I'm starting a simple skateboarding designer clothing company next month

>I'm starting a simple skateboarding designer clothing company next month

>I have close friends who are graphic designers willing to throw down with me

>I have several connections in Boston, I know the market very well

>Projected to make 50K a year if I work hard enough (Not a lot to you guys but i don't wanna be rich I just wanna be self-employed)

>Come on Veeky Forums to get general advice maybe some pointers

>Several threads about the impending 2017 mega-bubble-burst with extra big mac sauce

I've sank over 1000 dollars(a lot for me, I just graduated HS I have nothing) into this company Veeky Forums how fucked am i if this bubble bursts? Please tell me everything's gonna be okay

>50k selling shirts
fucking kek, get a real start up

will be easier to sell 100+ shirts to a retailer than 1 shirt to 1 customer 100+ times over

>i don't wanna be rich I just wanna be self-employed
man i used to feel like this, what i realised was greed and ambition are two different things

people all around the world wear shirts, who knows how successful you could be?

>will be easier to sell 100+ shirts to a retailer than 1 shirt to 1 customer 100+ times over

I've thought about going to retail but they fuck you over so hard. You have to low ball yourself just to get them to buy your inventory, it's a death sentence. Probably in the future desu tho

>people all around the world wear shirts, who knows how successful you could be?

Thank you for the encouragement desu

There's a crash coming sure, but people have been saying "any day now" for like 5 fucking years now. If you don't keep going you'll be just sat on the sidelines like a retard deep-tongue cleaning assholes for mr sheckelberg until the crash hits and he fires you because he can get an eastern european supermodel to do it for a dollar cheaper, then you're left with no business and no job. Nut up.

Let's see how close I am:

Your market research consists of you asking 8 of your friends if they'd buy tshirts, and 7 said yes. So you feel like you "know the market" really well.

Your marketing strategy will consist of exploiting your extensive social media platforms, meaning you'll spam beg posts on your Facebook and Instagram.

Your branding strategy involves getting some local skate hero to wear your merch, and he's a big influencer because he once appeared on ESPN Ocho for 6 minutes. You don't actually know him, but you know a friend of a friend and you're sure he'll help out.

Your strategic advantage is your low cost of overhead, considering that the entire enterprise will be run out of Mom & Dad's basement. Conveniently, that same basement will not only be your home for the next 10 years, but it will also allow you to store all the boxes of unsold tshirts.

Son, you're not going to make $50K, $5K or even $500. You'll be lucky (50-50) to break even on your expenses. And to be clear, your lack of success will have NOTHING to do with "the bubble" although you'll probably blame that, or something else, for your failure.

Lastly, what you will never realize -- despite me telling you this now, to your face -- is that this is a monumentally stupid idea for which you are unprepared and unqualified, and that you should grow the fuck up and get a real job.

FIVE?? They've been saying it forever, and it's never been in the apparel industry. If this guy is gonna make it or not, it has nothing to do with an economic bubble. It boils down to whether it was a good idea or not.

OP if it doesn't work out, figure out why(except for the bullshit excuse that it was "bad timing".. look into including why you decided this to begin with).. learn from it, move the fuck on.. plenty of opportunity.. i've lost so much money learning... totally worth it

user.

If you were really passionate about it. You wouldn't care about the "mega-bubble-burst".

Think about that.

Honestly, I know you've thought about this, but figure out what makes you different from your competitors and go with it. Figure out what you are doing that nobody else is.
If you can license it, do that. If you can't, expand your own brand.

>Please tell me everything's gonna be okay
Veeky Forums is literally populated with right-wing anarchists that WANT Armageddon to come.

you should never take serious advice from people wearing tin foil hats. These guys are loony as fuck. This whole board is. Republicans are going to fuck the economy, they always do. But it's not going to be anywhere near as bad as the 08 recession even. Because we don't have much farther to fall. 08 was preceded by 20 years of great financial times. There's no way we've built up that kind of stability or general wealth yet.

so yeah, do what you want to do. There aren't any bubbles out there waiting to pop, just a lot of 'experts' relying on hindsight to label everything that's not completely ruined a "bubble." In real life none of our economic sectors is doing well enough to be considered a bubble. Brick and mortar retail is fucking flatlining. Circling the drain. Definitely NOT a bubble.

