Do you own your own business? If so post your experience(s) here

[Polska]

Just wondering how many guys here are self employed. What sort of business do you run? Do you enjoy working for yourself or would you get a decent paying 9 to 5 if you had to do it all over again? Any opinions appreciated

[crazycrab]

I've been self employed for 8 years now. Times get tough but you learn to work through them. I sometimes concider managing for someone else. But I know there is no other way. Once you do it on your own you can't go back. I decided that I can provide for my family and myself better then any employer. True bussiness owner understand that. It was hard to make the decision to take the chance but worst case you go back to what you were doing.
Are you thinking of starting a bussiness?

[outofthebox]

I ran a computer repair business for about 2 years a year or so out of high school. I had my business license and all, but never incorporated to protect myself. My only problem was retarded customers. If you open your own business, avoid the service business unless you can thrive in an industry servicing retards. You will learn quick to identify problem customers and cut them off before they become a big issue. One thing i'd say i pulled positive out of the experience was money management and advertising skills. i still lack that skill of holding retards hands and making them feel comfortable and trying to explain everything to them. Needless to say, i dont work in the service industry anymore, I worked for FSU as a network admin for a while and now for FL Dept of Health as a security administrator. I'm sticking to the 8-5ers(more like 8:30-4:00 hah) for a while...but i may end up going into security consulting eventually, dealing with corporate idiots, dont know if that'll be much better.

What you got in mind for self employment?

[PROTEINSHAKE]

owned my own biz for 15yrs...it has its ups & downs like everything else.. honestly, Im glad Im out now.... but it was good while I had it..

[Johny-too-small]

Architect with my own firm moving into land development and merging with another company. Love it, will never work for anyone ever again.....I hope

[Freakyboi]

Architect with my own firm moving into land development and merging with another company. Love it, will never work for anyone ever again.....I hope

that you in the pic? I'm hoping to be my own architect boss in the future too, hows your firm going?

[Mogamedogz]

I sold a boat load of Air Jordan sneakers on Ebay, when my buddy was off D.J'ing in China.

We had the hook up... I would send him the orders everynight, and he would ship them right to the buyers door steps... I never even had to see the shoes!

We bought them for like $16 a pair, and sold them for $85 + $15.00 shipping.

Had the cash rolling in for like a year and a half, until the Nike Fraud dept. contacted us and threatened to take us to court.

[UberSteroids]

Well I used to have a autmotive business at age of 21 Had a nice shop running for about year and a half. To make long story short - NEVER hire friends! Don't bother with business partners unless you trust them with your life. Makes sure you have a great knowledge about the business you will be doing. Stay straight with government and do things legally.
Some of the best advices I can give you. Watch out who you are choosing to be your employees, people make it work, people, they also make sh!t go down! Also, businesses don't run out of business, they run out of money. Business is NOT easy, lot of hard work and totall commitment!
If I knew this before I opened, I would be rolling in a paid off S55 AMG by now
Take care bro!

[bpm1]

ive been in business for myself for 10yrs now.im an electrical contractor and ive done very well.i do work out in the field with my employees and im on every job as i trust no one to do it right but me(i learned this the hard way).it is more work but has served me well, i have a buddy who owns a company with his brother and has 30+ employees, i made more than they did last year and have 1/4 the headache and 1/6 the liability, no thanks, i'll stay small and efficient. when ur on ur on and when ur off ur off,for 2.5 yrs i was working 80+hrs a wk, i never saw my family or ever did anything except work but i made a KILLING! for the last year ive worked about 20 hrs a wk and im making enough to live but alot of the xtras r gone for a while (massages,swiss watchs,fancy resturaunts)i own everything i have except my house and i have no credit card debt of any kind.my wife drives an escalade i drive an m3. i still have my 2 brietlings and a rolex, i wont be adding to that collection for a while.i also have a substantial amount of money for retirement in several palces(ira,land investments, and money in money market accounts and 300k+ in equity in my home)anyway only in america baby the greatest country on earth! im bragging i know but instead of getting huge i put my bank account on steroids,lol (im finally working on my body again). my advice is go for it u have everything to gain IMO i did see u r in canada which makes it harder with the strength or should i say weakness of ur dollar and ur income tax is right near 50% if i was correctly informed, anyway still do-able just a little harder is all

[bpm1]

whats on ur mind bro, looking to start u own business? what were u looking into?

