If You Could Start Your Own Business............

[bigscoop]

.....what business would you decide to get into? And why?

 

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[ottawadigs]

sorry my ideas cost $9.99 per minute to explain

 

[bigscoop]

sorry my ideas cost $9.99 per minute to explain

There you go.....a pay per minute idea line. I like it!

 

[njnydigger]

Strip club Problem is, you open that kind of business in NY & you have to pay certain people off or you get your legs broke

 

[bigscoop]

Strip club Problem is, you open that kind of business in NY & you have to pay certain people off or you get your legs broke

Holy Crap! Strip Club Health Insurance! That's a fantastic idea!

 

[njnydigger]

Strip club Problem is, you open that kind of business in NY & you have to pay certain people off or you get your legs broke

Holy Crap! Strip Club Health Insurance! That's a fantastic idea!

Yeah, something like that That is the business of businesses to be in, scoop. All profit A lot of 'perks' too

 

[bigscoop]

Strip club Problem is, you open that kind of business in NY & you have to pay certain people off or you get your legs broke

Holy Crap! Strip Club Health Insurance! That's a fantastic idea!

Yeah, something like that That is the business of businesses to be in, scoop. All profit A lot of 'perks' too

Sounds like it could be a real 'perky' business to get into.

 

[packerbacker]

I always thought it would be neat to start a catfish farm. Then, on the same location, as the catfish are growing, build a small cafe. Then, after the cafe is built and the fish are big enough, you open your little restaurant. People come a little early so they can catch their own dinner. They get to enjoy a little family outing and a great catfish dinner. Don't have to worry about deressing up or nothing fancy like that. Of course you would have to already have some fish caught in case the weather was bad, the fish weren't biting or the folks just didn't want to catch their own. Little side money makers would be things like pole rentals, bait sales and selling snacks to those fishing until they catch their dinner. The fish guts could be freeze dried for more fish food or used in the gardens. If they just want to catch fish and take them home, that's fine too, they just pay for the fish.

 

[FarmerChick]

I owned 2 business in my time.

One was partners with Dad. He was President and CEO of a few very big corporate food distrubtion centers in the North. When he retired to NC I came. Land was cheaper and I bought my land and home in cash down here, up north was pricey.

Dad was bored. We opened a reclaim food store. Kept it for 8 years....then Dad got bored, product harder to get and we closed. It was fun and very profitable and we had a blast.


then I farmed. Income farming. 15 years of whole hog sausage, eggs, produce, natural goat milk soaps....and I recently closed down the farm over the last 2 years cause we asre TIRED....but continue my soap sales. I made wonderful money in my soaps. Sell to stores etc. Dad handles the Sat. farmer market for me cause he wants something to do.


so being in your own biz can be wonderful, but by gosh, YOU WORK 1000 times harder than if at a job only because you are your own source of income....but it is cool. Nothing like being your own boss!

 

[GunFarce]

The main down side of running your own business, is: There is no such thing as holidays, and long weekends. If your running your own business, those days are better known as 'periods of no income'

 

[joecoin]

I've been in business since 1987.
First electronic repair, tv's vcr's stereos. Then got into photocopier and then computer repair. Long hours , little money. Had 12 employees at one point. Am now down to 5 , thank God. Employees will suck the life right out of you. I hope to sell out soon and get into online sales of coins, antiques and collectibles.

 

[AU24K]

An online alternative to Paypal.

You know the reason if you've ever dealt with Paypal....

Best,
Scott

 

[Frankn]

I think I have already tried most of them. Radio/TV/stereo repair,Satelite receiver sales and inst.,Wedding & Fine Art photography, House construction, electrical repairs residential, Farming- beef cattle,corn,hay, Auto body repair etc,etc,etc. I now freelance in my own projects of various types of art work and some serious treasure hunting. As you get older and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you see that enjoyment tops bucks! Frank

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

I would just do what I am doing now, but on a larger scale and with a commercial storefront.

"What I do" is sell antiques and collectibles, gold and silver, autographs, furniture, sports memorabilia, comics, coins, stamps, paper currency, books, art, vintage electronics, vinyl records, artifacts, war memorabilia, ect.

