Where I have been this time... and why I'm famous at Wells Fargo

[AndrewNC]

You have achieved scale when the difference between a $600 order and a $60,000 order are the numbers and not much else.

Great thread so far, the value you offer is often more than you realize!

Right now I offer a service which has the high-ticket item being $5,000 for 20 hour-long sessions spread throughout the year.

I currently have 3 clients which works out to maybe 4 hours per week. Average comes out to $250 per hour and I could pay someone $50 per hour for the work I do.

I'm looking to scale the business, and even though I have time to take on many more clients myself, I am thinking of jumping straight into making the sales, doing the first session myself, and then setting them up with someone under me who will do the legwork.

After that, I will hire someone to do the sales, and eventually be there to answer questions for the sales team and the people fulfilling the service.

Would you jump into this end goal as quickly as possible? Or handle outsourcing one task at a time?

Thanks again for your help!

 

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[Kak]

Great thread so far, the value you offer is often more than you realize!

Right now I offer a service which has the high-ticket item being $5,000 for 20 hour-long sessions spread throughout the year.

I currently have 3 clients which works out to maybe 4 hours per week. Average comes out to $250 per hour and I could pay someone $50 per hour for the work I do.

I'm looking to scale the business, and even though I have time to take on many more clients myself, I am thinking of jumping straight into making the sales, doing the first session myself, and then setting them up with someone under me who will do the legwork.

After that, I will hire someone to do the sales, and eventually be there to answer questions for the sales team and the people fulfilling the service.

Would you jump into this end goal as quickly as possible? Or handle outsourcing one task at a time?

Thanks again for your help!

Hello @AndrewNC

I am not sure I understand the question 100%, but it looks like you are basically asking how I would scale what appears to be a consulting company.

Consulting by nature is a 1 to 1 exchange of time for money. Being that the nature of what you consult on is start ups and entrepreneurship... And due to the fact that I like unique and outside of the box deals... I would be bagging the hiring more consultants, why? Because if thy hire you they want you. I have hired consultants in the past where they dish me off to another subconsultant and it sucks.

That said, If I were you, I would be publicly open to stock deals and royalties for start ups that have a ton of potential, but are a little too lean to be spending $5k on a consultant. That way you are paid on deliverance and also are a partial owner in the new business.

Also just for a case study. Look up that Tony guy that started P90X. He was a personal trainer 1:1 trading time for money. He eventually developed classes to magnify... Then he brought the fitness DVD to mass-market. This is an alternative model.

I hope this helps!

 

[Roland]

Not a problem! I hope it was valuable to you. Anyone else who wants me to pick apart a business model let me know.

Actually, I would like to take you up on this if you have time for it.

I have got a business that I have run for two years, started from nothing and got to the point where I am able to branch out on my own every 9 months or so. I branched out a first time and instead of carrying on doing that, I invested in setting up a franchise for this business. So in other words, I have got 2 beauty salons which are pilot companies for the franchise and a third company which is the franchise.

What I am facing now is this:
- As it is a low paying job, the big majority of the beauty therapists don't have the money to invest in a franchise and the banks won't follow them unless they have 50% of the investment in cash already.

What I have:
- All the systems in place (technical and business training, legal paperwork ready, marketing strategies tested and approved...)
- The ability to make any franchise profitable from day 1 as I did for mine

Where I stand:
- I can't keep opening branches of my own indefinitely as it takes too much of my time and is not the best use for it either.
- I could wait to find the few therapists that have enough money to invest in a franchise but this is a very slow process
- I could target wealthier people and sell them the opportunity to invest in one or several franchises or mine with the benefit of reducing taxes, getting the profit of the company and the possibility to resell the company at the end of the franchise agreement and get this money on top of the profit, etc... Basically I deal with everything for them and they just have to invest at the beginning and then collect the profit.

I think I am definitely onto something with this business, I just need to find a way to accelerate its growth.

I would love to have your view on my strategy or any other idea that might cross your mind.
Any idea as well on how to get in touch with the sort of wealthy people that my deal could be of interest to would be welcome if you have any.

This is the first time I get one of my businesses to the point where I can realistically hope to go big and I don't intend to let this opportunity go until I have tried everything.

