A fundamental question for any entrepreneur: What do I want from my business?

[Ivan Koretskyy]

For me, it’s having to build an enterprise type of business but with the intent of having the most automation and little employees to suit my lifestyle but requires a lot of executing. Im assuming it’s possible to have a mixture of both?

 

[Hanabi]

Growing up, whenever I thought of companies and their impact on consumers and the world, it was always enterprises. I never heard about having a "lifestyle business" until "business gurus" would talk about them during the entrepreneurship popularity boom across social media platforms in the past decade. A lot of ads for entrepreneurship related courses would highlight the benefits of lifestyle businesses. That coupled with gurus only talking about how it would benefit entrepreneurs and not talking about providing value to customers and improving their lives for the better caused me to have a very negative perspective towards these businesses. I thought enterprises were more legit, because they lasted much longer. I don't have such a negative view towards them as before, but I'm still in favor of enterprises.

Why? I see entrepreneurs of enterprises shaping societies, setting the course of the future for the world, and drastically changing how people live their lives in a way that entrepreneurs of lifestyle businesses don't. I think this is apparent in media outlets and major magazine publications. The entrepreneurs that get interviewed are mostly enterprise entrepreneurs. They lead other entrepreneurs including the lifestyle business entrepreneurs based on my observations. The entrepreneurs and businesses that are selected for case studies in business classes and in business schools are yes, you probably already guessed it, the enterprise entrepreneurs. They've created that legacy that Ravens_Shadow already mentioned in the original post.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Enterprise or Lifestyle
How about if you put it in the perspective of income generated from the business?

Personally I am always more impressed by businesses whose team headcount is always small but the income generated from it is always Big money or legendary money. And personally it's the income/profits that I go for and I go for it from the pov that I need to solve someone's problem or even provide a need to be able to get the income/profits. So I don't know whether the small headcount is on the enterprise side or the lifestyle side.

Was my first business lifestyle or enterprise? A short stroll to work, a plunge into the swimming pool beside the factory whenever I liked, tax saving business trips (holidays) to Pacific islands with my family - these all seem to point to it being a lifestyle business.

When I sold it the amount I received was huge, and that was because with only one casual employee in the factory and one casual salesman I was generating profits that made the deal attractive to a large merchant bank and the senior executive from a huge Chemical company in partnership with them.

Prior to offering the business for sale I had checked the marketplace and found that chemical businesses for sale with much lower annual profits were employing 10 to 20 times the number of employees I had.

Hmmm........ Conclusion - It must have been an enterprise, but there was a secret sauce; it was my formulas that solved manufacturing problems in a lot of industries.

Walter

 

[Paul David]

Ever heard of contractors?

Most of the stuff you mentioned can be delegated to an independent contractor. There's no need to hire someone for most of these things because they don't even take a few hours a week.

I pay a ridiculously small monthly amount to an accounting firm. They take care of everything for me, including bookkeeping, taxes, bureaucracy, etc. Why would I hire a bookkeeper, accountant, tax guy, etc.?

I don't need anyone for my website because I have simple websites. But when I had some problems, I emailed technical support and it was resolved without any work on my part.

If I need design work, I hire a freelancer for that. If I need someone to help me with marketing or any other task I don't want to or can't do, I find a freelancer or a company for a specific project, too.

Sometimes to solve a time-consuming problem you don't even need to hire anyone in any way but just need to find the right software.

How does any of this require more from me as a lifestyle business owner? I don't need to deal with:

• building company culture,
• having to have an office and all the headaches associated with it,
• learning management strategies,
• being a boss,
• selling my ideas to my employees,
• office politics,
• organization structure,
• cashflow issues (because I only pay for specific tasks),
• a board of directors,
• employee fraud,
• a shit ton of other corporate bullshit I'm not even aware of.

I don't understand why you assume that the only way to reduce the owner's workload is through early 20th century style "more workers."

You can't throw every lifestyle business owner into the same category.

There's a lifestyle business owner who runs a boutique B2B agency and they work way more than everyone else due to the nature of their business.

Then there's a lifestyle business owner who runs a content or e-commerce website where any task that they don't do well is delegated to a freelancer or an external company (like order fulfillment) and they're free to build 5 or 10 more such businesses if they want.

