Owning a business

[rowe]

Have you ever owned (and/or manage) your own business(es)? Or thought about starting one up?

I own two of them, with the latter formed last month. (Actually just registered it with the state yesterday.) Even though they're both under a year old, I'm feeling the pressure and stress of running them. (And now it's tax time, so it should be even more fun. )

Overall, it's a rewarding experience. I have goals set in mind. I know who and what I want to target. My business plans are solid. I have customers whom I have great rapport with. My fellow owners (for the first business) are supportive and engaged. I'd like to keep that all there as these ventures progress.

 

[iSmiff]

Not to such an extent of having physical business but i've been self employed so I know how much of a pain doing your own taxes is.

 

[rowe]

What is it that you're doing?

How long are your taxes going to take? (Kidding there.)

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

i'm a self employed camera operator, but only for the last six months or so. i haven't really earned much because the film & tv industry isn't exactly easy to get a foot hold in. so far the only paid work i've had is a wedding video and camera assisting on two football matches that were on sky. i've got a documentary upcoming that should pay pretty well though.

i won't have to do my taxes until next year i don't think, because i won't have been self employed for a full calendar year so i'm spared that horror for a while.

 

[iSmiff]

What is it that you're doing?

How long are your taxes going to take? (Kidding there.)

I'm not self employed any more, but I was just a freelance IT technician. They didn't take outrageously long but you had to keep on top of them in a week by week basis and getting them in on time was a pain when I was back at uni too

 

[rowe]

i'm a self employed camera operator, but only for the last six months or so. i haven't really earned much because the film & tv industry isn't exactly easy to get a foot hold in. so far the only paid work i've had is a wedding video and camera assisting on two football matches that were on sky. i've got a documentary upcoming that should pay pretty well though.

Good luck with that. I have family in the industry, too, and it also wasn't easy for them. Keep at it, and I'm willing to bet you'll make it in due time.

What's the documentary about?

I'm not self employed any more, but I was just a freelance IT technician.

Another tech savvy fellow. Usually IT techs make decent income, freelance or employed.


Both of my companies are tech based, but more on the software and web side. I have nothing against the hardware side of things, I'm just not adept at such things.

 

[Belazor et Britannia]

*points to his signature and pretty much everything else on this forum*

We have an accountant, so taxes are pretty much a non-issue, beyond importing our receipts into our accounting software every 3 months and re-checking our figures once a year. We roughly estimate how the numbers should look, to catch any anomalies before our accountant does the same.

As for the pressure, there's certainly some of it. It may seem awesome on paper, to get to work when you want and where you want, but the truth is that you have to work all the time and everywhere. I take one "holiday" (in massive airquotes) a year, which is ~2 weeks with my mother for Xmas / New Years. Very few, if any, of those days are truly "no work at all" days, as there's always someone who needs support.

On top of that, if you're a person who has bad work habits from when you were younger, nothing throws you in the deep end like managing a business. You really need either more self discipline than The Rock, or a really patient business partner. Fortunately, I have the latter, because I sure as balls don't have the former

It's also liberating, because you are able to choose your own work hours. It doesn't really matter if you work 8am to 8pm or 3pm to 3am, as long as it gets done.

You also feel more rewarded when success happens, because it's not so much a team effort in a huge corporation as it is something you built being successful. Of course, if you're working with a team then they share the credit.

You may have more control over what you create, but only to a degree. You still have to create what people are interested in; if all you do is create what you want, then invariably you're going to be inundated with "this needs to be different" or they just won't buy it in the first place. To do that, you need someone capable of analysing market trends and come up with good designs based on said trends. It also helps if they understand the psychology behind the trends, which can mean the difference between being a "me too" or being as close to a trendsetter as a small business can be.

The most important thing, however, is to be consistent. Release new products / updates consistently. Build up a brand, and a reputation. It may be slower than if you have someone who knows about marketing & trends, but consistency and brand awareness will build a business in the long run as well.

 

[rowe]

*points to his signature and pretty much everything else on this forum*

Yes, I get it. This is your guinea pig.

We have an accountant, so taxes are pretty much a non-issue, beyond importing our receipts into our accounting software every 3 months and re-checking our figures once a year.

I'm actually fine with taxes. I know how to do them well, but I don't like to. Quite the quandary.

As for the pressure, there's certainly some of it. It may seem awesome on paper, to get to work when you want and where you want, but the truth is that you have to work all the time and everywhere.

When you're the creative mind behind the company, this is especially true. When I'm not working my salary-paying job, I'm working my own. My time off may be part of the weekend, if I'm lucky.

On top of that, if you're a person who has bad work habits from when you were younger, nothing throws you in the deep end like managing a business.

I was a lazy one when I was younger, but I've definitely changed over time. I wouldn't have taken on this responsibility otherwise.

You also feel more rewarded when success happens, because it's not so much a team effort in a huge corporation as it is something you built being successful. Of course, if you're working with a team then they share the credit.

I was pretty excited when we made our first dollar. It went straight to expenses within a day, but it told us that we were doing something right.

 

[Belazor et Britannia]

Yes, I get it. This is your guinea pig.

Hardly, our official forums has literally all of our mods installed, to the point where we had to employ a fancy trick in order to make sure only the useful mods are available on the main website, whereas the others can be loaded by going to a different domain (that still points to the same site)

When you're the creative mind behind the company, this is especially true. When I'm not working my salary-paying job, I'm working my own. My time off may be part of the weekend, if I'm lucky.

You're not hardcore enough! I stayed at home an extra 6 months to ensure I wasn't in financial danger from starting the business (before mortgages and such), then when I saw it was working out I packed my shit and moved to another country

I was a lazy one when I was younger, but I've definitely changed over time. I wouldn't have taken on this responsibility otherwise.

I was the kid who was smart enough to get an average of 4.25 / 6 on his report card without doing homework or studying, but not smart enough to intuitively pick up on stuff. Thus, I'd always been used to cruising through school with no effort and play games all day. Quite the culture shock when I was forced to give that up.

I was pretty excited when we made our first dollar. It went straight to expenses within a day, but it told us that we were doing something right.

I remember being super nervous about our weekly wages for the first year or so, worrying about the time in between each sale and such, but now I don't even acknowledge the fact that we've made a sale unless it's over $250

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

Good luck with that. I have family in the industry, too, and it also wasn't easy for them. Keep at it, and I'm willing to bet you'll make it in due time.

What's the documentary about?

i like to think i've got the determination to stick at it, and i'm thick skinned enough to get through the many failed job applications.

it's a sort of making-of thing, where we'll be talking to some other filmmakers who are adapting some poems into short films for a poetry foundation. we'll be looking at how they approached the adaptation and how they interpreted the poem and so on, and it'll be used as an educational thing to help raise a bit of awareness for the foundation

 

[Red Wizard]

Never owned a business, but a friend and I came close to doing it. We were going to open up a music store, which mainly specialized in repairing musical equipment (since I'm good at it). We had plans together and had a building selected and a business plan and everything... but we never actually went through with it. Now I just work tech support and I do computer repairs on the side.

 

[Ed Elric]

I've always wanted to make and own a small business.

My mom used to work for a woman who opened her own crafts and arts store...


and after 6 months or so,

it got shut down

It's hard when the economy is to shit,

but if it was a more realistic and more of obtainable goal, I'd do it


a food store, of course.