How did you decide on your first successful business? small business |
- How did you decide on your first successful business?
- 10 tips from a seasoned entrepreneur for any prospective/ new business owners.
- Multiple barcodes on packaging.
- Used car lot? Or selling custom restored cars? Which is the better business idea?
- Lipgloss brand name
- Question about LLC personal bank accounts
- Salary vs Draws for single-member LLC?
- Starting a business in PA, don't know what paperwork I need.
- Vehicle title loans in Ottawa city
- Please help me decide if this is a good business idea
- Best way to collect sales tax around the country with an online business?
- Does this product description make sense?
- Need advice on who to reach out to for a business project I have in mind. I'm thinking a software developer, but not 100% sure.
- My s-corp (CA) no longer has employees and I am closing the payroll and the payroll company is offering to "notify the IRS that you are no longer paying employees with this federal ID number. Note:when we return your returns FINAL, it only closes the payroll portion of your FEIN". questions below
- I Have A Business Idea For A Search Engine Made For Business and Market Research. Please Put Your Thoughts And Feedback In The Comments And Also let me know if you would use this search engine for business research if it was developed.
- For anyone that has invested in running vending machines or similar, any advice?
- How do you calm your risk-aversive side?
- Best way to advertise to businesses
- Opening first barbershop need help with lease
- How do I trace a google review?
- Wholesale shipping from supplier to my customer -ddp?
- Employee Healthcare in the US
- A small manufacturer that wants to sell direct online, is a full-featured e-commerce platform still the way?
- So getting item from China ?
| How did you decide on your first successful business? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:23 PM PST I know a lot of people show up asking for business ideas. This is not that, I promise. I want to know how you decided this THING was your thing. Did you base it off of skills you already possessed? Did you figure out what you needed to make a year and start spit balling ideas that were worth that number? Did you parlay a talent into a business? Did you just start looking at degrees or certifications that were high growth or high pay and start with education? Did you purchase an existing business and how did you decide that was the business to purchase? Purely financials? Did you go off a formulaic service idea like the house cleaning or landscaping that are always posted here? Did you just stumble into it by accident? I would love to know how you decided to open your business. You can be as vague or specific as you want. My current ideas are so varied that I'm trying to approach it from a different angle. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| 10 tips from a seasoned entrepreneur for any prospective/ new business owners. Posted: 31 Jan 2020 02:55 AM PST These are just ten items, out of many more possibilities, from my 20+ years as an entrepreneur. In no particular order:
Work for someone you can learn from. Find someone you can ask questions or concerns ideas of it. It's important to search out advice from people who have done it. There are a lot of wantrepreneurs, as well as good, well-meaning people who believe they have an idea of what entrepreneurship is. Trust me, if they haven't lived it, they don't.
Believe you can overcome any adversity; conquer all competition; beat every odd in front of you, and survive everything thrown your way. You are indestructible. And not just have the ability to survive, but also flourish. And if you fail and it all goes bad? Be strong enough to start over again, with the same approach that you came in with. Cause as I said…you got to be Superman!
Success is about looking it for opportunities and having the balls to try and take advantage of them.
You may be eating lots of leftovers, miss movies or events, work on the holidays, etc. Being an entrepreneur takes significant sacrifice. It doesn't mean you can't have a life away from work, but it takes effort. Additionally, understand that the sacrifice you are making is not you losing out on something, but a significant investment you are making for you and your family's futures. (Sidenote: I don't believe I have regretted going into business for one minute. I love the challenge and lifestyle. I've definitely regretted decisions I've made along the way for sure).
Don't get distracted making YouTube videos or paying for and going to seminars. It's not that you won't want these at some point, but for most new businesses, sales are still very face to face and done solely utilizing human interaction via phone, text or directly. Additionally, everything you need to know is on the internet for free. To be clear, the internet will play a major part in any new business. Just don't think that all you need is a website and some Facebook ads and the customers are going to beat your door down. Contrary to popular belief, that ain't reality.
