[Tuberoller]

When my 16 year old daughter asked me to loan her money to buy a Lemon Shake-Up concession stand,I balked at the price and challenged her commitment to actually showing up at this thing everyday. Well, early this morning we went to store the stand away and she paid me back in full. I am utterly shocked to find that she and her two Employees grossed nearly $75,000 over the 10 weeks she had the stand going full time. I had a fit when I popped in on them back in July to find two of them standing around in Bikini tops selling lemonade but I guess they know what sells and how to sell it.

My friend Sosa opened a make-up and tanning salon in the so-called "Gay" section of the Lincoln Park area in Chicago. I thought he was insane and formally declared him so. He has since opened a second shop and has been quick to state that the first store is booked solid and has grossed over 4 million this year. Sosa is already a rich man but he does'nt even work hard to do it. This just kills me.....a stinkin' tanning salon


Another friend has a Tree service,cutting trees,grinding stumps,selling firewood and doing snow removal in the winter and he just quit the Fire department. He says he'll do more than 3 million this year. I loaned this guy the money to get started so I am happy for him.

My Brother is another guy who has everything he ****s out turn to money. He has made money doing all sorts of stupid stuff. He he owns 11 Ice Cream trucks that he says bring in net profits of close to $1200 a day per truck. This is on an initial investment of about $42,000 per vehicle so he recouped his investment last year and this year was the first he made any money but he made a bundle. BTW,this is the one who has the Orpheus now and doesn't use it.

My sister-in-law and one of her friends,both doctors,opened a small medical lab that has only three employees and really only does work for them and one other doctor's office. I find from my wife that they will easily do more than $10,000,000 this year.

I have friends who have made big money with a Wine and Cheese shop. Others have done well enough to retire very young running a Knitting shop. My Auto Technician just quit his regular dealership job to do his own thing and is only 24. I know he's doing well cause he spends all his money on cars and has about 10 of them all in great shape with a ton of expensive parts and work done to them.

I guess I'm just bitching because I'm right in the middle of the worst year in Business I have ever had in terms of losses and cash flow. I have had some amazing years and have made great money but the contracting business is getting tight and I'm fighting a tough battle. I'll recover fine and I am in no real danger of going under,but It just amazes me how some people can make huge sums of money with some really strange business ventures.

Do you know of any really profitable businesses like this or people who just seem to have the "Midas Touch" when it comes to stuff like this.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Crikes, that IS wierd stuff.

Oh, since I can't find the original thread

--how are the insurance claims for your washed-up audio hardware/software going?

 

[Calanctus]

4 million a year for a tanning salon....



yowza



Why am I getting yelled at and tussling with bureaucrats for peanuts?

 

[Ebonyks]

Tuberoller, ya know, you always could join your daugther in her busniess, after all, i'm sure you'd look great in a bikini

But, you've got my sypathy as well, i just lost my job because of a co-worker who lied about me, who's a total junkie. (There's rarely a day that i see him when he's not at the very least stoned).

 

[bangraman]

Sex sells, image sells and so does ********. Pick one. I can't do sex, I don't have an image so I rely solely on ********

There's also no point in getting pissed that other people are making more money than you. If you can't help it, and you're doing what you like and are comfortably off, it's time to evaluate whether you want to take a risk to be better off... Then really take a risk. If you don't like what you're doing right now, now's as good a time as any to start changing.


No job is perfect, and I'm in my 'off period' right now, partly my own fault. Gross for this year will be quite pitiful. But it doesn't really worry me at the moment... I've been much worse off, and fundamentally I like what I'm doing. Some years ago I ended up netting less than my mortgage payments, let alone any other living costs for nearly two straight years. I sold practically everything of value I had. That was low. As long as you're not in that situation, consider yourself happy

 

[KR...]

Don't worry about what other people make, it has nothing to do with you, so you shouldn't care. Unless, you want to drive yourself mad, then go right ahead

Quote:

BTW,this is the one who has the Orpheus now and doesn't use it.

When you pay that much for a headphone system you can do anything you want with it, including ignoring it. Sure, you could put it to much better and noble use, aka actually use the damn thing, but your wife wouldn't like that

 

[usc goose]

good to hear some people out there are making money. everyone i know was born broke, rich or somewhere in between and staying there.

curious tuberoller, are you the kind of guy who's home cleaning the shotguns on the porch when some guy comes to pick up your daughter?

 

[averydonovan]

People do seem to make lots of money with the strangest business ventures. Tuberoller, you should feel fortunate to know so many people who can start up sucessful small businesses, as 9 out of 10 small businesses fail within a year.

I'm looking at my options for a small business as I really hate working for someone else. But I actually have to come up with a good plan first, and one with a very low initial investment. Ideally it'd be something computer or audio related. I'm thinking either shareware, computer consulting (I already have some experience there), or enterprise database solutions. But these are some of the most crowded markets available, and not to mention the 90% failure rate of new small businesses within a single year.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose good to hear some people out there are making money. everyone i know was born broke, rich or somewhere in between and staying there. curious tuberoller, are you the kind of guy who's home cleaning the shotguns on the porch when some guy comes to pick up your daughter?

Or perhaps he's one of those nightmare 'hip dads'...

 

[Tuberoller]

Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose good to hear some people out there are making money. everyone i know was born broke, rich or somewhere in between and staying there. curious tuberoller, are you the kind of guy who's home cleaning the shotguns on the porch when some guy comes to pick up your daughter?

I don't get all bent out of shape with my Kid's friends. My daughter has a boyfriend that I really don't like but he's better than any of the other boys that try to hang around her and call here all the time. There's little good in being a jerk about my kids growing up and I attempt to be as reasonable about this as possible. My daughter won't ride in anyone else's car,she drives when she goes anywhere with any boy. Her rule,not mine.

 

[usc goose]

i was just kidding tuberoller, you strike me as a pretty damn good dad. but i'm sure you knew that already.

 

[zbuddah]

Its true i'd say at least with my experience, Business is where you make the money. My parents after about a year of unemployment decided to try thier hand at a small business. They now are doing well after 11 or 12 years of being in the gas station business including several rough years. They run one 76 station and have just bought themselves a very nice home. My great aunt (60+ yrs) who has also ran a gas station long before my parents have are now even better off then ever. She now has two gas stations under her belt and several I mean several houses/condos out for rent all of which i know are all paid off for. She now lives in a custom built home in the Silver Creek Couintry Club. Now you don't have to own a business to make money. My soon to be Uncle is a financial advisor, he bought a pent house on brannon st in San Fransisco for 1.6 mill about a year ago, and he drives a Lexus SC 430 which used to be a BMW 7 series. So you don't have to neccessarily own a business to make big bucks. It takes you several years to see the money, but I'd say if you are a natural and love it, it is well worth the several years of rough times. Better then working for some jerk all your life.

Anyways here I am studying my butt off to get an EE degree where jobs in my market are declining and competition is absolutely stiff.

but oh well they say you change careers like three times in your life

 

[Andrew Pielet]

Edited do to bitterness of yesterday

 

[Budgie]

My business did fail last year. Contracting completely dried up last year and I couldn't get any work for 6 months. I am now back to working hourly for a company, at about 1/3 less money. But I do know what you mean. I had an uncle who made money without effort. It just seemed to flow to him, like he was making money accidently. I didn't inherit that gene, apparently.

 

[chadbang]

All my life I've always worked for someone else and all my life I've always been a loser, barely making enough to pay the bills each month. I wish I had the gumption to do what your sister did. God, she paid you back $75 grand! Amazing. I need to go out on a limb and try something. Your post is inspiring.