Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with business and advice

Can You Think of Ways to Convert Celebrity into Cash?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:36:16 -0800

here's your chance to advise someone famous :) I'm trying to think outside the box, and so looking for ideas from you MeFites to brainstorm my options... So, I'm a winner of a famous distinction. (think "Nobel prize for business" kind of award.)

so, as smart as I might be, I realize that I am thinking within the boundaries of my own (however large) box, and am looking for anonymous strangers on MeFi to advise me on new opportunity.

I am a public speaker; I have not (yet) written a book by a major publisher (self published, I have.)

Someone advised me that there are people out there that have created a product, for example, a course on how to start a small business, that while the product itself is good, would give me a equity portion or profit sharing arraignment in the business in exchange for the step up that such an attached recognition adds to the product.

in short, I'm looking for ways to capitalize on my (positive!) notoriety, that would have me lend my name and credibility, as well as creative input into an existing or-close-to-being-launched item or service in exchange for my endorsement and adding of credibility instead of the person trying to do that on his own.

In a nutshell:
How do I translate this national award to business opportunity in unusual ways, or usual ways I just may not have considered?

you can reply to me privately at mefi.outsidethebox@gmail.com if you do not wish to post your comment here.

Should I start a photo retouching business?

markcmyers — Wed, 27 May 2009 06:16:55 -0800

Should I start a photo retouching business? My wife asked me to take a head shot of her with my digital camera. She wasn't happy with the result. I said, "I'll bet someone on the Web does quickie retouching for 20 bucks." But Google turned up no such service. Should I start one? And how would you market it?

Blogging and Money and Taxes - Oh My!

catcatwomanman — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:47:35 -0800

blogging as a business and taxes - it can't be so difficult! Or can it? The Plan - spouse and I want to start a travel blog (we love to travel and are *good* at it!) as a business. You know, run some google ads, make a little money. Actually, if we make enough to cover our travel, we'll be happy (until the eventual greed kicks in). Soooo... if we're going to make more than $600 here in America, the IRS is going to want it's share. But two can play at that game! We want to take all the deductions we can (home office, website costs and, of course, our travel). It will just be the two of us, no employees. But therein lies the confusion... As this will be a partnership (rather than a Corp or LLC), can we carry losses over to our personal incomes (initial research says yes, hivemind says... ?)

Any advice from anyone who has a blog making money?

Any advice from anyone running a web-only based business?

Any advice from anyone who doesn't meet the above criteria but is 99% sure they know what they're talking about?

Do you recommend a business tax id number? A business bank account? A business anything else?

Do we pay estimated quarterly taxes? Even if we're losing money?

What about employee tax of 15%? Pay that too? Quarterly? Even if we're losing money?

Any online references you recommend?

Super duper thanks in advance!

I need tips to be a tougher negotiator

Anonymous — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:52:22 -0800

I think I'm too nice to do certain things entrepreneurship requires. I need tips to be a tougher negotiator and be able to drive good deals. Here's my background: After 7 years of working regular corporate jobs, I took a 2-year break to do some independent consulting, pretty much working from home. Then I decided to start up a proper business on my own, with about 20 employees. This new business was based around another area of expertise that I had. I've been running the business for a bit more than three years.

Here's my problem: I think I'm too "nice" to be a tough negotiator on business deals like negotiating office rents, equipment prices, etc. It's a character trait that I am a big believer in "fairness", so I can't negotiate the best prices and rates because I want the other person to make a "fair" deal. When somebody tells me something like "Oh Mr. X, our margin on these products is only 5%, I really can't give you any more discounts", I find it hard to press any more. (I suspect the 2-year consulting break may have mellowed me out too much. I was quite an assertive firecracker in my mid-20s.)

My speciality is production, planning, and project management but as a small business owner who doesn't have specialists to handle various areas, much of the high-level negotiating has to be done by me.

What tips do you have to make me better at these things? I want to be that ruthless Donald Trump type of guy who gets the best deals.

Life in the shoes of a business analyst

gttommy — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:29:11 -0800

What is life as a Business Analyst in the IT industry like? I would like to progress into more broader roles from programming and I understand BA is a natural stepping stone towards project management or something of similar scope. But I have only bits of vague knowledge from a variety of sources, such as job ads, study, and friends, and I am curious to know what I would actually be getting myself into.

What sort of work do BAs do, specifically? Is it generally an 'easy' role? In a large vs a small company? What are the pros and cons when compared to programming and project management or consulting? Etc...

Looking forward to your insight.

Need side job advice for lacking income

macsigler — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:04:27 -0800

What can my wife and I do to supplement our lacking income? We're newly married college students and I'm unemployed. She has a job as a tutor but it's still not the greatest pay. My wife and I are trying to think of something that I/she/we can do on the side to maybe earn a bit of extra income at least until I can get a decent full-time job, maybe even after, possibly one day turning it into a sort of small business. We're having trouble thinking of what we could do, though.

I love computers (I plan on studying computer science this upcoming fall semester), although I'm not too terribly skilled at the moment. I am studying up, though, and try to tinker around when I can, and study C++ and some basic web design as much as possible. I also love languages, and learned Tagalog (Filipino) fluently as a missionary living in the Philippines. I also like cooking. I like playing games but that doesn't really help me earn a living so I try to avoid it lately. ;)

She likes doing crochet and knitting as a hobby, but she's not really passionate about anything that I can think of, except maybe reading. She loves to read.

