How do you start a business?

[bigdumbbell]

Which explains the 3 additional gimmicks

bingo

[240 is Back]

Which explains the 3 additional gimmicks

nah, they all have the same IP.  And I don't get to post nearly as much as I'd like to.  

I love to rag on you for politics joe, but I have to admit, your business sense is very keen.  You outhustle everyone else.

[1Fast400]

Every business should start with a written business plan

I never wrote one.  Probably never will. 

[bigdumbbell]

nah, they all have the same IP.  And I don't get to post nearly as much as I'd like to.  

I love to rag on you for politics joe, but I have to admit, your business sense is very keen.  You outhustle everyone else.

suck up

[bigdumbbell]

I never wrote one.  Probably never will. 

of course you dont need one.  that's rediculous

[joelocal]

Just to add......If you do just for the money, 9 times out of 10 you'll fail IMO....you have to love what you do.

[Matt C]

Just to add......If you do just for the money, 9 times out of 10 you'll fail IMO....you have to love what you do.

The majority of businesses fail, and I imagine a lot of them had a passion for what they were doing.

[onlyme]

SBA is WAY to hard.  I have a great contact with them and she even says it is a little harder.  They still require you to put up 30% cash of the amount of the loan you want.  You also have to jump through many hoops (sometimes the same ones over and over)  The good thing is you can get 10 years to pay it back with low interest and you get to own 100% of your business.  The thing is though you cannot deviate at all from you Business Plan and your expenses.  If you put down you are going to buy 4 beds and along the way you decided to add one more, you will not get those funds needed for that extra bed you want.  I have the checklist and everything you need if you want it.  I found it easier to just go and find a partner.  I have done Business Plans for many others and have raised millions of dollars.  My forte is gyms though.  You will also need to put down almost to the penny what you need the loan for and itemized all the items.  Once your application gets approved it can take as little as 3 weeks to get your money.  But the lead up time to that is a lot longer.  You will also need someone to sign for loan.  And all your creditors (equipment lease, landlord etc.) will all have to sign a document they have stating the SBA is the first one to get paid.  If you go under the SBA will be the first one to receive any money.   

of course you dont need one.  that's rediculous

You don't need one if the business is a little one and you are the owner and will run it.  But you have to have one to find investors and if you plan to have partners.  Most if not all banks require some sort of plan for a loan as does the SBA.  Not having a Business Plan is almost telling people you don't exactly what you are going to do and will just "wing-it"  Like Goodrum is doing.

[bigdumbbell]

SBA is WAY to hard.  I have a great contact with them and she even says it is a little harder.  They still require you to put up 30% cash of the amount of the loan you want.  You also have to jump through many hoops (sometimes the same ones over and over)  The good thing is you can get 10 years to pay it back with low interest and you get to own 100% of your business.  The thing is though you cannot deviate at all from you Business Plan and your expenses.  If you put down you are going to buy 4 beds and along the way you decided to add one more, you will not get those funds needed for that extra bed you want.  I have the checklist and everything you need if you want it.  I found it easier to just go and find a partner.  I have done Business Plans for many others and have raised millions of dollars.  My forte is gyms though.  You will also need to put down almost to the penny what you need the loan for and itemized all the items.  Once your application gets approved it can take as little as 3 weeks to get your money.  But the lead up time to that is a lot longer.  You will also need someone to sign for loan.  And all your creditors (equipment lease, landlord etc.) will all have to sign a document they have stating the SBA is the first one to get paid.  If you go under the SBA will be the first one to receive any money.   

You don't need one if the business is a little one and you are the owner and will run it.  But you have to have one to find investors and if you plan to have partners.  Most if not all banks require some sort of plan for a loan as does the SBA.  Not having a Business Plan is almost telling people you don't exactly what you are going to do and will just "wing-it"  Like Goodrum is doing.

having under 40 employees is a small business.  nothing shameful starting out modest and being successful

[onlyme]

There's this tanning salon that I go to because it's the only one in the area (next closes is about 15 miles away). This is in Kaneohe, Hawaii which is an area that rains pretty much everyday at some level. This is the worse place I've ever seen. Expensive, they close at random times for breaks, lunch, errands.... The owner lives on the mainland and doesn't give a rip. The "manager" is her niece that only hires her dippy teenage girl friends that spend more time on the phone or talking to their desperate boyfriends that have nothing better to do but hang out in a salon taking up the few seats available. The bulbs suck and are poorly maintained. Try to find a bed that doesn't have a least one bulb out. Due to their frequent "computer problems" they've been closed for over a week. No one is happy with this place but  only go there because it's the only salon in the area.

Because there is a ready made customer base (it's in an outdoor shopping center with lease space available with a 24hr fit right next door to the salon) I know that if another placed opened up and just actually stayed open during the posted hours they would shut this place down. Even their hours stink 10am-9pm wkdys and 11am-5pm wkends. And I'm sure I can do better than their $80/month unlimited on their crappy 20 min bed.

Hell, I'd be willing to sit there from 7am-11am and run the place myself. There's a lot of down time that I can use to read getbig (LOL). Also, I can hire my nephew that lives down the street to work a few hours while I go to 24hr to train 3-4 times a week.

I know that place too.  I had met the owners once I think.  The tanning salon next to 24 Hour in Aiea is unreal busy (if it is still there).  That girl was trying to sell her place for about $150,000.  Her place was packed all the time.  The next to 24 Hour on Kapiolani is unreal too how much business they do. 

having under 40 employees is a small business.  nothing shameful starting out modest and being successful

Hey I would rather start off small and be successful but my problem is I have to do things big.  I either make it big and make a lot of money or make it big and lose a lot of money.  I have been very fortunate except once.  My new business is again starting off big but the return is unreal.  And the room fro growth is even bigger.