Likewise, there's an enterprise owner who dies at 40 of a heart attack caused by working 12 hours a day managing 500 employees who all hate him. And then there's an enterprise owner who has an incredible life with every little aspect of his business managed by his trusted managers.



You can offload that stuff to an entire company dedicated to this job. They'll do it even better than one guy.

Why would your customers like you better just because you have more employees? How do you like traditional banks? They hire for every little thing to the extent their employees play solitaire all day yet the service they offer sucks.

I love this post!

 

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[Kak]

I made my rebuttal to the Sam Ovens video finally. Sorry for the wait. It was fun.

NOTABLE! - HOT! - EXECUTION - Kyle Keegan Radio Show

As promised @Antifragile ! Glad to have you! Looking forward to listening to this on my walk.

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Mathuin]

What are some examples of a software or digital product lifestyle business?

Anything sold on Gumroad

 

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[River McTasney]

Great post.

 

[User62861]

Great post man!

 

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[Erik Heyl]

Thank you very much for the info Walter. I do appreciate it. And I believe I know of the course you're speaking of, the Proven Amazon Course and will check that out

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

 

[Walter Hay]

Thank you very much for the info Walter. I do appreciate it. And I believe I know of the course you're speaking of, the Proven Amazon Course and will check that out

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

That is right. I don't name it because I have an affiliate arrangement with PAC that involves me allowing them to include a free copy of my importing book as one module in the course.

In return I receive a small (very small) affiliate payment, but more importantly, their support team responds to most of the questions that my book buyers send in. They only refer the difficult questions to me.

If anyone wants a link, just send me a PM. (mods, I hope this is OK)

Walter

 

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[Hijena1]

Thank you for the post!!

 

[FastManCostin]

Wonderful post! thank you

 

[LittleWolfie]

I'm sure I want a lifestyle business or multiple ones.

 

[mill0x]

That was a great post and a great thread to follow. I realize I kinda always wanted an Enterprise business. I always wanted a team and to build products with different kinds of people.

I now started researching specifically resources to scale Enterprise businesses. Do you guys have any recommendations?

And what about having an Enterprise business and a lifestyle business as side hustle? Like creating content about topics you're already working with.

 

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[Entre Eyes]

I’ve got a friend that I call a few times a month to see if he’s taken action on his ideas and help him break down any barriers he may have. We’ll talk about what he’s doing and he’ll throw up a bunch of excuses about why he can’t launch yet, albeit it’s been 4 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey. His excuses may be something like this; “I have to have videos first, I have to have a website first, I have to have this and that before I can make my first calls”. Mind you, this cycle has been going on for years, but he's made a bit of cash here and there while hustling.

I never knew if there was a single question I could ask that would help him find out what it was he really wanted from being an entrepreneur.

I had a thought that maybe I should figure out what question should be asked at the beginning of anyone's journey.

The question that popped into mind was: Do you want a lifestyle business, or an enterprise?

It turns out he wanted a lifestyle business, but was getting advice from someone building an enterprise. He never knew that what he wanted was a lifestyle business, but now he can go out and get the resources he needs to get it done.

I think that this is a fundamental question that any entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting any sort of business.

What is it that you are wanting out of your journey? What do you want your journey to look like?

Let's break down the two business types.

Lifestyle Business: Some E-commerce/Amazon businesses, drop shipping, SEO services, copywriting services, Freelancing, other internet related ventures that focus solely on you as the one and only “employee” in a company. Lifestyle businesses make enough to cover your lifestyle and that’s about it. They allow you to potentially work a few hours a day, if that, and from anywhere in the world. Disclaimer: Some lifestyles may require millions of dollars a year, so you make that much to suit your lifestyle.

• Do you want “profitability” within 1-2 years, or even after few product sales?
• Do you want to be able to work from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and an internet connection?
• Do you want to travel a ton and have your journey to be filled with daily adventures?
• Do you want to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without worrying too much about money?
• Do you want to work as little as possible, no shame in this, and still be able support your lifestyle?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you probably want a lifestyle business.

Enterprise: Some software companies, franchises, massive brands (Yeti Coolers, Johnson and Johnson, Hershey's), large brick and mortar operations (BNSF Railroad, RotoRooter, Gamestop), real estate. Enterprises are huge beasts of scale and a product of relentless execution. Businesses that are at the top of their game, with the intent to dominate a particular market. Enterprises offer you the chance to exit for a large sum of F*ck you money, in exchange for sacrificing 10 years of your life.

