Im young, yet interested in business...HELP!!!

[erichtecreator]

Ok so Im going to start this out by saying I am 15 years old. I am interested in starting a business soon, very soon with the soul purpose in buying a lamborghini murcielago, or a nissan GTR. Both being very expensive cars, trust me, i am not getting ahead of myself. I dont want them to be a steriotypical attention whore, or wreckless driver with it either in any way, just for pure fun, and accomplishing my dream of having a sportscar, since I was 7 years old.

With that being said, Ive tried many different ways of making money in the past. Here are a few
App making: has made me about 155 dollars over the course of half a year.
Iphone case selling: made me 0 dollars
Lawn mowing: Most work, yet most profitable. made me 1200 for one summer.

that is just some. My question being, does anyone have any ideas for a business that I can keep working at, and I know that someday, it might be my primary source of money? I am up to try anything, as I dream EVERY SINGLE NIGHT on sports cars. That being said a job or business that has something to do with cars might be a plus. I have heard of some of the success stories coming from starting their own business. Someday I want that to be me. Now I know what your thinking exactly, This little kid knows nothing about what comes with life and the costs of life. Believe it or not I do. There is a guy on youtube named Rob Dahm, he does a great job of telling his story on how he purchased and came to afford his 150,000 dollar Lamborghini Diablo. Any suggestions on business ideas will be taken into consideration. I have a close friend, who is in the same boat as me, cars and everything. We want to start business alone (he doesnt like sharing money) but thats beside the point. I want you to while reading this, dont think of me as a high school student, but as an adult.

The whole though of business is great, making money, accomplishing your dreams, the whole bit. But for me, sometimes, its not the greatest thing in the world. The more and more i think about it, the more and more I think I am going to fail. This has lead to slight depression throughout my high school years. My uncle, has my dream car, the nissan GTR. He works as a honda mechanic, yet has a 90,000 dollar car, and a 750,000 house. Im not sure how he does it, but im sure theres some sort of trick.

Like I said, any reply is greatly appreciated and will be taken into consideration. I would like this sort of madness to stop, and be able to get a grip on starting a business, and making some money to put towards my dream car.

Thanks,
Eric

[Wozcreative]

So you want to start a business with the sole purpose of buying cars? Successful businesses are started with the sole purpose of A) passion for the work/product B) Passion for people C) Great knowledge/experience...

You.. you just want to buy things. Good luck with that.

What your uncle has is legitimate and not out of the realm of someone who's worked their butt off. Stop dreaming of wants and dream of what you can offer the world.. and money will follow.

In terms of your uncle, have you bothered to ask him how he's achieved those goals? Better yet, have you asked him how much debt he currently is in? You don't have any idea of what it takes to live, how long it takes to build a business, what makes you think you can find someone online who can tell you something you're in a rush to knowing NOW NOW NOW?!

Don't be a dabbler, stick to something and figure out why it's not working before you quit!

[shrinkme]

I think it's great that you want to start a business. You ought to know that business is sacrifice. You may spend the next few years reinvesting all you earn into making your business more.

I agree that you do need to have a passion, a near obsession, for your product and what you can do for your customer. Keep that energy up, you're going to need it.

[Davidl]

As someone who is trying to do the same thing, I can provided a bit of my insight as i'm in your place you actually sounded a lot like me not even 2 years ago. A little bit older, barely any wiser, my thoughts are that your drive is there but your aim is not. It takes time to figure out what you actually want to do as a career.

I dropped out of university doing something I hated but was good at to pursue leather working because I believe its what I want to do with my the rest of my life. Whether I do that I don't know, but while I'm young I'm willing to at least try.

Its great that you have a goal that you want to be an entrepreneur, its also good that you want strive . Just because you want to be successful and want to own nice things right now it means nothing in terms of getting successful, not to sound like an ass but thats to take you out of your fantasy and to bring you back to reality.
Put the dreams and goals to the back of your mind, not to say to stop dreaming, but to focus on the task at hand so you can get a step further to create a business and excel. Whether you learn a craft, apprentice, take business courses from college or even enrol in University you should think about these things first and not the car. Also as you get older you realize that you don't know everything (took me a long time to get the cockiness out, still have it to a lesser extent.

If someone would have helped me through this unknown stage of my life I would have saved myself from a years worth of tuition (not cheap), instead of finding it out the hard way not thinking it through. In hindsight I had no urge to go to University, and it would of lead me to a job I hated.

