Business owners/managers need advice please.

[Corbin]

Hey guys, I'm just creating my own LLC and wanting to pick your brains of any of you which seem to be older(not a bad thing), wiser, and have experiences compared to myself. I'm not that ignorant to know that their is people out there that have been through some things before that I can use their advice to help me get through that obstacle without going balls deep in it before it's to late.



I've seen a lot of your posts and I see several of you own(ed) a business or managed one at some point. So technically the combined experience on this board is a potential wealth of knowledge and wisdom.

Anyways, for 4+ years I been sitting on the sideline watching the crypto markets learning trends, discovering the technology differences etc, mining networks, and trading as a novice etc. Made a handful of money but I've been able to predict a lot of the trends and alt cryptos that can be used to make money with. Needless to say I would have done very well if I just followed my heart and head and got into it years ago. I have many years of managerial experience in multiple industries and decided to go full force in IT( Info. Tech), Cyber Security, and C.S. in school once again.

Anybody else in similar fields? Experience? Interests? Advice starting a business/LLC? etc?

Do you have any advice on no no's or pitfalls you wish you knew 10, 20,30,40 years ago that you know now?

 

[fearsomefour]

No experience in those fields.
Have owned a business and managed a couple.
One thing we (my wife and I) found beneficial was outsourcing some of the time consuming elements of managing that didn't directly relate to the work....to being productive. Payroll, HR....outsourced. Saved a ton of time and cost wise was worth it.
The biggest issue I have seen (I'm sure others will pipe in with other experiences) with disorganized small businesses is lack of clarity. Lack of job identity and definition of job responsibility for employees. "Everyone does everything here" is a model for inefficiency. Inefficiency = wasted time = lost money.
Having a scalable plan in place as well. How quickly are you looking to grow and expand? What is the plan to do this? What is the plan to find, hire, train and retain employees with the planned growth. Having too much work and missing commitments will do as much damage to your business as having employees sitting around.
If you're going to be a whip and chain sort of boss you are going to have to pay talented people to keep them. If you're going to be a "nice" boss your going to have to be careful to not be taken advantage of.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

I have had a successful company with my wife for over a decade and a half. She handles all of it now - she's retired me. Guess she didn't like my pace

Simple things i can mention:

1. Avoid hiring young white males for labor jobs - like customer service or warehouse etc. Unless you represent a stepping stone in their ambitions you will get zero real contributions. They are always looking for the next job, how to do as little work as possible, and they are lazy.

2. Hire Hispanics that don't speak English. Honestly the green card worker or illegal alien works their ass off, shows up on time, and are totally respectful. Labor jobs are simple and don't need a ton of communication. Beware of the Hispanic worker who speaks perfect English for they will be the ones who communicate to the rest of the crew and turn into a proxy for you. It gets meddlesome.

3. Overpay your taxes quarterly- nothing better than not worrying about your taxes and having the IRS love you. And by overpaying you get money back in chunks or you can reallocate that money to apply to future tax bills

4. Brick and mortar accounts can put strain on you lifestyle - although having your product in a national store like Whole Foods, what ends up happening is you are at the mercy of idiots in teepees (in the case of Whole Foods) and they keep you over-extended. If you can keep all your sales direct and online you can sell less and make 2x as much money.

5. Get a good accountant. Someone you know is good. And LLC is a great thing if you balance your taxes and your personal taxes well. And like foursome said - outsourcing to the best qualified people will keep you from going insane or dabbling in fields that you have zero expertise.

These are just the things that have always stuck out for me. I know they might not be applicable to crypto stuff but are my general experiences that i would give as advice to any business owner.

 

[FaulkSF]

Agree with @fearsomefour. Give your employees a sense of identity: what is it their role and how does it help the company? This is especially true with working with millennials is that they value their contributions to helping your firm above anything else.

I saw two of my wife's cousins resign from good jobs since they don't feel their contributions matter.

You can't be the mean, demanding boss either. You'll spend too much time, money (if you outsource), and training new employees. I see it personally where I work. Always greater turnover with a boss you do not want to work for, no matter the income.

Also look at your benefit package as well with the rest of the industry as a benchmark. Could you sell yourself to come work at your LLC compared to your competitors? Just a couple tips to get you started, hope it helps.

