Working for Yourself

[Nottawayfer]

Hubby and I are tired of working for someone else and seeing our dreams farther away than we'd like. We know that if we really want to do more for ourselves financially, we need to have our own business. We've pondered a few things based on the talents we already have and things we'd like to do, but we haven't totally decided what it will be yet.

Do any of you have businesses or know someone who has a business that is enjoyable and profitable without spending your life savings to get it started?

[jetc57]

Have you and hubby thought about taking some classes in Real Estate Sales?

Low start up and the way homes are selling Realtors are making very Handsome incomes and the popular Realtors are husband and wife teams. Nice - and you have Repeat clients.

Any job you work at for yourself, I think you have to have 'repeat clientell'.

You also have to be skilled in sales, so if you aren't comfortable with 'selling' get comfortable with it, cause its the only way you are going to succeed in any business. Marketing is important.

Study the market, use your own uniqueness in whatever business you set out to do.

Plan your work -- work your plan.

Do plenty of research -- and homework, and look into all the ways to market it WORLD WIDE on the INTERNET!!!!

Honestly tho, Real Estate is the one career you and husband can do and if you have 'people skills' this can work great for you, and Only one of you have to quit your full time jobs at first or you both can still work but do Real Estate part-time until you are making enough money to support what you were making working for others.

As for me and what I did and why I chose it, I worked for Printers then one day it hit me, I was limited as to what I could do for my customers because of the RULES of my employeer, so I started my own Printing company. First I went into Real Estate, and while working at a C21 Office the other agents found out I was great at making flyers so they had me busy making their flyers, so that got me started in my own flyer print and delivery business, which took me away from Real Estate back into the stuff I was more passionate about.

Years ago when I got into TWI and went WOW, folks were starting up their own businesses, the idea then was to do the jobs no one else liked to do. Thus "Real Clean Window Cleaners", and Those folks who started the concept of cleaning public bathrooms at gas stations. Then there were gals doing housework for others. We knew there was no such thing as NO JOB out there. We learned to create our own careers. So I know it can be done, if one sets their mind to it.

# 1 is you must believe in the product you are promoting. If its based on yourself and your talents, then SELL SELL SELL yourself. Believe in Yourself -- Have Confidence --- and Set goals, do research, read all kinds of motivational materials. I always liked "Life is Tremendous" by Charlie Jones, he and Ziggy knew what they were talking about in the Sales World.

Curious what your ideas are. What kinda jobs you have now?

I wish you the best. I know first hand the tremendous satisfaction there is in providing others with quality service at an affordable price. I had a moto in my business "Need a deadline met? Call Jet", worked great in my business. People trusted me to get things done right and on time the first time.

I loved that Customer Quality Service I gave, people loved me for it, Its lacking out there in Retail places today. Provide something Better than your competition........

Edited November 18, 2005 by jetc57

[Linda Z]

I can't recommend what kind of business would be best for you because that depends on your skills, your expectations, and your location. But there are a couple things you have to think about that make working for oneself more of a challenge than working for someone else: taxes and health insurance. And if you have a place of business where customers come, there's liability insurance. And if you have employees, there's unemployment insurance for them.

When I was in business for myself (over a period of about 8 years), I loved the freedom of setting my own hours and getting out of the corporate atmosphere. I loved not having to put on pantyhose and drive to work every day. I loved being able to work like a crazy person for a couple weeks so I could take a week off when I wanted to take off. That was the up side.

The down side: a greatly increased tax burden, without the benefit of an employer contributing half my social security tax; fairly hefty health insurance premiums (and it turned out the insurance I chose was grossly inadequate when I needed surgery); and no paid sick days or vacation days. For me, those factors were enough to send my back into the full-time employment mode, but that's just me. And if I had deadlines to meet, I had no one to meet them but me--I frequently ended up working waaaaay more than 40 hours a week.

Now, I had a very low-overhead business. Once I bought my computer and other office equipment, there was little I could write off each year to lower my taxes, so that might not be as much of a factor for you depending on what type of business you pursue.

