I am equally impressed with individuals(the same as I am with individualswho has earned a doctorate) who has started a business and been a success,anyone care to tell about there business,(no matter how big or small)what you do,why you chose to do what you do..etc how large or small the business is.....
Entrepreneurs,sign up here..
- Thread starter saw_dust
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hayden
Veteran Member
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- VT
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- Kubota L5740 cab + FEL, KX121, KX080, Deere 6120M
I've started several businesses, but the current one is the largest endevor. We raise venture money, hired a team, have built a product (computer data storage system), got a bunch of big customers on the hook, and are about to announce it. It's been lots of fun, but I've lost more hair and what's left is almost totally grey now. Check back in a year to see if it's making money - or check my profile to see if I'm driving an L5030 with a warm, dry cab.
Tractor_Barn
Silver Member
What a subject. I left my last "real" job in 1984 to start my own computer service company. At the time most of my work was on Texas Instruments 990 series computers and peripherals. I slowly built a customer base and within a year, was on the road about 60 hours a week. Start-up costs were alot higher than I imagened. It seemed that I was always scrambling for some obscure spare part for a disk drive or printer.
Slowly, the PC revolution took over. I sold the TI related business and opened another shop doing PC work. I had no experience with PC's and had to spend any spare time learning about DOS and NOVELL networking. I lived on coffee and smokes. We managed to keep up with the progression to Windows and it was a constant learning experience.
About 7 years ago, my then wife felt she didn't have the life she wanted and filed for divorce...Probably one of the best things that has happened in my adult life. I scaled things back to a 1 man show and reflected back on the past 20 years. I realized that I was not happy trying to learn new systems and software every 3 months and started thinking about getting out.
The question was NOW WHAT? Well, my then girlfriend, now wife, said "Why don't we go live at the farm?" I grew up farming in SE Michigan and it didn't take long for me to decide. We were packed and moved in about 3 weeks.
Now, I import Jinma tractors, make sausage and grow specialty vegetables and have never been happier. Probably added 10 years to my life. I get up early, work hard and sleep well. Not making what I could working for someone else in the tech industry but, my stress level is so much lower, that its worth it.
I may never have alot of money but I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams.
Slowly, the PC revolution took over. I sold the TI related business and opened another shop doing PC work. I had no experience with PC's and had to spend any spare time learning about DOS and NOVELL networking. I lived on coffee and smokes. We managed to keep up with the progression to Windows and it was a constant learning experience.
About 7 years ago, my then wife felt she didn't have the life she wanted and filed for divorce...Probably one of the best things that has happened in my adult life. I scaled things back to a 1 man show and reflected back on the past 20 years. I realized that I was not happy trying to learn new systems and software every 3 months and started thinking about getting out.
The question was NOW WHAT? Well, my then girlfriend, now wife, said "Why don't we go live at the farm?" I grew up farming in SE Michigan and it didn't take long for me to decide. We were packed and moved in about 3 weeks.
Now, I import Jinma tractors, make sausage and grow specialty vegetables and have never been happier. Probably added 10 years to my life. I get up early, work hard and sleep well. Not making what I could working for someone else in the tech industry but, my stress level is so much lower, that its worth it.
I may never have alot of money but I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams.
Gary_in_Indiana
Elite Member
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I've had more than a couple businesses I've started in my life. I don't know that anyone should be impressed with that, though. I think with me it was just a matter of working in a field and thinking I could do it as well or better than the guy who'd hired me then venturing off on my own.
Another reason I've started more than one business in my life is that I seem to have about a five year attention span on any given business before it ceases to interest me and I need to go do something else, even if it's closely related or even another phase of the same business.
The one constant is that I've been in the vehicle business in one form or another for about 25 years now and have wholesaled cars, had a detail shop, a body shop, a mechanical shop and now a retail truck sales and leasing business. A lot of those things overlapped to one extent or another.
I've also ventured into real estate investment and appraisal, contracting paint & drywall, handyman work, roofing and replacement windows and doors. Most of those things stemmed from owning my own investment properties.
My current interest is a semi tractor leasing business I have with a partner. We recently expanded from our home town into the Chicago and Detroit markets and are currently busier than we can handle some days. This is the part of having a business that I love, though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif If and when we get to the point where everything is running smoothly and it's kind of easy to run I'll get bored with the daily operation of it and look for something else to maintain my interest. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
My lovely, now-former spouse always said she was amazed at how I was able to look at what I was doing as a game. She likened it to Las Vegas in that I looked at what I was doing like I was just playing for chips and was trying to see if I could play the game and win a pile of chips. Once I learned I could, I got bored.
As much as I would love to effectively counter that analysis, the history somewhat speaks for itself.
Another reason I've started more than one business in my life is that I seem to have about a five year attention span on any given business before it ceases to interest me and I need to go do something else, even if it's closely related or even another phase of the same business.
The one constant is that I've been in the vehicle business in one form or another for about 25 years now and have wholesaled cars, had a detail shop, a body shop, a mechanical shop and now a retail truck sales and leasing business. A lot of those things overlapped to one extent or another.
I've also ventured into real estate investment and appraisal, contracting paint & drywall, handyman work, roofing and replacement windows and doors. Most of those things stemmed from owning my own investment properties.
My current interest is a semi tractor leasing business I have with a partner. We recently expanded from our home town into the Chicago and Detroit markets and are currently busier than we can handle some days. This is the part of having a business that I love, though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif If and when we get to the point where everything is running smoothly and it's kind of easy to run I'll get bored with the daily operation of it and look for something else to maintain my interest. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
My lovely, now-former spouse always said she was amazed at how I was able to look at what I was doing as a game. She likened it to Las Vegas in that I looked at what I was doing like I was just playing for chips and was trying to see if I could play the game and win a pile of chips. Once I learned I could, I got bored.
As much as I would love to effectively counter that analysis, the history somewhat speaks for itself.
Anonymous Poster
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About 9 years ago I put together an agreement with a Japanese trading company to distribute and market a variety of specialty chemicals. I hired a sales rep, and ran things outside of my day job. It was quite successful. But the sales dude decided the generous salary and commission schedule (over 100k/year in 1994) was not enough. He started taking family trips and trying to pass them off as business. I had a specialty chemical sales company that represented various manufacturers interested in what I was doing, so I cashed out.
The bad news is I bailed early. One of the highest margin items was an ingredient used to improve water fastness and color "snap" of ink jet paper. Not just the photo quality, but even the standard white bond. The volume has exploded.
The bad news is I bailed early. One of the highest margin items was an ingredient used to improve water fastness and color "snap" of ink jet paper. Not just the photo quality, but even the standard white bond. The volume has exploded.