 

[fearsomefour]

I have had a successful company with my wife for over a decade and a half. She handles all of it now - she's retired me. Guess she didn't like my pace

Simple things i can mention:

1. Avoid hiring young white males for labor jobs - like customer service or warehouse etc. Unless you represent a stepping stone in their ambitions you will get zero real contributions. They are always looking for the next job, how to do as little work as possible, and they are lazy.

2. Hire Hispanics that don't speak English. Honestly the green card worker or illegal alien works their ass off, shows up on time, and are totally respectful. Labor jobs are simple and don't need a ton of communication. Beware of the Hispanic worker who speaks perfect English for they will be the ones who communicate to the rest of the crew and turn into a proxy for you. It gets meddlesome.

3. Overpay your taxes quarterly- nothing better than not worrying about your taxes and having the IRS love you. And by overpaying you get money back in chunks or you can reallocate that money to apply to future tax bills

4. Brick and mortar accounts can put strain on you lifestyle - although having your product in a national store like Whole Foods, what ends up happening is you are at the mercy of idiots in teepees (in the case of Whole Foods) and they keep you over-extended. If you can keep all your sales direct and online you can sell less and make 2x as much money.

5. Get a good accountant. Someone you know is good. And LLC is a great thing if you balance your taxes and your personal taxes well. And like foursome said - outsourcing to the best qualified people will keep you from going insane or dabbling in fields that you have zero expertise.

These are just the things that have always stuck out for me. I know they might not be applicable to crypto stuff but are my general experiences that i would give as advice to any business owner.

3, 4 and 5 are excellent points.

 

[1maGoh]

I'm a manager in the IT industry now and I'm fairly knowledgeable about MSP's. I've never owned a business, but if you need to bounce ideas off of somebody on the outside then I'm here for you.

What is it you're going to be doing? If you don't want to be too specific you can always PM me.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Agree with @fearsomefour. Give your employees a sense of identity: what is it their role and how does it help the company? This is especially true with working with millennials is that they value their contributions to helping your firm above anything else.

I saw two of my wife's cousins resign from good jobs since they don't feel their contributions matter.

You can't be the mean, demanding boss either. You'll spend too much time, money (if you outsource), and training new employees. I see it personally where I work. Always greater turnover with a boss you do not want to work for, no matter the income.

Also look at your benefit package as well with the rest of the industry as a benchmark. Could you sell yourself to come work at your LLC compared to your competitors? Just a couple tips to get you started, hope it helps.

As far as being a boss I recommend being more Bill Parcells than a Jerry Jones when it comes to handling employees

My advice to Corbin would be:

First off if you are a new LLC don't hire anyone except someone who you know will be leaving within a few months - embrace turnover by attaching it to cost savings. I mean at first you may only need someone for a day or two during the week for limited hours. To begin with it's you and only you who are gonna make the company succeed. Like you said it's a matter of trusting yourself. Once you have some discipline in trusting yourself and making those investments in yourself then and only then would you want to take on any help outside of people you know and trust (wife, good friend, etc). Because only then will an employee benefit your mission and not their own. And once you see they aren't on your tragectory, then you can adjust them or let them go. When you are in that growing phase you need people that are with you for the work.

It's like playing for Belichek who has a system in which you are the cogg and you serve the brand - they have one super star and then role players who all are involved and all know their role cause which is to serve your ambition and your company's vision. And that's been defined by you.

I mean this idea that someone quit their job cause they weren't "feeling" appreciated is hilarious. The real reason an employee leaves usually is 100% personal. Either they want to move closer to their boyfriend, they suddenly realize they hate chemistry, they want to go back to school, and most of all - i found a job that pays me more dor doing less. Bye bye.

The best you can do as a business owner/boss/employer is to know what exactly your missin objective with your LLC is -- and not some "millenial" or whomever and their feelings. It's a slippery slope of loss and eventually stress. As an employer/boss i think going Belichek is the key - look at your players as expendable and replaceable.

Why concern yourself with anyone rocking the term "millenial" - i mean there's a thing called age discrimination. It works both ways. For example: "I don't give a shit if you are young or old, just do the job I need done and I will pay you on time." DONE. See how easy that was. No need to cater anyone other han your wife.

Okay - lets say you are the Mean boss - well it stands to reason anyone who is a willfull dick is gonna get bounced. So don't be mean. Done.

Cool Friend Boss - let's say you try and be all cool guy and have games and casual fridays and allow pets and ficus, well you're equally fucked - cause the employee will think your soft and take advantage of you like a stranger would, now you have brought emotion into the equation and you have unwittingly brought doom upon your company. By being a friend or having a Jerry Jones country club atmosphere instead of habing your team focused soley on your vision, you will find yourself playing nursemaid and psychoanalyst to a bunch of losers.

