/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>16162497
most people will try to shark you. man up and charge your deserved price for your service or product

>>16162497
after about the 2nd year of working harder than you've ever worked before and still being poor as fuck you'll start looking at the job titles of you colleagues and see some directors and maybe even a VP, pics of new nice cars and wives having babies you'll say, "what the FUCK have I done." Then you'll have Berniebros talking about jacking up taxes to really gouge you if you ever do make it. No thanks. I'll enjoy my comfy easy job and leave at 5pm sharp.

>>16162497
read this-->
>>16162552
you need to know that you're probably not cut out for it. SBO are generally crazy....You need to be abnormal to put up with the insanity of running a small biz where everyone will be against you: competitors, banks, gov, employees, and customers will all be trying daily to take everything from you.

>>16162497
is it easier to target the general population (consumers) or few private or corporate customers?

>>16162584
can you just say that about startups in general? You don't even know what hes planning to do

>>16162615
I think its true in general. Can you name any case where competitors, banks, gov, employees, and customers aren't each striving for advantage over you?

>>16162643
At least in the tech world I keep hearing stories of how investors are falling over each other to shove money up startups assholes

>>16162661
and those investors are your friends? they will actively work to steal everything, dilute your shares, install their own ppl, etc....its total fucking war, dude.

>>16162691
Fucking hell if its this bad why do they keep popping up more and more all over switzerland?
Or is that just an American thing?

Just realize you’re not doing it for the money but to be your own boss. Even running it wisely and working your ass off still won’t net you what you wish you could be making. Selling my business off to Armenians was the best decision I ever made.

>>16162552
>yes goyim, keep being a 9-5 wagie, do mortgages for your house and car, pay taxes and enjoy your pension when you'll retire
You sound like a hamster in a cage, keep running on the weel wagie.

>>16162773
Do you really think a startup is gonna make you rich in less time a decent job will?
Most people will be working a lot more with a lot less

>>16162497

Just understand that big business is always in bed with the government. Every year more and more regulations come out that creates barriers of entry to markets. Do whatever you can do to provide more value that your competitors can no matter how niche you are.

Also, you're going to change your mind quickly on how you view others.

All of these people that bitched and moaned about walmart killing off small biz are the same ones that will leave you a 1 star yelp review because a manager wouldn't talk to them about some small problem or whatever.

Finally, live like a poor college student. Your investment rate is going to be high and the biggest risk you face is a bad down turn (even for just a month) that kills your cash flow and forces you to pay interest rates on debt or to even miss payment. If you can save money well and are disciplined with cash flow you'll figure out either how to grow a full time business or how to manicure and maintain it for passive income that supplements your retirement.

>>16162845

Also, digital businesses have easier, cheaper barriers of entry versus brick and mortar type of deals and in my opinion you're able to mitigate risks of random shit costing you money than you are a retail location.

However, a well calculated, market researched, retail business that is innovative enough to delight customers but lean enough to remain financially solvent will become a golden goose egg if you can land an ideal retail location with foot traffic.

>>16162867

With that being said, do not start a fucking business because you think it would be fun to run a burger shack, or an online watch store.

Every decision you make has to be calculated in some manner with a regard of risk versus reward - for everything.

>>16162867
what are all these people actually seaming to know about making startups and investment analysis and shit doing on fucking 4chan of all places?

>>16162892
Cause we fucking failed and are coping

>>16162892

Anonymity can be fun and I guess there's always a chance you finally turn over a stone that has something of worth.

But for the most part it's just another time sink when I think about it.

starting a small business isnt hard
You just have to make sure the product/service youre selling is actually worth it

You will fail, i did 3 times before i made my first 4k/month, you have to learn to not fail so hard and learn how to get it up and be resilient

Go take action, because thoughts mean nothing

>>16163025
I just have a hard time imaging all the econ chads from UNI ending up in the same coomer waifu sharing board that I did

>>16162497
Read this book. It's a book written by probably the most successful venture capitalist ever.

It's not some Anon Larping on a Mongolian head lice discussion forum.

>>16162584
>You need to be abnormal to put up with the insanity of running a small biz where everyone will be against you: competitors, banks, gov, employees, and customers will all be trying daily to take everything from you.
And to add to this, if you buy from a previous owner this will also include them, because they are usually selling for a reason and "I want to retire" is a bald faced lie they spin to get suckers in and spending the cash so they can go off and start something new to take what little business you have away.

Also, do note that running a business will cause/exacerbate depression. If it was mild before, it will spiral out of control into major league severe depression, especially when you realize that you're throwing away your foreseeable future in the vain hopes you'll "make it". Everything you enjoyed, every hobby you ever loved, it all will get sacrificed on the altar of progress, and it will never, ever, EVER be enough.

Small business owner here.

Its tough going but there is no better feeling then making it on your own and not being a wage cuck.

Print this bukowski quote and leave it on your desk for when shit starts to suck.

"If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is."

>>16162497
you are the only person who will give a fuck

You're going to have to figure out if you're chasing a meme idea like a startup, or if you're going to go for a service that is already established as being necessary, in an area that isn't saturated by other businesses. This latter option isn't as sexy but it's got a better chance of panning out, and if you're older and have experience with all of the departments that make a business tick it will make it easier.


Also you'll be on-call 24/7 for your first few years getting it off the ground.

>>16163579
Man, I'm glad you made your jail cell into a kingdom, I really am and I hope you can ride your business into the sunset.

But me? All i can see is the Cage. All I can see in my business are fruitless efforts of an increasingly shortened life being taken advantage of by parasites and scum, the atrocities of humanity made manifest who expect you to dance like a goddamn monkey for their pocket change. Dreams die in business, and unless something miraculous happens, you are stuck there for life.

