What stops people

Prudent

Getting out of the comfort zone of a secure job is too much of a risk for most people. I would love to set up my own business (not because I am in debt, I simply want to do it). I have decided to put this on hold because I am a single mum. I already work full time in a high pressure job. I am often exhausted and any free time' holidays are spent doing routine things like house or car maintainence/ spending some valuable one to one time with my daughter/ other family commitments or being with friends.

At the end of the day you have to measure up what is most important. A good lifestyle is lovely. But my friends and family mean much more. When I am happy they laugh with me, when I am sad they comfort me, when life kicks me in the teeth they take my arm and pick me up, when I am ill they send flowers, when they are in need I feel fulfilled because I am supporting them, when they are successful I feel good too. My possessions are silent. When I die my friends and family will remember me and I will carry on their memory. When I die my possession will be sold for a mimimal second hand value.

Follow your ambitions - but remember the comfort zone can be solace in hard times and joy in good times.

luckylukey

I have set up my own company and shoulld start trading this weekend. I agree its a lot of hard work - and there have been nights that I have cried myself to sleep! But I have remained in full time employment working 38 hours a week and then working on my business when I get home until midnight every night. Why am I doing it? I dont think that it will bring any more money in but I want the freedom to work for myself and not working for other people. Plus I will work from home so cut down on my travel costs!

frugglewump

Even if I had the money to set up my own business I wouldn't do it. Why? - my brain doesn't work that way. I'm not good at dealing with admin or general business-stuff.

Now playing with investments - that I could do.

Besides the job I do allows me to research interesting stuff (although writing a textbook over summer was not in my yearly goals, but it's happened anyway)

lil'H

I've recently set up my own busines, on only £400 so far! Keep my other work going, and buauty of it is that now that I work over 16 hours a week I can claim working tax credit (around £120 a week with child care element) whether or not I make profit! My other job involves going into school to discuss sexual health and teenage pregnancy, so I have started approaching the schools I don't go to with work, and some have taken me on freelance which means lots more money. I don't take any wage at the moment, live off my other income, (tex credit etc) which means I can use my earnings to just pay debts.

The boss can be a b!tch sometimes but I hightly reccomend working for yourself, especially for single parents

lil'h

hbl_2

The whole rich dad/poor dad thing isn't about having your own business per ce, it's about being incorporated as an individual, which allows all manner of tax write off (being able to pay for assets like car with pre-tax dollars) and is possible here if you set up a business or a company shell to pass everything through.

I think it'd cost enough in solicitors fees to work it out early doors, so get some more assets under your belt before you start looking at tax avoidance, especially if you have a ton of debts to pay off.

The main lesson from RDPD is making money work for you. Being a smart consumer and constantly looking for opportunities to make money off the back of your own intelligence, acumen and the money you've already made. I found the stuff about zero down house purchases selling on a few days later fascinating, but it just went to illustrate how little I know about the property market.

The MSE represents a lot of the RDPD ideas, just in Britspeak.

LittleL_4

Hi,
I set up my small business in February this year. To finance it, I've completely gone down the wrong route. I used my c/c's! As a result, I've got into debt and decided to contact cccs yesterday (they were fab)

My business itself is doing ok... I have the chance to expand (significantly) but I need to sort a few things out first of all then I'm gonna take it up a few levels and really get my name out there....

I think the key to running a successful business is really knowing your market and most importantly be passionate about your product, service etc...

I have alot of debt (£25K) and there have been nights when I cry myself to sleep and wonder what have I done, but my product sells in nearly every shop my agent visits so I must be doing something right (just not with the finances)

I'll get it sorted, have learned a huge lesson and hopefully in a few years I'll be debt free :j

L
x

Seraphim

My take on the OP's post is to look for multiple income streams - the more you have, the better. I personally think it's best not to always rely on one source for your income - so many things can go wrong like redundancy etc and so every little adds up and helps!

Your own business is tough - a lot of hard work, but if it makes you money, it's definitely worth it The major worry is not having a steady income - you can always guarantee (well, nearly always ) that you will be paid £x if you don't work for yourself, but you can't always guarantee this if you give up your job for your company. But then again, if you put more hours in, would you make more money from your company? A nice catch-22

LittleL_4

Hi I agree with you 100%! I'm also a nurse and work for an agency on and off when things aren't doing too well. I will never nurse full-time again as I had chronic fatigue for a while and think the job was a major factor.

But yes, money from a variety of sources is definitely the way to go... :T

x

Ordinary_Joe

Thanks for all the repsonses as they've proved a fascinating insight.

Also it's good to see so many Rich Dad readers on the forum.

It's particularly interesting to see lack of start up capital as a reason not to go into a business, which appears to be tied (and I might be wrong), to people following a traditional self employment model.

One thing Rich Dad talks about is how the rich "invent" money. In other words make money where non seems to exist. This is illustrated in the comic book story from when he was a child.

I would agree not to take reckless risks, but my main thought was that given the level of debt soem people have on here and the lifestyle choices which are so often the root cause relying solely on existing money sources such as salary doesn't look like it will help. As a result I was thinking surely there is some value in looking for another approach, which was bringing in additional income. Not neccessarily through second "jobs" but by using imagination to work out additional income streams

nrsql

I've read the second book but not the first.
I believe the underlying message that you need to recognise what is an asset and what is a liability is fairly sound but a lot of the rest should be treated with caution.
A lot of it is a bit less sound and some downright illegal (I'm pretty sure that's even more so in the USA) and the book could have been about a quarter the size but that's a costing thing I guess.

Anything that makes you think is good but don't consider anything you read (or are told) to be a recipe for success - it doesn't happen like that or everyone would be rich.

I think I recall him saying that going bankrupt a few times is essential as a learning experience - and working for nothing was also a good thing.