Poll of the Day > So my grandma's supposedly getting $800,000 and...

(+) Yeah! (+)

She wants my siblings and I to start a small business.

Long story short she had surgery, they left a sponge in, she decided to sue, and in about 4-6 months she's getting like $800K or so I'm told.

Basically she wants all us grandchildren to come together and start a small business. you guys got any ideas? cuz I don't. I wanna invest in Nintendo
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That's actually kinda pretty cool.

Deciding to start a business when you dont already have a concrete business plan from the beginning is likely a great way to turn 800k into a million in debt.

Sorry if that sounds mean but running a small business is like having two full time jobs, not something that should be taken lightly and if you do everything right, chances are you will still financially fail.
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Mead posted...

Deciding to start a business when you dont already have a concrete business plan from the beginning is likely a great way to turn 800k into a million in debt.

Sorry if that sounds mean but running a small business is like having two full time jobs, not something that should be taken lightly and if you do everything right, chances are you will still financially fail.

Mead is right.

SkynyrdRocker posted...

Mead posted...

Deciding to start a business when you dont already have a concrete business plan from the beginning is likely a great way to turn 800k into a million in debt.

Sorry if that sounds mean but running a small business is like having two full time jobs, not something that should be taken lightly and if you do everything right, chances are you will still financially fail.

Mead is right.

We're trying to come up with a concrete business plan but we don't know what specifically to do or which industry to go into
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Don't do it.

Divide the money evenly and leave it alone

Nomak-54 posted...

SkynyrdRocker posted...

Mead posted...

Deciding to start a business when you dont already have a concrete business plan from the beginning is likely a great way to turn 800k into a million in debt.

Sorry if that sounds mean but running a small business is like having two full time jobs, not something that should be taken lightly and if you do everything right, chances are you will still financially fail.

Mead is right.

We're trying to come up with a concrete business plan but we don't know what specifically to do or which industry to go into

Smart thing to do would be to invest in something else. Investing in your self is fine if you actually have a passion for what you want to do, but sounds like you don't want to be in this position. If this is the only way to make use of that money though, I would suggest using the money to start an already popular franchise in an up-and-coming city (McDonald's, Chipotle, chik-fil-a). Might be better than coming up with a business plan completely on your own and trying to find a product or service to sell (and sell it well enough to see some benefit for your hard work)
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Blow it all on one season of GT3 racing.
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ReggieTheReckless posted...

Don't do it.

Divide the money evenly and leave it alone

she's no gonna let us do that lol

quigonzel posted...

Do you guys share an interest? It's easier to own a business if you love what you do.

On some things but not a lot tbh

Super_Thug44 posted...

Smart thing to do would be to invest in something else. Investing in your self is fine if you actually have a passion for what you want to do, but sounds like you don't want to be in this position. If this is the only way to make use of that money though, I would suggest using the money to start an already popular franchise in an up-and-coming city (McDonald's, Chipotle, chik-fil-a). Might be better than coming up with a business plan completely on your own and trying to find a product or service to sell (and sell it well enough to see some benefit for your hard work)

That's what my sister wanted to do but my brothers wanted to start an actual business.
I know a friend of mine started his own amateur clothing line, I might do that
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1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.
2. Unless you've experienced working two jobs, you're in for a rude awakening.

My advice? Franchise or investment.
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TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.
\

why?

and what's franchise?
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If you guys can't come to an agreement on the business, and you don't know what type of business you want to do, you'll fail. I'm not trying to be negative, I'm trying to be realistic.

Mostly because I went to business school to study business because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and now I don't even work in a business or do business things at work. The reason being that I went into things with the logic of, "I have the opportunity to become educated, I must do something, and I can't do my first choice major (computer science, financial aid said no). Hey, I want to make money, I should get into business, I'll go study that." But there wasn't real passion or interest into what type of business (aside from technology, which is a hard industry for a business major), so I ultimately didn't do well in the business world. If you're wondering what I do now, I'm a computer technician for a school district.

