Would you give up 10 years of your life to start a successful business?

I am a small business owner and love every aspect of it. However, I don't think I could handle 80 hr weeks for 10 years straight. That is very, very hard to maintain for just a few months. You will almost certainly lose your wife, miss all of your kids functions, etc. I personally don't think it takes 80 hr weeks to start a successful new business.

 

I'm only 26 years old, but there is no way I would consider it.... And I don't even have a wife and kids yet.

I truly believe in a work/life balance right now, and believe that the most important and exciting years of my life are coming... I want to be able to enjoy those coming years.

 

From my experience, what Double Creek says here is absolutely right. Of course, the amount of time you have to put in yourself will depend on the type of business. But 80 hours a week? Maybe right at the start, but not for long.

 

I have a very good friend that started a steer rule die business and he puts in over 100 hours a week for the past 4 years. Not kidding. They just hired their first employee this week.

 

Absolutely! Been there, did that.
If your serious about this dream/vision then just do it and don't tell anyone your dream. Go to bed each night envisioning what that finical freedom will feel like and what it can do with it for your family and others.
I tell people if your wiling to put on blinders and bust your arse for 10-15 years you can chill-out and really enjoy the rest of your life afterwards. And all of the downsides you mention won't matter a bit, it's your business, you'll go to bed tired but with a smile on your face. Go for it.

I worked for others from age 18-23 to learn a trade then stated my own business. I put on blinders and worked as much as I could to build a business. Didn't hunt, go to football game, play golf or anything else if I had work and, this is why I just took up hunting only 6 years ago. I didn't do any of that other stuff but I did buy my first home at age 25 and today I'm able to drive the cars I want, take month long vacations wherever I like and, give back to others generously. It's well worth any party I missed or games I never saw.

 

Not for me., there is no way for sure to know that you business will ever be successful. I don't have a large appetite for financial risk.

 

Yes. 80 to 100 hours is nothing per week.

 

100 hours is nothing? You'd basically just be working, eating, and sleeping every day wouldn't you?

 

SUre...no big.

I did it and it worked out great but like cr422 said, you won't likely get to a place where you can pass off management unless you just don't care about your business anymore.

I've got the type of independent and lone wolf persona to not care about not having a social life though so that may work for some and not at all for others.

 

That's pretty well what I was going to say. Live now and let the cards of tomorrow fall where they may.

 

Would love to own a small restaurant but I am not willing to take the enormously high risk. Right now, I take off anytime I want, for up to 7 weeks a year. Not giving that up.

 

I retired from the Army after 20 years in 2011. Despite the war I can say without a doubt I had it good, and I mean good. Multiple 4 day weekends every federal holiday off plus 30 days paid vacation every year. Yeah the deployments took their toll, but I've got nothing to complain about. I had tons of family and free time, and I mean tons.

I now own my own business, and let me tell you it is a ball buster out here in what I call the real world. My hats off to you, and anyone else out there busting their butts cause I don't like it one bit. My company is a success, but boy does it come at a price. I am a slave to the folks that write checks to the company. Slowly and I mean slowly I am turning that around.

So to your question of the ten years. Absolutely I would do it! Why wouldn't you invest ten simple years of your life to an early retirement. Think about it. Military 20 years, 30 years for LEO, Fireman/ Fire woman, EMS, Nurse, Doctor ect... But when you own your own business you have the ball in your court if you play your cards right you can be kicking your feet up inside of 5, 10, 15 years AND BOW HUNT ALL YOU WANT! So yes I agree with making a tough sacrifice given the right circumstance. No one said it was ever gonna be easy making your own path, nothing worth having comes easy.

Just my two cents

 

I'm doing that now, 2nd year in.
Clearing 5,000 a month in pocket. I can tell you honestly;
Now I'm on nitros.
I have no time for kids, wife, family.
Nobody will let me put up a range in my own office.
Hell no, I would not do it again, I should've just been happy with my pension and family time.

 

Yes, for my family and financial freedom for them I sure would. I do it now, no week is less than 80 hours, in last 4.5 years I've taken 4 days off of work. Give up the stuff that doesn't matter, drinking, carrying on with buddies, etc,. Focus on that and all other spare time is family. Get them to like the same thing you do, like bow hunting :-). Better yet, get customers that do.

 

4 days off in 4.5 years... Dude???

 

I know, it's pretty dumb but I do get days out of the office where I don't have to be in. Take my family to the cabin, it's wired and ready to go. This was me on Friday evening, bow mifi, and laptop. This spot on the mountain has also had some great elk traffic

 

I chose not too, but because a degree offered better long term stability than a business for me.

After one year in college, my lawn care business (started before I could even drive) was on the verge of really blowing up. Had about all the work two guys could handle and turning away work like crazy to avoid expanding. Insurance, Workmans Comp, Payroll Taxes, Employees, Invoices, Advertisement, Equipment Maintenance, etc all got too much to handle on top of a full school load. I ended up selling it my first year in graduate school. I am EXTREMELY confident I could have had it to the point of making close to six figures by now, but its extremely hard work and long hours and a lot to keep up with for 7-8 months a year (many contracts are 12 months a year). I nearly chose this path but figured I'd rather have a stable healthcare degree that will always pay well with good benefits and vacation. It then came down to the MD vs PharmD route. This came down to the time commitment your thread eludes to. MD is at the minimum an 11 year track... often times 14 years. I will be practicing 6 years out of high school with a PharmD and actually enjoy my 20s.

I live for now. I plan ahead, and will be able to draw retirement at the age of 44 (then just work part time to supplement). That said, I travel a lot. I hunt a lot. I do what I want, a lot. I don't settle, and if I want something I work hard and get it. The 20's are the best years of your life and I'm not about to sacrifice them for anything, including even more financial stability in my 60s, 70s, and 80s when I'm too old to even enjoy it.

 

Already lived it. And if that wasn't enough..... decided to live it again. I've owned a golf course for 20 years now. It's not just the first 10 years. Owning a business is an everyday battle. In the perfect world, yes it takes off and you are able to step aside and run it from afar. That will never be the case though. You (I) will always be hands on. 70-80-90 hours a week (whatever it takes). It is not for the faint of heart I can assure you that.

This year I decided to purchase a pest control business. It's like revisiting the start up allllll over again. It's been my most difficult season ever trying to run both. The upside is huge as well as the sacrifice. I decided to do this now because my kids are off to college. I couldn't have handled it while they were growing up. You have to have a very supportive and understanding family.

Fortunately my two businesses are seasonal. It's an absolute all out fire drill and grueiling during the season. I do get some relief in the off season though. For me, it's just in my DNA. It's who I am and I don't know if I could do anything different than be an entrepreneur. When you stop growing you start dying.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

Side note. Are you going to work at the federal level? (Hence the draw at 44).

 

I learned that I can't play the corporate game and allow someone else to tell me what and how to use my time for let alone the lack of integrity that surely comes along. I've been a partner in a company I helped build and a year ago started my own in a different industry. I took a week vacation this year, will take a week OH hunt this year also in addition to some long weekends. Our business is growing nicely, will take 2-3 us to replace my previous income level but the freedom and ability to control is worth it.

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