DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Starting a business

Does anyone on here own a business. I'm tired of working for the man, and want to work for myself. I just am not sure how to know if the business would be successful enough to pay the bills, and be worth the gamble of quitting my job. Anyone that owns a business have any advice?

Thats exactly what I am going to school to do right now. All this stress hopefully will teach me what I need to know to run it right. Working for myself is all I have ever wanted to do. Startup funds will be the hardest part b/c I am motivated like you wouldn't believe.

What were you thinking about doing? Have you looked into how much it is going to cost to start or anything?

Quitting any job is a risk, but in this day and age there are also no guarantees that you'll keep that corporate job either. I quit my job of 9 years over a year ago and started my own company (software consulting). I'm still happy that I did it, as it has been very rewarding thus far.

Couple of things to look at....

Do you have a cash reserve to pay the bills while getting things going?

Do you have clients and/or customers in mind prior to quiting?

Is it something you could start on the side while still working for someone else?

Talk to other people that do what you want to do. Even though they will be competitors, most people are willing to talk with you about the pros/cons of the business.

Are there a lot of startup costs for what you are looking to do? Do you have the money to invest in order to get it going? I started my business on my AMEX credit card and payed it off within 2 months; that is a big risk, but one I wanted to take. You may be able to get a loan from a bank as well if necessary; that route will likely require a business plan, which in my opinion isn't always necessary. Some will disagree with that, but it really depends upon what you are going to be doing.

Health insurance - I'm lucky, as my wife works and can cover that with a very good plan. If she didn't work I'd be looking at about $900/month for the family. If you are single, then it'll be around $400 from what I recall.

Owning your own business is very rewarding, but it is a lot of hard work as well. And you get bent over by Uncle Sam every quarter, so be ready for that - remember that your employer pays half of your FICA and SS, you will be responsible for it all up to $16000 (think that is the number) if you bring in more than 90K. Setup a retirement fund and put the max in that you can afford to, as it is pre-tax. I have a SEP that I can contribute up to 42K pre-tax per year into - I have no employees, so I don't need to match anything that I give myself either.

Before starting my business, I read several books about the field I was getting into. I do pretty much the same thing as I did at my old job, but now for myself so there were some business side aspects I needed to learn about.

1.) Determine how much monthly income you need to maintain your lifestyle. Do you have 6 months to 2 years (depending on the business) of that income to live off of while your business gets established?

2.) Create a business plan, be realistic and err on the conservative side with all of your numbers. Don't forget the cost of health insurance and other benefits you rely on from your current employer. Does your net profit meet or exceed the amount in 1.)?

If you answer no to either of these questions, don't quit your job.

What kind of business?

I'm thinking of selling my body for a living.

It's a gold mine.

I was thinking either a marketing research business or a grocery and prescription pick up and delivery service focused toward seniors. I got one project lined up with a realty company, I just don't know wear to go from there.

I also think about starting up a business.

As far as taxes go, what can be considered a tax write off? Is anything that you spend towards your business help you to not have to pay it towards taxes? I know people who are self contractors who save gas and food receipts as a tax write off.

I live in Erie, so there's lots of old people. A lot of them are willing to pay good money for transportation. There's only a couple people that do the grocery thing.. My problem is I'm hung up on different ideas. I wouldnt mind getting into learning how to do web design, i already know the basics. I also thought about pressure washing, but the area I live in only has a 5 month summer.

Browns4Life, do I know you by any chance? Have you been lurkin around me? I have been talking about the Food delivery business here where I live, and oddly enough, just the last few days.. UMMMM

Im in Erie too, PM me

Thats really odd man.. Your making perinoid, because only 2 people know I was going to do this,

Now a whole bunch of us do. lol ( kidding)

LOL, Seriously, Thats strange..

I had a buisness for 7 years or so. I haven't read any of the replies, so if I'm redundant, forgive me. The one thing about my experience that I would pass on is something from a very good friend of mine. He would always point out the difficulties and problems he was facing, he was the current owner of a second generation buisness and doing well, but working very hard (playing hard too, when he could). When my buisness finally dissolved, I told him that I should have listened to him. He said that I did. I started the buisness, dealt with the problems and reaped the rewards, and that if I hadn't tried, it would still be in my mind all the time.

