Any Entrepreneurs In Here?

[RedDemon91]

Lately I've thought about getting a degree in Business and starting up my own. I know it takes a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of effort but it's something that's really been speaking to me recently. The problem is, I have no idea what kind of business to start up and I'm sitting here scratching my head as to what kind of untapped market is out there. I'm an outdoorsy guy, I've thought about pressure washing, lawn/pond/lake treatment, pool treatment, mobile detailing, pest control, everything along those lines but it's hard to think of something without having a big-name competitor who's been in business for years that everyone knows.

Don't get me wrong, I know that an honest reputation with a mom and pop owned company are fantastic, but they can only do so much against a big corporate company who shuts the little man down, ya know? Are there any Entrepreneurs in here who have some advice for me? I'm 20 and am an open mind when it comes to advice. Maybe there's something you all know about that's so blatantly obvious that I haven't thought about. It just seems that all markets out there are tapped now and the people who got there first (obviously). Any advice/ideas is appreciated as to what might be out there, how I should break into a business, etc. :beer:

 

[MissionMan]

i would think obtaining a degree for what you want to do would be starting off backwards.

 

[Granelli31]

There are a lot of good ideas out there, everyone has them, but few good opportunities. Try to find a problem that you perceive around you, and then find a solution to it. Do you understand what goes into a formal business plan? There is a lot of work in the planning and early team building stage. You don't necessarily need money as there are many options to get investments and capital, however most people don't really have a clue as where to begin.

 

[oldmodman]

Since I am near Hollywood I decided to get into an entertainment related business.
I bought a lot of broadcast video gear and started supplying small production companies with camera and editing set ups. After a few years I had a million in equipment and was billing 600K a year.
It was an 18 hour a day, seven day a week job with many hours spent delivering and picking up gear.
Wasn't too bad though. Lots of my clients were doing XXX video production work.
Saved up enough so now I have just about retired.
How successful you are in your own business is totally up to you. You get out what you are willing to put in.

 

[svtcop]

Since I am near Hollywood I decided to get into an entertainment related business.
I bought a lot of broadcast video gear and started supplying small production companies with camera and editing set ups. After a few years I had a million in equipment and was billing 600K a year.
It was an 18 hour a day, seven day a week job with many hours spent delivering and picking up gear.
Wasn't too bad though. Lots of my clients were doing XXX video production work.
Saved up enough so now I have just about retired.
How successful you are in your own business is totally up to you. You get out what you are willing to put in.

****ing winning right there. :lol: :beer:

My wife owns her own retail business. I probably have put 30K into it between start up/equip/merchandise. It's able to stand on it's own feet and provides for her and one employee, but it basically engulfs all of her free time. I suggest you be prepared to work hard and you better like work.

As oldmodman already said, you get what you put in.

 

[oldmodman]

****ing winning right there. :lol: :beer:

My wife owns her own retail business. I probably have put 30K into it between start up/equip/merchandise. It's able to stand on it's own feet and provides for her and one employee, but it basically engulfs all of her free time. I suggest you be prepared to work hard and you better like work.

As oldmodman already said, you get what you put in.

The drawback to too many hours working?

You will be on a first name basis with your cardiologist after two heart attacks from stress.:shrug:

I should do something relaxing. Like put all my money into Apple in the morning.

 

[VirtualSVT]

I should do something relaxing. Like put all my money into Apple in the morning.

lol

I just did my own business but I'm lucky and had a friend in it also so I had my foot in the door.

 

[Ironhand]

Be honest. You spell checked the title before you posted the thread.

 

[Blown 89]

I am. The best advice I can give people is to buy a business. The failure rate of startups is staggering.....let someone else take that risk for you.

 

[Last]

So you basically want to own a business, but don't know what to own?

I have some questions

Do you have money?

Do you have access to money?

Do you have a potential partner?

Do you have a Lawyer/Accountant/Banker that you trust?

What are you passionate about? (The biggest thing I see, is people not realizing it will take 3+ years to really make a business start to become successful. That means no going out, no partying, missed holidays, etc. This will be hard if you are not passionate about what you do.)

Do you see any local opportunities to capitalize on?

 

[Wishing4Cobra]

Unless you have enough capital to start any sort of business, the best idea is start something online.

 

[RedDemon91]

Since I am near Hollywood I decided to get into an entertainment related business.
I bought a lot of broadcast video gear and started supplying small production companies with camera and editing set ups. After a few years I had a million in equipment and was billing 600K a year.
It was an 18 hour a day, seven day a week job with many hours spent delivering and picking up gear.
Wasn't too bad though. Lots of my clients were doing XXX video production work.
Saved up enough so now I have just about retired.
How successful you are in your own business is totally up to you. You get out what you are willing to put in.

Jesus, you did it right :beer:

Be honest. You spell checked the title before you posted the thread.

Maybe.....

I am. The best advice I can give people is to buy a business. The failure rate of startups is staggering.....let someone else take that risk for you.

How does one go about looking for/ buying someone's business?

So you basically want to own a business, but don't know what to own?

I have some questions

Do you have money?

Do you have access to money?

Do you have a potential partner?

Do you have a Lawyer/Accountant/Banker that you trust?

What are you passionate about? (The biggest thing I see, is people not realizing it will take 3+ years to really make a business start to become successful. That means no going out, no partying, missed holidays, etc. This will be hard if you are not passionate about what you do.)

Do you see any local opportunities to capitalize on?

Yes

Yes

Yes, depending on what I break in to.

My family has had the same banker for over 20 years, no lawyer, though.

Music and doing anything outside is my passion, seriously, I know it's broad but I'm happiest when I'm outside sweating and busting my ass under the sun.