[Matt C]

You don't need one if the business is a little one and you are the owner and will run it.  But you have to have one to find investors and if you plan to have partners.  Most if not all banks require some sort of plan for a loan as does the SBA.  Not having a Business Plan is almost telling people you don't exactly what you are going to do and will just "wing-it"  Like Goodrum is doing.

No need to be mean to Goodrum - he pulls in three figures a year.

[pellius]

I never wrote one.  Probably never will. 

Is this THEE 1Fast400? If so I've ordered from you before and you are the best and the fastest out there. Sometimes I think you guys have ESP which enables you to send out products I want before I even order them. When did you start and how long did it take to become so successful?

[joelocal]

of course you dont need one.  that's rediculous

If you have a written plan, the chances of getting a loan improve greatly even if credit is flawed. (Collateral helps as well)

[Van_Bilderass]

Is this THEE 1Fast400? If so I've ordered from you before and you are the best and the fastest out there. Sometimes I think you guys have ESP which enables you to send out products I want before I even order them. When did you start and how long did it take to become so successful?

I'm pretty sure he sold the business a long time ago.

[windsor88]

I have done Business Plans for many others and have raised millions of dollars.  My forte is gyms though.  You will also need to put down almost to the penny what you need the loan for and itemized all the items.  Once your application gets approved it can take as little as 3 weeks to get your money.  But the lead up time to that is a lot longer.  You will also need someone to sign for loan.  And all your creditors (equipment lease, landlord etc.) will all have to sign a document they have stating the SBA is the first one to get paid.  If you go under the SBA will be the first one to receive any money.   

You should put your services to work man.  The most intimidating thing I think is jumping into this unfamiliar fire of loans, Plans, rules, etc..
Your experience is a valuable asset.  You are the kind of person most would need to lay out everything in direct terms.  Have you charged for doing business plans in the past? 

[240 is Back]

yeah, onlyme knows a lot of stuff

[MindSpin]

Money and intelligent use of it makes more money.  Innovation makes money, but these days it usually requires money to be innovative (youtube, facebook).  In other words, if you don't have money to begin with, don't expect to progress anywhere fast.  And I don't mean having $50,000 in the bank, I mean having a million to play with.

you don't need a dime to make money...find an opportunity and use other people's money

A million dollars... Oh brother

[pellius]

Well, this definitely qualifies as a small biz because I will need maybe 3-4 employees. It has a ready and waiting customer base. Peeps are just begging for another place to go to -- including me. If I had the resources and know how I'd get on it tomorrow.

[Matt C]

you don't need a dime to make money...find an opportunity and use other people's money

A million dollars... Oh brother

Oh geez, why didn't I think of that?!  Yeah, having wealth isn't an advantage or anything. 

[bigdumbbell]

Oh geez, why didn't I think of that?!  Yeah, having wealth isn't an advantage of anything. 

my grandfather harry was a successful new york doctor who purchased a few shares of standard oil that's enabled us to do alot and create more wealth

[Matt C]

my grandfather harry was a successful new york doctor who purchased a few shares of standard oil that's enabled us to do alot and create more wealth

This is the exception, not the rule.  Having money is a huge advantage.

[MindSpin]

you said you NEED AT LEAST $1 million. You don't need a dime. Obviously it can't hurt to have cash, but it's not a necessity.

[Matt C]

you said you NEED AT LEAST $1 million. You don't need a dime. Obviously it can't hurt to have cash, but it's not a necessity.

Coupled with intelligence, I would say you need a million dollars to basically guarantee success.  Said another way, if I had a million dollars cash, I would be able to live off that for the rest of my life.  I'm a sharp guy, but anything short of a million dollars, and I wouldn't put a guarantee on it.

[slayer]

Money and intelligent use of it makes more money.  Innovation makes money, but these days it usually requires money to be innovative (youtube, facebook).  In other words, if you don't have money to begin with, don't expect to progress anywhere fast.  And I don't mean having $50,000 in the bank, I mean having a million to play with.

dude hes talking about a 6 to 10 bed  ma and pop tanning salon , not opening wallmart!

I worked in a tanning joint about 15 yrs ago and the women spent about $15000 to open it(used equiptment,carpenters for rooms) ,did zero promotion since it was in a strip amll next to a gym, hired me and 1 other person for a few bucks an hour ad gave us free tanning. shes still there to this day making money

get a decent location ,insurance, some used beds, hire 2 teens and worst case scenerio you recoup your money and sell the beds if it doesnt work out!

if theres a highschool or gym close by, you cant fail!


heres a wierd one, I was actually gonna by a house in upstate ny that had a barn converted into a 3 bed tanning salon out in the middle of nowhere, closest town was 15 minutes away and these people had tax reciepts showing they made 15 grand a yr profit just being open about 5 hrs aday in the middle of no mans land.
this was farrm country where all the homes were spaced 10 miles apart!

tanning salons equall a nice little business, just dont look to get rich..

[240 is Back]

Coupled with intelligence, I would say you need a million dollars to basically guarantee success.  Said another way, if I had a million dollars cash, I would be able to live off that for the rest of my life.  I'm a sharp guy, but anything short of a million dollars, and I wouldn't put a guarantee on it.

having a mil in the bank means you will get 100k a year in interest, give or take.

Most of us could live well off 100k per year.