Starting a business

[ODB]

I did as @jayhawk says - I started a side gig. It has been one hell of a lot of work and all on top of my day job. I;m on my third year, finally in the black, building the portfolio, and in general pleased that my work is paying off. This side gig is intended to grow as the day job wanes.

There are definitely times when I think what the hell am I doing, and then I have a day like today that was unbelievably rewarding and all the sudden it's better. I won't get rich at all from it, but it allows me to be immersed in some personal passions, has introduced me to some really amazing people who inspire me a great deal, and it will eventually just be a source of income that I do not have to micromanage.

Advice: Be sure curious about all aspects of your business - like accounting as mentioned. I hate accounting, didn't understand it at all, then one late night I sat down and started setting up my books in a way that made sense to me, and the next thing I know I have a very workable and tight double-entry accounting setup.

Don't underestimate the amount of work it will take. have a chat with your wife. Luckily my wife works early so she's in bed at 8, so I work until midnight most nights with no interruptions. If your wife wants to cuddle and watch TV every night, you need to make sure she knows what the business means. Balance is key.

Most of all, have fun. There no logic in doing something that is a drag.

 

[7RemMag]

Lots of good advice here. It sounds like you believe that it’s viable, and you have the luxury of being able to do it on the side to gain customers and a reputation. Your overhead is low. I can’t think of a real reason not to do it in your case.

I’ve been in business about a year and a half in a very different industry(trucking).It’s a scary step no matter when or where you’re doing it. Be prepared to give it all you got. If you fail, you’re most likely to fail early. If you do fail, keep your head high and treat it as a learning experience. You still attempted something the vast majority of people never will. Depending on your age, you might get another chance later on.

As a post edit, I really like the post just before mine even though I initially missed it. One of the key points he makes is the amount of work and effort it takes. He is absolutely correct. It does get better and more manageable with time.

 

[MTBackroads]

Start your business on your free time, then hustle.

Walk away from your job when your own business takes all of your free time away.

You will never wish you worked for someone else longer.

 

[Aussie Dan]

Those that finally started their business- what made you finally jump into it?

i love the work my business does and i figured id rather do something i love.

Things you wish you could’ve told yourself looking back?

*You can have a billion dollar idea, but if you don't work your ass off, you are going to devalue that idea to the point its worthless.

*you don't have to be perfect to start, but you have to start to perfect it.

Did you think you’d be successful?

im still working on that part. I have a couple contracts that should replace and increase my current day job income this year but i dont feel secure enough to leave my job just yet

I want to start my business, but the limiting beliefs are strong haha

Id look at understanding the limiting beliefs first before hard launching a business, but that shouldn't be stopping you from creating content right now and filing it away for later.

**Something a lot of people don't realise or believe until they do it, is that travelling the relatively uncommon path of entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely and isolating.
Im going through that now, very few people do what i do, so my networking opportunities are very limited, but also, my family and friends don't understand what im doing or why. To them im wasting time and money on a hobby and hoping for the best- which obviously is not the case at all.

Its a very weird feeling when you have a conversation with people who apparently care about you, and they are talking about the end goal/the future money/etc but they don't want to talk about or try to even understand the process that is required to complete said goals and make the money etc.

 

[Yaremkiv]

Started my business after realizing I worked harder, had better ideas and was better at my job then the guys who signed my check. So I went out on my own and did my best at what I knew to do well. Praise God it worked out.

 

[loganwayne]

I started my own company last year. Plan was to do it on the side for about 10 years and then take it full time. Im in the building phase of it. Have taken bare minimum profit last year and will this year and leave money in the company.
Sitting down with accountant I figured to keep the family on insurance and pay my taxes I need to make about 3x what I make at my day job. That was before talking write offs but if I hit that we would be definitely good.

 

[Fullfan]

Not me but my wife opened a gymnastics gym. Wish she would have done it 25 years ago. She has prob 500 kids now and 7-9 employees. I was scared to death when she first started. Now she needs a bigger facility.

You only live once, and no one ever started at the top. Taking the first step and staying committed is the hard part.

Send it........

 

[Rich M]

With the idea of folks paying for coaching and doing it online - very low risk and you can keep your day job. With an LLC you are already there. Keep your day job and insurance as long as you can.