There are no "tricks" no "magic pill" just dedication to what you do, self analysis, practice and mentorship. Someone who has more knowledge and insight then you when run out of willpower to get you on track. Find something you are dedicated to, that you can't live without and work at it. At the end of the day the path you take is more important than the car. You learn that sometimes you can't have everything you want and its actually healthy for you. If you get the car then great, you can just rent for a few days anyway LOL.

The reason you want the car should not be because its cool, it should be because you earned through hard work. Your making it seem like the car is better than you in a sense and it would be if you got it as easily as you make it seem. Thats like saying I know how to climb mount everest, even if you had 1 thousand hours of climbing experience you have to do it first then say it, not the other way around.

If someone took a helicopter and flew to the top of mount everest it means absolutely nothing..

[Kreater]

It sounds like you want to create a short-term, temporary business to acquire money. Unfortunately most self-owned or sole-owned businesses do not work this way.

Your best bet maybe to work for somebody else or raise some money to buy the car. Speaking of which, most people take out a loan for a car or house. You need to learn about credit and applying for a loan, also car insurance.

Unfortunately there is no "trick" to business or get rich quick schemes. There is money the honest or dishonest way, take your pick.


As entrepreneurs experience firsthand, there are no free meals in the real world.

I recommend you keep mowing lawns and designing apps in the meantime. Maybe you could come up with a profitable game or useful program. If you do it well you can make thousands or even millions, like facebook.

[OCAB05]

Hey buddy,

Good for you. You've taken interest in the business world, and especially at the age of 15. I was the same way, I was actually running a small paintball company behind my parents backs. Became friends with the local parcel store, where my packages where shipped to, I would ride my bike there, pick it up, and pull the package up from the window in my room.. Anyways, Passion is everything. It can NEVER be just for the money.. If I were you, I would take a notebook, and start jotting down ideas, thoughts, and how you could run a business. Never too early to start. Maybe even find a friend who takes interest in working with you. A common example is starting a lawn mowing service in your local area. Best of luck, keep your eye on the lambo!

[BVN101]

Hey man :)

Good for you. Being really enthousiastic is a great way to start.

Questions that helped me in getting a grip on my dreams were:

Who do you want to be a hero to?
If you think about this, this question will give you your target market. Nothing better than to work with people who view you as a 'hero.'

The next step is to get a general idea what problems/ challenges they are facing that you could help them out with.
This is a tricky one, but if you have friends/ family that fall in your target market, you could start by asking them.

What will happen is you'll start to see patterns of problems. List them and see if you can co-create a solution. People tend to support what they help create.

Hope this helps you out.

[shovel]

You're focused way too much on what you expect to get out of this, instead of what you can give. It's a great thing that you're young because building a business takes a lot of time and energy. Start with what you have to offer people and go from there.

[kluto]

Hi Eric,

I won't be able to answer your question and tell you what you're supposed to do to earn million bucks tomorrow, but I think that you are on the right track. And I think that you need to continue pursuing your dream. It's great that you're trying things out; they may not materialize the way you wish they did but they sure provide you with experience and knowledge which you'll need when one day you hit the gold mine.

A few people above commented about passion being so important and I have to say that I agree with them. What's more, I think that you are passionate! You want fast cars, that is passion to me. You may have a different set of values now, but who didn't in the past? I hope that you remain encouraged and keep trying because you are on the right rack.

One more thing: I recommend that you read a book called "The Millionaire Fastlane" by M. J. DeMarco. It's a story of a guy who had the same dream as yours and it came true :-).

[erichtecreator]

Hello. thank you for the reply. I actually do have a really close friend who wants to start a business as much as I do. This past year, we both individually started a lawnmowing business, which were both very successfull. Next year, I think we are going to team up, and maybe do more lawns since we can do them faster. We have lots of ideas we always keep floating around in our minds. Thanks!

[erichtecreator]

Hello, thanks for the reply. All of the comments above keep telling me to stop dreaming, but maybe its because their dream didnt come true. I understand this kind of money doesnt come easy and quickly. One day I hope to be like my uncle, becuase he has the car of his dreams. Im definately going to keep trying new things. But for now, im going to keep with my lawnmowing business. I also will try to find that book, I love reading success stories. Thanks!!

