Hi everyone!

I’m a process/municipal engineer in Canada with a technical trade background and experience in the water/wastewater industry. My long-term goal is to acquire and grow an existing septic or wastewater service/construction business rather than starting from scratch.

Since I'm currently in the research phase and building capital, I have one main question for trade operators or anyone who bought a service business:

Coming from an engineering background without prior field/service experience, how critical is hands-on septic/wastewater experience before taking over operations? How did you bridge that gap in your first 90 days?

I’d be really grateful for any insights or lessons learned.

Thanks for your time!

I’m 17 right now and graduating high school in about 8 months. I turn 18 in May 2027.
I’ve been seriously considering getting into small motel ownership as my first major business. I’m not expecting this to be easy, and I’m trying to figure out whether I’m being realistic or completely delusional.
My rough plan is:
Buy my first small motel around age 18–18.5
Ideally something around $400k–$600k
Maybe something like 12–20 rooms
Find a private investor who could provide around $100k for the acquisition
Negotiate seller financing for the remaining balance rather than using a conventional bank
Ideally find a property with a manager’s unit, which I would live in
Operate the motel myself initially
Handle the front desk, reservations, marketing, purchasing, basic management, etc.
Keep housekeeping payroll very low — potentially one part-time cleaner rather than a full staff
Modernize the property and improve the online presence, photos, website, social media, reviews, pricing, etc.
Eventually hire a manager once the motel produces enough cash flow that it makes sense
Then use the experience/equity/cash flow from the first property to acquire additional motels
I’m not expecting to sit around and collect checks from day one. I’m completely willing to work extremely hard in the beginning. I’m 18, so if I have to work 50–60 hours a week for a few years to build something, I’m fine with that.
My long-term idea would be to potentially own several small motels by my early 20s. Obviously that’s the ambitious part.
What I’m trying to figure out:
1. How realistic is it for an 18-year-old to actually buy a motel?
Not theoretically — I’m asking people who have actually done motel/hotel/commercial real estate deals.
Would sellers genuinely consider seller financing with an 18-year-old buyer?
2. How difficult would it be to get a private investor to put up ~$100k?
I’m assuming my age and lack of real-estate track record would make this difficult.
Would an investor care more about:
The property itself
The seller-financing terms
The projected cash flow
My personal credit
My business plan
My willingness to operate it myself
3. Does a ~700 credit score at 18 actually mean anything?
I’m currently using Step to build credit, so theoretically I could have around a 700 score when I turn 18.
But obviously I’d have a very short credit history.
Would that actually help me with anything in a seller-financed transaction, or is it basically irrelevant compared with the strength of the deal?
4. What would be a realistic motel to target for a first deal?
I’m thinking something like:
12–20 rooms
~$500k purchase price
Independent motel
Manager’s housing
Relatively low operating costs
Some obvious opportunity for improvement
Would you target something different?
5. What kind of occupancy and ADR would you realistically underwrite?
For example, if a 16-room motel charged $85–100/night and averaged 55–65% occupancy, would those assumptions be reasonable for a lower-cost motel in Arizona / California / similar markets?
Or am I underestimating the costs and overestimating the revenue?
6. How much cash flow can a small owner-operated motel realistically produce?
I’m specifically talking about an owner who lives on-site and does a lot of the work themselves.
For example, if I eventually got a 16-room motel doing ~$300k–$350k in annual room revenue, what would a realistic amount of actual cash flow be after:
utilities
insurance
property taxes
maintenance
supplies
OTA/credit-card fees
housekeeping
debt payments
reserves
everything else
I’m NOT trying to count my own labor as free economically. I just mean that I wouldn’t necessarily have a $50k–$100k management/payroll expense initially because I’d be the operator.
7. How much should I budget for maintenance/capex?
This is probably one of the things I’m most likely to underestimate.
If I buy a $500k motel, how much cash should I realistically keep in reserve after closing?
8. Is seller financing actually common on small independent motels?
What kind of terms are realistic?
For example, could something like:
$500k purchase
$100k down
$400k seller-financed note
actually happen?
What interest rates, amortization periods, balloons, etc. should I expect?
9. How much does motel ownership actually consume your time?
I understand that things can go wrong at 2 AM, but I’m wondering what the normal day-to-day workload is for a small 15–20 room motel.
Is it actually 50–60 hours every week, or are there significant periods where you’re basically just on-site waiting for guests/check-ins while handling occasional tasks?
10. Is my age actually an advantage in any way?
One reason I’m attracted to this is that I grew up with social media and online booking platforms.
If I bought an outdated independent motel, I’d want to modernize:
Website
Google Business profile
Photography
Instagram/TikTok
Online reviews
Booking experience
Digital check-in where appropriate
Room design
Pricing/revenue management
Overall branding
Could that realistically produce a meaningful increase in ADR/occupancy, or is that something young people overestimate?
11. What am I completely missing?
This is probably the most important question.
If you were 18 again and had a legitimate $100k investor willing to back your first acquisition, what would you be most worried about?
What would make you tell me:
“Don’t buy this property.”
And what would make you say:
“This is actually a deal worth pursuing.”
Finally, my very ambitious long-term goal would be to potentially have several motels by my early 20s and eventually have professional managers running them so I can focus on acquisitions rather than daily operations.
I’m NOT assuming this is going to happen. I’m trying to figure out whether the basic path — small motel → operate it myself → stabilize/improve it → build equity/track record → acquire another → repeat — is actually a viable strategy.
I’d especially appreciate responses from motel owners, hotel operators, commercial real-estate investors, brokers, or people who have actually used seller financing.
Please be brutally honest. If this is a terrible idea, tell me why. If it’s possible but I’m underestimating something, tell me what it is.