Thanks for this thread and all the insight in it. I think that I am not the only one thinking that it is an awesome way of showing everybody what is possible.

 

[Greg R]

Big BUMP in honor of @Kak's efforts in Houston. One hell of a thread. "Think with more zeros." "Stop being a pussy." This stuff never gets old.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Striver]

I read the first page. I read the last page. Now it looks like I gotta go back into the middle for some nitty gritty!

EDIT: AAANNNNDDDD it delivered!

 

[Striver]

I am far more "get it done" than "make it perfect".

And I am quite sure your bank account reflects that!

 

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[TStrike]

Sounds like you have your lifetime excuse locked-in.

But I guess I understand; a married man with kids and a mortgage has never successfully started a business in all of recorded history.

Savage truth

 

[Bishop]

This thread should have it's own classification: PLATINUM

@Kak and @Vigilante : THANK YOU

 

[DeletedUser052]

The thought that flashed through my mind after I read through the thread is,


"@Kak is a total badass."

 

[Vigilante]

Not sure if this is one of my favorite threads because of the lessons contained within or because I watched this whole thing unfold and can validate 100% of its authenticity.

What you guys don't see is this is just a a little glimpse into the daily life of this high flying entrepreneur. I wish he had time to blog and he never will but if you guys could spend a bit of time with him on the phone regularly you would see this entertainment play out regularly.

I can summarize his life for you very succinctly. He wins.

 

[Kak]

Hey guys!

I know I haven’t hit this thread up in a while and I think it is about time to get it going again. I have had some new revelations about life and my entrepreneurial journey.

I’m going to fill the void in the back half of this week because I’ll be traveling and bring everyone up to speed on some of the things I’ve learned between the start of this thread and today. I’m going to continue logging my progress of all of my businesses, ventures and undertakings into the future. Some stuff is too cool not to share. Some stuff is blatant failure. So what? It’s real and it’s as part of entrepreneurship as winning.

As Vigilante said, I should blog, how about here? I’m not sure yet, but I might be requesting a move to the inside because it will let me open up a bit more.

It might start to look more like a book outline.

 

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[Vigilante]

Hey guys!

I know I haven’t hit this thread up in a while and I think it is about time to get it going again. I have had some new revelations about life and my entrepreneurial journey.

I’m going to fill the void this week because I’ll be traveling and bring everyone up to speed on some of the things I’ve learned between the start of this thread and today. I’m going to continue logging my progress of all of my businesses, ventures and undertakings into the future. Some stuff is too cool not to share. Some stuff is blatant failure. So what? It’s real and it’s as part of entrepreneurship as winning.

As Vigilante said, I should blog, how about here? I’m not sure yet, but I might be requesting a move to the inside because it will let me open up a bit more.

It might start to look more like a book outline.

Leave this here and start a new inside thread. This thread can be like a little bread crumb trail to the continuing story on the inside.

 

[million$$$smile]

I wouldn't think you'd need to close it Kyle. You may want to come back to share something here later, something that you feel would be better served to the outside rather than just served to the INSIDERS.

The continuation could go to the Inside, but there just might be a place for continuation here also--sometime.

 

[Kak]

I wouldn't think you'd need to close it Kyle. You may want to come back to share something here later, something that you feel would be better served to the outside rather than just served to the INSIDERS.

The continuation could go to the Inside, but there just might be a place for continuation here also--sometime.

I’ll just keep going here. I’ll make it work.

 

[Kak]

I want to start my revisit of this thread with a new (sort of) intro. I want to make it very clear that I’m going to continue to be real.

This is not going to be an idealistic Facebook style thread. I don’t care about impressing people. I don’t care about looking cool to the forum. Nothing I post should be viewed as bragging. I’m not here for anyone’s amusement. I’m here to share my experiences, what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, what worked and what didn’t.

This is a learning thread. I’m learning and I’m posting it so you can learn from me. I’m happy for other people to make big money. I’m not here to measure dicks and compete with others on this forum. I sincerely hope you blow my doors off and I’ll be the first to cheer you on.

I recently finished Warren Buffett’s Snowball. Some of you may know I’m not a fan of his politics, but I respect his business acumen. My brother and I only exchange books for gifts now because we both value wisdom over junk and it happened to show up on Christmas.