• Are you looking to build something with massive scale and impact?
• Are you looking to build something with the intent to exit for 8 figures or more?
• Are you looking to build a team that can take you places farther than you could ever go on your own?
• Are you interested in being a CEO of a large company?
• Are you interested in working 60-80 hour weeks for years? 40 hours from a dayjob are included in this estimate and don’t burn yourself out people, be smart.
• Are you willing to risk 5, 10, or more years of your life to see a business idea through to its fruition?
• Are you looking to get investors to invest in your products and ideas?
• Are you looking for your own David vs Goliath journey?
• Are you looking to push yourself to your limits and build a legacy?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then an enterprise business is probably for you.



The right choice is what it is you want for yourself. For me, I want an enterprise. I want to take down some of the biggest companies in my industry. I don’t care about traveling, or going places. I just want a massive project to work on and lead a team, as that’s what satisfies me.

What would satisfy you might be sipping coconuts on a beach in Puerto Rico and enjoying seeing $500 in profit for the day. You might enjoy a trip to Thailand to meet up with other like minded lifestyle entrepreneurs for a few months just because you have the freedom to do so.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and both journeys have their own challenges.

Think about what sort of business it is that you want, lifestyle or enterprise, and then figure out how to build it.

I "liked it" sincerely but there is a huge difference in what we want and what our actual skills and budget allow either way.

Even as an affiliate some people will not even allow you to promote their products and services until you are damn near the same level of success as they are so I understand how newbies can get frozen in their tracks.

They are reading these hypnotic sales pages being told what the possibilities are then getting slapped and drop kicked by the realities of their budgets, skills, and who they know.

 

[Deleted72597]

Awesome first post, and lots of interesting inputs.
I'm more in the "Why not both?" category, I think.

Enterprise:
Plan -> Start -> Build -> Grow -> Hire other CEO and do the things you enjoy inside that business (if you don't like being CEO) OR hire CEO and transition into equity holder + advisor + safety net + world-traveling rock god. lol.

I don't know, man. Richard Branson built Virgin while flying around in air balloons, sailing the seas, partying, being a temporary hippie, and traveling the world (unless I have it all wrong).
Lots of work, and lots of life.

Building an enterprise I'm passionate about seems really cool me, but there is also a lot of life I want to taste, and creative/artistic projects I would like to pursue. Haven't figured out the exact sequence yet.

I'm really interested in good digital solutions in the enterprise department. I can't see why one can't be a CEO from a distance? Be in that meeting on the beach? If the digital communication is top of the line, why not? I know little about high-level CEO'ing, so I know I'm going out on a limb here.

 

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[Okeze]

I’ve got a friend that I call a few times a month to see if he’s taken action on his ideas and help him break down any barriers he may have. We’ll talk about what he’s doing and he’ll throw up a bunch of excuses about why he can’t launch yet, albeit it’s been 4 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey. His excuses may be something like this; “I have to have videos first, I have to have a website first, I have to have this and that before I can make my first calls”. Mind you, this cycle has been going on for years, but he's made a bit of cash here and there while hustling.

I never knew if there was a single question I could ask that would help him find out what it was he really wanted from being an entrepreneur.

I had a thought that maybe I should figure out what question should be asked at the beginning of anyone's journey.

The question that popped into mind was: Do you want a lifestyle business, or an enterprise?

It turns out he wanted a lifestyle business, but was getting advice from someone building an enterprise. He never knew that what he wanted was a lifestyle business, but now he can go out and get the resources he needs to get it done.

I think that this is a fundamental question that any entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting any sort of business.

What is it that you are wanting out of your journey? What do you want your journey to look like?

Let's break down the two business types.

Lifestyle Business: Some E-commerce/Amazon businesses, drop shipping, SEO services, copywriting services, Freelancing, other internet related ventures that focus solely on you as the one and only “employee” in a company. Lifestyle businesses make enough to cover your lifestyle and that’s about it. They allow you to potentially work a few hours a day, if that, and from anywhere in the world. Disclaimer: Some lifestyles may require millions of dollars a year, so you make that much to suit your lifestyle.

