Over Ambitious ?

[richard bf]

Hi guys .


Seeing the earlier thread about the young entrepeneurs rather then send out mass emails to a select few who posted i thought id start a thread and ask everyone in general , apologies for the rant that may follow.

A bit of a background about me - im 18 worked since being about 8 with my dad and want to obtain a phd in architecture when i finish uni ive been obsessed with working for myself ( i always said that i wanted to be an archtitect from being 8 and i was going to go SE (self employed).

Fast forward to a few years later (16) I get a cancer scare in my leg decided to do something so start valeting and detailing , i start then need 2 operations within 2 years (being on crutches for the best part of two years) and being 16 i didnt have a vehicle so it never really took off.

Cue 17 going onto 18 (dec 23) we move and i decide to give canvassing a shot "fenech;s marketing solutions" for window cleaners i did it on the back hander for a while then decided to give it a shot and spend £400 on 10,000 leaflets in the month ive done it "legit" ive managed to clear the 400 i invested and added 400 profit BUT this has/had the potential to go into a multi million pound set up-

The plans were to go national with the canvassing - had the potential to get a retun of 30k pcm but it never came off.
I also did the figures to set up a call centre (still do but its a bit iffy) - the figures said if i employed 50+ staff i would be running a multi million pond set up £1.2 but lack of experiance , running costs and the "small" amount of money left over £1.87 after tax and wages have been paid

All in all the potential to turn over 1.5 mill.

Ive now had a furter operation on my ear which has/is making me question myself- Ive decided to get a "proper" job which will help me get on the property maket.


The reason for this thread is to ask -

does it seem like im expecting too much from myself at 18 in the respect i want to be a millionaire when im 30 and drive a ferrari/few flashy cars ?

With getting a "proper" job is there anything worth investing my money in ? shares etc

Am i "kidding " myself with the millionaire and the figures that im doing/ive done ?

Am i naturally finding it harder to run a business due to my age and lack of life experiance ?


Apologies for such the long winded thread i jsut needed to get it off my chest and seeing so theres well alot of millionaires on here i thought id give it a shot.


I look forward to the replies.


Thanks Richard.

[ali4390]

Absolutely nothing wrong with ambition whatsoever! Not got a lot to add seeing as I'm not much older than you. Although there are a lot of business owners on here it doesn't necessarily mean they are millionaires, I would hazard a guess it is a small percentage of business owners who are millionaires in fact (in terms of having the disposable income to buy the flashy things you mention, on paper they might be millionaires but that's a bit different)!

In my opinion there are probably easier ways to be able to afford a ferrari by the time you are 30 than by running your own business. That said however if a business is what you want then don't let your age etc get in your way, get out there and try it! If you believe your idea is a good one then go for it, even if it doesn't succeed you will learn a vast amount. The fact you are young means should it fail you have plenty of time to try again and the fact (I'm assuming) you don't have an dependants is another positive. I'd start a business tomorrow if only I could bloody think of something to do! All the best to you, if you want it then there's no reason it shouldn't be yours

Edited by ali4390 on Sunday 20th March 20:03

[Stevenj214]

As mentioned above, a bit of ambition is no bad thing.

To answer this question specifically:

richard bf said:

Am i "kidding " myself with the millionaire and the figures that im doing/ive done ?

Yes, I think you are misguided.

richard bf said:

I also did the figures to set up a call centre (still do but its a bit iffy) - the figures said if i employed 50+ staff i would be running a multi million pond set up £1.2 but lack of experiance , running costs and the "small" amount of money left over £1.87 after tax and wages have been paid

For this example, do you have any idea what your start up costs would be? Prohibitively high at a guess.

Do you still have ambitions of being an architect?

richard bf said:

With getting a "proper" job is there anything worth investing my money in ? shares etc

If you get a "proper job" it would be sensible to have a chat with a financial advisor and look at savings/pension options. This will almost certainly not earn you your million by age 30.

richard bf said:

Am i naturally finding it harder to run a business due to my age and lack of life experiance ?

You seem to be finding it hard to find a realistic, sustainable idea.

For every post in the young entrepreneurs thread of success, there are many more who are simply doing ok and many more again who tried and failed.

[richard bf]

The call centre is just figures its not for me. The startup costs would be minimal just a phone bill and buying the data (B2B numbers) i would be able to do it from home to start and then expand accordingly.

