Originally Posted by fastfredracing (Post 10414794)

If you have a good thing going, make hay while the sun is shining. Pay your house off, keep your debt low. Set yourself up so that when you are older, and can no longer keep up the same pace, you can start to enjoy the fruits of your labor and pull back a little bit .
Make sure to enjoy some down time though.

Originally Posted by Seahawk (Post 10414914)

A few addition questions to add to the list:

Is the salary from the 9 to 5 essential?

Not essential, I basically got the job to have more funds to expand the business but we aren't in need of much funds right now since profit is helping us grow. Also my dad told me why would I leave home when I have a good job, so that's another reason I got the 8 to 5, to give him some peace knowing I'm not being a bum.

If you went full time with the business gig, would that put you in a financial bind?

No sir. I will put more time into the car stuff I used to do and have been thinking about getting into real estate.

Can you part-time the engineering job?

I will ask about this, but not likely.

How is the business structured? LLC, C/S Corp? Roles and responsibilities defined? If you are hiring people who does your employee manual, other HR related issues?

LLC. The roles and responsibilities are defined but shared. It's a very new business so still figuring a few things out.

Accounting structure...most small start-ups get on rocky shoals here. Line of credit? Are you protected?

We have an accountant/CPA

Lawyer? We use a CPA with a law degree - saves a lot of money.

I ask these questions because running a business is hard and you need to be hands on...nothing fails more than a business with a part-time owner. You have to drive the bus.

I understand, my buddy is full time, my brother is also besides two days out the week, and I'm part time while taking care of other aspects of the business. There isn't much to do once trucks arrive, items are inventoried and organized. That's when we need to think about growth and advertising.

If your brother and buddy are at the helm and you trust them, that is a different story. However, success and money change people. Trust but verify.

I understand but they are the most trust worthy I know. Time will tell.

Sounds like exciting stuff but get hyper organized if you have not already done so.

Thanks for the input and questions.

Originally Posted by McLovin (Post 10414953)

I agree that 24 is a time to take risk, but for your situation would need more info.

How much does your engineering job make now, and what level of income could be expected for the future?

Could you work your engineering job for a few years, learn it, make contacts then start your own engineering company? Would that be lucrative?

How much do you like/hate engineering?

If you quit your job, how hard would it be to go back and get a similar job?

How much does the Amazon reselling biz make and what are the income prospects for the future? Taking in mind that you are only getting a third of the net profits.

I’d focus your decision on the business and not count on anything from making music, YouTube videos, etc.

Originally Posted by Zeke (Post 10414973)

Looking back over the years I should have taken the tortoise route vs. the hare. A good career is just that. If the engineering job is not challenging enough to want limit hours spent on a side gig, then another job in engineering might.

You asked for advice so that's it from a 73 YO man.

Originally Posted by javadog (Post 10415081)

If you’re not bringing in much money through the business right now, then you need to keep your day job. You may not like it, that’s sort of the nature of work for most people, but you need to get some years on your resume.

Originally Posted by ItzaMe (Post 10414744)

Will try to keep this short and sweet.

I've been on this forum for some years and this group of people seems to have many years of experience in life generally.

I have made some big changes throughout my life in the last 6 months, mainly moving to a new state and taking on a new engineering role.

I'm 24 and the main reason I moved was because me, my brother, and my buddy started a business re-selling returned/overstock amazon goods by the truck load. Getting another engineering job was mainly to get me to quit my old one and make the move.

We chose our location since it made sense where some of the loads were coming from and we were familiar with the area already and had friends here also.

Business is slowly growing and have 400+ customers right now who signed up with out online auction.

I work full time 8-5PM and then get to our warehouse and work another 4+ hours daily doing inventory/organizing or cleaning up. I like holding my weight being a part owner.

These last few weeks it's felt impossible trying to keep up with my full time job and the business while still being able to have a social life.

What do you guys think? The business doesn't require cray hours to keep it running. We recently hired a couple more guys to do inventory so that will help also.

I have messed with making music, making YouTube videos, rebuilding cars/bikes and selling all my life. I think that if I off the full time job that I will be alright making funds roll in those other ways. Especially in today's day where people posting videos on YouTube are binging in crazy numbers.

I have some money saved also and have been thinking of investing in a few other ways but i have NO TIME when my job sucks 9+ hours out of me daily.

It's killing my creativity and imagination.

What do you guys think? Have you ever taken a leap and what do you suggest?

Any words of wisdom?

Originally Posted by ItzaMe (Post 10415078)

see above

Originally Posted by Seahawk (Post 10415108)

Good stuff...great to read your responses.

