Owning Your Own Business

[lawrocket 3]

I've seen and read things about lay-offs and "Butt Cheeto" bosses (God, I still crack up about that) and others in hostile work environments.

I recently went into business with my lady. Owning a business is so much better. It's more stressful, but less draining. I guess it's a good kind of stress.

Still, who here owns their own business? Why did you do it? Do you enjoy it? Any advice for a neophyte businessman?

Or, why wouldn't you go into business on your own? Why did you give up your business? I'm really interested in this.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[headoverheels 291]

My ex-wife, when she wasn't my ex, used to do some work for me. She bought that book, "how to work for a jerk" but it didn't help much.

[turtlespeed 212]

I match all three of those sort of.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Mirage63 0]

My idea of hell is going to work for someone else

My employee's idea of hell is coming to work for me

I've owned my business since 1988. We have 30 employees. We sale networks, copiers, printers and office supplies.

I truely believe that owning your own business is one of the best things you could ever do - even if you close it or sale it later.

Good luck, work hard, have fun!

[crzjp20 0]

definatly what i plan to do after college. I can not stand working for anyone else but myself.... well maybe a few years in a field to get som experience first but you know.....

--------------------------------------------------
Fear is not a confession of weakness, it is an oportunity for courage.

[happythoughts 0]

When I was in college, I worked for a software house for 2 years. Then, the next two years I did contract work from my house. I worked flexible hours for over twice the pay. It was handy because I could take of 3 weeks during finals.

During Y2K, I did 1099 contracting to a few businesses.

Owning a business involves a lot more unpaid side work with stuff like doing the books, taxes, receivables, etc. Lots of unpaid time. It was fun working from the poolside though.

[Rhonda66 0]

My sister and I just started a business together so we've just gotten acquainted with the likes of contracts, Lawyers, starting new entities, FID numbers, taxes, advertising, sales - so many things to think about - it's scary, but so exciting at the same time!!!

Rhonda
PP ASEL

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Absolutely LOVE owning a business that we can build on the side of our jobs...until the jobs are no more (End o' August!! ) Then it'll be full time for our biz alone...then happiness will ensue.
I will NEVER depend on corporate's idea of my value in $$'s again. That's very liberating.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[bshl 0]

I think a lot of the satisfaction depends on the nature of the business and how successful you are. When you own your own business providing a service, you work for whoever (whomever?) your clients are. The more successful you are, the more you can select your clientele or hire others to deal with the unwashed masses. If, on the other hand, you're providing a product, you can have fun producing it.

I really hope some of that made some sort of sense. Last night was a short one and it's catching up with me. Sorry.

Blue skies and happy landings!

[freeflir29 0]

Owned my own business for all of 3 weeks once. I quit my 9-6 computer job to do 1099 contracting. 3 weeks into that Uncle Sugar called me with a job offer I couldn't refuse. Especially since I had more than one person tell me I needed "More" on my resume. Well.....my current job fullfills that "More" category. May be going back to contracting here soon. Working for "The Man" sucks. Might open another business on the side too!

[skybytch 259]

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Still, who here owns their own business?

I own a portion of a business.

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Why did you do it?

I have always thought I wanted to own my own business. But really I don't know why I did it. It seemed like a good idea at the time?

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Do you enjoy it?

I really dislike bullshit paperwork, of which there is much more to deal with as an owner than there is as an employee.

It's definitely a learning experience. I'm not quite sure yet if I'm having fun or not.

[freeflir29 0]

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I'm not quite sure yet if I'm having fun or not.

That has to be better than the "My boss is a butt cheeto."

[jumpinfarmer 0]

Well I guess you could say I own three businesses. The first and most important is the farm. It's also what holds me back form being able to plan anything in advance since I never know just what I'll be doing.
The next is a snowplowing business. This keeps me pretty much grounded in the winter since I have to be around whenever it's going to snow. I hate not being able to go away in the winter but, I make enough to pay for a new truck every few years and still have enough left to pay the morgage on the farm.
The last is I sell seed for two differant companies. I don't make much money but it's almost all proffit and I get most of my seed for the farm at a real discount.
I don't think I could ever work for someone else I'm to set in my ways. The only time I've ever worked for someone else was doing farm work anyway.