>this is a monumentally stupid idea for which you are unprepared and unqualified
This is true, but most successful business owners go through 5-500 such terrible ideas before settling on one that finally works.

let the boy fail. It's a start.

Almost spot on friendo, but listen here.
I would never fucking blame the bubble on my lack of success. I'm not a pussy, I'm just completely inept. I was just scared that I wasted money that i should've saved because of the impending shitstorm. And of course I'm over exaggerating when it comes to projections, because I'm talking about what I COULD be making in like FIVE years from now because I know how to use a calculator and figured out I only have to sell 17 shirts a day to make 50K a year, which is VERY optimistic but still possible within the next five years. Is this a stupid idea? Horribly. Is it worth it? Yes. Because I'm too dumb to invest or make a better startup but I'm still smart enough to not waste my life working under sheckelstein until I die.

>But it's not going to be anywhere near as bad as the 08 recession even.
> Because we don't have much farther to fall.

Aha.

You know what, You're right
Thanks man, and I have. Honestly the thing going for us right now is affordability. Most of our competition markets to college students who have barely any money but yet the companies sell shitty t shirts for like 30 fucking dollars. We sell our shit for 8 bucks. "Designer" clothing at affordable prices.

see
Most rational posts on here. Also, I'm a Republican, prick, and we won't destroy the economy. Personally, I think the back and forth reinforces areas that both sides tend to neglect and it has always turned out to be a good thing. I'm not sure what bubble he's referring to, but we're always in one, and it definitely doesn't apply to under-researched business ventures. Like we said, this is probably going to be an excellent learning opportunity, which almost always consists of what "not to do". On average we(as a whole) always win.

>most successful business owners go through 5-500 such terrible ideas
It's not a business; it's a poorly conceived attempt to delay the realities of adult life. Selling X Games-culture tshirts is the Millennial equivalent of a lemonade stand: it's cute for grade school girls, but if your grown child tried it you'd be fucking mortified.

>I'm a Republican, prick, and we won't destroy the economy
I was a republican when I was young too.
You'll probably grow out of it.

>X Games-culture tshirts
you don't know much about modern skateboarding, do you user?

>but I'm still smart enough to not waste my life working under sheckelstein until I die
No. No you're not. You're a deluded little kid who swallow memes like candy. Getting a job doesn't make you a wageslave; it makes you an adult.

Grow the fuck up.

next supreme coming thru

Most of the 'businesses' successful business owners try are equally shit. Whether it's selling weed or selling amway, we all start off with juvenile, idealistic, get-rich-quick dreams.

over time if there's enough intelligence and persistence most of us move on into real estate and construction and that's where we stop. Because that's where the money ultimately is.

I swayed into liberalism when I was young. Being 33, married, having worked since 13, dealing with my own finances, and learning as much as I had, nah, I'm good. When you move out of mommy's house I hope you see the light. Republicans are certainly shitty, but liberals are worse.

>liberals are worse.
the secret is Democrats aren't liberals.
just like until very recently republicans weren't conservatives.

whoever's closest to the middle is where I vote. I've got kids about your age though. I understand. You think you earned your pay and don't have any obligation to others. Or you think you and yours will never need welfare. Or you think welfare keeps people too comfortably.

time tends to destroy these illusions, though I hope for your sake it doesn't.

>we all start off with juvenile, idealistic, get-rich-quick dreams
Don't project your failures onto other people. Part of being a successful businessman is recognizing that some ideas are too poor to be attempted.

I'm not the kind of person to chalk up stupidity to learning experiences. Stupid ideas should be avoided, not celebrated. This fucking culture of "there are no bad ideas" and "everyone gets a trophy" needs to die. There are bad ideas, and only winners should get trophies.

