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>don't mind growing slowly (or don't mind never really growing much at all). Nothing wrong with "lifestyle businesses". Are we ever gonna stop saying "lifestyl

>don't mind growing slowly (or don't mind never really growing much at all). Nothing wrong with "lifestyle businesses". Are we ever gonna stop saying "lifestyle businesses" for business that don't want to grow 10% per month, and finally call them "businesses" like they are? If you want to make a difference, call them "non-startup". Most businesses don't grow 10% per month, and they're still full fledge "businesses" with people working seriously on them, full time, not leisurely on the beach in Thailand.

james_s_tayler 7y ago
Agreed.
pmiller2 7y ago
Even the word “startup” has become pretty meaningless these days, when you see 10 year old businesses calling themselves “startups.”
- neltnerb 7y ago
  Yeah... once you are no longer a small business interest as defined by the government, you are at least at the tail end of the period you should be able to call yourself a startup. It's just a buzzword if the company is more mature than that. Maybe it helps them get job applicants or something to market that way. Or get a bigger multiplier on their valuation relative to actual profits.
- iam-TJ 7y ago
  "start-up" as a euphemism for "still loss-making" maybe?
neltnerb 7y ago
Yeah, that's why I put it in quotes ;-) I also dislike it, by that definition the people running the corner market are running a "lifestyle business". I run a business. I am not trying to get a $10M exit. Maybe that disqualifies me from being called a "startup", but indeed I am still... starting it up... So in the context of the hackernews crowd at least, it's useful to make a distinction between business with a goal of growing rapidly, or providing a service as an independent entrepreneur that may grow in a natural way but which is not really desirable to force things with. Personally I just think of myself as running a consulting business. Edit: On contemplation, I think really the issue is that "lifestyle business" is treated as a derogatory. I've gotten over that, I'd happily agree that I'm running a lifestyle business. It's a business designed to be a good fit for my lifestyle, to let me make money doing what I love to do. Like an independent plumber or something. That's also a lifestyle business in very reasonable interpretation. She sets her own hours, finds her own clients, does the work herself, for a living. Lifestyle. So maybe the issue you're picking up on is that "lifestyle" is being used as a derogatory, whereas I (and my current mentors) think it's just a decision for how you want to live. I want a business that lets me do what I want to do with my life, I am not ashamed of wanting a lifestyle business. I can also see why you'd want to avoid it... at least in the bay area. Because of ancillary impacts on people's perceptions. If I get so much work that I can't handle it, I'll encourage someone I think is really great to be an independent businesses by guaranteeing their first non-exclusive contract so that they can get a running start. Sure, it's a "gig economy", but very limited in scope and at least they're truly independent and able to use that baseline income as a springboard to do their own great thing.

james_s_tayler 7y ago

Agreed.

pmiller2 7y ago

Even the word “startup” has become pretty meaningless these days, when you see 10 year old businesses calling themselves “startups.”

neltnerb 7y ago
Yeah... once you are no longer a small business interest as defined by the government, you are at least at the tail end of the period you should be able to call yourself a startup. It's just a buzzword if the company is more mature than that. Maybe it helps them get job applicants or something to market that way. Or get a bigger multiplier on their valuation relative to actual profits.
iam-TJ 7y ago
"start-up" as a euphemism for "still loss-making" maybe?

neltnerb 7y ago

Yeah, that's why I put it in quotes ;-) I also dislike it, by that definition the people running the corner market are running a "lifestyle business". I run a business. I am not trying to get a $10M exit. Maybe that disqualifies me from being called a "startup", but indeed I am still... starting it up... So in the context of the hackernews crowd at least, it's useful to make a distinction between business with a goal of growing rapidly, or providing a service as an independent entrepreneur that may grow in a natural way but which is not really desirable to force things with. Personally I just think of myself as running a consulting business. Edit: On contemplation, I think really the issue is that "lifestyle business" is treated as a derogatory. I've gotten over that, I'd happily agree that I'm running a lifestyle business. It's a business designed to be a good fit for my lifestyle, to let me make money doing what I love to do. Like an independent plumber or something. That's also a lifestyle business in very reasonable interpretation. She sets her own hours, finds her own clients, does the work herself, for a living. Lifestyle. So maybe the issue you're picking up on is that "lifestyle" is being used as a derogatory, whereas I (and my current mentors) think it's just a decision for how you want to live. I want a business that lets me do what I want to do with my life, I am not ashamed of wanting a lifestyle business. I can also see why you'd want to avoid it... at least in the bay area. Because of ancillary impacts on people's perceptions. If I get so much work that I can't handle it, I'll encourage someone I think is really great to be an independent businesses by guaranteeing their first non-exclusive contract so that they can get a running start. Sure, it's a "gig economy", but very limited in scope and at least they're truly independent and able to use that baseline income as a springboard to do their own great thing.