I was inspired to do such after I lost my job 2 years ago and read a book called 'Antiques For Amateurs on a Shoestring Budget'. It is from the late 70's, written by a woman who was stuck in a job she hated and began dabbling in antiques as a hobby. It later grew into a full-time business for her. The thing about the book was that as I was reading it, I realized the text was describing to a "T" stuff that I had already been doing for years - riding around looking for great deals on interesting items at places like yard and garage sales, church sales, thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales and so forth. I had just been piling stuff up for years already as a "hobby" throughout all the time I was working for someone else. Now I am letting go of it all, turning a profit, and using the leftover $$$ to buy even more stuff to sell. I will take in and flip basically anything of value whether it's old or not.

I'm definitely not getting rich, but I'm getting by and I can make my own hours. I currently have a booth at my local antique mall and I sell on eBay as well. Beginning next January I will be getting a business license so I can be "legit" and I am currently looking for cheap commercial property to run my business out of. Next year I hope to make enough $$$ that I can pay taxes on the stuff lol.

Losing my job was the best thing that ever happened to me. It has allowed me to go back to school and gave me the the gumption to get up off my rump and quit workin' for "The Man". If the antique business fails, I will still have my History Degree to fall back on that I earned while self employed.

Good luck to you all.

 

[njnydigger]

Some smart folks on here Glad people are starting to wake-up & smell the coffee. Being one's own boss is the fabric this country was built upon. From the small vendors who used to sell fruits & vegetables off a cart in NYC in the 20's & 30's to the guy running a hot dog cart today, it's the only way to go IMO.

That's the BIG problem with the current state of the education system in America. It's still stuck on the principles of the industrial age. That is...go to school, study hard & then go out & get a job. The new economy does NOT work this way any longer. The days of working at a large company for 30 years while being well paid and getting the gold watch when you retire, that hardly exists anymore. Everything is moving overseas. The few big employers left in this country only want young kids or newly minted citizens who're more than happy making $10 or $15 an hour. Even the old, secure civil servant jobs aren't what they used to be. The 'ticket' to an easy, middle class lifestyle is becoming harder & harder to achieve in this country.

What schools SHOULD be instilling in kids nowadays are 'life management' skills - personal finance, business building know-how, management, public speaking, personal relations, etc. Unfortunately, this is virtually impossible since the school system & the television industry have succeeded in 'dumbing down' the entire upcoming generation. The system itself is out-of-date & is in drastic need of change.

I really feel for the kids entering the work force in this day & age. They've been taught (and not well either) to be drones. Get a job & work 50 hours a week. This thinking is SEVERELY outdated.

Change needs to come...soon

 

[Frankn]

Hay hombre, you are doing it right, now! The business license and store front will drag you down. I know I went that route. Did better without them.

njnydigger, I think you have the big picture. A lot of people never see it.
Frank

 

[bigscoop]

Had the antique and collectibles storefront, and while I do miss it, I don't think I'd want the overhead and 24/7 upkeep and commitment again. However, I'm am thinking of getting back into the business again, only this time without the storefront and overhead and a means of turning my inventory over every week or two. Still working out the details but so far I can't find a reason not to do it.

 

[jerseyben]

Some smart folks on here Glad people are starting to wake-up & smell the coffee. Being one's own boss is the fabric this country was built upon. From the small vendors who used to sell fruits & vegetables off a cart in NYC in the 20's & 30's to the guy running a hot dog cart today, it's the only way to go IMO.

That's the BIG problem with the current state of the education system in America. It's still stuck on the principles of the industrial age. That is...go to school, study hard & then go out & get a job. The new economy does NOT work this way any longer. The days of working at a large company for 30 years while being well paid and getting the gold watch when you retire, that hardly exists anymore. Everything is moving overseas. The few big employers left in this country only want young kids or newly minted citizens who're more than happy making $10 or $15 an hour. Even the old, secure civil servant jobs aren't what they used to be. The 'ticket' to an easy, middle class lifestyle is becoming harder & harder to achieve in this country.

What schools SHOULD be instilling in kids nowadays are 'life management' skills - personal finance, business building know-how, management, public speaking, personal relations, etc. Unfortunately, this is virtually impossible since the school system & the television industry have succeeded in 'dumbing down' the entire upcoming generation. The system itself is out-of-date & is in drastic need of change.

I really feel for the kids entering the work force in this day & age. They've been taught (and not well either) to be drones. Get a job & work 50 hours a week. This thinking is SEVERELY outdated.

