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From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

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Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#151

Post by Maascamp »

edw519 wrote: post #53

This time next year on reddit: "From working my ass off 90 hours per week running a business that wouldn't scale to nice salary/benefits for 40 hours. I'm taking home the same net and I feel like I'm on vacation." I don't want to sound too snarky and I really admire OP's initiative and ability to make things happen, but this just doesn't smell right. It's easy to get excited by nice revenue in the beginning (as he sh…

Interesting that all of these points apply equally to Exec (a ycombinator startup), but everybody had nothing but praise for them.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#152

Post by wizzard »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #52
turkeyman wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like it would just delay the inevitable, he needs to find competent cleaners that are unwilling to strike out on their own. If he manages to keep the cleaners as contractors, then his future will be absolutedomestics.com.au. They have done incredibly well for themselves and have set themselves up exactly as this guy has. I'm thinking it must be more profitable making a decent profit while losing clients an…

> competent cleaners that are unwilling to strike out on their own // Or get his subcontractors (ie the cleaners themselves) to accept a non-compete, possibly with a specific figure attached should they jump ship.

I don't sign non-competes as a developer, much less would I expect those in the service industry to sign one. That would be taking away their livelihood.

Both of these suggestions sound like a form of slavery. Employees are free to come and go as they choose. What they should not be able to do is poach specific clients. It happens all the time, though, and what exactly is to be gained from suing someone making $15/hour?

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#153

Post by pbhjpbhj »

wizzard wrote: post #152
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> competent cleaners that are unwilling to strike out on their own // Or get his subcontractors (ie the cleaners themselves) to accept a non-compete, possibly with a specific figure attached should they jump ship.

I don't sign non-competes as a developer, much less would I expect those in the service industry to sign one. That would be taking away their livelihood. Both of these suggestions sound like a form of slavery. Employees are free to come and go as they choose. What they should not be able to do is poach specific clients. It happens all the time, though, and what exactly is to be gained from suing someone making $15/ho…

>What they should not be able to do is poach specific clients. //

I find your indignation interesting as this is exactly what the non-compete would be preventing - the subcontractor from working directly for the client that you (the main contractor) introduced them to.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#154

Post by joering2 »

localcasestudy wrote: post #139

Hi folks, OP from the reddit thread here. I'll answer questions. disclaimer: This is my first time posting here. Disclaimer #2: I'm no expert. Disclaimer #3: See Disclaimer #2 again. I just tried something and it took off. Will it work long term I have no idea. Where I am now is just the reality of where I am now. Have I made mistakes, you bet your life on that! Okay, I'll scroll through and try to respond to anythin…

hi there. I dont even know your name, and reading thoroughly reddit, I couldnt find it anywhere either.

my impression is you are extremely business-smart person that is just learning business. You are not afraid of making mistakes knowing every mistake is an opportunity to learn new things, plus most mistakes can be fixed. please write a after-post about your financial situation after converting every emp into w2 as I think you are fully aware by now they would not pass "irs 20 questions to be 1099" rule.

btw: too bad you are not located in the New York City. I have been let go my work recently and thinking about doing something else than 8-5 w2. I read between the lines reading you and felt chemistry that we both could learn alot and accomplish alot business-wise (of course, I could be wrong...)

I would like to connect with you. would you please email me? (my address is in my HN profile).

btw #2: thanks for sharing your story. I sure learnt new stuff today.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#155

Post by localcasestudy »

tptacek wrote: post #147
localcasestudy wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi i'm only in a few months, none of this is a deal breaker. I've made mistakes along the way, but I think everything is fixable, luckily I'm not in year 6 or something lol

"I wish you way more than luck."