[Vertifly 0]

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Still, who here owns their own business?

I started a business about 1 1/2 years ago. It's great!!!! AND I LOVE IT. I firmly believe that my life is less stressful knowing that, when I retire, my business could be capable of providing me with financial freedom. Provided that I nourish the business along the way.

I saved for years-and-years to be ready to start one (despite starting skydiving too) In other words, the initial investment was generous. THIS HELPED A LOT. It allowed me to skip over a few possible years of agony or wondering if it was going to work.

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Why do I own it?

...Well, you must also understand that I also have a full time job in addition to the business. My job-work takes care of my lifestyle (skydiving and all other misc. expenses) and the business is a means to retire early. It will remain an entity among itself - continuing to grow and compounding upon itself. And, in general, I am good at managing responsibility and keeping schedules. I am a very self-disciplined person and being responsible is part of my nature - the business allows my to put this part of my personality into motion; very rarely will you get true satisfaction from working FOR others. At least, I never will.

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Do you enjoy it?

...I don't know. "Enjoy" isn't the way I look at it; although, I have recently understood the fact that I DO "enjoy" the challenges of the business. It is something that I have created from scratch..., it takes discipline to run it, and even the smallest problems shouldn't be taken for granted.

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Any advice for a neophyte businessman?

...1) Read as many books as you can on owning businesses. Particularly ones that are about the TYPE of business that you are going into. They'll provide you with the specifics that you need; moreover, they also stimulate the mindset that you'll need to succeed in the area. 2) More advice - study TAXES. You wouldn't believe how much leverage the knowledge of loopholes and tax-breaks can give you along the way! 3) Become a politician with the people who pay you - know what they want/like and provide that for them at all costs.

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Or, why wouldn't you go into business on your own?

...Going into business for myself was the BEST thing that I have ever done. For the TAX benefits alone, it is absolutely more rewarding than I have ever seen working for someone else. Starting a business is a good education in the mindset/system that the government has set up for us - financially (Capitalism - yum yum ).

Don't get me wrong - it is a lot of work. Just make sure you structure you business to suit your lifestyle. I work, on average, for about 12 hours per day during the winter. And I just happen to have the ability to do this (I'm as free as they come - no wife, no children).

Hope this info helps.

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[nbblood 0]

I own/operate a small Firearms and Accessories retail business that I run from my home. Did it just as a hobby not trying to make the big bucks.

I also have rental properties. Those are a little more of a money making project and a much bigger PITA. Still, it helps.

Blues,
Nathan

Blues,
Nathan

If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

[chopchop 0]

The best of times.. the worst of times.. I've had my own for 13 years.. When things were good.. they were really, really good.. We hit the Inc. 500 list, got up to 93 employess and $9-1/2 millions in revenues.. Personal income of over $300k annually.. It was very nice..

BUT.. when things went wrong.. they went really really wrong.. really, really fast.. Currently, $2-1/2 million in revenues and less than 20 employees but stabilized.. Debts and lawsuits from the way down almost equal to our annual revenues..

We'll be fine.. but as good as it can be, that's how bad it can get.

Enjoy, be careful.. but most of all have fun with it.. Make sure it is a lifestyle you want.

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[VisionAir 0]

I bought into a franchise restaurant in 1992 when I was 24 and have very much enjoyed being my own boss. There are pro and cons of it but the pros mostly out weight the cons. The stress is killer because you never get to turn it off. (Thank goodness for Lexapro) You don't get to punch out and forget about it, so work is always on your mind. But on the other hand even when I'm not at the stores, (say off skydiving) I'm making money. But then there's employees!!!!! The number one headache. It sucks when just as your about to load up for a righteous jump you get a phone call that so-and-so just quit and there's no one to cover their shift.
Like I said there's good and bad...on one hand I admire my friends who get to forget about work for 2/3rds of their life, but one the other I don't have to put in near the physical labor they do. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to give up my business and go back to work for someone else but then I quickly slap myself and say WAKE UP. Hell I've done this work for so long now, I haven't a clue what I'd do in a REAL job. Which brings up my final point... being my own boss gives me the opportunity to go back and finish college...If I ever get a 'round tuit'.

Huh?!? What cloud?!? Oh that!!! That's just Industrial Haze
Alex M.