[RichardtheFrog]

I think the fact that you want to buy this car in the first place shows you lack business sense. I drive a 2000 Toyota Camry Solara with over 200,000 miles on it. I maintain it myself and expect it to last until 400,000 miles. Who are you trying to impress?

[erichtecreator]

Like i said in the first post. I dont care what you drive, nor what you think. This post and forum is about business. I asked one question, which was about business ideas. I didnt ask if it was humane to buy such a car. Dreams are dreams, if your going to try to talk me out of them, screw off.

[kluto]

Sounds great, good luck Eric!

[sattarmalik]

it is great to hear that you are still 15 and want to start your own business. If you start it with passion you will be never failed. And you want to start a business of cars, yes its very profitable.

[huggytree]

its always nice to have a goal......but keep in mind---odds are your business will fail before you get to the point where you can afford a $100,000 car......odds are it will fail before you make profit even.....most businesses fail....odds are yours will too

since you want to be somewhat rich and not just survive make sure you pick a business that has high profits....most small businesses just make a living wage for the owner...i can afford cars like you want, but i have to keep them hidden from the other small business owners i know....most of them live a decent life, but cant afford to do much else...i take nice vacations....they dont....i drive new cars, they dont.....i keep remodeling parts of my house, they dont.......

what im saying is just being a business owner doesnt = $100,000 cars......your going to need to be in the upper % of business owners........i am lucky there's tons of profit in my chosen business(plus i over work myself).......

id focus on being a doctor/lawyer or inventing something.....being a business owner doesnt mean you will be rich enough for the car you want......being a doctor/lawyer does

[billbenson]

what im saying is just being a business owner doesnt = $100,000 cars......your going to need to be in the upper % of business owners........i am lucky there's tons of profit in my chosen business(plus i over work myself).......



Actually Huggy, doctors (I can't comment on lawyers but I bet its similar) don't make as much money as you think. I read an article a while back that the average income was in the $180k range. A nice income, but not that much compared to the education both ongoing and university that the job requires. Certainly not enough to support a $100k car habit. Now within the doctors a subset of doctors that pick a specialty that pays well.

[24hourMaxSEO]

What do you love more than anything?
Find a problem in that niche.
Find a solution to that problem and make it a goal to acquire the skills that will be a foundation of your life in business.

I hope your hard work and opportunity will be conducive to your success.

As far as your passion for owning a sports car. You should wait until you are in control of your life.
Until then grow your business to be profitable enough to lease a Tesla.

MWD

[erichtecreator]

Thanks for the reply fellow car lover :). For a long time, Ive been thinking about doing some sort of combo, what i was thinking is to own a car dealership, starting out small but hopefully grow, and combo that with a model car business. Something small like that, but would also have some free marketing with a car dealership. But with a model car business, i would like to have large margins, build for cheap, and sell for more. And just curious, what is your business of choice? I always love to hear about other successful business's. but obviously a car dealership is far from happening considering im 15 years old. But I might give the model car business a go. Maybe ask some local business's to show my product in there shop. Again, thanks for sharing your situation, everything you said will be taken into consideration.

[huggytree]

Actually Huggy, doctors (I can't comment on lawyers but I bet its similar) don't make as much money as you think. I read an article a while back that the average income was in the $180k range. A nice income, but not that much compared to the education both ongoing and university that the job requires. Certainly not enough to support a $100k car habit. Now within the doctors a subset of doctors that pick a specialty that pays well.



so you dont think $180,000 a year can afford a $100,000 car? what????

they can afford a $250,000 car if they want off $180,000 a year

i have 2 cars i bought new--one in 2011 and one in 2013....together they total $110,000.....also paid $20,000 to equip the garage for a lift so i can store 1 car over the other....and im a plumber....not a doctor

i work on doctor/lawyer homes all the time....yes the lawyers have more......but it seems very common for doctors to marry each other....so you get (2) $180,000 incomes combined.....ive seen cars over $100,000 fairly often in this crowd.......not everyone chooses to blow $100,000 on a car...most would choose to have a 2nd home(cabin on a lake)

from what ive seen most small business owners are in the $40,000-$60,000 a year range.....if your over $150,000 i think your in the top 5% of the population income wise...