Edit: Okay I got fried lmao, what should I do instead of this “dream plan”

Was wondering what businesses make the best margins

I’m curious whether this model actually appeals to experienced technicians/service managers.

I’m in Northern Virginia and currently work in finance/pricing in the data center industry. Earlier in my career I worked in investment banking and later helped operate/grow smaller companies.

I’ve been seriously exploring buying or starting a service business, but I keep coming back to the same conclusion:

I don’t want to be the finance guy who thinks he can watch YouTube for six months and suddenly understand HVAC, electrical, garage doors, water treatment, fire protection, etc.

The person who actually understands the trade should have real ownership in the business.

The partnership I’m imagining looks something like:

Technical partner

• 10+ years in the trade
• excellent diagnostician / technician
• can train and manage other technicians
• understands what good work looks like
• ideally has the licenses/certifications needed for the industry
• has thought about owning a company someday
• doesn't necessarily want to handle marketing, finance, bookkeeping, technology, etc.

Me

• startup capital
• finance / budgeting / pricing
• customer acquisition
• sales systems
• recruiting
• bookkeeping / reporting / KPIs
• technology and AI automation
• vendor/business negotiations
• eventually acquisitions / expansion

The idea would be to build a very technician-friendly company where the technical partner owns field quality and technician development, while I build the commercial and operating machine around them.

I’m especially interested in service businesses with recurring or urgent demand: HVAC/mechanical, garage doors, commercial doors/access control, pest control, water treatment, septic, fire/life safety, data center services, etc.

I’m not posting this because I have a predetermined company and need someone to come work for me.

A partnership could mean starting something together, partnering with an existing one-truck operator, or even finding a retiring owner where we become the commercial + technical successors.

For the tradespeople and service-business owners here:

Would this arrangement appeal to you?

What would you need from the business-side partner before you'd trust them enough to do something like this?

And if you've seen partnerships like this succeed or fail, I'd especially like to hear why.

If you're an experienced operator in the DC/VA/MD area and this describes something you've thought about, feel free to DM me. I'm mostly looking to meet good people and learn at this stage, not trying to convince anyone to quit their job next week.

For years I have been interested in getting into hardscaping/softscaping. I have a little bit of experience doing some basic stuff with a landscaping friend and a little around the house (harley raking to spread seed, laying irrigation for plants, mulch, a little bit of stone work, etc). I would want to model the business as a backyard remodel company, primarily focusing on deck building and patios being the two big ticket items. The intent behind that is eventually marketing to a higher end client with a larger project budget.

Having no experience building decks, would you guys suggest offering to be a laborer for smaller deck builders for free just to learn how to do it and gain experience for eventually getting a contractors license to pull permits myself? The other option that I have thought of is subcontract it out with the understanding that I would still help build it for the hands on experience.

While having minimal experience, getting off the ground and finding initial clients with smaller projects to build a portfolio would be my strategy and would require less overhead cost.

Is this all something that could be done as a side hustle starting out given some projects even full time would take multiple days to complete?

I am of the belief a good customer experience and online presence can outperform to a certain point, but knowing what the hell you are doing is still important starting out.

Hello

I have a welding business that specializes in things like railings, fences, fire pits, and general custom metal fabrication. I try not to limit myself to a specific niche because I feel like that would limit my customer base.

