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Any GAFfers started their own business?

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Caipirinha

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I have always wanted to start my own business, and have tried seriously once before, however due to the others involved not being motivated I eventually had to call it quits. This was despite trademarks filed, websites built, products prototyped, manufacturers sourced etc. all by myself of course.

I'm coming round to my second attempt and this time I'm keeping it simple: a blog with social networking features. I won't give away the USP but it's in an increasingly popular and as yet under covered area, so I'm hoping it will be able to take off.

My expectations are in check, I'm not investing very much moolah up front etc. but I'm getting that wobbly feeling about whether or not it's really worth it... And wondering if any GAFfers here have started their own business and can confirm that it is, indeed, worth it?

Particularly interested in web based businesses etc. The internet is such a big place and sometimes it feels like an impossible task to make your mark on it no matter how good your ideas are, let alone generate any $$$ from it when you do....

But life is too short not to try right?
 
I own a small shop software development group. We are 4, we all still hold well paid full time jobs, but the projects are generally worked on nights or we sub contract somebody else and pay him a smaller rate (say we are billing the client 80 hour and pay the contractor about 35-40). We have several decent sized clients, some of them generating in excess of 100millions a year. Why don't we leave the full time jobs? Easy. We don't need to. The company is supplemental income for now and we are saving for a bigger expansion in one or two years so we are not profiting massively from it yet. It's fun. We are also building large scale system we plan to sell in a year or so, so it's very exciting.
 
I started a graphic/web design business in 2010. Now it's become a videography/photography business. Yes it's absolutely worth it. Most of my work comes from Youtube and social media.

Do your market research, be prepared to be agile, spend money on advertising/marketing, keep on top of admin, don't give up when it gets tough. My first year was horrible and it was hard to see my peers progress in their careers, but if you are good at what you do it gets better. Learn to troubleshoot where in the process things could be improved.

Don't quit your day job unless you've got clients/audience already lined up
 
I would absolutely love to, but I don't feel I'm good enough at anything to start a business doing it. Besides, brewing, but that is far too expensive capital-wise for me to even consider it.
 
I started a window cleaning company with $4000. Built up a medium sized customer base over 3 years and then sold it for a considerable amount more than I started with. I will never clean another window. The first year I did everything myself, by year 3 I had 2 employees. If I start another business it will be something that produces a product and not a service. Tax write offs were great. Long hours and hard work sucked.
 
Calderc said:
I would absolutely love to, but I don't feel I'm good enough at anything to start a business doing it. Besides, brewing, but that is far too expensive capital-wise for me to even consider it.
Click to expand...

I had never cleaned a window before I started my window cleaning company. My first job I got was my practice, I broke some shades and had to pay to replace them. Don't let lack of ability dissuade you, go learn how to do whatever business you would like to start.
 
Yes. Though I need about $200K to start it up. Where does one find $200K??? So I still remain working for the man until I find my $200K.
 
I own/run a auto finance company. hardest part was convincing dealers to send me applications and of course some marketing, took me about a year of hustling but up to about 7mil in outstandings now
 
Haven't started my own. Invested and helped my father begin his though, and it's grown to become relatively successful in the last decade. It's in auto service though, so not anything similar from the sounds of what you're planning for OP. I can say my dad is definitely happier working for himself than he was working for others. However he had to commit a lot more time to work as well. So you have to really love whatever it is your are doing in business or else I suspect you'll get burnt out quick.
 
Started an online/virtual solo video game/board game/mobile/website law practice. Best decision of my life. I'm living the digital nomad life now, traveling all the time while working. Wasn't making much money in the beginning, but I bill more than enough to live on now. It's awesome.

I help people like you, OP. If you're interested, PM me.
 
A buddy of mine opened a repair place (cell phone, consoles, pc..etc) in our home town and have been operating for around 5 years now. Have 2 shops (one is a warehouse) and are looking to open a third sometime soon.

Personally, i'm looking into the feasibility of starting my own site/blog related to retro honda builds/info. There are facebook groups and some forums out there but not very many that specialize in just classic/vintage honda related topics. Figure I can feature builds or fellow community members as well as do reviews on items that are used in the rebuild/restoration of these cars. I have had the domain set up for almost a year but alas procrastination and fear of failure have kept me from taking the first step and actually producing content.
 
Caipirinha said:
I have always wanted to start my own business, and have tried seriously once before, however due to the others involved not being motivated I eventually had to call it quits. This was despite trademarks filed, websites built, products prototyped, manufacturers sourced etc. all by myself of course.

I'm coming round to my second attempt and this time I'm keeping it simple: a blog with social networking features. I won't give away the USP but it's in an increasingly popular and as yet under covered area, so I'm hoping it will be able to take off.

My expectations are in check, I'm not investing very much moolah up front etc. but I'm getting that wobbly feeling about whether or not it's really worth it... And wondering if any GAFfers here have started their own business and can confirm that it is, indeed, worth it?