I suppose I'm getting cautious as I get older, but I'd suggest that you might want to start out with one of you retaining full-time employment (the one with the best benefits) and the other starting the business. Then, if it takes off, the full-time spouse could quit his/her job and jump in there. And before either of you quits the day job, study your local market (or better yet, have someone study it for you) to see if there's adequate demand for the services or goods you'd like to provide. If the market's saturated with similar businesses, there might not be enough customers to go around regardless of how unique your particular business is.

I went back to working for someone else 8+ years ago, and I'll admit still miss working from home , especially at this time of year. It was great to look out the window at the ice and slush and hear the howling winds and then walk into my office and start working. On the other hand, it's also great to have medical, dental, and vision insurance, and 4 weeks of paid vacation each year.

I'm not trying to put a wet blanket on your dreams, but before you pursue them, please consider the costs of doing business, both in terms of time and money. Then if you find something you like to do that there's a demand for in your area, go for it!

[moony3424]

Linda

I just watched a show not to long ago with tips for people wanting to go into business for themselves and the expert advised the same thing as you did. When you start up, keep your regular full-time job until the business really takes off. As far as what you should do, he recommended to go with your passions, cause that will keep you going.

[jetc57]

I agree, and I too made mention of that somewhat.

I had a good opportunity. My husband worked full time and his job offered us benefits. Medical.

My business was first from my home in a shop behind my house. It was an allowable expense on Taxes. Then, along with my home-owners insurance I got business insurance.

There is an association out there called NASE, National Assoc for the Self Employeed.

You might want to look into becoming a member, they offer a real nice package for small business owners who want health insurance, tax advice, business advice, grant information and the like.

Another helpful resource I found was the local Chamber of Commerce, and the Retired Businessman's Association. The exact title escapes me, and it is different in every state. For me where I lived was called SCORE, there are others.

Sure there are liabilities and risks in all jobs, and if your self employeed and don't plan on taking out any taxes, or paying into SS -- that's ok too -- short-term. I did that the first few years, and once I started making a profit I then started taking a pay check. There are ways around that too.

There are different business types, The Sole Proprietor, or you can do a Sub Chapter S corporation.

This is wonderful as you can be an officer in your company and get paid yearly from company stocks., you can also sell shares to friends/family. There are a couple stipulations to this, you must offer shares, and hold yearly corporate meetings. The advantage to Sub Chapter S, is you don't get taxed twice.

Then there are other company types. The LLC, and more. Ask your tax accountant, although I would not put any trust in H+R, this comes from my Husband's advice and he works for the IRS.

As to not having any further things to buy for ones business that are tax deductible. I wouldn't be afraid of that one. Every year you can find something obsolete in your office that if you upgraded, to meet with the competition you can afford to buy it and deferr it in your tax write off. Never a good idea to take the credit all at once, take it over a period of a few years. Also, when the profits start happening, put them in tax sheltered investments like IRAs, ROTH IRAs, or start planning your childrens future college or trust fund with Educational IRAs. There are great advantages for Creating a Sub Chapt. S corporation rather than listing one's business as sole proprietor. For one thing you take liabilities away from your personal assets, to those of the Corporation. A BIG PLUS.... Do get some advice for free from those Retired Business people, the Local Chamber of Commerce can hook you up. The info is FREE.

There are pros and cons with any business venture. If you are a parent, working at home has so many more advantages than it does working for someone else. Plus, if you had to list the pros and cons, you would have to list the expenses you now incur with car insurance, gas, maintenance, commute time, the frustration of a job commute, being away from your children. Hey whenever you step out of your front yard there are risks. I wouldn't be afraid of the risks involved in self employment, any more than the risks working for someone else. You don't have job security working for 'The Man', or "Big Corps".

So what if they help pay your health insurance, you help make the Co you work for Profitable.

You get paid a salary or an hourly wage in the working world, but you get paid so much more in Self Employment. Now instead of working for $15 hr, you can charge what your Boss was charging the Client for your Work. You can now afford your own health insurance., save on car expenses, and you are the keeper of your own time and schedule. There are tremendous tax advantages out there for small business people. The home work zone has really taken off, you can 'freelance' yourself by working at home for big companies too.

As a Graphic Designer, I did that very thing when I was a single parent. It worked wonderful.

