How many business owners do we have here? What's the cost to be a boss...

[pureaudio]

Going into my third year and I couldn't stress enough to not spend money you haven't made yet. Unless you have some wealthy backers with a rock solid business plan then start small. My business partner and I started with free desks off Craigslist, computers we had bartered work for and a small base of clients. We made a couple bad spending decisions when we thought that the money was just "pouring" in but we bounced back.

Do not sink money into advertising you can not count on an immediate return from. Word of mouth is going to be your primary seller.

Keep accurate books and be informed of expenditures you have to make to the government. Surprise bills could sink you. A good CPA is worth it but find someone who understands small business also. Do not do it yourself, their knowledge can save you more money then their fees cost.

Do not hire unless it is losing you money by not. Employees are expensive and time consuming, as the business owner your time means nothing but theirs does.

You will work crazy hours sometimes and the stress can be overwhelming. Sometimes I just lay awake at night thinking about the fact that people's livelihood is dependent on me making my business succeed. I've had to skip paychecks so someone else could get one but you are always going to be last to get paid if you are in it for the long term.

If you have an unstable relationship with a SO then it probably won't last. My wife is a rock and also does not bend to my controlling personality, if she was more emotional then we would not have lasted the first year of the business.

If you have a small business development center in your area then take advantage of it. Tax dollars pay for the one in my area so it would be stupid to not get an unbiased opinion on your business plans. Plus they can help you write a business plan and prioritize expenses.

Choose what kind of business you are by what makes sense fiscally. Creating a corporation does not make you exempt from being personally liable and they cost more money.

Just some of my thoughts on the matter, I'm certainly no expert but I have done it from scratch. Seriously evaluate if you can handle the stress before jumping in, best thing would be to start doing whatever you want to do on the side first. After doing it, I wouldn't trade it for any employee position again.

[MC Hammered]

Cashflow is key and don't make the mistake I did and constantly take profit and roll it into R&D for another project.

While I have a nice lineup of products now I have recently got myself stuck in a situation where my safety net slush fund is gone and I'm scrambling to stay afloat until Spring when business picks up again.

Last year was my 4th year and I spent $30,000 in the hope that I am going to be making that back in the next 12 months. As much as I hated doing it, no one is going to buy your product if know one knows about it.

If you think you are going to be a millionaire after the first 24 months, unless your idea goes viral you better be willing to put in some long, long hours to make your dream real. I remember packing orders at 3am so I can take them out and have them shipped at 9am.

Pureaudio mentioned the stress and it is intense. Forget about having any spare time to enjoy the things you used to do when you had a 9-5 job, you will actually have less free time than when you worked for a company! People for some reason think that once you are self employed that you can do whatever you want, but in reality you are working all the time.

When times get tough and I'm demoralized there are times when I daydream about how easy life was when I was working for someone, having a nice fat paycheck every 2 weeks and I can leave work once I walk out of the building. I used to go snowboarding 100 days a season, have a couple of vacations a year and a great relationship.

Now I'll scrape enough to get a nice meal if I sign a big order, might get to go snowboarding 10 times if I can spare the money, had my first vacation in 4 years and my relationship is on the rocks.

But I have invested everything and more into this business and I am not going to let it die after holding it all together for 5 years. 2012 is my recovery year and all sales go directly into the bank account as I am doing no more R&D for the next 24 months and it is a VERY nice feeling so see the bank account have a couple of extra digits and not worry about the next bill.

If I had to do this all over again would I? Every time I am asked that I bite my tongue before I give an answer and really do think about the crap I had to go through over the last 5 years and ask if it is worth it... Then I get an email like the one below and I get all warm and fuzzy and tell myself that it is.

Winston
Got the package today (USPS Tracking still says it's in California) Just wanted to drop you line and say how impressed I am with the fitment of the gauge and pod, I have worked on cars for 25 years now and it is nice to see that people still take pride and integrity in their products. I have seen so many after market pieces that fit/operate like crap and it is refreshing to see such a nice product. I will continue to tell the virtues of your product to whoever listens :).
Thanks again
Cheers
Richard

[blunttech]

I dont have a lot of advice here but I do know that if you somehow incorporate the CnB's into your business plan youll have a much better chance with the banks approving you. They seem to have a soft spot for a good logo. They didnt want to give me any money until they were presented with the CnBs

[ZM Blue Devil]

Worked 20 years in corp America for the "man", hated most of it, but it allowed me to do now what I love, cant remember the last time I needed an alarm clock to get up.

Echoing others who have said "one day at a time", "no personal life", "feedback from customers who appreciate you/company", "cashflow is a bitch" and even the "CnB". America is a great place if you work hard and have a unique product.

What I would tell you is, dont try to do everything. Try to specialize and do it better then others. There is a lot of room within various markets.

Dont underestimate and make sure you plan for legal costs as well as specialized help like accounting.

Lastly, network. Word of mouth still one of the best marketing tools for growing customer base and getting help.

L

[Kershaw]

after years of schooling during the day and homework at night, i EXCESSIVELY enjoy walking out the door at 5pm and not worrying about work at all.

[z31maniac]

after years of schooling during the day and homework at night, i EXCESSIVELY enjoy walking out the door at 5pm and not worrying about work at all.

THIS!

Although I suspect at some point my wife and I will open up a salon for her. And I know that will be tough, but she's been doing it for almost 10 years + her business degree, etc.