That's why I'm here, on /biz/. I'd rather take my chances with crypto than carry on in misery and despair.

>>16163757
The hardest things in life ranked.
3. Never trying. Failing.
2. Trying. Failing.
1. Trying. Succeeding. Failing.

Small business owner here, been doing it for 12+ years in tech and have 5 friends also owning small businesses and we talk about it often.
The world is trying to crush small business, most of us are on the edge of failure with the whole system working against us. Every year financing shrinks, bank rates increase, loans have higher interest, employees less dedicated and more dedicated and more demanding, wages constantly going up, cost of goods and services going up, prices we can sell for going down.
Don't start a small business unless you have financial backing to really run hard. You see all these great stories of VCs backing startups with crazy money. It's almost always some personal relationship making that happen. If you have an amazing product or service nobody will try to invest in you, I hey will first try to copy it or put you out of business. VCs only invest in their friends and former colleagues and in the end they rob then too.
Work at a big Corp for now, the American dream is dead. Not sure about other countries but in the US it's over.

>>16164007
>cost of goods and services going up
And let's not forget the ever popular looming threat of big businesses influencing customer interactions.

People these days treat supporting a small business like an act of charity, like they're doing us such a huge favor by helping us, and as such they demand that we cater to literally every tiny fucking whim they have and demand that we can be directly competitive with the big businesses when we just don't have the fucking funding to do so, and if you slip up even once they make sure you know you've lost their business permanently.

I have had customers literally demand I put on a silly hat and dance for them as I serve them food. I have had customers scream and rage at me over the price of fucking tape. I've had customers take a bunch of bananas, tear them all off the bunch, inspect them individually, then buy exactly one, leaving the rest on the fucking ground (not on the shelf they go on, the actual fucking ground).

And as a small business owner, even these moments you have to navigate like a politician because as shitty as these people are, they are your lifeblood and they know it. They all but say "If you don't do everything I say, I'll take my money to Wal-Mart instead."

Customers are goddamn monsters.

>>16164007
>>16164153
Have you guys done any kind of influencing on organizations and governments to help small businesses? Its a representative democracy. If they dont hear from you they'll just keep piling it on. You cant expect things to get better.

>>16164007
>rates going up

Anex is literally offering me buckets of money at 5% for personal loans tf are you on about? Rates are low and dropping.

>>16164257
There are a few organizations that are trying to make things better (I own a grocery store and the local grocers association helps whenever legal shit comes up), but on the whole there's not a lot we as small business owners can do when half of the problems are the result of the free market being utterly dominated by the big players. We can't ask the government to tell big stores like Target to up their prices to give us a fair chance.

And as far as financial backing, forget it. Politicians only give a shit about small businesses during campaign season, and even then we're just given lip service about how great it is that we exist and how it's representative of how America should be and blah blah blah vote for me. When the chips are down they'll support the people who can actually afford to line their pockets, rather than the heartfelt plea of Joe Schmoe.

>>16164153
>>16164007
Its the same in tech small biz....everything you said is exactly same. "But we can get that from MegaCorp for $75" (when in fact megacorp is selling the hardware below cost because they've borrowed from bigfednigbank at 0% interest rate and they simply want to show their shareholders....look we got 10k more customers this month and ceo cashes out his options).

while all that is going on, the fucking bank calls asking to "verify this deposit from a customer before we give you access to funds...", so now on top of everything, you need do the banks KYC job for them and explain who your customers are and why they paid you money...."

its all a racket and cant continue like this....at the start of hyperfinancialization in the mid-90's the games wallstreet played didn't really affect everyone nearly as much as now...at this point between the taxes, regulations, competition from megacorps, bank issues, etc etc its just not worth it anymore. Literally the only out we have is crypto moons and we sit back and watch the boomers die off from our balconies in the citadel with a giant fucking smile on our faces.

>One post by OP
>retarded question
>17 IDIOTS reply
FUCKING RETARDS, LEAVE BIZ AND FUCK OFF TO QUORA OR ANY OTHER STUPID QUESTION PLATFORM

>>16163757
I'm all in crypto as well but I'm not dumb enough to put all my eggs in one basket. I'm on biz for the memes and epic breads.

Take a walk you black pilled son of a bitch. Life ain't that bad. The fact of the matter is your always gonna be dancing like a monkey for pocket change.

>>16164343
Small businesses employ about half of workers. About half of people who work do the voting. If small businesses worked together to inform their employees on who to vote for and who to not vote for then small businesses could have massive influence.

>>16164898
>About half of people who work do the voting
*about half of people who work vote

>>16163234
>important take away: Your product, whatever it is, must be 10times better than your competitor.
Good luck.

>>16164898
That would require employees to give a shit.

Remember what >>16164007 said, every year brings new employees who were spoon fed the idea that they deserve to be rewarded more while working less. The mindset of the average employee these days is one of "I'm just here for the paycheck while I wait until my REAL dream comes true!", getting them to do their job on a basic fucking level is a challenge most days. I have employees who have refused to learn new things because it's not in their official job description (even though I've stressed many times that learning new things will open fucking new paths for them and would actually give me incentive to pay them more), and I've had employees who utterly cannot comprehend a single task I have shown them how to do five fucking times.

Employees do not care about the health of the business they are employed at, small or large. They care about themselves, and if our businesses burned to the ground they would shrug their shoulders and say "Welp, guess I'll see if McDonalds is hiring".

>>16163388

Savings rate is the biggest thing for an entrepreneur. Either your money needs to go back into the business (that you should start yourself) or it needs to be banked, preferably in someway to passively work for you like an investment fund.

