Thread: Can a business be profitable right away?

Originally Posted by cashflow3000

You don't need a job to pay the bills. You need money to pay the bills.

Awesome and so true.

But, consider this. If you want to make a successful business chances are you will have to make a failing business (or several) before you have one (or more) that is a success.

I second that.

Originally Posted by healthstatus

Does it have to be either or? Could you take a part time job that covers your expenses but gives you time to work on your business?

I have taken on a freelance client and am looking for more to do just that. I am also looking for jobs in areas where I have a lot of previous experience as well. Meanwhile, I will increase the amount of time I am spending on my writing, starting today.

My experience is in project management, graphic design, marketing, and copywriting. I'd like to focus on the copywriting from this point, however I'm willing to leverage any of those existing skills.

Originally Posted by cashflow3000

You don't need a job to pay the bills. You need money to pay the bills. Read that again until it sinks in.

Very good point.

I recently read a note I had left to myself from a blog I wrote last year that said, "No one wants money...they want the things they can buy with money. Ask yourself, what is it I really want? Then start thinking of ways to get what you want without money as the intermediary."

I think it's helpful to remember that money is not a means in and of itself, just a medium of exchange.

Originally Posted by cashflow3000

But, consider this. If you want to make a successful business chances are you will have to make a failing business (or several) before you have one (or more) that is a success.

Yeah, I know this from personal experience, which is why I was having fear about starting another one. I know things do not always go as planned, even when you are committed and work hard.

Originally Posted by cashflow3000

YES it is entirely possible to create your own source of income right away, without a job. Panhandlers do it each and every day, its not that difficult.

LOL!

Originally Posted by cashflow3000

As far as your questions about making businesses profitable I will make this claim: EVERY business has a period of time before it is profitable. For some businesses it is years, for some it is months, for others weeks. For others still it is profitable with the first sale - however long that takes.

So true. For me this highlights the need of good planning to figure out how long a particular business will take so you can plan accordingly.

An interesting note...

One of the things I have learned is that it is often much easier to start at the end - the final result you want to achieve - and then work forwards to identify the steps to get you there.

So I thought, ok, what is at the end of my life? Death. So I sat down and wrote my eulogy - what I wanted said about me at my funeral. Sounds kind of macabre I know, but it was actually a very positive experience. It put everything into perspective for me.

The interesting thing? Money didn't come up once. That's when I realized that making money is purely a tool to pay the bills, which is totally separate from my business ideas which are based on a higher purpose. Yes those businesses will need to be profitable, but again that is a tool to keep the company viable not the reason for existing.

So I've decided that I'm going to do what I need to earn money in the short term to pay the bills, whatever works - full time job, part time, freelance - based on existing skills that I can get paid for right away. In the meantime I will work on my story and my first business with true commitment and inspired purpose.