[narcimund 0]

My husband and I own our business together. I started it ten years ago.

Of all the strange things to say about the experience (and there are a LOT) maybe the most inexplicable is that whenever I tell someone new we own a business, the first question is always, "Do you work from home?"

Me: "No. We have the entire floor of a downtown office building."

Them: Deer-in-the-headlights speechlessness. Shock. "Huh?"

Why do people assume owning your own business means part time wearing a bathrobe in the spare bedroom? Do they think we're some dorky herbalife pyramid scheme distributors nailing up recruiting signs on telephone poles? "Owning your own business" is a phrase that's been co-opted and cheapened.

When people then come to our office and see the thousands of square feet of desks, glowing computers, whiteboards with project status notes, file cabinets with paperwork, telephones ringing, the conference room, and buzzing little workers merrily making a living under our direction, they look absolutely shocked. They seem to be thinking, "Wait a second. This isn't 'owning a business'. This is a REAL company."

Every night 16 people (employees, spouses, and kids) eat dinner that's paid for by money we provided. And that's not counting the hundreds of employees of our clients whose businesses make money solely because of the e-commerce websites we build and service. No, we don't resell some corporate offering. We actually do work with our minds to create brand new things.

Somehow the phrase "owning your own business" has become dirty and sleazy. People have very strange and very small expectations.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[scottjaco 0]

Very funny post.

I guess the problem is that so many people claim to "own their own business".

In fact, most of the time it is some chessy get rich quick scheme like you described.

It is the same situation when people start talking about their income. Whenever you hear a figure thrown out, you can almost bet they make less than half that. It's just the way people are, especially in Los Angeles!

Don't take it personally when people doubt you. Maybe a new Lexus will have them convinced.

[souleh 0]

Mine started as a hobby when I was 16, and became a legal entity 2 1/2 years ago. We're planning to move into other markets in the next 6 months, which is very exciting! You might say I've got the bug
It can be complex, especially when sorting business tax and the beaurocratic red tape, but there is a lot of good free business advice out there - just look on the net or pop down to your local careers/business advice centre.

'buttplugs? where?' - geno

[akarunway 1]

I owned two. Take it from experience. You have to keep it small (you and a helper) or go big. No middle ground. Govt. gonna eat you alive(along w/the ex wives).

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Vertifly 0]

Good point. I've met a lot of people who fall into those things. The truth about being in business for yourself means paving your own way. Going into side-shows that sweep the country, whether it be herbal, AmWay, MailOrder, selling Meat, TeleMarket, or having to do with Paid Advertising on TV at 3:00AM, this isn't the same thing as "working for yourself". If you want to start off right... get an idea, read a lot of books about it, invest some cash, and use the rewards to build the business larger. It is that simple folks.

[Aviatrr 0]

I don't own my own business.......yet.....but I'm in the planning stages of one.....hopefully these are the final few months of planning.. I've worked for cool people, and worked for schmucks.. Both situations sucked.. I need to work for an asshole(myself) now..

Mike

[EDYDO 0]

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Still, who here owns their own business? Why did you do it? Do you enjoy it? Any advice for a neophyte businessman?

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I went into business for myself because I figured if I could make money for them, I could cut out the middleman and work for myself. I can't say that I enjoyed the work itself, but some things were quite rewarding about it.

I try to start something, duplicate myself with someone else and then move on to another project while they stay.

My businesses are customer oriented and I treat the customers like gold.......because they are. The CEO of the nations largest software firm of its kind once worked for me (they provide software for churches). It was really nice when he came to see me a few months ago and told me that having learned customer sevice while working for me contributed to the success of his firm.

We do a lot of things that by some standards are unreasonable, just to satisfy the customer. If you give great service, don't be afraid to charge a premium for it.

If you start a business, be prepared to wear a lot of "hats". You might have to be the buyer, the advertising exec, the salesman, the tax expert, the legal researcher, the repairman, the complaint department...well, you get the idea.

Lastly, be prepared to say, "NO" a lot.

Ed

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[dsbbreck 0]

I've been running my own business for 7 years and I really hate my boss. I'd quit but then there wouldn't be anyone to hire my replacement.

David

"Socrates wasn't killed because he had the answer.......he was killed because he asked the question."