Arkady Renko Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I am interested in your story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Well, I was born a poor black child... Seriously...what part of the story are you interested in? The why or the how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted April 26, 2006 Author Share Posted April 26, 2006 Well, I was born a poor black child... Seriously...what part of the story are you interested in? The why or the how? 671325[/snapback] The what, why and how. As little or as much as you want. I find it interesting, is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 <raises hand> And, yeah, ditto LA's second line. I am trying to get a legit Capital J job. It's hard, tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Well, I was born a poor black child... Seriously...what part of the story are you interested in? The why or the how? 671325[/snapback] Cut to the chase. He wants to know the "how much?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I have been self employed 100% since 1998 doing various things. Too many to mention here. My next big adventure is building a Resort RV park here in San Diego. PM me if you have any other questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 The what, why and how. As little or as much as you want. I find it interesting, is all.671327[/snapback] I own a custom audio/visual automation software company with four employees. I've been in the AV business for over 15 years, and my previous job lasted 8 of them. I busted my ass and took a territory doing $750K a year in sales and over the eight years turned it into a $40M territory. I asked for a small piece of the company and was told no. A year later they changed my commission structure half way into the fiscal year, and made it retroactive for the previous six months. Not only is that wrong, it's illegal. And it literally cost me $120,000 in commission. Bottom line is: that was that. There would be no more humpin' it for someone else's wallet. My company right now is a niche part of that market, so I had a $40M install base that needed programming. I took a year to plan it out, got delayed briefly when my wife got sick, then got back into the groove and made the leap of faith with a friend/partner of mine who worked with me for that company. We both split at the same time. I funded the company and handle admin, sales, accounting, etc., and he has guys who help him write the code. I own 51% and he owns the rest, but it started out as a progressive rise for him, starting at 35%, then 45%, and then just recently 49%. Oddly enough, today is our two year anniversary. The company has paid me back my initial investment, business is strong, cash flow is good, and we have never been more free in our entire lives. We have one primary business philosophy: run the company on our own terms. In other words, only do the jobs that make sense. They must have good lead times, good margin, and competent business partners. Don't try to be all things to all people, just try to do great things for a few people. Don't be afraid to say "no" or "it can't be done" to anyone. In fact, don't be afraid of anything. As it turns out, we're now living our lives the same way. What does this mean? Easy. No senseless meetings for the sake of having meetings. No senseless reports. No politics. No gossips. No cubicles. No changes in management. No buyouts or restructuring or org charts or power plays or job descriptions. Most importantly, at least for me, it means when I wake up in the middle of the night worried about some work-related thing, I have hacked away anyone who can be responsible for those things other than me. If you've ever lost sleep because you had a new boss, or a new owner, or a change in responsibilities, or a change in who you have to work with, then you know what bullschitt that is. If I have a problem now, it's based on a decision I made, and I can sleep with that because I can fix it. Life is perfect right now because I'm living and working as I want, with enough time left over to screw around on a football message board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I own a company called Deck Doctor , wash, seal,and repair decks .Started in 1993 . I have been in th construction business almost all my life .My brother inlaw and I worked together for a few years doing a lot of custom additions , decks , and kitchens . things slowed down and i went back to GE . Work third shift getting out at 7 am and go stright to work with my brother inlaw working till 5 or 6 almost every day .Got tired of doing long jobs that took 3 or more months to do . so started Deck Doctor , 1 or 2 days and out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 LA - you should never write that much about your life without somehow sneaking in "and then I'm over at fabio's house" I started something during the good old days of the internet. raised $ from investors, struggled but survived during the .com bust and sold the company in 2004. net / net i probably lost money over the course of 5 years in that my salary for 4 of the years would have been higher in the "real world". can't beat the experience though. today i have a real job but run about 10 different web sites on the side - i have an LLC that i set up for all of them. Some of the sites do pretty well and my goal would be within a few years to be making enough from them to be able to do that full time (the real issue is convincing the wife that this is stable). the best part about web sites is that you have no inventory, no anything - if you are creative and work hard you can make some money on autopilot. Every night i get home from work and see how much money I made while I was at work. As I make more I'm plowing it back in, hiring people to do technical work and building more sites. I figure that if I can make $x from 1 site, I could make $20x from 20 sites and so on. if you are entrepreneurial and halfway computer literate i really recommend looking into it. I've tried, but haven' t been able to convince anyone to jump in the game.....let me know if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 LA - you should never write that much about your life without somehow sneaking in "and then I'm over at fabio's house" I started something during the good old days of the internet. raised $ from investors, struggled but survived during the .com bust and sold the company in 2004. net / net i probably lost money over the course of 5 years in that my salary for 4 of the years would have been higher in the "real world". can't beat the experience though. today i have a real job but run about 10 different web sites on the side - i have an LLC that i set up for all of them. Some of the sites do pretty well and my goal would be within a few years to be making enough from them to be able to do that full time (the real issue is convincing the wife that this is stable). the best part about web sites is that you have no inventory, no anything - if you are creative and work hard you can make some money on autopilot. Every night i get home from work and see how much money I made while I was at work. As I make more I'm plowing it back in, hiring people to do technical work and building more sites. I figure that if I can make $x from 1 site, I could make $20x from 20 sites and so on. if you are entrepreneurial and halfway computer literate i really recommend looking into it. I've tried, but haven' t been able to convince anyone to jump in the game.....let me know if you are interested. 