Particularly interested in web based businesses etc. The internet is such a big place and sometimes it feels like an impossible task to make your mark on it no matter how good your ideas are, let alone generate any $$$ from it when you do....

But life is too short not to try right?
Click to expand...

It sounds like you have carved out a lot of the initial ground work. I assume it isn't the same product - since there is no manufactures/prototypes this time around? I am also assuming you are the only stakeholder.


A lot of it comes down to advertising, especially if you are operating out of a blog. Focus on the key selling points and their marketability demographics. Test your site with certain focus groups, incorporate their feedback. Try several advertising outlets and methods before you fully invest.
 
I have a bead shop. Four years in, and my only regret is that I didn't start my own business 30 years ago. It's loads of fun.

Advertising is very important, but do recognise that advertising is very much an experimental art (and don't believe what the guys trying to sell you advertising say, they have an entirely different agenda). So, do the experiments. Try different things, and do what works.
 
My wife and I are trying to get a business off the ground, but it's a packaged food business and getting the proper sign offs from the appropriate government agencies has been annoying. We're now looking into co-packers to help us there, but it's not cheap nor easy.
 
the gf and i are now restauranteurs. we were kind of thrust into the situation coming from illustration and editing backgrounds. it's a fiscally self-sustaining franchise that we're hoping to run for a few years before selling it to finance a jewelry store and boutique.
 
I am hoping to start an esports business this year. I hold video game tournaments in my town and have been using that to build a base of interest.
 
Not necessarily a business, but I'm about to quit my full time job to pursue music composition/production full time.

I've been doing it for years now as a hobby, and it's starting to finally make me some money. So my wife and I have budgeted appropriately to where I should be able to drop the day job and go all freelance. It's a little scary, but it is going to feel SO good to put in my two weeks notice.

Luckily I do have some passive income (royalties) from my music being on some TV shows, so I have a little bit of a safety net if I don't end up making enough from working on video games.

If you're in a decent position to try striking out on your own, I'd say absolutely go for it. Just make sure you think through every possible scenario and your circumstances are the best they can be. In my case, having a wife with a full time job, having some royalties coming in, and living in a low-cost area are the circumstances that are making it possible.
 
Yes. Started freelance, then approached the Princes Trust who helped fund my start up. I started in my bedroom on an old HP laptop. I now have a studio apartment with two Macs, and two employees of my own.
 
ZackieChan said:
What kind of law do you practice? Where?
Click to expand...

Ohio. Mostly Civil Litigation such as personal injury and family law but I also do business consultation and contracts, estate planning, bankruptcy. Will also do Criminal law if my fee is fully paid up front.

I guess I do basically everything but IP and anything too tax law heavy.
 
LegalEagleMike said:
Ohio. Mostly Civil Litigation such as personal injury and family law but I also do business consultation and contracts, estate planning, bankruptcy. Will also do Criminal law if my fee is fully paid up front.

I guess I do basically everything but IP and anything too tax law heavy.
Click to expand...

Maybe we talked about this before. Sounds familiar! You're like the complete opposite of me as far as lawyers go :)
 
I started a few. With every business, I learned something new.

1. Never start a business with family or friend, unless they are as equally invested as you are. Even when they are, be prepared to lose a friend or a family member over a bitter business outcome.
2. Never start a business that you see is a "growing trend" when it's actually already at it's peak. You're probably entering a saturated market.
3. Never expect to make a lot of money on a business. Hell, never expect to make more than an employee you hire especially if it's skilled based business.
4. Never go into a business without doing your math, whether it's financial math or statistics or probability of failure or success.
5. Always calculate the amount of hours you are genuinely putting in a business per week (it's never 40 hours of week), and see if it's more or equal to what you make in a day job. You'll be surprised how little you'll actually make in certain businesses that look too good to be true but it's not.
6. Don't ever, ever, quit your day job unless your business is steady and makes you what you make in a day job, or if you have no job to begin with.
7. Always have a business plan. There is no business without a business plan.
8. Be prepared to spend money on marketing. It's key that you spend money on marketing. A lot of people don't spend anything in marketing and complain about getting no business.
9. Be prepared to hire employees. Don't do all tasks on your own. Spending hours responding to emails is distracting you from growing the business. It's a task that can be done by an assistant, so spend some money on a high school or college kid if you can't afford a professional.
10. There's no shame in starting a business from your mom's basement. All great businesses started from a basement or a garage. Get a shared or communal office once you decide to meet clients outside coffee shops or public places. Get your own office once you decide your business needs a living space other than just meeting clients.

11. When all else fails, cut your loses and go back to a day job while you decide your next move.

EDIT: Bonus bits.

