Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Prev Next
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [G-man] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
G-man wrote:
Start up a bar. Everyone loves to drink and the business almost runs itself. What could possibly go wrong?

Added bonus, FREE BEER!

You have already covered this with the fact it isn't your primary income, but make sure you are properly capitalized. Think about how many small businesses are gone within 6 months. They start with no ability to market themselves and are gone before they even get started.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [Koala Bear] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
 
My wife made just enough to pay for most of her camera equipment, then lost interest.

From watching her I would say the tough parts of photog is getting paid enough to make it worth the time. She would spend hours with people, driving to multiple locations to get the perfect shot. By the time she paid for gas and all the time she was putting in, she was making peanuts. Then you add editing time and all the hardware and software required for that and it really wasn't a way to make money.

There are obviously people who do make money at it, but with the quality of phone pics these days, people have a hard time paying out enough to make it worth it to most photogs.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [wdrhoads] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
wdrhoads wrote:
can you explain this more? that an LLC or S-Corp is half-way?

99% of the time it won't really matter, but you don't want to be that 1 out of 100.

Basically, the reason you set up an LLC or a corporation is to distinguish your personal life from your business ventures, hence "Limited Liability Corporation".

Since a Sub S and in some cases an LLC is a "pass through entity" where the individual is liable for the taxes, the lines between the individual are blurred.

Sometimes people combat this by "layering" where one LLC owns another LLC that owns another LLC.........in order to create additional distance between the person & the business venture.

It is just my opinion that a C corp is the best way to go so that there are clear lines of distinction between the individual & the business.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
ok, thanks. llc is "limited liability company" -- not "corporation" just a heads up. what you are referring to is commingling of assets which happens, especially with sole owners. i think that is accounting sloppiness more than entity choice. thanks for the response.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [Koala Bear] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Don't do it.

Ok, to be fair my business kicked my ass and I'm back to a W2 job. I laugh at my coworkers who complain about this job being hard.

Try having to decide to pay employees, vendors, or the IRS. Notice I didn't include paying myself.

I thought I would need to worry about being disciplined to put in the hours. Instead, I wasn't disciplined enough to limit the hours I put in.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Which taxes? Can you please elaborate on a scenario where it would matter? I’m genuinely curious.




There are three kinds of people, those who can count, and those who can't.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [r7950] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
r7950 wrote:
Which taxes? Can you please elaborate on a scenario where it would matter? I’m genuinely curious.

It's not the taxes you have to worry about. The tax situation is just an example of the blurred lines between person & business. Getting sued is what you have to worry about. You don't want anyone to be able to go after you personal assets (house, cash, securities, etc) for something that happened in your business.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [Koala Bear] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Koala Bear wrote:
Really, there isn’t a ton more to the question.

Best advice?

Inherit a large amount of money and then repeatedly scam contractors and investors until you become President.

Success!

===============
Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [Bumble Bee] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Bumble Bee wrote:
Don't do it.

Ok, to be fair my business kicked my ass and I'm back to a W2 job. I laugh at my coworkers who complain about this job being hard.

Try having to decide to pay employees, vendors, or the IRS. Notice I didn't include paying myself.

I thought I would need to worry about being disciplined to put in the hours. Instead, I wasn't disciplined enough to limit the hours I put in.

That's a really good point.

Long Chile was a silly place.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [Koala Bear] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
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.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [MLCRISES] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
IMO, that's pretty solid advice.
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'm a car enthusiast. 10-15yrs ago we had folks at tracks making a buck taking pics and selling them to drivers. It got good for the photographers when the Internet reached a point where one could easily look thru pics and buy a couple that interested them. I've seen lots of photogs with lots of business models. But I never saw them make much money.

There's a couple problems. 1) Everyone has a camera on their phone and is sure they've mad skills. 2) There's always a couple photography hobbyists at the track that are pretty good and give away their pics free. 3)Only newbies at the track want pics because the veterans quickly accumulate a bunch of them so they've no appeal anymore. And the # of newbies, at any one event, is pretty low.

All of those issues impact car enthusiasts in general, not just folks at the track.

I read a number of car mags. Those guys have great photographers. Or maybe they've mad skills with Photoshop, I dunno. But my perception is that they don't make much. I think that making a living taking pics of cars would a lean going..

Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart
Quote Reply
Re: What advice would you have for someone starting a business? [MLCRISES] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
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.
Quote Reply

Prev Next