In the book he mentions internal vs external scorecard. The concept is GOLD. They mostly run inverse to each other. If you are racking up points for the world to see, it lifts your external scorecard, but costs you money, hard work and sanity. We all know people who feel the need to prove everything to everyone. Internal scorecard in comparison, is what really matters, net worth, family, true happiness in the journey, wisdom. This to say the farther I get into business life, the bigger cheap a$$ I become. I’m an internal scorecard kind of guy.

You’re not going to be impressed with my vehicle. It’s a Chevy if you were wondering.

You won’t be impressed with my wife’s car. It’s also a Chevy if you were wondering.

You’re not going to be impressed with my house. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a 4 bedroom home in an upscale neighborhood. It still has shitty wallpaper in some rooms and the landscaping is horrendous.

I bought my last suit from Indochino for 400 bucks.

I wear a citizen watch.

I play golf at a Clubcorp club. Pretty much mainstream.

I have a 6 year old computer I still have no plans to replace yet. It works well enough to send emails and type crap which is all I use it for.

I have a 1080 TV which is ancient now and no cable subscription.

Don’t get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with having nice things... One of my biggest goals is a jet (and a business that would soak up the opportunity it affords). However, I see sidewalking of epic proportions from some very high income people I am surrounded by. External scorecard types. Everything is about proof for them. It is hopping from one thing to the next hoping to fill a void. This kind of behavior is pathetic to me so I don’t partake.

What I do partake in is business. I try to play at the highest possible level with every single decision. I try to amass ridiculous business knowledge every single day. I don’t go for millions. I go for hundreds of millions or billions because when an idea is in infancy the only difference in potential is the size of the plan.

The plan and the hard work are the easy parts. I will not be leaving out the hard parts (they do exist, contrary to what the external scorecard people would have you believe). Why share these? Because the challenges make you stronger and smarter than a someone who hasn’t dealt with them. Why do you think lotto winners go broke? Money without the sacrifice.

I sincerely hope you get something out of what is to come from this thread!

 

[ZF Lee]

I want to start my revisit of this thread with a new (sort of) intro. I want to make it very clear that I’m going to continue to be real.

This is not going to be an idealistic Facebook style thread. I don’t care about impressing people. I don’t care about looking cool to the forum. Nothing I post should be viewed as bragging. I’m not here for anyone’s amusement, I’m here to share my experiences, what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, what worked and what didn’t.

This is a learning thread. I’m learning and I’m posting it so you can learn from me. I’m happy for other people to make big money. I’m not here to measure dicks and compete with others on this forum. I sincerely hope you blow my doors off and I’ll be the first to cheer you on.

I recently finished Warren Buffett’s Snowball. Some of you may know I’m not a fan of his politics, but I respect his business acumen. My brother and I only exchange books for gifts now because we both value wisdom over junk and it happened to show up in my collection on Christmas.

In the book he mentions internal vs external scorecard. The concept is GOLD. They mostly run inverse to each other. If you are racking up points for the world to see, it lifts your external scorecard, but costs you money, hard work and sanity. We all know people who feel the need to prove everything to everyone. Internal scorecard in comparison, is what really matters, net worth, family, true happiness in the journey, wisdom. This to say the farther I get into business life, the bigger cheap a$$ I become. I’m an internal scorecard kind of guy.

You’re not going to be impressed with my vehicle. It’s a Chevy if you were wondering.

You won’t be impressed with my wife’s car. It’s also a Chevy if you were wondering.

You’re not going to be impressed with my house. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a 4 bedroom home in an upscale neighborhood. It still has shitty wallpaper in some rooms and the landscaping is horrendous.

I buy my suits from Indochino for 400 bucks.

I wear a citizen watch.

I play golf at a Clubcorp club. Pretty much mainstream.

I have a 6 year old computer I still have no plans to replace yet. It works well enough to send emails and type crap which is all I use it for.

I have a 1080 TV which is ancient now.

Don’t get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with having nice things... One of my biggest goals is a jet (and a business that would soak up the opportunity it affords). However, I see sidewalking of epic proportions from some very high income people I am surrounded by. External scorecard types. Everything is about proof for them. It is hopping from one thing to the next hoping to fill a void. This kind of behavior is pathetic to me so I don’t partake.

