Say goodbye to Twinkies
Well that's what it takes to own and operate a business.
Please, don't tell my wife and kids. I don't want them to think they're going to starve. :ezbill:
Seriously, I started in retail. I've owned/opened/bought and sold about 15 various retail stores since 1992. Not only do I know what it takes to do $45k per month in retail sales out of a little retail store, I know how to do it with 5 or 8 different stores simultaneously. And, I figured out not only how to replicate it across different formats, but how to sell that system and the stores so created to others. Better yet, I found out it was simpler and more lucrative to buy or produce and distribute the products we concentrated on in our stores to other similar places nationwide to the point that we did more business wholesaling the junk we were selling to others than we could ever sell out of our own locations.
Oh, and the real estate.....wow! Real estate was so freaking cheap in Destin, FWB, PCBch and South Walton County back in the mid 90s. Wow, did I miss out on that. Coulda been rich if I'd have spent less on boats and toys and lifestyle and bought a few more pieces of dirt....
And, while I certainly did push 80 hours per week during the first couple of years and did, indeed, make less than minimum wage for perhaps the first year, I have never even considered working that many hours for that little money since. Still, it was fun. Being young and self-employed and lucky enough to be making a little money is a privilege I wish more folks could enjoy. Travel and trade shows and retail stores on the beach can be seriously rewarding on many, many levels.
Bootstraps, bro. Got 'em?