How did you do it?

So true, and very, very rare in this world.

 

I will post a few things I've experienced in my entrepreneur road I've traveled.There is a lot of ups and downs for me so far.If I can possibly make a difference in your goal then that's good for me.Learn from my mistakes just like I'm still learning right now.

Do I have a Ferrari? Nope,but please read on.This post wont be the shortest but here goes.

I am 1 of 3 kids raised solely by my mom,I have 1 brother and 1 sister.My brother left to work out of state at age of 17.I knew college after high school just wasn't gonna be an option for me.Not only because of financial reasons but school in general couldn't grasp my full attention.My last job before turning into working for myself was at a Marriott hotel before I quit.Luckily my small biz idea did start raking me in pretty decent money for a person in their lower 20's.I kept this on for a good while.

Mistakes made at this period?
-Spent huge amounts of money on my car I had.DON'T BUY A CAR to "hold you off" ,stick to a cash car and drive that.When I say cash car I mean a $3,000 Corolla or similar.The money I spent I could have invested into my biz so much better.

-Bad bad bad spending.Aside from my car(s) and pricey clothes I later got a thing for Ducati motorcycles.That can be a thread in its own.The point is don't spend your money!!!

-Worried too much about partying with friends etc.Quote me on this,you will NOT talk to 3/4 of your close friends in due time.People grow up and go their own way.People you will know will get married,pregnant - unfortunately people you know will even die.I've had many friends go in accidents.You just never know what the cards will hold.

-Don't have kids, Don't get married! I got involved with a girl at age of 23.Mistake? Not all the time but I think the real mistake was she was 18 with a mindset 5 years younger.If being a entrepreneur is what you know you will be don't forget "normal people" wont understand you.Long work hours,lack of a social life and so on.Lets not forget even girls that are cheap still end up expensive over the years.

Ok so fast forward to my mid 20's up until like 29.I am making more money than lots of people in my circle.I hit 6 figures probably around 24-25 but lets not forget bad spending habits will eat you up.I successfully expanded into a different biz and things were good.So what now?

Something really important for you to remember.

-Don't trust ANYONE! I started doing work for a "friend" and didn't do any official paperwork with him.Knew this guy 10+ years so all would be ok right? No! Racked up a very very hefty bill in a 3 month time span.Whoever the hell it is you're working with get everything in writing!!!!

Just this past winter 2013 I had my down payment for my 1st exotic.Not much by some standards but I had $30k cash free to do whatever with.This is when the problem with the "friend" came to be.Basically after he delayed payment for 3 months and had racked it all up - it came out that he plain wasn't gonna pay. - BOOM.

So now I have not only a huge amount of money missing,I also wasted TIME i couldn't get back.And slowly but surely that $30k I had started to get picked at to pay for this or that.I just plain couldn't recover fast enough at this point.I turned away so much biz to concentrate on my friends job.Long story short,it took 1 person for my whole operation to go to sh*t.That is how 2014 kicked off to a not so great start.Now I will bring up something from earlier in more detail -the younger girlfriend.

So in my journey to get back on my feet I had to cut down on spending.Luckily my gf of now 6+ years had finished her masters degree and started working.However like I told you earlier - people change.The girl I met when she was 18 is now 24 and shes not the same.She didn't grow up around money and still doesn't have loads to say.However shes at the stage of going out with friends all the time,keeping up a facade of being a high roller.No eating at home,gotta eat at the trendy places in town of course lol.And that's how the cookie crumbled.Only 6 months of being "down" in my business venture and she dropped me.Didn't I say people wont understand your lack of time for these outgoing social lives? Didn't matter if I spent 6 YEARS of supporting her mentally among other thing$. When I needed her the most she up and left.That took 1 hell of a toll on me.I will leave it at that.

Now what you're asking?

This is the important part.After all these failures what did I do? I got right back the hell up and got back to work. No matter who you tell about your problems nothing is gonna change unless YOU do something about it.Don't expect your entrepreneur path to be bump free but hopefully you can minimize that as much as possible.Every industry is different so there is variables.

And if you're wondering how I'm doing now well in short I'm much better.I have a VERY good line up of work projects coming up.Basically it's looking like 2015 is going to be the best financial year to date! He who laughs last is simply laughing at everyone else.

Good luck to you.

 

Three Things:

1. It's the customer, stupid. If you don't have a clear understanding of who your customer is and what they want, the odds are not good.

2. Learn from your failures. Successes don't teach you very much because it is hard to pin down why you succeeded. As already mentioned, sometimes success is just dumb luck.

3. You have to be driven. If you are not an egotistical hardhead who is convinced that you are right, you will be better off opening a Subway franchise. Every startup faces headwinds. But, in today's world, startups face hurricane force headwinds. Seriously, if you are not willing to work from can to can't see for seven days a week, go get a job.

And I'll add one more thing - start young. I'm 62, and there is no way I could do a startup again.

Good luck, you'll need it.

Dale

PS Money is just how you keep score. What really counts is winning.

 

I feel so sorry for people with this mindset. I didn't have my first child until 40, so I can tell you how much more fulfilled my life is 13 years later.

Children aren't money drains, they are your legacy....you live forever through them. I cherish every moment with them.

 

What's it all for if not for the kids? They mean everything to me.

 

Also a Senior in high school with some entrepreneurial tendencies. I appreciate the thread, OP! A lot to learn from everyone here on Fchat.

 

You're right. Don't work at all. Then you can get a 7 car garage with a Ferrari in every one of those garages.

 

Kids are great,I want some myself.However since he said he just turned 18 - that's what help base my opinion.Let me rephrase my previous statement. Don't have kids until you're financially stable.

 

Fair enough. Sorry I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice the age.

 

It could happen, if you marry well, get a large inheritance, hit the lottery. Don't rule the don't work at all route out, it's just not as likely to come true.

 

I am counting my chickens before they are entirely hatched. But I'm a high school teacher (part time at a community college as well). I am divorced and pay child support. However, my ex recently did remarry so I stopped paying alimony. Yay! And he's a good guy around my daughter too.

The way I did it was by investing in real estate in 2011. I was fortunate enough to buy two properties for chump change, $44K and $49K. I had been saving vigorously and was able to scrape together enough cash to buy them both. I wasn't able to borrow money because I had two other mortgages in distress. Since then both properties have appreciated substantially and I bought a 3rd house.

Right now I am trying to refinance that one to get the money to buy an F car. I have been an investor/saver for all of my adult life and now I am hoping to spend a little and enjoy life a bit more.

 

I am in a similar situation. I am studying fulltime (last semester), working to keep the bills paid and have opened a couple businesses as a learning experience which worked well. I am 23 now and everything is catching on and showing results. If I have learned anything: Life can change within 1 day.
Today, I have found the way that I want to go and am on the right path. I have found my luck with products distribution. It was tough at first but the will to succeed is what makes it for me. Hopefully I will have my first ferrari (458 or CS) within the next year. Good luck on your way and may our paths cross one day