I served in the military for 20 years, and then became a civil servant.

In the military I was limited by promotion numbers (enlisted) because of my career field, and it greatly stifled my promotions.

As a civil servant I have done very well, but I have again hit the top of what I can do in my career field. Not complaining this time as I went up 7 ranks in 6 years.

This more than anything got me thinking about other ways I can build wealth.

I ordered some books and I listen to podcast, but I guess what I am asking does anyone have some good resources?

People they think give out or sell good information.

Every little side business I can think of is only going to give me another $10,000-20,000 a year. This would involve me manufacturing something I know how to make.

I have never ventured into owning or starting a business but I have done pretty well with real estate.
If you buy bare land it usually just costs yearly taxes.

Thank you Sir,

I think real estate is probably the way to go, at least that is where my research is leading me.

I have been told that storage units (real estate on a smaller scale) are good as well.

If you believe in the future of America Index Funds would be good. I planned for a three legged stool for my retirement; Residential Real Estate, Equities, and Other. (Other being pensions, 401-K distributions, SS, pensions, etc.) It worked out very well.

Stay with what you know. The time for gambling is over.

A few years ago we had a guy who was retired military that supplemented his income by taking up bluing. He lived in west Texas + every 2 weeks he would make the run to Austin + hit every gun store in between, picking up guns needing to be reblued + 2 weeks later dropped them off + picked up the next batch. He made pretty good money at it.

I don't know of a substitute for trying things out.
You will make decent money providing something people need, once you get good at it.
First you have to consider what people need.

Kensco has a point there; the one time a stock investment went to zero for me was the time I invested in a business that was unfamiliar.

My experience with entrepreneurship is that is rarely pays off quickly. And the first try, maybe even the first couple of try's, may not pay off at all. Probably won't.

Expect to spend a lot more time working than you are used to, just in getting your business up and running. And probably for no money for quite some time.

As an example, my son and I started flipping foreclosure houses back in 2013. Made a little on each one but re-invested all profits back into the business for several years until we had enough to build a student housing apartment complex for a small university. When we sold it, we had enough cash to start purchasing residential home vacant lots and build a couple of spec houses.

Those spec houses have now been sold and we are building custom residential homes for clients off the reputation we established. Knowing how up and down this type of business is, we are just now taking earnings after building cash reserves.

In all, I'd say we've spent about 7 years working 60 hours a week or more, without taking any real earnings, to be in the position we are now.

My son and his fiance also started an Amazon reseller business about 5 years ago. He is now in the top 1% of Amazon resellers and selling in excess of $1M annually with good profit margins. That is a business that requires a fair amount of technical expertise and reinvestment to build up a certain inventory level.

In other words, plan on years of hard work before it starts to pay off, if it does. If it doesn't, take your licks, learn from the mistakes, pick yourself up, dust off your pants, and get back into the game. Get rich quick exists but it's few and far between, usually centered around major market break throughs. Building a solid foundation and making smart decisions over time is the better plan.

Good luck in your endeavor. Personally, I love owning my own company but it's not for everyone.

The way to a fortune is to cater to a mans hobby.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by nopride2:
The way to a fortune is to cater to a mans hobby.

Dave

Hookers?

Not really my bag!

quote:

Originally posted by nopride2:
The way to a fortune is to cater to a mans hobby.

Dave

I actually think the way to fortune is to cater to man, and woman's, necessities (Sam Walton, Jeff Bazos), or create new necessities (IPhone).

Going back to my earlier post concerning my son and fiancee and their Amazon resale business, they were building slowly, increasing sales by about 5 to 10% each month for a few years. When Covid hit earlier this year, people stopped going to the store for basic necessities. Their business literally quadrupled month over month starting around April this past year due to them selling basic items people need and were no longer going to the store for. They never raised prices and gouged anyone as they are very ethically minded young folks, but the sheer volume of inventory turn over expanded like crazy.

I've been an entrepreneur for 45 years with no end in sight.My hand has been in real estate,transportation,muffler shops video stores,car washes and contracting with the GSA. Owning your own business is a life style, no steady pay check.I'm a big proponent of going to trade shows to get ideas and information for a current venture. I feel there are more opportunities today than ever before.Research and ask hard questions,there is also a lot of dishonest people.

It is the greatest feature of a property right capitalist system.

Something I have little skill in and why I invest my capital in other peoples business and skills.

one of the biggest benefit of building a business is one can give it to ones kids.

if one is a professional - doctor lawyer ect - it not possible to pass that practice to ones children without them acquiring professional skills.

Mike

Thank you Gentlemen

Merry Christmas

NOT to hijack this thread, but to keep it going i hope.......
i have been mulling the same thing over for a few months. i have some small assets put away doing absolutely nothing because of low interest rates. i can't get into anything too physically demanding because of physical oopsies. thought the other day of getting a magma engineering bullet caster, the small one, as selling bullets is sure to be a small scale winner for the next years or so. alas, they are 4-6 months out from delivery. but i am on the list. he said they are a 6 person company and only 3 can operate the machinery to make their products. so damn!
but please keep the ideas coming. i'm running out of em!

I’ve started (solely) in a few businesses and partnered in two others.

They are as follows:

Computer Aided Drafting/Design business. It’s been my most successful, by far. Although currently slow, we expect a better year in 2021. I have done this for the past 14 years.

Auto Glass windshield business, Technical Training(consulting), and an oil field service business. These had much less success and mixed results. Here is what I have learned:

1- Start a business that you have a skill set in. Avoid something that you know little a out.

