yours) have any customer property? If so can you identify it? It needs to go back to it's owner. I'm betting you do have stuff in for repair.

2) Does the business have employees? If so, have all of the various tax payments been made for them? Who will be supervising them for now?

3) Does the business owe rent on any buildings? If so, when is it due? (hint: is there a storage locker (that's often overlooked)? )

4) Does the business owe money to suppliers (or utilities, or ...)? If so when is (was) it due?

5) Is there insurance on the business? How long before it renews?

6) Are there any financial records for the business? Is there an accountant? Is all of it up to date, if not can it be brought up to date?

7) Taxes are normally paid quarterly. There should have been a payment made at the end of March and June. Were they made?

That's the immediate stuff. It has to be done. It needs to be done regardless of what happens to the business. It can't wait for another six months.

Now for the longer term stuff:

1) Was the business making any money? If so was it making enough to live off of? Again, I simply know nothing about it so it's a question to be asked.

2) Can the business expand so it *does* make enough to live off of? (If it does not now).

3) Have you sat down with an accountant and verified all of this? (= have you missed something?)

4) Is the business something that could be sold? If so for how much? (= what is the business worth?)

5) How much work will it take to keep the business going?

Assuming you can get a handle on the stuff above, you should be able to answer "how well does this pay?". It could be an 80 hour a week job that pays $25,000 a year. With your degree you should be able to do better than that. To me, if that was the case, there would be no further need for evaluation. Let's say it pays well and it's an ongoing thing.

The next question is --- do you have any interest in doing this at all? That's not an easy thing to answer. It *does* need an answer. You will be in a people facing business. Your life will revolve around customer contact and direct interaction. Some people thrive in that sort of setting. Others really don't. It is *not* easy to figure that out. My advice would be, unless you are really fired up to do this ... don't. There will be good days. There will be bad days. You need that fire to get you through the bad days.

If the decision is to keep on, then you need some training. It's going to have to be part time. Shutting down the business for a few years is *not* an option. 20 hours work / 20 hours school is likely the best you will be able to do. You need at least one course in business basics. You will need a number of courses in electronics. Get that done now. It will only be harder to pick up later on.

The other branch in the road is to sell the busies....

Many decisions ...

Bob

[Electro Fan]

Hi Toasty,

Very sorry to hear about your Dad. 

I'm sure your Dad would be happy to see you trying to find the right path forward and he'd be happy to see that you are looking for good advice. 

I don't know how you happened to find this site but for what it's worth you landed in a place with many very smart and well intended people - especially when it comes to nearly all forms of electronics.  Lots of good advice already in the replies above.

My suggestion would be to keep asking questions and discussing what's on your mind here (and elsewhere) as you assess the possible options and develop your plans.  Along the way the folks here can help guide you on almost any aspect of electronics and many electronics business related questions as well.  EEVblog is a wonderful resource.

Net, net:  The more and better your questions the more and better the answers.  So keep asking questions and good luck with everything.  EF

[Ian.M]

Unfortunately, unless it has at least two other competent technicians, the loss of the owner/key tech will mean the business is likely to fold even if you want to continue it.  If its large enough to survive, you'll need to find a good manager with electronics tech experience to keep it going (unless it already has one that you father delegated to, in which case you will need to review staffing levels with them) while you finish your education and decide whether you want to go into the service trade, possibly by expanding it with a computer repair department.

You also urgently need to know the business's financial position - if its seriously in debt you need a good business lawyer immediately to determine if you are liable for the debt.  It may well be that it needs to be wound up by liquidators and for you to buy back any items you specifically want to keep from the liquidators.

[Brumby]

There has been a lot of good comment given already - so I won't repeat the details, but I would like to underline some points....

Keeping the business going is an understandable desire - but will that be as a techie or a more 'supervisory' role?  If as a techie, then you are going to have an awfully stressful and frustrating exercise and it will be some years before you will be proficient.  Otherwise, getting a tech and/or partner on board will need to be considered.

The immediate business needs are important, too.  Although there may be some leniency allowed from some quarters, this won't be universal and anything offered will expire a lot faster than you might need.  Getting a firm grip on the legal structure of the business and it's obligations is a priority.