• Do you want “profitability” within 1-2 years, or even after few product sales?
• Do you want to be able to work from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and an internet connection?
• Do you want to travel a ton and have your journey to be filled with daily adventures?
• Do you want to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without worrying too much about money?
• Do you want to work as little as possible, no shame in this, and still be able support your lifestyle?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you probably want a lifestyle business.

Enterprise: Some software companies, franchises, massive brands (Yeti Coolers, Johnson and Johnson, Hershey's), large brick and mortar operations (BNSF Railroad, RotoRooter, Gamestop), real estate. Enterprises are huge beasts of scale and a product of relentless execution. Businesses that are at the top of their game, with the intent to dominate a particular market. Enterprises offer you the chance to exit for a large sum of f*ck you money, in exchange for sacrificing 10 years of your life.

• Are you looking to build something with massive scale and impact?
• Are you looking to build something with the intent to exit for 8 figures or more?
• Are you looking to build a team that can take you places farther than you could ever go on your own?
• Are you interested in being a CEO of a large company?
• Are you interested in working 60-80 hour weeks for years? 40 hours from a dayjob are included in this estimate and don’t burn yourself out people, be smart.
• Are you willing to risk 5, 10, or more years of your life to see a business idea through to its fruition?
• Are you looking to get investors to invest in your products and ideas?
• Are you looking for your own David vs Goliath journey?
• Are you looking to push yourself to your limits and build a legacy?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then an enterprise business is probably for you.



The right choice is what it is you want for yourself. For me, I want an enterprise. I want to take down some of the biggest companies in my industry. I don’t care about traveling, or going places. I just want a massive project to work on and lead a team, as that’s what satisfies me.

What would satisfy you might be sipping coconuts on a beach in Puerto Rico and enjoying seeing $500 in profit for the day. You might enjoy a trip to Thailand to meet up with other like minded lifestyle entrepreneurs for a few months just because you have the freedom to do so.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and both journeys have their own challenges.

Think about what sort of business it is that you want, lifestyle or enterprise, and then figure out how to build it.

I didn't understand the difference between this two until I read MJ DeMarco's book "The Millionaire Fast lane." Thanks for the post though.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

I know a local family who owns a very old enterprise business, and they are pretty hands-off with it.

There is a lady (she's in her 50's) who is the biggest owner, and she hired a manager who runs everything full-time. It's a very large company. She does go into the office, but she has a lot of freedom to come and go as she desires, lives a pretty great lifestyle, and obviously is making a lot of money.

An enterprise that gets to that level is pretty ideal.

Then you have the extremes of companies like Microsoft or Berkshire Hathaway, where the founders/owners took it public and have massive systems in place to where they don't have to be involved at all if they don't want to, but still are collecting their money own enough shares, collect enough dividends, sit on the board, etc.

I guess for big companies like that, an IPO is like a "halfway" exit.

 

[Deleted78083]

And when I say that all I mean is that I hired my first employee within three months of starting this business. And that business has grown so much more and faster than my first one.

Do you mean that by deciding to "go big" from the beginning, you actually grow faster?




I feel the "one-person business VS running Coca-Cola" is a bit too simplistic of a choice. You have medium companies making decent amount of money, especially in scalable businesses like software companies.

I don't see myself running a company where I have too many employees to remember their names. Let's say it this way.

Right now I want a lifestyle business because it seems "easier" even though it probably isn't, but I know myself. Once I know how to do something, I get bored and want it bigger. So since I'll probably end up wanting an enterprise at some point, might as well aim at that from the beginning.

That being said, I follow Fox's advice to first build a lifestyle business to learn "business" (sales, marketing, management) and then use these skills to move on to build a proper company.

Also I don't want a job so a lifestyle business to have an income to live on while building something bigger is great.

Ultimately I agree with biophase. There is living like a king in bali with 50k a year, and pouring champagne down the bathtub of your yacht in Monaco with 10 million/year.

Second option seems much funnier. And even if it's harder, what the hell am I gonna do once I have a lifestyle business? Nothing?

 

[ALC]

Bumping this after a while being off this forum, but i felt i needed to come back and this is such a great thread, and tbf eye opener for me where i stand now.