I don't need it, but thanks.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#156

Post by localcasestudy »

toyg wrote: post #17
maukdaddy wrote: post #2

From a business standpoint this is absolutely brilliant. Everyone should be doing this, doesn't matter if you're a SaaS or selling real-world goods & services. > 2) Having Extras at checkout. When we first started, you would checkout online and just order your home cleaning and pay. Then I had the brilliant idea (seems so basic now) to have other options for people to choose extra stuff at checkout like "cleaning ins…

As long as defaults are "honest" (i.e. not pre-selecting extras), sure. It's a balance though: it gets really tiring to go through pages and pages of upsell attempts whenever I buy a computer from certain vendors. The real trick, I think, is to take some of the minor elements people would expect without really thinking about it, and turn them into explicit extras. It devalues the base price a little, but the gains ar…

There is no pre-selection.

The checkout takes place on one page.

The only elements that are extras are standard for the industry: inside the fridge, inside the oven, and inside the windows.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#157

Post by sopooneo »

ma2rten wrote: post #99
edw519 wrote: post #53

This time next year on reddit: "From working my ass off 90 hours per week running a business that wouldn't scale to nice salary/benefits for 40 hours. I'm taking home the same net and I feel like I'm on vacation." I don't want to sound too snarky and I really admire OP's initiative and ability to make things happen, but this just doesn't smell right. It's easy to get excited by nice revenue in the beginning (as he sh…

I does not scale well compared to what? I might scale poorly compared to your average social network silicon valley mobile app startup, but it scales well compared to any other small business. He does not need a physical space and there are almost no other fixed costs. Also I feel he is using his "computer skills" to gain a competitive advantage by doing SEO and he also has an original brand. If he was able to replac…

I agree with your sentiment. I feel that a massive part of the potential for startups is in doing boring, everyday things much better. If there are already lots of providers that means there are already lots of potential customers.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#158

Post by localcasestudy »

joering2 wrote: post #154
localcasestudy wrote: post #139

Hi folks, OP from the reddit thread here. I'll answer questions. disclaimer: This is my first time posting here. Disclaimer #2: I'm no expert. Disclaimer #3: See Disclaimer #2 again. I just tried something and it took off. Will it work long term I have no idea. Where I am now is just the reality of where I am now. Have I made mistakes, you bet your life on that! Okay, I'll scroll through and try to respond to anythin…

hi there. I dont even know your name, and reading thoroughly reddit, I couldnt find it anywhere either. my impression is you are extremely business-smart person that is just learning business. You are not afraid of making mistakes knowing every mistake is an opportunity to learn new things, plus most mistakes can be fixed. please write a after-post about your financial situation after converting every emp into w2 as…

Sory to hear about your work situation. Hope something pans out if you decide to go back, but yeah in the meanwhile, it may be a good time to start something.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I tried to email you but didn't see the link to do it after I got to your profile (not sure if it's because I'm so new here or I'm just blind).

Please send me a message on the maid site and I'll respond right away.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#159

Post by sopooneo »

ricardobeat wrote: post #12
JoachimSchipper wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I completely agree. The clients get vetted cleaners; and even a cleaner coop would need someone to manage/assure quality/market, and someone with those skills can earn more than a cleaner.

The cleaners are vetted/trained by one of themselves. Even if they have to hire a manager later on, he will be getting paid the worth of his contribution, not all of the profit. I'm not so sure about it either, but I have a tendency to be a bit idealistic :)

Though the real world won't follow the text book example, we can argue that an ideal free market will arrive at the same rates, costs, and salaries whether a manager hires the maids or the maids hire a manager.

Re: From idea to replacing full-time salary in 4 months

#160

Post by sopooneo »

rsynnott wrote: post #63
chc wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying you think it's illegal for the maids to be 1099 workers?

I'm not sure about America, but in most countries I'm familiar with, it is ultimately the decision of the tax authorities whether people who work for a company are employees or contractors. There's generally a well-specified test for this. Certainly, in this country, the maids would be unambiguously employees.

I've been aware for a long time about the distinction between employees and contractors, and the basic idea is clear enough to me. However, the difference between contractors and vendors still baffles me.

I don't issue a 1099 to Staples for delivering office supplies (though I realize we dodged that bullet by a hair a couple years ago). However, I do issue one to a guy I find on CraigsList to redesign my web site. In that case the difference seems obvious. But where is the line?

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