Benny, I found your story very inspiring. Meeting payroll is a heavy responsibility that few appreciate. For now I cannot bear that level of risk, which is why I rely on consultants and independent contractors. By mentioning that strategy I seem to have pissed off some members. It doesn't seem to matter to them that I do almost all my product design myself (after hours and on weekends), research suppliers (after hours and on weekends), order materials (after hours and on weekends), do my own graphic design (after hours and on weekends), collect market data (after hours and on weekends), fill out and submit government paperwork (after hours and on weekends). That's what small business owners do. We agonize over the details and flirt with disaster. And I've had more failures than successes. I have one product that won't return a profit for at least 10 more years if it does at all. I've lost money on inventory that didn't sell and had to be given away. But a couple products have found good niches and make up for the other losses. When people look at the high profit margin of a single product they don't see are all the failed research, unsuccessful launches and near misses that preceded it.
It saddens me to think some people's self-righteous anger prevents them from honoring the time and effort it takes to run even a marginally successful enterprise. It would certainly be much easier to play Minecraft and watch reruns of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. But regardless of whether it makes money or not, nothing compares to the sense of achievement and satisfaction that comes from taking an idea that once existed only in my head and seeing it in the hand of an appreciative customer.
It saddens me to think some people's self-righteous anger prevents them from honoring the time and effort it takes to run even a marginally successful enterprise. It would certainly be much easier to play Minecraft and watch reruns of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. But regardless of whether it makes money or not, nothing compares to the sense of achievement and satisfaction that comes from taking an idea that once existed only in my head and seeing it in the hand of an appreciative customer.
