The Trinituner Entrepreneurship/Self Employed/ Side Hustle Thread

[Picasso]

hmmm nice thread....

I'm into Residential and Commerical Maintenance Services. We provide a wide range of services from powerwashing, landscaping, painting, plumbing, electrical, refurbishment work & a host of other services... also my company does equipment rental ( powerwashers and small generators for now ). I'm hoping to purchase more equipment by the end of the year. So far things are ok, not as much work as I had planned when I started. One thing however I never say no to a job no matter the size. No job is ever too big the challenge is what gets my blood pumped.

[NLVA200]

recently started my own thing in the food catering and events management sector

Ah now bump into his thread...

AllTrac, if you in that sector, I'm certain that I have a couple products that you'd be interested in.
See thread http://www.trinituner.com/v3/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=311278&p=4490909#p4490909

We have a family-run business (4 of us) and 4 employees. We distribute Bar, Resturant & Nightclub supplies throughout the island and specialise in cost and time saving Bar products & solutions.

It's not always easy working with family but luckily we don't mind roughing each other up when the other one does sheit We've all accepted that work mode and family mode are seperate things and if one does crap, is a cuss yuh gettin.

Anyways, I'm interested in having a Tuner Business Lime. It'd be great for networking. There's so many persons on this forum with way too much skill and we end up just using them to photoshop pics of Duane diving into a pool

So AllTrac, yuh interested in anything awah?

[Polydor]

hmmm nice thread....

I'm into Residential and Commerical Mentainance Services. We provide a wide range of services from powerwashing, landscaping, painting, plumbing, electrical, refurbishment work & a host of other services... also my company does equipment rental ( powerwashers and small generators for now ). I'm hoping to purchase more equipment by the end of the year. So far things are ok, not as much work as I had planned when I started. One thing however I never say no to a job no matter the size. No job is ever too big the challenge is what gets my blood pumped.

^^^timing is everything.....your well has opened now and will be fruitful and fulfilling.

regards.

[Picasso]

Import yuh missing in this thread!!

[crazybalhead]

hmmm nice thread....

I'm into Residential and Commerical Mentainance Services. We provide a wide range of services from powerwashing, landscaping, painting, plumbing, electrical, refurbishment work & a host of other services... also my company does equipment rental ( powerwashers and small generators for now ). I'm hoping to purchase more equipment by the end of the year. So far things are ok, not as much work as I had planned when I started. One thing however I never say no to a job no matter the size. No job is ever too big the challenge is what gets my blood pumped.

mentainance???? Casso, you in the business and can't even spell the name of the business right???

[Picasso]

hmmm nice thread....

I'm into Residential and Commerical Mentainance Services. We provide a wide range of services from powerwashing, landscaping, painting, plumbing, electrical, refurbishment work & a host of other services... also my company does equipment rental ( powerwashers and small generators for now ). I'm hoping to purchase more equipment by the end of the year. So far things are ok, not as much work as I had planned when I started. One thing however I never say no to a job no matter the size. No job is ever too big the challenge is what gets my blood pumped.

mentainance???? Casso, you in the business and can't even spell the name of the business right???

Omg good looking out!! You're my hero *wink*

[crazybalhead]

No problem beyotch...

[Monk BANzai]

Rooki3 there is the Anti Corruption Investigation Bureau located on Richmond Street Port of Spain. You can report allegations of bribery to them for investigation. Ish and Steve going up the river just now so when people know that an investigation is taking place, all bets are off and in those times the ones that pay bribes get no work at all whereas the legit dudes live life normal normal and get legit jobs and business.

Live right all the time.

I can tell you that I have been petitioned to accept a monthly bribe of $70,000 just to, "help out," a situation or two and trust me I need the money but at the end of the day I only have one name and one reputation plus jail nah nice. I actually felt quite insulted to think that they thought I was weak enough that they could approach me to take a bribe and buy me. I still felt rather low even after finding out that it was not about me per say but about people in positions like mine that have been around much longer that have earned a reputation of taking bribes. I also found out that the amount offered to me is significantly higher than what those low lifes are greedy to collect.

No one can point a finger my way and that right there is priceless.

well said...was recently invited to a Business Club in Nicholas Towers (Was indeed an honour)... This is the highest echelon of business networking available....There's a "table" that you cannot sit at unless your net worth is above a certain criteria.....But even at the level to which i was invited, the contacts/networks formed is priceless....its up to you from that point on to make it work.