I think people have been commercially idealized by what 'wealth' is and if they can't see the weather that >>16164007 is accurately describing. Entrepreneurship and DIY people need to stick together. I wouldn't mix business but I'd much rather talk about business and the environment we're in.

>>16164153

Retail is much harder, unless you own the place and could care less otherwise you're playing a game of eating the least amount of shit as possible with them. I can't imagine a grocery store with even some of the mild things I see.

>>16164329

That's for personal loans... you're not suppose to take those and finance a business with them. Go and ask for a business loan and see how different things are.

>>16164986
Trust me people will care if this massive small business organization can deliver them tangible results. Imagine an NRA but for small business owners. I mean who has even heard of National Small Business Association? They have less than 1% of small business membership in America. No weight. Gotta pump up those numbers.

I'm also interested in starting a business. Currently a wageslave in a big famous company as the lead designer. Payment is good, only 35h work per week and 30 paid day-offs.

I thought building a small design studio with one or two more skilled designer. Still afraid it won't work out. The backup would be becoming a freelancer.

I just don't wanna be a wageslave anymore, wake up when I want and work more from home.

>>16164986
Why are you hiring brainlets?
What's THIER incentive to more?

>>16164007
This

>>16164922
Nope. You can have a 10x better product and still lose. If you don't have old VC friends or being willing to be raped by new VC friends then your product will never see the market.
Even if you make a better product and have OK funding you can still easily be crushed. I will give an example:
You invent a new accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks is trash so you made something far more useful.
QuickBooks already has integration with 20 companies small businesses need. You will never get a chance to do so unless some huge company wants to crush QuickBooks and buys your small company for $20M. Unless that happens nobody will give you a dollar in funding and they all know you don't have a prayer.
People ITT posting like it's some free market Utopia and people just aren't trying hard enough are idiots.
Small business has been turned into slaves to big corps, that is a fact. Big corps are far more interested in stealing your staff and IP than working with you.

>>16165831
It won't work out unless you are some very niche market that no big company cares about. Your customers will try to steak your employees and hire them direct, your competitors will do the same. Banks won't loan you money so one bad month and its over. Your staffs only reason to show up everyday is because you treat them better than megacorp but they will leave you in the dirt if their wife starts demanding anon makes more money. Being a small business owner is over. All chips are stacked against you from every single perspective. Your only advantage is you can outmaneuver megacorps but only for a short period of time before they copy you for free then throw 10000x more resources behind it and crush you like a bug.

>>16163234
Biggest takeaway from that book is mindset. Believe in secrets, a believe that because you have a plan your going to work that plan and you will succeed, it also has a couple digs on the boomers

>>16166711
>Small business has been turned into slaves to big corps
As a small business owner, I feel this so much. All small business that have "made it" are just businesses that the big businesses outsource to because it is not "worth it" for them.
I started my own business because I wanted to get away from corporate wage slave.
Now I'm just a "business" that does shit that big businesses want to outsource and pay less than they pay their employees and not have to worry about health benefits and pay taxes for.

>>16163234
>Yea anon just have a cadre of rich gay butt buddies that bust in your ass in exchange for investments. You can do it too!

>>16162773
when you work for yourself, you have to slave away 5x harder idiot, its not that straightforward

>>16164153
>customers are goddamn monsters
Thank the Anglosphere culture for that. You won’t see such disgusting behaviour in other European countries.

>>16166915
>All small business that have "made it" are just businesses that the big businesses outsource to because it is not "worth it" for them.

This is probably where you're better off focusing your efforts, as a poster mentioned before as well, regulations keep getting added year after year and the barriers get harder.

However some big corps are like money fountains if you can hit it off with the right people, you don't have to reinvent the wheel, just offer them a service thats more convenient or cheaper.

Also you gotta build contacts, maybe even bribe if you think you can get away with it? I've seen some articles about investigation into councils awhile ago, things like paying a contractor 900k a year for basic road maintainence, all you need is one gig like that and its almost like printing money.

>>16167022
>You won’t see such disgusting behaviour in other European countries.
Wrong. It's a boomer entitlement issue.

>>16167078
Wrong again. None of this shit happens in monoethnic countries and if such shit happens it’s because of foreign tourists and immigrants. All in all, blame multiculturalism and Anglo retardation.

>>16162497
Customer service is key, as is the quality of your product. But remember someone will always be trying to screw you over/ get you into a law suit.

>>16166894
VCs are scum and hated by all who have used them. They aren't interested in building a healthy business, they are interested in reading the biggest reward for their shareholders. Fuck this guy and his book.
>>16166915
I think its even worse, small businesses that made it usually have dumb luck or right place at the right time with the right connection that just happened to introduce you. Even with shit they don't want they will drop you the minute you aren't licking their boots.
>>16167073
Big corps are like money fountains when you find the right guy....until he gets promoted or fired. Then new guy comes in and his frat buddy from college has a shit tier competing business and at the expense of all logic you are replaced by a company charging more for less value. Then you realize how big of a shit show the business world really is. This happened to me 20 fucking times over the years. Another fun one, new company under bids you offering less quality of product or service. To keep the account you now have to eke out a profit somehow and usually accept their shit just to survive the short term as they know you can't replace a client that big.

Bottom line, small business is fucked and will not recover because the whole system needs to change and has no incentive to do so. It only gets far worse from here unless some good Samaritan starts a multi billion dollar campaign to save small business. Not gonna happen

>>16163388
This.

I worked 80-120 hour weeks for my first five years. If you have the personality type to do it right, it will consume you. If you don’t, you will fail hard and quickly. It’s pretty much a loose loose.

