@Sacto Mitch posted:If you're going to dive into this today as a builder, you'd better know what you're about..
Respectfully, I'm not sure anybody who's never owned and operated a small business knows what they're about before they step off the cliff. I sure didn't. I thought I did, but how could I? There are way, way too many things you don't learn about yourself until you are freefalling.
I can tell you this - if you're the "mo' money, mo' money, mo' money" guy, you're not going to make it. Period, full stop.
The guys who successfully build and operate their businesses shove all of their chips into the middle of the table on a do-or-die bet many, many times over the course of building the thing. They suffer through a lot of lean times, even as their business is growing and expanding. The guys who just want to pull money out end up like this.
There are no slam-dunks. You get out and do battle every day - not with your competition (there's always more than enough to go around), but with yourself - your own fears, insecurities, personality flaws, and risk tolerance (or intolerance) level.
You may know what you're about after a couple of years, but most likely you'll be surprised with your capacity or inability on a daily basis forever.