Its also not a free invitation...a cheque had to be written....

[eurogirl]

1st shipment sent *happy dance* !!!

[Mr Gear]

Congratulations on your shipment. Keep it up.

[Chimera]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

[RapToR]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

forget rabbit


go with fish

[Chimera]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

forget rabbit


go with fish

Have a few ponds in the back of my house, LARGE ponds.

Caimans infest it now though.

Fish>Rabbit?

[RapToR]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

forget rabbit


go with fish

Have a few ponds in the back of my house, LARGE ponds.

Caimans infest it now though.

Fish>Rabbit?

Fish will sell faster than rabbits

setup above ground tanks

[AGENT RORO]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

forget rabbit


go with fish

Have a few ponds in the back of my house, LARGE ponds.

Caimans infest it now though.

Fish>Rabbit?

I agree with Raptop (prob. because I'm into fish farming as well and I know how profitable it could be). You can easily start rearing tilapia in dirt ponds and you could set up some above the ground ponds / tanks for breeding etc

[RapToR]

I wonder how profitable rabbit farming is.

I have land I can dedicate to it.

forget rabbit


go with fish

Have a few ponds in the back of my house, LARGE ponds.

Caimans infest it now though.

Fish>Rabbit?

I agree with Raptop (prob. because I'm into fish farming as well and I know how profitable it could be). You can easily start rearing tilapia in dirt ponds and you could set up some above the ground ponds / tanks for breeding etc

how much did it cost you to setup


i'm now looking into it

[Damien]

more risks in mining fish than rabbit eh

[eurogirl]

Congratulations on your shipment. Keep it up.

Spanks !!!

[brams112]

business is about providing a service,being honest,reliable and most of all resonable,providing a service is a a very humble and gratifying experience,people are successfull by what they do, not how cheap they sell their goods,,recomendations from customers is what makes you a success,customers build your name,it takes years to establish your name not days,,,

[Bezman]

I use Freshbooks for all my invoicing, estimates etc, time recording, expenses, tracks outstanding invoices and sends auto generated reminders to clients etc. you can add you own branding to invoices etc, currency in TT (or many others) send invoices etc via email or post, clients can access invoices online and query them etc... EXCELLENT TOOL!! changed my internal business operations

i just give my accountant access when needed and let him print out all the reports, invoices etc he needs to taxes etc..

http://www.freshbooks.com/?ref=543bd73b192096-1

make sure to check that out and never worry about invoicing and keeping track of time and expenses again.. there is even an app for your iPhone.. real sick!

[ESS]

I use Freshbooks for all my invoicing, estimates etc, time recording, expenses, tracks outstanding invoices and sends auto generated reminders to clients etc. you can add you own branding to invoices etc, currency in TT (or many others) send invoices etc via email or post, clients can access invoices online and query them etc... EXCELLENT TOOL!! changed my internal business operations

i just give my accountant access when needed and let him print out all the reports, invoices etc he needs to taxes etc..

http://www.freshbooks.com/?ref=543bd73b192096-1

make sure to check that out and never worry about invoicing and keeping track of time and expenses again.. there is even an app for your iPhone.. real sick!

I'm playing around with it now, its really nice. Thanks! I sell some electronics and computers / computer parts personally on the side, this would come in handy!

[Chimera]

freshbooks...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Mr Gear]

What happens to your transactions history if you discontinue the subscription ? Are the records for completed periods stored on your system or is it stored on the software provider's Servers ?

[Bezman]

What happens to your transactions history if you discontinue the subscription ? Are the records for completed periods stored on your system or is it stored on the software provider's Servers ?

its stored in the clouds (on their servers) so you can access anytime from anywhere. you can download your reports(invoices, reports, estimates, time sheets, expenses etc) as excel files and/or pdf files and use them wherever, but i prefer having everything online and only download the pdf invoices for filing.
all your data is stored for a certain amount of time after to cancel your subscription or miss a payment in case you wish to reactivate your account.