Apply the 'Ben Franklin' method. List the pros, vs cons and see what you come up with?

YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR HEART AND MIND TO. I am not suggesting to go out blindly in the cause, as Linda said too, do the research or hire someone to do it. Me personally I am extremely conservative, I saved money and did my own research. Why pay someone else to do it when you can keep your money and use your own time?

I started my business on a shoe string. I went to auctions of failed printing companies, and bought equipment on credit real cheap. Then I paid the cards off. I ran a growing company all on my own with only hiring out 'brokers' to help me finish jobs. I subcontracted my daughters help for bindery work.

I never had to hire anyone, never paid any taxes, always got a refund. (10 wonderful years with one business) (5 years self employeed as a Freelance Graphic Designer/Typographer) AND I started a few newsletters and a paper to which I sold for a nice profit. It can be done.

Again I'm wondering what your current careers are, and what your passions and talents are. Perhaps if you could share that with your readers, maybe we could provide some additional ideas. I'm happy to share any 'brainstorms' I might get. I'm self employeed at the moment still. I do publishing from my computer. I also sell on ebay. I enjoy working for myself and family. I get to stay home for my son.

I hope my sharing stuff is welcomed. If not I'll stop.

:)

Edited November 18, 2005 by jetc57

[krys]

Linda has given you excellent food for thought. The knife does cut both ways but one can be successful in one's own business.

Consider a service rather than a product. A friend of mine made a fairly decent living running errands. She grocery shopped, took cars through inspection lines, brought clothes to cleaners and retrieved them. If you can acquire proper license and insurance, you can take older people to doctor appointments, wait with them and bring them home again.

If you can find, or make a unique niche, you should do well.

[act2]

Excellent thread. One that I am very interested in also.

If I recall correctly, Wayfer Not, you live in CA. One of our businesses we had in AR was a full-service car wash, which I would NOT recommend, due to the liability of employees, equipment, damage to vehicles by uncaring employees, etc... BUT I would recommend a self-serve car wash, one that has the drive-thru service. In my area, I pay $5.00 for a basic wash w/no drying. It takes credit cards and bills up to $10.00. The profit is good, and you & hubby could retain both your jobs, and go by on your lunch hour and replace the trash liners, etc, if needed, and then go by after work, and do general clean up of the grounds. Weekends would be a good idea to be there to keep the place spotless.

Back to AR, we rented the building but we owned the car wash equipment, which really helped us when we sold the business. So, maybe you can find a self-serve that the owner is willing to lease it to you for a monthly rent, and as things progress, you could buy the property.

Another thing that we did was offer a cleaning service to the local terminal locations for major trucking companies. But we cleaned mostly the inside of the trucks. We had a dedicated team of employees that did only that. It was the best deal we have ever had. In fact, it helped put us in a home in Memphis in the hottest area there. (When we cleaned inside and out, we charged about $125.00, inside only was about $65.00) Takes about 2 hours (inside and out) if you have a good employee. We paid our employees by the truck, so they were motivated to do it quickly and do it right the first time. Plus, keeping a record of the truck # for pay, we also were able to determine who worked on it, if there was a problem with the truck not being cleaned properly.

However, I would recommend that you try to only clean the inside of trucks, less liability and problems with EPA due to water runoff. Most major trucking companies have a truck wash for the outside at their locations. And the money is much better for inside only cleaning and takes much less time. And most major trucking companies pay ON TIME!!!!! The only company that we did not pursue was Schne1der, they are 90 day pay..... no way......

Ok, enough about that.

One of best friends in AR installs door locks, closet shelving, mirrors & shower installations for new home construction. Also, ventless fireplaces and vacuum systems. When he goes to the home, he measures for everything and gets a count of what is needed. EXCELLENT MONEY. In fact, we installed mirrors and shower enclosures in our business.

Ok, I will shut up.

[Zshot]

If I might make a suggestion...

It is very important to keep accurate records of assets, expenses, sales etc...

It might be a good idea to take an accounting class.