I recommend working for the man.

>>16162497
Year 3 running a marketing agency. AMA

Pic related is the key.

As others have said: charge what you are worth, but not spending money until you have to is critical to the business success. That doesn't mean be a total cheap person. For the flip side I know of multiple small business owners who refuse to hire competent people at the salary they get.

>>16167256
Jesus. You haven't even read his book. He categorically proves that if you try to compete in a competitive saturated market your profits will be zero. For instance the net profit of the auto industry for the past 100 years is zero.

Yeah I'm sorry your sushi restaurant in downtown San Francisco pal, but it's not because of Thiels butt buddies man. Hey let's market a new SaaS software package to manage CRM? Nobody does that right!!!

My neighbor got sick and fucking tired of the shitty schools around here and bought a charter school franchise. Took him 5 years to get around all the legal loopholes. But he's fucking set now. Single rich mom's practically felate him in front of their own kids to get it. He created a business in a wide open market and made bank.

That's the gist of Thiels book. Disregard it at your peril, mr failed sushi restaurant.

>>16164898
Yeah because everyone running a small business has time for this.

>>16167360
Does buying a franchise count as starting a business?

>>16167347
To add to this.

I am close to starting my own bookkeeping business. I have the education, the experience, and even a thinkpad built by me that is perfect for the job. I was looking at locations, but they are all so expensive for a one man office, so I'm going the home business route. But! I'm going to incorporate first, because I think that is critical to getting better clients.

>>16167405
Are fucking retarded? You think when you buy a McDonalds franchise they just parachute in and man the turrets for you?

In fact, don't start your own business. Your naivete will get you fucked.

>>16167256
>VCs are scum and hated by all who have used them.

Can confirm. I own a tech company which is in the startup phases at the moment and I'd rather sell my asshole and receive homosexual dick rather than selling my equity to receive VC money.

Fuck VCs, every single one I've met both professionally and casually are absolute fucking arrogant assholes whose heads are so far up their own ass that they can't see that the only real reason why they are """successful""" is because interest rates are so fucking low so they are given blowjobs by pension funds who are chasing yield.

And I haven't even started with the private equity parasites who are arguably even worse.

>>16167430
you do know that the Request Network is gonna leave you jobless soon?

>>16167465

As for wagies, I’ve committed to giving profit shares (with a call option in the event that they leave) to every employee that I hire because I think they deserve a share of the profits even though it may be small compared to what I pocket. No option bullshit either because I’m not aiming for an exit like VC backed startups, just regular shares in the company which are redeemed if an employee leaves the company.

>>16167493
what a crock of neolib shit. Go fuck yourself larper

>>16167279
How did you start, how much money did you have when you started, how did you get your first client, how much do you usually charge on average?

I feel like I can get the clients if I were to start, but I don't think I can deliver on the results of using FB ads. My dad who owns a roofing company asked me to run the ads for him and I'm 2 days into creating the 1st campaign on FB. I'm scared of losing him money.

>>16162497
If you don't grow fast enough, you're very likely to fail.

>>16167484
Umm I don't see how.
First off I didn't even form my PA corporation yet. Second off I work for someone else and wouldn't quit until I have enough clients.

>>16167360
Hey now, I own a profitable sushi restaurant. Respect the sushi gang.

>>16167360
> My buddy got sick and tired of public schools so he bought a charter school franchise

Oh so the American dream is alive, you can just go buy any business and hot soccer mom's will line up to blow you.

Fuck off troll, you obviously don't know shit about business. VCs write books because people like you are dumb enough to think it's going to help you

>>16167744
This. People don't realize most successful small business owners started with lots of cash either through inheritance or a loan from daddy

>>16162552
>>16162584
>>16162746
>>16162845
>>16163388
>>16163579
>>16163635
>>16164007
>>16164415
>>16166711
>>16166799
>>16166915
Running a small biz makes me want to hang myself 2/3 days, the rest is basically on autopilot emotionally, and every now and then something goes right and it's great. Everyone - literally everyone - has their hand out and wants you to pay them or die a painful death. Period. If you can't handle this just wagecuck. I sometimes wonder why I do this and it's finally come down to I hate being told what to do, hate working with other people, and it's less stressful to be seen as a cashcow to slaughter by banks/politicians/customers/etc than have "The Market" be my driving force.
I cannot stress this enough: everyone wants their cut, and will cut your throat to get it. I started out as a free market libertarian and now despise American capitalism. 99% of products and services are at best useless, worst case activlye harmful for society and the individual. I just want to check out of society and be a farmer now.
But goddamn it's amazing when it goes right on your own business.

>>16168631
True when things go right it is an amazing , but always short lived. The better you do the harder they try to squeeze the life out of you.
The only real way to start a business is with tens of millions of dollars and crazy connections in the Corp world. Without that you have to just hope you catch a lucky break when the crumbs of the kingmakers above you land in your pocket and feel like boulders. Happens for 1 out of 1000 small business owners

>>16162552


Ooofff, right in the red pill anon.

Ouch.

>>16168631
>But goddamn it's amazing when it goes right on your own business.
Very true, and for a brief minute you think you made the right choice and you love your business again.

Then something breaks or your employees fuck something up and you're back to suicide.

>>16162867
Thanks. This helps to read. I've been planning and researching for the better part of a year to launch a brick and mortar. I've been looking at the cost and returns. It seems wonderful to eventually make that kind of cash and be your own boss. Should be in the green by year 3. However, I'd be throwing away my very comfy tech job. I think it's worth it even though the first 2 years are going to be painful. I'd have a niche that'd be extremely hard to get into after I've already started.