2- Do not go into a bunch of debt to start a business.

3- Avoid or be very wary of partnerships. Although they can work, they can be very costly and cause the loss of friendships.

4- Be smart enough to take advice from those who understand the chosen field. So many will offer advice that know little about the business. Choose wisely what you take or reject.

5- Hire a good accounting firm. My account is worth every penny.

6- Spend some time talking to others in similar fields. They will give you some great ideas.

My day job is in education. It pays my food and utilities. My business pays for all my bad hunting habits and other hobbies. It will also allow me the opportunity to retire early.

Running a business is not for everyone and you’ll need extremely thick skin and patience.

Best of luck!

Real Estate is good but you have to buy right. Now may be a good opportunity in some markets with so many folks fleeing cities. Residential RE can be good but you need enough for cash flow if renting. There is nothing wrong with 2-3 businesses bringing in 12-20K a year. Add that to your pension and you can do OK. The key is to have multiple income streams that are not inter-related. That way if one craters you have backup. Don't rule out getting part-time work either. Pick something you like so it really doesn't seem like work.


[/Quote]Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Thank you Sir,

I think real estate is probably the way to go, at least that is where my research is leading me.

I have been told that storage units (real estate on a smaller scale) are good as well.[/QUOTE]

i draw house plans on Home Architech by broaderbund... then have them stamped by an engineer.. it took a while to get started with the process, but now i do several sets a year.. spare time, pays well... i tried being a vendor at local gunshows, 5 yrs of trading parlayed 15 trading guns to over a hundred, but my shop was broken into, locks cut, inventory stolen with minimum insurance coverage... not really interested in starting over, i'm looking into a small mfg business thats a 2 man shop...

i seem to remember where i once read some advice the electric car boy or ? said that ran along the lines of do what your good at not what you like to do as thats called a hobby. become a master at what your good at and you can retire with $$ and then enjoy your hobby. again, thats the gist of it, not a quote. in the 40s thru the 80s my uncle owned what was at the time the largest nursery in texas. he told me once that working for wages is a way to the poor house. said to start a business, spend 50 cents for every dollar on expenses including labor and pocket the rest. he did extremely well that way. don't think it would work that way these days. least not as good. told me to start a whore house and run it by hand till it got going. ha ha.

If you are computer savvy, there are ways of making money from your home. For a young person, combine that with a good education and you can parlay that into something big.

My step-son came from Venezuela a few years ago. He had the education behind him, but took more courses at a junior college to satisfy his visa requirements. At the same time he was reviewing products online for various companies, and contracting his services to friends.

He applied to various companies and finally got recognized by AWS, an Amazon company. They offered him a trial, and within a month or so they put him on full time, at $95K per year, plus $60K in Amazon stock for signing, which has doubled in value. His work has not been impacted by the pandemic.

All excellent advice!

quote:

Start a business that you have a skill set in. Avoid something that you know little a out.

2- Do not go into a bunch of debt to start a business.

3- Avoid or be very wary of partnerships. Although they can work, they can be very costly and cause the loss of friendships.

4- Be smart enough to take advice from those who understand the chosen field. So many will offer advice that know little about the business. Choose wisely what you take or reject.

5- Hire a good accounting firm. My account is worth every penny.

6- Spend some time talking to others in similar fields. They will give you some great ideas.

quote:

Originally posted by john c.:
i seem to remember where i once read some advice the electric car boy or ? said that ran along the lines of do what your good at not what you like to do as thats called a hobby. become a master at what your good at and you can retire with $$ and then enjoy your hobby. again, thats the gist of it, not a quote. in the 40s thru the 80s my uncle owned what was at the time the largest nursery in texas. he told me once that working for wages is a way to the poor house. said to start a business, spend 50 cents for every dollar on expenses including labor and pocket the rest. he did extremely well that way. don't think it would work that way these days. least not as good. told me to start a whore house and run it by hand till it got going. ha ha.

I think that is also very sage advice. I think it applies today as well as ever!

About 20 years ago I thought I might improve sales by moving from just sheet metal fab into wrought iron as well. I built quite a bit of candelabra, burglar bars, etc. but it never really took off. Then I was talking with a buddy wife + she said, Why don't you take some of your 1/4" round stock + put one of your metal flower petals on top. I said, Why? What does it do? She said it doesn't DO anything. That's when it hit me. I don't think like a woman; in my mind, an item has to have a function not just look good.

Also, center the business around something you like or at least don't mind doing because you're going to be doing a lot of it for not a lot of money for awhile.
Or maybe not very much of it until people realize you're there and not going to go belly-up and leave them hanging.
I saw a succession of situations:

[1] nobody knows you're there
[2] wait to see if you're going to be there tomorrow
[3] wait until they need what you provide
[4] finally start making a little money when they dip their toe in

Having said that, there can be a delicate balance between an introductory price and not. I was told once by someone who was there that when DuPont introduced Corfam, a synthetic leather for shoes, they gave away too much of it and shoemakers took that to mean that it had no value. In a few years the trade name disappeared from view. I idly wonder if the material is being used under another name (or superceded by something better).

Like a few years ago when the emu craze was going on. The fact of the matter was that most folks aren't going to pleased with emu boots when just for a little more they can have ostrich.

No matter what you get into.

Insure yourself for every angle that can possibly
go wrong.

Especially health insurance and liability.

Read above about the gun store break in. Ruined
his business for lack of insurance.

Know one thing ahead of time: You can't be 100%
honest or folks will Fk you over. Protect yourself!

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

George