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Starting Your Own Business
 

Hey everyone. I am a 19 years old entrepreneur. I want to make a post to get some tips and advise on more experience business owners. here are a couple questions if you don't mind me asking;

1. What does it takes to be a business owner?

2. How do you acquire the requirement business license.

3. How to get the sufficient fund for the business.

4. what are some tips and advise you have to offer me?

Thanks guys I really appreciate all of your responses.

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

1. Perseverance and a never give up attitude.

2. Business License?

3. Most online business do not need a lot of startup cash. Otherwise you would pitch your idea to an investor for part of your company. That or you could partner up with another person. Etc.

4. Got a business idea? Grab a large notepad and start writing out your ideas. Sketch out the checkout process, where you'll get suppliers, the math on cost vs profit, potential customers and competitors, website structure and most importantly traffic sources.

It's good to have other options other then just eBay or Amazon.

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

internet business please clarify?

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

thank you so much for your reply, but do you have an estimation of the minimum start up cost? also i said business license because I'm referring to internet business.

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

Let's say I want to open a Hookar Bar.

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

Startup cost has so many variables...rent, equipment, employees, supplier...tough to generalize

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

Do tons of research, look online , read any books, go to established Hookah Bar Business, and if you have no experience with this business or any other one that you want to be an owner of, get a job there and really learn the business

Unless your already a Multimillionaire and looking to open a brick and Mortar Business, it's best to work there and learn every position from the bottom up.

Your going to need a business plan , which look like a big dictionary , maybe not that big but they are filled with every aspect of your business and about yourself

When looking for a loan, your business plan will be one of the most important tools in getting a loan

And if your already not wealthy , than if your idea is just to be an owner that over sees everything than it won't work unless you know how to do every position

The first 3 years will be a struggle and you will find yourself working every position when needed along with all the marketing involved

And you probably will be very stretched wi funds so , you will need to learn how to do many things on your own because hiring someone for everything will be impossible

You will be working 15 hour days , every day of the week, and probably not drawing a paycheck for yourself in the first couple years, but just trying to make ends meet and keeping the ship afloat while building it up


It's a huge commitment, it usually takes 3 years and after that time if your still not paying the bills and getting a paycheck and it could be small , but if you are paying the bills and have a little left over for yourself at the end of 3 years than your doing great

At that point you want to just keep marketing your business and slowly business will increase it will become easier to pay bills and you will start getting a bigger paycheck yourself

Brick and Mortar Is tough because of the huge overhead, and most business do fail, because people go into it not realizing all the work it takes

But it's not impossible it takes tons of preparation long hours and sacrifice

I think a good business would be something that would work well in Brick and Mortar along with online

Say a PAWN shop, you will be able to get some nice rare items, at low cost, and can use the Internet to sell as well as walk-in business

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

Had a double take on that "Hookar Bar" statement :FF:

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

Exactly rsot, and op not been back to add any further details so I think enough might have been said!!!!!

Re: Starting Your Own Business
 

1. Ask less questions and experience the answer for yourself. Go see if the grass is greener on the other side even if you were told it was, it may not be.
2. Dont waste your time getting a business license unless your making mad bank, or unless you need one due to paper work. I highly doubt it in the beginning.
3. Most businesses during their actual start up period dont need any money. Dont worry about that till you need it.
4. a) Don't waste your time trying to improve a crap service/product. If something is worth 0 value, no matter how hard you try to maximize its profits 0 multiple anything still equals 0.

b) Always focus on the bread and butter, anything else is a waste of time.

c) Try to add value to the individuals life; great descriptions, great photos/display, great price, easy to access website/retail store, business owners use the product/service (know everything about it). Etc.

d) Only plan for tomorrow, never for the week as uncertainties always arise. Business plans are a waste of time. Trust me I got super nerds from waterloo university (high end tech school in waterloo, ontario) waste 3 months of my time and made a 10 page business plan that never went through. Why it didnt go through, it just wasnt realistic, we had over 100 different things to do in a year, that wasn't practical at all.

Planing for tomorrow is easier to accomplish than planning for the whole year. YOU'RE BOUND TO FAIL.

e) Compare and contrast between those who are doing better than you and those who are doing worse than you. You dont want to repeat bad methods that already have been proved by worse businesses, and you do want to repeat excellent methods that are proved by better businesses.

f) Dont label yourself as an entrepeneur, because entrepreneur means jobless, just like how calling yourself a student also means jobless. Call yourself something else, something that makes you feel confident/important; "Web Optimizer".

g) Don't identify with your age only, being 19 doesn't mean you shouldn't speak to or make friends with a 60 year old or 25 year old. When I was 18 - 80% of my friends were older than me, everything ranging from 22-65 years old.

I'm a web optimizer sounds way cooler than "I'm an entrepreneur".

P.S. This is my opinion. I apologize if I concluded any ideas about you that are not true.