Formal education is great and will help, but it is neither necessary and will not get you very far. You have to actually do the work to get your education. I have had many, very well educated people work for me over the years. I myself have zero formal education. What I do have is a lifetime of real-world experience and the disposition to learn while suffering.
Change today what you changed yesterday has to be a mantra. Employees will fight this, but you will have to be strong. People will naturally push back against this, but bad ideas are bad ideas. And sometimes we don't catch the bad ideas quick enough. I have blown up projects that we spent weeks putting together simply because once they were implemented, they were crap. I then take full responsibility for it, change it again, hopefully, learn from the mistake, and move on. You cannot be scared to make mistakes, so don't fear this. Embrace it, it will happen!
Mastering chaos is critical. Learn how to herd cats! The best entrepreneurs are calm, cool and collected when things are at their ugliest. That's the essence of an entrepreneur.
You can do whatever you want with it once you have it. But if you don't earn it from profits, you can't use it for whatever you're passionate about. There's no saving the rainforest if there's no money to fund it. Also, there is nothing wrong with wanting more, (raise your hand if you have ever turned down a raise!) So don't feel guilty about how you think that makes you look to others or what popular culture says about it. I had NO money into my 20s, and the whole reason I worked was that I wanted more. Having said that, remember that money follows, it doesn't lead. Many decisions are made trying to chase pennies when there are dollars a little bit further down the line. Money is made on the back of good decision making. (BTW, By the end of the day most of these decisions are made from the gut. There is no guiding light in business!)
This one will be controversial, but here's why I say it: I think we should work passionately, that way we can go to work ON our passions. You want to give yourself every advantage to be successful because god knows the odds are against you. Constantly be on the lookout, and searching for, all opportunities that you can take advantage of is critical. You do not have to be passionate about what your business does, just about your business. My passion for my business being successful is about me surviving, for my family, my employees and the food my companies put in their mouths. Ok more than 10 but I'm on a roll!!
Family, friends, co-workers, competitors, etc. They will all tell you you're crazy. You have to believe in yourself because more often than not, no one else will. The life of an entrepreneur is a lonely one, especially when things are not going well. This is were many lose it.
Do not believe you can't start a business AND spend time with your family? I worked 18 hours a day for a decade, and 12-15 for the next decade, and still saw my family almost every day. This is why you cannot listen to people who haven't done it, because all you will hear is that you can't have your cake and eat it too. I'm here to tell you that you can. I believe raising a family is about quality time, not quantity. My three kids are all grown now and either working for me, going in the military or going to school. And I have a great relationship with all three of them. Mostly because their mother is extraordinary, but I had something to do with it! The final one I promise…
From day one everything has to be your fault, regardless of whether or not you had anything to do with it. You own the issue, discipline or retrain the people doing the work, and move on. Since everything is your fault, there is no one for you to blame, hate or obsess over. I've had employees steal thousands of dollars over the years. We find it, get rid of them, fix whatever loophole they found that I should have, and move on. My fault. I once had a billing issue cost me $100k over 18 months before the accountants caught it. The money I was not able to recover. Would it do me any good to blame someone else? Would it bring the money back? So we changed how we billed so it didn't happen again. We dealt with the employee by providing additional training, and then I went into the corner and curled up in a fetal position and started sucking my thumb! (That last parts not true, I didn't go into the corner!) There you go, 10 things (really 12 things), that I think any prospective business owner or entrepreneur should know. Not my top ten (12), just ten (12) off the top of my head. For more info like this, check me out at jerrybrazie.com or on Facebook at Jerry Brazie. [link] [comments]  |
| Multiple barcodes on packaging. Posted: 31 Jan 2020 03:00 AM PST I have some products selling, we use the same packaging for different sizes. For example, think of a like selling coffee beans, and we have a single package for 500g or 3000g coffee beans, in 2 sizes. Printing of the bags are expensive so we use the same bag for all sizes. Selling directly from our website to customers is fine, since we don't have to include any barcode. However now that we are selling on Amazon, we are running into issues with barcodes and the 2 sizes. So for now we use 1 barcode on the packaging, then we put a sticker barcode (covering the original barcode) for the second size. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this issue? We were thinking to possibly put 2 barcodes on the package, then when we ship to Amazon or a store that does use the barcode, we could simply cover the unused barcode with tape to make it not visible. Printing separate packages for each size would cost an extra $3000 or so, so its not really an option right now. [link] [comments]  |
