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"It's not scalable." "He's going to burn out." "Let's see what he has to say in a year." Am I on HN? It's interesting that what used to be a site full of ri

by runjake 15y ago

"It's not scalable." "He's going to burn out." "Let's see what he has to say in a year." Am I on HN? It's interesting that what used to be a site full of risk-takers and entrepreneurs is tearing every little detail of this guy down. The gentleman tells you it's a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants learning experiment. He doesn't need you to tell him every little detail he's getting wrong. He's learning by actually doing it. Further, it seems a lot of commenters aren't actually reading his posts and comments -- a lot of the criticisms are already documented and addressed on his posts. Even edw519 (who I love). I was drawn to HN because of the risk-loving hackers who dared, not the naysayers who only feed my internal risk-adverse naysaying thoughts. Edit: Since I posted this comment, a large discussion around 1099s has bloomed, and I'm not referring to this excellent discussion. I'm specifically referring to the knee-jerk naysaying.

ceejayoz 15y ago
Some risks are bigger obstacles than others. HN has always been valuable to me for legitimate, honest feedback, including negative feedback.
bhousel 15y ago
You have a point. I think many of the criticisms you'll read here are coming from people who have "been there, done that" with their own businesses. The 1099 vs W2 issue is very real but (imo) totally fixable in a few days with a decent accountant and a meeting with your staff and some paperwork. He was probably fine for FY2011 to pay his maids on a 1099 for work done between when he started the business in November 3 and the end of the year. (He even stated that doesn't still work with all of them, some really were just temporary staff that didn't work out and weren't trained). He definitely needs to convert them to employees for FY2012, but it's only April and these are relatively small amounts of money. I'm pretty sure he's not trying to stick his workers with a huge tax bill in 2012. People who are suggesting that this is his "business model" are way off base. The most interesting part of this story, which nobody is talking about, is how he is using his website to allow clients to pick and choose these Godaddy-style addons (cleaning refrigerator and closets and so on). It totally makes sense for service-oriented business like cleaning and lawn care. He could probably follow the Godaddy model and operate the rest of his business at small margin and make the bulk of his money off those addons that other cleaning businesses haven't yet thought to offer.

by runjake 15y ago

ceejayoz 15y ago

Some risks are bigger obstacles than others. HN has always been valuable to me for legitimate, honest feedback, including negative feedback.

bhousel 15y ago

You have a point. I think many of the criticisms you'll read here are coming from people who have "been there, done that" with their own businesses. The 1099 vs W2 issue is very real but (imo) totally fixable in a few days with a decent accountant and a meeting with your staff and some paperwork. He was probably fine for FY2011 to pay his maids on a 1099 for work done between when he started the business in November 3 and the end of the year. (He even stated that doesn't still work with all of them, some really were just temporary staff that didn't work out and weren't trained). He definitely needs to convert them to employees for FY2012, but it's only April and these are relatively small amounts of money. I'm pretty sure he's not trying to stick his workers with a huge tax bill in 2012. People who are suggesting that this is his "business model" are way off base. The most interesting part of this story, which nobody is talking about, is how he is using his website to allow clients to pick and choose these Godaddy-style addons (cleaning refrigerator and closets and so on). It totally makes sense for service-oriented business like cleaning and lawn care. He could probably follow the Godaddy model and operate the rest of his business at small margin and make the bulk of his money off those addons that other cleaning businesses haven't yet thought to offer.