BradLTL wrote: People get enticed to it because they want to be the next Zuck or Jobs...
The guy who's destroying humanity's concept of privacy for profit and apparently enjoys slaughtering animals, or the guy who parked his unlicensed car in handicapped spaces and fired people if they brought up ideas he didn't like on elevator rides and slowly died of cancer because he thought exercise and a high-fruit diet would cure it?
Man what's wrong with people?
GameboyRMH wrote:BradLTL wrote: People get enticed to it because they want to be the next Zuck or Jobs...The guy who's destroying humanity's concept of privacy for profit and apparently enjoys slaughtering animals, or the guy who parked his unlicensed car in handicapped spaces and fired people if they brought up ideas he didn't like on elevator rides and slowly died of cancer because he thought exercise and a high-fruit diet would cure it? Man what's wrong with people?
I didn't say they were the best human beings. Go to any startup meeting/conference/networking event and just count how many times people bring up Steve Jobs.
GameboyRMH wrote:BradLTL wrote: People get enticed to it because they want to be the next Zuck or Jobs...The guy who's worth $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ or the guy who's worth $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Fixed.
Forget the rest. They are(were?) both successful businessmen.
dyintorace wrote:DustoffDave wrote: We like where we are and we want to raise our family here.Where do you live? That might spark some additional thoughts. BradLTL mentioned Iron Tribe, which is new to me, but similar to a thought I had. How about a CrossFit box? HIIT as an approach to fitness is booming along. Another route, or potentially in combination, would be a local version of a tough mudder/spartan race. Adventure racing is crazy popular and the revenues for the 2 I mentioned are at or approaching $100m/year. You mentioned a love of fitness and the outdoors, plus leadership. You'd be great at it!
That actually sounds pretty appealing (both Iron Tribe and adventure racing). I live in Spokane, WA. It's a nice town of reasonable size (~500,000 in the area), but pretty isolated and not really at the cutting edge of anything, but it is very close to a lot of good wilderness.
KyAllroad wrote: How about you combine the two? Get a job teaching (see about federal employment through usjobs.gov) to keep a comfortable cushion and benefits. Use the money to start a seasonal business as teachers get a very comfortable amount of time off (summers).
This is something I have considered, and something my wife mentioned to me as well. It would be great to run some sort of summer outdoor adventure guiding company. This area is big for the outdoor scene.
ProDarwin wrote:NOHOME wrote: Seriously, if you have a mortgage, pay it down, it will provide the greatest return on investment and peace of mind.You are kidding, right?
Why would you think that I am? I like a roof over my head. I like peace of mind. That is the value proposition for me. Your Mileage might vary.
Besides, what else are you going to do? Wallstreet was convicted en mass in 2008; you going to donate to them again?
No such thing as savings interest.
Most businesses fail.
I still think there is something to finding a business that gives you what you want. Me? I want 30 days vacation, but I could take a $10,000 pay decrease do to that.
There are those who want the flexibility to do nothing and get paid for it. I think a lot of people start small businesses with this hope.
I'm perfectly fine with working, I just don't want to miss out on life while I do it.
DustoffDave wrote:dyintorace wrote:That actually sounds pretty appealing (both Iron Tribe and adventure racing). I live in Spokane, WA. It's a nice town of reasonable size (~500,000 in the area), but pretty isolated and not really at the cutting edge of anything, but it is very close to a lot of good wilderness.DustoffDave wrote: We like where we are and we want to raise our family here.Where do you live? That might spark some additional thoughts. BradLTL mentioned Iron Tribe, which is new to me, but similar to a thought I had. How about a CrossFit box? HIIT as an approach to fitness is booming along. Another route, or potentially in combination, would be a local version of a tough mudder/spartan race. Adventure racing is crazy popular and the revenues for the 2 I mentioned are at or approaching $100m/year. You mentioned a love of fitness and the outdoors, plus leadership. You'd be great at it!
I think you could do well in that area with outdoors stuff. I went skiing this year out in Colorado. We did a cat day while there and a guy in our cat was from Vermont. He owns a bicycle tour company that only operates during the summer and then he does ski patrol in the winter. Talk about a guy who is damn happy!
NOHOME wrote:ProDarwin wrote:Why would you think that I am? I like a roof over my head. I like peace of mind. That is the value proposition for me. Your Mileage might vary. Besides, what else are you going to do? Wallstreet was convicted en mass in 2008; you going to donate to them again? No such thing as savings interest. Most businesses fail.NOHOME wrote: Seriously, if you have a mortgage, pay it down, it will provide the greatest return on investment and peace of mind.You are kidding, right?
