Any Entrepreneurs here? (small business, sales, attorney, financial)

[Blondie621]

Just wondering how many on city-data are? If so please tell your story!
I want some ideas on starting my own business with a small investment and make big money fast! I have many talents but not sure how to put them to good use and or where to start.

[mrstewart]

This is not my OWN story but it is the story of someone I know. A gentleman we know made a good deal of money from computer software that he developed and it was bought by a major company.

Anyway, he asked his financial adviser how he could make good money, a lot of cash, and enjoy himself and his advicer told him to open a "Gentlemans Club"...

Well, that was 15 years ago and this guy owns at least 8 clubs up and down the coast, a jet, beautiful homes...the whole thing.

As a woman, I personally think it is crass but he made it big.

[Blondie621]

Originally Posted by mrstewart

This is not my OWN story but it is the story of someone I know. A gentleman we know made a good deal of money from computer software that he developed and it was bought by a major company.

Anyway, he asked his financial adviser how he could make good money, a lot of cash, and enjoy himself and his advicer told him to open a "Gentlemans Club"...

Well, that was 15 years ago and this guy owns at least 8 clubs up and down the coast, a jet, beautiful homes...the whole thing.

As a woman, I personally think it is crass but he made it big.

Yikes, smart guy! I knew of someone back in Jersey who did that. One club turned into many...he ended up owning a big name one in Ft. Lauderdale. Solid Gold or something. I am sure both of them have had and continue to have many headaches from that kind of business!

[mrstewart]

Originally Posted by Blondie621

Yikes, smart guy! I knew of someone back in Jersey who did that. One club turned into many...he ended up owning a big name one in Ft. Lauderdale. Solid Gold or something. I am sure both of them have had and continue to have many headaches from that kind of business!

I would not want to deal with all of the drama that probably comes along with it but he makes money hand over fist

[aaauger]

As a business owner in contact with other business owners, one comment is that few small businesses make money fast. In fact, a fellow business owner (who is now a millionaire) said success takes about 10 years. And that's what I am seeing.

Another comment is that one of the ways that small business owners typically make money is to sell their business. It takes awhile to build a business. Of course, you can try to turn an existing business around.

The last comment is that you have to have business skills. If you are a good engineer, artist, etc. but have no business skills, the odds of success are not good.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Blondie621

Just wondering how many on city-data are? If so please tell your story!
I want some ideas on starting my own business with a small investment and make big money fast! I have many talents but not sure how to put them to good use and or where to start.

I'm not trying to pour cold water on you here, but I think you really need to read your own words here. Because if you want to make a "small investment and make big money fast!" it just ain't gonna happen.

I've been an entrepreneur since 1990. I make excellent money working with a loyal client base around the country. However, it didn't happen fast, and I certainly didn't generate big money.

Because owning your own biz is like being a parent. It's exhausting, it's 24/7, and it's fraught with uncertainty. The rewards are worth it, but it takes a long time to achieve. Forget all the overnight success stories you keep reading. Those are the equivalent of somebody winning the lottery. The real successful entrepreneur plugs away day after day, year after year until their small clients turn into bigger clients, or they finally get the shot at the big account after years of the fundamentals.

So if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to think like an entrepreneur: Plan on a few years of deprivation and uncertainty, and take joy in the act of creating a business out of thin air, rather than daydream about the bags of cash you'll be making. Otherwise, you're better off taking that small investment of yours and playing the slots--your chances of a return will be much better.

[sunsprit]

cpg35223 has it right ... for most, "success" comes only after a lot of hard work 24/7 and many years.

Dreaming of hitting a big payout with a very small capital investment is in the realm of winning the lottery. For many would be entrepreneurs, they'd do better playing the lottery ... and losing their investment quickly without pain and drama instead of dragging out the process of building a business.

Even an "inventor" with an innovative product idea whose time has come in the marketplace needs capital, time, marketing, and lots of hard work over a period of time to bring the product to market (including design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, sales, etc.).

Having "many talents" and not knowing what to do with them is the basis of nothing, especially a business with a high and instant ROI. Perhaps you'd get a better idea of where your strengths lie by getting a job doing something with one of your talents and see what works for you ... and what doesn't.

As for those who have made it in the entertainment industry ... there's many more who didn't. It's not an easy business to get into, and it's not easy to stay in, either. I've got an attorney client who gets $25,000 per month retainer from each of several gentleman's club or XXX product stores, just to keep them open. That's a lot of dough spent by the business owners, and they must have a need to have that overhead expense ... or they wouldn't be spending it. Rather revealing to me how difficult that business can be; I wouldn't want a business that needed that much legal time to stay in business.

[Blondie621]

Thanx Sunsprit....that was some great info. you responded with. I was in the entertainment business for many years. I decided it was time to use one of my talents to start a small business. I was thinking more like an online business. Bye quoting big money, for me I did not mean millions. And yes, I do realize that it would take a lottery win or some extrordinary good luck at the slots as you said for the millions to happen!

I was hoping to hear some stories about people who invested in? And did very well. I realize it takes alot of hours and hard work to make a succesful business work. And still a yet a high percentage do fail.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

...
So if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to think like an entrepreneur: Plan on a few years of deprivation and uncertainty, and take joy in the act of creating a business out of thin air, rather than daydream about the bags of cash you'll be making. Otherwise, you're better off taking that small investment of yours and playing the slots--your chances of a return will be much better.

good comment,
you can get much info on the 'profile' of a true entrepreneur type if you get on a library Data base (ebsco host business premier) and pull up some Harvard or Babson Business School research and papers.

Basically it takes someone totally passionate and wise enough to build a business team that compliments their own strengths and builds up their weaknesses. It takes more than money, a good idea or good luck, great product, innovation in sales and marketing + terrific business sense and exhaustive energy. (It takes all of these). Most successful business ventures take 5 yrs of sacrifice to break even, then IF THEY are a good business, they may make some decent money in 10 yrs. (exceptions of course, like Google who is now 10 yrs old). As you research you will find there is often a startup team that seems unlikely to succeed, but the versitle skills compliment and survive. (MicroSoft, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Nike ... ) I have a friend that started an online business in 1995, they just moved to a US protectorate to preserve their wealth / income. Took a long time to build substantiale income.

[bentlebee]

Most people who made it big time, never thought about the money in the first place...they loved what they did and the money came later....If you think first about the money, IMO that isn't the way to strike it, because you will loose the important view on what is important first.