What does that have to do with starting a business? If you're doing business for the sake of doing business, you're going to fail similarly. You and your siblings have to have an interest in whatever you're doing, and you have to want to do it. It sounds to me like you don't really want to have a business, but you're getting pressured into it. That can be a recipe for disaster.

Unless you and your siblings become sure of what you want for a business and are passionate enough to put enough effort into it, don't do it. Because you will waste $800k in doing so very easily. I would recommend some investments instead. It doesn't have to be stocks and bonds. You could do real estate as well. What I said can apply to real estate too, but at least it's a lot safer than starting a business.

This isn't the answer you want, but I'm trying to be realistic.
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TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.

Also, this.

A coworker was telling me that her dad had a convenience store. After he died, it was willed to all his siblings, and they did nothing but fight over it. It's still in their name, but now closed and rotting away, costing them property taxes for no revenue at all. The only reason is because the siblings couldn't get along for it.

Your grandma's heart is in the right place, and it's awesome that she could see you and your siblings starting a business. That's a great dream for her to see all of you working together on something, but as much as I hate to say it, it's not realistic.
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Nomak-54 posted...

what's franchise?

You can buy into an established chain, like a pizza chain, or a Dunkin' Donuts.

I think you need $1M to buy into a Dunkin', but around here where I live if you can get a DD franchise it's basically a license to print money. They're practically fail-proof.
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Nomak-54 posted...

TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.
\

why?

and what's franchise?

It can get very dirty, bud. It often goes the same way as a will; huge disputes create giant rifts and fragment families. But that's just generally what I've seen. Obviously there are exceptions!

A franchise is like... A fast food restaurant. You essentially license the use of their name and open a McD's or whatever other franchise you may prefer. That can be questionable! Like... Don't open a Long John Silver's, they go down in no time.
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Guys, we're not gonna get the whole $800K :P

As for me, I was going to major in business when I go to college if I don't get accepted to USNA
It might work out for me :P
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You can buy some vacuum trucks and start an oil field business. The oil is starting to pick up again, and will be in full swing really soon.
If you're serious about this, I know a guy who started his own business and sold it for a pretty nice profit. I can ask him if I can give his number to a guy who wants to start his own business and give you his number so you can get somw advice.
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Grow herbs, chicks love herbs.
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Nomak-54 posted...

I might major in business when I go to high school

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TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

Nomak-54 posted...

TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.
\

why?

and what's franchise?

It can get very dirty, bud. It often goes the same way as a will; huge disputes create giant rifts and fragment families. But that's just generally what I've seen. Obviously there are exceptions!

A franchise is like... A fast food restaurant. You essentially license the use of their name and open a McD's or whatever other franchise you may prefer. That can be questionable! Like... Don't open a Long John Silver's, they go down in no time.

Just to add onto this, when you franchise you don't have to open up a new restaurant, you can take over an already existing resturant as long as the parent company agrees to allow said restaurant to be franchised. For example within a 15 mile radius of where I live there are 5 McDonald's 2 of them are ran by McDonald's themselves, the other 3 have been franchised out to a woman who's attempting to invest/take over her 4th McD's in the area.

If you do decide to franchise in your area do your research first, see what's popular with the locals, visit fast food joints during peak hours, and at other various times to see how busy they are. See what could do with improving in the business (If you intend to take over an already established restaurant) you don't want to jump in head first only to find you've invested the money into a failing shithole.
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Strip club.

Invest in a commercial property. Not residential.
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quigonzel posted...

SkynyrdRocker posted...

Mead posted...

Deciding to start a business when you dont already have a concrete business plan from the beginning is likely a great way to turn 800k into a million in debt.

Sorry if that sounds mean but running a small business is like having two full time jobs, not something that should be taken lightly and if you do everything right, chances are you will still financially fail.

Mead is right.

This is true and exactly what's holding me back.

This is pretty much the reply I was going to make after reading the first post.

