Business Opportunity in Photography

Building is Leased Space:

• $750 per month (+GST) -- this is a very competitive lease
• 2 years left on current lease
• rent is for 2 buildings - the store and the studio

Special Features:

• loyal and stable clientele
• serving the area for 20+ years
• little to no competition in the area
• ready for smooth, seamless transition so the buyer can start making money immediately
• spacious studio equipped with professional lighting system and background
• scene machine for simulating all types of real-life backgrounds
  (palm beach, castle walls, blossoming gardens, etc.)
• digital mini-lab allows for low cost, high quality prints from 135mm negatives,
  APS negatives and digital files
• retail part of business focuses on photo-related merchandise
  • amateur digital and film cameras
  • professional SLR cameras and accessories
    • memory cards
    • batteries
    • filters
    • bags
    • flashes
    • lenses
    • tripods and more
  • video cameras
  • cassettes
  • photo albums
  • frames
  • scrapbooking materials
  • inkjet printers and cartridges
  • binoculars
  • telescopes and more
• member #63 of foto source™ - the largest photographic/marketing group in Canada.

Why are you selling?

I have owned this store for almost 3 years. I wanted to be a photographer and coming into Vegreville was the best choice I could have made. Since this area has practically no competition, the store gave me a stable income, plus the opportunity to work as a photographer, constantly improving my skills by doing studio work, group pictures of local sport clubs, dancing ensembles, educational institutions, and more.

Over the past few years my photography work has been steadily expanding, my client base is growing and I have reached the point where I don’t need the financial security the store has provided me.

My photography has become more demanding and I no longer have the time to put into the shop. I am involved in more demanding photo shoots and I want to take full advantage of this new opportunity. I have to act fast – hence the low price. The business has taken second place in my life.

How long have you owned this business?

I’ve been with this business since the end of 2003.  I came to Canada from Slovakia as a permanent resident and because I was still working on my papers the sale was not officially finalized till April 01, 2004 which is my official take over date.

Would you consider financing?

A business loan is available to approved buyers through Lamont Two Hills Business Development Corp. They are a local company specializing in providing financial support to local businesses. Holiday Photo, being an established and profitable business for over 20 years has excellent standing with Lamont Two Hills. I made arrangements to maximize chances for the right buyer of getting approved for a loan. Serious buyers are encouraged to contact the Lamont Two Hills representative Brad, at (780) 632-6064

Is the price negotiable?

Make me an offer.

Will you provide new owner with training?
How much will you charge for this service?
How long does it take?

I am willing to train the new owner at no additional charge. I will provide you with two weeks of training... after al,l your success as the new owner is also my success as the seller, and my primary interest is to make sure that you will be as successful as I am. Therefore, if more time is needed, I will gladly stay another week or two.

Do you also own the building?

I do not own the building and it is not included in price. However the lease is included. The store is approximately 1,750 ft² large (plus the basement area). Included in this package is the spacious studio across the street from the store. It is about 500 – 600 sq ft not including the washroom or the chesterfield area.

Monthly rent for the store and the studio is only $750 + GST, similar size retail space rents in Edmonton for $4,000 and up. I have confirmed that this is an excellent rent. The lease on the building is part of the package in agreement with the owner. The existing lease has about 2 ½ years left. I also have first right of refusal on the sale of the property and this will transfer to the new owner of the business, as well. This means if the building owner decides to sell, I have the first option to purchase it.

Are there any hidden costs?

There are no hidden costs. The price includes the entire business, with its good name in the community, its customers and all the equipment and supplies. Everything is ready for flawless turn over so you can start making money immediately. The actual value of inventory changes every day and is difficult to list, because it drops with each sale and increases each time I place a new order. There is approximately $15,000.00 worth of inventory on hand right now (cameras, memory cards, frames, albums, accessories, etc.). The new owner may choose to keep it (at an amount below my cost) or get their own, new inventory.

In May 2004 I upgraded the minilab with D-Carrier, an extension which allows for digital photo developing. In order to purchase this $40 000 worth of equipment I took a loan with Lamont Two Hills Business Development Corporation. To this day $23,000 has been paid off. The new owner will not be obliged to keep this equipment in any way, If you do choose to keep it, upon approval of loan transfer by Lamont Two Hills, you will be entitled to retain this $40,000 worth of equipment but will be responsible for the rest of the loan payments. You may of course choose not to take over the loan and the equipment will be removed from the business. This is the only optional equipment, and you will be under no obligation to take over the loan. Everything else in the store has been paid off and you as a new owner will get it debt free. All of the assets of the business will become your property.

What is Vegreville like?

Housing in Vegreville is very inexpensive. Alberta is extremely rich province, there’s more money per capita than there is in California. Alberta is also the only debt free province in Canada. We’re so rich that this year the Alberta government was paying each Albertan tax refunds, which means that every resident of this province got a check for $400 dollars in their mailbox.

