Are There Any Entrepreneurs Out There?

"JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!" (jqj213) 09/04/2013 at 19:25 • Filed to: Entrepreneurs, Homework, help, project

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I have a entrepreneurship class in high school this year and the first assignment is to interview two entrepreneurs. It is a quick, 8 question questionaire and I would really appreciate it if you could help me out by answering these questions. You also could be a retired entrepreneur; if you ever started a business you count.

What is the name of your business?

Where did you get the idea for your business?

Were you ever afaid you were going to fail?

What do (did) you like best about your business?

When did you start your business? How long did it take?

Why did you create a business rather than take a job?

What are some obstacles you had to overcome?

What form of ownership is (was) your business? (propietary, partnership, coorperation, subchapter 5, etc)

Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it!

Brian, The Life of > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 19:38

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You left out one important question:

When did your business fold?

/former entrepreneur ;)

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Brian, The Life of 09/04/2013 at 19:39

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Oh you were... could you answer these for me? I really would love your help

Casper > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 19:50

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Sorry, but I troll/argue with too many people on here to link my business name with my account. Otherwise I would help you out.

Brian, The Life of > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 19:51

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I'd think you'd want answers from a successful one but ok, here goes nothing:

What is the name of your business?

Clambakers - the focus was a food item for sale to foodservice companies

Where did you get the idea for your business?

On a fishing trip to La Paz, Mexico

Were you ever afaid you were going to fail?

Constantly

What do (did) you like best about your business?

Doing my own thing/master of my own destiny/etc

When did you start your business? How long did it take?

As long as it took to register as an S-corporation.

Why did you create a business rather than take a job?

Same answer as the 3rd bullet

What are some obstacles you had to overcome?

Potential customer acceptance and how to stay in business while I figured that out.

What form of ownership is (was) your business? (propietary, partnership, coorperation, subchapter 5, etc)

S Corporation

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 19:53

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I work for the man but always keep a side gig going. What would you like to know?

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Brian, The Life of 09/04/2013 at 19:54

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There isn't nearly as much to learn from success as there is failure. You're helping this kid out more than you know.

Brian, The Life of > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/04/2013 at 19:57

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True. That.

Like I always say, "Pain and failure are the ultimate teachers."

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/04/2013 at 20:17

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What kind of business is it? If it is something school appropriate, then you would be a great candidate!

And then just answer those 8 questions please

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 20:36

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1. I'm not going to give you the name, this is the internet after all. It was a vending machine business.

2. Because, at the time I had a captive audience, people are lazy, and people get hungry.

3. It wasn't too much of a concern because it was not my main source of income.

4. After I started expanding to other locations, I enjoyed meeting the other small business owners who were my main clients.

5. 2003. Applying for the business license and getting my accountant up to speed on it. Maybe a month before I got my first location secured.

6. n/a. I did both.

7. Competition. It's a pretty competitive field, so I had to provide better service and quality merchandise and a better price if I didn't want them switching to another vendor.

8. Privately held LLC

As a side note, the business was never intended to grow beyond a certain size simply because of my time restraints and previous obligations. I eventually sold off the other machines and locations as my income from my primary job began to increase. I still keep the one most profitable location to this day.

andthelike > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 20:45

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I too have a entrepreneurship class for high school. today was the second day of school, but because my school has this weird block schedule, I've only had it once.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Brian, The Life of 09/04/2013 at 20:52

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Thanks so much for your help.. i really do appreciate it..

one last question- that I think she may like me to add on:

When did the company close its doors and why do you think it didn't work? What would you change if you could go back and restart?

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/04/2013 at 20:54

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Thanks a lot, and I'm sure she'l be okay without the full name, she won't be looking them up.

I appreciate your time...

Victorious Secret > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 21:47

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I'm game, as a photographer, if you need hard hitting answers.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Victorious Secret 09/04/2013 at 22:06

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I'd love to know what obstacles you had to overcome and what you love most about it

Victorious Secret > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 22:10

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Biggest obstacles was just getting my name out there, rather in the right social circle so that I could literally send a message and grab a shoot without having to worry about being rejected because I was an unknown.

The business is never what you know (though that is required), rather it is who you know. Name of the game is having a large rolodex and making use of it whenever you can.

What I love about it the most is that its opened up opportunities that otherwise would've taken several months if not years longer, it has allowed me to rub shoulders with people who are far more experienced and can leverage that experience in order to help me go further.

commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 09/04/2013 at 23:22

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What is the name of your business? Warsstar & Co

Where did you get the idea for your business? It started with me salvaging and scrapping stuff, then started repairing what I could, then I had a bunch of stuff to sell and I'm currently exploring other services that I can offer.

Were you ever afaid you were going to fail? Not at first and even now I don't have a lot invested in it yet.

What do (did) you like best about your business? Money

When did you start your business? How long did it take? I started scrapping when I was like 13.

Why did you create a business rather than take a job? This is actually a side job right now. I hope to eventually make it my only job.

What are some obstacles you had to overcome? Nothing I can think of right now.

What form of ownership is (was) your business? (propietary, partnership, coorperation, subchapter 5, etc) Uh, I just, like do this this stuff lol.

I hope this helps.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) 09/04/2013 at 23:44

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Thanks a lot. it really does...

I don't know what I'd do without a place like this... I don't know how our teacher expected us to know all these entrepreneurs

ZimFreak > Casper 09/05/2013 at 18:13

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You don't have to give your actual company name to be useful. Someone else had the same problem, but he just said "It was a vending machine business."

Casper > ZimFreak 09/05/2013 at 18:29

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Well, in case he still needs it...

Where did you get the idea for your business?
I was naturally good at it and it made money. The business is custom software development, which is an interesting field in general. There are huge players in it like Oracle and IBM, but there are also millions of small businesses like me.

Were you ever afraid you were going to fail?
Every day.

What do (did) you like best about your business?
Getting to see ideas become products. It's pretty amazing to create something from nothing that people really want/need and are paying you to do. Being my own boss isn't bad either.

When did you start your business? How long did it take?
I started doing it in high school more as a contractor doing small software solutions and web design work. I continued to freelance when I took a job offer just after high school and did both all the way until 4 or 5 years ago when I registered a new company to do the work. All told, I have been doing it for 10+ years at this point. The larger issue is that I have to manage the work load because I don't like having employees.

Why did you create a business rather than take a job?
I actually did both and still do. I currently run my business while also working salary developing software for another entity. It keeps my income sources diversified so that if one or the other should go away, I can keep paying bills and moving forward... I would just lose some extra money for my toys.

What are some obstacles you had to overcome?
The biggest hurdle is that I am self taught. I started teaching myself in grade school, and kept teaching myself. In high school getting contract projects was a little tricky due to not having a degree... but after I developed a portfolio it became much easier. Now my issue is hours in the day. I do as much work as possible myself and work at least 40 hours a week salary, which can mean very long days at the computer. I have some projects that are for international businesses and some for local shops, so I have to scale in my dealings a lot.

What form of ownership is (was) your business?
Single member LLC.