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What would make you happier - making $120k part-time or $250k+ full-time?


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Not sure if I'm posting this in the right section or not since this is career related. I'm at a cross-road where I need to decide to expand my business or not. I'm 25 years old, started a motorcycle parts business when I was 22 out of college. I invested a lot of time (70+ hours/week) getting my business to the current state that generates me about $10k/month income. At this point it doesn't require much more than 15 hours a week (or less), which leaves me plenty of time to pursue things I want (sports, traveling, charity work, etc). On the other hand, I've talked to others in the same industry who make a lot more, but their businesses are much larger (I have 2 employees, they have 20+ and 3 times the sales/month).

 

Most of them are pretty stressed-out though and don't have as much time to devote to other activities. I have a lot of pressure from my mom to expand my business and be more "successful". She thinks I don't work nearly enough anymore and thinks I've gotten somewhat lazy and not "ambitious enough". She's a self-made multi-millionaire so expectations from me are sky-high. I really don't know, I'm ok with my current income. It doesn't seem a lot, but my expenses are pretty low, I have zero debt and own my apartment outright. The main thing that really attracts me about 1/4 million+ income is that I would be able to devote more of it on my charitable work (I help disabled children). But would I personally be happier as a result if I give up doing other things I enjoy? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Edited by D87
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Ruby Slippers

First off, congratulations on your success!

 

I say ignore the pressure from your mom. This is your life, not hers. You may not be "successful" according to her definition, but it sounds like you are by your own -- and, incidentally, that of most everyone else in the world. She may have been happy to give up most of her personal time for business and more money, but you're a different person, and a grown man. Your priorities and choices are your own.

 

And it sounds to me like you've got your priorities in the right place. I run my own business, too, and recently got to the point of strength where I could start volunteering again, and did. In the future, once I'm even better established, I plan to make philanthropy a big part of my life. I admire business owners like you who give back. That you are at the point where you have the freedom to help and make a difference, especially at such a young age, makes you a total winner, in my book.

 

You're young, and doing great for yourself. I say enjoy your life and do whatever YOU want to do. You've got plenty of time to turn more attention to the business and higher income generation, if you feel motivated to do that in the future.

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Unless you hold patents or other property rights, generally, if your profit margin is so high that you can work very little and make that much, you're open to competitors. Businesses either grow or they die. They very rarely remain static.

 

Back when I was your age, I was making pretty much the same, inflation-adjusted, working light weeks. Then everyone started getting parts from China/Asia cheaper than they could be made or repaired locally. Then CNC (computers) took over job work. Life changed. I stayed small and now function as the village blacksmith. Some of my friends grew, now having dozens of employees, and do .25-.5MM per month. Some shops got so big they imploded. The only constant is change.

 

If I were you, I'd earn as much as I could, buy some commercial real estate and residential real estate and diversify. Now's a great time to diversify if you have cash. Buy other businesses. Be creative. You'll get old soon enough. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Good luck.

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Unless you hold patents or other property rights, generally, if your profit margin is so high that you can work very little and make that much, you're open to competitors. Businesses either grow or they die. They very rarely remain static.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself :)

 

There's tons and tons of people who were capable of making a small fortune at one point, but preferred the easy life, working a couple hours and still making 6 figs. A couple years later they realised the golden age had passed, they did have some savings but nowhere near enough to be financially secure for the rest of their life and their only option would be to go work that 40 hour job, only this time for an hourly of 15% of what they were used to. Don't become one of those guys.

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Thanks for feedback guys, much appreciated. I have good confidence in my business, I've established some pretty solid business partnerships and like 90% of my sales are repeat clients. I don't know if its my conditioning or not, but I almost feel bad sometimes for wanting to have fun and enjoy the things I want to do. My mom is 55 is she still works more than I do, which is kinda embarrassing lol. She does want to retire soon though. A big conflict with us was that she wanted me to take-over her business (which sells cosmetic products), which I had zero interest in because I'm passionate about motorcycles and want to work in that industry. So now she has to sell her company to retire (doesn't trust anyone else to run it and feels if she's not involved, it will go to ****). She still gives me such a hard time that I gave up on a company that's worth maybe 20-30 million to have my measly little business that's not even worth half a million. I would also have to move to northeast because that's where its based and I hate the weather, always get sick like 3 times a year (I live in Miami which I love). I don't know if I made the right decision or for the right reason. Maybe the whole "I'm not passionate about that" is just an excuse because I see how much my mom worked and how stressful being a president of large company is that I simply don't want it out of laziness!? Sorry for the rant guys... I've had a little too much wine with dinner I think.

