[Pepini]

The problem is scaling business. When you can do all by yourself that's great. But to scala you need to create a structure. You hire a hot shot he steals clientele. Hire a dumbfuck he can't get work done. Hiring the right people is the most important aspect. They will determine your number of headaches.
If you hire and choose the right employees/partners your just there to sign paperwork ang give solutions.
There was a banker in brazil who only worked part-time. The reporter asked him: how could you only work part-time? His answer: I had 12 VP's.

[simondice]

Having a business is like nothing you've ever done. NOTHING. It's like falling in love, like free-falling and building the most beautiful parachute on the way down, only to rise like a phoenix.

If you love what you do and have a vision, I swear the moment you begin to do it, it will be like mental masturbation. At the beginning you will have to learn a lot and you will work hard, harder than you'd ever thought possible, but there's an insatiable hunger since you love it so much ( you do love it right?) that it won't matter. Every problem will be a chance to prove yourself, every solution and move will make you feel alive. It's honestly better than sex, It's like a shot of adrenaline to the soul, waking you up, knowing that you make your fortune. Learning that you're the master of the universe, that whatever lifestyle you want will emerge from nothing, it is a truly beautiful thing.

As far as money, money will come the moment you get wiser. This will come through experience, there's no other way around this. You learn that a business can have multiple revenues from different ideas (which is safer than a steady paycheck in my opinion), working with the kinds of clients you want and knowing that there's all kinds of creative solutions you can employ.

Most mistakes people do is have a business and think like a employee, trying to set it up that way. It's difficult to shake off that thinking for people who have worked for someone else all their life. Freedom is overwhelming for some people, but once you see the money pouring in at a faster rate, not even calculating it in time, but in effort and investment of time (totally different from punching a clock). It's also much more fulfilling doing something of great value and knowing you are doing it as the highest expression of yourself, rather than following orders to fulfill someone else's dream.

You discover yourself through this journey, you take out energy out of somewhere you thought you didn't have. It's truly addicting, that's why when CEO's sell their companies, they itch to go back, not because of money, but because it's a really addicting feeling.

[iron93]

Find out what your passions are and build a community, brand or ecommenrce around it.

[GeneralMacDaddy]

(10-01-2016 06:14 PM)iron93 Wrote:  

Find out what your passions are and build a community, brand or ecommenrce around it.

Wow way to bump a 2 year old thread with some one-liner like "follow your passion".

Normally I would just ignore this, but it really is BAD advice, and here is why:

People who follow their passion, usually end up broke and back working for the man, and on top of that they are burnt out and maybe have ruined a hobby or interest that they used to be passionate about. Passion is a lousy thing to follow, how do you know if your passion is profitable or not?

Afterall, building a business is ultimately about making money. If your business doesn't make money, its not a business but a tax write-off.

Following your passion is a very emotional kind of thing. Passions change just like emotions, they come and go, etc. Now some people have created successful business in a field in which they are very passionate. But correlation is not equal to causation.

To really get started in business, start small. Don't do anything that requires VC or angel funding. Just do something you can hack yourself, with Credit card or friends / family money.

Research a lot, but start doing something (anything!). Make a minimum viable product / prototype and get ready to pivot and change once you get a few customers. Can't get any customers, change it up and work it more or go to a different niche or business model.

Eventually, you will find a niche that can make money. It may take quite a few tries but in each one, you will learn something new and hopefully grow. Or maybe you will give up and go back to that cushy job with all those nice benefits.

Be passionate about making money and making your business work. Passion should not be the main factor on WHICH kind business to start though.

[BelyyTigr]

Some good answers in this thread.
There's lots of variations and issues.
I've seen people who wouldn't make £40k a yr in salaried, earn £500k in their own business pretty soon after. I've seen people at the top of the tree start to haemorrage a millions pounds a year. And then people from zero to millions and millions.

Just because someone is self employed, is it really a "business".
Being a self emp taxi driver/courier or whatever is easy. But that doesn't mean you'll get rich or even have things easy.

The market in most countries is very efficient. So the chances are, your skill, your idea can be fulfilled by someone with low costs, in quick time, with their reputation backing them up, and a fat load of cash behind them. Doing something cheaper is NOT a unique selling point for most new companies.

Many businesses fail, esp ones from younger people. Esp ones that leverage investment and staff.

A fair number of "self made men" had a leg up from a rich uncle/inheritance. Or a big scam that was cash laundered. Or pure luck. But I've seen people with few natural talents do really well... and via legit means.

People often underestimate how difficult sales, and "brand building" is for many businesses. With no reputation you usually need more than a phone, email and PO box.