- Work for someone in the field of business you are planning to start. It helps wonders having a breather while you see someone else succeed or fail in it. Be a good student and learn, for years perhaps, before you are confident you know the ins and outs.
- Money makes money. It's hard starting a business without one. Either save up, ask your family, or get an investor. You won't survive without a cashflow.
- Each business takes 3 years to be uniform. If you feel like wrapping it in a year when it looks tough, it'll get better by year 3.
- Don't do business in something you have zero passion for. Once passion dies, so will the business.
 
LegalEagleMike said:
Well I did start out in a firm and worshiped at the altar of billable hours for a while!
Click to expand...

I went solo straight out of bar passage. Awful at first, but has become quite a good business with some awesome game dev clients! Hooked up with another attorney as of counsel and I'm getting a lot of work through that relationship, as well.
 
shagg_187 said:
I started a few. With every business, I learned something new.
Click to expand...

Sound advice all of that. But I skipped a few of them ...

1. Never start a business with family or friend, unless they are as equally invested as you are. Even when they are, be prepared to lose a friend or a family member over a bitter business outcome.
Click to expand...

I'm in business with my wife. It's ever so important to carve up the responsibilities so that we do not tread on each others toes, and we know who calls the shots in each area - essentially I do back-office/accounts/admin and deal with walk-in customers, while Mrs P does regular customers and purchasing. I joke that I do the adding up and Mrs P does the taking-away. Advertising and strategy we have to agree on, which takes ages!

2. Never start a business that you see is a "growing trend" when it's actually already at it's peak. You're probably entering a saturated market.
Click to expand...

We did exactly this. BUT we did it with the aim of doing it right - low prices, big range, super service. While the market as a whole is probably close to saturated, what that really means is that we are growing and our competitors are biting the dust (largely because they overextended themselves based on unreasonably high margin expectations). Market could shrink 50% and we'd still come out ahead.

So don't necessarily be turned away from something because the market looks full. There's always room for someone who can do it better.

6. Don't ever, ever, quit your day job unless your business is steady and makes you what you make in a day job, or if you have no job to begin with.
Click to expand...

Sound advice that, though I didn't follow it. I also found impending poverty a very significant incentive to make the business work!

- Work for someone in the field of business you are planning to start. It helps wonders having a breather while you see someone else succeed or fail in it. Be a good student and learn, for years perhaps, before you are confident you know the ins and outs.
Click to expand...

Or do as I did and go into an importing-and-retail business in a specialist area knowing nothing at all about importing, retail or the specialist area.

Depends if you like learning from all your own mistakes in a hurry and under pressure.

- Each business takes 3 years to be uniform. If you feel like wrapping it in a year when it looks tough, it'll get better by year 3.
Click to expand...

We were up to steady state in three months. (Because we had to be).


Rules are made to be broken and all that. But at least we did know in advance which rules we were breaking.
 
phisheep said:
I'm in business with my wife. It's ever so important to carve up the responsibilities so that we do not tread on each others toes, and we know who calls the shots in each area - essentially I do back-office/accounts/admin and deal with walk-in customers, while Mrs P does regular customers and purchasing. I joke that I do the adding up and Mrs P does the taking-away. Advertising and strategy we have to agree on, which takes ages!
Click to expand...

Ahh yes. Your wife can actually be a great business partner because you two are equally invested. Husband and wife businesses work. Brothers usually don't, best friends usually don't.

The rest are of your points are great; good practices even. Again, it all depend on business to business, person to person. For me and my businesses, these were the lessons that I learned and may generally not apply to others. Good to see you do well! :)

For reference, my businesses were:

1. Engineering firm (6 months). Great idea and great test/first business, but didn't work because my best friend, who I started this with, decided to involve a bunch of other friends who weren't part of it when we first talked, and made the whole situation rough. Ended up giving up my share. Business wrapped up in 6 months. He now started another company on his own and I'm glad he did. I guess I lost a best friend in a way, and now he's just a friend with different goals than me. Even worst, I lost a great business partner whom I dreamt of doing more business with.

2. E-commerce (2 years of development. not launched). I technically haven't launched it yet because I saw a lot of competitor's business in the same field crumble up because it got oversaturated. Surprisingly, I'm glad I waited because this year seems to be the year it'll proudly launch. Again, started with a friend and wish I didn't because he's equally frustrated at it being put on a slight hold for a year, though he's equally invested. Personally, I'm very very scared on how people will perceive it and whether they will accept it for what it is.

3. Wedding Photography/Videography (3 years and counting). It's actually going very well and very smooth. Every year, it keeps on picking up, and the pay is good, but I've honestly lost passion for it because it's so stagnant and cookie cutter, and the workload isn't worth it, especially with the team growing and expenses skyrocketing and the amount of gigs skyrocketing, and the amount of projects due skyrocketing. Editing is a shitty and time consuming gig, and finding good editors who complete work on time is tough. It's a great weekend business and will probably stay that while I find a weekday business. 3 years later, I'm calling it quits, while my business partner (my brother-in-law... again, family and friends!) will take over and maintain it. He'll do it good, I know it. Plus, he won't have to split the money with me so I'm happy for that as well since the wedding photography/videography business has a cap on the cash the company can make (Realistically, 50 weddings a year), and its a shitty cap if it's split between multiple people.
 