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Carhill had some great points to keep in mind. Many small business owners have repeated the mantra "businesses either grow or they die." However, if you can continue at this rate and enjoy your life, I would stop worrying about keeping up with your mother. Life is short. Being stressed out all of the time and having a ton of money won't buy you quality of life.

 

You seem to have quality of life. Do you want to give that up? I wouldn't. I'd only give it up if I was poor.

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I'll add an anecdote:

 

I did contract machine work (and other things) for California's largest public utility for about 15 years. It got comfortable. Their pockets were deep. Their union labor force was lazy. I got tons of work. Some months I only worked for them and sublet the other stuff. Then, overnight, they went to wet leases with maintenance. Boom, work ended. Great customer, bye-bye. I'm still selling off stuff they just gave me that I've had in the shop over ten years. They didn't need it anymore and it was cheaper to give it to me than scrap it. Want a 20HP 480V motor? Make you a deal ;)

 

Anyway, one example from one customer of hundreds over the decades.

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To all those saying 120: would you still prefer 120 if you calculated you had a 3 year window and no idea what the future after that would hold?

 

 

 

cause in that case you're a ****ing idiot

 

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I'd go with 120k part-time. You need to live also.

 

Ditto.

 

To the OP:

 

But I've been lucky with my life choices and I'm not risk-adverse (with some exceptions) when it comes to financial/career choices. I also don't pay a lot of attention to advice from family and friends who are not in similar circumstances/don't have the same life goals, no matter how well intentioned.

 

If your life goals include making lots of money, then by all means go ahead and work all the hours that you can and take up all the opportunities available to you. And do it now while you still have the energy and opportunity to do so.

 

However, I'd suggest that one cliche may be applicable here: it's unlikely that you will lie on your deathbed and wish you'd worked more. If anything, you'll wish you'd lived more. As long as you can cover your expenses and have enough discretionary income to pay for the 'nice to have/do" goals as well as a large enough buffer to cover for most eventualities should things take a turn for the worse, I'd ignore your mother's advice and do what you feel is best. I agree with Ruby, it's your life and your business.

Edited by january2011
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D87, you're earning enough to pay for some professional business advice. That being the case, be cautious about taking advice from a bunch of strangers with dysfunctional dating histories as we may not all be business gurus! :)

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are you smoking PCP ???

 

reinvest in your buisness and work your ass off for the next 3-5 years, it seem like you cant think for yourself, how on earth did you get to level of 10k a month being lazy ?

 

something is way off here

 

Did you not read my post? I said I was working 70 hours a week for 2+ years to get my business to the level that it now only requires 15/hours a week to maintain current level.

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D87, you're earning enough to pay for some professional business advice. That being the case, be cautious about taking advice from a bunch of strangers with dysfunctional dating histories as we may not all be business gurus! :)

 

lol! Maybe not business gurus but at least you guys have good sense of humor!

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Ruby Slippers
D87, you're earning enough to pay for some professional business advice. That being the case, be cautious about taking advice from a bunch of strangers with dysfunctional dating histories as we may not all be business gurus! :)

I've used some of my income to pay for several months of business development meetings with a biz development expert who makes a ton of money for himself and coaches his clients on doing the same. And while he's definitely big on working your ass off, he's also big on working as few hours as possible to support the lifestyle you want. The whole point of being an entrepreneur is to free yourself to do what you really want to do, IMO.

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waste of your capital if you ask me, learn how to network effectivley, nobody is going to teach you how to make more money at your own buisnees, sure they will gladly take your money and fluff your ego

 

unwritten buisness rules 101

 

Business Coaches are a good thing..

We use them at work and meet each week.