I managed to build a couple of businesses up from scratch. I found 2 things made it harder. 1stly, my naivety and the fact its hard to get REAL startup advice (the duffer who can explain accounts in your business class is NOT a business advisor). And 2ndly, I didn't have lots of capital to kick off.

My advice is find something scaleable, find a source of advice. And do something you enjoy AND something others will benefit from. And don't nec give up your day job til its spitting money out.

[iron93]

^^
Better phrased than my post but yea.

[Easy_C]

(05-18-2014 05:20 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

Until you have set up a business yourself - it is impossible to know how easy it is to make money.

Us 'regular Joes' who have always worked for other people cannot really comprehend how easy or difficult it is. It is like seeing a foreign country on TV and wondering what the exchange rate is over there.

Like if just set up a regular business tomorrow (a bar or a shop?) would I make pretty good money. Or would it be a stressful struggle from day one?

I am just curious.

Is it it still a land of plenty? Or is the marketplace so competitive and efficient now - that you will be eaten alive unless you have a really good proposition?

For those who went into business themselves - did you find it easier to make money than you imagined?

Or was it a lot more difficult?

Making money is easy if you have good sales/marketing instincts.

The hard part is making more than you spend, and doing it at a rate that's worth your time.

[ElJefe1]

It's easy as fuck but most people are too scared to make the jump.

[RichieP]

IMO it's easier and harder:

Easier:
1)Takes less 'technical brilliance' than people imagine, and just a lot learning basic best practices, applying them, and putting one foot in front of the other

Harder:
2)OTOH, takes a lot MORE trial-and-error than you'd imagine. People think you have great idea --> implement it --> profit Nah man. It's more like, have good idea, build it out, fail. Tweak the 'machine'. fail. Tweak it again, still fail but get *some* result and learn something. Rinse and repeat 5x until you've really just "made all the mistakes" and what's left is an actual profitable business. Can take years.

So takes less genius but more persistence & relentless experimentation, than most people imagine. IMO.

[ScrapperTL]

What is "easier" ?

1) Spending 20 to 40 hours a week at a slow job you hate, making other people rich, in a toxic environment where no matter where you work it will be almost impossible to impose your Alpha Dominance and more than likely you will be surrounded by Feminists.
This for 50+ years or until you receive the sweet release of death or end up broke in retirement/social security land of the dead.

OR

2) Spending 60 to 80 hours a week, in a constant dopamine rush, making yourself rich, in a Bravado filled Masculine environment of your own creation while imposing your will on those around you.
This for 5+ years or as long as it fucking takes to crown yourself the sole King of your Empire.

Start right now with the simplest companies possible, Scrap Metal Recycling, Landscape Maintenance, Flyer Placement Service, etc...
Nike said it best "Just Do It"

[H1N1]

I think it is *very* difficult to make real money by running your own business. I say this as someone who has in many respects achieved what many here seem to see as the ideal. It has been an incredibly hard process - relentlessly stressful, frustrating, and disappointing. It's worth it, if you make it, no doubt. But no, it is not easier than people imagine - if anything it is probably substantially harder. The sacrifice required is significant. Many people would be unwilling, and unable, to manage the sacrifices to lifestyle and material possessions that are required - often for many years.

It requires a singular focus to make real money (anything over 7 figures) - again, something many people fundamentally lack. Of course, once you make it to that point it becomes much easier to see how you go from being moderately successful to astronomically successful.

Slight deviation: If you have a good idea, and a-fuck-of-a-lot of grit, then over time you probably will make it - people will want to help you be a success. The '80% of startups fail' thing gets thrown about a lot, but the fact of the matter is that 80% of startups have really shitty ideas. About half the rest get unlucky with timing/circumstances and fail despite having a good idea. My impression is that a significant proportion of startups that actually have a good idea are successful.

[CleanSlate]

No, it's neither easier, nor "easy" in any sense of the word.

It's hard as fuck. I'm with H1N1 and other posters who warn how difficult starting a business is. Even with good marketing and sales, it's still hard because of market saturation online. You have to be the best in your market because people want the best they can buy, and they don't have the time nor attention span for anything else.

In my new business field and niche, I am gunning to be the best there is and won't give up until I actually get there. But none of it is easy. It is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I would go as far as to say that it's easier to get a job. That's the plain truth about starting businesses. You can't just whip up a business or two like it's nothing. There's a lot of trial and error involved, and there will be moments where you'll say "what the hell am I doing? Maybe I should just forget it, because nothing works."