I want to be an architect and i know im not going to make my millions from an architects wage more so the propety side of things - renovating , BTL , bedsits and buying shares etc ...

I suppose its just a drive i want to be able to do XYZ and own XYZ more materialistic- bad i know.

I do realise tho that theres always going to be people richer than me and more successfull hency why i dont idolise anyone and say i want to be like them .

[Simpo Two]

richard bf said:

im 18 worked since being about 8 with my dad and want to obtain a phd in architecture when i finish uni ive been obsessed with working for myself ( i always said that i wanted to be an archtitect from being 8 and i was going to go SE (self employed).

Fast forward to a few years later (16) I get a cancer scare in my leg decided to do something so start valeting and detailing

Why did the cancer scare change your ambition from a PhD in Architecture to what is basically washing cars (which anyone can do)?

richard bf said:

Cue 17 going onto 18 (dec 23) we move and i decide to give canvassing a shot "fenech;s marketing solutions" for window cleaners i did it on the back hander for a while then decided to give it a shot and spend £400 on 10,000 leaflets in the month ive done it "legit" ive managed to clear the 400 i invested and added 400 profit BUT this has/had the potential to go into a multi million pound set up-

The plans were to go national with the canvassing - had the potential to get a retun of 30k pcm but it never came off.

There is a bit of a difference between getting your £400 back (well done BTW; advertising is a gamble) and making £30K pcm. I guess you just multiplied up all the windows in a 50 mile radius?

richard bf said:

I also did the figures to set up a call centre (still do but its a bit iffy) - the figures said if i employed 50+ staff i would be running a multi million pond set up £1.2 but lack of experiance , running costs and the "small" amount of money left over £1.87 after tax and wages have been paid... All in all the potential to turn over 1.5 mill.

So employ 100 staff and make £3M... no, it doesn't work like that.

richard bf said:

The reason for this thread is to ask - does it seem like im expecting too much from myself at 18 in the respect i want to be a millionaire when im 30 and drive a ferrari/few flashy cars ?

Everybody would like to be a millionaire at 30 and drive flashy cars. Distinguish between ambition and dream. If it was easy we'd all be doing it. But you're going to need a proper business model that adds up.

richard bf said:

With getting a "proper" job is there anything worth investing my money in ? shares etc

What qualifications do you have to get this proper job?

richard bf said:

Am i "kidding " myself with the millionaire and the figures that im doing/ive done ?

I think you must be or you'd be earning £30K pcm washing cars or 1.5 mill answering the phone.

richard bf said:

Am i naturally finding it harder to run a business due to my age and lack of life experiance ?

Of course you are! Think of this. When you are 30, or 40, you will know infinitely more than you do now. Stuff you don't even know you don't know. Imagine yourself looking back from then to yourself at 18. By definition you are struggling with an incomplete knowledge/experience base.

The gamble is you quit Uni to make your million, fail and end up selling advertising space for a living. Or you might succeed like Mr Sugar and never look back. But the sensible route would be to get your degree (I presume in architecture or some proper subject and not a mickey mouse one), get a job and some life experience and take it from there.

My fee by the way, if you make it to the million, is a very resaonable 1% for 0% of your business

[sharpfocus]

richard bf said:

The plans were to go national with the canvassing - had the potential to get a retun of 30k pcm but it never came off.

Why not? I don't really see how you could get a return of £30k pcm from canvassing but if you could... why wouldn't you pursue that?

Ambition is fine, but if you have a good idea you need to stick with it. And if the idea's not good enough you need to be honest with yourself.

Once you've tried to push through with a few things you'll either know you were right, or learn why you were wrong. Either way, just try it. Unless your parents are loaded though I'm assuming you'll have to figure out how to start a bit smaller than 50 employees and build up!

[Stevenj214]

A couple of questions which might clarify things for yourself and others:

Why do you not want to pursue a qualification in architecture?

Why do you not resurrect the car valeting business (presuming you can now drive)?

Why do you not continue with your canvassing?

What kind of "proper job" would you like?

