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Thread: Have any of you started your own business?

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    Senior Member Lillionaire's Avatar
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    Default Have any of you started your own business?

    Tell me about it!

    What was it?
    How did you do it, and how did it go?

    Is it still up and running now?

    Any words of wisdom/insight into this idea?


    Thanks!

    p.s. i kind of want to start a stationery store/business, starting it from my own apartment first, then branching outwards if it does well. Just brushes and ink and paper at first, not a huge variety, keeping it simple. Importing products from Asia, because there is a huge lack of Asian stationery in the Baltimore area and my classmates and I who are studying traditional East Asian Calligraphy and drawing find it hard to purchase affordable materials around town. It's soooo much cheaper in LA or NY where other Asians are importing... so i want to do it too!

    But also, I have ideas to sell my artwork, or make batches of products to sell... Just don't know how to put together a business plan.

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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    Yes I started an entertainment business. Being a stripper and business sense I wrote a marketing plan and figured it all out. Unfortunately I couldn't compete with the big companies so while I generally broke even it was too much trouble to run.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    ^^^ At one point I operated a pay website. I was more or less forced to drop it after Section 2257 law compliance, paid search engine placement, and bandwidth charges ( versus password piracy ) essentially killed profit margins.

    I also attempted another business involving 'organic' home-made soaps and lotions. Again, new laws re the 'tracking' of ingredients, newly mandated batch by batch product safety testing requirements, and potential product liability costs, killed profit margins.

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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    i run a buisness. i make raver and gogo dance clothing and hair accessories, it's worked out pretty well, and by this time next year I expect to be only dancing part time.

    i guess words of wisdom...find a niche market. when I started, there wasn't a ton of stuff like I make, and I was the only person selling the stuff in person @ conventions. NOW (5 years later) I have regular customers, and new ones, and have made enough to really pour $ into my buisness (and make more!!)

    also, idk if you have kids, a house, or a husband, but i have none of those, and so i can afford to put everything into my buisness. all i have to worry about is me, so it's low risk. I can eat ramen for 6 months if i make a bad buisness decision, but if i had a house, a husband or some kids, i would be much less likely to branch out and do this, because there is more risk of losing these things.
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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    Legal or illegal? I was married to a cocaine dealer
    "Fake tits are like Kevlar. They don't guarantee your chances of survival but they sure as hell improve it."
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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    Well... doesn't seem very encouraging for me to think about starting a a business then!

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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    I own two businesses and it is damned hard work. Also, at the beginning, you need to be able to sustain yourself with little to no income as it takes time and $$$ investment to build basic infrastructure (computer, phones, printer, etc), develop supply channels and market your products/services.

    At the most basic levels, I would suggest the following exercise when considering whether to start a business:

    Step 1 is to be sure that you have a product/service that others will pay for. You will also need to have some idea of how much you can sell the products for and the volume that you think you can sell within a certain timeframe. Part of this analysis involves determining who your potential buyers are, where they are currently buying from and whether you can compete.

    Step 2 is to create a one-year, month-by-month cash flow analysis. Be conservative in your assumptions as to when you will be able to sell your products and how much you will be able to sell them for. Also have a clear understanding of all of your costs, including the costs of inventory, basic office expenses (even a home office has expenses) and promotional expenses (website, etc.). This will help you understand (1) whether there is enough potential profit to make the venture worthwhile; and (2) how long you will go before seeing some return.

    I could go on, but before you bother spending a lot of time figuring out the mechanics of getting it started, including business issues, marketing strategies, etc., you will need to understand whether you should even bother.

    Good luck!

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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    Quote Originally Posted by rickdugan View Post
    basic office expenses (even a home office has expenses)
    this this this this this this. It's a serious problem in the handmade world, oh, as long as i make a profit on my materials, it's all good. there is soooooo much more, you have to realize there is SO MUCH that goes into a buisness, as Rick put. there is so much more. little things you need like postage stamps. if i had thought about how much shipping supplies would have cost me in the beginning, i would have jacked up my prices so much sooner.
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    God/dess Zofia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    My first business was stripping. No business plan, per se. After college, I went corporate got a great fellowship with a huge utility. There I learned I really wasn't cut out for big big business. I did get my MBA and made some contacts though.

    From there, I moved to a VC on the operations side. I've been involved in three young companies that have moved from start-up to going public or being sold to large established companies. The main thing I have taken from these three companies that business plans are great to show potential investors. They make great tools to help value your company, but in reality, they really don't survive the first contract with customers. But, if you are looking for some great business plan help, look here: http://www.scorechicago.org/item_lis...Business+Plans.

    I have also been fixing and flipping houses since I graduated from college. Obviously the economy has put an end to that business. Fortunately I adhered to one rule in fixing and flipping: NEVER BUY A HOUSE TO FLIP IF YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LIVE THERE!!!!!!!!!!! I am living in my last fixer upper. (The good news is, it's now in great shape!)

    HTH
    Z

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    Default Re: Have any of you started your own business?

    Zofia's comments about the economy 'killing' the house-flipping business actually brings up a point that potentially applies to a wide scope of potential businesses these days if you boil it down to the basic underlying principle ... i.e. that the 'rules' applying to operating a particular business can change at any time.

    This can include such things as new accounting costs ( i.e. new legal requirement to record individual payments to all other businesses, and report total payments via 1099 at the end of the year ), new product liability costs ( i.e. new legal requirement for the tracking of 'inputs' ), changing financial costs ( rising interest rates, rising insurance premiums ), changing operating costs ( rising shipping costs, rising utility bills, rising cost of 'inputs' ) etc. All of these can negatively affect business profit margins, and can in fact push 'marginal' businesses into the red. And for better or for worse, the new 'regulatory' costs actually affect very small businesses more than they affect larger businesses because there isn't any way to apply 'economy of scale'.

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