Oh geez

[NorCal]

New to the forum, and new to opening a small business in general. My professional background is healthcare management, and before that I was military for several years.

I have a ton of questions, as I'm a student of other peoples mistakes, so I'm looking to get education by people who have made the transition from the daily grind to small business owner.

[David Hunter]

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for serving!

What kind of business are you looking to start, healthcare?

From Sonoma, ay?! Beautiful!!

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum NorCal. We were all new to this at some point and we all had questions. Ask away. Looking forward to chatting with you and thanks for joining the community.

[turboguy]

I'm a student of other peoples mistakes

Well, this should be a good place to learn since most anyone who has been in business for themselves has made mistakes and usually we had to learn from our own mistakes.

My thoughts first would be to analyze your risk tolerance and your dedication to your dream. Starting a business is often not easy and often it may take a couple of years to be profitable. If you have a wife and a couple of rug rats running around the house and not much cash this might be better left in the unfulfilled dreams category. My transition from the daily grind to business owner was so long ago that the info would not be relevant. The last time I drew a paycheck from an employer was when I was 21 and now if my wheelchair wasn't so old and creaky they would wheel me into the old folks home (well, close to that anyway). Still the two major business start ups for me were both when I was under-capitalized and the things I went through on my path to a better life were not something most could deal with. If you want something bad enough you find a way.

[SouthernVelvetCafe]

Nice to meet you!
Which branch of the military? If you don't mind me asking.