It's not anything that is ultra-crucial to happen right this instant, we're not starving by any means, I just would like some ideas to help us know where to focus our attention and get something going. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

when your on your own...

grimley — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 12:22:50 -0800

My s.o. and I are at a crossroads. We are both architects and are hoping to start a fashion/design company that will be able to sustain our incomes (at least partially). We have product, we have a website, we have customers. What we are looking for are good books/websites/opinions on how to proceed out of our day-to-day jobs and into our own billing/taxes/sustainability models. We are open to "get a lawyer" responses, but are really looking to get our heads around some business concepts. Any sources that you have found helpful? design business models...

Pinstriped Suits with Colored Shirts?

asnowballschance — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 06:25:31 -0800

FashionFilter: Is there a "rule" about wearing a colored shirt with a black pin-striped suit? Are there other rules about female business attire that a soon-to-graduate-undergrad should be aware of? A roommate (female) had a job interview last week, and didn't have a white, button-down shirt to put under her black pin-striped suit. My suggestion of a light-blue shirt was met with horror by both her and another roomie. No colors! AHH! :) Additionally, a skirt was out of the question because the only hose my roomate had were black.

I'm not looking for "do your own thing" advice here, more "what are the rules so that if I want to, I can break them later on." Help!

Becoming a Notary Public

calwatch — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 23:48:28 -0800

Has anyone ever become a notary? I'm interested in making some extra money and am wondering which notary schools you recommend, what tips there are to drumming up business, etc. (This is in California). If it matters, I'm an engineer so my work has virtually zip to do with notarizing documents. I would be working this as a part time job, no more than 15 or 20 hours a week, and not expect to be paid like I'm doing a full time job. Some notary schools have been advertising lately on the radio claiming of a huge shortage so I'm wondering how true that really is.

Franchise experience

striker — Tue, 04 Jan 2005 08:17:54 -0800

Franchise-owning MeFites: How did you get started? How did you pick the franchise? How much capital did you have? Most importantly: Would you do it again? I am getting more and more interested in looking at a turn-key operation to get an introduction into the world of running a business. The wealth of information that's out there is vastly diluted by the "$1 mil in 2 days while at home in your bath room" spam artists. I would like to know if any MeFites out there have done this, and about their experience.

Can I make money with an idea for a restaurant but no experience?

goethean — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 11:56:46 -0800

I've got (what I consider to be) a great idea for a restaurant, but no knowledge or experience in the restaurant industry. Is there any way for me to profit from my idea?

What are the advantages/disadvantages to buying a home through an attorney rather than a realtor?

sharksandwich — Wed, 05 May 2004 08:29:30 -0800

Buying a home without a realtor. My landlord wants to sell the place I am living in (he lives in the lower, me the upper) because he is using the money to buy a business. He wants to sell quickly as the business loan is contingent on his sale of the home. The only catch is that he wants to forgo using a realtor by using an attorney instead. Has anyone here ever bought a home this way? What are the advantages/disadvantages on my end? Any common mistakes to avoid?

Name My Company!

oissubke — Fri, 09 Jan 2004 21:50:20 -0800

I've been trying to come up with a company name for six months now, and have thus far failed. I need your help! [more inside] Our current name was a temporary one, and after a year of operation, it's time to shake it off and get a real name. I've been postponing getting business cards too long.

I've got some basic criteria worked out, so at least it's not just a free for all, but for the life of me I can't seem to find a name that just seems right. Nothing's clicked yet.

So, if you've got some brilliant ideas that you don't think you'll use yourself, you'd make me a very happy guy!

Overview: It's a web design and development firm, working primarily with setting up low-end content management systems (highly customized MovableType, etc.), and designing clean, CSS-based websites.

Here are the criteria I've worked out so far. The name should be:

Non-descriptive: I've had a lot of people advise me that the name should describe the business, but then my own observations tell me that the best brand names (e.g., Yahoo, Google, etc.) aren't necessarily the most descriptive (e.g., Infoseek, LookSmart, etc.)
Easy to spell
Easy to pronounce
Not a completely fabricated word, though it could be a modified play on an existing word.
Not be overly specific (while clean design and content management are our bread and butter, we offer several other services as well).
Explainable with a straight face. While names like "Ted," "Virgin," "Tickle," "Gargoyle," etc. may be excellent names for some companies, I'd personally have a hard time using one as my own firm's name without being embarassed. Many of my clients are quite serious, and the whimsy wouldn't go over well.
Plain English words are good.
Names that evoke a sense of history or nostalgia are good. I've found many names I liked among presidential surnames, county names, scientists, authors, etc. (though nothing quite right)
The name should be sufficiently uncommon that I could register a .com domain name (though I expect I'll have to use an addendum like "...consulting.com" or "...design.com"
It doesn't have to be a perfect name, just a good one that feels right. I don't need a name to make my business successful, I just need one that won't hold my business back (either in practice or just in my head)

Sorry to have rambled on so much. Any suggestions you could make would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!