>>16162552
Dude i started a trash hauling business last week and we are already getring major subcontracts from contractors working on high profile renovations. Today we hauled cement from an embassy and made several thousand in a few hrs of work. All i needed was two trucks.

I am saving every cent to invest in a rental property.

Small business is easy and very doable, nearly impossiblw to fuck up if u have two brain cells to generate leads and can find central american labourers

>>16169109
You dumb fuck. Starting a small business with 2 fucking trucks and some time limited contracts means nothing. Wait till you have 42 employees and 20 trucks and 37% of your business is tied to one client. And the client goes away for whatever reason. And now your tits up and the debt you took on to grow eats you alive.

>New business owner in his first week thinks it's a piece of cake. New business owner is going to be very disappointed with the ending to this story

Lol sounds like a real shit show. Why dont you guys just make a big buisness instead of a small buisness lol

>>16162497
Dealing with competitors is okay. Dealing with banks is harder. Dealing with governments is a pain in the ass. The WORST fucking thing about it is the customers.

They're the type of people who will break promises then sue YOU for not delivering a completed product.

I tried to get into web design on the side. One faggot cancelled a project because I responded to him later than he wanted because I had a high fever. Literally only an hour delay. I told him I was sick he's like okay. I'm going to someone else.

Second guy I gave him a website fully build. Didn't pay me shit. So I pulled his site off the internet and he kept blowing up my phone asking me why I took it down. Threatened to sue me. I told him to go fuck his mother and never heard from him again.

It's fucking soul crushing unless you have some cash to hire a wage cuck to do all the grunt work for you.

>>16162552
Based.

You can make 120k a year minimum as an independent truck driver and work no more than 700 miles from your zip code, if you do it right I hear you can pretty much be home every other day and still make the minimum if you're in the right lane

>>16169913
Why do trucking for 120k when you can be a welder for 300k?

>>16169961
Because you can fix garages for 500k

>>16169961
How long does it take to get a license?
>>16169970
You can also fix water damaged homes and clean crime scenes for 500k

>>16167493
>I think they deserve a share of the profits
I can see this for revenue generators like salespeople etc., but not for someone clocking in and out. If you pay them a decent market-set wage for their labor, I don't see how they're entitled to anything else when you're the one taking all the risk and you're the one with (presumably) nearly every penny to your name sunk into this company - or at least you did at one point. My thought is that if you're not growing the business or driving it in a new direction, you're entitled to your wage and that's it. When the business loses money, are you going to take it out of their paychecks? If the answer is no, then I don't see why you'd let them share in the upside without any of the downside.

>>16169961
>>16169970
>>16169981
Where the McFuck are you guys getting these numbers?

>>16167493
A company i used to work for did this but they weren't eligible for it until after a year being employed.
But they only got access to that if it was deemed neccessary like maternity leave or if someone had to take a long amount of time off for personal reasons.

>grow up poor as shit
>struggle to figure out a direction for my life
>close to top of the academic standings when i was till in school
>essentially just cruise and do odd jobs to support myself
>finally stay at a warehousing/wholesale company long enough after 5 years to move into management
>owner says to my face he's going to promote me
>general manager doesn't like me. i don't like him either
>someone else gets promoted
>i'm fucking livid
>quit in a few months afterwards
>meet customer at my new job and realize we are same levels of motivated
>start business together. he brought branding and equipment. i had the capital saved up, management skills and similar labor skills
>we decide to open the business during the peak season for this industry
>making fat stacks but working long hours
>i'm looking at this guy the entire time we are running the business
>he's completely inflexible and can't handle money
>things blow up and he offers to buy me out
>crunch the numbers and realize i will net a 4x return on my money in under 6 months
>take the money and buy another business
>looked at the books and realized commercial clients are a big reason why this place makes any profitability
>pivot heavily and change operations to acquire more commercial clients
>double, almost triple the net profit in under a year. some luck. and a lot of hard of hard work
>4x my money in a year
>hey look at all the money i have now
>buy another business after the first year of biz #2
>profits are exceeding my expectations by at least 50% to 100%. because i raised the fucking prices suck my dick bitches
>hey look at all the money i have now
>buy another business
>i now own 2 incorporated companies with 3 non related income streams. biz #3 got rolled into my second company because while the operations are similar, profits are generated in completely different manners
>go from making $40k per year to a projected $150k in 3 years

too long will continue

>>16170048
What was the revenue on the first business? How much did you invest? Did you do something like buy into a franchise or are these niche businesses?
Did you study business management or are you just figuring it out by the day? Your annual net is 150 or is that combined revenue?

>>16170026
Canadian welders make 300k

>>16170048

i work roughly 80 - 100 hours per week.

i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. i know exactly how to build all 3 income streams to run without a commercial premises.

i have 4 years left on my commercial lease. i'm not renewing when it's up.

if i play this right i will be making roughly $200k per year in 4 years working roughly 35 hours a week. tasks will not be time sensitive. labor will be outsourced. no employees. it's just going to be a bitch build to that point.

the average person is dumb as shit. that's why most small business fails. one of the companies i outsource to is going out of business. i listened to their story after inquiring. a number of totally avoidable mistakes were made. i did foresee this so have a back up company to outsource to.

i'm at the point where i've turned away some retail business because the money made doesn't offset the stress it creates.

thanks for reading my blog. see below for steps to succeed

1. burning ambition
2. burning work ethic
3. ability to sacrifice your social life
4. above average intelligence
5. financial discipline

addendum to #5, previous business partner is broke as shit. could barely afford to pay taxes but spent money on a new truck. i have been saving 90% of my income. i'm in the process of buying the operating assets of another company to add to biz #2.

>>16167360
How is their net profit 0? What the fuck are you saying?

