[Carnage]

be a pimp....you get to make money, slap hoes, and wear some fly hats and shoes....

[gonzo]

Here is a couple of sayings I tell people and myself.
"The things you own can end up owning you"
"Expect the best, prepare for the worst"
"If your out go exceeds your income, the result will surely be your downfall"
There I am done. G/L You will find your footing.

[herbz]

good thread. i'll add my input here. you mentioned the tuning idea a couple of times, wanting to have your own shop, etc. i mean, why not? just look at Shiv, he's probably sold $100k in PROCedes (wild guess), just from his great knowledge of tuning ECU's. he has a dream job, but it probably wasn't to easy to get there. never is.

and yeah, you're right, you do need money to start up a business like this... and knowledge. and you're probably not going to find a rich partner that would want to do that, if you didn't have anything to contribute.

solution? save yourself money by doing well in school, finding something you can live with for a period of 10 or 15 years, that will also give you a good salary. once you have enough money you can do whatever you want, and probably find someone that is willing to put down just as much as you are (provided youll be ready to throw down a very good amount (half)).

a couple of good quotes:

"the rich get richer"

"to make money you must have money"

"no risk, no reward"

there are alot of ways, and the key is to think LONG TERM. not short term. it's extremely difficult to hit it big as a 20 year old. unless of course you were born into a big money family (im sure many on this forum are, but thats besides the point - you guys are a fraction of a fraction of the population). so the key is to aim to have all your shit together by the age of 40 or less.

the more you save, the faster you can have it.

to legitamately do this, there are many things you can think about.

-drive a very cheap economy car that gets great gas mileage. either that or take the train if its the cheaper option. any performance car/truck at a young age is a total waste of money, in fact, most of the people in their 20's who have really nice cars, usually live in shacks/1 room apartments/in their parents basement/etc. gotta love that Loser with the 911 Turbo sleepin on his mama's couch every night! i'm sure he gets all the pussy!

-milk your parents if you can. even though i just dissed it, living with your parents into your mid 20's (till you have a real income) can be a total lifesaver and pay off HUGE once you get an actual salary. so many college kids fuck themselves up by taking loans, living away from home, blowing money on booze, cigarettes, weed, food, laundry, housing, electricity, cable, heat, water, i mean, the list goes on and fucking on. ALL that is erased by living with your parents. just something to think about.

-dont take vacations. the definition of a vacation is a waste of time. you're still young. you should either be in school or work, constantly. live in the library during the year, and get an internship to get some work experience during summers. that way you can start building money and be getting grades at the same time. plus, did i mention traveling at a young age is a waste of money? yeah i think so

-once you get $20k saved up (which really isnt bad if you're good at it. in fact $20,000 is absolute shit these days), you start to get some options open to you. "no risk no reward". you gotta take a risk to get somethin out of your money, sittin in the bank it's not gonna change, and inflation just keeps going up. so your dollar actually loses value. think long term stocks and bonds, something that has a very high success rate to pay off in 10-15 years. that way you're guranteed success without taking a huge short term risk which basically gives you worse chances than going to Vegas and playing Blackjack.

-if you live in your own place, think about your monthly payments. Cable is easily $100/month these days. Same with internet. Total waste of cash. Get a friend who has all that shit. Turn off the lights. Dont use A/C. Wear a sweater, dont turn on the heat. All this shit does add up beleive it or not, and you could save yourself thousands per month once you get a good salary.

-Now if you want to start your own business, think at least a good million. That way youll have a cushion in case things go south. You still have to do alot of research and acquire alot of knowledge. and make sure your business partner has done the same research and has the same knowledge. That way you can combine ideas to come up with the best, ideal solution.

You'd have your own building, tuning cars, making good money, doing what you love for the rest of your life. And if you sacrifice 10 years of your life to makin smart decisions you can really be set for the rest of your time on this planet. I wish you GL my friend.

[504Boy]

If you go into healthcare, look into something that is related to geriatrics and move to Florida or Arizona. You should have enough work to pay off your loans and buy your exotic car.

If you don't want to go the doctor route, look into Health administration. Then you can run a clinic but not have to deal with patients and insurance companies.

[Revlis]

Remember that money in and of itself should never be the end goal. You do NOT need a High Six figure Income to be successful and be happy. I know a fair number of fucking miserable folks making over $250k a year plus bonuses. You'll see them at traffic lights sometimes, or you send a Fathers day card to em' but they are Mid 40-60, dick doesn't work right, on their 3rd marriage, angry at everyone, and all in all they find little pleasure in life. Can you imagine the horror? Seriously? Getting to what you thought was the end destination only to realize that you're not enjoying life...

Every day you should wake up, and say "Hey, I get to go do what I love for a living!!!"

Even if it only makes a modest salary, if you love what you are doing? Everything falls into place. No Shit.

I'm a Graphic Artist, a really average Graphic Artist my passion is Metalsmithing and Jewelery. I come to work and I spend my day creating ads for Print, Flyers, Mailers, Posters, and Banners for a Chain of Motorcycle Dealerships. I photograph Models, I surf the web and I make a decent living. Not a lot of money, but enough to cover my toys, and expenses.

Do NOT let yourself get caught up in the notion that $$$$ makes the man, it doesn't. It may not even make you happy...