Own your own biz or work for someone?

[marymel]

ha ha, too funny! My dh and I ran a business, whose main investor was my father. Talk about stressful! Ultimately, the business failed but not for lack of earnest, hard work on our part. We lasted 2.5 years - I don't even remember a lot of that time period! The main reason for our failure (hate writing that word!) was LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Other reasons:

Taxes - Unemployment, Sales, monthly, quarterly, annually....

Insurance - Workman's Comp (although later found out most employees had drug problems and wouldn't have been covered anyway, which leads to)

Employees - hard to find dependable employees with any sort of pride in work, and yes, they constantly give their hard luck stories while blowing money on frivolties

Customers - well, you wouldn't be in business without them, but man, people get on my nerves!

Most successful entrepeneurs that I know of had to work REALLY hard for a few (5-15) years to get to a point where they could cushion themselves against those hair-raising "feast or famine" cycles of business.

BUT now we're working for THE MAN again, and it's almost amusing to watch our bosses pull their hair out from the stress. Then they climb into their Mercedes and drive off to their yacht for a day at the lake, or pay cash for their daughter's wedding, or go home to their custom-built houses. Their children say that they grew up working bitterly in their parents' businesses, but they got to go to great colleges and have secure jobs with their parents.

So even if I can walk away from my job at the end of the day, I still feel the only way to get the American dream is to do it for yourself. My dad was a company man and he has $$$$ to retire with, but he invested in each child to help them become self-employed. He never said he hated his job or anything, quite the opposite, but he sent a message to my brothers and I: work for yourself, take a risk, and do a job the right way.

[7th generation]

I worked the first 20 years for someone else and toward the end had an employer tell me that I had the ability to manage. WOW-Never in those years had anyone said that to me. Every working day had been spent trying to work harder then the next guy and now he's telling me "I have what it takes". Hmmm.... I pondered that statement for a couple years and decided to start a business. Now let me tell you I had many "friends" try to dissuade me but
heck I already had spent quite a sum of money. Well many,many (did I say MANY?) hours,7 days a week were invested in that venture. It paid off nice and I sold that company and started another. In saying this I believe that one has to prepare to be married to the business and sacrifice for it's betterment. I wouldn't change a thing!

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

The other issue is w/ having a business partner. I'm totally against this. We have had one a long time ago. While in the beginning it all looks wonderful it very rarely is ones things get going. In the beginning when it is struggling will probably be better than when the business is successful. I've seen it all not just w/ what we went thru but also what I have seen others go thru. If you can do it on your own then I would be all means. Either that or the other person be the "silent partner" or you be the silent partner.

Insurance. OMG!!! Insurance I swear is what is going to ultimately put all small businesses out of business. Business insurance, umbrellas, vehicle insurance, property insurance, health insurance, personal insurance.......... UGH!!!!!! Insurance on you as the owner/operator. This insurance will continue to pay your salary to you or your spouse if something should happen to you. It will also pay another person to assume your responsibilities at the business. It normally is only for a period of two years but by then either you have recovered or decided to sell the business or your spouse can assume your position.

Government regulatory agencies. You better check to see which ones you may need a license of certificate from. Every now and then one of the state or federal agencies will decide they are going to regulate something that no one ever has before. You will NOT get any warning or anything in the mail from them. You are supposed to just know on your own. There are people out there that for a fee keep up w/ all of this stuff for you. In larger companies they have a full time person that does it. It is THAT bad.

PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL ASSETS!!!!!!!!!! Put all personal property into a family trust. Write up who owns what if you are married, split your assets. This helps protect them from seizure if something should ever happen. Make sure that anything you or your spouse inherited is duly noted as an inheritance.
Part II


DO NOT "OWN" THE BUSINESS! You personally do not want to "own" the business. A management trust can "own" the business and you can be the trustee to oversee the trust. For starters you do not want to pay self employment taxes . Then it also protects you personally. It also makes it much easier to sell the business if you should ever get to that point. If the business needs to buy property to work out of then create another trust, an investment trust may be best, to buy the property and then the business will rent it from them. Then if you do sell the business you still own the property and can receive monthly rent from the new owners. Unless of course they make an offer that is worth selling them the property too.

Hope none of this really discourages you but just want you to have a better perspective of what owning a business really entails. It can be fun and rewarding and sometimes it just gets old and tiring.

LOL momof2dfw...I have to ask...what type of business do you run? I'm laughing because I "hear you" it's not easy is it?. I run a small software business and have experienced nearly all of what you said.

Since the poster asked what would you do...I would run a biz...and as I just mentioned, I run and make my livelihood from it. Mom is right- there are days at 3am, when you haven't slept or seen your family you ask yourself is it worth it. Then there are those moments, when a plan comes together, hardwork now begins paying for itself, over and over again.

But...as was echoed, and as the poster said, it is a personal decision. I don't knock anyone who works for corp. america and pays the bills.

I'd say this, one of the worst types of business to go into is the personal consultant business or any business where you are the single employee. It's not a business it's a shackle.

Also, don't go into business because you hate your boss or you think you can do a better job than he/she does. If that's the case, get another job. Go into business if you have a business idea, that you think is going to appeal to enough people (i.e. a market) that would be willing to buy your product/service over your competitor. Oh and don't count family/friends as real customers- they may buy from you only b/c they like you, which isn't a bad thing, but you want people to buy b/c they see a need for your product/service.

Anyway, good topic.

[amelylas83]

I do both I own my own business and I also work. I look at it if anything should happen with my job I have something to fall back on. I love owning my business.