| Used car lot? Or selling custom restored cars? Which is the better business idea? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:53 PM PST I'm starting in 2 weeks, building the foundations to what I hope turns into my full time business. I'm gonna start flipping cars on the side. Buying dirt cheap. Fixing and selling. Then getting a dealers license. Only thing is. I'm trying to decide if it would be more profitable to go the used car route. And Just get a lot and keep flipping? Or to go a more custom route. And buy cars with the intent to completely redo them and sell them. My goal isn't to become rich. My goal is to do something I love (working on cars). And work for myself. As long as I can take home a livable wage (I live off 24k a year right now). I'll be happy. So I don't have any crazy expectations. Which route would be the most financially stable ? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jan 2020 01:31 AM PST Hi! I'm starting a lipgloss brand and I'm having trouble coming up with a name. I was thinking of "gloss fiend" but i am fickle about that name. Any suggestions from you guys would be awesome. [link] [comments]  |
| Question about LLC personal bank accounts Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:44 PM PST Is it okay to use a personal bank account for a single member LLC? My situation is I am an American that resides overseas and if money goes through a business bank account CFC rules get me in the country I reside in. My money basically comes from online platforms for digital products. And I need LLCs to open accounts with those platforms. So if I have multiple single member LLCs and my money goes into multiple personal bank accounts for accounts with platforms opened with those LLCs, of course passthrough income in the US, but it going into personal bank accounts to call it sole proprietor income for the country I'm in to avoid their CFC rules, is there anything wrong with that? Of course I'd pay tax on all that income in that country as a sole proprietor. I'm not asking for an ethical lecture, but from a legal standpoint does it seem legit? I can't find any holes on it and wondering what others would think. I don't see this as violating any laws. Opinions? [link] [comments]  |
| Salary vs Draws for single-member LLC? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:14 PM PST Hi, I'm hoping someone might be able to explain some brief advice my accountant gave me in an email that didn't have much in the way of explanation.-I own an LLC and have no employees.-My CPA had me set up a business acct and wants me to pay myself a salary (using ADP). As far as I understand the reason is that this lets the IRS treat me like an S-corp and save a lot in taxes.-I don't understand how much of my monthly earnings to pay myself.---My minimum personal monthly expenses are roughly $2.8k.---My monthly business expenses are roughly $2.5k---My monthly earnings (before tax) are currently on average $6k to 7k. -My accountant's comment was :
Should I pay myself enough to cover my monthly personal expenses? Should I be paying some of my personal expenses through "owner draws"? I'm sorry to be asking for something that is probably google-able, but what are the rules of what I'm allowed to use for draws vs what I have to pay myself? [link] [comments]  |
| Starting a business in PA, don't know what paperwork I need. Posted: 30 Jan 2020 05:58 PM PST Good Morning/night/afternoon Planning on starting a painting company In PA. I know I need an EIN#, articles of organization, and a business plan. Is there anything else I need to start my llc, to make sure that it is all legal and above the board? Also are there any other papers I should make/obai that will help me? [link] [comments]  |
| Vehicle title loans in Ottawa city Posted: 31 Jan 2020 12:59 AM PST A vehicle title loan is a type of secured loan where borrowers can use their vehicle title as collateral. Borrowers who get title loans must allow a lender to place a lien on their vehicle title, and temporarily surrender the hard copy of their vehicle title, in exchange for a loan amount. This is the best place to get a vehicle title loans.you have take just simple step online. just fill up the form and other formality. We Get Your Loan Approved! Once you've applied using our easy online loan application, you'll be assisted by a personal Loan Consultant right through the closing of your loan. [link] [comments]  |