[likeaneagle]

Sorry- Itook RE class here for alow fee of 200.00 thru Caldwell Banker..But the initial fee's to start plus quartly ad annualy ranged as a total at year end is around $6000.00. x2 for 2 people. I did get certified but not licensed.I took my knowledge and learned this area for marketing and went into Mortgage lending. I have a friend who is a Loan Officer and is making average of about $25,000.00 in one month commission. You have to keep yourself driven with vision to learn this areana. I also am Loan Officer. I work from home. Everything is electronic these days. I also have a processor who oversee's my loans. I had no start up fee's. Each company is different. You have to market your self.

[GarthP2000]

If you're the creative sort, web and graphics design can be a pretty good business to get into. But you MUST be at least pretty good, not only in the creative sense, but also in the understanding of what makes for a good website; one that is easy to navigate and use, and where the design and content work together well to communicate what the client wants. That, and GOOD customer and client support and rapport.

You master all that Grasshopper, :) and folks *will* spread your name around.

[Nottawayfer]

WOW!! I didn't expect to receive so much GOOD information! I have questions, but I need to finish reading and soaking this all in. Thanks you guys!

[Wacky Funster]

I guess I can chime in my $.02!!!

I've been self employed for almost 15 years.

When I was teaching, I would clean a few houses after school to supplement my income.

Moving around with the way (choke choke) surely makes people hiring you question your stability.

I started housecleaning 3 houses a day, 5 days a week. I did that for about 13 years...until my body just couldn't take it full time anymore...

And it looks good, doesn't it? Like I'm making dangloads of money, doesn't it???

Nada and ditto what Linda said....keep the day job ;)

I now am a massage therapist, have a little cottage office, business is up and down with the seasons...

I am absolutely miffed at all the money I DON'T HAVE!!! but, I'm single...you and your hubby will have 2 incomes coming in.

It's just about impossible to make ends meet anymore.

Gas is up, elec. is up, oil is up, taxes have doubled as my overinflated house has tripled in price (that whole scam in the real estate is such a crock!)...food is going up 4%.

This year I had to drop my health insurance. At $5000, I figure someone won't let me die on the street...some hospital will take me in.

I'm starting to feel like a poor person. That I'm looking to get from the system now. I recently applied for "free care" in the state, and hope to get some lipitor at fraction of a cost from the drug company.

Not to mention quarterly taxes...oy vey....and house payments and house insurance and property taxes...

I am truly getting overwhelmed....and as I get older, I'm tired of working so much...and yet, I have to work more to make ends meet!!!!

I'm tired of budgeting....I can hardly take off, because I haven't the money. I've cut out movies and going out to eat...I have no cable....

I think self employment sucks.

[GarthP2000]

Wacky,

You can always go work for Micro$oft.

((ducking))

[Linda Z]

jetc57 said: "There is an association out there called NASE, National Assoc for the Self Employeed."

NASE is an association put together for the sole purpose of selling insurance, under the guise of being a support system for the self-employed. And what's worse is that it's not good insurance. They are the ones who royally screwed me when I had surgery. What they paid came nowhere near the "reasonable and customary" costs of a routine (gallbladder) surgery. I was left with thousands of dollars in hospital/surgeon bills.

After I went through this (timing is everything), I read a couple of articles about this group, and neither of them was the least bit favorable. Beware!

Edited November 19, 2005 by Linda Z

[Wacky Funster]

Well, I had NASE, Linda...and I remember your warning on another thread....

8 years ago I was payihg $1600. This year it would have ben $4860!!! For next to nothing...altho they did pay for half of all my crowns these past few years and 2 cleanings and half my prescriptions...but, it surely isn't worth the cost anymore.

Good thing you ducked, Garth!!!!

[Wacky Funster]

I must add this.

Although self employment is a financial drain....

...my quality of life couldn't be better....

...and my stress level is about nil....

