LW, why do people start businesses?
Genuine entrepreneurs do not just start business to make money -- the true entrepreneur wants to provide a product, service or both of quality to be completely fulfilled. So it would depend on if the motive of the WalMart executives are to bring quality goods overall (no hit and miss stuff here) at a reasonable price to the public. I personally don't believe that is their motivation but you can believe anything you want.
Lightwizard wrote:Genuine entrepreneurs do not just start business to make money -- the true entrepreneur wants to provide a product, service or both of quality to be completely fulfilled. So it would depend on if the motive of the WalMart executives are to bring quality goods overall (no hit and miss stuff here) at a reasonable price to the public. I personally don't believe that is their motivation but you can believe anything you want.
Ok, so in the
real world, why do people start businesses?
Well, the number of people who start businesses who aren't hucksters may not be as small as you think and many of them earn an honest dollar, never have to wrestle with their own conscience and stay in business. Large retailers have come and gone, downsized and been bought out. Neiman Marcus bought Broadway Stores in the 80's and proceeded to run them into the ground. Actually, now I have purchased from Chefs.com which carries a lot of quality cooking gear and other household items including small appliances and they are a great Internet site for quality and price. They are owned by Neiman Marcus. Needless Markup (sic) also opened in Fashion Island, Newport Beach with their Texas philosophy that people will pay anything to have the privelege of buying from NM. The store nearly failed. They now look like any other department store and with Bloomingdales opened in FI, they've even got more impressive competition. Not that I buy from most of these stores. They have the type of merchandise I can usually buy wholesale because I have a resale certificate.
It's all a marketing game and it's sometimes played well and sometimes not so well. There's nothing new about that. Good luck on using WalMart for whatever you consider buying there. I'm sure they can use the business.
McGentrix wrote:Lightwizard wrote:Genuine entrepreneurs do not just start business to make money -- the true entrepreneur wants to provide a product, service or both of quality to be completely fulfilled. So it would depend on if the motive of the WalMart executives are to bring quality goods overall (no hit and miss stuff here) at a reasonable price to the public. I personally don't believe that is their motivation but you can believe anything you want.
Ok, so in the
real world, why do people start businesses?
<shaking head>
You poor, poor man. Lightwizard is correct. For some of us who have our own businesses, there are more important things than money. I know it must be difficult for you to believe. But it's true. If money is the only thing that matters to you, you'd be much better off working for someone else. Entrepreneurialism requires more dedication, longer hours & more sacrifices. If it eventually pays off, great. If not, we'd still do it anyway.
I have the feeling my words are falling on deaf ears, so I'll stop now.
I wish I had a dollar back now for every hour I worked over a 40 hours week at my businesses. My home office is a gawdsend -- I don't have the turnkey responsibility. I opened my galleries, interior design and lighting showrooms to help the homeowner in any way I could for reasonable fees and low markup on the materials. I consistently shot electricians out of the water on remodel or new lighting and automated controls who traditionally charge through the roof for something like that.
I have literally thousands of happy customers who realized they got a professional installation and a fantastic price, and now take business in strictly from referral (I no longer advertise because I can't handle the business). If I were to have expanded, the prices would have gone up at least another 50%. I know, because those were the companies I bid against. Now that my ad is over and Craven may extract it...
Eva must have the same experience I have and only those who have the experience can judge. Keep workin' for someone -- you can still shop at WalMart.
I started my own business because I was certain that "I could do it better than the company for which I worked" . McG, look it up, youll find that entrepreneurs rarely think about money as the driving force. Wiz is correct.
The money made, sometimes taking 3-5 years after one starts a business, is the icing on the cake. That one is accomplishing something themselves while giving up the luxury of a paycheck is the real reward. It also made me feel good that I was providing income for others and it wasn't any crummy minimum wage. Of course, one is elated when they see that first real net profit and it grows.
