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As in from the very ground up. Starting your own business. For the risk averse I imagine this is why so many never bite the bullet. There is no shortage of interest people are very passionate about, but just happen to be in dying industries.
Barriers to entry
Non commodity items
Things you can add value to
Not based on selling your time
If sales are price based, you are screwed.
If anyone can do it, you are screwed.
If you sell your time, you will run out of time.
If you can’t make it better, no one will buy.
Lastly, if there is no need, then no one will buy.
I'd call it a startup if you received venture capital and have not yet had an exit. Even in those cases you're likely to capture a fraction of the value you generate.
Regular old-fashioned entrepreneurship ("bootstrapping") allows you to capture all of your value plus some of what your employees generate, but it is very risky.
I see lots of small businesses come and go. It seems like unless you're very risk-tolerant that working in a corporation for 10-20 years at the start of your career is wiser, especially when trying to take out a mortgage.
If all you have is labor, then start something in the service industry. Work hard and as you increase your reputation and customer base, you can start to add employees and more equipment.
Hard work is great, a little luck goes a long way.
You want to focus on something that is scalable. Buying stuff at garage sales to sell on ebay is a great way to make an extra $1000 a month but unlikely to grow into a real business.
Being a consultant or broker in a certain field is a good entry for some if they have enough contacts and experience. It allows you to start with just you, minimal overhead, and you can always hire people as you grow.
Other option is real estate, find off market homes buy them at a discount, and rent them out cashflowing each month, it's passive income but can be treated as a business and is prob one of the most tried and true ways for the average joe to become a millionaire. Would you rather work 12 hours a day self-employed to make $10k a month, or manage 10 passive income properties for $6,000 a month... I know which one I'd want.
Oh, and as you mentioned, avoid dying industries. Even in a booming industry a new business could take years to really get off the ground, so why not focus on something that is still a few years out with little competitors while you're in growth mode. Once that industry gets a strong footing you'll already be established...
For example..
Electric Vehicles are still in their infancy. Perhaps you put a network together of people who are able to work on EV charging stations? You're a lead generator. Almost no competition, in a growing industry, little overhead required to get started.. just need a rock solid website, good SEO understanding, and you build a database.
Commercial Drones are another growing niche. Buy one of those expensive drones and the LiDAR software that goes with it and start doing mapping for mining companies or inspections on high tension lines. You can make good money but you'll have to travel a lot for work and will prob require at least $50k for the equipment but again.. it's still in it's infancy with a ton of growth potential.
Find a need in society and develop a way to supply it. Legally and ethically. Pick something local perhaps and have knowledge and skills that make you particularly able compared to others to provide the solution. For each entrepreneur it will be different.
Find a need in society and develop a way to supply it. Legally and ethically. Pick something local perhaps and have knowledge and skills that make you particularly able compared to others to provide the solution. For each entrepreneur it will be different.
Exactly, you don't need to boil the ocean to be successful. You could do something like build a website specific to HVAC repair in your county. Focus on very specific SEO long tail key words (HVAC repair in Springfield county). List a few of the top guys in the area everyone already knows... once the site actually starts generating a little traffic you could call some of the lesser known HVAC guys in the area and see if they'd be interested to advertise on your website. If you get an email through the website you could sell that info off as a lead. In a couple years if it actually works you could sell the whole website of to one of the big HVAC players and they can just use it as a redirect to their company.
Point is, there's a million ways to make $million. You don't need to overthink it.
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