re: Question for those business owners here...

I began my insurance agency after working for other agents for 4 years.
It was tough in the beginning. I worked nights and weekends at bars to make ends meet. After 3 yrs I hit my stride.
After 7.5 yrs, I sold it.

During that time I began a construction biz with a partner (lost a good amount of money) and an hvac biz that’s employee owned through shares (going strong).

After I sold the agency, I bought territories for kitchen and bathroom remodelers. I’m also beginning a restaurant overseas based on Cajun/New Orleans cuisine. My goal is to perpetually receive mailbox money after getting the companies up and running.

Nobody in my family owned/owns businesses.
It’s stressful, but freedom ain’t easy.

Whatya laughing about baw?

Born into grew up in it, tried to escape it, got married and had kids and got stuck. Embrace it and it's a little monster now. My father wouldn't approve of some changes but times change. My grandparents wanted me to do something else. But I've built on and continued their legacy.

Work on your written communication skills.

Left a $100K job in 1997 ro start a business that is still thriving. We had seven months' living expenses in the bank and my only partner was my wife.
I was an expert in my field, but I also understood the P&l side of the business.

Prepare for hard times and dig your well before you're thirsty.

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So my question for those with families, is how did you do it without downgrading your lifestyle so to speak.

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I was the only support for a family of six. One of my partners was the only support for his family. We borrowed $200,000 on our three signatures and paid ourselves the same salaries we were used to. Fortunately the money started rolling in before we got to the bottom of that $200,000.

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your perspective will change alot once you have people working for you. I can guarantee you that.

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While I don’t have personal experience with this, my profession requires that I talk with a lot of business owners and company decision makers that I have a pretty good sense of the kind of headaches I’d be in store for.

Bought an existing business 6 years ago without knowing shite about business.

Have now bit off more than I can chew by parlaying that into other projects. Franchised the original and franchise is doing well.

Did all of this to work for myself and somehow still find myself working for the man often. I suppose it’s just a matter of perspective.

One thing I have learned is that you can do anything if you are willing to figure it out and keep moving forward.

If I can find a way to prevent the government from stealing from me in every way imaginable growth could actually be on the horizon.

(no message)

I started a business in 1993 after getting laid off (basically fired) as a general manager to make way for a friend of the owner who drove that business into bankruptcy in less than 3 years. I was sick and tired of people making decisions that I had no say in that impacted my ability to earn a living. I started that business with NO money and no commercial credit at all. I had good personal credit but no business credit at all. I had one good, solid industry contact. I milked that one contact like it was a sacred cow....anything they needed I was their man. It worked. I landed a sizeable contract with them and never looked back. I sold that business in 2006.

I learned some shite during this period. First off if you are going to be successful working for yourself you most likely have never had a shittier boss. This may not be so for most people but I was far harder and demanding of myself than anyone I had ever worked for was. I also learned that making a profit is nice but cash flow is the secret, Profits will eventually come IF you can afford to pay the bills on time long enough. Seriously, cash is the life blood of a business. Vendors love a customer who pays but does so after accruing a chunk of interest every month. Managing cash flow was my biggest job....and I never got to be good at it, still ain't. It is an art that is best mastered if you want to be successful. The biggest thing I learned is that a small business is akin to a baby....it never leaves your mind, demands almost every minute of your attention and you will never love or be prouder of anything in your life.

I would not do it on that scale again. I am now a 1 person consultant so I am technically in a business I own but it is more like a job than a business. I did it, proved to myself that I could and got out before I committed the rest of my life to it....I do not know that I would have made it more than another 5 years or so without becoming burnt out. It was by far the most rewarding period of my working life but it seems like far more work and effort than I would want to expend today. If I were still working for other people though and at the mercy of their whims I would do it again and again and again until I succeeded or went tits up trying.