What I do partake in is business. I try to play at the highest possible level with every single decision. I try to amass ridiculous business knowledge every single day. I don’t go for millions. I go for hundreds of millions or billions because when an idea is in infancy the only difference in potential is the size of the plan.

The plan and execution is the easy part. I will not be leaving out the hard parts (they do exist, contrary to what the external scorecard people would have you believe). Why share these? Because the challenges make you stronger and smarter than a someone who hasn’t dealt with them. Why do you think lotto winners go broke? Money without the sacrifice.

I sincerely hope you get something out of what is to come from this thread!

Thank you @Kak! Great revisit!

I am fortunate that I never thought much about the external scorecard anyway. It is such a burden to success. Trying to impress folks over and over again never ends, EVER.

I also don't partake in many activities of the same spectrum. Dating, parties, youth events, concerts....
They may be beneficial to some, but to me, those places are like orgies of Sidewalkers. Can't bear to go to these events.

And I have peers who wonder 'why is that guy so anti-social?'

I still enjoy some things though. Painting, music and writing.

 

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[million$$$smile]

I go for hundreds of millions or billions because when an idea is in infancy the only difference in potential is the size of the plan.

Wow! Hello-o-o-o!!!

That my friend is the reason I'm here.
A simple statement like that cuts through the clutter of scripted-taught-think.

Thanks for another gem!

 

[evlttwin]

I’ll just keep going here. I’ll make it work.

LOL. I bought an INSIDERS sub yesterday because I thought there was a new Kak thread coming. Ah well

 

[Kak]

LOL. I bought an INSIDERS sub yesterday because I thought there was a new Kak thread coming. Ah well

You’re welcome. Enjoy!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Why do you think lotto winners go broke? Money without the sacrifice.

We can add heroin-addicted trust fund brats to this as well...

 

[Kak]

We can add heroin-addicted trust fund brats to this as well...

Also a good example. It all comes down to being there for the sacrifice.

I wish Donald Trump would write a book about raising winner kids in an extremely wealthy household. His kids are impressive to me considering their circumstances. We all know the trend.

I sometimes wonder how I will handle this with my future kids. The last thing any rich parent wants to do is stifle their kids, but most of them somehow do.

 

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[ZF Lee]

Also a good example. It all comes down to being there for the sacrifice.

I wish Donald Trump would write a book about raising winner kids in an extremely wealthy household. His kids are impressive to me considering their circumstances.

I sometimes wonder how I will handle this with my future kids. The last thing any rich parent wants to do is stifle their kids, but most of them somehow do.

On stiffling the kids, I had a short stint in an international private school when I was 8 years old.

Couldn't bear with it. Had to get out.

The kids were too snobbish and always talked about TV shows or games or the latest fad.
I couldn't find friends who were interested in hard work or progress.

I went to a regular school, which was cheaper and had kids from lower-income families.

They weren't as wealthy, but we knew we needed to study and work hard. We understood sacrifice and effort, to a degree. After all, the kids came from poorer families that lived on work. A few were orphans, who really had to work hard, or fall behind in life. So, we clicked.

I still keep contact with some of them. They have gone on to become successful in life, Fastlane or not.

That is why I sometimes shake my head at expensive education. Education is not always about books, but also about the people available to mix with, and their doctrine and mindset.

 

[Kak]

On stiffling the kids, I had a short stint in an international private school when I was 8 years old.

Couldn't bear with it. Had to get out.

The kids were too snobbish and always talked about TV shows or games or the latest fad.
I couldn't find friends who were interested in hard work or progress.

I went to a regular school, which was cheaper and had kids from lower-income families.

They weren't as wealthy, but we knew we needed to study and work hard. We understood sacrifice and effort, to a degree. After all, the kids came from poorer families that lived on work. A few were orphans, who really had to work hard, or fall behind in life. So, we clicked.

I still keep contact with some of them. They have gone on to become successful in life, Fastlane or not.

That is why I sometimes shake my head at expensive education. Education is not always about books, but also about the people available to mix with, and their doctrine and mindset.

Rep++ Great Post!

