Starting a business for Entrepreneur’s Only

[Just Plain Ruff]

obsession, calvin klein

I too am surprised by the obsession statement. No-one here has asked what your company does.

Maybe in PM's they have but seriously, can you point out a single person on this thread who has obsessively asked about your company.

You have given some pretty cryptic answers to our posts yet you get all upset at the same.

[WANTYNU]

My question is why do you only want input from those working in EMS? I am in the Military full time, but going through a divorce. My soon to be ex gets over half my income, so I am looking for ways to increase my income.

This fall I am starting to work on my Masters Degree in Emergency and Disaster Planning. I also plan to get the Volunteer Fire Department I run with to put me through some HAZMAT classes. In the building where I work I am on the committee (Emergency Preparedness Team) thats sets up and conducts training for the occupants, sets the emergency procedures, trains or has training brought in for an in house Medical response Team.

I do all this in hopes of being able to increase my income greatly in the next few years when I leave the military.

But I am also looking for ways to increase it in the interim, since I also nee money now!!

Sarge

I

Sarge,

Sorry to take so long to respond to your question, real life takes precedence, and besides I have a bunch of stuff personally happening all at once, as well as I’m working on rolling out a new variation on my wrench.

But back to you, you asked a couple of questions short and long term.

First, sorry to hear about your divorce, I’ve had several friends that went through one, and it’s one of the most stressful things that can happen to you, so make sure you cut yourself some slack so you have the mindset to face your other obstacles.

Second for the long term, you’re (in my opinion) doing the very best thing forward for yourself you can do. Which is educating yourself, it makes you more valuable, nobody can take it away, and in short it opens doors to greater opportunity (but I’m sure you know that, which is why you’re doing it).

So here’s a little free advice on going about it (remember it’s worth every cent your paying for it) so take what you can and throw away the rest.

1) Talk to you lawyer about you marital finances, he’s (she’s) the only one who knows exactly what your individual position is and what will cost you more, and cost less. Make sure you’re well armed for your decision making. (Stocking away a few bucks on the side, starting an account in your name only etc.)

2) If you have credit card debt pay it down, there’s a TON of good stuff on the internet on doing this and why you should. Let me just say the interest rates charged today are downright criminal.

Aggressively pay down you highest interest cards first, making the minimum on the rest until it’s paid up, then move onto the next (and of course STOP charging) buy only what you can with cash or check, (if you don’t have the money in CASH you can’t afford it). Of course if you have to borrow for an emergency i.e. medical, you have to weigh the costs and do what’s right for you.

A second thing, IF you can do it, with credits cards (which should be the first to do if you can) is consolidate with a low interest loan (home equity?) or if you can swing it, consider borrowing from a family member with a written agreement and automatic pay back, so you don’t screw up the relationship.

Improve your credit score; by lowering the amount of outstanding credit you have, if you have 7 cards each with a $10,000 limit, the credit agencies see you as if you have $70,000 credit, if you make 50 K a year, that’s not a good assumable debt to income ratio.

Here’s the catch, DON’T cancel your credit cards ESPECIALLY if you had them for a few years, as this also counts against your score. Cancel only new cards, (what do you need them for anyway) and keep the rest but call the credit card companies and request to lower your limit, that’s right LOWER your limit, this won’t negatively affect your score if you do it, it actually improves your score by reducing your AD ratio. (Weird huh)

Always keep in mind Interest on money you owe is still money you have to pay out, the less you pay out the more you keep. i.e. if you’re not paying that extra $100 a month interest payment on a CC balance, its exactly like getting paid an extra $100 a month, because it stays in your pocket.

3) You got the right idea and focus on a career track and the military is an outstanding credential to get into a good ES job, and the extra stuff (HAZMAT etc, helps as well).

I’m on my hospital’s Hazmat / special operations team, as well as a CPR, First aid, and WMD instructor.

4) Take any train the trainer course you can get your hands on, not only will you learn the subject matter better, you further increase your credibility when you have the certs to teach others.

5) Add polish to your act, even if you think you’re great, you can always get better, learn to interview, it’s a real skill, again there is a LOT of good stuff out there, remember when you’re ready to make your move, you’ll have to SELL yourself to your prospective employer, you can be the very best at whatever you do, but if you can’t convey that message to your audience all your skills ain’t worth the paper they’re written on. Learn the techniques that will make you stand out from the rest of the candidates in a positive light.