>>16170077
>What was the revenue on the first business?

in 4 months $330k. the next few months were shit due to the cyclical nature of the business.

> How much did you invest?
$10k plus a bit here and there. i got salary payments in addition to my buyout money

>Did you do something like buy into a franchise or are these niche businesses?
common business. we had a unique marketing method. 2 young guys being real hungry and out smarting the big corps. prices were low due to us being the customer service, labor, marketing and accounting all rolled into one.

>Did you study business management or are you just figuring it out by the day?
i play a lot of video games. strategy games. and what is business except a grand strategy game.

>Your annual net is 150 or is that combined revenue?
$150k is my personal net income from my 2 companies combined

>>16170192
>$300,000 in 4 months
>Larping on /biz/

ok bomer

>>16170193
revenues are not profits.

go back to your tea party.

adults are talking.

>>16170209
ok boomer

>>16170192
So are you pretty much doing acquisitions and hodling or are you building a portfolio?
With all 3 of your business combined what would you say you're valued at? Are you thinking about selling?

>>16162917
delet this

>>16170217
again, revenues are not profits. when you can understand accounting terms you can join us at the adults table.

>>16170239
i aim to acquire business with established cashflows. target ROI is 30% and up. i have been able to generate 50% so far in my least profitable acquisition.

i operate the businesses, increase profitability and reinvest.

biz #1 worth between $300k to $500k
biz #2 worth between $144k to $240k

won't be selling for a long time. the next few years will see biz #2 be worth more money. it's where i see the most potential for reinvestment and growth.

i will probably always own a business just for the tax advantages.

>>16170260
ok boomer

>>16170260
Here is a quick cash tip that's getting popular, you can lease some sprinter vans on a line of credit, find some drivers with at least year of driving history and make about 60k off of each van by having them do reigonal Amazon deliveries

>>16170283
i have seen similar opportunities.

fedex routes have been for sale in my area. i never realized they would operate under an independent courier model until i saw the ad.

what's the ROI on your proposal? pretend you are talking to some bigwig. because if you generate 20% consistently and it's reasonably scalable other people will throw money at you like a stripper.

>>16170296
Depends on your purchasing power but I'd say it's safe to say around 20%-40% if you keep your wages competitive, fuel costs low and have a good retention system in place

>>16170319
i gotta get some sleep the 16 hour day that awaits me.

but i'll check this thread tomorrow if it's still up.

why don't you do it for yourself then? that's a juicy return.

>>16170331
I am working on it but I'm a long haul driver so I have more important things I'm working on, if you want to talk business though drop your discord

>>16170354
don't have discord. if you have a steam account i can add you there

>>16170265
Are you able to say something besides using an ad-persona? Are you a little sad that no one reinforced the idea today that your likies will be worth 1000 EOY?

>>16164986
>workers rights and middle class quality of life has been on a decline for decades
>CEOs and execs get massive bonuses, normal employees get nothing
>employees are fired the next season so the execs get their bonuses next financial year
There’s a reason why no one gives a fuck about their employer.

is there a business where i dont have to interact with people or at least stupid ones? i work at customer care and retards are the worst.

>>16168631
>and it's finally come down to I hate being told what to do
Ive come to this exact some conclusion. successful "entrepreneurs" all have a screw loose...we are all driven by things not really directly related to money.
the old stat quoted that "85% of all small businesses fail within their first 2 years" actually has it all wrong. The proper stat is: "most ppl who try to run their own biz are sane and well balanced". If you are actually crazy...you can be part of the 15% simply out of a mixture of pure stubbornness and delusional thinking.

>>16170091
They also average around $6000/mo/family in groceries so

>>16170097
no gf/wife or you left her in the journey?
Any longer "business" with a female during that time?
did they help you or held you back?

>>16167744
Guy was a successful engineer. He created this charter school because he wanted better options for his family, and he had a lot of friends and neighbors in the same boat. You know fucking MARKET RESEARCH.

He then went through a fucking shitstorm legal battle with the local teachers unions because they don't like anybody fucking with their racket. I can tell you it was not easy for him.

He finally got the permit, built the structure and hired the best god damn teachers in the state and opened for business. The first year was shitty because he had low attendance because the local unions spread bs like their was sexual abuse going on there (really). Then the test scores started coming out and low income students were performing far far above all the local shit public schools and he was set.

There is a wait list for the school and he is expanding as fast as he can to accommodate. It's not nigger in a rap video money but he says he makes around $200k per year personally, but is expaning to other neighborhoods due to demand.

He really wasny doing it for money as he was already financially secure, but he didn't like his kids being social experiments for teachers unions.

This guy worked just as hard as anybody starting some dumb time wasting app /SaaS bs you all think is REAL entrepreneurship.

This guy is changing people's lives for the better, and doing it well. You have no idea how fucking evil public sector unions are. This motherfucker took them all on and won.

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in America . Stay mad Eurotrash.

My discord is for Business and Entertainment, join it - bTNQ4px

>>16167430
Home office is a great place to start as much is done remotely now. If you do flat fees/flat monthly agreements, watch for scope creep.

Also, if you can find a niche, an area you can promote yourself as an expert in, it helps greatly in marketing.

>t. CPA

>>16167347
Just rent a shared office in a big city like NYC or some shit. Then you can charge $300/hr, and you will only have to work 3-4 hrs a month to cover your bills.

>>16172553
If I can ask, where is this charter school?

>>16171253
ok boomer

You know what's funny? Came across this thread and thought, nice, what a nice thing to see, a long thoughtful thread not about crypto. After reading it though, would rather it be 100% crypto board

I run a small scale farm and it's /comfy/. I make the equivelant of a minimum wage full-time job, but I work half or a quarter of the hours. Like other SBOs, I hate working for other people/selling my time and that was the primary motivation.

