having your own business

[Rad]

Probably some of you have already found own business

How long did you work for a company before opening it?

Is it prosperous, time consuming, profitable?

 

[bsivia]

i'd like to know the answer to this question too, anyone who has opened their own boutique research or asset management firm or is a senior in another firms and knows the books?

 

[kkent]

My father wrote a book on this in the 1960s. His research showed that the single biggest reason for failure of small businesses (at least at the time) was ignorance about accounting. He said that, contrary to popular belief, lack of sales, bad ideas, insufficient marketing and poor management were not significantly large contributors to failure, but simply a lack of accounting skills sunk most firms.

I tried opening my own real estate firm last year. It was a total failure. Starting one's own business is extremely difficult, time consuming, expensive, and stressful. My advice to anyone thinking about starting his/her own business: be an EXPERT in the area you are targeting to get into, have a DAMN good idea as well as a compelling reason to set aside the rest of your life.

 

[Dr. Feelgood]

I've eased myself into these waters by investing in an existing business. I know the owners well, and they are good (e.g. ethical), hard-working, committed folks. It's not in my field (research) but it is in my industry (energy). I'm providing advice/guidance on strategy, financing, etc., while keeping my day job in the hope that the business will grow enough to give me the option to work there full-time. I structured my investment as convertible debt to limit my downside, give me the equity option, and help this business at at critical time when its double-digit growth is creating a significant working capital crunch.

I've also been involved with two start-ups that didn't make it. In both cases, it was not accounting that did us in, but the leadership. Specifically, the leadership provided by big vision entrepreneurial types that, while providing a valuable service as head cheerleader/morale booster/enthusiastic-promoter, should not be let anywhere near the operations side (e.g. how to turn the vision into something that actually makes money).