Before that I was a machinist. Same thing, you can’t make the numbers work. Well, at least fifteen years ago you could, but it still wasn’t worth it. To even make it worth it you needed: (1) a friendly banker who offered you exceptionally good terms on a loan (good luck); (2) you’d have to be in tight with buyers already so you knew you could get to work on day one; (3) work enough to keep those machines working 100% of the time because (4) your margin was so fucking piss poor that if you had one machine not working at capacity you’d be in the red; (5) a million dollars in the bank to support yourself while your business made pennies; (6) AND THE CLINCHER: a guarantee that your buyers wouldn’t just out of the blue send all that work to China.

So basically it’s akin to winning the lottery where the cost of the lottery ticket could lead you to financial ruin. The only viable shops I’ve seen nowadays are the ones working in special markets restricted by geography/time (i.e. spending your day working on pumps and shit like that for farmers, etc).

I can see the parallels and I’ve done my own relationshit calculation lol. It’s a bad bet for all the same reasons. Chances of success are slim to the point of non-existent, you’ll work your ass off for very little return, and it’s all based on a guarantee that does not exist. That and the cost of her ass will most probably lead you to ruin, possibly in more than just the financial sense.

Much better to get that ass at dollar store prices, even if it is crap. The key to remember is that nowadays everything is disposable.