[Hills Bro]

I've been self-employed for 30 years. My opinion is that you have to be a cross between an idiot and a numbskull to be self-employed and if you know me you will agree that I fit the bill. That being said..I have to admit that the assets far outweigh the liabilities. My accounts are great. I have met some outstanding people who are paying my bills and giving me a good life. I wouldn't trade it for any other work. I just bought brand new equipment so I guess I am in it for another 30 years :D . The trick in being in business for yourself is,, although your independent, not to think that everything can only be done right if you yourself do it. I did this for years especially when I was in TWI. ( Remember how they used to tell you not to hire the natural man,, only believers?) What a trick!! Training others to do the work is as fulfilling as doing it yourself. The things you learn from your help is valuable. It's been fun. Tough but fun.

Edited November 19, 2005 by Hills Bro

[markomalley]

I have this friend who is a consultant to a company I used to work for. He loved his situation and, hopefully, as I get a little older and closer to retirement, I will be able to emulate what he does.

Anyway, I'll explain a little bit about what he does. It may not be for you, but might give some folks some ideas:

---

First of all, he formed a corporation. His wife is the company president. He is the company vice president. The corporate headquarters is in Annapolis, MD. His first son, who lives in Charleston, SC, is the Chief Financial Officer. His other son, who lives in Reston, VA, is the Chief Information Officer. It is a privately held venture...his wife and he are the principal stock holders, with some shares out to their children.

The line of business that this corporation is in is consulting. They provide expertise to companies worldwide on military logistics, electronics, and information technology.

The four directors (Pres, VP, CFO, CIO) do not draw a salary at all. Therefore, their personal tax liability is ZERO (having said this, my friend, the VP of this corporation, is also a retired Lt Col in the Army, and so he does draw a military pension and retirement from another company where he worked for a few years after military retirement, but that's a different issue completely)

My friend owns his own house. But he leases a portion of his house to his corporation for its world headquarters. There are two offices and a conference room in this house, as well as a coffee galley, that are leased. Its amazing, but the conference table in his conference room looks just like a dining room table. But he tells me its a conference table for meetings, and I believe him! He tells me that the world headquarters has to have Internet access with a high speed connection. Since they are in the consulting business, they also have to have Cable TV so that they can keep up with the news of the world, to shape their marketing analysis. In addition, the directors need to be able to stay in contact with each other, so, of course, they have a good telephone system and they have a corporate account with Cingular for cell phones (for each of the directors).

They frequently have business meetings at the corporate headquarters. As a business courtesy to their customers and potential customers, they need to keep the coffee galley fully stocked. Many of their business development meetings are dinner meetings or lunch meetings, so they need to keep the refrigerator stocked with fresh food, as well. I understand they have those business development meetings at least a couple of times a week and that they never know exactly when they are going to have one, so they are dilligent about staying ready at all times.

Of course, when the president goes to the grocery store to stock the coffee galley and prepare for business meetings, the mileage from the corporate headquarters to the grocery store are deductible at 41 cents a mile and the cost of the groceries (ahem, I mean supplies) are deductible, as well.

(Sort of funny, the couple of times I've been over to my friend's house for dinner, he's always asked me for a business card...I wonder if he is classifying that as a business development meeting...hmmmm)

The consulting business is a very difficult business to make a profit in. It requires a huge amount of time with potential clients. Well, the corporation provides the president and vice president with their vehicles (through leases). Of course, this could be seen as imputed income for the president and vice president, but they document that at least 90% of the time, the vehicles are used for business purposes...to and from business meetings at the country club or performing work at a client site or getting business supplies from a local vendor, like Giant or Safeway.

And, of course, the corporation needs to network with clients and potential teaming partners. So the corporation has taken out a membership in the Pentagon Handball Club for the vice president and a membership in the local country club for the President. In addition, they attend conferences and trade shows regularly. There are a lot of trade shows in Vegas and in Orlando. He's tried to generate business at shows in Honolulu, Paris, and Berlin as well. He almost got a lucrative contract over in Germany. He had a full week of negotiations with a client one time on this: they started off with meetings in Prague, Czech Republic, and then continued the negotiations on a boat trip down the Elbe river. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart at the last minute. He tells me that this client may want to try again. But this time, the client has specified that the negotiations will take place on a cruise ship on the Meditteranean.

My friend has had some success with his work, though. The company I used to work for had a contract for consulting services with his company. They were to provide 24 hours of labor (3 days) per week and payed my friend's company $90/hour for that. My company thought it was a great deal, though: if they would have had to hire somebody, it would have cost them over $100/hour (with base pay, fringe, and overhead) -- and they'd have to pay the employee full time wages, rather than 3 days a week.

