/StartingBiz/ General

Plan well, then enjoy life.
Remember if you are successful and profitable before the event, you will be successful and profitable during the event.

In addition to the above, and not to hijack the purpose of the thread, I'd like to know what fellow anons have to offer that may be of interest/worth purchasing to those of us that are a step or two ahead of the starting out phase.

Personally, I build and sell furniture and store fixtures, which may not be of use to fellow anons, but it pays the bills; consequently, I'd like to help give back what little I know to help out. I'm sure some true experts will materialize eventually as well.

>>981754
Shipping and transport in europe.

>>981742
Op you give alot of good advice and you seem to follow the same philosophy of business starting as me.

>Ideas dont need to be original
>start with no loans and with as little money as possible.
>legal stuff can wait,
>advertise, advertise, advertise
>sell, sell, sell
>reinvest

Its a lot of hard work. Most businesses fail from the get go because people get bored and tired.

>>981959
I wish it was my advice, although I agree with all of it. A few dudes contributed to the last thread that make $500-1000/day without stocks, accounting degrees, or memecoins, so I stole their shit for a biz general.

>>981936
Over the road shipping? How's the migrant nonsense effecting you?

>>981977
Its not affecting me in any way whatsoever.

>>981969
Its easy to make $500 to $1000 a day as even just a self employed person. Whats that like £300 - £600? My plumber makes more than that. You can make £1000 a day doing flat roofing. Owners of scaffolding crews can make £2000 a day or more. Some of that is london prices but a small business can easily pull in that kind of money. The key is being able to reduce the amount of time you spend making money, so you are making the same money while not being too stressed out and tired to enjoy it.

The marketing is always the hardest part.

>>981995
Your plumber should get on here and talk about $365,000/yr revenue. Can you send him a link to this thread? Most of us, even those of us doing more than ok, want to hear from him.

>>982093
He obviously doesnt work 7 days a week and doesnt always make £1000 a day.

150k is easily do able for a plumber

>>982200
To what age can a plumber really work to though?

>>982200
>Income
>Starting salaries for newly qualified plumbers can be between £18,000 and £22,000 a year. Experienced plumbers can earn between £22,000 and £35,000 a year.

File: image.png (127KB, 640x1136px) Image search: [Google]

127KB, 640x1136px

>>982214
Thats not somebody who is running their own plumbing business.

Proper plumbers charge £100 an hour +

<-Look

>>982252
£120 for fixing a dripping tap.

Theres loads of niche services you can do. Especially in a big city.

I know someone that makes £500 a day walking dogs.

>>982252
ssssshhhhhhhhh let the nerds talk about their finance. don't ruin this.

>>981754
>>981936

I'm working on putting together an Auto detailing business right now.

How hard was it getting started as a business owner?
What kind of budget/ working capital did you guys have starting out?
Any recommendations for a guy working with a shoe string budget?
Were you one of those guys that did 100 hour work weeks until you made a decent client base?
What are some of the more subtle hiccups that you face early in those respective businesses?
Is there any other advice or educational material that you two would suggest for those of us just starting out?

>>982785
>How hard was it getting started as a business owner?
Not that hard. Just decided to do it and did it.
>What kind of budget/ working capital did you guys have starting out?
My normal wages from my average job
>Any recommendations for a guy working with a shoe string budget?
Advertise and get some customers. Dont spend money on anything that doesnt get customers
>Were you one of those guys that did 100 hour work weeks until you made a decent client base?
No i advertised. And started working 100 hour weeks when all the customers started calling me
>What are some of the more subtle hiccups that you face early in those respective businesses?
I cant think of any subtle ones
>Is there any other advice or educational material that you two would suggest for those of us just starting out?
Theres a blog written by someone with a scandinavian sounding name about the zen of business that is quite insightful.

>>982213
Ive seen some really old ones.

>>982785
My two cents

>How hard was it getting started as a business owner?
If you've got a skill, somebody out there needs it. Post your offer for service on fb and Craigslist for free, and start getting customers.

>What kind of budget/ working capital did you guys have starting out?
I started building furniture in a garden shed with a minimal amount of tools scooped up from yardsales/Craigslist. May have been $100 to start. Now I'm running a full shop with about $15,000 in inventory and equipment. Build up at a pace that the revenue stream will a allow.

>Any recommendations for a guy working with a shoe string budget?
Stay on that shoe string budget as long as you can. When you absolutely have start offering more expensive products and services/hire people, again let your customer base pay for the expansion. Don't go in the hole to expand.

>Were you one of those guys that did 100 hour work weeks until you made a decent client base?
Some weeks yes. Most weeks no. At first you'll be tempted to take every job, work yourself sick, and possibly let the end product suffer as a result, but you'll hit a flow where you aren't so eager to say yes to everyone.


What are some of the more subtle hiccups that you face early in those respective businesses?
People can be fucking flakes. It'll make you a bit tougher of a negotiator, and you'll read people better with some time.

>Is there any other advice or educational material that you two would suggest for those of us just starting out?
Getting started is the best education. Put the ad out there. Do a few jobs, and start getting a feel for what works.

>>982908
I like you. Thank you for that.

Let me know if you end up in Texas, I owe you one.

In terms of marketing though, I'm thinking of getting some business cards made and placing them in the windshield of cars at a mall on the nicer side of town. I like the Craigslist idea too.

>>983106
Pay it forward, my friend. Vistaprint delivers business cards as low as 5¢/each if I'm remembering right. For$50, or so, you can get your name in front if 1000 prospective customers. I'm having trouble finding reliable data on windshield flyer response rates, but I would hope it was at least .1%. Will 1 conversion per 1000 be worthwhile? I'd imagine you can do better than.1% by only targeting newer more expensive and well kept cares.

>>982785
>How hard was it getting started as a business owner?
Not terribly. Lots of little legal/financial/license stuff.
>What kind of budget/ working capital did you guys have starting out?
Roughly 4-6k. OT from regular job.
>Any recommendations for a guy working with a shoe string budget?
Be frugal with your time and money. Light advertising with no contracts. Build a website for hosting costs. Large portion of my clients find us online
>Were you one of those guys that did 100 hour work weeks until you made a decent client base?
Worst I've done was likely a 200-220hr work month. Worked pretty much every weekend, but mostly just 8hr days.
>What are some of the more subtle hiccups that you face early in those respective businesses?
Contracts and stated scope of work.
>Is there any other advice or educational material that you two would suggest for those of us just starting out.
Just listened to "good to great" and I liked it.

Low voltage electrical company here. 4 years old. Revenue of years:
#1-75k
#2-180k
#3-125k (sons were born)
#4-165k

Next year should be good. 250-300k if most jobs land where they should.

>>982785
Start with mobile auto detailing in your local neighbourhood. Just buy all your soaps, wax, a buffer, and a hose, and use people's water. You'll have to charge less but you'll still make decent profit.

Then go to a truck + trailer with a water tank. Then you could hire people and buy more truck + trailers, or open a brick + mortar. Mobile detailing seems much more profitable, unless you get an amazing location for a permanent store.

Don't forget to advertise for RV's if you're doing mobile. They're big profit.