Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am looking to go into buisness for myself and hoping to make it my full time job. The question I have is, do I start a buisness in services or products I would like to make such as outdoor gear? For instance right now I am a maintenance supervisor which is great, its hands on and I love fixing things. On the other hand, my passion is the outdoors including fishing, hiking, hunting, whitewater kayaking, triathlons ( u get the picture).

services- rental property maintenance, multifamily, commercial and residential maint.

VS

Products- outdoor shop online or small local shop, triathlon store, energy bar production, and so on.

Does this seem like reality vs passion when it comes between the 2?

Thanks for any and all information

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Can you not do both? That would help to broaden the revenue stream of your company. You could also segment it well and make it into to branches. Just a thought.

It sounds like you are at the very beginning of the search.  While I am not great at either, see what you can do and what you are able to do.  In otherwords, what skills do you have.  Then, what cash do you have available. 

Manufacturing products will take some money typically.

Service businesses you can usually start with less money because you are doing the work.  In a sense, you are the asset for the business. 

In either role, what I have found is you need to hone in on your selling ability.  If you are good in person, services, if you are good at marketing, manufacturing. 

Or test it out if you want.  Heck, I have an outdoor related dropshipping online shop I'd be more than happy to sell you if you want to see how you like it.  I bought it last year thinking I would like it and because of family reasons, never did anything really other than fill orders.  It just wasn't for me, but is probably someone else's dream.

Quite honestly, it sounds like if you are in maintenance, you should look into something along those lines.  You have the big entry-barrier already which is knowledge and possibly some certifications.  Good luck.

I would suggest this.  Start as an outdoor goods reseller (marking up someone lese's product and selling it).  Get to know the industry and the quality of products.  When you find one that is sub-par or that you can improve on - then do so and offer it to your current customers.

Regarding being online or off - you should be in both places.  Start out small - part-time using your current job to cover your bills and finance your start-up costs - then as the business builds, transition over to full-time.

You could possibly do both. Now obviously the production end is going to come with a much higher cost than the service end, but perhaps you could begin with offering services and then once you've made some money and established yourself in the market begin with the product side of your plan.

What percent of businesses are in the services industry vs the product industry?

Follow your passion. All the entrepreneurs say that. Passion is what gets you up in the morning to make your business work despite that fact that you can't pay the bills. Most Small Businesse Plans fail, so follow your passion and make sure your product or service is something a lot of people are interested in during good and tough times.