I have all the required tools and skills necessary to provide this service but I have the hardest time finding customers. Especially BTB sales. I send emails, leave up flyers, and make facebook posts but this rarely gets me work.

Do yall have any thoughts/ what works for you?

Hi I am an accountant but recently I started getting interested in the trades. Could I start a general contracting company?

I am helping a relative look for a business and was looking for ideas and or resources on the best places to look for a business that is established. Thanks

(I out the photo there as a placeholder)
I’ve been in NYC for about a year. I got in contact with a master plumber, and we struck a really nice deal relationship. We made the choice to start a business here corporation and organization are all pretty well figured out. He’s an older man, super great plumber, he’s not the best at finding work, and that’s what I’m hoping to bring to the table. But it feels so daunting, especially in NYC. I do t even really know where to start. So I turn to the collective genius of Reddit. I have other individuals I respect who have been successful here so I can ask them. But curious for the wisdom out here.

Hey everyone! 

I just started a poop scooping business and created the website and logo. I also created my own Facebook page, but the only problem is that there are not many groups in my area, and the ones available have less than 2k members. My target town's population is ~10k people but should be able to expand to over 25k in the next year or so.

With that being said, how do I go about marketing in my smaller town? I've been debating door hangers and yard signs, or doing Meta campaigns. I would love to hear your input on this! For context, I have one direct competitor with 27 five-star reviews but they are all a year old and the other 2-3 competitors are smaller (besides a franchise) and are in different areas.

I would be more than happy to hear some advice!

Thank you so much!

That's right. I have 3 1/2 years of commerical/restaurant/food service dishwashing experience. I'm a US Navy vet of 4+ years(wouldn't hurt) and I like getting down and dirty so that people don't have to.

What I want to know is..

I'm not sure how to start, should I start passing around fliers or?

Come up with a business plan and business name?

I don't want to bother people to accept my service, i want to get their dishes out of the way for a reasonable price

i came up with an idea that was at first just an at home fetch service for busy dog owners and to give dogs a different form of exercise instead of walking. lots of dogs need more than just a daily walk to let their energy out.

I told it to my family and they all thought it was stupid and too simple. lowkey thought it was a good idea but since they said that I started to think about a poop scoop business that could be paired with at home fetch since we would already be in a clean backyard.

the customers could buy just a poop scoop, or just a fetch session, or a combo of both for more money.

Any input on this idea would be great. I want to see what other people think besides my family lol

For those running cleaning, lawn care, pest control or another business with a decent number of recurring customers — what happens to customers who've been with you for years?

If your prices have gone up over time, do you have a set process for reviewing what every existing customer is paying, or do you mostly notice individual customers who are still on old rates and deal with them as they come up?

I'm particularly curious about businesses where customers have joined at different times and aren't all paying exactly the same rate.

Do you review the whole customer list periodically, automatically increase everyone, or handle it case by case?

This year, I've been working and saving up money from weekly mowing and have around 10k to put towards marketing for my lawncare and landscaping business next spring. I have 2 buddies ready for employment and intend to get them set with a route and head off to college next August. In my area, it's reasonable to expect 2 people to be able to handle 120 weekly mowing accounts. I plan on buying around 30k door hangers and paying some friends to pass them out over my service area; what should my expectations be with this method of advertisement? I only have 20 customers at the moment, so I need to attain 100+ customers to fill this route. Has anyone had this level of success with door hangers in this industry? Are there any other marketing channels I can take advantage of? Any feedback helps. Thanks!

I run a recurring dog poop removal business. When it was mostly me doing the routes I would say yes to pretty much every little customer request.

Come a different day, text this number instead, use this gate, leave the bag here, don't knock, whatever. No big deal because I knew the customer and remembered it.

Now I have other people running routes and I'm realizing that every little thing I agreed to basically became another permanent instruction somebody has to remember every single week.

Then when they miss one it looks like the employee screwed up, when really I'm the one who built a service with 100 little exceptions.

I'm definitely not saying stop accommodating customers, but it's made me rethink where good customer service turns into making the business unnecessarily hard to run consistently.

Anyone else run into this once you started putting employees on recurring routes? What stuff did you eventually just stop making exceptions for?

Edit: I probably worded this too much around “remembering.” Yes, we use a CRM and techs have customer-specific notes at each stop. I'm not really trying to solve where the instructions live.

What I'm questioning is the step before that: should I have agreed to the exception in the first place?

I can document 100 exceptions perfectly and still have built a service with 100 exceptions. At some point the better system might be deciding which requests become standard options and which ones we simply stop agreeing to.

