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HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR OWN BUSINESS???


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#1 The Robstar

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 10:33 AM

As quoted by Gol~ in my other thread


 
"Well, Affray runs his own business and I've co-run and sold one, next week I'm about to start my second. It's hardly normal to do that, let alone to find success and profit from it. And trust me it's a risky thing to do in this economic climate. As KJ said, if you've got your answers then you don't need input from anyone here in the first place."
 
I'm about to start my own production company soon focusing on movies and music. I've had some experience with some of my friends who have started their own businesses, some have failed and some have succeeded. (My uncles business and assets were estimated well over a Million dollars last year)  I've seen a gap in my city and I believe I can fill the void :) Now enough about me....
 
I'm curious, who out of you guys have started or run their own businesses?
 
I want to hear your guys experiences, good and bad.....
 
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#2 No-Danico

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 01:32 PM

I'ma in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'.

 

 

 

I've got a story, not my own, mind you. My buddy started a Magic the Gathering tcg business where he and his roommate would buy cards online and sell them for a profit. I kinda laughed when they told me about it, and then he told me they had cleared about a thousand dollars a few weeks later. Of course all of this money was spent on new cards, mostly for their decks, so I don't think they've made a profit yet. Nerds doing what they love is fine, but he ends up keeping all of the valuable cards he buys.


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#3 Calvary

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 04:21 PM

I had a website that promoted muscle building and fitness. Wrote for Mike Chang, who's pretty famous on Youtube.

 

Didn't make much profit whilst the company was going but we made a killing by selling the company. I negotiated a 67% increase on the asking price of the site to which the buyer agreed. Made a tidy sum of cash and now I'm looking to do it again.

 

Also, you know you don't have to caps the title of every topic right? Just putting that out there.


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#4 twa

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 06:09 PM

Also, you know you don't have to caps the title of every topic right? Just putting that out there.

This is why we're brothers. I was going to say the same exact thing. 


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#5 DaRatmastah

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 08:52 PM

I just cleared my second year of owning and running my own martial arts dojo with a black belt brother of mine, and now my wife as well.  We make enough to clear our overhead and pay the rent, but not enough to pull money out of the business yet.  It's almost more of a hobby/lifestyle than a business for us, we're approaching it very casually so it's less about the money and more about just doing what we love.  I never want to make a living off the dojo, but it would be nice to be pulling money from it some day (hopefully soon, goal is by the end of this year).

 

I've had several other business attempts, with limited success.  My current project is my blog, Be a Game Character which has made around $40.00 to date, mostly off advertising.  Money hasn't been a big push up to this point, just gaining readers.  I'm ready to start commercializing it, though, starting with T-shirts, then eBooks, and possibly other merchandise.  Goal is to be self-employed through the blog by the end of the year, we'll see how that goes.  =)



#6 Affray

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 09:43 PM

I just cleared my second year of owning and running my own martial arts dojo with a black belt brother of mine, and now my wife as well.  We make enough to clear our overhead and pay the rent, but not enough to pull money out of the business yet.  It's almost more of a hobby/lifestyle than a business for us, we're approaching it very casually so it's less about the money and more about just doing what we love.  I never want to make a living off the dojo, but it would be nice to be pulling money from it some day (hopefully soon, goal is by the end of this year).

 

I've had several other business attempts, with limited success.  My current project is my blog, Be a Game Character which has made around $40.00 to date, mostly off advertising.  Money hasn't been a big push up to this point, just gaining readers.  I'm ready to start commercializing it, though, starting with T-shirts, then eBooks, and possibly other merchandise.  Goal is to be self-employed through the blog by the end of the year, we'll see how that goes.  =)

My embroidery business is pretty much on the same track as your venture.

We are currently in our second year and make enough to pay the rent and cover our overhead, but no profitable gains yet.

Though from what I can see we are doing fairly well considering we are a relatively new business and given the state of the world.

 

As many of you know, I also run an Etsy show where I sell embroidered patches.

It does very well as the overhead is miniscule compared to the profit margins.


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#7 The Robstar

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 10:36 PM

I had a website that promoted muscle building and fitness. Wrote for Mike Chang, who's pretty famous on Youtube.

 

Didn't make much profit whilst the company was going but we made a killing by selling the company. I negotiated a 67% increase on the asking price of the site to which the buyer agreed. Made a tidy sum of cash and now I'm looking to do it again.

 

Also, you know you don't have to caps the title of every topic right? Just putting that out there.

Hahaha yeah I've heard of Mike Chang. My friend also has a push ups website called www.pushupking.com which 2bh I think is pretty shit LOL. 

 

The cap locks is my signature yo, I normally only do it for the thread titles or when I'm being obnoxious. ;)

 

I just cleared my second year of owning and running my own martial arts dojo with a black belt brother of mine, and now my wife as well.  We make enough to clear our overhead and pay the rent, but not enough to pull money out of the business yet.  It's almost more of a hobby/lifestyle than a business for us, we're approaching it very casually so it's less about the money and more about just doing what we love.  I never want to make a living off the dojo, but it would be nice to be pulling money from it some day (hopefully soon, goal is by the end of this year).

 

I've had several other business attempts, with limited success.  My current project is my blog, Be a Game Character which has made around $40.00 to date, mostly off advertising.  Money hasn't been a big push up to this point, just gaining readers.  I'm ready to start commercializing it, though, starting with T-shirts, then eBooks, and possibly other merchandise.  Goal is to be self-employed through the blog by the end of the year, we'll see how that goes.  =)

Very interesting. I like the fact that you said that money isn't the main driving force behind your ventures and I couldn't agree more. The main problem with seeing my friends and their businesses fail was attributed to their lust for money, it clouded their judgement and led to some poor decisions. I also remember the quote from P Diddy on the movie Notorious, "Don't chase the paper, chase the dream"

 

I also like how you said that business was your hobby, I really dig that aye. I see my music and movies in the same light as you do. I really don't want to be a millionaire, I just want to make enough to keep the boat afloat and continue producing content.

 

Thanks for sharing yo. 

My embroidery business is pretty much on the same track as your venture.

We are currently in our second year and make enough to pay the rent and cover our overhead, but no profitable gains yet.

Though from what I can see we are doing fairly well considering we are a relatively new business and given the state of the world.

 

As many of you know, I also run an Etsy show where I sell embroidered patches.

It does very well as the overhead is miniscule compared to the profit margins.

Many have told me that 90% of businesses fail within the first year and it takes a year or two to see any money being made. I don't mind that aye. The only thing that would cost to get me started would be the domain name and trade marking the name of the company. Would cost $120nz to trademark the names, and $25US to keep my website going for a year. So less then $150 :)

 

The main task would be dedicating my time which is ok atm, I'm unemployed, so while I look for a proper job I'm concentrating all my efforts into getting myself started. :) 


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