I recently found out my wife is pregnant and it makes me want to get my act together and go start making a life for us. It's not that we're broke or homeless, obviously, it's just that I know what I'm capable of but I'm not sure how to take it to the next level.

So, to all the entrepreneurs out there, what is your story and how did you get to where you are?

 

find what you're good at and keep to it.

 

Worked in the business (restaurant/bar) for over a decade, learned everything about it, until I was comfortable playing with my own money. I personally think it's financial suicide going into business, unless you know EVERYTHING about it.

 

I don't mean to dampen your dreams, but there is something you have to consider:

With a kid on the way, this is NOT the best time in your life to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor. Starting a new risky business means putting all your free capital into the business and risking the chance that you will lose it all. You have a kid on the way...think about the kid.

Your wife meant for you to get a stable job, and work hard to get as much as you can with that stable job.

Most likely, you will not have enough capital to fund both a fledging business and a fledgling human being.

But that doesn't mean you have to give up, but you might have to put it on hold for a while.

 

I completely agree with you. The thing is, I have a great job with great benefits and plenty of opportunity to advance. Additionally, it's doing exactly what I like, Aerospace electronic design.

I'm not thinking of quitting my job, just of things I can do on the side. Therein lies the challenge. I have to do it with minimal capital and my free time shrinks every day.

I don't know, I guess I can't decide whether I should continue working these ideas on my own, or bring them to my boss in a business plan and hope they're well received. There are risks and benefits either way.

 

there's no such thing as a minimal capital investment business (and shrinking time budget) that makes you money.

i say get your act together by carefully calculate every cent you earn and ponder the usage of those cents. do you REALLY NEED this thing or is it something you really want? do you really need to go out to eat that often? bag your lunch, learn about 529 funds in your state and how that affects you and your kid(s), save every penny you got, and maybe sell that S2000 and get something more practical. having kids is about being conservative with your resources (money & time). congratulations!

 

A relatively easy side job would be selling products on the Internet, I'm not talking about Ebay or the similar, I mean your own website selling goods to the public. I have a lot of customers that started doing this as a side job and ended up quitting their "real" jobs. Just an idea.

Sam

 

So long as you know what you are getting into. The kid will probably eat away all the free capital and free time you have when it comes, so you can't count on that for too long. Working on the side is always an option if you can handle it, but you'd have to be very efficient.

Good luck though. Nothing wrong with making dreams come true.

 

You already made several cataclysmic decisions towards not being an entrepreneur. Very few entrepreneurs succeed without failing several times, and I doubt you'll have the ability to take that kind of risk at this point.

Here's some tangible advice that will give you a lot of hindsight in to what you are getting in to-without taking any risk or spending any money.

Save all your money. See how much you can put away, and see what it grows in to. I'm not talking about going wild in the stock market. If you want to be an entrepreneur it's going to take capital, capital you can live without. If you have no family you can just go to the bank and let them take the risk-you can't responsibly do that now. If you have the discipline to put 1XX,000 away, on the way you will find out what risks you are really comfortable taking. Trust me, it will work exactly that way. Every dollar you save will give you additional sense as to what it means to you, your family, etc.

It will also let you know where you will end up if you don't do something else. It will give you a crude glimpse in to what life will probably be like without going out there and giving it a shot. If you have a good job you already contain the skills to make extra money, the question is do you have the drive and risk tolerance to make it happen. See how much capital you can save by yourself and I bet that answer will be quickly answered.

 

it seems like there is no such thing as an easy buck these days. damn near anything you want to sell, someone else already sells.


timing is everything.... I lucked into buying rental houses about 7 years ago before all the "buy with no $ down" idiots came along and whored it all up. I have not bought any properties in over a year now.... too much competition..... they are all willing to do the work for much less profit margins than I will.

that goes with almost everything....... post back if you find something neat to do!!!!