Becoming successful (and getting stonkingly rich) today

[Krhuangbin]

I recalled over the weekend a thread from about 10 years ago on here somewhere, titled something like "how to make serious money/become wealthy" or similar.

Seem to remember it ran to many pages, and the general consensus was rise to the very top of your chosen profession or become a business owner and exit.

For reference i'm talking "realistic" methods and not be a top footballer or whatever. I'm also talking about from a standing start.

Setting aside being a top of the tree employee somewhere and focusing on business, a lot has changed in 10 years and I reckon it's a lot harder now in the UK than it once was.... true? It also appears that that the type of businesses people aspire to start (and which are increasingly relevant today) are heavily tech/services based and for an online world.

I don't see that many of my age or under (millennials backwards) are interested in "old school" industry; manufacturing, engineering, commodities of all types, importing, large scale food supply..... widgets......carpet production.... waste management.....whatever!! Beige industries.....

Is that kind of thing all sewn up by long established players with barriers to entry too high now? Someone's got to do this stuff as the population ages and time moves on! Or do they...... has globalisation taken that away from us?

I find it interesting to think about opportunities for enterprising individuals in the "olde worlde" but presumably still highly necessary industries beyond the world of services and tech.

Where's the opportunity in the UK in 2024?

[Frimley111R]

I'd argue that nothing has changed. Tech companies are just another type of business, but still a business, with the same requirements as any other. The points about working hard and getting to the top of the tree are as valid now as they ever were and I don't see any change there either.

There are some differences that the internet provided which have helped people make quick/big money but those types of people would have done it in any decade. Success and significant income come to few people because you need to work very hard/be in the right sector at the right time/get lucky/have money to start and scale, etc.

In the past you didn't have vloggers/bloggers etc who could make millions online with minimal/zero start-up costs either.

[DSLiverpool]

Possibly it’s easier as total knobheads now have easy access to knobhead followers who buy knobhead products.

Beauty, gadgets, clothing and jewellery are prime.

[Panamax]

Krhuangbin said:

I reckon it's a lot harder now in the UK than it once was.... true?

It was hard then and it's hard now.

Modern UK is full of fools with the idea, "It was all so much easier 20/40/60 years ago". Nothing but excuses for their own lack of commitment/performance/luck.

What do you mean, luck?

Most people who get anywhere at anything are talented, hard working and lucky.

The Spice Girls used to claim, "Our success proves that if you follow your dreams it will all work out fantastically". Absolute pie in the sky.

[brickwall]

There are plenty of companies being founded in the UK. There is plenty of opportunity right at the cutting edge of science and technology, as there always has been. Some of those founders will go on to be very wealthy.

It’s always been hard, and it still is. But I’m not sure it’s harder now than it was in the past.

[pete_esp]

From what I’ve been told by my business advisors in Business Gateway and various bodies that help startups, there is now significantly less grant funding to support startups than there was pre banking crisis.

This makes transitioning from an employee to an entrepreneur extremely difficult unless you are in the position to go 6 months without pay as I was advised to on a number of occasions.

However, I was amazed that the majority of founders I encountered were in their 20s which in hindsight is probably the easiest age to start a business.

[brickwall]

Equally, up to 2022 it was staggeringly easy to raise venture capital money for a business. It’s a little harder now, but I know multiple people who’ve raised healthy seven or eight-figure sums for businesses that are less than 3 years old.

[flibbage0]

I would have thought picking an in demand profession that your somewhat interested in, learning everything you can and then going on your own is probably the way to go?

I mean how else would one come up with and idea one day of opening a company that sells ice or a company that bakes/sells bricks. Do these people wake up one day and think let me sell some ice or bricks?

I honestly don't have the answer however I would have though that previous experience in that field would help.

My mate and I have spent countless evenings thinking about what business we could start and honestly we can't come up with much other than a generic service based business or property.

[brickwall]

flibbage0 said:

My mate and I have spent countless evenings thinking about what business we could start and honestly we can't come up with much other than a generic service based business or property.

Just look at the latest cohorts coming out of the likes of Y Combinator or Entrepreneur First for some ideas on what’s being founded today.

[Frimley111R]

brickwall said:

flibbage0 said:

My mate and I have spent countless evenings thinking about what business we could start and honestly we can't come up with much other than a generic service based business or property.

Just look at the latest cohorts coming out of the likes of Y Combinator or Entrepreneur First for some ideas on what’s being founded today.

You don't need to be the next Dyson or Zuckerberg. Those products were risky, both coming into a sector that had never seen such tech. Like a huge number of other similar products, they could have bombed.

Sticking with known sectors means tapping into existing demand and doing things better than other people.

[dazmanultra]

People think you need to create the next Facebook/Google/Microsoft to be successful. Invent something revolutionary that everyone wants.
The likes of Dragons Den, and all of the VC related blogs you read online are not representative of business for most founders.

For most successful businesses it's a case of doing something really well at a price that is competitive. You don't need to re-invent the wheel.

