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I started a business and now I'm doubting it

Dubidu

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I'd love to hire people. Thats the vision in my head. I want crews working for me and a few trucks on the road but I'm losing interest fast. It doesn't serve enough purpose for me. Plus I don't have the cash or supplies to hire people right now.

I've mentioned on another thread that through my work I encounter a lot of entrepreneurs and as a result they made me want to do my own thing which I'm pursuing. Mine is product based but I can tell you of one client - I couldn't believe there was this much money in car washes. He is worth 35m. The bulk of that was from setting up car washing businesses. He invested in property too but that was not how he made his money. The example he gave was the relatively recent freak snow storm in Germany (this was earlier in the year when I saw him). He said the result for his business was exponential; apparently people just can't be bothered to wash their cars anymore (in my head I thought I would have either washed it myself or paid a child pocket money to do it for me!) but he is the entrepreneur and I am not (yet!). Keep going, it'll be worth it in the end I'm sure. Good luck!
 
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momomaurice

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I've mentioned on another thread that through my work I encounter a lot of entrepreneurs and as a result they made me want to do my own thing which I'm pursuing. Mine is product based but I can tell you of one client - I couldn't believe there was this much money in car washes. He is worth 35m. The bulk of that was from setting up car washing businesses. He invested in property too but that was not how he made his money. The example he gave was the relatively recent freak snow storm in Germany (this was earlier in the year when I saw him). He said the result for his business was exponential; apparently people just can't be bothered to wash their cars anymore (in my head I thought I would have either washed it myself or paid a child pocket money to do it for me!) but he is the entrepreneur and I am not (yet!). Keep going, it'll be worth it in the end I'm sure. Good luck!

Thanks man I appreciate the heads up. That was also another plan I had in my head, mobile car washing. I was going to buy a van and call to peoples homes or where they worked and washed their cars. Sounds now like there's money in that too
 

Andy Black

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Thanks man I appreciate the heads up. That was also another plan I had in my head, mobile car washing. I was going to buy a van and call to peoples homes or where they worked and washed their cars. Sounds now like there's money in that too
I wonder if people book car washing in advance at set intervals? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly? I know a lot of (property) cleaning companies use booking/scheduling software like Launch27. Maybe it can be used for mobile car washing, and maybe some clients would want to set it up and forget about it?
 

momomaurice

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I wonder if people book car washing in advance at set intervals? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly? I know a lot of (property) cleaning companies use booking/scheduling software like Launch27. Maybe it can be used for mobile car washing, and maybe some clients would want to set it up and forget about it?

You'd definately think people with fancy cars who like to show off would like their car spotless especially in the summer time and the time they'd save by having it automatically done.
 
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Dubidu

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Thanks man I appreciate the heads up. That was also another plan I had in my head, mobile car washing. I was going to buy a van and call to peoples homes or where they worked and washed their cars. Sounds now like there's money in that too

I'm a lady but you're welcome! Now if only I could sort my own life out :)
 

MidwestLandlord

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I wonder if people book car washing in advance at set intervals? Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly?

The firm my old realtor owned had a mobile washer show up every Friday morning (to get ready for the weekends, which are busy for residential realtors), and wash every car in the parking lot. Even the receptionist's car.

I've tried to sneak my car in there for a wash...but no luck. :rofl:

In my area of the USA (north, lots of snow), tunnel washes with a monthly fee based "wash all you want" is big business. I imagine taking that same model and making it mobile would work well especially if he's in an area like mine where the first nice day has car wash lines 2-3 blocks long.

You'd definately think people with fancy cars who like to show off would like their car spotless especially in the summer time and the time they'd save by having it automatically done.

More like directly after precipitation. Rain/Snow = dirty car.
 

Andy Black

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The firm my old realtor owned had a mobile washer show up every Friday morning (to get ready for the weekends, which are busy for residential realtors), and wash every car in the parking lot. Even the receptionist's car.

I've tried to sneak my car in there for a wash...but no luck. :rofl:

In my area of the USA (north, lots of snow), tunnel washes with a monthly fee based "wash all you want" is big business. I imagine taking that same model and making it mobile would work well especially if he's in an area like mine where the first nice day has car wash lines 2-3 blocks long.



More like directly after precipitation. Rain/Snow = dirty car.
That’s smart of him to get all the cars cleaned. I wonder who else sees getting their cars cleaned as an investment? Taxis, limos, bus/coach companies, salesmen, etc.

Good try @MidwestLandlord. Made me laugh.
 
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Thoelt53

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That’s smart of him to get all the cars cleaned. I wonder who else sees getting their cars cleaned as an investment? Taxis, limos, bus/coach companies, salesmen, etc.
Construction equipment.
 

Flybye

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There are a few ways you could look at this.
As some have said, hire people. Problem is not everyone likes the back end management work. Some prefer not to be in management to be able to be right on the front lines. If you can be without doing any of this work yourself, then manage some people!

So there are the people that dont care at all of the work they are managing. You could be running 100 different companies ranging from growing rice to spinning carbon fiber. If it makes money, you love running it. But some people need a real passion for what they have. Some get bored, sell the business, and move on to a business they really enjoy.
 

Beast Of Ecom

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Your time is money

Don't trade your time for money. If you run a business this way you are basically an employee.