671447[/snapback] See, the problem is scaling that. I designed/built/deployed/run a system that's hosting 101,000 domains as of this morning. Ten machines and a 5 year old storage array. The problem is that it's someone else's system. I'm in the process of doing a new system that ought to handle twice that. One of these days, I'll apply that type of system to something that doesn't kick me in the non-compete, and cash in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 See, the problem is scaling that. I designed/built/deployed/run a system that's hosting 101,000 domains as of this morning. Ten machines and a 5 year old storage array. The problem is that it's someone else's system. I'm in the process of doing a new system that ought to handle twice that. One of these days, I'll apply that type of system to something that doesn't kick me in the non-compete, and cash in. Scaling isn't that big of a problem for my stuff. My best sites were built 5 years ago and now only need a few hours per month tops. I have 200 + domains awaiting development which will be done by a college kid this summer - who will have a non-compete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Scaling isn't that big of a problem for my stuff. My best sites were built 5 years ago and now only need a few hours per month tops. I have 200 + domains awaiting development which will be done by a college kid this summer - who will have a non-compete 671506[/snapback] Now that's what I like to refer to as "margin." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 thing is, I could put it on craigslist new delhi and get it done for 1/3 the price and twice as fast. $10 an hour doesn't bother me so I'll pay a college kid here to do it. (now if HE was smart he'd outsource it and sit on his *ss all summer...lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fires Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 LA - you should never write that much about your life without somehow sneaking in "and then I'm over at fabio's house" 671447[/snapback] LA is never going to live down the Fabio story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick in RaChaCha Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I'm running a web design and web management business. Just starting out, but I some nice experience. I focus on small to medium businesses and not-for-profits. I have a few nice clients including a local college. (need more tho ) If anyone is interested in hearing more PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 My concentration in business school was International Business...I have not started my own, but I have invested HEAVILY in some Canadian enterprises. Corporations such as Pure Platinum, Sundowner, Seductions, and Mademoiselle's are well-positioned in a niche market and deserve a look from you foreign investors out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 My concentration in business school was International Business...I have not started my own, but I have invested HEAVILY in some Canadian enterprises. Corporations such as Pure Platinum, Sundowner, Seductions, and Mademoiselle's are well-positioned in a niche market and deserve a look from you foreign investors out there. 671661[/snapback] I had a long position in Pure Platinum last time I visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I'm running a web design and web management business. Just starting out, but I some nice experience. I focus on small to medium businesses and not-for-profits. I have a few nice clients including a local college. (need more tho ) If anyone is interested in hearing more PM me. 671652[/snapback] As a repeat customer of Nick and his wife's graphic design business, I can highly recommend their services. Outstanding quality, prices and customer support. My wife and I will continue to be clients of theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 My concentration in business school was International Business...I have not started my own, but I have invested HEAVILY in some Canadian enterprises. Corporations such as Pure Platinum, Sundowner, Seductions, and Mademoiselle's are well-positioned in a niche market and deserve a look from you foreign investors out there. 671661[/snapback] I've always found those companies very hard to deal with but with appropriate investment of capital I always could count on a very strong finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 With the arrival of child #3, babyrock, my wife decided she would try "baby sitting" for a while. A couple of decades later, she runs a certified NYS licensed home day care center. With the education and certification, and ridiculous state compliance requirements, she has stayed ahead of the monster. Don't ever call her a baby sitter unless you want your ass kicked. She is the person who has your child 8-10 hours a day. She teaches them manners, potty trains them, does frequent field trips, has all kinds of craft projects, has just started teaching the toddlers simple computer usage. She cares for them when they are sick, and consoles them when they are having a bad day. She works at it 10 hours a day and does not sit much. Pay is OK, no complaints. I am surprised when parents complain about her rates, which are in a median range. She has told people if they want to save 5 dollars a week they are free to go to the nearest kid processing center and save $250 a year. She screens child and parents BEFORE they start. If the chemistry is not there, they do NOT get placed. She is her own boss, and is married to her backup daycare provider, repair man, accountant and tax advisor. Saturday night we ran into one of her former "kids" - he is head chef at a nice restaurant now! She helped him deal with his parents divorce and later with his father's death from cancer. Sixteen years after he was "her kid" during the day, he rushed over and gave her a big hug and kiss. Me? I work for a dot com in the cube mole life, but work with good people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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