Join a group like Toastmasters to improve you public speaking and presentation skills.

Now for the short term money, depending where your based (here / overseas) will determine what you can and can’t do. (I can’t help you with the overseas part).

The easiest is working a part-time job for someone else, as there’s no investment on your side except for your time.

For the internet world, eBay is good if you have(or can get) stuff to sell, but keep in mind there are a lot of fees tacked on, that can add up (sometimes to as much as 20 – 30% of your gross) plus it’s WORK! REAL WORK, you need to spend time posting your auction, replying to emails, collecting money, shipping your items, building your reputation.

Consider putting an ad in the local paper as a handyman, if you have the skills and time, but keep in mind there may be licensing and insurance issues to consider.

Last starting your own business is by far and away the hardest thing (in my opinion) you can do, there’s no security, the starting pay is almost nonexistent, the hours are really long, it’s very stressful, and your boss will be the most demanding bastard you’ll ever know.

Well there ya go, I’m tapped out for any more ideas right now, besides my boss is yelling at me to get back to work!

Hope this helps.

Best of luck.

[mrmeaner]

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[NYCntg]

That was one of the best posts I've ever seen. A lot of good ideas, I never looked at debt that way!

Thanks WANTYNU.

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I know I'm gonna get majorly flamed for this, but Mr Meaner, did you even read this post? Can you read, Why are you so insulting? do you think it's funny? :? :evil:

Folks like you really devalue what this forum could be, Grow up.

A sharp tongue is no indication of a keen mind.

And I have to ask: Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you'd had enough oxygen at birth? :roll:

[medic001918]

I know I'm gonna get majorly flamed for this, but Mr Meaner, did you even read this post? Can you read, Why are you so insulting? do you think it's funny? :? :evil:

Folks like you really devalue what this forum could be, Grow up.

A sharp tongue is no indication of a keen mind.

And I have to ask: Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you'd had enough oxygen at birth? :roll:

My personal feelings aside, I have to point this out. You blast him for being insulting and for devaluing the forum, and two sentences later you throw your own insult out there. Way to lead by example. Maybe you're part of the very problem you pointed out? Until you can lead by example, you have no business telling someone else they devalue this forum.

Shane

NREMT-P

[WANTYNU]

I have to point this out. You blast him for being insulting and for devaluing the forum, and two sentences later you throw your own insult out there. Way to lead by example. Maybe you're part of the very problem you pointed out? Until you can lead by example, you have no business telling someone else they devalue this forum.

Shane

NREMT-P

Shane, I agree.

NTG two points: one is the one Shane made above, the other is I'm a big boy and can handle it, I don't need to be defended.

Again, Please lets keep this on point.

Thanks

Best to all.

[Dustdevil]

Plus 10 for a good attitude and some great information, WANTYNU. :thumbright:

I'm sorry I missed mrmeaner's comment though. :?

[medic001918]

I'd still like to see mrmeaners answer to how he justifies what he said. Since it wasn't him that removed the content; an answer to the question or an apology is still owed in my humble opinion.

Shane

NREMT-P

[mrmeaner]

Admin removed the comment I made for a good reason, it was out of line. For that I apoligize. I just had a friend lose his truck and now possibly his house because of getting into a business with a friend from work. The buildup started with sympathy about him having to work so hard and missing time from family... hey, I was going to start a business, do you want in... the investors won't come through, but hey, if we invest our own money we would be better off anyway in the long run... oops, I guess it's not going to work out. He left the job a week later and moved to the east coast somewhere. WANTYNU was the target of a message meant for someone else. He just happened to sound alot like the guy who took my buddies money and a lot of snake oil salesment I've seen. I also saw that his first posts were basically revolving around this issue. WANTYNU, if you are truely trying to help people with money, good luck. There are a lot of people who need it. I appologize for not giving you a chance. Apparently I don't give them out enough.

[NYCntg]

Shane, I agree.

NTG two points: one is the one Shane made above, the other is I'm a big boy and can handle it, I don't need to be defended.

Again, Please lets keep this on point.

Thanks

Best to all.

Shane and WANTYNU,

Your both right, my bad, apologies to all here, I let my temper get the best of me and caught a bad case of foot in mouth disease.

When these posts get rude we all lose.

Again, my apologies for the parting digs, they were not called for.

ntg :oops: