MLCRISES wrote:
If I remember from other posts, your quite young , right? If so, any experience you have with your own business will be a good one for you. But my advice is this
Own a business with high barriers to entry. The higher the barrier, the better chance of making money at it. Photography, everyone owns a camera. Uber driver, anyone can own a car. Oil exploration, now that’s something not too many people can do.
These are extreme differences of course, but my point is this. Develop your skills. Save your money. This requires patience and determination. But your willingness to gather input from outsiders is a sign that you have the wisdom to do great things.
To expand on this:
A business owner is 2 things. An employee and an investor. Many business owners are simply employees and don’t realize it. Essentially, their investment bought them a job. That’s it. Many of the low barrier to entry business are this. I own a landscaping company and unless you differentiate yourself enough or post really good numbers on the books to generate some true value to generate a cash flow stream beyond a reasonable salary, you are the business and the business is you... there is no value. The company becomes worth what the fair market value of the assets are at disposal and that’s all.
Many things you can bill for as a business owner.... paperwork, payroll, estimates, answering phone calls- is all absorbed into the hourly rate you charge for your services. So, suddenly $50-$75 an hour isn’t that much money when you look at a 40hr work week and you billed out 25hrs of actual work. Not to mention you have to cover your overhead and your equipment.
Nothing is wrong with this as long as you know this is what you are doing. Otherwise, find a job working for someone else doing the same thing if all you want is a job and a check.
A friend of mine has been very successful. He would research companies and find the highest return at sale ... started a similar business and grew the company and sold it for a ton. He has started several businesses and lost interest in many that didn’t show growth as quickly as planned. He just moved on. Has 2 businesses that have worked very well and he could have not worked the rest of his life after the first business. That’s the investment part.
Decide what you are trying to accomplish.
In my case, my landscape company is larger than average statistically. It had given me flexibility and a solid financial life. Although, I feel no more financially than if I worked for “the man”. Owning a business ... I’m not sure if that is really the American dream.