Pretty silly outlook IMO.
My mortgage interest is 3.25%, my interest is also tax-deductible, making really in the 2.x% range - that's less than inflation.
Its pretty easy to invest in a mutual fund or bond that will blow that # away. Total market or S&P 500 indexes will return a solid 7% after inflation... why would I want to pay that toward my mortgage instead?
ProDarwin wrote:NOHOME wrote:Pretty silly outlook IMO. My mortgage interest is 3.25%, my interest is also tax-deductible, making really in the 2.x% range - that's less than inflation. Its pretty easy to invest in a mutual fund or bond that will blow that # away. Total market or S&P 500 indexes will return a solid 7% after inflation... why would I want to pay that toward my mortgage instead?ProDarwin wrote:Why would you think that I am? I like a roof over my head. I like peace of mind. That is the value proposition for me. Your Mileage might vary. Besides, what else are you going to do? Wallstreet was convicted en mass in 2008; you going to donate to them again? No such thing as savings interest. Most businesses fail.NOHOME wrote: Seriously, if you have a mortgage, pay it down, it will provide the greatest return on investment and peace of mind.You are kidding, right?
Cause Canada. Mortgages are not tax deductible. Mutual fund fees are 2.25%. (or higher) Returns on Mutual funds have not been above 5% since 2008. We do have tax free savings accounts.
Giving money to Wall Street is like getting a convicted pedophile to babysit...Of course they are going to bring candy, but its still wrong
Ok, here is my serious answer to the question: storage units.
A family friend got into this a few years ago. He bought a small piece of land near town, built 4 storage strips on it. The buildings were pretty cheap since it was just a cinder block building with one light per storage unit, no water or anything else to deal with. Within the first 2 years he paid off the buildings with the money it made. He had a lawyer write up a contract for his tenants and pays a couple of college students to man the office on the property. Not to mention he can auction off the units if the tenant does pay the bill for x amount of months.
^That's a pretty good idea^
I know a guy who knows a guy who lived in the country and ran a welding shop. Before he built his shop, he buried a shipping container under the pad and grew hydroponic herbs. Did well and retired young.
One mans lucky outcome does mean that something is a good idea nor is it a replacement for due diligence.
One of my ventures was in the brewing industry and it taught me not to invest in any business that any clown with money can get into.Regardless of if you are making money or not, others will think you are and since there is no IP or specialized skill required as a barrier to entry, you will have an over-saturated market.
That said, my experience is that we as humans have a great capacity to ignore the carnage on the side of the road and go ahead with our own dreams. That is a good thing.
This is a great topic. I'm a military officer 4 years out from retirement option. That and my wife getting her nursing degree (and potentially nurse practitioner) gives me the freedom to pursue something interesting. Current idea is a brewpub in a semi-industrial area, but with 10k people in apts within a walk. On a creek, with a dog park nearby. I just have to figure out how to get some of the current tenants kicked out so I can kick in!
^Yep^
That was my experience with a coffee shop.
It was a really fast and effective way to flush $42,000.
Well, that sucks! Any lessons learned?
I think the storage unit idea is pretty good, I'm just not sure what the saturation is like in this particular market -- more research needed. The idea of the specialized storage unit for toys is a fantastic, niche idea. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a market for that here. If I still lived in the Puget Sound area, that idea would have some traction (no pun intended).
When I think about starting some food-related venture, I always remember the joke I heard when I was a kid: How do you end up with $1 million in the restaurant business? Start with $2 million...
Anyone researched, or actually started, a blog that generated income? I know they're out there (Art of Manliness comes to mind). I have the writing skills, and I can be very verbose. I've thought about starting one along the same lines as AoM, but more focused on dads specifically -- The Art of Dadliness, so to speak. This doesn't take $40K and you're not out much if it fails. But, I would imagine that a blog which actually makes money is the exception rather than the rule.
In reply to DustoffDave:
My wife has a pretty nice one:
MomsMorningCoffee.com
Nothing there will interest you, but you can see what a good looking, revenue oriented blog looks like.
She and her partner work their tails off. So far, they have made about $0.0000003 per hour for the several thousands of hours they have put in.
Teh E36 M3 wrote: Well, that sucks! Any lessons learned?
Sure. Lots.
Don't EVER do a food-based business. EVAR.
Don't believe things are easy just because they look that way.
Don't buy someone else's debt.
Excellent high markups do not equal profits unless they are coupled with good volume.