[Kinday]

Freshbooks looks cool...Myself, since 2004 I've been using Quickbooks. Awesome program with great support. It really excels when the bank asks for info necessary for overdrafts limits, etc.....everything is always on point and historically indexed on the system. There's even an option for back up on the server. I know there are other options out their but in my OSX world this works perfect

[Bezman]

quickbooks is great BUT too expensive and i wanted a solution with 99.99999999999999% uptime and access from anywhere with the ability for time tracking (from anywhere on any machine) and client log in for file sharing and viewing invoices and estimates

I forgot to mention that freshbooks also has a great feature to share files with clients and multiple staff logins etc.. really sick!! - http://www.freshbooks.com/?ref=543bd73b192096-1

[^Pretty^]

Alot of ppl are still insecure about having their accounting information online, so not everyone may be overly ethusiastic about Freshbooks as you are Bezman.

business is about providing a service,being honest,reliable and most of all resonable,providing a service is a a very humble and gratifying experience,people are successfull by what they do, not how cheap they sell their goods,,recomendations from customers is what makes you a success,customers build your name,it takes years to establish your name not days,,,

Well said but sometimes providing goods/services that are of good quality at a competitive price can take you ahead of the competition.
Price doesn't say weather a product/service is good or bad....that is determined by the end user.

[Mr Gear]

I think that is is better to provide added value as your reason for existing rather than just offering a lower price. Anyone can do that. What else can you bring to the game is what will set you apart from the competition and win you long term sustainability.

Take for example the two fuel stations in St. Augustine. They both sell fuel at the same price and they both operate 24 hrs but one has a convenience shop.

The added value of the second fuel station is the convenience of 24 hrs shopping whereas the value proposition of the other service station that does not have a convenience shop is more filling pumps so the wait to get to a pump is less.

They both offer the same main product (fuel) and they sell it at the identical price however the value added in their offering is what makes them appeal to different groups of customers (targets).

So when you decide to go into business you have to decide who you are going to target, identify a strategy for targeting them and this will be based on research but also on the value proposition that you will offer. Look beyond price. Perhaps you sell dog food but you provide free delivery for customers that purchase two large bags at once. Maybe you deliver dog food as well but you send customers email with grooming and training tips.

Your task as a business person is trying to reach your customers and solve problems for them with your product or service in ways that your competition is not going to. You have to justify your reason for existing beyond just dropping the price.

[Mr Gear]

I am attending a session about firing your employees. Don't fire anyone till I can share the infor with you sometime later.

[Reyos]

Guys I reading all what you are saying and I have some questions for you all....
Do you guys ever have any off time?.....I work 7-4 (IMO a stressful position) and when i leave here, work is sometimes the last thing on my mind cause I know I will deal with it tomorrow...How does a person whose survival or family's survival depend on a profitable business ever take a break.
I know that it will take a lot of sacrifice and hard work to make a business run properly and be profitable (depending on the type of business)...but how do you as a business person find the balance between work, family, hobbies and life in general?
How do you deal with the fact that your success relies on the market demand/ sales.
Let’s say you don’t have much capital (say less than $100K...or nothing to use as collateral), how do you get off the ground?
I try standing in the shoes of a self employed person and I panic when I can’t see were my next paycheck is coming from.....I cannot be comfortable if I can't make a spread sheet or budget for the rest of the year and don’t know what my "fixed" income will be.
I know a few ppl who are self employed and they never rest and they always concerned about what happening next. Take for example, my neighbor has his own security business....and I saw him grow up and mature quite a lot since he started....started with 1 dog and a old van...now he has 3 vehicles, 16 dogs and 20 workers....but he has very little time to himself. During the day is meeting clients and potential clients and in the evening is seeing about the dogs and getting them ready to go to work. In the night after he drops them off he deals with the worker issues that come up and also rents cars to do spot checks on his workers...it's hard for him to rest.
I have another friend who is a mechanic...and he NEVER has time for anything cause he always fixing a car because everyone car is critical....plus he always have ppl breeding down his neck to fix something.
I have a good friend who open a small grocery the other day and he found that they best way to make a good profit is to be open for a majority of the day and late at night. He operates his place from 7am to 11pm.
I not saying anything wrong with what they doing, I admire their commitment to it... but they are all young "single" guys who don’t have a family (i.e wife and kids) so they doing what they do now...but when they do have kids as I know some of you here may have...what happens then? How can they now spilt themselves between the business and family.

How did you take that risk and started .....I would love to take a risk and start my own business...I have quite a few in mind that I think would be profitable...but I cannot see myself taking that risk...both financially or mentally.

Forgive my rant, but I would love to hear how you took those steps and what you went through to get where you are.
I reading that a lot of you are happy being your own boss…I respect that…but I am sure it did not happen over night….anyone care to relate dark side stories (stories of “failure”) that maybe me or anyone can learn from ??
Lets say I have an idea for a business that I think can be profitable and a small capital …what do I do next??