A few more Q's:

- Investors? Willing to entertain investors? That changes a bunch of "stuff". The Securities and Exchange folks need looking after.

- Exit strategy. Another trite but true saying in econ/business is that you form a company to sell it. Prepare an exit strategy and organize the company around what potential buyers will be looking for as they do their due diligence. I have a check list should you need it.

- Five Year Plan. There are some really good spreadsheets available that help you chart your path, EBIDA, etc. If you haven't done one, you guys should.

- In your ample spare time (:cool:) take an accounting class - basic stuff.

As you can tell, I love this area of business. Sincerely, best of luck. Very exciting. My daughter, 25, is starting along the same arc in a different field.

Originally Posted by tabs (Post 10415107)

You are a hustler. You are always thinking and have the guts to give it a try...you have the potential to make it big.

A job working for somebody elses hustle is just that a job..you do what they want for a buck. Sometimes that serves a purpose..figure out what is best for you..staying in that job for awhile gives you a track record..in case you need it..

Think about it..mull it over for awhile and revisit to see if it still makes sense. In other words think before you jump. Think of the angles. The pros and cons. Weigh it out. Talk about it to see if you missed something.

Then there is what you might call biding your time..for the window of opportunity to open. There is a proper moment to move when everything is just right. It is called patience. Alexander waited for the moment to strike..he conquered nearly the whole world before he was 32.

It is a Darwinian world of sink or swim..nobody teaches the process of navigating your way through life...those who get the process survive and those that don't fail.

Originally Posted by Seahawk (Post 10415108)

Good stuff...great to read your responses.

A few more Q's:

- Investors? Willing to entertain investors? That changes a bunch of "stuff". The Securities and Exchange folks need looking after.

I had another business idea that I was looking for investors for via craigslist post(pretty funny but I had a good amount of people interested and might move forward which is crazy to me). But haven't thought about investors in our current business which is a good idea (one of the partners of the company we are basically mirroring has an 'investor' type partner in the business). We never saw a need to have investor since we have the funds needed to keep the ball rolling hmm..

- Exit strategy. Another trite but true saying in econ/business is that you form a company to sell it. Prepare an exit strategy and organize the company around what potential buyers will be looking for as they do their due diligence. I have a check list should you need it.

We have thought about this also. If someone was wanting to purchase us outright. I am definitely interested in this check list. Let me know best way to contact you if you would care to share.

- Five Year Plan. There are some really good spreadsheets available that help you chart your path, EBITDA, etc. If you haven't done one, you guys should.

Five year plans are scary since who knows how long I have left on this earth but definitely understand they are a must have. Will look into the spreadsheets, maybe you have one personally that you have used?

- In your ample spare time (:cool:) take an accounting class - basic stuff.

You reads my mind on this one. When I was finishing up school I was thinking about minoring in business or accounting since I had completed all the math and more difficult courses already. Need to think about taking some courses even tho I hated school.

As you can tell, I love this area of business. Sincerely, best of luck. Very exciting. My daughter, 25, is starting along the same arc in a different field.

Originally Posted by ItzaMe (Post 10415142)

SIDE NOTE:

How do you busy people have time to work out, kick back a little in life?

I play volleyball and am in a basketball league once a week and its crazy to understand where people find time to do anything once they have a salary job.

Originally Posted by nb6179505 (Post 10414952)

Would like to know more. In the same boat sort of, 30 years old, about to have a kid, own a home. But always looking to take a risk if it pays off....

What sort of business?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by cabmando (Post 10415189)

What I started out with back in 1999 was HVAC. Did Real Estate, Manufactured Homes all while dabbling in used construction equipment. After 2008 I started doing the used construction equipment full time and haven't looked back. MUCH happier doing just the construction equipment. 2008 actually simplified my life.

Originally Posted by tabs (Post 10415107)

You are a hustler. You are always thinking and have the guts to give it a try...you have the potential to make it big.

A job working for somebody elses hustle is just that a job..you do what they want for a buck. Sometimes that serves a purpose..figure out what is best for you..staying in that job for awhile gives you a track record..in case you need it..

Think about it..mull it over for awhile and revisit to see if it still makes sense. In other words think before you jump. Think of the angles. The pros and cons. Weigh it out. Talk about it to see if you missed something.

Then there is what you might call biding your time..for the window of opportunity to open. There is a proper moment to move when everything is just right. It is called patience. Alexander waited for the moment to strike..he conquered nearly the whole world before he was 32.

It is a Darwinian world of sink or swim..nobody teaches the process of navigating your way through life...those who get the process survive and those that don't fail.