Talonz Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I have a small eBay based business I do on the side - Check out my auctions! My user name is gobills69 . I buy pallets of retail liquidation equipment, test it, toss a ton of it, but sell what is working 100% and or new. I get a ton of Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PC software, Etc. I do ok but my basement looks like a mini Circuit City Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick in RaChaCha Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 With the arrival of child #3, babyrock, my wife decided she would try "baby sitting" for a while. A couple of decades later, she runs a certified NYS licensed home day care center. With the education and certification, and ridiculous state compliance requirements, she has stayed ahead of the monster. Don't ever call her a baby sitter unless you want your ass kicked. She is the person who has your child 8-10 hours a day. She teaches them manners, potty trains them, does frequent field trips, has all kinds of craft projects, has just started teaching the toddlers simple computer usage. She cares for them when they are sick, and consoles them when they are having a bad day. She works at it 10 hours a day and does not sit much. Pay is OK, no complaints. I am surprised when parents complain about her rates, which are in a median range. She has told people if they want to save 5 dollars a week they are free to go to the nearest kid processing center and save $250 a year. She screens child and parents BEFORE they start. If the chemistry is not there, they do NOT get placed. She is her own boss, and is married to her backup daycare provider, repair man, accountant and tax advisor. Saturday night we ran into one of her former "kids" - he is head chef at a nice restaurant now! She helped him deal with his parents divorce and later with his father's death from cancer. Sixteen years after he was "her kid" during the day, he rushed over and gave her a big hug and kiss. Me? I work for a dot com in the cube mole life, but work with good people. 671719[/snapback] Hey Rock My Wife also runs a NYS licensed home day care program. It's a lot of work, but the benefits are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Hey Rock My Wife also runs a NYS licensed home day care program. It's a lot of work, but the benefits are great! 671798[/snapback] The greatest benefit is your wife is raising your baby! The state is a MONSTER, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick in RaChaCha Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 The greatest benefit is your wife is raising your baby! The state is a MONSTER, though. 671810[/snapback] I big hairy monster with one eye! I'd say more but I think my phone is being tapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 LA- How much of a "war chest" did you have to start out? Before the $$ started coming in, how were you able to afford the basic monthly bills (mortgage etc.)? Thats the thing that always keeps me from doing something. I would love to do it, but need that check every two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 LA- How much of a "war chest" did you have to start out? Before the $$ started coming in, how were you able to afford the basic monthly bills (mortgage etc.)? Thats the thing that always keeps me from doing something. I would love to do it, but need that check every two weeks. 671869[/snapback] How much you need in the war chest is relative to your business. The plan was to pay my partner, but not pay myself for the first six months. I had enough cash to handle my monthly bills for those six months, plus another six month supply just in case, plus (emergency fall back plan) a hefty home equity line available to me. In retrospect, I made a mistake not paying myself in the beginning. I should have just loaned that extra money to the business and put myself on payroll, but no harm, no foul. Also, keep in mind my company produces software, so startup costs were ridiculously low (relatively speaking): top-o-the-line laptop, phones, cell phones, life insurance, disability and workman's comp, health insurance, etc. Someone on the board (can't remember who) designed my logo, then we had business cards, letterhead, polo shirts, made up. Internet service and website. Another thing to remember: your company will make many of life's payments for you: any meal ever eaten out, any trip ever made, all your automobile costs from gas and registration to monthly payment and insurance, and many high-ticket items you get for yourself but can write off to the company. When you decide how much you need each month to pay your bills, have your accountant go through what you will pay for and what your company will pay for. Don't have an accountant? Get one. Don't have a lawyer? Get one. It's a personal thing, but I would never move forward on anything without one of each. Because we had an established client base from our former job, we had jobs in the can before we even opened our doors, so cash flow was immediately moving forward. Which brings up another point I learned from the many people I talked to prior to this venture. I asked many business owners: "What do you consider the most important part of your business remaining successful, and they all said the same thing: "CASH FLOW. Invoice immediately. Dont put off invoicing for one minute. Have invoices ready to go just before a job closes out and never, ever let anyone go beyond 60 days. Ever." The question for you becomes "what kind of business are you looking at and what will you need to get started?" There's a difference between starting up a business like mine or opening a Jelly Belly Store in the mall. Big difference. Hope that kinda answers your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Because we had an established client base from our former job, we had jobs in the can before we even opened our doors, so cash flow was immediately moving forward. Which brings up another point I learned from the many people I talked to prior to this venture. I asked many business