At 8 years old, you gave a shit?

I agree completely, especially with the last paragraph there... Which is what brings me to the fact that these elite schools are also places where other big winner parents send their kids. Its an opportunity for kids and parents alike to run in those circles if they so choose to seize it. On one hand it might stifle some rugged hands-on dirty work, but it also might get them an in with the right people. I know the trend says otherwise... But see, its tempting to buy a perceived advantage when you can.

My wife attended private school and a public college. I attended a public school and a private college. I'll say the vast majority of the folks from her high school seem like loser lunatics. The people I knew from high school are mostly doing fine in some sort of slowlane undertaking.

Side note, I don't care about threadjacking in this thread. I'll put it back on topic in the back half of the week. This is an interesting discussion to me.

 

[SquatchMan]

My wife attended private school and a public college. I attended a public school and a private college. I'll say the vast majority of the folks from her high school seem like loser lunatics. The people I knew from high school are mostly doing fine in some sort of slowlane undertaking.

Interesting with your wife's classmates. I guess it varies by the school and even the class.

I attended a private high school with lots of (locally) powerful families. Most of my classmates are doing fine in high end slowlane stuff like accounting, law, banking, and construction. We only graduated 6 years ago, but I suspect my high school classmates will be the future movers and shakers of the city (or state) just like their parents. For example, everyone in my high school friend group has parents that are either: multimillionaire entrepreneurs or elected government officials. Good connections to have.

I'm personally sending my future kids to a Catholic private high school, the top international school in my city if I'm still living abroad, or homeschooling them. I have major issues with the public schooling system in the US.

 

[GPM]

I am terrified about what to do about education and children. Like this keeps me up at night worrying kind of terrified. I HATED school growing up. They try to stick you in a box, and cater to the lowest common denominator. It turns you into a retarded robot.

I am not any smarter than anyone else, and a lot less intelligent that most of the people on the this forum. However, when I am interested in something I can run with it. I remember in high school I took some 3 credit computer courses, that had extra 1 credit modules that we could take. Me and a buddy were up to 7 credits in the first week of the course, and we spend the rest of our time getting high scores in space invaders (I won that one haha). The teacher eventually said we didn't need to bother showing up anymore, so we didn't. I ended up skipping probably half my classes by getting agreements from the teachers saying that I didn't need to show up. You need 100 credits to graduate high school, I finished with about 130 and had nearly the entire grade 12 off (aka drinking beer at friends houses instead)

Unfortunately most school (especially at lower grades) don't let you have any freedom like that. You finish your work or are interested in something else and they force you into that box, and make you sit there doing literally nothing while the tards finish up. Gotta piss or are hungry? Wait your turn, wait until I say so, or just sit there and suck it up.

You are creative and have crazy dreams about the world? That is all madness and stop dreaming or thinking. You will be lucky to get a job working for someone else. Just sit there and do what we say, when we say it, and maybe you will graduate and "better yourself" at a university.

I had the life thoroughly crushed out of me for such a long time. I was an enterprising young fellow who always ran little businesses and was the one who people went to to borrow money from. Then somewhere between high school and secondary education I had my dreams crushed completely out of me. It took me well into my 20's to start to even reclaim any of that. And now in my early 30's to finally get myself back. If I had even half the understanding at 20 that I do today.... wow. I think not being indoctrinated so much in my younger years would have really helped.

I have no idea what I am going to do for education with my children when the time comes. But I do want to gather a group of like minded individuals, who have children roughly the same age, and figure something out together. The current system is shit. "Business as usual" pisses me off more than almost anything else in the world. The education is one of the best examples of "business as usual" that you could possibly find. Time to change it up. That change HAS to start with us because the government sure as hell isn't going to take that challenge on.

 

[ZF Lee]

Rep++ Great Post!

At 8 years old, you gave a sh*t?

Thanks for the reps. Excuse the thread jack lol.

I didn't really have the ability to express myself or reflect fully at that time. But I did have an awareness on what barriers I would hit, what gates that just wouldn't open for me, no matter what I did.

As I'm Asian, I was, and am, subjected to a lot of comparisons and criticism. Parents would take their children's accomplishments and measure them up to others. Pretty unhealthy...a tough SCRIPT mechanism.