Many people who work in the oil industry sold their expensive houses elsewhere, moved to Vegreville and bought a new house here for a fraction of the price realized on the sale. With the difference in the proceeds they bought fancy cars and still have enough to pay for the gas to commute to work. Vegreville is booming like never before. A new major library with conference centers is being built, as a result a major hotel chain is looking to build here and in addition there are plans for a large mall which should be all functional in a few months, new indoor soccer fields are in planning, government has its main immigration office in town and new human resources centre has just been built too. The popularity of Vegreville is growing rapidly and its strategic position on the busiest highway in Canada and its location right between 2 major business centers – Edmonton and Lloydminster gives it the best outlook for huge economic growth. Vegreville is growing and it will soon be a busy town with businesses becoming even more profitable then they ever have been before. If you bought my business at an already very low price, in a few years you could own a business worth ten times as much. I fully realize the growth potential and the ever increasing popularity of Vegreville; however the opportunity to follow my dreams outweighs the potential of staying.

As for the latest news, there is one major thing that’s gonna sky rocket the growth of Vegreville. Alberta has a new premier - he was elected and sworn into the office just a few weeks ago. New premier of Alberta is Ed Stelmach of Vegreville. His office is just a few meters from Holiday Photo and in the past, Ed Stelmach was responsible for a lot of growth of the town. Now that he’s the most powerful man in the province, Vegreville is guaranteed to sky rocket higher than anyone has ever imagined. Holiday Photo used to shoot Ed Stelmach’s annual golf tournaments in Viking and Fort Saskatchewan, myself having great memories driving the golf carts with current Premiere of Alberta and can't forget that one year when the weather was really terrible, it was cold and raining and we both got soaked wet. With new Alberta premier being Vegrevillian, this town is guaranteed to grow. There has never been a better time to move in to town or to purchase a business here than it is right now.

Why Is The Asking Price So Low? Is There A Catch?

As I mentioned before, I moved to Canada almost 3 years ago. When I came here, I had no clue about photography. I bought my first camera and decided I was going to make it in photography. I was determined to make my dreams come true. Well, here I am 2 years later, having become a respected and recognized photographer worldwide. I am now well known and able to make a great living as a photographer. I would never be where I am right now if I hadn’t purchased this store. It’s thanks to Holiday Photo that I went to Mexico last September for 5 days to shoot a new line of bikinis for a top manufacturer of swimwear, Ujena. It’s also thanks to this store that my pictures are on websites of Evanescence, Motley Crue, Seether, and other major rock bands. It’s thanks to this store that I now shoot for one of the most respected tasteful nudity websites in the world – FEMJOY, it's thanks to this store that I already started putting my own photography paysite together... and I could go on.

The asking price for the business is the amount I still owe on the loan. I want to give the new owner the same opportunities I had. So I am not looking to make a profit, just to pay off the balance. During my ownership I also purchased new equipment and implemented new services.

What is the financial past of the business and what are its future outlooks?

The store has been at its current location since 1984. In over 20 years it’s become a well known and well respected business with a great name. The annual gross income averaged among $350,000-$375,000 with the maximum of $500,000 a few years ago. Due to my focus on band photography and various other photography jobs I’ve been doing in past 18 months, last years’ annual gross income didn’t match store’s potential and I only netted $10,611. However, it is important to note that this number includes over $50,000 in expenses that I purchased through the business Holiday Photo will be free and clear except for the loan you as new buyer might take to purchase.

I must admit that I have neglected the shop a bit this year due to my desire to increase my photography jobs, the poor store had to practically run itself. In that regard $3200 per month in payments are mine personally and will not go with the business. In addition I took no time to run advertising or promotions and still turned a profit. This business is so sound that it will most assuredly recover from my neglect once it is in the hands of a skillful marketer.

There are a couple of situations that can easily increase Holiday Photo’s business potential in the future. A local engraving company is going out of business and Holiday Photo is the first place people think of as a possible substitute. A new owner could purchase the engraving equipment and continue increasing business. In addition, a local Radio Shack was closed when the owners decided that furniture made more money. The Radio Shack customers come to Holiday Photo seeking a variety of electronic equipment, some of these items we currently carry and some can become part of the new owner’s inventory.

I have a list of other industry trends that will increase Holiday Photo’s bottom line if the new owners are interested. I will include these in my hands on training program in depth. They include turning VHS into DVDs, sales and marketing of digital cameras, photo cell phones, include added value of free prints with purchase. In addition to these items the market shows increased interest in ipods and off brand MP3 players. There are currently no shops in Vegreville that carries these items.

Another potential area for services available from Holiday Photo is “Photoshop” work for portrait enhancements of deceased people in cooperation with the local mortuaries. Many times all the bereaved have are less than perfect, old photos. These can be upgraded, and recolored or modified with “Photoshop” by Adobe for use on a variety of notices.

There are quite a few ways to increase the income and potential of the store. In reality you cannot possibly do less than what I did for the business, and still succeeded. I focused all my energy elsewhere, unfortunately none went to help Holiday Photo and yet it remained profitable. The way I see it, unless you do some really bad business practices (such as being rude to customers, not being open when you’re supposed to be, providing customer with unacceptably poor job/service, etc.) then you can only do good. Asking price for the business is extremely low, potential is huge. I have no doubt that this business is capable of even more then what I mentioned here. I believe that as soon as the new owner takes it over, he/she will have no doubt they made the right choice and a great investment.

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Marek Michalik
tel: (780) 603-7555

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