Any small business owners on here? Whats your story? -

What s you business? What made you decide to get started with it? Is it your main source of income, or do you have a second job? Did you get a degree in business? I just want to hear some stories, because I ve always wanted to own or at least co-own a business.

I started at age 19 with an arcade game route. I started from the desire to eventually open a free standing arcade and because I had to pay additional taxes to the state of California, despite claiming zero and working three jobs and going to college. Took 3 years to turn a profit, and 4 years to figure out how to do it right. In the end, I was making 3k a month, cash, working 4 hours a week, and held a full time job as an engineer/supervisor. Sold it and put the money in the bank and used this as a down payment for a nice plot of land to build a dream home.I have also owned a pool hall, where I lost a ton of money. Ran a swimming pool cleaning route for a year also.Currently I own 4 hair salons, and am scouting locations for numbers 5 and 6. I just completed law school, and may start a law firm on the side. My degree is in engineering, and now law, and my love will always be working in a factory, but that probably will not happen again. Despite the fact I made where I worked a ton of money,I make a lousy employee. I have a big mouth.As for starting your own business, save a lot, and do not expect to draw a check for a long time. I currently make 300 a week. (after 4 years) Hourly this works out to well below minimum wage. I also am leveraged to the hilt to keep expanding. But I know when things turn around, and they always do, I will be in a good position. I spent most of my time building the business while maintaining a full time job. This is the only way to do it. I m against having partners, as one will always screw the other one (they both will, just a matter of time). If you want a partner, get married, or a dog. You ll learn more from doing than from school. They will teach theories and all that stuff, and stress the importance of a business plan (which I hate), but when it comes down to it, to get a loan requires the money to pay it back if your business fails. Everything else is a waste. Business is about relationships, reputation, determination, implementation. I work out of Starbucks (I hate coffee by the way) and make some contacts there. Business is not about an idea. Everyone has an idea, the trick is actually doing something with it.Best of luck to you.

I am an Independent Consultant. I started my business to supplement my income a couple of years ago. A few months into it I realized the income potential and the wonderful opportunity of never having to work for someone else ever again. At the time I was a bank manager with a Psychology degree. I started my business for a $100 and it took me about 8 months to turn profit. It has now become my passion. I love what I do, not only for the great money, but for the great people that I work with

Duty free perfumes,make-up cheaper? -

i am working in the airport and the make up,perfumes,bags are all cheap. plus i get staff discount but is it really cheap i never really check in singapore!

If they are bad go shopping elsewhere.

What is a cute name for a cake decorating business? -

I want something that not a lot of people would have, I really liked A piece of cake but I googled it and tons of cake businesses showed up :( I live in FL. My name is Vanessa, If that helps any- ThanksPSI need a slogan too!

Simlpy Sweet.Sweet life

Do you plan to advertise your new business on the Internet? If so, you might want to search for a domain name that you can use as your business name. I ve attached an article on how to search for a good domain name. Lots of the options have been selected already so you ll have to keep trying until you come up with something that you like that is still available. By the way, if you really like it you can still use the piece of cake in your slogan even if it has been used by lots of other people as a business name. I m not great at coming up with slogans, but maybe you could say Vanessa s ___ -- where decorating is a piece of cake (or something like that). Good luck!

A slice of heavenVanessa BakeryGoodness to go.Let them eat cake.{name of pet here} BakeryComfort to go.Icing heavenYou working from a home or store front?

Have your cake and it eat it too, you bloody wankers . You can leave out the bloody wankers part if you think it s too direct.

sweet tooth pastriese we have the cure for all sweet desires

How can i make money for my age? -

i am 14 years old and i need some cash any recomendations?

Do you like to play games?You can play games and best part is get paid for doing so.Many companies are looking for people to beta test their games.You can refer to below for more details.http://bc7c85lqjv6x5k95gemd55-rco.hop.cl��

Baby sittingraking leaveswalking dogscleaning housescleaning gutters you could tryhttp://wickedloversss.blogspot.com/for legit ways to make money online.Good luck.

EBay item ended and payment has not been made and its been over 24 hours? -

It was clearly mentioned in the bid that if payment is not made within 24 hours of winning the bid, the item will be up for a second chance offer for the next highest bidder. The 24 hours are up and what are my options. What are my options to exercise the second chance offer? Can I deny the offer to the winner since the 24 hours are up. Once again, the item description CLEARLY mentioned that payment is due within 24 hours. I don t want my funds to be stuck for 7 days and then file a complaint and keep the whole thing hanging.

First, I am glad I don t bid on your site. I have many 100s of bids in my record and not one other seller has ever demanded payment within 24 hours. Second, if you have it listed as payment is due within 24 hours and you did not get it, then you need to email the winning bidder and inform them that since they have not done as the bidding instructions said, you are cancelling their bid so they will not be getting the item. Then you notify the person who had the 2nd place bid and tell them that the winning bidder defaulted so if they want the item they can have it for their last bid. If you want to be sure every base is covered, contact ebay and tell them you want to cancel the transaction on that item with the one who did not pay on time. You don t have to give a reason. They will contact the highest bidder and tell them that you want to cancel and then they will have a chance to agree or disagree and give their reason for not paying. This just happened to me but it turned out that Paypal hadn t notified the seller of the payment I had made so she thought I didn t make it. We were able to straighten it out when I could provide the transaction numbers.

How would you market yourself? -

I have been a personal trainer for years but have only been doing it occasionally on the side for the past 3 or 4 years. Now I am at the point where I am ready to start making a living at it again. I have access to a small personal training studio that I will be training in, but I am 100% responsible for building my own clientele. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to market myself so as to generate business? By the way, I think I am really good at what I do if it makes a difference.

When marketing yourself, think of yourself as the product and what you can do as the service. The process of marketing yourself includes:Define your mission and the benefits you offer : * Start with self knowledge: natural talents (aptitudes), interests, personality and values * Consider what role fits you best. * Ask yourself, What do I have to offer? * Set your objective: What exactly do you want to achieve? * Design performance measures * Gather analyze, and interpret information about your situation

I would choose from 1 to 3 specialized market segments, for instance pregnant women, or busy executives, or woman executives. Gear your promotion specifically to those few groups.

Govt. Grants where do i find them? -

I would like to find a small business grant but im not sure what websites to trust. Can anyone recommend a site you used for any grants? Thanks.

Contrary to popular belief, the government almost never gives out grants to small businesses. The $100 gazillion dollars in gov t grants to businesses each year you hear about on infomercials are actually given to large companies for research and development (say, of a cancer drug).Grants.gov is the government s grant website, and is the ONLY legitimate source on the federal level. For state level (some states offer grants to farms and for green businesses), try searching for grants on your state s department of revenue site, or the secretary of states office.If you want small business loans, there is the Small Business Administration (SBA.gov). You can also get counseling at S.C.O.R.E which is a group of retired business people that counsel new business owners.AccionUSA (Kiva) is also a good source for small business loans.