My friend's company doesn't usually make money. Consulting is a tough line of work. He tells me that they have, on occasion, made a profit. But that the profit was immediately turned around as dividends to the shareholders (remember, the only shareholders are the Pres, VP, CFO, and CIO...it's privately held) (also remember that dividends are no longer taxable, either). Of course, since it is a corporation, they do have to have quarterly meetings of the board of directors...they fly each of the directors to the meeting site and, since it is a small meeting, they generally will hold those meetings for a few days in a hotel suite.

Now I need to tell you that you must NOT be afraid of failure if you are in this line of work. This is my friend's third corporation that he's tried to start up. He tells me that the IRS generally leaves consulting firms alone for about three years...they need to do the paperwork, but the IRS recognizes that it takes a few years before they expect to see profits from a company (and to collect tax revenue). Anyway, its interesting that almost at the exact three-year point, these consulting corporations go out of business. Of course, he is persistent. A new company forms out of the ashes of the old company. New articles of incorporation, a new PO box, and so on. Since these companies never own their own property, they just terminate the lease with the landlord, terminate the car leases, and the new company buys the phone leases and the computer equipment from the old one. Curious, though, it seems that the new company always operates under the same business plan as the old one, though...hmmmmm.

---

That is a potential for a business...at least it might give you some ideas that you could adopt for whatever line of work you'd be interested in.

[jetc57]

While some have had bad experiences with NASE, that is just sad.

I had no idea -- and in fact, I've never been a member, but had been sent all their literature and I did make use of a class or two, but we are talking about almost 15 yrs ago.

Sorry if my suggestions Su@K so badly...... Lets just pull out the things I've written we have problems with and ignore any worthy advice or suggestions, better yet, give someone else the credit for having posted them..........

Having a 'bad hair day' here...... bye

[ex70sHouston]

After being in self-imposed poverty for 19 years(being self employed) I have only one sugjestion.

WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

When evrything works its great. These are some of the pit falls.

Customers who don't pay.

Customers who file backrupsey.

Employees who steal.

Employees who go into bussiness for themselves and start with your customer list.

The IRS.

The IRS.

O' did I mention the IRS

Employees who forget to work.

Employees who don't care.

Changing markets. Stay on top of this. What sells one year may not the next.

Weather. It does affect biz.

Figure the cost of a vacation as double. It took my secratery once the time it takes to fly from San Antonio Tx to Atlanta to cost me $40000 in sales.

Find a good company with benifits and go to work for them. Its safer and you sleep better.

Theres nothing like waking up in the morning and thinkong about what someone else did that just cost you $20000.

[Linda Z]

Hey, jet, I wasn't criticizing you--just the NASE. I can understand why people think they're a legit organization...they're very slick in their print media and with their PR efforts. They're involved in several lawsuits. I'd be remiss if I didn't speak up when I have firsthand experience and can warn people.

Here's someone else's experience with the NASE (from Business Week online):

The way Dana Christensen sees it, she and her husband got scammed. In early 2001, seven years after Doug had successfully battled bone cancer, the couple needed new health insurance. So they were all ears when a representative from a group called the National Association for the Self-Employed knocked on the door of Doug's boat repair business in Marina del Rey, Calif. The rep offered what sounded like a great deal: For just $434 a month, MEGA Life & Health Insurance Co. would cover them both. The policy even carried a chemotherapy rider in case Doug's cancer came back.

But when the cancer did return later that year, they received a shock: A few months after Doug started chemotherapy, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center refused to treat him anymore, saying he had already used up the MEGA coverage. The problem: It capped chemo coverage at $1,000 a day, even though Doug's cost up to $18,000 -- fine print Dana says they were never told about. The doctor got Doug transferred to another hospital. But after he died in October, 2002, at the age of 48, Dana was stuck with almost $500,000 in medical bills that MEGA refused to cover, and now lives on her boat to save money on rent. "He said to me one day, 'I know it's too late for me, but this should not happen to people,"' recalls Dana, who says the NASE rep never told them that it functions as MEGA's marketing arm and only sells MEGA insurance. Last year, she sued MEGA and NASE for failing to disclose the caps and for endorsing a "sham" policy by pretending NASE was an independent group.