I'm now working on a couple other ideas (software and a nursery-related product/service) while returning to uni. I like businesses that are product based, so I don't have to interface with people. They also tend to lend themselves well to automation via nicer equipment, so you don't have to spend so much time on them. Entrepreneurship feels more like sport though, and sometimes I think I'm missing out on /career/ comfort, so I'm hoping uni resolves that and I find a fulfilling professional role.

To other SBOs: what's your philosophy on finance? I've noticed that unlike my (relatively few) peers, I view my career/finances differently. I tend to think about it in terms of maximizing and creating revenue systems, especially those that have potential to scale. This leads me to hating the idea of selling my time at a fixed dollar cost per hour (since it scales linearly; if I want x more dollars, I always have to work y more hours -- I just find that thought repulsive). Am I in the wrong?

>>16171931
no girls. although some have shown interest in me i never pursue it. i don't even have time for myself. i've been working these crazy hours for 3 years now. and i've got at least another 4 to go.

>>16173868
i think of purchasing things solely to create positive cashflow. i could afford nice things now. but in a few years i can afford really really nice things. i sacrifice the present so i can have comfy future. most people don't know what they want 1 year from now. i know what i want to achieve 15 years from now.

>>16174601
>no girls. i don't even have time for myself.
that's what I thought
I can see it with my gf
I just want my peace and get things done, have my own schedule for my day which is way off hers

If some anon wants to make it in life, first work on your goals and AFTER you achieved it, get a permanent gf.
do it midway and for most people it will fuck you up.

>>16162497
everyone will expect your work for free

>>16170260
Yes, 300K in revenues in nothing in the grand scheme of things. I have a manufacturing business that did 1.6M in revenue last year and I still haven't made in and my margins are high compared to my peers.

>>16174704
>If some anon wants to make it in life, first work on your goals and AFTER you achieved it, get a permanent gf.

of course this is the most logical way to do things. but penis has other plans.

when there is a long weekend like the 11th coming up, i work even more. because now i have to catch up on all the tasks i put off during the last month.

NO FUN ALLOWED

Started one a few months ago because I was the director of operations for a few companies.

Now I wear every hat and it can be a little draining.

Everything takes longer, costs more, and pays less than you think it will. Also you'll be working twice as hard as you thought you would be.

I'm suddenly hearing "no thanks" or "not interested" ten times more.

Good help is hard to find is surprisingly accurate.

I could go on and on.

>>16174757
NO FUN
NO PUSSY
ONLY BRYPTO

>>16167347
>>16167430

It's absolutely critical to be on top of your cash flow and profit/loss. It's so easy to spend the money as soon as it comes in but it kills any chance of growing your business or retirement.

>>16168631

For me it's more about cronyism and big business doing whatever it can to get a grasp on a market. I think their biggest fear is constant competition from small biz that wants to nip away at their market share anyway they can.

That being said it is an absolute blessing to be able to have a control of your cash flow being able to slowly add more and more to your savings.

>>16162584

I'm a lazy fuck SBO. I woke up 20 mins ago because I wanted to go watch a movie by the beach. I haven't "worked hard" since I sourced my first inventory purchase. The hardest thing I do now is figure what new product to source.

Super hyper gary V type people use all that energy to turn ANYTHING into a profitable venture. Yes, those types can make ANYTHING work for them due to all the energy and sales/marketing talent they have, but they can never relax. Smarter people know how to get the same results for a lot less effort. Like me.

Pic related, this was 4 hours worth of "work" for me 2 months ago. I cant imagine having to put effort or work into a business to make just as much as I do now with zero recurring value. What a grind.

I invested in a new business with a mega hyper Gary V style boomer, and he works 10x harder than me to get these results. And it takes him more time and money to do it. And if he died tomorrow, thered be no income.

>>16173868
LARP

>>16169043

The niche can matter a lot. If you're lucky, it will grow to a point that working full time on it makes sense if you're able to scale or grow sales year over year.

I think a lot of people under estimate risks/costs. I view almost every decision I make on a risk adjusted basis now.

I understand if you don't want to give up any info but hopefully you'd be able to sacrifice a year or two where you could actually work on your business and still have a job or some side work with your original skills to have another income as well. If not, you could eventually bring in someone to manage it but that's a whole different level of discussion to have.

>>16174826

Rofl my alarm just went off. Feels good being a smart SBO.

>>16169276

What kinda margins and gross are you doing for that to be worth all that headache?

>>16170360
Everyone here can come to my discord and talk shit. I get really bored with no work and all this income.

/xH2kxU

>>16174767
But the most under-discussed point of all:

Your bed at the end of the day suddenly becomes the most wonderful place in the entire world.

>>16173868

Do you mean using leverage to introduce new products and maximize your revenue potential? If so, Yes, finance us awesome. OPM

>>16174826
Are you doing Amazon FBA? Or private label?

I personally sell on eBay full time, but I work long hours because in always going around trying to source more items. I'm trying to learn about antiques.

>>16174740

Yea that sounds about right. Same boat for the business I invested in. It's a grind

>>16174986

I will tell you now as someone who started with ebay. Fuck ebay, get on amazon asap. I made $1k a month on ebay with the same item I make $30k/month on amazon. And you dont touch inventory doing it. I am price label fba.