I came to realise that the Fastlane can be different for everyone.
Whether you want to build a big enterprise, something that has the possibility to be very big, with a lot of employees, big infrastructures & offices, but also at what cost, is your freedom limited by your role, how much life is left for you to enjoy when you're on such a big endeavour ?..

Or whether you go on the other route where you go down the road of the "lifestyle" business type, where you can afford to take breaks every now & then because your time really is separared from your input and maybe scale to a point where it makes a nice amount of money to live & invest beside and slowly build assets or maybe bigger depending on how things turns out.

I also think, after reading all the comments, that its also tied to who you are deep down (Personnality types) and you really need to follow that and know your strength in that matter, to then know what type of business you would thrive in and really be able to scale.

Right i know im not where i want to be but i also know i want to enjoy life a bit, travel also, which could help me see things differently and for that, only Lifestyle businesses can allow me to do that.


Grateful to read all your experiences & success, it really keeps my back on that f**ing wall knowing i need to push harder.

 

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[justinbiz]

Don't a lot of "lifestyle businesses" fall into MJ's "monomorphic pay" principle?

 

[Ravens_Shadow]

Elaine's book came out today so I guess I can post the short page that I'm in. I'm quoted in a few other places but they were just a couple sentences and not worth mentioning. I've haven't started the book yet, so I can't make any comment on the rest of it.

Bought the book to see if i can learn anything!

 

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[leighxxd8]

Enterprise or Lifestyle
How about if you put it in the perspective of income generated from the business?

Personally I am always more impressed by businesses whose team headcount is always small but the income generated from it is always Big money or legendary money. And personally it's the income/profits that I go for and I go for it from the pov that I need to solve someone's problem or even provide a need to be able to get the income/profits. So I don't know whether the small headcount is on the enterprise side or the lifestyle side.

 

[soulprenuer]

What are some examples of a software or digital product lifestyle business?

 

[soulprenuer]

Anything sold on Gumroad

Good point! I've heard about it but haven't explored it much. Have you sold on there before? Do you like the platform?

 

[Leo Hartas]

I'm definitely looking at building a lifestyle business that is pretty much automated, certainly as far as product creation and dispatch is concerned (It's a personalised book POD system). Marketing is somewhat hands on for now as we get going, but over time we'll subcontract as necessary. At a minimum we aim for it to sustain us into retirement with the books we have already created, adding new titles if we feel inspired.

Looking at our market and competitors it has the potential to grow and support a quite lavish lifestyle, but we're just not interested in hiring employees, offices, big houses, fancy cars and travelling all over the place. All that seems like loads of hassle. I'd probably crash a supercar (and there's no space in them for groceries). An automatic business that covers our modest outgoings is enough.. although we could do with a new sofa, the saggy one we have was bought second hand in the 1980s!

 

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[Luthien]

I’ve got a friend that I call a few times a month to see if he’s taken action on his ideas and help him break down any barriers he may have. We’ll talk about what he’s doing and he’ll throw up a bunch of excuses about why he can’t launch yet, albeit it’s been 4 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey. His excuses may be something like this; “I have to have videos first, I have to have a website first, I have to have this and that before I can make my first calls”. Mind you, this cycle has been going on for years, but he's made a bit of cash here and there while hustling.

I never knew if there was a single question I could ask that would help him find out what it was he really wanted from being an entrepreneur.

I had a thought that maybe I should figure out what question should be asked at the beginning of anyone's journey.

The question that popped into mind was: Do you want a lifestyle business, or an enterprise?

It turns out he wanted a lifestyle business, but was getting advice from someone building an enterprise. He never knew that what he wanted was a lifestyle business, but now he can go out and get the resources he needs to get it done.

I think that this is a fundamental question that any entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting any sort of business.

What is it that you are wanting out of your journey? What do you want your journey to look like?

Let's break down the two business types.

Lifestyle Business: Some E-commerce/Amazon businesses, drop shipping, SEO services, copywriting services, Freelancing, other internet related ventures that focus solely on you as the one and only “employee” in a company. Lifestyle businesses make enough to cover your lifestyle and that’s about it. They allow you to potentially work a few hours a day, if that, and from anywhere in the world. Disclaimer: Some lifestyles may require millions of dollars a year, so you make that much to suit your lifestyle.

