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Ever start a business? Sufu entrepreneurs club


homi29

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I've often thought of starting my own venture as a means of having control of my own destiny and not working for 'the man'. That being said having worked in businesses small and large I don't take it lightly and I don't want to bring something in the world that has no particular purpose or level of quality.

Anyone want to speak on their personal business experiences? Ever worked for a startup?

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I've often thought of starting my own venture as a means of having control of my own destiny and not working for 'the man'. That being said having worked in businesses small and large I don't take it lightly and I don't want to bring something in the world that has no particular purpose or level of quality.

Anyone want to speak on their personal business experiences? Ever worked for a startup?

Dude i see your leopard backpack toting ass all over SoHo. I think like 3 times last week. WTF.

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what type of business(es) have you owned?

one of the hardest was manufacturing / laminating skate decks, wakeskates, misc products from molds and laminated wood. I knew nothing going in, learned all i could, had a friend design molds and went at it for a few years. Got back my investment + a small return (less than 5k). Anyone that bitches about the price of a skate deck can eat a dick.

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not to be super negative, but it's way easy to lose money fast. Focus on bookkeeping, hard. If you can't do it, hire someone, ideally aggressive that'll tell you to stop spending. Most businesses think they can spend their way out of trouble (me included), rarely the answer.

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yo homi

i have a couple friends here (waterloo) who work for Kik (tech startup they make a messaging app for smartphone for those who don't know, i'm not sure how big they are but seem to have millions of downloads of their app...), it's very recent like started last year and i know they got a several million dollar investment recently. the employees have two meals catered to them a day and the one dude brought a heineken mini keg to a party on the weekend that he said was leftover from drinking at the office the previous day lol

i don't have much personal experience but it seems to me that """social media""" and prior networking is the most important part... and to reply to what someone on previous page said about needing 100k... maybe in fashion but just start up something tech-oriented and your initial capital requirement will be much lower.....

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where is a good place to invest 5k? (0)

depends.. what kind of returns are you looking for? you can be aggressive and day trade or think long term.

like, into a small business, or in stocks/bonds/etc? I know nothing about investing in equities, etc. Maybe a CD? Like 5%? Not sure...

i wouldn't bother with CDs' unless you had a good amount to tier. Mutual Funds look a bit more appealing now.

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First rule : hire a busty secretary pref w european accent

Listen to darkanimal

He is a true businessman with 20+ years of experience in the Nigerian financial services industry. Outstanding track record and always a pleasure to do business with. Dark always follows up and understands how to provide maximum added value to any organization.

May I recommend this fine woman for your secretary services--

secretaryp.png

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If your state allows incorporation as an individual, take the option. Your state may not though. It's the best possible tax structure, particularly if you spend enough to show some depreciation/loss.

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Did the founders of the startup do all the initial coding themselves? The cost of a tech startup is really variable as it depends which segment of the market you are trying to get into but costs and hassle increase exponentially if you can't do the programming yourself and will have to bring someone on board to do it.

yo homi

i have a couple friends here (waterloo) who work for Kik (tech startup they make a messaging app for smartphone for those who don't know, i'm not sure how big they are but seem to have millions of downloads of their app...), it's very recent like started last year and i know they got a several million dollar investment recently. the employees have two meals catered to them a day and the one dude brought a heineken mini keg to a party on the weekend that he said was leftover from drinking at the office the previous day lol

i don't have much personal experience but it seems to me that """social media""" and prior networking is the most important part... and to reply to what someone on previous page said about needing 100k... maybe in fashion but just start up something tech-oriented and your initial capital requirement will be much lower.....

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think of your idea. here are ten things to ask yourself.

1. does this idea solve a serious problem for a large group of customers?

2. are these customers reachable? by you?

3. is the market large and growing?

4. is the market fragmented and full of weak incumbents?

5. is the timing right?

6. do you have the right group of people to make this happen?

7. can you get enough money into the startup to make it happen?

8. is there a way to fend off copycats?

9. how quickly will you break even?

10. is there a clear path for your investors (and yourself) to successfully exit at the end?

those are basically a few off the cuff questions, let me know if you don't understand what i mean, i can elaborate.

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Did the founders of the startup do all the initial coding themselves? The cost of a tech startup is really variable as it depends which segment of the market you are trying to get into but costs and hassle increase exponentially if you can't do the programming yourself and will have to bring someone on board to do it.

If you can't code and don't have the money to pay a talented coder, you better be willing to put up big equity in someone who can code and totally believes in your idea and sales/business capabilities.

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I've started two businesses so far. Both were very successful, however they were largely skill based with low overhead so they were extremely profitable. I'm currently working on a personal project that, if done correctly, could be huge. I've already pitched it to several people in the know, just looking for advice. Too early to look for funding at this point. I've obviously done the necessary research to make a successful, convincing pitch and have promotional materials to back it up.

A great idea is nothing unless it is properly executed.

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I own a 25% share in an accounting/business consulting firm. We are making a good run of it right now. The only reason we've made it through some tough times is one of the partners has really deep pockets.

If you are planning on starting a business with partners make sure they are in stable relationships. Divorces are awful for owner managed businesses.

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where is a good place to invest 5k? (0)

ETF's

but $5k isn't really that much

you also need to address if this money is something that you're willing to take a risk with

In regards to the business, I think the first thing you need to do is outline all your potential start up costs, then ensure you have 30 - 50% more than what you outline because there are always surprise costs that pop up.

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im willing to take a risk with it i guess. it's just money i got from a couple of weekends spent at Atlantic City lol. i just want to invest in something so maybe i will have something saved for a rainy day. not very knowledgeable about the whole finance/investment thing, so i was hoping someone can suggest some shit here. i know it's not much, but i figured it would be better spent on shit like that than just fashunz, bitches and drugs.

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