[fenceguy]

I owned my own fence company for 5 years. The money was great but there was a lot more stress involved. I have been working for a great company for almost 5 years now and love it. Very little stress and nothing to take home with me at the end of the day. I know i have a paycheck every friday and i get to do what I love about the job and thats sell!!! Meeting new people everyday and helping them. its a good feeling.

[Joemeek]

I'm in music industry and would hate going back to 9-5 job, plus my studio is at home so i don't need to go far

[thetank]

I'm in music industry and would hate going back to 9-5 job, plus my studio is at home so i don't need to go far

sick!! what do you do exactly..produce or something?
i had my own bussiness going for a while..on ebay. made some good cash but was up to my ears in shit all of the time. small price to pay to sit at home and watch tv while i 'worked'..i ended up making around 10-12 g's in a few months then spending it on a car and a trip out west to see my bro..then i bought an xbox 360 new guitar and about 30 hoodies and next thing i knew i was working for someone else again. im going to tatoo school in january, with hopes to own my own shop one day(already have the money for all the gear...now i just need to get in and out of school and get 'papered') but yeah, working for yourself is the shit..the beauty of it is unlike most jobs ive worked, effort correlates with profit. my parents have had a bussiness stemming back a generation, i think its been open 40 years now..and they are doing well. if youve got the start up and a good idea i would say go for it.

[canadian meat]

sick!! what do you do exactly..produce or something?
i had my own bussiness going for a while..on ebay. made some good cash but was up to my ears in shit all of the time. small price to pay to sit at home and watch tv while i 'worked'..i ended up making around 10-12 g's in a few months then spending it on a car and a trip out west to see my bro..then i bought an xbox 360 new guitar and about 30 hoodies and next thing i knew i was working for someone else again. im going to tatoo school in january, with hopes to own my own shop one day(already have the money for all the gear...now i just need to get in and out of school and get 'papered') but yeah, working for yourself is the shit..the beauty of it is unlike most jobs ive worked, effort correlates with profit. my parents have had a bussiness stemming back a generation, i think its been open 40 years now..and they are doing well. if youve got the start up and a good idea i would say go for it.

They acually have tattoo schools?

[thetank]

They acually have tattoo schools?

theres one in canada...it costs 5700$ but included you get all of your own gear, gun needles ink cleaning equipment everything, and you get papered right away...im taking the shortened course(8 hours a day over 2 1/2 weeks instead of 3 hours a day for 10 weeks or so)so i will be able to tatoo within a month after going..basically, you get to skip at least a year of apprenticing and get right to tat'n.
oh, and its called 'the tattoo academy' and its in thorlord ontario. they have a website but i forget what the link is

[Joemeek]

sick!! what do you do exactly..produce or something?

I do just about everything lol. My studio started up about 10 years ago for my own productions when i was signed to a label, it then grew into a commercial studio, which has been built onto my home and people feel very comfortable working here.
I've produced various stuff for UK record labels, mainly in the dance market and remixes too. The studio is all digital now and i get to do my own stuff plus it makes me a good income too . It can be a lot of work but it's something i love. I learned a lot from my first record deal and just have a publishing deal now which gives me much more freedom to do stuff for various labels without any hassle.

[thetank]

http://www.thetattooacademy.com/frames.htm
booya, just found it.

[canadian meat]

http://www.thetattooacademy.com/frames.htm
booya, just found it.

Cool man thanks

[Giants11]

Sure do....about to sell it as well. Cannot wait for that.

[goodcents]

Tanning salon
Body jewelry store
Some times it's living hell and other times it's like I'm god
When I'm making a ton of money and the chics are doing whatever nasty thing I want it's heaven then I hit dry spells with the chics and money is up and down I don't even feel like I'm a man anymore It's like a high stakes game where any move could mean your thru and could even end up losing everything and criminal charges

[Property of Steroid.com]

A.Roberts, LLC.

I love it...I write about steroids, do consulting, and design supplements.

The best advice I could give you is to read everything you can about business and find yourself a mentor.

[shootdeep]

i'm self employed. i own and operate a business that can best be described as a 'mobile bodyshop'. i have a weekly route of car dealerships that i service. i fix chips, scratches, scuffs and virtually any other paint blemishes. i repair any minor damage present, mix the paint by eye to match then blend the basecoat and finish with clearcoat. i save the dealership thousands of dollars and i make a nice living. the only drawback is working with chemicals that are extremely toxic. starting this business was a HUGE risk because i had a great job as a parts manager. things have worked out beyond my most optimistic dreams. all i can say is find a service or product that is in demand and will always be and go for it! take the chance and take pride in what you do and you'll be glad you did. good luck to all that are starting their own businesses!!!