• Do you want “profitability” within 1-2 years, or even after few product sales?
• Do you want to be able to work from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and an internet connection?
• Do you want to travel a ton and have your journey to be filled with daily adventures?
• Do you want to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without worrying too much about money?
• Do you want to work as little as possible, no shame in this, and still be able support your lifestyle?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you probably want a lifestyle business.

Enterprise: Some software companies, franchises, massive brands (Yeti Coolers, Johnson and Johnson, Hershey's), large brick and mortar operations (BNSF Railroad, RotoRooter, Gamestop), real estate. Enterprises are huge beasts of scale and a product of relentless execution. Businesses that are at the top of their game, with the intent to dominate a particular market. Enterprises offer you the chance to exit for a large sum of F*ck you money, in exchange for sacrificing 10 years of your life.

• Are you looking to build something with massive scale and impact?
• Are you looking to build something with the intent to exit for 8 figures or more?
• Are you looking to build a team that can take you places farther than you could ever go on your own?
• Are you interested in being a CEO of a large company?
• Are you interested in working 60-80 hour weeks for years? 40 hours from a dayjob are included in this estimate and don’t burn yourself out people, be smart.
• Are you willing to risk 5, 10, or more years of your life to see a business idea through to its fruition?
• Are you looking to get investors to invest in your products and ideas?
• Are you looking for your own David vs Goliath journey?
• Are you looking to push yourself to your limits and build a legacy?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then an enterprise business is probably for you.



The right choice is what it is you want for yourself. For me, I want an enterprise. I want to take down some of the biggest companies in my industry. I don’t care about traveling, or going places. I just want a massive project to work on and lead a team, as that’s what satisfies me.

What would satisfy you might be sipping coconuts on a beach in Puerto Rico and enjoying seeing $500 in profit for the day. You might enjoy a trip to Thailand to meet up with other like minded lifestyle entrepreneurs for a few months just because you have the freedom to do so.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and both journeys have their own challenges.

Think about what sort of business it is that you want, lifestyle or enterprise, and then figure out how to build it.

I’m late to this party, but just wanted to say what a great post and thread! It seems like so much business advice doesn’t make this distinction and then people waste years spinning their wheels on business strategies that won’t work for what they are trying to do.

I’m on “Team Lifestyle Business”: I always wanted a lifestyle business so I could be a stay at home mom. So many women work jobs that they are unhappy being away from their kids from. While I enjoy traveling, that isn’t the primary motivation-protecting my ability to always have the option of staying home and raising my own kids is. I agree that there’s some overlap between enterprise and lifestyle businesses-my goal is to have as few employees as possible, focusing on contractors and automation as the default. I don’t think it’s always realistic to be a solopreneur-I think most (successful) lifestyle businesses will eventually outgrow their founder and then the problem of what kind of outside help to bring in comes up.

I’m also currently reading UNSCRIPTED and have found the CENTS framework to be super helpful-I’m aware of Peter Thiel’s advice on avoiding competition and like that CENTS advocates for that and takes it a step further with more principles. So CENTS + lifestyle business seems like the winning combination.

 

[ZackerySprague]

I’ve got a friend that I call a few times a month to see if he’s taken action on his ideas and help him break down any barriers he may have. We’ll talk about what he’s doing and he’ll throw up a bunch of excuses about why he can’t launch yet, albeit it’s been 4 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey. His excuses may be something like this; “I have to have videos first, I have to have a website first, I have to have this and that before I can make my first calls”. Mind you, this cycle has been going on for years, but he's made a bit of cash here and there while hustling.

I never knew if there was a single question I could ask that would help him find out what it was he really wanted from being an entrepreneur.

I had a thought that maybe I should figure out what question should be asked at the beginning of anyone's journey.

The question that popped into mind was: Do you want a lifestyle business, or an enterprise?

It turns out he wanted a lifestyle business, but was getting advice from someone building an enterprise. He never knew that what he wanted was a lifestyle business, but now he can go out and get the resources he needs to get it done.

I think that this is a fundamental question that any entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting any sort of business.

What is it that you are wanting out of your journey? What do you want your journey to look like?

Let's break down the two business types.