Sucks that it is a saturated market but can be a good side hussle if you can figure out how to get folks to sign on and pay for your services.

 

[307]

Extremely saturated market and many free options, including free plans from AI. Online fitness coaching is extremely low cost of entry, so there are a ton of people doing it. You're competing with every juiced up and fake tits influencer ont he internet.

Marketing game far more than a coaching game.

In person training and having your own facility is a whole different bucket of worms.

 

[4phw]

Extremely saturated market and many free options, including free plans from AI. Online fitness coaching is extremely low cost of entry, so there are a ton of people doing it. You're competing with every juiced up and fake tits influencer ont he internet.

Marketing game far more than a coaching game.

In person training and having your own facility is a whole different bucket of worms.

Haha yeah I get the AI argument- but if it’s free and so easy, why are so many people still overweight and unhealthy? They have it at their fingertips. That’s why I believe AI could never replace an actual coach. In every job I’ve had, I’ve excelled and quickly became the top performer, so I have that work ethic on my side.

I’m heavily Christian, and try to live my life the best I can to follow Christ and use my talents. Coaching wasn’t a “how can I get rich easily” thought, it was more of a “how can I use my talents to help me, my family, others, and the world”? And that helps me listen to the small hunches I get. The hard part is sacking up and doing it, but reading the sermon on the mount gives me comfort a lot.

Just found out I’m a first time dad at 25, and I want to take of my family living in small town ID haha.

 

[ODB]

Started my business after realizing I worked harder, had better ideas and was better at my job then the guys who signed my check. So I went out on my own and did my best at what I knew to do well. Praise God it worked out.

I’m sympathetic to this line of thought. It sounds arrogant, but having watched a company go through 5 CEOs, each of whom could not run the company as effectively as the redneck who started it, I really have to wonder what all those degrees are for.

 

[4phw]

Started my business after realizing I worked harder, had better ideas and was better at my job then the guys who signed my check. So I went out on my own and did my best at what I knew to do well. Praise God it worked out.

Exactly the position I’m in.

 

[S.Clancy]

I'm sympathetic to this, as I love fitness/training/whatever. Here is my advice:

1. Don't quit your job. Almost no-one makes enough money coaching people to thrive.
2. Learn how to be an excellent salesman. This will matter infinitely more than how good you are.
3. IMO, I would specialize in training older or geriatric clients. It's pretty amazing seeing progress old people can make and they are by far the most thankful when they can play with grandkids, etc. again. They (Boomers) also have crazy amounts of $$$ and time.

 

[307]

Haha yeah I get the AI argument- but if it’s free and so easy, why are so many people still overweight and unhealthy? They have it at their fingertips. That’s why I believe AI could never replace an actual coach. In every job I’ve had, I’ve excelled and quickly became the top performer, so I have that work ethic on my side.

I’m heavily Christian, and try to live my life the best I can to follow Christ and use my talents. Coaching wasn’t a “how can I get rich easily” thought, it was more of a “how can I use my talents to help me, my family, others, and the world”? And that helps me listen to the small hunches I get. The hard part is sacking up and doing it, but reading the sermon on the mount gives me comfort a lot.

Just found out I’m a first time dad at 25, and I want to take of my family living in small town ID haha.

They're still fat and out of shape because people are people. People generally want instant dopamine through poor nutrition and will generally avoid significant effort at fitness (long term). Those that can avoid the above don't need you and generally won't pay you for what they can already do on their own.

I can guarantee you that it's not for lack of information.

You're not going to reinvent the wheel here, nor solve the human condition.

It's a marketing, image, and sales game and you'd better be very tech savvy to do it all online because there are multimillion dollar sharks with entire teams supporting them in that same water that are good at playing the game.

 

[4phw]

I'm sympathetic to this, as I love fitness/training/whatever. Here is my advice:

1. Don't quit your job. Almost no-one makes enough money coaching people to thrive.
2. Learn how to be an excellent salesman. This will matter infinitely more than how good you are.
3. IMO, I would specialize in training older or geriatric clients. It's pretty amazing seeing progress old people can make and they are by far the most thankful when they can play with grandkids, etc. again. They (Boomers) also have crazy amounts of $$$ and time.

