incoming crushing debt confirmed. if youre chitposting on an online forum you have no chance of making it

apparently you are completely unaware of some of my past posts. heh. stay safe


for the others; yeah. its not easy. no fking chit. but if you want unlimited earning potential, this is how you get it. do whatever it takes. if you have that mindset, then i probably dont even need to tell you this but: go for it.

In on daily yacht brah brag thread

Don't start a business for the sole reason of desiring an alternative to a 9-5. That is, in my opinion, an unquestionably stupid decision; you'll be working far longer, have far less security, and be much more likely to outright fail and be left with nothing.

Entrepreneurship isn't something you choose because you think it'll be a more badass version of a regular job; chances are you're in for major disappointment. You only start a business if you genuinely have an innovative and worthwhile idea, which you are hugely passionate about and wish to see come to fruition regardless of how much you may have to work or how extensive the risks are.

Not everyone can do this, so entrepreneurship quite simply isn't for everyone. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with a regular job; plenty of business owners are relentlessly miserable and plenty of 9-5ers enjoy what they do.

Pull a Walter White and sell meth for mad $$$ gains

Nothing wrong with getting a steady secure job & working your life for someone else & making them rich.

However I am in the process of starting my own business and the amount of people that roll there eyes & just tell me I will fail are the same people that will continue to make others rich while they are fed some bread crumbs.

Don't listen to the haters, do what you want & you can succeed, also just because you start a business people think you need hundreds of thousands to do anything, that may be correct for some business' but not all of them.
You would be surprised how many smaller business make a crap ton of money and if you ever hear how these smaller companies started typically was the owner who started small and just worked it up to the size it is now. My business will cost be roughly 20k to get going then another 10-12k annually this is a lot of money however I already had a larger business that I sold so I am ok risking this while I work my normal 9-5 until my thing gets going.

I think the issue is finding a good value proposition with little initial capital investment. The average person has to ultimately survive and this involves going to school and getting a degree. I'm not sure what 19 year old out of high school has the means to start a business from scratch. Let's say it takes 2-3 years to get your business to a point where you're making a decent profit; that means you would need 3 years of living expenses say 2.5 k per months x 36 months that's $90,000 dollars right there.

Also there are a number of issues.

1) Competitive environment, if you're selling a good for example what makes you think you're going to compete with giants who have economies of scale. Your product better be revolutionary and the odds of this are very slim as the largest companies in the world spend hundreds of millions on research and development. Even if your product was incredible how are you going to fund distribution, production etc. VC's are only going to invest in something that has shown profitability on a consistent basis.

2) Are you so brilliant where you can provide a service no one else can. Most likely not since intelligence is normally distributed. Here you're competing with Stanford computer programmers who live in silicon valley who have built relationships with private equity firms, venture capitalists etc.

3) How sustainable is your business long term. The most successful businesses are reinventing themselves as consumer needs change.

4) What are the barriers to entry in the market. If you do garner some initial success how will you compete if bigger players enter the arena.

If you look at a lot of successful business owners they go to top schools and have worked professionally for a number of years and have been able to leverage key relationships. Look at Harvard Business School alumni for example. Those against university with aspirations of becoming entrepreneurs usually are delusional with no substance to back it up. They watch a few Youtube videos, listen to that black guy talk about succeeding as much as you want to breathe, look at a few info graphics and all of that other bull chit. You think Zuckerberg or Gates were sitting on a forum posting info graphics about being successful, no these guys were brilliant Harvard undergrads.

The smart way to go about things would be to become a professional and gain 10-15 years of solid work experience. Save your money. Invest in a business where you really understand your risk tolerance and budget for it. If you fail you at least have 10-15 years of work experience which makes you employable on paper.

It is not "hater" thing at all. Most of the "don't do it" actually comes from business owner that have been though this. Someone made a great suggestion which I would second of spending 5-10 years working for a business before venturing into your own. While I never actually did it, I know plenty of people in the business world that did. This increases your chances exponentially. It will also teach you everyday skills that you don't get with tour degrees. You will develop connections and potential business clients and partners. You don't have to do it alone either.

Another thing to consider is that business development is not liner, some years are better then others. Market condition change, competition etc. So even if your business is up and running now, it is not guaranteed next year etc. I have had great years, OK years and really bad ones.....and the bad ones were not the necessarily the first few, they are spread out.

120k/yr, 6-4 mon-thurs, 0 debt, all school loans paid for - undergrad and grad, company is paying for my MBA. Did I make it?

Spot on.

This is what being satisfied with mediocrity looks like. You can look for "issues" like above or look forsolutions.

What business have you started?

What was your profit for your last fiscal year?

What are you doing to cut down costs and improve margins?

What about cash flow? Was most of your cash flow coming from operations?

How would you describe your competitive landscape and what are your earning projections for 5, 10 and 15 years. What would you value your company at right now and how are you valuing your company.

What is the industry you're in and by how fast is it expanding? What stage of the product life cycle is your industry in?

What is the marginal tax rate in the state your business operates in?

