Any small business owners here?

I'm not, but am curious as to what you are going to do.

 

You may have heard of my company... a little business called Scentsy.

 

Yep. You may consider checking out the Rice Ion. They are just getting ready to launch and will be pouring all sorts of free resources out to help entrepreneurs during their launch.

 

Well, not all of it but an important part to be sure.

 

Interesting

Thanks


Rocket River

 

I have an OnlyFans.

 

Shameless plug to my businesses:

http://www.chingooproperties.com
http://www.bobaculture.com

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions if it's related to any of my businesses. Happy to help.

 

He does not.

 

Yes. Organo Gold

 

Is risk tolerance an important part of your business?

 

What kind of business? I just recently started an LLC but no great stories yet. I already had a few side jobs lined up so it's been working out so far for decent side income/taxes.

 

My partner & I started a business 5 years ago. Main reason was our former boss was screwing us and lowering our comps way down. That was the bad news. The good was we watched from the beginning how he started up and knew we could copy it.

Best advice is to know your business as much as possible first. And even then, it's a crap-shoot. Covid is still hurting my company. Have back-up resources and know when it isn't working.

 

im one. youre never truly off the clock and you have nobody to pass the buck to. its a lot of responsibility and stress, but if youre somewhat responsible it gives you more freedom than working for someone else. work-life-balance and all that stuff.

be prepared to not have a stable income in terms of knowing what your annual salary is. in the last 10 years ive made anywhere from roughly $45k to $100k plus. you might take a 25% pay cut in one year. then you might get a 30% increase the next.

as a small business, good customer service is crucial. you have to go above and beyond to compete with the big dogs in your industry. theres a quote from the office that i actually 100% stole for part of my companys mission statement - "we provide a higher level of personal service than our competition".

 

Yes I'm a small business owner. Looking to exit though. Not because my business isn't successful but because I'm exhausted and have new priorities in life. I used to be in the corporate world making a very decent salary. I resigned and ventured on my own. The stress and pressure is alot higher than when I worked for someone else but if your business is successful you can also make quite a bit more as well depending on your business.

 

I was involved in small business for 7 years as my primary income.
In the world of businesses collecting lots of debt I am proud to report in the end I didn't have lots of debt.

I do think the reality is that unless you have a unicorn you likely will have to take on debt and if you want to "grow" it's as much a game against the banks and loans as anything else. If I was ever going to take it to the next level it would require me doubling tripling down on debt. It would produce more and the cycle of it all ramped up. Perhaps I should have but I got cold feet and even then my yearly income would still need to be tight. This was the conversation and consideration over years.

I think there are some good small businesses and an ongoing in place business is something. Start from scratch is tough.

And when starting from scratch avoid over doing it.. an example is we set up all these phone lines in the overzealous startup period. It was unnecessary. Be frugal if possible.

Let me know if you have questions. I am no expert but an additional point of reference

 

He sure does! I went to one of his parties. Not only did I get some GREAT Scentsy products, I also got some dildos, essential oils, makeup, jewelry, a beachbody program, new electricity provider, Tupperware, more jewelry, a way to teach my kids while playing, weight loss supplements, Ginsu knives, more jewelry, more makeup, some super cute bags, and signed up for Amway. It was like he was paying me to be there!

What exactly are you doing?

No stories, but advice:

• #1: Make sure you clarify expectations of commitment with your S.O. and that they are onboard with your venture 100%. If they aren't, one of the two will need to go.
• Be honest.
• Diversify.
• Take action. Experience is the best teacher.
• Avoid analysis paralysis. If you know 80% of what you need to do, just do it. You'll learn the rest.
• Don't treat people differently. A billionaire and a pauper are both just people with hopes, dreams, senses of humor and insecurities.
• Success starts at 40 hours, meaning, you're going to put in 80+.
• Do what you love.
• Truly believe in your product.
• Don't think for your customers.
• Embrace your mistakes, learn from them and move on.
• Always be nice. Always. That doesn't mean being a doormat. You can be nice and firm and say no.
• You can fire your customers.
• Don't treat this as a hobby. It should be your dream job.
• Leverage credit card points. They are non-taxable since they are considered discounts. Five figures tax free is a lot of money.
• Leverage credit in other ways. Truly wealthy people don't spend their own money. They make a larger percentage than the loans they take.
• Know that you can walk away from any deal.
• Always be available.
• Live frugally even in success. If you grow your monetary spending with your success, you are setting yourself up for failure. That's why Biggie said 'Mo money mo problems'
• Being frugal and being cheap are distinctly different things. Being frugal means you can still spend on quality. You see the big picture. Being cheap means you try to cut corners on everything. This will come back to bite you.
• Take care of your gold employees, pay them more than market value and they will carry your company.
• Be creative with money. Example: get a HELOC on your house. This allows you to say your home equity is liquid because you can simply access the funds if you need to. Some financers like this. If they don't know about it, explain it to them.
• There's always low-hanging fruit. You just need the tools to reach the next level.
• Don't give up.
• **** the haters. Relish proving them wrong. They will become your followers when you are successful.
• Many things are simple, but not easy. Make the distinction.
• Have an abundance mentality. There is always room for you, and it is never too late for anything.