Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Have you ever owned a business?

Yes, for over 17 years.

Yes. Ran a custom earplug business for 15 years. Sold at gun shows and did a good deal of industrial sales. Broke even a lot with all the travel expenses. One year, I had 100 motel nights. Sold it the month I started finally collecting my Air Force Reserve pension.

Nope, worked for mechanical contractors for 20 years, then maintenance work the last 33 I worked.

Thank you for your service!!

Sums it up^^^^^

Yes. I don't think I was ever so pizzed when Obama said” You didn't build that”.

It drives my wife nuts that I always have to keep some of 'our' cash readily available to cover when customers don't feel the need to pay their bills in a timely fashion.

I'm confident that the Labor Sec feels our pain.

Two by the time I was 21. And watched my dad run his business for 40 years. Built it to quite a high level of success and respectability.

Also have watched by older brother tank the business the last 20 years.

My dad never worked a day in his life. He absolutely loved what he did.
My brother never "owned" a business. He just wrenched every dime out of the assets my dad handed him. Good guy by all measurements, but ZERO "ownership" understanding.

Yes, entrepreneurs are the rock stars of the economy.

I’ve signed my own check for over 30 years and loved every minute of it. But, like I tell high school economic students when I guest teach, it is NOT for everyone. We still need folks to build things in factories, delivery supplies and wire our houses.

Yeah, Great, ain't it !!

BTDT, last 12 years here & the last 7 years in Australia.

Well My Boss can be a real A HOLE at times
He calls me when ever he wants 24/7 and I am expected to jump at a minutes notice.

He tells me where to go not if I want to go.
He makes me work out of town with 1 day's notice.
He tells me when he wants me on the job 12am , 6am , 5pm ,10pm and I again have to jump.
He tells me 5 minutes before my 8 hr day is up that Oh you are working over time today and does not tell me how long.
He calls me during Dinner time and as I am just getting in the Shower or Jumping into bed and I have to jump.

He calls me when I am just sitting down in a Restaurant to eat with the family.

I have been his Little Beotch for 35 years




































































I Guess I forgot to add
I have been self employed for 35 years

It's called the Peter Principle.

If you don't know what it is Goodle it

At our peak, we had 70 on payroll, never signed a payroll check, instead used a payroll service. Very cheap, provided time clocks, cards and did all tax, HC and 401K withholdings. Also kept up with PTO and sick time. Simply put, some great small pennies spent.

If I had less than 3 employees, I might do manual payroll, otherwise, hire it out.

I paid income tax when I was 15 years old.

Yes. I inherited a small company that made engineered systems for airlines and free world air forces. Built it up to 425 employees before selling it to a private equity company and then worked for them a few years. I decided to sell when I was in my '60s because (a) I l thought a dumb democrat would win the election (I was thinking of Hillary, not Obama, (b) there hadn't been a recession and we were due for one, and (c) I had friends dying of old age.

Some things I learned.

1. The dumbest people were government civil servants, with certain exceptions. The flyers were a lot smarter.

2. Israelis are smart and hard working.

3. Arabs are lazy and indolent.

4. From the time I decided to sell, built up the weak spots, hired an investment banker to handle the sale, closed the deal, got paid 70% of the price (30% held back, got paid the 30% "second bite out of the apple" when the private equity company sold it again to some others, and got paid 15% when the second buyer sold it again, 13 years had elapsed.