But with lots of grit and perseverance, you can still have a shot at success. Expect no less.

[testos111]

(10-01-2016 10:58 PM)GeneralMacDaddy Wrote:  

(10-01-2016 06:14 PM)iron93 Wrote:  

Find out what your passions are and build a community, brand or ecommenrce around it.

Wow way to bump a 2 year old thread with some one-liner like "follow your passion".

Normally I would just ignore this, but it really is BAD advice, and here is why:

People who follow their passion, usually end up broke and back working for the man, and on top of that they are burnt out and maybe have ruined a hobby or interest that they used to be passionate about. Passion is a lousy thing to follow, how do you know if your passion is profitable or not?

Afterall, building a business is ultimately about making money. If your business doesn't make money, its not a business but a tax write-off.

Following your passion is a very emotional kind of thing. Passions change just like emotions, they come and go, etc. Now some people have created successful business in a field in which they are very passionate. But correlation is not equal to causation.

To really get started in business, start small. Don't do anything that requires VC or angel funding. Just do something you can hack yourself, with Credit card or friends / family money.

Research a lot, but start doing something (anything!). Make a minimum viable product / prototype and get ready to pivot and change once you get a few customers. Can't get any customers, change it up and work it more or go to a different niche or business model.

Eventually, you will find a niche that can make money. It may take quite a few tries but in each one, you will learn something new and hopefully grow. Or maybe you will give up and go back to that cushy job with all those nice benefits.

Be passionate about making money and making your business work. Passion should not be the main factor on WHICH kind business to start though.

Completely disagree. I followed my passion and run a photography business that seems so easy (and lucrative) that sometimes I feel guilty about being able to live such an easy professional life.

The problem is that when it comes to follwoing your passion, people get identified with it and follow a linear path blindly. So let's take my example. I loved doing photography as a hobby but HATED it when I did it commercially.

Now the problem with stupid people is that they will think of their "passion" as a linear path and follow the same old broken pathway.

In my case, the wrong thing I could have done was to follow the beaten path that most photographers take and keep on doing shoots commerically (something I hate and something that doesn't come naturally to me) and then HOPE that one day I will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But what's wrong with such a prcoess:

1. I'm not doing something that is congruent with my nature.
2. I will not be doing something with great excellence since I'm always hating the actual activity invloved.
3. Most likely, I will give up.

And then what will I do? Become all pessimistic and spread the agenda of PASSION not working.

Instead, I was wise enough to not fall for this trap.

What you have to do is to identify your passion and then combine it with your NATURAL STRENGTH.

My natural strength was always teaching and inter personal communication.

So what did I do?

I did not become a professional photographer. Instead, I became a photography teacher and started the business of teaching photography to beginners.

And I focused more on learning marketing and advertising than I did on photography.

Within the first two months of starting this business, I was making more money than my MBA peers did in their corporate jobs and I was only working around 2-3 hours for 3-4 days a week.

So the moral is to follow your passion but follow it in such a way that you are doing something that is EASY to you, not hard.

I just wish I could describe the feeling I get on a monday morning or in fact every morning. I am always raring to just start working because I love it so much.

Don't every deny yourself that beautiful feeling because there is nothing quite like it.

When you follow your passion and live for something you believe in and love to do, your WHOLE life changes.

It supersedes every other fleeting pleasure like sex and instead makes it even more enjoyable.

So don't listen to people who tell you not to follow your passion. It's the only path that works and even if you get rich by doing what you hate, what good will it do to you?

Live your purpose. Love what you do.

[GetRichOrdie]

Its freakin so easy

The sheet-ton of books out there make it so damn complicated

Its dawned on me that its simply a very very simply equations

VALUE = MONEY

And there are more problems that needs solutions than ever before, so infinite ways to make money

of course marketing that value is part of it, but just watch youngest millionaires videos on YouTube for inspiration/ or entrepreneurs in your personality profile type to hone in on how easy it really is .

[Phoenix]

^ lol ok mate, it's just so easy. When can we expect your bank balance screenshots?

[Phoenix]

Also I never get the passion stuff. My passion is women. Is somebody going to pay me to bang women?

[bodacious]

A business takes time. if you don´t go broke the first 3-5 years and work your ass off. And by working your ass off I mean sometimes 24h You will become rich. At this moment the best place to make money undisputedly is China. If you can cope with chineses mentality. It will pay off.

[CleanSlate]

(10-13-2016 05:41 AM)GetRichOrdie Wrote:  

Its freakin so easy

If it's "freakin so easy", then why don't you write us a datasheet about it?