So, yes, I grew up having to give a shit on some things that might affect my performance ratings for my parents....

I don't subscribe to that SCRIPT doctrine anymore. One good thing about it though, was that I worked and observed my a$$ off from an early age, regardless of whether comparing children with others was morally right or wrong.

It's somehow akin to learning a lot in jobs before you go out to start a Fastlane business.

BTW, it's not romantic heroism to have a 'give a shit' mentality early in childhood. I paid very dearly for it. I could have paid a lower price, but I was timid and didn't know enough about critical thinking.

Unfortunately most school (especially at lower grades) don't let you have any freedom like that. You finish your work or are interested in something else and they force you into that box, and make you sit there doing literally nothing while the tards finish up. Gotta piss or are hungry? Wait your turn, wait until I say so, or just sit there and suck it up.

Odd.

When I was still in school, we were allowed to complete other work once we were done. Or have some discussions with the teacher on what we didn't know.

I still don't like the education system, but this? Feels illegal to me, even where I come from!

 

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[Jugg]

Just re-read this thread from start to end, thanks for the inspiration @Kak and I'm looking forward to updates!

 

[Vigilante]

He couldn't come to the meet up.

Because he was at Mar-A-Lago this weekend.

 

[OMDA]

Also a good example. It all comes down to being there for the sacrifice.

I wish Donald Trump would write a book about raising winner kids in an extremely wealthy household. His kids are impressive to me considering their circumstances. We all know the trend.

I sometimes wonder how I will handle this with my future kids. The last thing any rich parent wants to do is stifle their kids, but most of them somehow do.

Seconding this. I'm not a parent, but I ask the same questions.

I have met several homeschooled families over the years. The interesting part is that they at least have their tires on the fastlane stripes or are completely in the fastlane.

• One is a couple that met while he was doing music. Now he's an artist that runs his own shop. They homeschooled/went to montessori schools. They were incredibly talented, sharp, athletic, well-behaved kids that seemed born in the fast lane mentality
• Another I met while they were figuring out their next business venture. They were living on a huge plot of land with extended family, coasting on savings and figuring out what they wanted to do. I didn't get the impression that they were loaded with money coming out of their ears, but they had enough of a cushion to relax, vacation and party while figuring out their brick and mortar venture
• Yet another was one of the most genuinely positive, friendly, welcoming family I've ever met. They own a business that's somewhere in the 8-9 figure range. All of their kids are humble, great, intelligent, and light up the room. Yet they all stayed out of trouble with drugs and big problems whereas their extended family did not. Homeschooled. One of them attended a very specific private college that was known for not being like a typical party school

The upper middle class people, or the managerial class people that are still deep in the slow lane raise the most dangerous kids in my experience. I've seen them torn apart by drugs, attempted suicide, and massive entitlement.

One case in particular stands out. His father was pretty high up in management, but wanted his son to learn something about working. So he got his son hired at his local office. When his son was asked to do something at work:
"I don't have to do that because my dad's the boss"
He later attempted to kill himself in a very ineffective way as a cry for help. He kind of pulled his life together a little bit, but then fell off the map.

I think the people scampering for upper middle class have some kind of chip on their shoulder and something to prove, and have the means to spoil their children such that they never get the cold hit of reality until the damage has been done.

 

[Kak]

My apologies for not kicking this off sooner... It turned out to be a much busier trip for me than anticipated.

I am home now and I have unpacked some of my thoughts.

Some of you may know that I am in the process of getting my pilot's license and this may be cheesy to some, but I am noticing a lot of parallels and analogies between the business world, as my limited experience can describe, and flight. The size of an airplane is like the size of our businesses.

Knowledge- There is a tremendous difference in the amount of knowledge and experience required to be built up before you can fly a big jet... Some might say "I don't have the experience or knowledge required to start a business like that", but just like flight, you can learn. All the studying in the world, all the flying of Cessnas, is never going to prepare you to sit behind the controls of a jet. Pilots have to FLY a jet to learn a jet.