Fact is, it's rewarding, difficult, scary and worthwhile. The only advice I would give, really, is to protect yourself, be cautious and get feedback. My buisness failed because computers have become disposable, and I depended on the consistant income from repairs. I could have done better in hindsite. Even so, I don't regret that I did it.

And by the way. After that, it became a little more palatable to work for the man. The stress in my life has greatly lessend, and I feel more wise. That's a complicated topic, but those are the bullets.

yes, I own my own business.. Yes it's a risk, There are no guarantees of success or if you do have success, there is no guarantee it will last.

The only benefits you receive are the ones you pay for yourself.. You want a vacation,,, good luck!

That's all the bad stuff,, here's the good stuff..

I have nobody but my customers to yell at me if I sleep in and don't make it to work on time. (I'm never late because I work out of the house so my office is 30 feet from the bedroom LOL )

Doing the 1/4 of the volume that I did for my former employer, I ended up making twice as much money.

Now out of that you do have to pay some things that your employer used to pay like matching taxes, W/C, Liability Insurance,,,,,,

But the way I'm set up as a corporation, I intend to lose money for 5 years no matter what.. (don't laugh, there's an art to losing money in a cash cow type business)

I do however pay myself a salary now and I use what is known as a PEO,,, Private Employer Organization.. The cut me a check, do all the filings, and they provide a Group Benefit Plan.. Given that I own the company, you have to understand that in the end, I pay for everything anyway. It's just a neat and clean way to take care of myself... So now, in order to lose money, I had to hire my wife..... She really doesn't do anything but drag down a paycheck, but hey,,, it ends up in our checking account anyway

So now I have some questions for you...

The business you are thinking about, do you have experience in it?

Do you possess the skills necessary to both sell the service or product and provide or make the service or product or buy the service or product to resell?

Are you self motivated? Nobody is gonna be around to kick you in the butt when you need it, so you better not need it.

Do you have the cash to exist until the business has time to mature and support you?

Is there a verifiable need for your product or service?

Do you know where you are going to get business?

Do you understand the cost structure of your business?

Do you understand your competition and thier pricing and product or service?


I don't need the answers for myself,,, but you do for yourself...

good luck and if you want to chat sometime, PM me and we can exchange numbers..

Find something people want/need. Determine/create the market. Be the best at what you do. Keeps costs at a minimum to maximize profits. Reinvest in the business for growth. Marketing is King. Give back to the community.

Good luck!

Here's a few tidbits of advice having started two businesses (sold one, running the other one):
> Most businesses take time. If you don't have time, wait till you do.
> Pay for qualified professionals to assist you - CPA and Attorney are a must. These are necessary business expenses.
> Depending on the business, be prepared to spend money marketing. I am amazed at the amount of new businesses that just assume if they open, they will come. They will NOT just show up b/c you have new business cards. Again, if you don't have the time and/or money to market your services, wait till you do.
> Be prepared to work 24/7. Once your business is your lifeblood, you'll be thinking about it 24/7.
> Make sure your family, friends, etc. understand that your priority is to get your business off and running. People around you will need to sacrifice as well and it's important you have their support.
> Be prepared for a roller coaster ride. Some days you'll think it's almost too easy and other days you'll wonder why you put yourself into this to begin with.

Lastly... you'll never know until you try. I could never imagine being 75 yrs old and thinking - I wonder if I could have started my own business and being self-sufficient... Some people don't have that drive and others do.

Good luck!

Weigh all your options CAREFULLY. I'm basically in the same boat as you right now. Going out on your own is really scary, but if you know what you're doing, it will be well worth it eventually.

I decided because I know I can't retire from this $11 an hour job. I'm topped out in pay, and there's nowhere else up the ladder that they'll let a female climb.... I'm clocking out!!! I have my future to think about.

Good luck in all you do!

If I felt I had a good idea that was worth the risk, I have complete confidence that I would make it work. I can think of several low overhead types of things I would like to do, and one that I am doing, but I need a more solid idea in order to quit the job. Good luck to you too

I think it's cool you want to help seniors. Do alot of research though. I know around here, government workers do that type of thing free of charge... I know how it is where you live.

