The Trials and Tribulations of a Mediocre Entrepreneur:
The Start is Always the Hardest Part
In today’s world it seems everyone is an entrepreneur, an expert at something, and lives the perfect life that all of the rest of us peasants strive for. I’ve seen 20 year old life coaches, and code tutorials with extremely bad code practices. Today you really cannot tell if someone actually knows what they are talking about, because in the information age everyone can be an expert. These social media “experts” have also created this awkward perspective that if your life sucks, then it’s only because you suck. Everyone talks about all of the money to be had, and how easy it is. You need to make lots of money? Start a side hustle driving Uber, start a content business, etc. You know how to code? Start an app company. Create the next million dollar social network haha. It seems that no matter what industry it is, the biggest names are talking about how easy it is to make money. Some mention the hard work here and there, but really they don’t talk about the entire story. For instance I recently became fascinated with trucking (I know it makes me feel old). There are many trucking youtube channels that are aimed to get you started in the industry. They sell this glamorous life, and how easy it is, but they rarely discuss the cost that goes into starting a trucking company. The commercial insurance alone is generally around 1,100 a month. Also, when they report their earnings it is usually gross. Trucking has a lot of overhead, so gross revenue is extremely unhelpful in this instance. The biggest issue is that most of these so-called “experts” have an agenda, whether it is to sell a course or boost ratings. Some of them do not even have real world experience, but they sell an expert persona (20 year old life coaches, come on- you have barely started paying bills, and have’t even gone through your first divorce yet haha) Okay I am rambling, and all of this to say that you really can’t trust a lot of these influencers who make their money selling a dream that is most likely going to be crazy hard, but they make it seem like it is achievable for anyone. I will say if you put your mind to things you can achieve them within reason. However, some people have more means than others, and also these influencers who sell their product and talk about all of the money they make never talk about the fact that some of their money comes from influencer marketing and their courses, rather than the actual thing they are selling you the course on. I think this is one thing that really irritates me. And I am not speaking as a person that just sees through all of this. I’m speaking from the perspective of someone that chased these false dreams.
This whole culture where entrepreneurship and expertise sells is what sparked me to start this blog series. I want to come from a perspective of someone that doesn’t have all of the answers. Someone that is actually having to figure things out. I never want to carry myself as someone who just knows it all unless I really feel that I do. I want to share my entire journey of entrepreneurship. The losses, the gains, the hardships, and the wins. The entire process from start to finish. The paperwork involved to start, the cost of all of the paperwork, and break down of operating cost etc. Full transparency. So that is the plan for this blog, but…to start I want to give a brief background of myself.
My day job is in software development. I work for a company that builds accounting software. I have been a software developer for about 5 years now. I love my job, and literally have no problem keeping it, as I have a lot of freedoms. My company is literally the chillest company I think you could find, and I enjoy the work that I do. This is not my first venture into the entrepreneur space. I have dabbled in business ventures before, and have been burned twice. My first was trying to start my own company building websites for small businesses. I was really excited about this decision, and had high hopes after reading “Millionaire Mindset”, and “Think and Grow Rich” (enter dozens of other self help books) I thought I was bound for millions. I woke up at 5 am every morning, I stayed active, I got out and networked. Did everything these books told me to. And I failed miserably. My company had three clients. Two were for free to build my portfolio, and the other was a company who really didn’t have their stuff together, so I was constantly waiting for the stuff I requested that prevented me from finishing the job. Needless to say the company was part of the 90% of companies that failed, and I won’t blame this all on the clients. The part of the clients that made it hard was the fact that (in my area of sw florida) I found it hard to sell customers on a flashy new website. Most of the business owners in the networking groups were older or just not very tech savvy, so selling them on a shiny website that they have to pay for was extremely difficult, and I found that I was competing with people that offered outdated websites and charged very little to do so. I was also to blame. I think I could have done a little better putting myself out there. I did networking, but I think I could have done more. Eventually I decided to go back to a 9–5, and I am thankful that I did. Having a business that makes no money really takes a toll on your happiness and your pride. The day I started with my current company it was like a breath of fresh air for the first time in a while. Like the feeling you assume the people interviewed on Locked Up Abroad have when they get to the part of the story where they are finally able to come home.
The second business venture I wouldn’t really consider a business venture. I dabbled in insurance sales. Insurance companies say you are a business owner, but I don’t really consider it that. At the end of the day someone is making money off you…but moving on.
It’s been a couple years since then, and since I seem to like punishment, I am getting the itch to start a new business venture. This time I am choosing to take a different route. One that is away from technology, and one that there is a need that will most likely be there for the foreseeable future. This journey is in the waste management industry. Specifically, dumpster rentals.
So why in the world would I venture from the cushy lifestyle I currently have to roll around in the dump? Well the statistic that
really caught my attention. I want a piece of that trillion, and I wanted to jump into a business that seems to have a pretty small chance of automation (I’m not a conspiracy theorist, I am just being real).
Also, I like the idea of working for myself, and even though I have a day job, making money from a side hustle is just a good feeling. Like you are self made. A fearless adventurer who rolls to the beat of their own dumpster. Also, I like working with my hands. Not to make a gender stereotype, but I like to do manly things (although I know women can do the same if not more). I like to get my hands dirty, and haul large trailers while eating jerky. It’s just part of me, and I can’t help that. I just have to feed the instinct.
Currently we are in the startup process, and I thought that starting from the bottom and documenting was going to be the most helpful, as starting to tell my story after the fact usually results in things that are left out or forgotten. I want to have a timeline documented, but I also want to do a good job. I am not the first person to do this, but I usually find that people leave really important details out, so those details that I had to search for hours (or ten minutes, whichever seems more impressive) I want to show.
My next blog post will discuss all of the paperwork that we had to file to start this adventure, as well as the costs that we have paid to date. This is an important step, and I think a decent amount of detail is important.
I feel I have been rambling on more than I’m sure anyone wants, so I am going to end this post here. I hope you check out the next post, as it will be a helpful one for anyone wanting to start in the dumpster business, or really to get a basic idea of starting a business in general, as this first step is necessary no matter what business you are trying to start.
Thanks for reading…
Stats on waste management: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/global-waste-management-market-growth/