No one was born with the ability to fly a jet. Likewise no one was born with the ability to fly a Cessna either... The same goes for business. Folks will bitch about thinking big. "Oh, I'll just "do" ecommerce for now until I build up some capital or experience" It is a bullshit excuse. So you don't have the ability to set out to solve a legitimate problem, but you somehow have the ability to "revoloutionize" the cell phone case market with new color? No. Once again it comes back to becoming the expert. You must DO. You must ACT. There is NO ONE that will hold your hand and teach you how to start a seriously impactful business. Guess what... Thats OK! In fact it is real entrepreneurship. Following a step by step guide isn't. You'll F*cking crash.

Take off- Quite simply put, the larger the plane, the more runway it normally needs to take off. While a tiny lightweight backcountry airplane can take off with almost no rollout, the large jets need thousands of feet to safely take off. This parallels with business because the larger the problem you are solving, the bigger the company it is anticipated to be, the longer it is going to take before it can transfer it's weight from the wheels to the wings.

Barrier to entry? Yes. A jet needs a bigger runway... You can look at that runway as the blood, sweat and tears needed to be put in before your business can take off. Difficult is good for the people who have done it and bad for bozo wannabe competitors. This is the part where you LEARN! This is the part that builds you as a businessperson. This is the part that makes you EXPERIENCED. Have you ever wondered why some people get to the point where they don't feel the need to prove anything? Have you wondered why some people remain calm in the worst of times? They have been down a hell of a runway. The entrepreneur and the business is stronger for this.

This part goes along with my thread about what I would do if I started all over again. In that thread I basically make the case for a well capitalized business in order to ride out the run up first, and then climb faster. Need a bigger runway? OK... Build one.

Climb out- Larger jets, once they are finished rolling out climb like crazy to altitudes you cant touch in a small piston airplane.

This is the day you realize you quite literally could disrupt an entire market. There are growing pains that are bigger than if you were a small business, but so what? Your idea paid off and you are filling the organizational holes with resources on your way up as you leave the small business concerns like getting the cheapest phone system, using your office depot coupons or renting the cheapest shit heap office space you can find in your dust. You have cashflow and cash balence to work out most of the pressing problems.

Carrying capacity- I view this like a business' ability to carry resources. While a jet can carry hundreds of passengers, small airplanes have massive weight restrictions and fuel capacity considerations. With a smaller plane you need to make sacrifices in range to carry more weight and vice versa. Sound familiar?

How much inventory can you invest in at once? What kind of resources can your business carry? Can you afford a professional web designer or are you stuck trying your own hand? Can you afford to advertise to the extent you desire? Could your business accept a massive order without cashflow issues? How many ecommerce businesses could hire just one new person today and maintain a comfortable income for the proprietor? Some airplanes simply can't carry more than two or three people at a time, they are just too small and light. Everything in a small business is a trade off. Resources grow businesses.

Rough weather- It is inevitable that you will run into bad weather, the cool part is that jets fly over most of the bullshit. A small airplane can easily be murdered by the same storm a jet can simply fly over. Not only that, but a jet can intentionally fly through most shit that a small plane has to concern itself with. Small planes are constantly trying to avoid bad weather and adjust for changing conditions.

What happens when marketplace policies change? What happens when advertising gets more expensive? What happens when taxes go up? What happens when you have a legal problem? The list goes on and on. Things that might simply shake a jet can rip the wings off a cessna.

Ease of operation- I don't think anyone would argue that with modern autopilots and avionics, a jet isn't a more pleasant aircraft to fly. They are, and they're less work. This is self explanatory. Look at a CEO of a company that employs just 20 people vs a onepreneur... The CEO looks at his business from 35 thousand feet and the onepreneur is probably at 5 getting hands dirty and worrying about navigating around the next dark cloud.

What is my point?

All of this is not to say that you can't take a small company and turn it into a large company, but more often than not, the companies that become household names, the companies that employ 50, 1000, or even 100 thousand people are ones that were planned bigger from the start.

I personally only give a damn about jets. Any Cessna stuff is a means to an end for me. You will see that my main businesses, as I progress and discuss them further, fit the criteria of the jet. Not because they grew into it, but because that is where I started them; despite some of the mistakes I've made and will discuss like trying to fly a "jet" off of a "cessna" runway.

Sorry if it's cheesy or elementary for some, but this is the kind of stuff that rolls through my head.