I hate to say it but I would go Belichek -- I'd love to recommend going McVay, but it's so early haha, still to the point, the team works around his singular vision - hence the We not Me


*
Another word of advice-
Keep people as contract labor as much as possible.

The cool thing about the modern workspace you will exist in doesn't require you to have a building where everyone congregates - unless you are manufacturing here in the USA. If you are working in cryto stuff your employees are gonna be from Ukraine, your customer service from the Philippines, your tech guy from down the street, etc. - it's gonna be much different looking and global. I would suggest looking at all ways to cut overhead, save money, take your own dividends, and keep nobody on your books until you absolutely have to.

Forgive Typos - i removed spell check

 

[Dieter the Brock]

This movie is a great example of what it's like having "employees"



View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfW-hieY2U

 

[Corbin]

Wow didn't expect to get these type of responses. I truly appreciate you taking time out to respond to this thread.Going to read through your message now and respond in turn! lol

This movie is a great example of what it's like having "employees"



View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfW-hieY2U

That trailer is funny as shit! lol I swear out of all the supervisor/management positions I have ever had seen grown men act like women or little kids so much like in the oilfields. It's insane, would rage at the people my company would send me to watch over and train.

 

[Boston Ram]

I owned a trash company and am now a Director of IT sales. What kind of business are you trying to build.

Quick advice regardless of your business model, especially if it’s IT focused.
Hire and surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. Don’t be afraid to delagate to the right people. They will feel valued and like they are part of something. Communicate your goals to your employees so they know what they are working to. Sounds simple but owners sometimes feel like they have to control everything and know everything. Lots of brilliant people out there....keep your ears open

 

[Dieter the Brock]

I owned a trash company and am now a Director of IT sales. What kind of business are you trying to build.

Quick advice regardless of your business model, especially if it’s IT focused.
Hire and surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. Don’t be afraid to delagate to the right people. They will feel valued and like they are part of something. Communicate your goals to your employees so they know what they are working to. Sounds simple but owners sometimes feel like they have to control everything and know everything. Lots of brilliant people out there....keep your ears open

See this is where i start to break with mankind
It sounds to me like if you dare trust and believe in yourself enough to put yourself and all your treasure on the line for something you believe in that that requires you to be the teet for spoiled middle-class born and bred so-called "professionals" - i mean how does one invest all their hard earned savings into their own vision only to have to "sourround uouself with people that are smarter than you"
Fuck that
There is nobody -- I MEAN NOBODY -- smarter than uou when it comes to YOU

why would you ever surround yourself with some college dickhead grad who know nothing about what it means to put your balls on the line, let alone what it means to communicate without some outdated jargon they read from a book on "how to score the big deal"
F these guys
If any had an ounce of sand - or smarts - they would have set sail on their own mission long ago instead of weighing you down with their bullshit text book vision of what "business" is supposed to be

The idea that owners "sometimes feel the need to control everything" is laughable - of course they do - it's their money and treaure and futur on the line.

The last thing you do is serve baby food to grown ips. Don't do it.

Let all those people with "feelings" and bullshit degreea suffer thriugh their own making, while you, the man with ultimate balls gets shit down for themselves and their loved ones only.

Having a business or LLC doesn't make you a Commie - enough with this "communications" bullshit. I am telling you - do your best to never hire anyone -- EVER, or you'll get dragged down into the world of "feelings" when all you are really trying to do is make an honest buck

 

[Riverumbbq]

This movie is a great example of what it's like having "employees"



View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfW-hieY2U

Mila at her finest.
True enough, having employees is like herding cats.

 

[Boston Ram]

See this is where i start to break with mankind
It sounds to me like if you dare trust and believe in yourself enough to put yourself and all your treasure on the line for something you believe in that that requires you to be the teet for spoiled middle-class born and bred so-called "professionals" - i mean how does one invest all their hard earned savings into their own vision only to have to "sourround uouself with people that are smarter than you"
freak that
There is nobody -- I MEAN NOBODY -- smarter than uou when it comes to YOU

why would you ever surround yourself with some college dork grad who know nothing about what it means to put your balls on the line, let alone what it means to communicate without some outdated jargon they read from a book on "how to score the big deal"
F these guys
If any had an ounce of sand - or smarts - they would have set sail on their own mission long ago instead of weighing you down with their bullcrap text book vision of what "business" is supposed to be

The idea that owners "sometimes feel the need to control everything" is laughable - of course they do - it's their money and treaure and futur on the line.