1. Not quitting my job that’s for sure haha, I’m sure there’s more money not doing that.

2. Great input on the sales aspect. I guess that’s what truly matters most (besides getting results for clients). I’m in sales right now, and been top performer 13/15 months- while breaking their records. Not sure how or why as I’m not the best at speaking, but I am honest.

3. Genius idea with older people. I had a wealthy client from the east coast that was paying a lot of money. I could’ve almost quit my job just from that client haha!

 

[4phw]

They're still fat and out of shape because people are people. People generally want instant dopamine through poor nutrition and will generally avoid significant effort at fitness (long term). Those that can avoid the above don't need you and generally won't pay you for what they can already do on their own.

I can guarantee you that it's not for lack of information.

You're not going to reinvent the wheel here, nor solve the human condition.

It's a marketing, image, and sales game and you'd better be very tech savvy to do it all online because there are multimillion dollar sharks with entire teams supporting them in that same water that are good at playing the game.

I’m opposite of tech savvy haha. Somehow I manage with it haha.

We will see how I do at marketing and sales. All I know is I’ll try my best.

 

[Fassi123]

Definitely some good advice here. I’ll go ahead and pile on.

1) don’t quit your day job until your side hustle is making 50% of what your their job is. Then you can go full-time if you want.
2) consulting is a great business but like being a DJ, it’s tougher to scale.
3) entrepreneurship is great. The reason I enjoyed it so much is because most people are scared to do it so it leaves them back at the starting line. And leaves more opportunity for me.
4) invest heavily in yourself. Read books like an insane person. Listen to podcasts and learn from other people’s mistakes. Emyth revisited, Mindset by Carol Dwyck, at atomic habits by James Clear. In 10 years you’ll be an overnight success.
5) don’t pull money out of your business unnecessarily early on. Treat it like a baby. Put 3 to 6 months of your monthly expenses in a savings account. The peace of mind is worth every penny.
6) try and stay out of debt.
7) show up and do what you say you’re gonna do. You’re ahead of 95% of the world.

 

[4phw]

i love the work my business does and i figured id rather do something i love.


*You can have a billion dollar idea, but if you don't work your ass off, you are going to devalue that idea to the point its worthless.

*you don't have to be perfect to start, but you have to start to perfect it.

im still working on that part. I have a couple contracts that should replace and increase my current day job income this year but i dont feel secure enough to leave my job just yet

Id look at understanding the limiting beliefs first before hard launching a business, but that shouldn't be stopping you from creating content right now and filing it away for later.

**Something a lot of people don't realise or believe until they do it, is that travelling the relatively uncommon path of entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely and isolating.
Im going through that now, very few people do what i do, so my networking opportunities are very limited, but also, my family and friends don't understand what im doing or why. To them im wasting time and money on a hobby and hoping for the best- which obviously is not the case at all.

Its a very weird feeling when you have a conversation with people who apparently care about you, and they are talking about the end goal/the future money/etc but they don't want to talk about or try to even understand the process that is required to complete said goals and make the money etc.

This was an excellent write up.

 

[4phw]

Definitely some good advice here. I’ll go ahead and pile on.

1) don’t quit your day job until your side hustle is making 50% of what your their job is. Then you can go full-time if you want.
2) consulting is a great business but like being a DJ, it’s tougher to scale.
3) entrepreneurship is great. The reason I enjoyed it so much is because most people are scared to do it so it leaves them back at the starting line. And leaves more opportunity for me.
4) invest heavily in yourself. Read books like an insane person. Listen to podcasts and learn from other people’s mistakes. Emyth revisited, Mindset by Carol Dwyck, at atomic habits by James Clear. In 10 years you’ll be an overnight success.
5) don’t pull money out of your business unnecessarily early on. Treat it like a baby. Put 3 to 6 months of your monthly expenses in a savings account. The peace of mind is worth every penny.
6) try and stay out of debt.
7) show up and do what you say you’re gonna do. You’re ahead of 95% of the world.

I appreciate the input! Very helpful.

 

[307]

I’m opposite of tech savvy haha. Somehow I manage with it haha.

We will see how I do at marketing and sales. All I know is I’ll try my best.

Do you have any credentials/education/certifications in fitness, nutrition, healthcare?