Question for you business owners out there

[Creepn]

How did you guys start your business? Did you apply for some government small business grant, or requested a large loan from a bank, or was your business passed down to you or what? I heard Michael Dell from Dell Computers started his business by using his credit cards. Not quite the route I wanna take.

[Frenzy]

whats your biz gonna be on?

I'd invest in porn.

[Heath Ledger]

I used my own dough started literally with a couple hundred dollars 10 years ago now I do 400-600k per year in sales. Not bad for a business with only two employees.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I used my own dough started literally with a couple hundred dollars 10 years ago now I do 400-600k per year in sales. Not bad for a business with only two employees.

what business is this ur talking about?

[Heath Ledger]

LOL :wakeup

[CosmicCowboy]

The first two businesses (homebuilding) I just got contracts and then got bank financing with the contracts. There were two because between #1 and #2 a big publicly traded home building company paid me a shitload of money to come be a VP and start a high end (mil+) home building division. The business I'm in now was an existing business I bought with owner financing.

[Heath Ledger]

Good luck trying to get a business loan at the moment. Donald Trump can't get a loan.

[Twisted_Dawg]

I would strongly recommend you go into a business that you have some experience in. In other words don't try to start computer business if you have been in foood service all your life.

Start small and be very frugle. Make sure you can live for a few years on reduced funds. Money is tight now and hard to find. So you will proabl have to use your own funds.

If possible, marry rich.

[CosmicCowboy]

How did you guys start your business? Did you apply for some government small business grant, or requested a large loan from a bank, or was your business passed down to you or what? I heard Michael Dell from Dell Computers started his business by using his credit cards. Not quite the route I wanna take.

you want a straight answer?

#1...Do you REALLY have a unique business model in mind that no one has thought of?

#2...If you REALLY believe it's going to make a shitload of money, are you prepared to give up a majority of that "potential" money to get in business?

#3...Write a prospectus of exactly what you plan to do, how much money you need to do it, and exactly how much you are willing to give up to make it happen.

I started a business #3 while I was working the business I bought after #2 and sold my share after 5 years for 360K and didn't put a dime into it.

PM me if you are REALLY serious.

[MiamiHeat]

If possible, marry rich.

best advice in ze thread

[BacktoBasics]

There is money to be lended right now. You need stellar credit and an intelligent business plan.

My wife owns her own company but the start up was minimal because its a labor based job so the overhead was nearly nothing.

I've dabbled in minor small business ventures on my own but nothing substantial.

I've found that the biggest mistake people make when starting a business is that they under estimate how long it takes to build a profitable business. With that in mind they typically pull out a loan to cover the cost of start up and then over estimate how much actual capital they bring in for the first year or two or three. You need to find a reasonable middle ground with a loan thats affordable payment wise but still offers you protection for not just your overhead but your actual pay. This way you can skate by while building a reputation without scraping the bottom of the poverty pot.

I'd listen to anything CC has to say. Even though he won't hire me :p:

[2centsworth]

there is wisdom in what everyone has said already. Here is what I would add.

Don't mistake spending money as business, you're just a customer for someone else at this point.

Business, in a nutshell, is sales. Make sales and all sorts of people will come out of woodwork to lend you money if you want. If it's a product that you're selling, make a prototype and get commitments.

[Creepn]

Thank you guys for the great advice. Will take all this into account when I start drawing up some plans.

[PM5K]

To answer your question many small businesses are started with personal loans from friends and family.

There are many ways to finance a new business, but I can't really make any recommendations without knowing what type of business, and how much money we are talking about.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I'm also starting my own business, and to get some idea of what I'm doing I did a free small business course through local government which was very useful. See if your local or state govt has anything similar.

The nice thing about what I'm doing is it is all based on my labour, so startup costs and overheads are minimal and I don't have to borrow any money. I also have 3 part-time jobs to pay the bills whilst I'm getting it going, and I don't expect to be making a living off it until the 3rd year.

[Oh, Gee!!]

pimping has little to no overhead