Anyone ever owned their own business?

[mndsm]

So- I fucking hate my job. A wise man also once said, you will never get rich working for someone else. I'm considering trying to do my own small business of some sort. Don't want to get into too many details just yet as I like playing things close to the vest..... but safe to say, if this got real, I'd be more than thankful if any of you wanted to work with me. What I want to know is, where the HELL do I start? What kind of dough do I need to make this happen? What kind of liscenses and things am I looking at? Any help anyone can give would be awesome.

 

[AJ]

You really need to evaluate what it is you want to do as a business and the do the full market reaserch on it. If there is a demand, now is a solid time to start as space is cheap and labor is cheaper. Plus passing through zoing and other city council meetings as needed are easier with towns getting incentives to bring in new business.

There is more to it than you would ever think, and if you get serious I'd be open to helping, but I HIGHLY suggest you stay employed or look for something else stable before jumping into the pool, income is income right now as long as you have bills to pay.

 

[dmention7]

AJ makes good points. I'd start by researching every aspect of the market you're looking to enter. Who else does it? Who wants your service? How bad do they want it? If there are online forums or discussion boards related to the idea, lurk them thoroughly. If you can identify someone successful in the area who wouldn't be a direct competitor, maybe ping them for some pointers or inside info.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do some reading on small businesses in general. You can get a stack of books at Half Price for next to nothing. Small business associations would also have lots of info on some of the more nitty gritty details of what you'll need to do.

Once you have a solid idea of what the market is like, the safest bet would be to dip your toes in the water first. If you can get a very small scale operation going in your spare time with a minimal investment, do that. Bear in mind that the realistic stats point to you not making any appreciable income, or even turning a profit, for a matter of years. So you'll likely be in it as a labor of love for decent amount of time.