What's the realty thing you're talking about?

Some good comments and advice here I would add the following :-

I worked for an employer for 12 years - I had trips to Dubai all expenses paid, the money was very very good and was never an issue for me. I then got to the point where I wanted more than just money, so after a discussion with my parents I resigned from my employed job with nothing to go to!

I eventually became self employed but for the first 3 years because money was not an issue I became lazy. I never once thought I would be the type of person to struggle with motivation but I was! and once I got into the lazy mode it took me a long time to get out of it! Working from home was a big problem for me. I had so many distractions, I would find myself starting with the best intentions but soon my attention would be elsewhere.

It would usually benefit a newly self employed person to have no real financial commitments but for me that was the worst possible scenario.

Now I am earning okay money, but my life is soooo much better. I have time for my niece and nephew and time for everything else that I had previously put on hold for my career.

Good luck and keep us updated

Well I found a guy who was having some trouble with his business, so I offered to do a little marketing research project to see if I can't find out what he could do differently to market his houses. I gave him a price and he agreed to it. If this goes well, I'd like to be able to market this service to other businesses. I went to school for sociology and this was what they focus on in that major. I dont mind that type of work. I guess see how this goes and take it from there. Right now I'm a case worker for senior citizens, but the way the state continuously changes things makes this job not worth the money. It's not like their exactly giving me some kind of awesome pay anyways, haha.. Do you have an idea of what you would like to get into?

I'm going to be a real estate agent! One more class!!!
Everyone needs good marketing. Like someone else was saying, just do some on the side for a while, keep your current job until things take off. If this guy likes what you do, ask him to tell other people. Word of mouth is the best and cheapest way to get your name out there. If you're looking for business cards try this: http://www.vistaprint.com/frf?frf=886864596854

Very, very inexpensive. It's something to get started with, anyway.

Thanks for the website. They do have very nice cards for affordable price. I got my business cards for Disc jockeying through them. Word of mouth has been for sure the best with DJing.
Being a real estated agent would be sweet. Congratuations in advance on finshing that up. I'm sure youll do good. Does your current job have anything to do with real estate?

Thank you! And no, I work at a car dealership! LOL
I've been wanting to go into this for a long time, and I finally got off my ass and did something. 6 weeks, 800 bucks is all it took. I also switched all my Dave Matthews cds for sales tactic cds.... I think it'll be alright.

BTW, if you order through that link, I think you save 25%. I'm hooking you up!

What kind of marketing are you doing with this guy? Is it on his website or something?

$800 is not bad at all, especially since you got what you wanted out of it. Hey I'm sure the sales tactics cd's get you jamming out just as much as dave mathews, haha.

Might as well hook it up, you get like 500 cards with the gloss coating for around $30, if I remember right. Can't beat that with a stick.

What I'm doing is making a survey and I'm going to go door to door and have them answer some questions regarding why they purchased their home, their likes and dislikes. Get an idea of why past homes have sold and compare to what he is doing now, and make sure he is still targeting the right audience. Then put the data into a computer program I have and it will show correlations and I'll type a report on the findings. Then I'd like to give some ideas on how to sell some of these homes.. There sweet looking, I wouldn't mind one myself if I could afford it.

Realize how much you could actually lose every month (worst case senario) and determine how long you could survive that way.It usually takes a while to get established and with all the hard work and time involved you'll be stressed enough as it is. If you have the financial end of the business understood than your life will be much easier.

Wow! That sounds pretty detailed! I hope he's paying you well!

Well to be hones I think I really cut myself short. This is the first time I ever done this on my own, and wasn't sure about the pricing scale. I only charged $1200. I see it more has some experience and a doorway more than money. The money can come later once I get established.

Do you live in Cincinnati or something? That's the only thing I could see possessing you to be a Bengals fan..

HAHA. Dayton. There's alot of fake fans around here now. They make me look bad.

I don't know what that type of work goes for, so I don't know what to tell you. Sorry

Well you seem to be a good person and quite normal, so I'll just have to chalk you liking them to a bad decision. Hey it's all good, we all make mistakes. I wont hold it against you.

Quote:

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and quite normal,

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OnB normal?

LOL, I know. Wait til he reads the thread I just posted!