owners: "What do you consider the most important part of your business remaining successful, and they all said the same thing: "CASH FLOW. Invoice immediately. Dont put off invoicing for one minute. Have invoices ready to go just before a job closes out and never, ever let anyone go beyond 60 days. Ever." 671901[/snapback] One company I worked for, a major US company now out of business, would let clients go 180 days or longer on paying their invoices, and there were even sometimes after a job was complete, an invoice was never sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 The question for you becomes "what kind of business are you looking at and what will you need to get started?" There's a difference between starting up a business like mine or opening a Jelly Belly Store in the mall. Big difference. Hope that kinda answers your question. I'm a lawyer, so it would be a law firm, advising brokerage firms. The work would be good, with low overhead. I'd be meeting folks at their offices etc. The real question I have is can I survive before the cash starts coming in. I don't have 12 months of expenses in the bank. Perhaps this isn't the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I'm a lawyer, so it would be a law firm, advising brokerage firms. The work would be good, with low overhead. I'd be meeting folks at their offices etc. The real question I have is can I survive before the cash starts coming in. I don't have 12 months of expenses in the bank. Perhaps this isn't the right time. 672225[/snapback] Do you have outside sources of income (wife, investments, etc.)? If yes, you can (obviously) get by with less of a cushion than you would otherwise need. If not, save up or start networking to get funding. Either way, before you start, come up with a WELL THOUGHT OUT business plan. Understand who your clients would be, who the competition is (today and in the future), what sort of support staff you will require, what you expect cash flows to be like and what you plan for a source of funding to cover the startup costs and inevitable delays in having funds coming back in. It sounds like you have a handle on what products (or more accurately services) you expect to provide. Understand how many clients you will need to keep yourself out of the poor house and have a marketing plan for landing those clients. Try to get a handle on whether the clients' business environments will change to the point that it will affect their demand for your service. No matter how well you plan for the 1st effort, there will be things that are "surprises". Knowing people that have started up the type of firm you look to begin would be enormously helpful. As others here have mentioned, get invoices out quickly and make sure that your clients pay on schedule. I've hit a slow patch, but the wife's income is enough to minimize the hurt of the "growing pains". Hit the 1 year mark of being independent this month. 1st 9 months went very well, last 3 not as well as I would like, but business has picked up recently and May is shaping up to be a rebound month for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I'm a lawyer, so it would be a law firm, advising brokerage firms. The work would be good, with low overhead. I'd be meeting folks at their offices etc. The real question I have is can I survive before the cash starts coming in. I don't have 12 months of expenses in the bank. Perhaps this isn't the right time.672225[/snapback] Dave B really hits the nail on the head with his post above, but it sounds like you plan to basically sell your own services and not hire other lawyers. If that's the case, then you need to do some quick math. How much do you need to bring home monthly? Now add how much you would need to cover your business costs for insurance, etc. How much would you charge an hour? How many hours will you have to work per week to meet your monthly required income? Do not get caught up in "Oh, I'll work around the clock, blah, blah," because that is unrealistic. You can only work as hard as the work is available for you, and that becomes the next question. If you opened your office today, how many clients do you know you would have? How many hours would they likely hire you for? Will they keep you on a monthly retainer? If not, how will you handle billing? Once you start putting those numbers together (and please make them realistic...no one gets rich quick starting their own company), then determine how long it will take you to put enough money together to carry you and the company for, say, three months? Maybe six? Now here's the key: pick a date to have that money in place and start working toward that goal. If it's a year from now, fine. Plan to open your doors in a year. If things get held up, push out the date, but don't make it a habit. My old man was never much for giving worthwhile advice, but he was right when he said "Plan your work and work your plan." Of note: Quickbooks Professional is a great software for your financials. Allows you to create estimates, convert them to invoices, track billing, give you a good look at P&Ls, etc. Plan to buy it. Another good program is Business Plan Pro. If nothing else, it makes you walk through a business plan so you truly understand what it is you're trying to do. Most people need them for SBA loans, and so forth, but if you are trying to do this with your own dough (which I highly recommend), then get this software to put your thoughts on paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Thanks a lot dave and LA. You have given me a lot of ideas and suggestions. The date is pretty far out (at least a year) before I can realistically do it, but it is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Also, keep in mind my company produces software, so startup costs were ridiculously low (relatively speaking): top-o-the-line laptop, phones, cell phones, life insurance, disability and workman's comp, health insurance, etc. Someone on the board (can't remember who) designed my logo, then we had business cards, letterhead, polo shirts, made up. Internet service and website. 