Lifestyle Business: Some E-commerce/Amazon businesses, drop shipping, SEO services, copywriting services, Freelancing, other internet related ventures that focus solely on you as the one and only “employee” in a company. Lifestyle businesses make enough to cover your lifestyle and that’s about it. They allow you to potentially work a few hours a day, if that, and from anywhere in the world. Disclaimer: Some lifestyles may require millions of dollars a year, so you make that much to suit your lifestyle.

• Do you want “profitability” within 1-2 years, or even after few product sales?
• Do you want to be able to work from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and an internet connection?
• Do you want to travel a ton and have your journey to be filled with daily adventures?
• Do you want to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without worrying too much about money?
• Do you want to work as little as possible, no shame in this, and still be able support your lifestyle?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you probably want a lifestyle business.

Enterprise: Some software companies, franchises, massive brands (Yeti Coolers, Johnson and Johnson, Hershey's), large brick and mortar operations (BNSF Railroad, RotoRooter, Gamestop), real estate. Enterprises are huge beasts of scale and a product of relentless execution. Businesses that are at the top of their game, with the intent to dominate a particular market. Enterprises offer you the chance to exit for a large sum of F*ck you money, in exchange for sacrificing 10 years of your life.

• Are you looking to build something with massive scale and impact?
• Are you looking to build something with the intent to exit for 8 figures or more?
• Are you looking to build a team that can take you places farther than you could ever go on your own?
• Are you interested in being a CEO of a large company?
• Are you interested in working 60-80 hour weeks for years? 40 hours from a dayjob are included in this estimate and don’t burn yourself out people, be smart.
• Are you willing to risk 5, 10, or more years of your life to see a business idea through to its fruition?
• Are you looking to get investors to invest in your products and ideas?
• Are you looking for your own David vs Goliath journey?
• Are you looking to push yourself to your limits and build a legacy?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then an enterprise business is probably for you.



The right choice is what it is you want for yourself. For me, I want an enterprise. I want to take down some of the biggest companies in my industry. I don’t care about traveling, or going places. I just want a massive project to work on and lead a team, as that’s what satisfies me.

What would satisfy you might be sipping coconuts on a beach in Puerto Rico and enjoying seeing $500 in profit for the day. You might enjoy a trip to Thailand to meet up with other like minded lifestyle entrepreneurs for a few months just because you have the freedom to do so.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and both journeys have their own challenges.

Think about what sort of business it is that you want, lifestyle or enterprise, and then figure out how to build it.

As I am debating about this, I always thought that the lifestyle business would be ideal for me, but I don't travel as much and get bored when I am alone, so probably that's out of the picture. I have been told by my co-workers at my day job that they believe I have leadership qualities by two people (one got fired, and the other I still work with. The Feedback I'd received was I'm very direct and ask questions). They think I'd be best fit for a manager or project manager haha. And as for the direction I want to go, I am looking for the exit. Running a enterprise seems scary to me, but at the same time I do love a challenge and actually wouldn't mind trying. I would definitely sacrifice 5 to 10 years of my life without seeing any results. If I found a product that I could create that impacts others and learn something new such as the newsletter Aggregator. I would work all day everyday even after my day job. Example, I love technology, when at my day job Friday. Messing around with Amazon Web Services by creating a Virtual Private Cloud, EC2 Virtual Machines, It was so much fun just winging it without even taking the courses itself. I'd jump straight in to anything tech related. I would not seek investors at all, I wouldn't want to deal with Stakeholder's, or give up equity into something I'd build. I'd focus on the customer/client first.

But I would totally take up the challenge to run an enterprise any day, it would feel good being at the top, having a team, making an impact and yet also being very competitive taking down others haha

 

[Andrés08]

I want to start an enterprise business in the long run, because I TRULY want to make an impact and build a legacy, but man, I'm turning 16 in the next couple of months and I don't have the experience, the maturity, the time, or the resources. I mean I'm just a teenager right now. I don't even know if I'm going to college or not!

So by the time I'm writing this, a lifestyle business that teaches me things like sales, marketing, copywriting, and more while I sell a highly-valuable skill sounds like a pretty good thing to do while I'm in my teens, apart from all the advice that people gave me in my ''What would you do at 16'' thread, things like going to the gym, learning every day, doing martial arts, playing sports, getting laid, improving social skills, meditating, reading, etc (Thanks for the advice guys, you're F*ck*ng awesome.)