I should have by next week the legal papers for the video game company I'm creating with my wife. Lots of challenges awaits us but I'm really eager to make this work.
 
I haven't started a business up on my own, but my dad and uncle have (a few), and I've been there with them since I was 19? Once I finish my MBA, I'll likely start something or other within the next few years.

shagg_187 said:
I started a few. With every business, I learned something new.

1. Never start a business with family or friend, unless they are as equally invested as you are. Even when they are, be prepared to lose a friend or a family member over a bitter business outcome.
2. Never start a business that you see is a "growing trend" when it's actually already at it's peak. You're probably entering a saturated market.
3. Never expect to make a lot of money on a business. Hell, never expect to make more than an employee you hire especially if it's skilled based business.
4. Never go into a business without doing your math, whether it's financial math or statistics or probability of failure or success.
5. Always calculate the amount of hours you are genuinely putting in a business per week (it's never 40 hours of week), and see if it's more or equal to what you make in a day job. You'll be surprised how little you'll actually make in certain businesses that look too good to be true but it's not.
6. Don't ever, ever, quit your day job unless your business is steady and makes you what you make in a day job, or if you have no job to begin with.
7. Always have a business plan. There is no business without a business plan.
8. Be prepared to spend money on marketing. It's key that you spend money on marketing. A lot of people don't spend anything in marketing and complain about getting no business.
9. Be prepared to hire employees. Don't do all tasks on your own. Spending hours responding to emails is distracting you from growing the business. It's a task that can be done by an assistant, so spend some money on a high school or college kid if you can't afford a professional.
10. There's no shame in starting a business from your mom's basement. All great businesses started from a basement or a garage. Get a shared or communal office once you decide to meet clients outside coffee shops or public places. Get your own office once you decide your business needs a living space other than just meeting clients.

11. When all else fails, cut your loses and go back to a day job while you decide your next move.

EDIT: Bonus bits.

- Work for someone in the field of business you are planning to start. It helps wonders having a breather while you see someone else succeed or fail in it. Be a good student and learn, for years perhaps, before you are confident you know the ins and outs.
- Money makes money. It's hard starting a business without one. Either save up, ask your family, or get an investor. You won't survive without a cashflow.
- Each business takes 3 years to be uniform. If you feel like wrapping it in a year when it looks tough, it'll get better by year 3.
- Don't do business in something you have zero passion for. Once passion dies, so will the business.
Click to expand...

This is all excellent advice.

ZackieChan said:
Awesome! Tell me more about it!
Click to expand...

ZackieChan said:
Absolutely. Or start the same business in a way that it grows organically with much less investment. What is the $200k for?



What kind of law do you practice? Where?
Click to expand...

ZackieChan said:
Started an online/virtual solo video game/board game/mobile/website law practice. Best decision of my life. I'm living the digital nomad life now, traveling all the time while working. Wasn't making much money in the beginning, but I bill more than enough to live on now. It's awesome.

I help people like you, OP. If you're interested, PM me.
Click to expand...

Pay attention to Zackie. This man knows how to promote himself!
 
I am currently working on one by myself, funded as I work my day job (which isn't much). It's rough and I'm all over the place but this is a personal project so it's something I just have to try out.
 
I've been actually thinking about setting one up for a long time, at start only thought about it a little but lately it has really been growing on me since now I'm at a point in which I feel comfortable enough with my programming skills and I feel I could handle it in general.

It would be a travel related website. There are a lot of them, but I don't think there is any website doing quite the same thing my site would do, and I think there would be plenty of room for my idea.

It'd take a while to fully program it and more so, getting all the info I need and set it up for the site, and those are things I can easily do while studying. Even when I fully launch it, it still would be something I believe I could do while studying/working, so it wouldn't necessarily have to sustain me completely, though that'd be the eventual goal.

So yeah, I probably will set up a company at some point. I'm actually thinking of doing the core of the website as a practical work in a course soon so that I can get some good feedback on the design and functions at the same.
 
I've kicked around the idea of starting a consultant company focusing on niche development (software engineering) needs. Problem is the competition is too fierce in my area for that.

If I hit the lottery I'd spend my days propping up a restaurant/deli/pub. Pay the workers way more than the area average, cultivate future stars in the dining field, etc. I ran my sister's place for several months when I was in college and it was fun. Cooks, chefs, wait staff, some of the best people around. I'd love to spend my days working with them and helping to make their dreams come true.
 
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