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| Starting a business | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 4 2014, 11:20 PM (1,249 Views) | |
| Hydrojim | Sep 4 2014, 11:20 PM Post #1 |
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I'm looking to start a business when I get out of college. But my problem is there is so much that I can do/want to do. I know that I can't possibly do it all so I'm trying to figure out what kind of business to get into. Have you guys and girls ever given thought to starting your own business? What kind of business would you start? I have some time to think about it but I need to start planning now ![]() |
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| Memphis metro | Sep 4 2014, 11:28 PM Post #2 |
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If your not prepared to work long hard hours then having a successful business of your own is not for you I would say. I have never done it but I do believe running your own business takes a lot of sacrifice from the one doing it. I know a man that has been in the alignment shop business. He replaces cv axles and struts and does alignments and he makes a killing. Been doing it for years. You may not want to get into that kind of work though. |
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| Hydrojim | Sep 4 2014, 11:57 PM Post #3 |
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Right now, I look around the in the world and I constantly think of ways I can improve everything I see. I'd like to have my hand in everything but obviously that's not possible. I'm kind of trying to bring myself down to earth and decide how big I want to start and exactly what kind of products or services I want to specialize in. I figure I want to start off making enough as I would as a mechanical engineer(my current major) and then I can work on expanding from there. |
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| rmcelwee | Sep 5 2014, 12:07 AM Post #4 |
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I ran a business for 10 years before I sold it. Some comments: 1) Lack of capital is what kills a business. Do not go into debt to do this. 2) Growing too fast kills a business. Don't be greedy. If you have too much work and want to expand then just raise your prices a bit to settle everything down. 3) Be prepared to work 18 hours a day for NO PAY. 4) Your customers are the best judge of what you need to do in the business but they don't want to share the info with you. You have to constantly ask what you are doing right and what you need to improve. 5) You must be a people person. If you don't want to get bitched at on a daily basis then maybe it is not for you. Good luck! |
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| Freeman | Sep 5 2014, 05:49 AM Post #5 |
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The Family Man
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Man. You nailed it rmc. Particularly the last 3. Running a business is not cigars and laughing at the despair of others as you profit. It's a ton of work. I'd suggest getting experience in whatever field you want to pioneer prior to starting your own business. It will help with gathering reputable employees. |
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| ONEHARDHEAD | Sep 5 2014, 08:28 AM Post #6 |
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Having good financial/tax professionals at your disposal would be a great asset in my opinion. These state and federal regulations change often, so it would be hard to devote all your time to your new business while keeping up with tax laws and loopholes. What is your major, and where do your interests lie? The old saying goes something like "find a job doing what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life". Edited by ONEHARDHEAD, Sep 5 2014, 08:31 AM.
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| 490k | Sep 5 2014, 09:25 AM Post #7 |
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Try it if you still live with your parents. lol I run a family owned (34yrs) courier service. Everything was peachy until 9/11....then the 2008 financial crisis....just when we thought we were getting back on our feet...Sandy. No unemployment compensation if your a business owner, no help from the state either. rmcelwee's best advice is to NOT get into debt. Which we didn't, but we made some serious sacrifices just to pay the employees and keep this place running. Thankfully all my Metros been hanging in there. Chunks of rust falling off but still delivering packages. haha Edited by 490k, Sep 5 2014, 09:26 AM.
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| evmetro | Sep 5 2014, 10:00 AM Post #8 |
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I would closely evaluate what you enjoy doing the most, and not just what might make more money. Your favorite hobbies or interests are something that you will be more passionate about, and therefore more likely to succeed. What kinds of things are you interested in? Have your studies in mechanical engineering led you to any potential products or services? |
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| Freeman | Sep 5 2014, 11:02 AM Post #9 |
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The Family Man
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I think I'm the only one who would suggest not mixing your professional life and hobbies together. For instance, automotive work. I love working on my car. But being a mechanic is definitely not something I would consider. I don't know how many fuel pumps I could change before I'd be tired of it, but I bet it wouldn't be much more than the two I already have swapped. |
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| Old Man | Sep 5 2014, 11:24 AM Post #10 |
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Wife and I opened a business at one time. After a year I found that I was working 110 hours a week and the wife was working 90 hours a week. Great business, but not worth sacrificing our complete lives for. Sold it, went to work for 'the man' and ended up with enough monies each month to travel every week-end, every holiday, and every vacation time.-------- |
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| Freeman | Sep 5 2014, 11:29 AM Post #11 |
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The Family Man
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200 hours a week. I mean, even at minimum wage... $7.50 a hour plus overtime... $1950 a week. That's pretty good in my book. Somehow I doubt you were making that much from the sound of it. EDIT: Typical me Edited by Freeman, Sep 5 2014, 02:19 PM.
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| Memphis metro | Sep 5 2014, 11:57 AM Post #12 |
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Going to school to learn heating and air would be a good thing. Maybe a small heating and air company. If not in business it would be a good weekend side job to pick up some good extra money installing an airconditoner every so often. |
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| High MX | Sep 5 2014, 12:16 PM Post #13 |
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"See a need, fill a need!" Rodney Copperbottom - Robots Best advice in starting a business. |
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| Bad Bent | Sep 5 2014, 03:19 PM Post #14 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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I second that. I love bicycles but would not consider opening a shop, not even now at 59 years old. I want to get out and ride, not work on them and have riders come in talking about their great rides. Yes, when I raced I might have gone to Europe to make money as there was little professional riding here in the states. And yes, I would probably had to do some kind of drugs like Lance Armstrong because everyone else was. I loved being a bicycle messenger. Hydrojim, Try taking on-line personality tests to determine your personality/interests and what jobs might match. I took one similar to this free test; http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp The counselor gave me a description of my "type" and matching jobs. Yeah, one was bicycle racing. No, I like working for someone else. Maybe 8-5, get my job done, go home. I tried owning my business as a massage therapist and did not like it at all. Taxes, self promotion, getting an office, long hours etc... I am just not that ambitious. |
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| Hydrojim | Sep 5 2014, 09:30 PM Post #15 |
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If you asked me what my dream was, it would be to design and manufacturer my own automobiles. But obviously that's not easily accomplished. If feasible at all. Tesla is the only company that has been successful doing what I dream of doing and they're still on shaky ground. I've considered being a company like Saleen who customizes existing cars, but in my opinion, the super car market is already saturated to the point that it would be hard to differentiate my product unless I came up with something new. I've toyed with the idea of purchasing new OEM vehicles or trying to strike a deal for new car shells. Similar to what solectria did with Geo Metros. I just can't see the idea being economically feasible. Take something like a mitsubishi mirage. $13000. takes $15000 to do a nice professional conversion. $28000 car when you can get a mitsubishi i-miev for $23000 due to the $75000 federal tax credit. Now I've considered using used cars. But if you get into older cars that are more simple, you have to deal with the fact that it's a 20 year old car and will need a good deal of work put into it. Then newer used cars are more complicated and then you'll have to convince someone to spend $20000+ on a "used" car that can go 100 miles. I think I'd really like to put out a product like Elio Motors but I would rely on my own funding and stick to low volume. These are the kind of ideas I have rolling around in my head. Then there is also the option of getting a typical 40 hour a week job as an engineer and just working for an existing company. That is also appealing. I have a few years to contemplate all this until I'm done with school. But keep the ideas coming. I like to see everyone's view point. |
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9:27 AM Jul 11