What fixed costs do you need to put up like insurance before you can even begin operating? How long can you operate losing money?

Have you talked to investors and what do they think?

Yup, few people have some groundbreaking idea for some industry they no nothing about and then make a successful business out of it. Many more come across on opportunity during their normal work that their entrepreneurial side cannot ignore.You're still just another rat in the race brah

Life isn't just about your job or making money. You should be working to allow yourself to live the life you want. Not all goals equal out to wanting to make more and more money, most people are just looking for a balance of work and family.

120k a year is great money, that's more than enough to start a family with, and take care of them well. You know, the real reason why people make money. He should be proud, and he definitely made it.


Also, it should be stated that most people who start a business do it because it's what they want out of their life, not just to make money.

I feel like you're just hoping I'm a potato.

I didn't say 0 risk - I said not as high of a risk, which is true. Sure - multiple sources of income and multiple assets, how much time you got left over? I have a few personal close friends who have their own businesses and they barely have enough time to focus on that one, let alone another. Maybe in 20 years in and being well established. Which you could argue someone working fine for 20+ years will have solid enough retirement and emergency fund in hardship.

I stand firm, lower risk in working for others than having your own business(es).

Not to mention the time suck - not for me man. To those that can do that, good on you. I rather have my 9-5, free nights, free weekends. Able to get off whenever to go do kids things and events and not always away working.

You don't need to invent a rounder wheel in order to start a business. Just find a way to add value to a market and execute.

I did not choose 9-5, it chose me and I keep the job happily.

Literally, I just went to school and developed a liking in a trade - said trade was hazardous to my health and an opportunity to have a job presented itself, as I recall it. A business owner came to the shop where I was learning welding and gave me an interview right there and then. Things took off from there. Supposedly, a few people would have spoken to him...of my competences in IT AND said trade.


I did not choose anything, I went with the flow of life and opportunities that have come to me and accepted them...happily.

I don't know what it is with this alpha leader entrepreneurial bull-chit. Do what naturally feels good to you, you don't have to chase, develop and study your way to the top.

I have a very small side business as well...work when I want how I want with people I can trust too...just live life and don't let good opportunities slip away.

Being an entrepreneur is much simpler than what the Op is on about.

You're good at something? Monetize it. Simple as that. No market for what you want to do? Create the market. Markets already exist? Do some statistical research and find a niche in a town where this market is non-existent. Or you could just grow a garden and sell some ****ing vegetables.

It doesn't need you to be savvy with spreadsheets and it doesn't need you to have an MBA - just monetize what you are good at - people play video games and get paid FFS.

I mire you guys bro, trying to get there too

Haha I was hoping you were a potato tbh.

I think you're probably an outlier and the majority of entrepreneurs are all talk with no execution. But congrats on your success.

You just named the two hardest things to do for most people. Find and execute. Most are good at one or the other.

Is this your first business venture? ....just curious.

Another perspective - Assuming you are on partner track, working the 60+hours a week for a corporate giant can payoff IFF you make it to partner.... which they can reach 1% status. Making more than most entrepreneurs, millions of dollars a year. You own equity in the firm as a partner, so you are still a business owner. Of course still risky and only the top percentile make it...but so do making your own business ventures.

Myself, I'm more willing to invest on the side and have real estate passive income. I dont have the passion for entrepreneurship right now, because there is literally nothing I care about to make it my life.

Happy being a wage slave since I pay myself first. Plus have great benefits, health insurance, lots of vacation, comfy STEM lifestyle with my own office, etc. There's pros/cons with any living.

Repped for honesty. My main gripe with what you were saying is that you don't need to be a genius or have an idea for new Aeropress to have success in business. It is 20% idea and 80% execution. There are opportunities to carve out a piece for yourself in every market except social media platforms and search engines.If it were easy McDonalds would only employ robots. First real business but I've "hustled" all my life.

Sure thing. Same here. Never worked "for" someone and always found ways to make it. Took more then a few tries, but I think I finally am on a right track since about 5 years ago.

My quarter so far:

The problem is that your imagination has absolutely zero impact on the reality of the situation so perhaps it's best that you not speak of things you don't understand.

Currently working on obtaining the capital or getting that 'Push' to start my own. Its tough strong starting.

It's simple OP. Very few people actually possess the talent, creativity and extreme dedication to starting something that can make revenue, multiply that by 5x if you're not just talking about someone barely earning a standard yearly income. Some people are actually better off getting well paying jobs in companies started by real entrepreneurs who in some cases have centuries of hard work and influence built in to them.

I'd wager that 80% of entrepreneurs end up working double the time to earn half as much as they could within an established organization.

Also the fact that you just want to be this label of 'entrepreneur' without actually having the business ideas and investment options to do it screams to me that you're the type of guy who ends up at a Tony Robbins seminar.

Good thread.

I spent the morning reading about a company called Quip, who were recently acquired by Salesforce for $750 million. That CEO and the original guys who built out their SaaS tools probably made a killing.

Doing something like that and cashing out at the exit is my dream.

What kind of business?

Distribution. Buying from manufacture selling to re-sellers.