You don't aquire wealth by working for someone else.

[herbivor]

Dont underestimate and make sure you plan for legal costs as well as specialized help like accounting.

L

This. Hook yourself up with a good lawyer and good accountant before starting the business and pay the $5 k to $10k to get yourself set up correctly. You can be frugal on everything else.

For cheap and effective advertising to the general public, Angie's list ,google, and a good website have done very well for us. Everything else is networking and referrals.

Going to business for yourself is like having the roof ripped off your house. You're exposed to the weather but now you can see the stars. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[eds325ix]

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet but determine what it is you want from your business, realisticly. Some go into business to be 'independent' with all sorts of free time, which is a myth. Others to be uber rich, be realistic and plan accordingly or you will be filled with dissapointment and having your own business will be your worst mistake. Think of your personal time and what its worth and actually factor it in when planning. Most of us only factor $ in and $ out, risk, etc. It is true that you will work crazy hrs at first, and love every minute of it, but set a goal for when you get your life back or you will burn out.
I had a used car place for 5yrs and loved it. Started with 3k in cash a grew the hell out of it in a small out of the way lot. Spent about 20hrs a week or less doing it since I had little to no driveby traffic and only advertiszed and set appointments one day a week all back to back, and played the rest of the week. Borrowed money to grow since money really was pouring in, and it was a great. Business boomed and sales grew like crazy. We were making almost triple as before BUT workload tripled also. We had to keep up inventory which meant a ton of time at the auctions then having to recondition and selling and financing and repo'ing and this and that. Not to mention all the paper pushing which happens after closing time.
At that point I could've been taking home 1k/month or 50k/month, didn't matter since I had no time to enjoy the rewards of my hard work. So we laid off a couple of guys, sublet our place to someone else and went back to being the small guys and LOVED it!....... Till we closed, of course for a totally unrelated issue, but that's another story for another day.
Now I work the 7-3 M-F for 'the man' and love it but going into business for yourself has and will be the most rewarding thing I or anyone have done.
I say go for it and plan plan plan.
Sorry about the novel.
'Entreprenours NEVER fail, we only have EXPENSIVE learning experiences. '
Sent from my MB200 using Tapatalk

Sent from my MB200 using Tapatalk

[Jonny Cash]

Back to the point, I would like for actual business owners to shed light on expenses and the discipline necessary to start, afford, and run a successful business. What all did it take to become a businessman and what were some of the toughest sacrifices made? how long did it take? did things ever go as planned?

From the guys that have a business, to the ones that tried....
Please share.

ok, without writing a short story here..

As a small business owner, I can only speak from my experience, so heres my advice. (judging by whatever your poll meant) dont go into whatever youre trying to do, thinking about the amount of money you want to make.
What im saying is you have to live it, breathe it, be passionate about what youre doing. At that point, money wont matter. Because chances are, if youre borrowing to get going, you wont make any money at all first couple years.

Be consistant.

Dont be too nice.

finish each project/transaction strong. Never half ass anything.

never settle, and step back telling yourself how awesome you are.
Always look for ways to invest into the business and make yourself better.

When you think for a second its time to relax, there's probably something constructive you could be doing.

Shut your mouth and listen. Talk less.

ANd thats about all the advice I can give you right now.

[Jonny Cash]

What I would tell you is, dont try to do everything. Try to specialize and do it better then others. There is a lot of room within various markets.

x2

Word of mouth still one of the best marketing tools for growing customer base and getting help

x2

[Vtec?lol]

Man, didn't think I would get so many legitimate responses.

The reason this all is inspiring is because I had a lot of these suggestions in mind and figured I would go in doing what I loved and not worry about the money.

A businessman told me today not to be afraid to borrow money. He also revealed that borrowing money can also set you back a good ways. "It's all about market research and planning." I do believe that.

Previously I bought and sold Nissan Maximas. I don't know why the market was so strong but I made big money buying them, fixing them and selling them making an average of about 75% profit. I was soo stoked but I was young and dumb and never invested that money in property so I could have a place to store them or work on them. I ended up blowing all the money on school and personal stuff. Lesson learned.

I'm not too worried about the downtime as I'll be doing exactly what I love and that's one thing you've all mentioned "Don't let your expectations get the best of you".

Speaking of the legality of things, what are the benefits of having a good lawyer and accountant? I was thinking insurance would be the way to go and as far as accounting, as long as I/'m starting small and not borrowing money I should be good till later. When you think of expansion, accountants are necessary. Is that at all true?

[Vtec?lol]

... in for more info!

... Don't come cramming it in here at once fellas!

[MC Hammered]

what are the benefits of having a good lawyer and accountant?

Having a lawyer and an accountant that understands what business you are in and what you plan to do will help you save time and $$$ when you need their services.

Make sure you ask ALL questions when you have time with them. I found out the hard way after making a big mistake that my accountant knew of a solution, I just never asked him for the advice about it beforehand.

[HR2L]

You don't aquire wealth by working for someone else.

Don't tell that to my Father in Law who is in the Pharmaceutical Industry as a Senior Logistics Manager and makes ass loads of money (hands over fists $$$) for Pfizer. His Quarterly Bonuses as well as write offs and Car Allowances make me sick! ;)

[s0urce]

Remember kids: A business without a path to profit isn't a business, it's a hobby.