671901[/snapback] But the question is do you have a good financial advisor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Scaling isn't that big of a problem for my stuff. My best sites were built 5 years ago and now only need a few hours per month tops. I have 200 + domains awaiting development which will be done by a college kid this summer - who will have a non-compete 671506[/snapback] My point is that it's painfully easy to build a small scale infrastructure that can handle thousands of "brochureware" websites. You know the type, the ones phone companies, internet providers, and consultants can throw in for "free" as a value add to their core service. Land a couple/three of those and they'll do the heavy lifting for you. Channel sales. I've got a buddy that did just that. Built up a decent infrastructure, landed some corporate resellers, and invoices them on the number of sites they've sold. He lined up for or five of those and now that's all he does. No sales overhead, almost no direct customer support calls, no design work. I think one is a group of doctors, another is a magazine publisher, yet a third is a domain registrar. He's got it all automated to the point that they can tie into it via an API. He does nothing except for replace the occasional failed hard drive or add a bit of RAM every now and then. I've been knee deep in the website business for ten years now. The big problem in my opinion is there's not a lot of differentiation between one shop and the other. Crazy Eddie offers 10GB and Crazy Tommy offers 11GB and a free Google certificate. There's no real clear leader. I think that there's some serious money in the infrastructure surrounding that business, you know, supporting people that do what you do. One of these days, I'll test that theory. -Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 But the question is do you have a good financial advisor? 672416[/snapback] You guys and your whole "spend your money more wisely and prepare for the future" stuff. It gets a little old after a while, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 You guys and your whole "spend your money more wisely and prepare for the future" stuff. It gets a little old after a while, no? 672882[/snapback] That's your problem. The line is SAVE your money more wisely and prepare for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 I'm a lawyer, so it would be a law firm, advising brokerage firms. The work would be good, with low overhead. I'd be meeting folks at their offices etc. The real question I have is can I survive before the cash starts coming in. I don't have 12 months of expenses in the bank. Perhaps this isn't the right time. 672225[/snapback] Careful with the law firm expenses. Overhead can eat you up, and believe me the brokerage firms will expect an office and to be taken to lunch. The competition is pretty good. Are you in the brokerage business now or do you associate with attorneys in that business? What makes you the person they want to hire versus the company down the street with a record of litigation and name clients? I think the idea of your own firm is good, but remember that you will commit to a full time marketing, full time office management and full time law practice from the get go. That being said, some of my best and most successful lawyer friends did it from scratch in essentially the way you describe. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Careful with the law firm expenses. Overhead can eat you up, and believe me the brokerage firms will expect an office and to be taken to lunch. The competition is pretty good. Are you in the brokerage business now or do you associate with attorneys in that business? What makes you the person they want to hire versus the company down the street with a record of litigation and name clients? I think the idea of your own firm is good, but remember that you will commit to a full time marketing, full time office management and full time law practice from the get go. That being said, some of my best and most successful lawyer friends did it from scratch in essentially the way you describe. Good luck! Currently, I counsel & sometimes prosecute brokerage firms on behalf of an SRO. Been doing it for 6 years and have built a pretty good reputation. I have been asked to join up with an individual as he is starting his own practice doing this, but declined, basically, because of the individual. However, it got me thinking. If I needed a F-T office, there are buildings that will rent you an office and provide the infrastructure (such as conference space, receptionist, computer connections etc.) The idea is several small businesses pool resources. So you could be next to an accountant or an architect. Suprisingly, the rates are not too bad, considering the Wall St location in NYC. The expenses that I would incure for dinners, conferences, SIA membership, Yankee tix etc., I would be able to write off, which is a nice perk. It really is just an idea right now, but one that I may pursue in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 other things to consider...Health Insurance(expensive if you to pay for ALL of it, esp in good ol NY)..you will now be paying both sides of FICA(15.3%)...3 of us started our own firm back in 2000, after working for a large corp'n for 2...things are going well for us..if you do get into a partnership with others, make sure you have the same ideas about where the biz will be going... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 if you do get into a partnership with others, make sure you have the same ideas about where the biz will be going...672968[/snapback] And a contract signed by all of you stating exactly what you're all up to legally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 And a contract signed by all of you stating exactly what you're all up to legally. 672976[/snapback] And a buy/sell agreement, unless you want to be in business with their wife/family if your partner dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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