Identification of customer's property and how to deal with them is another issue.  Hopefully, this will not be as stressful, but you need to be confident in how it is sorted.

If this is just a small one-man business, then the following is, unfortunately, a highly probable scenario:

Unfortunately, unless it has at least two other competent technicians, the loss of the owner/key tech will mean the business is likely to fold even if you want to continue it.  If its large enough to survive, you'll need to find a good manager with electronics tech experience to keep it going (unless it already has one that you father delegated to, in which case you will need to review staffing levels with them) while you finish your education and decide whether you want to go into the service trade, possibly by expanding it with a computer repair department.

You also urgently need to know the business's financial position - if its seriously in debt you need a good business lawyer immediately to determine if you are liable for the debt.  It may well be that it needs to be wound up by liquidators and for you to buy back any items you specifically want to keep from the liquidators.

Take time to grieve and then get your thoughts together before launching into action.

[oldway]

Search on the map if there is a "repair café" near you.

You'll find lots of help from specialists in repair and you will learn more in a few hours than in several months at school.
In repair, one must know a lot of practical stuff, what is not taught in school.

http://repaircafe.org/location-map/
http://repaircafe.org/en/

Good luck and courage.

[Kjelt]

Above is very good advice, be carefull, what you want to learn takes years of practice and experience.
Most businesses have running costs so it can't wait for years before reopening and most customers have dissappeared by then. So keeping the business open can financially ruin you the longer you wait and do not take action.
In my point of view you only have a few options:
1) how hard it might be but close the business.
2) sell: find an experienced repair person that is willing to take over the business and buys you out. You can require to keep the name of the original shop so that part of the legacy will continue.
3) find and hire experienced repair personnel to do the repairs while you run the administration of the business and continue your education.

A lot depends on what is your inheritance, if you got enough money to keep everything afloat for a couple of years you might take different steps and decisions.

I lost my father and mother within a month when i was 29 and me and my brother kept the family house for nostalgia but sold it after 8 years anyway. It costs us a lot of money we could have saved if we had sold it right away but we were not ready to do so. In the process I realized that what made my parents happy was not what made me happy, what was their lifepath was not mine. You want to find this out for yourself and that takes time unless you have financial backing a company/business costs lot more money per month than an empty house and with every month of closing the goodwill of the company (the money it is worth for its name and reputation and clientele) will decrease.
Good luck and wissdom on your path.

[Assafl]

Somebody actually raised this issue but check if you have prior commitments, and especially (if in the USA) payroll taxes. The IRS will get you for Payroll taxes and will not let go (especially if you keep the business). Even if the sums (to begin with) were low - there are significant penalties that can be assessed and levied.

If you were to close it down they may let you off the hook as it was your father business but ask an accountant now.

Americans must love the HIRE act...

[bitseeker]

Speaking of taxes, there are a variety of federal, state, and local taxes as well as other recurring required filings for a business. So, definitely get an accountant in the loop if you haven't already.

[Electro Fan]

I think a consensus is developing that a review of the business is the first step.  If there is an accountant in place it would be good to review the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement - probably for the last few years and monthly for the first half of this year.  As mentioned, you want to make sure you understand and address any outstanding tax obligations and other pending payments due or coming due.  Also as mentioned you want to make sure any other existing customer, supplier, or employee obligations are being addressed.  You probably want to make sure all of this squares with the view(s) of any key employee(s).  Once you understand the business history, status, and outlook then you will know better what questions if any need to be addressed of a technical and business workflow nature.  This is a lot to put on a young person in college.  It might be doable if you have time and some good trusted advisors including an accountant, maybe an attorney, and especially one more strong employees you can truly depend upon.  (Maybe your Mom or other family members might have some insight too.)  Without such trusted advisors and helpers it might be challenging for you to run the business while going to college - but where there is a will (as in will power) there is often a way.  Let us know roughly what you are finding (but of course be careful not to publishing anything here that is confidential or sensitive). 

