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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1075
 
Location: Wisconsin | I have always dreamed of making a living by having my own business. Has anyone had any luck starting their own business? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
 
Location: Kansas | Check with you areas Small Business Bureau. They will have a lot of information, on how to get started, what to consider when choosing your business and financing options. Good luck!
Edited by runnin hard 2014-09-28 11:11 AM
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
 
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Take an accounting class and invest in good bookkeeping software. Make a written business plan with realistic costs, type of business (sole proprietorship, LLC, general partnership, corp, etc--research this and take the necessary steps), assets, realistic expectations for income. Get a tax ID number. Start small and reinvest capital as much as you can. Don't expect to benefit personally in the beginning. Be organized. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | For the business owners on here, do you think personally owned small businesses are the way to go, or would a franchise be better? |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | My dad has had his own small business for a lot of years, and at his current place 20+ years. It is a LOT of work, a lot of long hours, and a lot of tightening your belt when times aren't so good. But, on the plus side, you are your own boss, when times are good you get more out of it. You have to be a leader, a good (and sometimes quick) decision maker, and be very dedicated to have your own business. It is worth it in the long run, but there are a lot of things to think about as well. I wish you the best of luck! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1075
Location: Wisconsin | Thank you for the replies.
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | My husband and I own our own logging business. We started it from complete scratch.
I can tell you one thing: being self employed is HARD WORK. My husband works 7 days a week doing SOMETHING. He's the first to arrive and the last to leave. Being the "boss" isn't all it is cracked up to be. ALL the responsibility falls onto you; successes and failures.
Other things to think about: worker's comp insurance is very costly. You pay x.xx% on all your paid wages, which depending on your field can be very expensive. For every dollar we pay somebody to run a chainsaw, we pay the insurance company 28 cents.
Also, unless you set it up as either a corporation or an LLC that elects to be treated as a corporation and put yourself on payroll or salary - you will be paying self-employment tax. Which is horrendous. You will also need to have an alternative to social security set up for when you retire.
My advice would be to contact a business attorney and an accountant and develop a scoped business plan with your ideas.
Good luck! Business is definitely not for the faint of heart!
ETA: I live in Oregon, so obviously follow Oregon business laws and taxing. Things may be different in your state.
Edited by svincent 2014-09-29 12:12 AM
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| I had my own housekeeping business. I didn't hire anyone, just did the work myself. While it was GREAT working for myself and the job "security" was nice. I had to pay my own health insurance, had no paid vacation and paid out the WAZOO in taxes. It really is just easier for me to work somewhere.  |
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 Party Gal
Posts: 3432
Location: fun meter pegged OK | "Business Owner" is an oxymoron. The Business owns you, your time, and your money 24/7. Hubby and I own/operate a RV Park (20 yrs) and as some of the other posters here have said be prepared to invest a lot of time and in a good CPA. No more vacations, family dinners or days off! Make sure that what ever you want to do you love it enough to - eat, breathe, and sleep by it!
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| This is a good thread and I agree with what everyone else has said. My dad has owned his own business for nearly 30 years. He started his business in our basement as a hobby on nights and weekends after his "real" job which required tons of travel and time away from family. As the sales from his basement business grew he gradually grew his business until it was bringing in enough to quit his "real job" and that's what he's been doing(and still does) for 30 years. The pros are that it is fairly profitable, it is located on his farm so he doesn't have to travel, he can make his own hours, schedule his own time off, its something he loves to do and he doesn't have to answer to anyone. The cons are that there are NO benefits(insurance, 401K, etc), can be lots of hours, it is hard work, and all the responsibility falls on him. Overall it has been a great career for him I believe but I'm not sure he'd do it again(or maybe he would?) I owned my own business for about 8 years too and I did make pretty good money but it was very stressful and it definitely owned me and ALL my time. I had to let it go when I had 2 kids in 2 years and looking back, I'm glad I did because like someone else said....sometimes it just easier to work for someone else. Even though I loved my little business I put in so much time that if I divided out my $$'s per hour it would have been pathetic. My biggest advice is to start small...do it as a profitable hobby on the side nights and weekends if possible then allow twice as much time and twice as much money to start up as you expect it to cost then once you do get going keep up with your time to make sure your're not busting your butt for $2 per hour(or less!). Also, I believe as a general rule it is expected to take at least 3 years to actually turn a profit on most any new business. Good luck and I can't wait to read more replies on this thread! |
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Folks on-line