[richard bf]

simpoo two youve got the complete wrong idea. As for advertising it wasnt an intentional plug and tbh it wouldnt make a differance unless there are window cleaners on the forum wanting work we’d all be buggered if we didnt have drive/ambitions.

the 30k pcm is from canvassing NOT car valeting - based on a reigional contract with 17+ areas and a target of £1400+ per area of canvassing per team of 5. The guy who i was due to get the contract from got exactlty the same figures as me.

As for answering the phones- it works out at an hourly rate £12.50 an hour ive not got the figures to hand but i can assure you me and a friend worked it out at 50 staff has the potential to earn 1.2m .

I have no intention of quitting uni im not even in uni yet. Obtaining a PHD and becoming RIBA accredited is my main aim and ambition, NOTHING is going to change that the business/s idea is just a way of helping me to fund my university fees albeit grants loans bursaries etc are all available.
The “proper job” is just being employed – a steady income helping me get a credit rating enabeling me to get a foot on the property ladder. I do intend on continuing with the canvassing as its something I enjoy but I only do it during the hours of 5-8pm i could do it during the day but its not something i personally want to do.

[Stevenj214]

richard bf said:

the 30k pcm is from canvassing NOT car valeting - based on a reigional contract with 17+ areas and a target of £1400+ per area of canvassing per team of 5. The guy who i was due to get the contract from got exactlty the same figures as me.

Canvassing for what?

One full time canvasser would cost you around £1400 per month...

[richard bf]

Me


I set it at a team of five for a reason because the target (20 ne people a month) is very realistic and any decent salesman/woman would be able to achieve it.

[rich1231]

Richard,

what is it business wise you actually are suggesting.. As I cant work out WTF you want to do?

[Stevenj214]

richard bf said:

Me

Canvassing for you for what?

Your posts are somewhat rambling and incoherent.

[richard bf]

anything I come up with


I did valeting and still do the odd car here and there.
I do some canvassing aswell for window cleaners - Marketing


I am predominantly a student at the moment , becoming an architect is the main drive and aspirations.

[Stevenj214]

richard bf said:

anything I come up with

Indeed.

My advice would be to go for the architecture degree, then go for a "proper job" and in the meantime if anything you come up with is a profitable multi million set up, go for it.

[russy01]

rich1231 said:

Richard,

what is it business wise you actually are suggesting.. As I cant work out WTF you want to do?

Likewise, plus the figures are a bit out of this world. You talk about setting up a 50+ staff firm like it's child play. You say start up costs are low, I think you are forgetting that you have to pay whoever you take on, every month, whether you are making money or not.

Ambition is great, but don't pressure yourself. From just reading your post I can tell you are young and naive, you need to go out there get a "proper job" and get a bit of experience before anything.

[Simpo Two]

Stevenj214 said:

My advice would be to go for the architecture degree, then go for a "proper job" and in the meantime if anything you come up with is a profitable multi million set up, go for it.

Which is exactly what I said, but apparently I've got completely the wrong idea.

One thing you need to succeed in anything is focus and knowledge, and right now the OP has neither apart from cobbling together some fantasy get-rich-quick schemes on a calculator. Ah'm oot.

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 20th March 22:58

[russy01]

Simpo Two said:

Stevenj214 said:

My advice would be to go for the architecture degree, then go for a "proper job" and in the meantime if anything you come up with is a profitable multi million set up, go for it.

Which is exactly what I said, but apparently I've got completely the wrong idea.

One thing you need to succeed in anything is focus and knowledge, and right now the OP has neither apart from cobbling together some fantasy get-rich-quick schemes on a calculator. Ah'm oot.

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 20th March 22:58

Off topic,

st me simpo that's a lot of posts!! You must be up there in the PH ranks!!!

[Simpo Two]

russy01 said:

st me simpo that's a lot of posts!! You must be up there in the PH ranks!!!

Number 9 last time anyone looked - but the old pay-per-post scheme for founder members comes in handy... I just need 100 more people posting for me and this time next year I could be a miwwolnayer!

[Stevenj214]

Simpo Two said:

Number 9 last time anyone looked - but the old pay-per-post scheme for founder members comes in handy... I just need 100 more people posting for me and this time next year I could be a miwwolnayer!

Divide those 100 people into canvassing teams of 5 and you'll be a miwwolnayer within 2 weeks

[Dan_1981]

Richard - I think a little bit of attention to detail may be in order......

Region: Catholic.