Change needs to come...soon

Sounds like you have been listening in on me and my wife's late night conversations (she is an NJ public schools teacher - GASP!).

 

[centfladigger]

foreclosure home inspections company

Thats what I do now but for someone else. AWESOME money in it. there are approx 60 of us insoectors in Fl Ala. and Tx we all work for the same company/guy. The bank charges $20 an inspection and by inspection I mean for most of them thats 2 pictures of the house, to verify its occupied. We get our work through another company who takes $10 of that $20 and I get $4 out of that $10 for each house.
I cover a whole county south of me and do 80-100 houses a day. I have about 10-15 a day that are vacant and with those I take a pic of each corner and then each room inside, not there more than 5 minutes, I write in abbreviated code word on the paper and go to the next., the data entry people get .50 cents for each they enter in of our inspections.
The banks pay good money for the yard cutters too and the lock change out guys, I talk to the cutters all the time when I see them at the houses I do from what I hear they average around $40-60 for an average yard $80+ for an acre they docuement it all with pictures too.
The company I work for has been in business for 20 years so this isnt new or is it going away or a fad.There are plenty of us here making $7-10k a month and all we do is drive around taking pictures for the banks, its not a lazy job, you pay attention to things and deal with home owners who think we are the bank.
This is probably the saddest job I have had because all of these folks are in foreclosure or are trying to remodify. I have seen some of the saddest things doing this. I have found houses where they took only what clothes they could put in the cars and left, they leave the houses full of their belonguings and never come back. The guys who do the lock change outs and yards cutting also do the clean outs and they make a mint selling all the stuff they get from the houses.

 

[mikeofaustin]

I've been in business since 1987.
First electronic repair, tv's vcr's stereos. Then got into photocopier and then computer repair. Long hours , little money. Had 12 employees at one point. Am now down to 5 , thank God. Employees will suck the life right out of you. I hope to sell out soon and get into online sales of coins, antiques and collectibles.

TELL me about it!!! I've only done 3 years of it and I've realize it's hard to keep people on task. You get people paid from 'work at home' jobs (CAD work), and they deliver work that they claim 40 hours on, and it would take me only 1 long hard day of doing...

I've also learned that the underhanded way of doing things is to get angel investors and live of them for a while (draw up a business plan and have the millionaires pay your salary.... all the while trying to stretch it by telling them "any day now, we'll be in the black". Beleive me, this is more common than you think.....

And of course, their's always the 'Big Con'. Meaning, you spend a little money on developing a product, lease a building, make your books look good, and immediately start trying to find a big cap company to buy your IP (Intellecual property) from you. And then you still stay on as a VP directing research and development for a couple years... I call them 'angel farmers'. I've had recent experience with this as a friend of mine turned me on to a friend of his that wanted me to work for free. I looked at the product and immediately knew it wouldn't fly. But, they developed it anyway, spend a LOT of money on advertising, and got a selling spree happen... Their books looked very good. So, a big cap company bought them out, and I'm guessing, from the very crappy product, the CEO probably got at least 10 million, despite his investment of only 200 grand.

If... IF, you were honest (I had this discussion with someone the other day), if you choose to be an honest businessman, it's very hard to make money. I drove a company doing research and development for electronic products for the last 3 years... It paid only a little more than what I would get from doing it for a corporation... But, I worked 3 times as hard. it simply wasn't worth it. The only advantage was being able to go to work in my underwear. I now have that company on the side and only accept work that I know will be easy to deal with (customers that are easy to deal with, versus nit-wits that make it twice as hard).
And I'm working full time for a buddy I knew along time ago that got his angel investment ( a startup). It works out o.k. for me because every now and then, I can do a quick job on the weekend for about 8 hours, and get at least a grand for doing it.

...I will add that electronics debugging is something that I've always respected and loved to do (and labor of love, if you will). But, it's hard to make money on it. I knew a guy that cornered the market on banking software... apparently, banking software was writin in old code that no-body knows today... and it's not alway easy just to simply move to a newer system... He passed away a couple years ago, but he was getting 20 grand for a couple weeks of work, working on their software.... (I dont' remember what he told me that software was). But, in all, simple debugging electronics won't get you big bucks either because at one point, a big company will decide "Hey, let's just buy another one".... The big find, is to find something (and sell yourself) with something that is NOT easily replaced.