I would also love a GTR myself.....id Rather have a new 2015 Z06 for less though......cars that do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds are death machines...most owners drive them like little old ladies.....i think its cool to plan your life around owning a GTR......its also silly when your so young

when your 40 years old maybe you will be able to afford something fun.....i would be happy if i were you with a Camaro SS or Mustang GT...they give awesome performance and in a few years they will be $10k used and abused

[billbenson]

I don't think it's that smart to buy a $100k car if you are making $180 a year. Of course that is coming from someone who had a waterfront house, two boats and a Porche when he was 25. That was stupid, but I made a fair amount of money right out of college and I had a lot of fun. No regrets. I think its better to blow money when you are young and can have fun with it rather than old and sitting in a hammock :)

You have a point on the two income households. My real point is a lot of people see doctors as millionaires. Not necessarily the case.


from what ive seen most small business owners are in the $40,000-$60,000 a year range

You are probably correct on this one, but then most small businesses fail. That's probably within the range of most household incomes throughout the country though.

[huggytree]

doctors are easily millionaires when they retire...most have $500,000+ houses....so i actually think any doctor over 40 most likely has a million or 2 (if you include his equity in his property)

For me owning such expensive cars that i barely drive i always say---gotta spend your money somewhere....no purpose dying with millions....but i have a nice home almost paid for and a kick ass retirement savings........if you still have $$ left over you have to spend it somewhere.....my $60,000 car loan is $900 a month over 6 years....while that sounds like too much for most people, if you were making $180,000 a year thats just $11,000 and you still have $169,000 left...


most people i know make $40,000-50,000 a year and drive new cars.....a new 4wd pickup is $35k+

so why cant a doctor making $180,000 a year afford a $100,000 car???....no different in % vs an average worker

it all depends on whats important to you and your debts.....

i DO think its smart to own a $100,000 car IF you own a house and save enough for retirement.......is it a smart investment? nope.......but neither is most peoples hobbies/interests......

[Kreater]

This seems more like a "get rich quick scheme" versus "I want my own business" scenario.

If you want a $100k there are much better and easier means to get it, than to simply "own a business". I presume that an essential ingredient to successful business ownership, is to want to own a business in and of itself, as a reason unto itself. In other words, your dream for a car is not the same as a dream to own a business.

You need to choose your priority. Plus, assuming you do start a business and successfully profit $100k (GOOD LUCK THERE!!!), then what are you going to do afterward? Dissolve the business? Sell out? These are options, but, it seems odd to me.

[Wozcreative]

Well, I got the car of my dreams at 28 :)... but then again, my dream car is $40,000 ... i guess the "next up" from my Cooper S would have been a john cooper works :)... I've been wanting one for 8 years.. but that's not why I got into business LOL! That'd be silly. I found my calling at an early age and worked towards the goal.. then I work towards mini goals like saving XYZ, or buying ABC to further grow.

My idea of life is not really about things, but about experiences and learning... my career/business has gotten to the point where I can now experiment with my money and experience things I've never experienced.. it's something that will never end. Buying my car was only a treat/stepping stone... I told myself.. heck, I can't afford vacations because they cost me a whole months work so I bought myself a vacation a super fun vehicle instead. Now, I don't have to miss work (except for a few days if I do a mini road trip or something like that.. get it... "mini road trip" haha...

Anyway, you're too young to know what you want out of life.. I only learned what I wanted in the last few years of owning my own business, and even still I'm evolving and changing.

Don't let a car be the reason to start a business.. a business has to be a labour of love to work.

[broudie]

OP: Like you I am obsessed with cars. I started a business out of it and is now the largest player in my niche in the world.

My advice?

- Don't ask the forums for business ideas. Any good ideas will have been acted upon already by someone else. Find something unique, and be the best at it in the world.

- If you need forum advice ask about the mechanics of running a business, as running a business well makes the difference between a successful good idea and a failed good idea.

- Stay with what you love, this will give you enough energy to keep working on your business when regular people will give up. So a car-related business? What about high-end car detailing?

- Businesses will fail. What you get out of it is better skills for the next business, so don't give up I had 2 (small) failed businesses before I got into one that had succeeded (now 9 year going and still growing 20% YOY)

- Cars and houses are not markers of success in themselves. They just as well can be signs of high debt. Re: your uncle - do you know what a mortgage is? what about car loans? Even an average Joe can get into a GTR or a Murci, if he lives with this mother.

Finally I am not trying to stop you from buying the car you want, but wanting to run a business for the sake of spending the money on something high-dollar that quickly devaluates is not a good trait for businessmen. Businessmen know that money makes money. Money you spend unnecessarily is less money to make money.