The thing having a coach does more than anything is force you to work on the business and growth rather than just the making widgets aspect of running a company.

 

They help our sales people also maintain their goals as well as help us set the goals for the company and sales team.

With this last recession/depression we found ourselves at a loss on what to do to dig ourselves out of the hole we found ourselves in.

After being in business 33 years we have seen many upticks and a few recessions that we have had to weather and each one has been different.

 

Each recession we have had to morph our business model to come out on top but we look totally different than we did the year before...

Just in the last 3 years we have moved our client base from one dying market (ad agencies) to another.. Corporations that manufacturer products...Now most of our clients are Fortune 500 companies..

 

You can't stay the same and sometimes old ideas only get you so far and bringing in new blood with new ideas is a good thing.

 

JMO...

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Ruby Slippers
waste of your capital if you ask me, learn how to network effectivley, nobody is going to teach you how to make more money at your own buisnees, sure they will gladly take your money and fluff your ego

 

unwritten buisness rules 101

Actually, I saw immediate results. After implementing his advice, my revenue increased by 4-5 times. I estimate that so far, I've gotten a 1,500% return on investment for what I spent to work with him. I've referred several friends to him, and they have all told me the same thing. And he's a client who has paid me much more than I've paid him, so in a sense, it was free. I use his advice every single day in my business. I started out as a creative dreamer with no experience or knowledge of sales, marketing, networking, or any of the skills it takes to run a business. Now I totally kick ass and get total strangers to sign huge contracts all the time. :D

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Ruby Slippers
how much do these guys ask for these consultations? I suppose theres no harm in getting guidance from an experienced buisnessman that has " been there donr that" and is clearly ahead of the pack in his own ventures.

I'm not sure what he charges now, but it's a lot. And he works almost exclusively in a high-earning industry these days (law). He cut me quite a deal. But it would have been worth 10 times as much, given what I've gotten out of it.

 

It doesnt seem like work when you love what you do

That's right. Most days, I can't believe I'm getting paid good money to do something that is so easy and enjoyable to me, on my exact terms. It rules. :D

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Actually, I saw immediate results. After implementing his advice, my revenue increased by 4-5 times. I estimate that so far, I've gotten a 1,500% return on investment for what I spent to work with him. I've referred several friends to him, and they have all told me the same thing. And he's a client who has paid me much more than I've paid him, so in a sense, it was free. I use his advice every single day in my business. I started out as a creative dreamer with no experience or knowledge of sales, marketing, networking, or any of the skills it takes to run a business. Now I totally kick ass and get total strangers to sign huge contracts all the time. :D

 

Sounds interesting. You've peaked my curiosity. Can you list the things he advised you on that worked for you? You may do so over PM if you so prefer.

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Big LOL at getting professional business advice.

 

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

 

I would love having a job that made me $250,000/yr full time. Where do I sign up????!!!!!!!!!! :bunny: :bunny: :bunny:

Sigh. Assuming this wasn't ironic, you don't sign up to get a 250k job. You figure out what you're good at and passionate about, think of a plan to make money with that and work your ass off.

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Ruby Slippers
Sounds interesting. You've peaked my curiosity. Can you list the things he advised you on that worked for you? You may do so over PM if you so prefer.

I worked with him for months, and our sessions were intense and packed with information. It would take me hours to distill everything we talked about into bite-size advice. I've also studied the major topics pretty intensely on my own, through continuous reading and learning, and asking questions of more experienced business people.

 

The main areas you want to learn about are sales, persuasion, marketing, pricing, communication, leadership and delegation, and productivity/organization/time management.

 

A classic interpersonal skills book that has an old-school business edge I can highly recommend for anyone is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I use the simple but profound wisdom from this book every single day in my life, and it works like a charm. The basic idea is to always think about what the other person wants, rather than what you want. If you can give people what they want and solve their problems, and if you can make them feel successful and good about themselves, they will in most cases be drawn to you and loyal for life. And this goes for family, friends, business contacts, and strangers.

 

Big LOL at getting professional business advice.