[EEVblog]

Ask yourself if that is what you really want to do.  If you had any interest in it, you would already know everything about it.

to be frank, this.
it's a nice tribute to want to follow your Father, but it's an area that requires a bit of experience, and probably an existing nerdy interest in the topic
I'd sell it as a package and concentrate on your own career.

I'd have to concur with this.
Repairing electronics is a skill that requires a lot of knowledge, time, and failure (which you can't foist upon the customer)
You could work at it hard for a full year and still not know enough or have the skills to do the work.
I see two options here:
1) Sell the business immediately whilst it still has goodwill and a customer base.
or
2) Manage the business and hire a skilled repair person (maybe hard to find these days?)

It will be infinitely easier to manage an electronics repair business than to learn the craft and do it yourself.

[EEVblog]

I think a consensus is developing that a review of the business is the first step.  If there is an accountant in place it would be good to review the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement - probably for the last few years and monthly for the first half of this year.  As mentioned, you want to make sure you understand and address any outstanding tax obligations and other pending payments due or coming due. 

Yes, this must be the first step. You can't sell the business or take it over or manage it without finding out what shape it's in.

[singapol]

Sooooooo I am extremely new to Electronics repair and maintenance my father recently passed and owned a shop repairing just about everything electronic tvs to toasters.  I never wanted to learn the trade or skills til it was too late. I am currently a college student going to school for Computer Science. He left the business to me.... I have no idea about anything electronic I know what a capacitor and a resistor look like but that's about it. So right now I am sitting on tons of gear wires and things staring at these wavy lines on a screen from a personal project he left connected. Where can I start to learn about electronics any starter material? I would love to keep his business going....  ANY HELP WOULD BE AWESOME!!!!!

My reading is that this is a one man show, if it was any bigger the second in command would have given you advice or is willing to take over. So you are studying computer science great but that does not mean you can take this on ( no personal interest or passion). Let me relate a true story, I have a friend who has
a degree in computer science.I have no degree myself but self taught in electronics just by personal interest. I acknowlege my friend is smart and he can even "tell" a tech what is probably wrong with a piece
of electronics (his own) through his own deduction and simple common sense testing but if he was to repair it himself he would not know one end of it from the other. He has the  "Art of electronics" book,a hp scope and fluke multimeter but he just does not have the skills to do troubleshooting period. He also has bad experiences with techs that are called "professional" those that make it a living doing repairs.

[CJay]

As others have already said, my condolences for your loss.

I have a little indirect experience of a situation like this, while I was in the automotive diagnostics business a local repair garage owner passed away and left the business to his son, an airline employee (I want to say pilot but I honestly can't remember) who had no experience of car repair and maintenance other than the little he'd gleaned by owning cars himself, he had no interest in the oily side of things but his mother relied on the business for her income.

The business employed six or seven other mechanics and was run as a break even type affair that paid wages to all involved, didn't make enough to do anything other than survive, pretty much hand to mouth.

He took it in two years from a messy, oily and disorganised backstreet garage to a viable and profitable business that he could manage on a part time basis that made a small profit to allow him to invest a little and guarantee it had a future but it took many many hours of hard work and quite a bit of his own money.

The only way the business survived after his father died was because it had technicians who had enough experience to be able to carry on working while he sorted out the business side of it, turns out he's not a bad business man and the business is still running today, looks even better than it ever did (it was a typical, dirty oily small garage), he still doesn't know how to fix cars, what he does know is where his abilities lie and how to use them.

My personal opinion, if you've not got competent employees you can manage while you learn on the job then you either need to find some very quickly or sell the business after you've discharged your liabilities and retrieved anything of emotional value.

[Seekonk]

A friend and neighbor of mine died intestate, no will.  The business went to his mother and her other son ran it as an employee.  He thought the business should have been left to him.  Competent enough, the business ran at break even at best.  There was no motivation for him to do better and it closed after his mother got tired of the headaches.  Anyone running the business for you should have motivating compensation or you will just get the minimum effort.  A lot of small businesses are just people "buying a job" when other opportunities aren't available.  Take a look at the books and consider if this is the best use of your talents.  Even a couple years diversion can be a detriment to your career.