>you don't know much about modern skateboarding
Know how I know you're an immature punk with a worldview so small you think your backyard is whole world?

You're not going to sell 17 tshirts a day, kid. You're not going to sell 17 tshirts total, unless Grandma buys 14 of them to wipe up cat piss.

k user. How about this. You do what works for you, and I'll do what works for me. Incidentally, excluding the politics (you) brought into it, we've agreed on every post in this thread. How about we leave it at that?

>Don't project your failures onto other people.
Daily reminder that the average US millionaire has declared bankruptcy 3.5 times.

You don't get success without lots of failure.

I'm not celebrating bad ideas. I am encouraging him to get them over with. They're going to happen, get on with it.

>How about we leave it at that?
I don't disagree with your politics.
The free rider problem is real.

I'm just mentioning that if you ever need the safety net (and most people or their loved ones eventually do) you're going to wake up to a whole new world.

This guy is a realist. As I mentioned here there is so much to be learned. To think your first business venture is going to be a home run is stupid. Your risks should be in line with your confidence. If not, risk wins and you lose, time to adjust your confidence and try again. Not everyone can be a lucky Zuckerberg.

user calm down, you really think I'm so deluded that I think I'm gonna be the next fucking Adidas making 500,000 a year after my first year? No of course not dude this is just a fun side project I can work on just to say I'm actually achieving something in life. I've always wanted to run my own business, even if it was a small one. I'm sorry for making such bold claims I just wanted to get some advice. And it's not like this is the only thing going for me right now. I'm currently in this online "classes" program where I can get a bachelors degree for $800 a semester which unbelievably cheap. It's okay friendo I just wanted some advice about the meme-bubble.

I'm a Republican. I have no problem with safety nets, you assumed that. Sorry. I also think the biggest social issue and the problem that I have NO issue giving almost all I can to is education. My wife is a teacher, I see it everyday.

>thrasher
FTFY

>Several threads about the impending 2017 mega-bubble-burst with extra big mac sauce

dont forget about those threads in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012...

T-shirts are way over saturated. How did you project yourself making 50k a year without even having done a single sale yet?

This is a fucking retarded idea. You will lose money. Starting a business and failing is fine but for the love of God why would you do something as inane and difficult as a t-shirt company

>the average US millionaire has declared bankruptcy 3.5 times.
That's one of those childish pieces of homespun wisdom that gets quoted by self-help gurus -- but interestingly, I've never seen any actual facts to back it up.

#fakenews

>I just wanted to get some advice
No, you wanted people to stroke your wang and tell you it's a great idea.

You know those sad, broke, pathetic old dudes with shitty lives who say, "I wish someone had tried to set me straight when I was younger"? This is your moment, kid.

>I have no problem with safety nets
you may discover the ones we paid for aren't actually there. I hope not, but odds really aren't in our favor in that regard.

I'm not sure what you're saying, actually. Educate me.

>I've never seen any actual facts to back it up.
The fact is credited to "The Millionaire Next Door," a book I've never read but seems to be full of interesting statistics about millionaires.

>No, you wanted people to stroke your wang and tell you it's a great idea.

Okay now that's delusion. Look I know I shouldn't have said anything about "muh 50K"
and "muh clothing company" but in all honesty I just wanted to ask if the bubble was a serious risk after having just wasted a lot of money on something that would seriously affected by an economic crisis. Why would I ever think people on Veeky Forums would stroke my ego because of a fucking clothing company man. And I just told you I'm already getting a degree man, stop worrying about me. If (and when) the business fails I have a fall back. i was just worried if the bubble would fuck me over even more.

>expecting to make 50k selling silk-screened shirts

Social Security? If that's it, I don't even consider that a point. If it's there, just icing on the cake

bankruptcy protection nearly doubled in price and work involved because of a Republican bill passed in '04.

The ACA, while generally a disaster for middle class people, extended free medical insurance to all poor adults, a condition that didn't exist prior and won't exist again shortly.