 

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

Ignorant comment. This guy started out in business in New York, and transformed several major companies from underperformers to industry leaders. Then he wrote a book about how to transform your own career from lame to superstar. Then he moved on to advising business owners and entrepreneurs on how to do this themselves. He's amazing at what he does, loves it, has total freedom, and makes a ton of money. I consider him a business development genius -- and I do not use the word genius lightly, at all.

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The main areas you want to learn about are sales, persuasion, marketing, pricing, communication, leadership and delegation, and productivity/organization/time management.

 

A classic interpersonal skills book that has an old-school business edge I can highly recommend for anyone is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I use the simple but profound wisdom from this book every single day in my life, and it works like a charm. The basic idea is to always think about what the other person wants, rather than what you want. If you can give people what they want and solve their problems, and if you can make them feel successful and good about themselves, they will in most cases be drawn to you and loyal for life. And this goes for family, friends, business contacts, and strangers.

 

I'm reading similar book called "From Acorns" by Caspian Woods.

 

This guy started out in business in New York, and transformed several major companies from underperformers to industry leaders. Then he wrote a book about how to transform your own career from lame to superstar. Then he moved on to advising business owners and entrepreneurs on how to do this themselves. He's amazing at what he does, loves it, has total freedom, and makes a ton of money. I consider him a business development genius -- and I do not use the word genius lightly, at all.

 

How much does the guy charge per hour? And how many hours did he or you need?

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I agree with what carhill and others say about either growing or dying. Also, your perspective is a bit skewed, as you shouldn't focus on the income provided to you as much, but on the equity and total cashflows in the business. Yes, you worked very hard. Now work hard a few more years to create a saleable entity that has value distinct from your involvement in it, and then sell the thing so you won't have to do any kind of activity that could be defined as "work" at all for the rest of your life.

 

If you are one of the rare few who can successfully create wealth, don't think of income that allows you to do more charity with your hands, but of forming capital that could allow you to create and administer your own charity exactly as you see fit. Think big in conformance with your level of talent and capability. In other words, people who can successfully create wealth spend their time inefficiently in doing direct charity, anyone can ladle soup. Fine to do for one's enjoyment, inefficient though in making a real difference.

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Ruby Slippers
In other words, people who can successfully create wealth spend their time inefficiently in doing direct charity, anyone can ladle soup. Fine to do for one's enjoyment, inefficient though in making a real difference.

Very cynical and short-sighted view, IMO. People who can create wealth can afford the free time to do what they love, including being generous with their time and good energy. People who know how to make money are usually very smart -- and smart people learn how to be among the best at anything. Like I said, I hope to become an active philanthropist when I get to that level, but until then, I will explore the territory and learn as much as I can about where the greatest need for social improvement lies.

 

I tutor and mentor the most disadvantaged kids in the city, and I can see that my small window of time with them every week is having almost immeasurable positive effects.

 

In addition, my volunteer work brings immeasurable benefits to my life. I walk about 5 blocks from my transit stop to the place where I volunteer, and it's a pretty rough neighborhood. I'm the only white, middle-class person in sight, and I love being some small part of softening the fairly strict lines of segregation that live on in Chicago. I smile at people in the streets and say hello. I have never once felt threatened by anyone. Even the down-trodden young men hanging out on the corners are respectful to me. Maybe they can tell I'm there to do something useful.

 

I work with and am inspired by a team of amazing, generous, caring, smart volunteers who believe in the power of committed individuals to make a difference.

 

I'm helping to educate smart young kids who are lucky enough to live in a city that offers myriad social services to help them rise from poverty and misfortune. These people are always the best at advancing humanity for the greater good. They have felt the pain of lack and have the most compassion.

 

This work inspires me every day to give everything I can to my work, because I'm not just doing it for me. I'm doing it for all of humanity. Yes, it's lofty -- but why not dream big? What else are you going to do?

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Ruby Slippers
How much does the guy charge per hour? And how many hours did he or you need?

I don't know what he charges now. I think he's very selective and signs long-term contracts with the people he thinks are the best fit for what he offers. But we have a good relationship and he has cut some deals for friends of mine who were just starting up. In exchange, I give him a good deal on my services.

 

You can probably seek out a business development expert, but if you're interested in this guy in particular, send me a PM and we can talk about it.

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