| Please help me decide if this is a good business idea Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:23 AM PST I am unemployed and desperately trying to figure out whether I should just give up on the job search and branch out on my own, so any advice will be much appreciated. I am thinking about launching a business offering Business English lessons to companies in a European country. I know I have what it takes to provide an excellent service but I'm concerned about market saturation and getting the business off the ground. I imagine I will have to do a lot of cold calling and will have many dead ends before I actually get any customers, but I'm incredibly motivated to give it my all, and I do have a bit of savings to tide me over the first few months. Any ideas or advice? Is this a good business idea? Thank you in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to collect sales tax around the country with an online business? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:42 PM PST Hello, I currently have a business where I sell homemade organic dog treats. I've been selling them locally and the business is growing so I decided to take it online. I've received all my licensing to go national. I've been building a website with Squarespace for the past few weeks and purchased a subscription. As I typed in my products, I realized that Squarespace doesn't auto-apply sales tax to a purchase. You have to manually type in rules for both state and local laws. This is going to take an absolute whopping amount of time to try and find all this information individually. Do any of you know what the easiest way to find local sales tax laws would be? I've found all the state tax laws, those were easy. It's the local part that's going to hurt. Any help would be appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Does this product description make sense? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 05:57 PM PST Hi all, about to submit an invention to be further intellectual property covered by converting from a filed provisional patent to utility patent, with included claims. Was wondering if with just these claims you can tell me what it looks like and what it does… already gotten a TON of great responses but I'm sure you have some spot-on guesses too, right? Soon will be looking for several more co-founders so guessing right would certainly give you the advantage to get on the team! I'm submitting it in February of this year... so time is of the essence! Thanks so much, fellow ambitious people! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ChCih\_gSrVIYooLkE\_8aUK0iFy-s3fqL4EDd\_3fqZS4/edit?usp=sharing [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:13 PM PST (crosspost from r/entrepreneur) Hey, all. So, I'm a nutritionist who runs a nutrition education business (in-person and online). I offer a few different types of educational products, but my focus is primarily on meal planning and meal prep. With that in mind, I'm currently in the process of developing a recipe database for a monthly meal planning service that I want to release sometime this year. The problem is that I'm new at this and have no idea who to reach out to. These are the things I want to be able to do with the monthly membership: Does anyone know who might be able to provide me with a) information on companies that have some sort of software program that can do all of this (I'd prefer this option, if it's available), or b) a quote for how much it might cost to develop this kind of program for my business. I'm interested in either a web-based program or an app-based program, just depending on what is available at this time. I don't mind starting somewhere and then continuing development in the future once things get rolling. If anyone has any advice on how to move forward with this or what I should be searching for to do research, I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much for reading. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:58 PM PST Is this pretty standard? There are no plans for employees in the future but I plan to keep the corporation open. I will take s-distributions for my future income. There is a small chance I will have occasional contractors in the future. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:22 PM PST Whenever you search a question about business about google you may get a bunch of results and articles based on keywords you type in. BUT YOU DON'T GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED! That's the problem i'm going to solve. With my search engine you will be able to search any question you what about business, then a chat bot will ask you to give specific categories you want to be answered (ex: marketing, branding, competition, advertising strategy, start up cost, risk, profitability, etc) and then the user will choose what specific categories they want answered based on their original question. Using AI the search engine will gather relevant information from the internet based on your question and the categories you want answered, and then create a detailed digital deck with all of the information to answer your question, (sort of like the search engine creating an article for you, answering your question with detail and accuracy) creating and reporting on the information the search engine acquired by creating its own copy, charts, graphs, and detailed statistics and bring it directly to the user. Also i'm not trying to compete with or disrupt google. That's crazy and delusional. I'm just fixing a small flaw they have and creating a search engine made for a specific niche (Business and market research) which requires more complex answers because complex questions are being asked. And please give your opinion assuming the technological aspects of this search engine work perfectly as described. Please tell me what you think of my idea and please put any suggestions , questions , or just your thoughts on my idea in the comments. [link] [comments]  |