Right now is kind of a terrible time for small business owners in general, and unless you're going into the market to push a passion project you've fought for years to get off the ground, you're almost certainly going to fail, and be miserable doing so. $800k isn't all that much of a starting investment (and your starting investment isn't even remotely going to be all the money you need to pour into the business to keep it running, especially if you're not immediately successful, which you almost certainly won't be), and you can easily run up debts far in excess of that over time, debts which can ultimately ruin your life.

And as you say, you wouldn't even get the full $800k, which makes things far worse.

Given that choice, I'd rather see the $800k (or whatever smaller fraction of it) donated to charity than be forced into a scenario where I'd have to use it to start a business without any real motivation to start a business otherwise.



Nomak-54 posted...

TsC_PoLiTiKz posted...

1. Never go in to business with multiple family members.
\

why?

Because it will almost always end with all of your family members hating each other, never speaking to each other again, or vindictively spending the rest of your lives trying to fuck each other over. I don't think I've ever known a single business with relatives as co-owners that didn't end with the co-owners eventually selling off the business (or going to court over it) and hating each other.

Hell, financial problems is regularly cited as the number one cause of divorce in the US - arguments over finances or how to handle home expenses is enough to kill tons of marriages. Now multiply that exponentially as business costs and responsibilities are often far more complex and contentious than anything you'll experience as a couple handling simple finances.


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Conner4REAL posted...

Strip club.

Invest in a commercial property. Not residential.

I knew someone who bought a strip club, and someone else who bought a bar. In both cases, they said that the problems and stresses they had to deal with on a regular basis weren't worth whatever money they were actually making (which was never as much as you might think it should be). Both of them eventually sold off (and the bar owner died not too long after of a likely stress-induced heart attack).

And one of those people had run a relatively successful retail business for decades beforehand. Regulations on strip clubs and bars are draconian compared to ordinary small business obligations. They're pretty much the "hard mode" of small business ownership.


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Hmmm... I guess Franchise would work well. If you have to choose. It's hard, but everyone needs to decide together. Tell them all the problems with everything(like the stuff people are saying here) so you can all calmly and rationally make a decision...

I can't say for you. It my mom ran a home care business for a while. And a cake making business(sort of), too... While she was also a D.C. cop. So, it's possible to run a successful business. But not easy...
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Small businesses have a host of problems, and even if they are semi-successful usually the hours devoted to it make it feel like its not totally worth it. Trying to factor in multiple owners on day one that have different ideas on which business they want to make adds a huge problem to an already tough basis.

Most successful small businesses only succeed because the owners involved are dedicated to the business and really care about it.
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Best thing you can do is sit down with your grandma and tell her it isn't happening. Not seeing any money at all is probably a better scenario than what a business venture with this starting point will turn into.
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What About buying apartments?
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Shes from a different generation where everyone was pretty hopeful about opening up their own businesses and being independently successful.

Even if you invest - in real estate to rent out for example - you might be going way in over your head. It sounds like youll get enough money to make some smaller moves, but youd definitely be in for a ride however you go about it. Id suggest to just forego business plans already if youre all at an impasse now. Just accept that probably isnt reasonable and look into long term financial planning. Probably gonna be an each their own situation.
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HotMaladorianAI posted...

Probably gonna be an each their own situation.

That's if she gives them the money...
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LinkPizza posted...

HotMaladorianAI posted...

Probably gonna be an each their own situation.

That's if she gives them the money...

And if she gets the money
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Guys, in no scenario are we ever going to get all the money if she gets it. Are you people insane?

I do want to really start something some day, I don't know if it'd necessarily be selling a product but maybe offering services

but all that planning depends on what I learn in college which is years off
Speaking of which, I should mention that there are 6 of us, three of us are in college and the other half (including me) is still in high school
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Nomak-54 posted...

the other half (including me) is still in high school

I believe that should be "are". But maybe is could work. I think are works better, though...
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Nomak-54 posted...

I know a friend of mine started his own amateur clothing line, I might do that

Please don't
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Nomak-54 posted...

Guys, in no scenario are we ever going to get all the money if she gets it. Are you people insane?

Do you think you'll start a business with pennies? If you don't get a solid lump sum then it's pointless and if you don't give us an actual amount then we can't suggest anything.
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