The last thing you do is serve baby food to grown ips. Don't do it.

Let all those people with "feelings" and bullcrap degreea suffer thriugh their own making, while you, the man with ultimate balls gets crap down for themselves and their loved ones only.

Having a business or LLC doesn't make you a Commie - enough with this "communications" bullcrap. I am telling you - do your best to never hire anyone -- EVER, or you'll get dragged down into the world of "feelings" when all you are really trying to do is make an honest buck

Are you in IT? It’s not like being a plumber or store owner. In order for your product to work you need to integrate with other technologies. Technology changes hourly. If you try to do it yourself you will fail and literally could not engineer,’QA and develop your product in a timely manner.

The balls you put on the line are squashed. You will have a lot more than hurt feelings.

 

[1maGoh]

See this is where i start to break with mankind
It sounds to me like if you dare trust and believe in yourself enough to put yourself and all your treasure on the line for something you believe in that that requires you to be the teet for spoiled middle-class born and bred so-called "professionals" - i mean how does one invest all their hard earned savings into their own vision only to have to "sourround uouself with people that are smarter than you"
freak that
There is nobody -- I MEAN NOBODY -- smarter than uou when it comes to YOU

why would you ever surround yourself with some college dork grad who know nothing about what it means to put your balls on the line, let alone what it means to communicate without some outdated jargon they read from a book on "how to score the big deal"
F these guys
If any had an ounce of sand - or smarts - they would have set sail on their own mission long ago instead of weighing you down with their bullcrap text book vision of what "business" is supposed to be

The idea that owners "sometimes feel the need to control everything" is laughable - of course they do - it's their money and treaure and futur on the line.

The last thing you do is serve baby food to grown ips. Don't do it.

Let all those people with "feelings" and bullcrap degreea suffer thriugh their own making, while you, the man with ultimate balls gets crap down for themselves and their loved ones only.

Having a business or LLC doesn't make you a Commie - enough with this "communications" bullcrap. I am telling you - do your best to never hire anyone -- EVER, or you'll get dragged down into the world of "feelings" when all you are really trying to do is make an honest buck

That's good above if youryo running the kind of business that can be a one person operation. At some point a company can become too big for only one person to run.

And hiring someone smarter than you is simply understanding your own limits. Somebody might be great at construction, but they can't do finances. Hire a finance person smarter than you. Maybe they're getting big but they're missing out because they have no marketing and they already spend 16 hours a day doing other business related work. Hire a marketing person smarter than you.

And you absolutely don't have to hire witless, worthless, paper-waving cheese weasels, but that doesn't mean you don't hire anyone. Hire somebody worth a damn who is as invested as you are in making this thing work.

But you're right that bringing someone else in is a huge risk because they could always turn out to be a useless sack of flesh.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Are you in IT? It’s not like being a plumber or store owner. In order for your product to work you need to integrate with other technologies. Technology changes hourly. If you try to do it yourself you will fail and literally could not engineer,’QA and develop your product in a timely manner.

The balls you put on the line are squashed. You will have a lot more than hurt feelings.

Not in IT
Having people work for you and with you is different than having "employees"
It's the difference between winning and losing financially
I'm 100% all in with hiring independent contractors

 

[Dieter the Brock]

That's good above if youryo running the kind of business that can be a one person operation. At some point a company can become too big for only one person to run.

And hiring someone smarter than you is simply understanding your own limits. Somebody might be great at construction, but they can't do finances. Hire a finance person smarter than you. Maybe they're getting big but they're missing out because they have no marketing and they already spend 16 hours a day doing other business related work. Hire a marketing person smarter than you.

And you absolutely don't have to hire witless, worthless, paper-waving cheese weasels, but that doesn't mean you don't hire anyone. Hire somebody worth a damn who is as invested as you are in making this thing work.

But you're right that bringing someone else in is a huge risk because they could always turn out to be a useless sack of flesh.

I see what you're saying but from personal experience a company starting up is a one-man show. And you have to wear all hats to see where in fact your weaknesses are.

I am just warning if the dangers of putting people on payroll - it's a dangerous thing. Do it as little as possible.