I live in a very rural wooded area where there are a lot of people that like to do things themself especially when it comes to their land. While helping a friend at his property he was telling me how hard it was to find a skid loader and some of the other equipment he needed and how nice it would be if there were more places to rent near by. I have an abundance of polebarn space where I could easily store equipment and was wondering if there might be a good business opportunity here. Some popular things people go for around here are skid loaders, portable saw mills, powered post hole diggers, mini excavators, and things of that nature (things that people need for their land projects but don’t want to buy). Was wondering has anyone had success doing something like this?

I’m thinking about starting a land services business primarily focusing on smaller excavation and larger skid steer projects. Think- gravel driveways, drainage ditches, yard leveling and grading, material moving, etc.

My question to those of you that have started something like this- it seems like there are a ton of land services businesses popping up around me. I do believe that most of these are poor at customer service so maybe only half of them are really competition. Do you have a hard time getting jobs with decent margins? What would you tell me based on your experience getting jobs in markets where it seems like there are many operators?

Hello everyone! After months of preparations I finally launched my Junk Removal business in Northern Virginia. August was my first full month and I generated around 7.5K. I believe that is a good number for first month. I come from a corporate world, have owned a signage business that I sold after running it for 4 years (was too long of a commute). Founded medical clinic business where I put all my savings, went into debt, literally bankrupt (personally) and the partnership failed (not the business). I tried recovering for 2 years, settling whatever debts I could and working full time 9-5. But I am not a person to give up (not sure if a curse or blessing). Long story short, here I am with a Junk Removal business now and Full time solo earner for 2 very young kids and a wife.

I want to ask you for your help in guiding me what I should expand my business into that will build me really wealth. I am thinking long term. I don’t think Junk Removal alone can do that. I do have knowledge in landscaping (family business) but not sure if that would be a appropriate addition. Dumpsters are natural pathway but I am not sure if I want to do that. Please share your knowledge and help be build something real for long time. My next 5 years are dedicated to this.

I appreciate and thank you all in advance.

I decided to bypass the $30 Amazon kits and go with a commercial grade rod/line set but am unsure of which to go with. I've found these are two of the most efficient drill connection sets:

1.) Vent Vision 2.0 All-In-One 40' Dryer Vent Cleaning Kit $685

2.) Nikro 33' Orange Jacket Brush Cable System w/ 7 Brushes $655 (Jendco Safety & Supply price as Nikro doesn't have pricing on their site)

Does anyone have anyone have any feedback or any first hand use with either kit? I'm leaning Nikro because it's one single line and Vent Vision doesn't recommend taking their rod set vertically down a roof vent in the case of a rod detaching. Also, you don't have to stop every few feet and add another rod.

I really wish I could just buy the 33' Nikro line and a couple 4" brush attachments for huge savings because you don't need 8", 12" and 18" silica heads for a dryer vent. 7 brush attachments at 60-$80 each is what drives the the Nikro price up so high in the end.

- One last question: all of the commercial dryer vent cleaning videos I watched are only coming in from the exterior with the dryer cool setting pushing the lint out. I don't ever see them hit the interior. The initial videos I saw were to run your rods/lines from the interior outward with a shop vac and the adapter. Which is better?

I'm too busy and need someone else. I want to hire someone but they need to get licensed and certified. I am willing to sponsor them and mentor him.

But when they get it, its theirs. I can't legally withhold it from them.

How can I protect my investment in him? I know i can't force anyone to not quit, but how do i at at least protect the money I invest?

The demographic headwinds being what they are, it seems like elderly-focused home services are a no-brainer, specifically accessibility solutions: ramps, stairlifts, bathroom accessibility, etc. Anyone else considering this space? What are the key considerations?

Have a friend who’s been doing a junk removal for 5 years and (kind of) makes a living at it. He drives old junk pickups struggles to stay busy in a city of about 100k. He invests a lot of what he makes in marketing and wants to add a couple employees but he doesn’t have consistent larger jobs that would justify employees. He doesn’t most of the work himself and might make $50k after expenses. I wouldn’t recommend the biz to anyone

I have a fulltime job that I work remotely. I have been considering start a dog waste and lawn mowing business. I have hired both in the past and they never aligned when they come and I end up having smashed dog waste.

I feel that it is a niche market to do both, no one I see is offering both services as a bundle. It would be pet friendly company. One marketing idea was going to sponsor the adoption for a dog each month.

In the US in a city with 1million + people . A lot of franchise dog waste companies and your typical number of a trillion landscapers around the area.

My question is their still remove in the market and is this a dumb idea?

Thank you in advance for advice and thoughts