SSI Disability pays about $800 per month max, an amount pretty much nobody can live off of. And while democrats haven't done a lot to improve that, they at least aren't trying to make it worse, as conservatives in general seem to wish.

SSI Retirement is underfunded and the GOP has regularly worked to privatize it and dissolve it. Not that you can afford to live on it now, so many elderly retire to homes that are covered by Medicaid at 4 times the cost or more.

Medical insurance before the ACA had a dollar cap and wasn't required to cover anyone with pre-existing conditions, so if you or your spouse got cancer or some other condition that exceeds a million dollars in cost you're screwed for life, and driven into bankruptcy where you lose almost everything you've worked for.

The only demographic for which there's any exception it seems is the elderly, undoubtedly because they actually form the core of the GOP's voters. Medicare has actually expanded for them repeatedly under Republican governance, and they're grandfathered in to SSI so they won't be affected by the changes that are going to kill you and me. Notice that our retirement age keeps going up and our benefits don't keep up with inflation. We won't be able to live off of SSI, not that we can now if we needed to.

>If it's there, just icing on the cake
so it doesn't bother you that you pay a solid third of your taxes into a retirement account that the GOP wants to privatize and steal?

You just consider that money gone? It's your money, for your retirement, and they've spent so long telling you the boomers spent it that you believe them and just give it away?

you're still paying for it.

Guess I beat you to the punch on that one. It doesn't come into my retirement projections and like I said, if it's still there, just icing on the cake.

>"The Millionaire Next Door"
That's not helping your argument in the slightest. That whole book is an encyclopedia of "you can do it" memes.

It's cute that you think the success or failure of your tshirt hobby hinges on the direction of domestic GDP. Maybe instead of worrying about macroeconomic U.S. trends, you should focus on the 8-10 major flaws in your business idea that I've been spoonfeeding you.

Or don't. I just can't be arsed to give a shit either way.

Maybe at your age, it would bother you. This is just part of paying taxes for me at this point. I can only HOPE that it will work out, definitely not counting on it.

>It's cute that you think the success or failure of your tshirt hobby hinges on the direction of domestic GDP
I never said it would fail BECAUSE of that. All I said was if the economy goes to shit soon how bad is it that I wasted 1000 dollars.
>Or don't. I just can't be arsed to give a shit either way.
You've been idling and posting in this thread for a while now user you clearly really care

>That whole book is an encyclopedia of "you can do it" memes
Like I said, I haven't read it.
I would point out that your criticism of the book doesn't make its stats false.

>This is just part of paying taxes for me at this point.
like I said, about 1/3 of your taxes, and double that amount for every person you employ if you own a business. If I employ ten people I pay ten times what any one of them does to SSI.

The funny part is they get us with racism. They point to blacks and Mexicans and single moms that sponge off the system. This distracts us from the actual mess eating up our FICA. That's our elderly and very white grandparents and parents. Most of whom live better than the average American by a pretty long shot.

but they paid the tax, and they'll be damned if they're going to give their money away. Our generations are easier to fool.

>you clearly really care
I care to give good advice. I long ago stopped caring whether people follow it or not.

Financial darwinism is a thing, as you'll soon find out.

>I would point out that your criticism of the book doesn't make its stats false
Nor does your passing mention of the book make them true.

Personally, I'm inclined to skepticism, but your brain may be wired ... differently.

>Personally, I'm inclined to skepticism, but your brain may be wired ... differently.
I am too.
however in my limited experience with life and business owners I've seen it to be remarkably accurate.

what isn't clear is how many of those 3.5 are Trump bankruptcies, i.e. declared just to avoid paying creditors because they can.
But then bankruptcy probably isn't a reliable measure of how many times an entrepreneur fails. Most businesses presumably never rack up enough debt for a BK. OP's for example, will probably never amount to anything worth declaring bankruptcy over. Nor will his next ten business ventures in all likelihood.

Okay well thank you for your time but I'm still gonna keep working on this idea because it's low risk and fun

Dude im a programmer let me build ur site in my free time, ie after i finish my current project i can work on urs,