Companies usually require a lot of capital to get off the ground, I think that's the subtext there but I could be wrong. Being able to operate at a loss for an indeterminate amount of time and equipment being two costs that come to mind.
The "lot of capital" is a function of the sector and the business model chosen by the enterpreneur, not mandatory or unavoidable. In ventures where labour cost is the dominant expenditure then cooperatives enjoy a competitive advantage as losses can be shared by all members in the form of pay cuts.
Well that's what one of the previous comments that led us here stated no?
That it's not always a matter of 'just start your own company if you don't like the way it's going'
I started my first business when I was 8. It cost nothing to start it. There are tons of companies you can start for nothing or next to nothing. There are books filled with ideas on such you can get from Amazon.
`There are tons of companies you can start for nothing or next to nothing.`
And there are tons you can't start like that and it depends on where you live as well. Who's to say said employees are in a sector where it is that easy?
And if it is one of those one could start without much but i would want to start a business that can't ruin my life if it goes bankrupt due to something weird or unforseen happening. Well I legally have to put up a large amount of cash at the start.
And then there's bs like noncompete agreements in employment contracts which i've faced a few times and which I notably looked at in depth once because yeah... I could totally do what that employer was doing way better. But hey I still can't go to it's customers today.
How much of your upbringing was atypical? How much of it was due to familial influence? Or a unique environment? It's interesting how people tend to be blind to their own privilege.
There's this pervasive idea that those who are entrepreneurs are better than the rest and therefore justifies their wealth and status. There's this other equally pervasive idea that we're all exactly equal and therefore "if I did it, you could have as well".
I did it on the sly because my parents didn't want me doing it. They were pretty angry with me when they inevitably found out.
What I did was order greeting cards through the mail and sell them door to door.
A couple years later, my family moved to Germany, and lived on a US base. I discovered that German candy wasn't available in the US, and vice versa. So I contacted my best friend in the US, and we'd ship each other the missing candy and sell it to the other kids at school. If I'd been less of a dimwit, I could have made quite a bit more money at this than I did.
> There's this pervasive idea that those who are entrepreneurs are better than the rest and therefore justifies their wealth and status.
It has nothing to about being better. It is about entrepreneurs are willing to take the risk and make the effort, and that justifies their returns.
If you're not willing to take the risk and make the effort, that's your choice, not your lot (at least in America).
It may have cost you nothing but someone was feeding, clothing and sheltering you. I'd like to start a business but I don't have the capital to cover feeding, clothing and sheltering costs in the meantime. Instead I work 4 - 6 hours in the evening trying to build something.