Get a business loan/investment from friends/family and leverage it if you have a plan in place

Work hard and outsource EG hire someone to take on the majority
 
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momomaurice

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I wouldn't like to get a loan now. I am planning on hiring next year. Healthy steady growth for now. I am still learning my way and as it says in the E Myth you need to write down everything you want people to do and then step out of that position. If I hired technicians now I think the business would go downhill. I don't have the right equipment or knowledge of the job yet. I'd love to step out of the technical role now but it wouldn't be sensible.
 

Camber

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I wouldn't like to get a loan now. I am planning on hiring next year. Healthy steady growth for now. I am still learning my way and as it says in the E Myth you need to write down everything you want people to do and then step out of that position. If I hired technicians now I think the business would go downhill. I don't have the right equipment or knowledge of the job yet. I'd love to step out of the technical role now but it wouldn't be sensible.
I've been working as a contractor for about a year now and am in a similar boat, its hard to really focus on growing your business when your constantly working.

In my opinion the best possible thing to do right now would be to hire and train another employee since it doesn't seem like the most skill demanding job, it should decrease the time it takes to do a job by at least a 3rd of the time.

I recently hired a helper and finding the right employee can make the job much more enjoyable as well as quick and efficient, if my worker can save me almost half the time it takes to do the job then i'm paying my employee x amount of dollars per hour to save me an hour of time and since i value my time more than their wages the rest is profit.

Work less hours a week doing the job that you don't really enjoy, and spend just a little more time on relaxing, and spend a lot more time getting more clients and strategizing.
 

droberts

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I'm unsure about the power washing business, so don't have much to say on the topic. However, I did want to touch on your "having a passion for your business is bullshit" comment.

I think there's a big disconnect with DOING something you're passionate about, and DELIVERING VALUE you're passionate about. I believe MJ even echoed similar sentiment in Unscripted (rereading TMF right now, may be in there too). Ex: I'm a software engineer by trade; it's the backbone to my Just Over Broke (JOB) and my recent entrepreneurship endeavor. The actual DOING (writing code) isn't a particular passion of mine. However, the VALUE DELIVERED by the software I'm writing is definitely something I'm excited and passionate about.

You may find power washing a chore, but if you believe in and are excited about the value you can delivery than you could have a winner of a business on your hands. However, if you don't believe in the value you're providing I'd argue you just have a JOB or way to make a quick buck; which rarely works out.

Whatever you decide, I hope you experiment and learn as much as you can. All the MBA courses in the world will never give you the education in entrepreneurship that actually getting hands on and trying things out will.

All the best to you!!!
 
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momomaurice

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Woke up this morning and I've decided I'm going to start a new business. I'm going to earn what I can over the busy summer months and try something else. I have no interest in this business and its just turning into a money grab. I also don't think this business meets the commandment of Time as its seasonal.
 

Danny reds

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I started a business because I spent too much time thinking about starting a business and just said f*ck it I'll start a power washing business. 2 months in and some mornings I dread the thought of waking up and doing the work thats ahead of me for the day. I'm making more money that I ever made in my life but I'm finding it a struggle to keep going. I know having a passion for your business is bullshit but shouldn't there be some bit of interest in what you do? Shouldn't I be waking up in the morning feeling happy that I'm in business? Is this normal to feel like this? I feel a bit lost and would love some advice on the matter.
Hey, Momo I hope all is good man. This whole thing do what you love and make a shit tone of money doing it, Is hard to come by. Some time you have to do what you hate in order to do that you love. Use this power washing business as a money seedling to grow more money trees...
 

TheCj

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Did you get around to reading the E-myth yet?

My side gig is handyman stuff that i started similar to you just to do something to create action.
I can relate to the similar frustration's etc of it not being a passion etc.. hiring dilemma and have just recently read the E-myth book from recommendations I've seen in this forum.

I found it very helpful in shaping a mindset of a business being a product. That is the whole business is something that should exist without depending on one person. And the actual service or product the business itself provides isn't what people are really buying, it is the whole brand/experience.

Helped me understand how people like Richard Branson can go into so many different businesses. It's not that he has the best planes, or the best whatever.. It's because the company works with his imprint all over it, and his way of doing business influences the customer experience, usually in a positive way that solves a problem he as a customer faced when he used existing companies.

Not sure if that made any sense and i definitely haven't done the book justice on how well it flows through everything.

Basically I would recommend giving the book a read, It has me thinking in a better, bigger way.
 
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momomaurice

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Did you get around to reading the E-myth yet?

My side gig is handyman stuff that i started similar to you just to do something to create action.
I can relate to the similar frustration's etc of it not being a passion etc.. hiring dilemma and have just recently read the E-myth book from recommendations I've seen in this forum.

I found it very helpful in shaping a mindset of a business being a product. That is the whole business is something that should exist without depending on one person. And the actual service or product the business itself provides isn't what people are really buying, it is the whole brand/experience.

Helped me understand how people like Richard Branson can go into so many different businesses. It's not that he has the best planes, or the best whatever.. It's because the company works with his imprint all over it, and his way of doing business influences the customer experience, usually in a positive way that solves a problem he as a customer faced when he used existing companies.

Not sure if that made any sense and i definitely haven't done the book justice on how well it flows through everything.

Basically I would recommend giving the book a read, It has me thinking in a better, bigger way.

Yeah I've read that book about 5 times already. I read the landscaping one too and was even looking up getting a coach on the emyth website. That's a life changing book on the way people should think about business.
 

El Príncipe

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This is probably because you didn't actually start a business... You built a job...

If you have enough work, why not hire some hourly employees to do the labor? Then focus on getting more work... And then hire someone that can focus on getting more work...

When you lay it out like that it's so crystal clear and simple. Thank you.
 

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