Location, location, location.
Know your market. Don't try to sell a nice, high quality product at a price point your buyers can't afford.
Don't sell want you want to sell, sell what people want to buy.
Don't believe your competitors are profitable ust because they look good.
Don't take on a business that does not have significant barriers to entry- someone else will enter your market and undercut you.
A business should never be as simple as it looks.
You will not beat the big boys at their own game, and franchise owners never make anywhere near what it looks like they do.
There's more, but I will stop.
Honestly, it was $42K well spent in terms of education.
Storage units do well if located properly. This does not mean they have to be in expensive areas! You just need a fairly good sized transient population which needs short term storage, military bases are perfect. $40k is a down payment, they are going to be quite a bit more to complete. I have seen some built cheaply in rural areas which do well because they are the ONLY choice around.
A decent car wash will be a good bit more than $40k. Around here the self service places are usually in the $300k and up range, then there's this one: http://www.securityrealty.net/default.asp?f=listing_details&listingid=73850&listingtype= which is about 2 miles from where I work. $900,000.00. 
DustoffDave wrote: Anyone researched, or actually started, a blog that generated income? I know they're out there (Art of Manliness comes to mind). I have the writing skills, and I can be very verbose. I've thought about starting one along the same lines as AoM, but more focused on dads specifically -- The Art of Dadliness, so to speak. This doesn't take $40K and you're not out much if it fails. But, I would imagine that a blog which actually makes money is the exception rather than the rule.
I've researched it a bit. I agree, exception rather than rule.
It seems that most that do generate income are around for several years before word spreads enough that income is generated. It would have to be a part-time thing to begin with (its not like you'll generate useful content 8hrs/day anyway). I will say that every one I've seen that generates income has an owner/operator/blogger that is dedicated about posting quality content on a regular basis. 95% of blogs seem half-assed to me.
The good thing is that it requires practically nothing to start - so you still have plenty of things you can do with that $40k.
Seriously, take a look at that mom's site I posted.
These things don't make themselves- it's a LOT of work.
They post new articles every single day. It takes 7 regular writers who are all volunteering (but my wife has to manage them as if they are employees). 2 different people tweak that site every day. Fix links, update calenders, edit articles, approve content, meet with advertisers, monitor traffic, guest post on other sites, maintain the social networking, etc. etc. etc.
My wife works about 25-30 hours per week. So does her partner. They've been doing it for about 9 months, and have grown dramatically every single month.
They have about 1/3 of the traffic it will take to start drawing money out, assuming the advertisers actually consider it a value eventually. No guarantee of that.
Do NOT underestimate the effort and investment it takes.
One more problem... Dad's don't read. Seriously. Statistics show vastly larger numbers for engaging women than men online (except cars and probably porn).
NOHOME wrote:ProDarwin wrote:Cause Canada. Mortgages are not tax deductible. Mutual fund fees are 2.25%. (or higher) Returns on Mutual funds have not been above 5% since 2008. We do have tax free savings accounts. Giving money to Wall Street is like getting a convicted pedophile to babysit...Of course they are going to bring candy, but its still wrongNOHOME wrote:Pretty silly outlook IMO. My mortgage interest is 3.25%, my interest is also tax-deductible, making really in the 2.x% range - that's less than inflation. Its pretty easy to invest in a mutual fund or bond that will blow that # away. Total market or S&P 500 indexes will return a solid 7% after inflation... why would I want to pay that toward my mortgage instead?ProDarwin wrote:Why would you think that I am? I like a roof over my head. I like peace of mind. That is the value proposition for me. Your Mileage might vary. Besides, what else are you going to do? Wallstreet was convicted en mass in 2008; you going to donate to them again? No such thing as savings interest. Most businesses fail.NOHOME wrote: Seriously, if you have a mortgage, pay it down, it will provide the greatest return on investment and peace of mind.You are kidding, right?
Let's say you were a dummy who fell for the ploy of paying off your mortgage. You've got a house that would support a ~180k mortgage with no PMI. Are you suggesting I'm stupid for not tapping that equity and investing it?
You have to look at where things are headed. In the cities I frequent I see very few new houses being built and lots of apartments with no/little parking springing up. So being a "mechanical - transportation headed guy", I would look at alternative transportation, get in on the ground floor. Small electric cars and scooters electric or gas, electric bicycles. And Natural Gas (CNG) conversions for larger conveyances including home pumping stations to refill said conveyance. Because I expect gas prices will skyrocket as well as registration fees for vintage cars (that are not considered eco friendly).
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