[outofthebox]

i'm self employed. i own and operate a business that can best be described as a 'mobile bodyshop'. i have a weekly route of car dealerships that i service. i fix chips, scratches, scuffs and virtually any other paint blemishes. i repair any minor damage present, mix the paint by eye to match then blend the basecoat and finish with clearcoat. i save the dealership thousands of dollars and i make a nice living. the only drawback is working with chemicals that are extremely toxic. starting this business was a HUGE risk because i had a great job as a parts manager. things have worked out beyond my most optimistic dreams. all i can say is find a service or product that is in demand and will always be and go for it! take the chance and take pride in what you do and you'll be glad you did. good luck to all that are starting their own businesses!!!

mad props to something like that, not only does that take knowledge, but skill...an artists touch, i wish i had that...instead im stuck with computer crap and an engineer's mind =/ anyways, i'd never heard of a 'mobile bodyshop' sounds like a pretty cool concept

[Polska]

I've been self employed in IT for two years now, but I am getting tired of 'putting out fires' as I like to call it. The whole break/fix thing is starting to get to me. The money is great and I only have to work around 15-20hrs a week to support my low maintenance life style. The problem is that I only get around 15-20hrs a week of work (I would work more if I could!) so business has been slow.

I want to get into another industry but I am just not sure what kind. The mobile bodyshop sounds interesting, shootdeep, and I was actually considering it as my dad is a car dealer and has loads of connections to other dealers. Except I was thinking more of a mobile ' paintless dent removal' business, so no paint work.

I am also considering getting into personal training and opening my own PT/nutrition consulting business after I work for a gym and get some experience and build some clientelle.....

So many possibilities I am having trouble deciding what I want to focus on!

[Giants11]

I've been self employed in IT for two years now, but I am getting tired of 'putting out fires' as I like to call it. The whole break/fix thing is starting to get to me. The money is great and I only have to work around 15-20hrs a week to support my low maintenance life style. The problem is that I only get around 15-20hrs a week of work (I would work more if I could!) so business has been slow.

I want to get into another industry but I am just not sure what kind. The mobile bodyshop sounds interesting, shootdeep, and I was actually considering it as my dad is a car dealer and has loads of connections to other dealers. Except I was thinking more of a mobile ' paintless dent removal' business, so no paint work.

I am also considering getting into personal training and opening my own PT/nutrition consulting business after I work for a gym and get some experience and build some clientelle.....

So many possibilities I am having trouble deciding what I want to focus on!

The absolute KEY to owning your own business, is building something that you can walk away from and still earn income. You need to build a business built upon a system. That way you can walk away from your business with passive income and then turn you focus onto another project.

Real Estate investment in a way is very much like that as well.

[Property of Steroid.com]

The absolute KEY to owning your own business, is building something that you can walk away from and still earn income. You need to build a business built upon a system. That way you can walk away from your business with passive income and then turn you focus onto another project.

Real Estate investment in a way is very much like that as well.

Other Examples:

Writing a book (you get royalties and other people sell it)
Designing a supplement (again, you get royalties)

[Giants11]

Other Examples:

Writing a book (you get royalties and other people sell it)
Designing a supplement (again, you get royalties)

Certainly.

Anything that can provide you income without consuming your time is a wise investment.

I have approached building businesses both ways. What I am doing now, is trying to create a company of value within 1 years time and then sell it. This method also affords you similar opportunities, you just have to make sure you are entering a vertical where your service/product is in demand.

[Property of Steroid.com]

Certainly.

Anything that can provide you income without consuming your time is a wise investment.

I have approached building businesses both ways. What I am doing now, is trying to create a company of value within 1 years time and then sell it. This method also affords you similar opportunities, you just have to make sure you are entering a vertical where your service/product is in demand.

I couldn't really sell my business. ALthough, like the Dread Pirate Roberts, I plan to pass it along to someone else, who will pretend to be me....

[goodcents]

Certainly.

Anything that can provide you income without consuming your time is a wise investment.

I have approached building businesses both ways. What I am doing now, is trying to create a company of value within 1 years time and then sell it. This method also affords you similar opportunities, you just have to make sure you are entering a vertical where your service/product is in demand.

Not flaming you but that shlt sounds all well and good but have you ever tried to sell a business? It's one hassle after another You get broke asses that want to waste your time or you take a loss trying to sell it becasue the people with money can just start up their own company Why would anyone want to pay you a mark up to start a business that they can open themselves for less?