I was reading a a blog entry from BreakingFree titled, New Blog to Business Launch In Two Weeks and he got me thinking about starting businesses and what I've done along the way when doing so. He discusses the business plan and how over-used it is by folks today as they plan and plan to start their businesses. I don't know your individual situation, but GO FOR IT!! What are you waiting for?!!
Don't get me wrong, you should make informed decisions and do your homework, but in reality the only way you'll know if it works is by TRYING!! Being a Type A personality, my thought process has always been to do it and work out the details later. I've also been willing to "invest" between $500 and $1000 to give it a shot if necessary though several of my businesses have cost MUCH LESS. You've already heard about my ongoing venture into vending. Here's several other personal examples - one that failed, one that succeeded, and one that's ongoing (this blog).
- Startup Cost $1100
My experience has been in the advertising and vending industry so I decided to marry the two together and create an advertising platform for local area businesses in and out of hotels. I hired a graphic designer and created a logo, business cards, and all the artwork needed to "sell" my idea locally. The idea could have worked, but I found out that it was way too much work for the potential payout. Closed the business after about 2 months. Most would consider this a complete waste of money (a failure), but I learned lots of important things about printing and design which ultimately led to the BIG IDEA I'm pursuing today which has been so successful that I will begin franchising the idea across the country within the next year or so.
- Startup Cost FREE
My sister commented (5 or 6 years ago) that she was able to sell some of her used books that were laying around the house thru a company called Half.com (now an Ebay company). It was as simple as listing the books via ISBN number and setting some prices. A few days later, I setup an account and listed several hundred books from around the house. Within a day, several had sold! Over the next several years, this led to over 10,000 used books in our garage and seller partnerships with ABE Books, Alibris, Amazon, and Half.com. Had a blast and made some good money, but eventually decided to follow another path (I got sick of packing books and trips to the post office EVERY day) and sold the books to my nephew (17) who had started an online book business as well.
- Startup Cost $35
Blogging success or failure is yet to be determined for me, but I can guarantee I've got plenty of material if you're willing to become part of the conversation and tell others about what we're putting together here.
What are some of your successes and failures enroute to your American Dream? Take a minute to comment and share your thoughts.
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