Starting your own business - entrepreneur thread

[Kick 6]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

That $1K was just for the search? Or filing too? Seems really low if it’s filing too.

Just a search. The patent I got was over 10K and that was many years ago.

[MsGoGoMoto]

I bailed on buying out my old employer.
One man band consulting firm with 4 seasoned employees and 5 interns or "green" individuals.

Went back and forth on price. Saw all the company financials and document flow.
Secured approval for a small business loan with plans to throw in some of my 401 k to dampen the blow.
Boss weaved in and out of what the deal was supposed to be.
First, I was getting 51% and he'd hang around a few years till I got the swing of things.
Then went to saying 100% with him staying 5 years.
He explained that me owning the company would have made the business 3 great things:

1. A minority owned business. (My response: what the fuck does that mean? I get a hand out because I'm a black business owner? My business is inferior and can't survive in the white world without this tag or something? I'm a normal business just like everyone else.)

2. A female owned business. (Same response above, just replace black with female and white with male. What the fuck is wrong with this country?)

3. A veteran owned business. (Ok, I can see this being a benefit I guess. Mainly because its for serving the country and not for my gender and ethnicity- something I had no control over at birth, you know?
How did we become so fucked up?

He was adamant that all this would make it rain money so I was in.

Long story short… he strung me along kept changing the deal.. I just quit and went to a competitor and will soon buy in and become one of the principles.
The end.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by MsGoGoMoto

I bailed on buying out my old employer.
One man band consulting firm with 4 seasoned employees and 5 interns or "green" individuals.

Went back and forth on price. Saw all the company financials and document flow.
Secured approval for a small business loan with plans to throw in some of my 401 k to dampen the blow.
Boss weaved in and out of what the deal was supposed to be.
First, I was getting 51% and he'd hang around a few years till I got the swing of things.
Then went to saying 100% with him staying 5 years.
He explained that me owning the company would have made the business 3 great things:

1. A minority owned business. (My response: what the fuck does that mean? I get a hand out because I'm a black business owner? My business is inferior and can't survive in the white world without this tag or something? I'm a normal business just like everyone else.)

2. A female owned business. (Same response above, just replace black with female and white with male. What the fuck is wrong with this country?)

3. A veteran owned business. (Ok, I can see this being a benefit I guess. Mainly because its for serving the country and not for my gender and ethnicity- something I had no control over at birth, you know?
How did we become so fucked up?

He was adamant that all this would make it rain money so I was in.

Long story short… he strung me along kept changing the deal.. I just quit and went to a competitor and will soon buy in and become one of the principles.
The end.

I wouldn't think he meant it in a derogatory way. In today's society those are all plusses to promote your business and in short makes less bait for competitors. I know several business owners who have been attacked by their competitors on social media because they didn't have many female or non-white workers. Keep in mind these are small family owned businesses, most of them in the construction industry, in an area that has a mostly white population. Not much they could do about it, and in fact these people are some of the kindest most accepting people I know, but were falsely demonized by their competitors in any way possible. I doubt it has anything to actually do with equality sadly.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Damn, forgot about this thread.

Pandemic hit // logistics and supply chain issues hit // manufacturing / travel hit and I basically set this all on the backburner while I focused on keeping my head above water.

Bought my M440, bought a house in the bay area, lots of other competing high priority items to focus on at the moment .

I guess part of that is the eternal lament of the entrepreneur though - it's far too easy to make excuses to yourself as to why you haven't made progress.

Opportunity waits for no one, but sometimes you gotta do something with the lemons. I thought 2020 was going to kill my business. We adapted, worked real hard, and it turned out to be my most financially successful year yet.

To echo what MKSixer, Rmtt, and NorCalAthlete said: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Listen to them. The CEO isn't necessarily the biggest expert in their field, the CEO is the one that can bring all these ideas together and execute–it's even in the title: Chief Executive Officer.


Oh and I can't stress how important it is to have a good accountant. I spared little expense when it comes to an accountant.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Undercover billionaire?

I heard Kylo Ren was shredded.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Echobox

It's great to hear you're pursuing your idea! I started with drop shipping, which brought me financial freedom. I have yet to deal with client-focused businesses, but I've met folks like the owner of an airport transportation service at Copper Mountain.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Damn, forgot about this thread.

Pandemic hit // logistics and supply chain issues hit // manufacturing / travel hit and I basically set this all on the backburner while I focused on keeping my head above water.

Bought my M440, bought a house in the bay area, lots of other competing high priority items to focus on at the moment .

I guess part of that is the eternal lament of the entrepreneur though - it's far too easy to make excuses to yourself as to why you haven't made progress.

To help keep your dream alive, stay in close contact with your smart business buds and do what you can to increase that list. Tap their brains. Take them to lunch and listen. One might even become a partner. Reach out, reach out.

My son did this, acquiring literally hundreds of business contacts. He picks their brains, then parses the information. He now runs a multi-million dollar business, and its still growing. And this isn't his primary job. Resources and contacts.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

To help keep your dream alive, stay in close contact with your smart business buds and do what you can to increase that list. Tap their brains. Take them to lunch and listen. One might even become a partner. Reach out, reach out.

My son did this, acquiring literally hundreds of business contacts. He picks their brains, then parses the information. He now runs a multi-million dollar business, and its still growing. And this isn't his primary job. Resources and contacts.

Update: talked to buddies, found one who got really excited and wants to be my technical co-founder, spinning up the C corp and pitch deck and have built some contacts to PE/VC and will be pitching soon hopefully.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Sportypyro

I get the struggle of feeling stuck with good ideas and not knowing where to start. A few years back, I had a similar experience. I had this concept for a small online shop, but I hesitated for ages because I wasn't sure about the funding or how to market it.