(P.S. WalMart still sucks.)
george Will, in his often sacharine style, has intimated that Wally-mart antis are all liberal elites. GAAAAH , man let it go ole timer.
here in Lancaster County, a hotbed of The GOP, all the small timers are fighting to prevent 2 Wallys from establishing another beachhead. in both cases the store chain wishes to plop a big ugly butt box store(or 2) in prime ag land farmed by AMISH. The fights are being pretty much lead by the gOP, so its an issue that, when locally configured, rouses resolve in both political camps.
in Pa , a GOP legislature is carrying through a major modification to the municipal planning Code (MPC),in which there going to require total commercial authority to the 2nd class townships in order to allow them to include
"retention of the townships character" as an argument allowable in zoniong hearings. This is huuge. Its gonna, if passed, wind up in the sUpreme court .
we l,ive in interesting times
Dare we mention hypocrisy? On one hand they want to laud successful free enterprise, on the other hand "not in my neighborhood." It was also fought here when they tried to get land close to the coast where there is a consensus of OC right winger's homes. It ended up twenty miles from the coast.
Lightwizard wrote:(P.S. WalMart still sucks.)
WalMart is still here. This suit will end up getting nowhere.
The shear numbers who have signed onto the class action suit will not go away -- WalMart is already trying to rectify their policy and are putting commercials on the major networks as PR. People thought the Microsoft lawsuits would go nowhere and they've had to pay out millions in retribution and cooperate with other software manufactuers they didn't want anything to do with.
WalMart is headed towards trying to monopolize the retail market with their voodoo pricing policies where one believe they have always bought something of quality and saved money. Just simply not true.
Eva wrote:McGentrix wrote:Lightwizard wrote:Genuine entrepreneurs do not just start business to make money -- the true entrepreneur wants to provide a product, service or both of quality to be completely fulfilled. So it would depend on if the motive of the WalMart executives are to bring quality goods overall (no hit and miss stuff here) at a reasonable price to the public. I personally don't believe that is their motivation but you can believe anything you want.
Ok, so in the
real world, why do people start businesses?
<shaking head>
You poor, poor man. Lightwizard is correct. For some of us who have our own businesses, there are more important things than money. I know it must be difficult for you to believe. But it's true. If money is the only thing that matters to you, you'd be much better off working for someone else. Entrepreneurialism requires more dedication, longer hours & more sacrifices. If it eventually pays off, great. If not, we'd still do it anyway.
I have the feeling my words are falling on deaf ears, so I'll stop now.
Well, I hope your dedication, long hours and sacrifices pay the rent, the electric bill, the water bill, the taxes, put food on the table pay for gas, pay for clothes, etc... because most of us use money that we make from our jobs. Or, are you the type whose spouse makes enough money to afford you the luxury of Entrepreneurialism?
I know next to no one who works for reason's other than money.
You poor boy -- you must hate your job.
I should have a dollar for everyone I rejected for employment because in the interview I determined they were only greedy -- they had no attention of actually doing a good job.
You know nothing about me.
I know nothing about you.
I do know that money makes the world go around though and that, apparently, with the exception of a few idealogues, that will continue to be the way it is.
No, nature makes the world go around. Money is necessary to live and one can enjoy earning it or drudge (sic) away at earning it. You know what is in the limitation of your thinking. You're admitting that you work only to earn money but don't go into work for the love of the work. So sorry for you.
I feel the same way you do, Lightwizard. And I, too, have refused to hire people who I knew didn't have a passion for their work. Poor McG. I do feel sorry for him. What a narrow view of life he has.
If I didn't have to work, I wouldn't. If I could sit around all day watching girls go by on a beach, I would. Some people do get the luxury of doing something that they can tolerate, and there is a very teeny tiny little miniscule group that actually love what they do. Most of us don't have the luxury of either liking or loving our jobs.
Money DOES make the world go round.
I didn't read too far back in this thread, I just thought I'd throw my two cents in.