Of course money = value ... EVERYBODY knows that. But not everybody knows how to start a workable business with a positive cash flow, how to find a viable product or service that people want, how to market themselves, and how to close sales with inbound leads.

If it was "freaking so easy", then everybody would be doing it. Well, is everybody doing it?

The answer is a resounding no.

I think it needs to be said right here in this thread... there are some inconsiderate people who come in here throwing their dick around saying how easy it is to start a business. Especially when 99% of us are spending months and years worth of money, blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights working our asses off to get our businesses off the ground.

If it's so easy for you, then I challenge you to write an informative datasheet with the following requirements:

- Must be 3000 words at least
- Provide real life examples, not just mental masturbation
- as Phoenix said, back it up with bank balance screenshots

Prove it. Or




P.S. The proper way to write it is "it's so freaking easy", not "it's freaking so easy". A millionaire businessman like you ought to know how to write with correct grammar.

[H1N1]

I need to close out my investment round, but then I am considering producing a datasheet, or extended article. It'll be on building a business from scratch using minimal capital investment, with a view to not raising any external investment until you can get a bare-minimum £1 million pre-money valuation. I seem set to significantly exceed this, though I shouldn't like to claim anything until the paperwork is signed, probably in the next month or so. I believe this is 'easily' achievable if you are able to meet a lot of definable criteria, and that this model can be replicated assuming these criteria are met.

This would *not* be a 'get rich quick' 'just follow these 5 simple steps' piece of writing. It would be my reflections on what constants are required, and what criteria must be met for an idea to be considered 'good' and worth pursuing. Hopefully, though I have no idea about running an 'online business', or 'location independent one', this will be something that can provide some value to everyone trying to make it (as I still am and will be for several years to come even if things go very well).

[RichieP]

^Would highly appreciate that H1N1 - please do share it. Thank you.

[ScrapperTL]

Some of you are way over hamstering starting your own successful Business.
Treat Entrepreneurship like any endeavor you plan to succeed at.

1) Baby Steps
2) Walking
3) Power Walking
4) Jogging
5) Running
6) Sprinting

Welcome to Hustler School Son.

Baby Steps = Starting a Simple Tried and True Business that WILL Succeed: AKA Start Scrap Metal Recycling Right Now.
Inventory is FREE, go on Craigslist and check the "Free" section for anything that Scrap Yards will take.
Check the "Gigs" section for people that need Scrap Metal picked up.
Take this Scrap Metal to the Scrap Yard and Profit.

Walking = Learning Basic Lead Generation and Cold Calling Skills: Start Calling Family, Friends, Neighbors, Automotive Shops and Construction Companies.
These people will have FREE Scrap Metal for you to Profit from.

Power Walking = Now that you have started to build a good list of Contacts from Networking, it is time to CHARGE for your Services:
By this point you will have people calling you to pick up their unwanted Scrap Metal.
Let them know you are so Swamped and in High Demand that there is a Flat Pick-Up Fee of $10.00.
Now you are making $10.00 per Pick-Up and Scrap Yards are paying you for the Inventory you got for FREE.

Jogging = Your First Part-Time Employee:
Hire someone you know and trust, preferably a very young Family Member that looks up to you, so you can alpha boss them around without repercussion.
Pay him minimum wage, 20 hours per week, no benefits.
Have this person handle all the Labor and you focus 100% on Administration.

Running = Your First Full-Time and Part-Time Employee:
Promote the previous Family Member to 40 Hour Per Week Administrator with Benefits and get another trusted Family Member to be the new 20 hour per week Grunt Laborer.
This is now a Passive Income Business for you.

Sprinting = Starting your 2nd Successful Business, Landscape Maintenance.
Repeat all the above Steps, however replace "Family Member" with "Mexican" and replace "Minimum Wage" with "Under the Table Pay"

/End Hustler School

[Elster]

I can or choir on what has been posted here.
I retook my full time art hustle a year ago after a long hiatus, this time with the assistance of my lady bird.
Started With what I knew and have been with time refining not only the quality of our product and maximizing our production rates, but learning more about the market and the selling process itself as we go.

Time, dedication and above all resilience are needed for any self starter business

[roberto]

It's real easy to make a living running your own business. There is no need at all to answer to 'the man' if you have a few skills and half a brain.

It's exponentially harder, however, to make a killing. As H1N1 has alluded to above, it requires a singular focus upon money above all else. That's harder than might be imagined when you make a comfortable living off your existing projects without having to do much work. I'm plenty guilty of this myself, and am currently working to change it. That's despite being a person who has, in the eyes of people my age whom I interact with socially, 'made it'.