NASE President Robert Hughes says that "we are separate [from MEGA]and always have been separate." However, he also says that its representatives have dual roles and sell both NASE memberships and MEGA policies. In a written response to BusinessWeek, MEGA's parent, UICI Inc. (UICI ) of North Richland Hills, Tex., said: "We believe the Christensens' coverage was properly represented to the consumers." On Aug. 18, a California judge denied a motion by MEGA and NASE to dismiss the Christensens' case. A trial on charges of fraud and unfair trade practices is set for January, 2005.

The bottom line is this: Do your homework before signing up for anything!

[Nottawayfer]

It's great to see both sides of the coin in owning your own business. Thanks for your honesty.

All of my adult life I have worked in in the administrative field. I currenly work for the County Assessor. The pay is just OK, and the benefits are AWESOME. Hubby is a technical guy. He currently works for a company which provides television and radio service. They also build cell tower sites. He is the guy who drives a truck up in the mountains to repair the equipment when it has problems. He also does radio installs in police, fire, and utility vehicles. He is very detailed and good at his work. His pay is OK also, but his benefits are terrible. His boss does give him a good bonus at Christmas each year. He has been musical all his life. He played drums and did sound for many bands he toured with in the 80s. Being a technical kind of guy, he got in to recording. So the back part of our house is dedicated to his recording studio. He has some pretty decent equipment and has a great reputation with musicians in thea area. But he only does it 2 hours a night, Monday through Thursday. There really isn't enough work for him to make it full-time. He charges a lot less than other studios in the area, but I stay out of that. :)

We are planning to move to Medford, Oregon, in a year or so. We will get there and figure out a niche. But here's some ideas we had for business:

1. Full Service Car Wash (don't laugh Act2!). Seriously I thought we could provide a great service for a good price along with some free Starbucks coffee, soda and water. I thought I could learn to do nails and do nails while women waiting for their cars to be cleaned.

2. Nails out of my home. There are a ton of people who get their nails done. I get my nails done every 2 weeks, and my nail girl is busy all the time. I set up 3 appointments at a time. I fork out $25 plus tip every two weeks, so I know there is money to be made there. It takes her less than an hour to get my nails done.

3. Alarm service. Hubby has the knowledge for this one. He could install the alarms and then collect a fee each month for the service. He has a friend here who does it and has been very successful. The town we live in is very small, less than 25,000, and this guy is busy all the time. He also has a locksmith service he shares with another guy.

4. Bed and Breakfast--we both have the personality to pull this off, but it would cost a ton of money to fix a house to be able to do this. We love to talk with people and hear about what they've done in their life. A B&B is a really relaxed atmosphere. To buy one in in Medford, Oregon, would cost around $1M. This would be a fantasty. Maybe if we win the lotto???

5. Hubby would like to do the recording studio full time, but I think we'd have to move somewhere larger to be able to do this. I would support him in doing this as long as we had another thing to fall back on. To be able to do something you absolutely love would be most people's dream as a job.

Since hubby is a technical guy, I don't think he would do well in real estate. I worked for our local association of realtors and saw many come and go in the real estate business. It takes a lot to be able to be successful. I don't know if I have it in me to do it.

The loan officer thing really struck me though. Likeagle, please tell me more. Does it require state certification? And how did you market yourself to get loan processors to oversee your loans? I'm really interested in this.

Zshot, I know QuickBooks very well. When I worked for a real estate broker, we used QuickBooks for the accounting part of things. I sent a file to the accountant each year for the taxes, and it seemed to work well. Do you think this is enough?

Hillsbro, what is your business?

Edited November 19, 2005 by Wayfer Not!

[markomalley]

The one advice I'd give you is to incorporate the business, no matter what it is. In that way, the corporation will be liable for liability rather than you, personally. In addition, pay some money and get a lawyer to help explain how to structure your expenses for tax purposes. And do it up front before you start work.