| For anyone that has invested in running vending machines or similar, any advice? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:47 PM PST Looking for trying to run more passive income investing in my life, although I have time I could fill to maintain something like this. Can you fill in any good pros, cons, how to start, rules of thumb? Warning or need to knows? Or how to start? What works? What didn't? [link] [comments]  |
| How do you calm your risk-aversive side? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:29 PM PST The risk-aversive side of me is a pro at over-planning. I've read articles about this and I know it's a fear of failure over everything else. I'm interested in hearing how others in this sub deal with this side of yourself. [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to advertise to businesses Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:15 PM PST I'm starting a penetration testing company, offering both network and physical security testing services. I have a small budget to do some advertising. How can I best reach corporate customers? [link] [comments]  |
| Opening first barbershop need help with lease Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:13 PM PST So I just got my llc and I'd like to sign my lease completely under my llc not my personal name which obviously the owner probably won't like. I'm aware I need to have a separate bank account for the llc and pay everything through that account. But I have to meet with the building owner next week and wanted to see if anyone has had success with this or has any advice on how to convince the owner to let me sign completely under the llc. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I trace a google review? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:30 PM PST Started a business. Someone left a false review. How do I find the email address it came from or track it? I replied to it to make things right but they havent responded so i'd like to contact them directly. Help ? [link] [comments]  |
| Wholesale shipping from supplier to my customer -ddp? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 06:22 PM PST Hi all, I am in Australia and will potentially be selling a manufactured product of mine wholesale to a small business in the US. My product is manufactured in China. I am looking to quote the US business my wholesale cost for the items and shipping, they will then pay me and I proceed to pay my supplier in China to make and ship the items to US on my behalf. In order to be as transparent as possible for costs for purchasing I would like to provide the US business with approx shipping costs for 500 pieces, 1000 pieces (small lightweight items so probably sent via air) etc.. which include all duties and taxes - basically to let them know upfront how much it will cost to get the items to their door. I understand this is DDP cost and this is what I should have my supplier provide me with to give to them. What do other wholesalers do for shipping charges to their customers in a B2B relationship when sending goods from their supplier in China? Do you wear the cost of shipping? Do you quote them shipping costs for FOB and make sure they are aware they need a freight forwarder and will need to pay out more for customs etc? Or quote them the full DDP cost? Curious to learn how other businesses do this ... Appreciate all responses. Thanks heaps [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST About a year ago I purchased the assets of the company I was working for. Right around the time of acquisition, the company healthcare plan was up for renewal and I wanted to provide better coverage for our people, as the former owner was offering a pretty terrible plan. We quickly found out that the renewal alone was going to be 10% more, and any "improvements" to the plan were CRAZY expensive and didn't really provide that much better coverage. I asked some of the more long-term employees (especially those with families) what they'd prefer and they opted towards sticking with the same coverage we'd had before the purchase. The more I talk to different benefits people, it seems the outlook is bleak pretty much everywhere. Worse yet for us, we're small (10 full-time, 1 part-time). That's also split between two states, one of which has limitations on what providers are accepted. Recently, I heard someone saying that more and more small businesses are just not offering healthcare. They're putting that same money into the employee's pockets to do with as they wish, and even offering assistance to get the employees into their own individual plans, or help them find a group to belong to. In theory, this allows the employee to choose how much coverage they want. Part of me thinks that's a great idea, and of course part of me thinks that "we're cancelling coverage" won't exactly go over well. Anyone here have any insight? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 05:28 PM PST My company manufactures a therapeutic device and currently relies upon trade shows and distributors for most of our sales. To expand into online sales do I really need to build out a site with Shopify or WooCommerce or should I consider something else? Or is taking a half measure into online sales without a solid e-commerce platform not an advisable strategy? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2020 05:25 PM PST Hello With the outbreak importing product from China is it a good idea ? What's the step you guys are taking if you do get it ? [link] [comments]  |
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