I dream to be my own boss

[alivecream]

I do not want to work for a boss for the rest of my life. I sometimes find myself thinking, "Is this all there is to my life? Wake up at 6am, prepare and go to work, work my ass off, go home exhausted, and the cycle repeats itself the next day"

I really want my own business so I won't have to rely on a boss to make a living. Can you give me some advice on what business to start? Something that won't require too much capital. Thanks!

[Lindsey]

What do you enjoy doing? Many businesses can be a shoestring business.

[mrsat_98]

Something you have experience in.

[tod evans]

Ummmmm,

Being your own boss actually requires more work, more hours and lots more mental effort than just clocking in.....

[CaptUSA]

Ummmmm,

Being your own boss actually requires more work, more hours and lots more mental effort than just clocking in.....

Correct. The difference is that if you do something you love, it won't feel like work. (Well, most of the time anyway...)


My advice would be to do some soul searching about what you like to do. Don't worry, at first, about how you will make money at it. Become the best at what you like to do. When you have done that, figure out how you can provide value to others by doing it.

The problem is that most people don't really know what they like to do. They just want to be entertained by someone or something else. That's why the soul searching needs to be the first step.

[heavenlyboy34]

Make a non-job!
http://nonjob.org/

[tod evans]

My advice would be to do some soul searching about what you like to do. Don't worry, at first, about how you will make money at it. Become the best at what you like to do. When you have done that, figure out how you can provide value to others by doing it.

Sound advice, I'm still practicing..

Attachment 3308

[Suzanimal]

Beautiful work tod evans!!! I know who I'm calling when I redo my kitchen.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

I do not want to work for a boss for the rest of my life. I sometimes find myself thinking, "Is this all there is to my life? Wake up at 6am, prepare and go to work, work my ass off, go home exhausted, and the cycle repeats itself the next day"

I really want my own business so I won't have to rely on a boss to make a living. Can you give me some advice on what business to start? Something that won't require too much capital. Thanks!

You're putting far too much effort into this already.

This is America, 2014. If you work, then you pay money to the federal government. If you don't work, then the federal government pays money to you.

[phill4paul]

Sound advice, I'm still practicing..

Attachment 3308

I don't think they've ever changed the design of the can...

[SilentBull]

I do not want to work for a boss for the rest of my life. I sometimes find myself thinking, "Is this all there is to my life? Wake up at 6am, prepare and go to work, work my ass off, go home exhausted, and the cycle repeats itself the next day"

I really want my own business so I won't have to rely on a boss to make a living. Can you give me some advice on what business to start? Something that won't require too much capital. Thanks!

First, don't listen to people that say "do what you love." More often than not, this doesn't translate into money. Instead focus on finding a PROBLEM that you can solve for people. You can be passionate about solving that problem for people without that problem being "what you love." People that own businesses that clean septic tanks don't love poop.

Be sure though, that you do like the ideal customer, and you wouldn't mind helping them and talking to them all the time. I created software for restaurants once and realized after wasting my time, that I have no desire to help restaurant owners. They're just not my ideal customer. So find a group of people that you like and want to solve a problem for. You can start by thinking about problems that you, yourself have encountered.

What's your background? What are you good at? What have you helped people with in the past? Any way you can turn that into a business? Can you solve a problem for a group of people better than the current solutions out there can? Are there other people out there making money solving the same problem? That's a good thing! It means there are people out there willing to pay. There's money in it. Can you do it better, differently than they are doing it, or can you make it better for a different group of people?

Just a few things to think about. Of course I have no idea what your background is. I'm a software engineer, hoping to start my own business soon. I have a ton of experience failing because I didn't ask myself some of those questions before going ahead and wasting time building something I couldn't sell.

[bunklocoempire]

*snip*

I really want my own business so I won't have to rely on a boss to make a living.

First find out who that "boss" is that you really have been working for.

It will help you determine if you want to start a business in or out of the system. A bit of both?

After starting "my own" business in the system, I discovered that there was a boss that I was still working for.
That boss demands that I shake down others and perpetuate his immoral and doomed to fail system.

It might sound all kind of high and mighty, but "the boss" is always trying to get you to do his bidding and have you rely on him.

[alivecream]

Oh wow that is really nice work mr evans. Well guys I've done a lot of different things and do find joy in helping others. From party entertainment, to pet grooming/sitting, to medical billing, tutoring...this is why it's so hard to decide. But thank you all for the great advice. What really is motivating is how easy it seems to be to find potential rental spaces...whenever I get to that point. But I love looking at real estate and dreaming up possibilities with the space.