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> I'm tired of grinding it out with a salary that can barely cover the expenses > owning a business where you control your time is the only end game I can see.

by akg_67 11y ago

> I'm tired of grinding it out with a salary that can barely cover the expenses > owning a business where you control your time is the only end game I can see. I will encourage you to read first 4-5 chapters of "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael E. Gerber. “The problem is that everybody who goes into business is actually three-people-in-one: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician. And the problem is compounded by the fact that while each of these personalities wants to be the boss, none of them wants to have a boss. So they start a business together in order to get rid of the boss. And the conflict begins.” Excerpt From: Michael E. Gerber. “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It.” iBooks.

brbsix 11y ago
Great suggestion. This was one of the first books I read as I was starting a business many years ago. It proved invaluable. For anyone not familiar with it, a big focus of the book is about running your business like a franchise. Don't let the word franchise put you off... The reason this is so crucial is that like you mentioned, you don't want to create a bunch of new jobs for yourself. Rather, you want a finely-tuned system that runs itself and frees up your mind for the more important aspects. If you don't do that, you'll be spinning your wheels with little stuff and won't be able to step away from it.
- atmosx 11y ago
  Better be good! I ordered the book right away. ty for the suggestion.
supersan 11y ago
I think this is the best advice you could get. Add to this Sam carpenter's book "Work the system" and making $100/k a year is pretty easy. We're a two person team and we've been doing it for the past 5 years like a clockwork. On of our recent sites makes around $200K/year so what you're after is definitely doable. You just need to understand two things: 1. You can't be the entrepreneur, technician and manager. You need to create an organization first and define the roles clearly on paper. 2. You need a system to do things. Even the smallest of the things need to be part of a system. Systems helps you improve what is working and discard what isn't. What this means to you is that is helps you to repeat your success over and over until you make it big while preventing you from making the mistakes from the past. It's easier said than done but these are the only two things you need for your goal. Bonus tip: If you find my advise useful, learn a little about BPM (business process modelling). It help you organize and create systems faster (though I've learned everything the hard way).

by akg_67 11y ago

brbsix 11y ago

Great suggestion. This was one of the first books I read as I was starting a business many years ago. It proved invaluable. For anyone not familiar with it, a big focus of the book is about running your business like a franchise. Don't let the word franchise put you off... The reason this is so crucial is that like you mentioned, you don't want to create a bunch of new jobs for yourself. Rather, you want a finely-tuned system that runs itself and frees up your mind for the more important aspects. If you don't do that, you'll be spinning your wheels with little stuff and won't be able to step away from it.

atmosx 11y ago
Better be good! I ordered the book right away. ty for the suggestion.

supersan 11y ago

I think this is the best advice you could get. Add to this Sam carpenter's book "Work the system" and making $100/k a year is pretty easy. We're a two person team and we've been doing it for the past 5 years like a clockwork. On of our recent sites makes around $200K/year so what you're after is definitely doable. You just need to understand two things: 1. You can't be the entrepreneur, technician and manager. You need to create an organization first and define the roles clearly on paper. 2. You need a system to do things. Even the smallest of the things need to be part of a system. Systems helps you improve what is working and discard what isn't. What this means to you is that is helps you to repeat your success over and over until you make it big while preventing you from making the mistakes from the past. It's easier said than done but these are the only two things you need for your goal. Bonus tip: If you find my advise useful, learn a little about BPM (business process modelling). It help you organize and create systems faster (though I've learned everything the hard way).