Not yet, but I've been looking a lot.

Unless you have enough capital to start any sort of business, the best idea is start something online.

Why is this? Just curious.

 

[Blown 89]

How does one go about looking for/ buying someone's business?

Find a business brokerage firm and give them a call. Tell them what line of work you're interested in and see what comes up. When you build the business up and are ready to cash out and move on call the broker, list it, and reinvest into a more profitable company.

 

[Wishing4Cobra]

The reason for online is because its easier and more convenient for people to purchase things at their own times and right at home. Plus the fact that the starting capital for a online business vs actual store or physical location is ALOT cheaper

 

[TorchMach]

Yes, it is hard but will pay off..you get what you put in. To me the best thing isn't the money in all honesty. To me it's about being my own boss which is what I love. I don't want to say we made it yet but near break even.

Visit our site to check us out www.salsamina.com I have sent some of the members here some of our product, so now it's about getting it to a store near them.

Think about it long and hard about what you truly want to do..your going to invest time and money but the reward is well worth it...don't get discouraged.

 

[lobra97]

haha my wife actually asked about the hot sauce you sent us a while back, she was eating chips and said that the stuff we had was too bland and mentioned if you were still selling the stuff. :beer:

and look who just posted ^^^^

 

[toomanymustangs]

You need to work for a succesful business for some time to learn as much as possible. No one is going to give you money to start anything out of college when you have no practicle experience. All the schooling in the world can't teach you what you will learn in only a few years in the real world.

As someone else said you will be working all the time. No quiting at 5 and no being sick ever. Every one in the world will always be trying to take from you.

Now that the bad is out of the way-Its the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. If you fail its all on you, if you succede its all on you.

 

[Last]

Good to hear that you have one of the more important things (Capital) on tap, now the MOST important thing must be found (business plan). Outdoors stuff is way too broad, Construction, Landscaping, Roofing? Or maybe Septic tank, Propane delivery, Well drilling, geothermal air conditioning installation?

Find something people NEED, not want, (food/fuel/utilities) because you will always have business. The worse the economy became, the more business poured into my store (pizza place).

Honestly if I had the capital to push around, I would find someone to be the operating partner and just finance them to open up a franchise of some sort (chik-fil-a/Qdoba/pizza place, etc...) Franchises have a much, much lower failure rate, but you do have to pay royalties to corporate, and also have to run it the way they tell you. You could be the 51% partner, and get in your contract stating that if the business starts to fail, you can step in as operator and your partner has to forfeit his 49% ownership.

I've been thinking of getting rid of my franchise and moving to open an outdoor shooting range... There is a lot of gun enthusiasts in Florida isn't there?

 

[Seraphus]

Since I am near Hollywood I decided to get into an entertainment related business.
I bought a lot of broadcast video gear and started supplying small production companies with camera and editing set ups. After a few years I had a million in equipment and was billing 600K a year.
It was an 18 hour a day, seven day a week job with many hours spent delivering and picking up gear.
Wasn't too bad though. Lots of my clients were doing XXX video production work.
Saved up enough so now I have just about retired.
How successful you are in your own business is totally up to you. You get out what you are willing to put in.

That's awesome. Where did you get the start up funding to buy all the gear in the first place?

The reason for online is because its easier and more convenient for people to purchase things at their own times and right at home. Plus the fact that the starting capital for a online business vs actual store or physical location is ALOT cheaper

This is HIGHLY variable. I'm a founding partner in an online company at the moment. We haven't launched yet and we're in almost six figures (and will be past that inna few months). Unless you're drop shipping everything or you're offering an online service (being paid through ad as well), then you will still need some brick and mortar and some sort of a workforce to get a decent business going.

Yes, it is hard but will pay off..you get what you put in. To me the best thing isn't the money in all honesty. To me it's about being my own boss which is what I love. I don't want to say we made it yet but near break even.

Visit our site to check us out www.salsamina.com I have sent some of the members here some of our product, so now it's about getting it to a store near them.

Think about it long and hard about what you truly want to do..your going to invest time and money but the reward is well worth it...don't get discouraged.

I hope you guys do well! If I may offer a suggestion, please work a little bit more on your website (and maybe even packaging). Schools are a great resource for this. Find some art students and some programming/web design students and have them make you a site and some good looking packaging for WAY cheaper than big firms. It helps you both because you'll get branding for a great price and they'll have an addition to their resume/portfolio. You can even have a contest for the best website/packaging/logo and give out a cash prize or something for them. Talk to the proffessors of the classes and most will work with you. Take my suggestions for what they're worth lol, and good luck.

:beer:

 

[Wishing4Cobra]

That's awesome. Where did you get the start up funding to buy all the gear in the first place?



This is HIGHLY variable. I'm a founding partner in an online company at the moment. We haven't launched yet and we're in almost six figures (and will be past that inna few months). Unless you're drop shipping everything or you're offering an online service (being paid through ad as well), then you will still need some brick and mortar and some sort of a workforce to get a decent business going.




I hope you guys do well! If I may offer a suggestion, please work a little bit more on your website (and maybe even packaging). Schools are a great resource for this. Find some art students and some programming/web design students and have them make you a site and some good looking packaging for WAY cheaper than big firms. It helps you both because you'll get branding for a great price and they'll have an addition to their resume/portfolio. You can even have a contest for the best website/packaging/logo and give out a cash prize or something for them. Talk to the proffessors of the classes and most will work with you. Take my suggestions for what they're worth lol, and good luck.

:beer:

Yeah, what I meant was typically the online business are alot cheaper compared to physical locations.

BTW, what kind of online business are you starting up? If you dont mind me asking