>>16175002
Private**

>>16175002
Really? Long time eBay seller here.
Aren't the fees on Amazon more than eBay though? I fucking hate the fees on eBay and I hate all the returns of perfectly good product because of customer's ignorance and buyers remorse. How are the returns on Amazon

>>16175002
How much money did you start with? I've done a ton of research with the different ways you can make money off Amazon over the years (FBA, private label, wholesale) and it always seems like you need at least $3K to start. And even by spending $3K you have no guarantee of making a profitable business with Amazon.

And once you find a winning product it seems like you need to use promoted listings to get some momentum.

I have merch by Amazon right now and have made on 3 sales in 2 years, mostly due to competition.

>>16162497
You should ask yourself a few questions first.

Are you going to be able to work for someone else for the rest of your life? Do you have the character it takes to do that?
Are you going to be able to do that, knowing there's guys out there that earn in a month what you make in a year?
Are you going to live with the fact that no matter how hard you work there will be people above you that are incompetent fucks?
Are you the kind of person who can live with being bossed around for the rest of his life? Until you're well into your 60's or even 70's?

Are you made to be a wagie?

>>16174830
why would i larp as an admittedly poverty-tier farmer?

>>16169276
you can imagine all kinds of scenarios where something can go wrong, never gonna make it like that tho

>>16175063
bc Southpark prob. kys zoomie

>>16175138
I don't know what episode you're even talking about, retard. Your post is saturated with irony.

Also, what episode are you talking about? I wanna see

>>16162497
I once looked into it in the UK, and I understand now why everyone just gets a job in an already established business rather than start their own. Government expenses alone are enough to tear your hair out; business rates, insurance, taxes, etc are insane. If you ever think of employing someone, that is even more money, you are practically paying almost double the employee's wages on the employee by the time you consider national insurance, pensions, liability insurance, etc. And the is not even covering the health and safety legislation, employment legislation, tax legislation, etc, all of which is a ton of paperwork and changes every year. And you still have to rent a good location and buy the equipment you need. And you have zero guarantee your business will even make a profit. Being a small business owner is not easy in today's world.

>>16174826
Wait until Amazon vends the product itself. Or China mass copies you. Or a big business enforces an IP issue on you. Or or or.
Your pic related is cool and I have done that but it will dry up, overnight. FBA/Ecom is a constant grind to make new products. You sound like you havent gotten the cold wake up call of $0 daily revenue yet. Go watch your beach movie but know that some Chink or poor person or bean counter at Amazon will - 100%, with full certainty, bet on it, "its going to fucking happen" - remove your income.
> I cant imagine having to put effort or work into a business to make just as much as I do now with zero recurring value. What a grind.
I say this kindly but you will be singing a different tune November 7, 2020.

>>16174826
How do you find a good item to sell anyway?

On a side note, if anyone here is in the Phoenix metro area and isn't full blown autistic I have a good side hustle position I'm hiring for.

Send to my drop email officetemp1027@gmail.com

>>16175057
As much as it sounds negative, being a wagie isn't all bad because you at least have the choice to say "No, this isn't for me." and walk away.

>>16175220

And that's the way the bigger companies want to keep it. All of those regulations, taxes, fees, whatever is just another barrier to entry that cuts out anyone without money or the ability to save to cover it.

>>16175288

Definitely have to go the minimalist route and either reinvest or save every dollar that you realistically can.

Bonus points if you can pivot it into a nice full time job while you focus on another venture passively until that (maybe) grows.

>>16175220
>Being a small business owner is not easy in today's world.
The prison bars that society and the government build for you are gilded with the worst venom of all: the support and love from the people around you. It's nearly impossible to admit "Guys, I fucking hate this and I want out" when you hear your friends and family talk about how proud they are of you, the small business owner, making your own way and being your own boss.

>>16162824
>>16166977
>It would be so tiresome to escape the cage I'm in, I'd rather just run in my wheel and eat food when provided by my owner.
This is you guys.

>>16162497
You may have to actually work for the first time in your life. And I mean all parts of the work like..
>discover what needs to be done
>prioritize things that need to be done
>come up with a process on how you're going to do it
>attempt to do it
>evaluate your success or failure,
>redo it or leave it
>back to the top
You have to do this for everything from marketing, sales, production, sourcing, hiring, legal, banking, accounting, etc...

You have to live in that loop and nobody around you will understand it. They'll say things like "Take the day off, you're the boss right?" and have no idea how much pressure you feel.
But then if you keep at it, you'll stumble into some kind of groove, you'll get complacent with whatever revenue you've managed to scrounge, and then you'll sit there until a leaner more aggressive enterprise steamrolls you. Then you'll probably tell people at your new wagie job about how you "used to have your own business".

It's not for pussies.

>>16176030
>"Take the day off, you're the boss right?"
Oh ho ho ho, this fucking phrase right here.

>>16173092
>could you dox your friend for me
>nothing bad will happen goy I promise :^)

>>16176030
everybody talks a lot of shit about diversifying your investments. but few talk about diversifying income streams.

you are merely self employed if you rely on one business for all your income. no better than a salaried employee.

>>16162548
So much this. my first 2 years I was a bitch and got bent so many times. Charge a price and stick with that price, they will pay

>>16162773
Versus 7days a week no sleep cause stress??

>>16175514
I-is it okay if I'm a virgin? I just want to make some money any way possible to pay off my credit cards..

>>16176608
probably ok if you have a feminine penis

>>16175080
That wasnt my point. Point is this incel thinks it's all easy just need a few trucks. Far from accurate and he's probably 19 and doesn't know shit about the real world

>>16162497
Posts like this is why why I come to biz. I don’t give a fuck about your shit coins

>>16162497

You get paid last and everyone thinks you make twice what you actually do

>>16162497
be wary of boomers. they may help your business with their experience, but they also seek to leech your energy and shark you.