[Frimley111R]

dazmanultra said:

People think you need to create the next Facebook/Google/Microsoft to be successful. Invent something revolutionary that everyone wants.
The likes of Dragons Den, and all of the VC related blogs you read online are not representative of business for most founders.

For most successful businesses it's a case of doing something really well at a price that is competitive. You don't need to re-invent the wheel.

That's what I just said

[Hoofy]

Forget the hype about creating the next tech giant. You don't need a revolutionary idea to win in business. Shows like Dragons' Den and VC blogs might paint a different picture, but for most successful businesses, it's all about mastering the fundamentals. Focus on doing something well, offering competitive prices, and delivering exceptional value. Innovation is great, but sometimes, refinement is the key to success.











Thanks to ChatGPT.

[asfault]

pete_esp said:

From what I’ve been told by my business advisors in Business Gateway and various bodies that help startups, there is now significantly less grant funding to support startups than there was pre banking crisis.

This makes transitioning from an employee to an entrepreneur extremely difficult unless you are in the position to go 6 months without pay as I was advised to on a number of occasions.

However, I was amazed that the majority of founders I encountered were in their 20s which in hindsight is probably the easiest age to start a business.

I never found the businessgateway advisors to be of any real help. The in room meetings to educate you on things seemed to be more about them trying to catch you out and show how clever they were.
I went to a few before realising that my higher economics B had given me more knowledge than they had to give.

[M1AGM]

My 2p, look for a business that is doing well/busy but doing it a bit st, and if you can, do the same/similar but better. It could be service delivery, could be customer services, could be pricing, could be all of them. You do not need to come up with a new idea to be successful in business you just need to be better at what you do than the competition.

[STURBO]

I think the easiest way to build a business is to leverage old school trade and business skills.

So Plumbing, Building, Electrical, Landscaping, Sewage etc etc.

Low risk, slow to build but will have no shortge of customers if you price right, communicate and deliver a good service.

I think demand is high for all these and supply is limited as almost everyone now want to go to uni and wants a desk job. Plus lots about to retire.

South Park made a funny episode about this recently, with all the money going to the few people left who could fix things.

[asfault]

You have to love what you do. No one ever really made money building a business they hate the actual job. Except maybe corn actors.

[jasonrobertson86]

asfault said:

You have to love what you do. No one ever really made money building a business they hate the actual job. Except maybe corn actors.

This is said a lot but some people over think it. I know people who have massive online shops in the tens of millions. They don't actually care about the product, they care about making it successful. Careful not to get too obsessed with the 'what'.

[m3jappa]

STURBO said:

I think the easiest way to build a business is to leverage old school trade and business skills.

So Plumbing, Building, Electrical, Landscaping, Sewage etc etc.

Low risk, slow to build but will have no shortge of customers if you price right, communicate and deliver a good service.

I think demand is high for all these and supply is limited as almost everyone now want to go to uni and wants a desk job. Plus lots about to retire.

South Park made a funny episode about this recently, with all the money going to the few people left who could fix things.

I do paving and landscaping and have built up a decent small business over the years.always busy.

Biggest issue by far though is getting people, its becoming hard to get anyone, let alone skilled. Couple that with the outrageous money some people want.
for example i know a bloke who is known for being lazy, a know it all and can actually not do a lot. he wants ........£300 a day! He wouldn't get that working for himself. Plus he would have overheads.

Unskilled labour, no experience? 25k a year.

Just had one tonight looking. he's got 5 years experience but his work looks pretty poor- and thats in pictures. he wants a grand a week!

Mental.

They are out there and i have had some great lads but it has always always held me back. You can pay decent money but they have to be good and efficient.

If i could get decent, reliable people i could pay decent money, i could then concentrate on my business as opposed to constantly asking people to put tools away and the like......

Its a real shame as when i started it was doable. Now its really hard. A lot of people almost refuse to work for someone else 'why line another mans pockets' type attitude. Ironically they work for themselves, have loads of stress and earn less than they would working for you......madness.

[asfault]

m3jappa said:

I do paving and landscaping and have built up a decent small business over the years.always busy.

Biggest issue by far though is getting people, its becoming hard to get anyone, let alone skilled. Couple that with the outrageous money some people want.
for example i know a bloke who is known for being lazy, a know it all and can actually not do a lot. he wants ........£300 a day! He wouldn't get that working for himself. Plus he would have overheads.

Unskilled labour, no experience? 25k a year.

Just had one tonight looking. he's got 5 years experience but his work looks pretty poor- and thats in pictures. he wants a grand a week!

Mental.

They are out there and i have had some great lads but it has always always held me back. You can pay decent money but they have to be good and efficient.

If i could get decent, reliable people i could pay decent money, i could then concentrate on my business as opposed to constantly asking people to put tools away and the like......

Its a real shame as when i started it was doable. Now its really hard. A lot of people almost refuse to work for someone else 'why line another mans pockets' type attitude. Ironically they work for themselves, have loads of stress and earn less than they would working for you......madness.

The issue with your business is if you could get people who ahve the skills and drive to wrok that you want they will be smart enough to think "hey whey am i working for this guy i can do it myself"