I mu experience - There is no need to hire a marketing person in-house - you're gonna have to pay someone good close to 60k on up. Freelancers and bringing on help on a per project basis is really wise. and you get great results too - and you don't have to deal with their attitudes or hangups - just the work. Let them deal with their own taxes.

If you do bring on people on payroll do your best to make sure they are expendable players in manual labor jobs - and hourly.

 

[1maGoh]

I see what you're saying but from personal experience a company starting up is a one-man show. And you have to wear all hats to see where in fact your weaknesses are.

I am just warning if the dangers of putting people on payroll - it's a dangerous thing. Do it as little as possible.

I mu experience - There is no need to hire a marketing person in-house - you're gonna have to pay someone good close to 60k on up. Freelancers and bringing on help on a per project basis is really wise. and you get great results too - and you don't have to deal with their attitudes or hangups - just the work. Let them deal with their own taxes.

If you do bring on people on payroll do your best to make sure they are expendable players in manual labor jobs - and hourly.

Ah, I thought you meant something more like never bring on anyone except unskilled labor and only do that temporarily. My bad.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Ah, I thought you meant something more like never bring on anyone except unskilled labor and only do that temporarily. My bad.

I think of having an LLC as your own house - when you have a roofing issue you bring in various roofers get quotes, find the one you like, sign a contract, and when the work is done they get paid. If you have to cut your grass weekly you hire a lawn service and they cur your lawn and bill you at the end of the month. I am only suggesting in this model works for your new business too -- until you absolutely have to bring someone in-house I would do all I could to avoid it

 

[LesBaker]

Sounds simple but owners sometimes feel like they have to control everything and know everything.

This is SOLID advice.

I currently work for a guy like this, and my prior job was as bad.

It's insulting when someone says to you "I've been doing this for 35 years" as if that totally negates the many years of experience I have. What's worse is that the old saying "can't see the forest for the trees" is also an issue with this person. Adding in even more frustration is that he is a total control freak, down to the fact that nobody can turn on or off the music but him, he doesn't allow anyone else to have access to the company Pandora account so when he isn't there or the channel ends the shop is silent. So there we are in a high end luxury outdoor furniture store in silence.

The bad news for him is that I represent a higher level of talent than he has ever had and I am looking for another job. He won't be able to replace me at the income I am earning and he has refused to increase my pay. There are three of us on the floor and I produce a lot more than the other two. One woman has worked for him for years and she has said countless times "your leaving someday aren't you" and has told him "you can't let Les leave" but he doesn't listen.

So if you have high level talent keep them happy. And that means more than just the money as you probably know.

Another thing you should NEVER do is lie to your employees. About anything. If you get caught just once you have zero cred forever and some people will resent it enough to quit.

I had an event production company for many years and was a self employed factory rep in the furniture business. I've made a lot of mistakes and have tried to learn from all of them. I hope I have anyway.

Do fun things for them. I used to give everyone cash on December 23rd. We would close down at noon and the rule was that everyone had go out and spend the money on stuff for themselves before 6 pm, no buying for other people and no paying bills etc. Then we would meet at a restaurant and I would take the receipts so they couldn't return the stuff haha. It was always a lot of fun and on good years the amount for top producers was as high as $1,500.

If you have a Plan B scrap it. Focus on what you are doing and go ALL IN. That's as good a bit of advice as you will ever get.

 

[fearsomefour]

Hey guys, I'm just creating my own LLC and wanting to pick your brains of any of you which seem to be older(not a bad thing), wiser, and have experiences compared to myself. I'm not that ignorant to know that their is people out there that have been through some things before that I can use their advice to help me get through that obstacle without going balls deep in it before it's to late.



I've seen a lot of your posts and I see several of you own(ed) a business or managed one at some point. So technically the combined experience on this board is a potential wealth of knowledge and wisdom.

Anyways, for 4+ years I been sitting on the sideline watching the crypto markets learning trends, discovering the technology differences etc, mining networks, and trading as a novice etc. Made a handful of money but I've been able to predict a lot of the trends and alt cryptos that can be used to make money with. Needless to say I would have done very well if I just followed my heart and head and got into it years ago. I have many years of managerial experience in multiple industries and decided to go full force in IT( Info. Tech), Cyber Security, and C.S. in school once again.

Anybody else in similar fields? Experience? Interests? Advice starting a business/LLC? etc?

Do you have any advice on no no's or pitfalls you wish you knew 10, 20,30,40 years ago that you know now?

sent you a pm