Have you tried a business idea that worked really well for someone else but didn’t work at all for you? Have you put a lot of effort into a business idea that ended up flopping?
If your answer is yes to either of these questions, I would love to consider featuring your story in one of the chapters of my upcoming book. You can leave a comment sharing the details of your story (what the business idea was, why you tried it, and what the results were) or you can email your story to crystal @ moneysavingmom.com
I may contact you for further details if I need more information or want to clarify something.
Please note: We will be using some of the comments and emails in the book. If you’d rather we not use your story or would like to remain anonymous, please say say when commenting or emailing.
Rebekah Marks says
My husband and I made up t-shirts with our own designs printed on them, and sold those for about two years. Eventually, the combination of advertising costs and the loss of a passion for our product forced us to close. I’m thankful we never had debt from the venture, though!
Like so many others have said before me, I also tried selling/recruiting for a multi-level marketing company while I was single and already earning a good living from a day job, and very quickly realized I hate being a salesman, and despise recruiting – which, of course, is the only way to succeed in a MLM company. Our town is very low income, and many people here simply don’t have money for expensive products.
I’ve found, though, that the service-based business I am in now (a type of work I thoroughly enjoy and is useful to a large percentage of people) is far easier to promote, and has much greater success, than any of the product- or recruiting-based businesses we’ve tried.
Jennifer says
Last year I opened an online editing and writing business. I got a few clients and kept a few contracts I had already been working for in previous years simply as an independent contractor. It was a way to make some extra money as I had recently become a stay-at-home-mom and we were still working to pay off all our student loans and car with Dave Ramsey’s Snowball Method. But having a three month old made it a hard time to get the business really going. I wish I could have done more marketing and got my name and business out there more but it was very hard to find childcare. As it was I made enough money to meet all my business expenses, cover startup costs, and buy myself a new laptop at the end of the year. I’d be interested in trying it or another business again sometime but now I have a new newborn which is pretty awesome!
Mindy says
I had dreams of making lots of money at age 18, and I wanted to make it fast. A friend of mine convinced me to sign up to sell Mary Kay. We went to the meetings and it was suggested that in order to be successful, we needed to have products on hand for when people order at parties because everyone wants to leave with something. There were 3 packages that could be ordered. I ordered the mid-level which cost $1800. And where to come up with that cash? The adviser mentoring me suggested I check at the bank to take out a loan against my already paid off car…but that wouldn’t work because it was still in my parents name. Next she suggested to put it on a credit card. Unfortunately, I had credit at the time because my parents had added me as a user to their credit card. So off I went obtaining and maxing out my first credit card and the cycle has been repeated many times since. I ended up having maybe 2-3 parties before I decided I am not a sales person. I was able to return the makeup to Mary Kay for 1/2 of what I paid for it.
Jamie-money saving mom too :) says
I am shy too and not at all good at sales. I worked at a bank 12 years ago and we had to call people and “sell” our new accounts a few times and such. I HATED it. I knew it annoyed people and am so glad to not be in that line of work anyone. I have such a desire to write a book. A humor book. I like to make people laugh (at least on purpose 😉 ). I do have a fear of failure and being critiqued too. I took a creative writing class in high school. I honestly do not recall what grade I got. I remember thinking I would love it, but I would hear others stories and think mine sounded so stupid. I am a 36 yr old SAHM mom of three now. I think I lack time to allow myself to write. I feel overwhelmed and unmotivated to get started. I even got an antique desk for free from my dad . My youngest is 3 right now and not in preschool yet (having potty training issues) so I do not feel I have time. Funny thing is those silly facebook career quizzes I took a couple times for fun said I should be a writer ( no I do not take those seriously) 🙂 Do I want to do this as a money making attempt? Yes. I want to feel successful in something. I also see it as an outlet to makes others smile and I find it calming to write. Hence my deal list I make being so jumbled with detail .LOL
Lori says
I started 2 businesses and did not succeed at either, although, I did learn a lot from each failed attempt.
First one:
I was very young and my mother pressured me into opening a shop that dealt with raw jewelry. I knew how to do the work but had zero experience with anything else. I did not do any research and set my prices too low; therefore; I could never make any profit and was always on the red.
I was also extremely shy and couldn’t stand up for myself and demand a fair price. The venture lasted about two hellish years and I finally got out, owing Uncle Sam lots of money, which took me a long time to pay.
Second:
I was convinced by a friend to sell a well-known skin care/make up line which she made sound so easy and great! I purchased all the products, investing a good couple of thousand.
I later realized that this was basically a pyramid scheme and that you only moved up the ladder and made money by recruiting others.
I also re-discovered that I was a terrible sales person. I was so shy and had no authority so I would offer discounts to everyone. I ended up selling my product to another person at a loss.
What I learned from both ventures, besides the fact that I am NOT a sales person, is the following:
– Know thyself. If you are extremely shy, don’t attempt to go into sales. If you are not super creative and crafty, don’t make items to sell.
– Do what you love. You will have to put tons of hours into the business and if you don’t love it, it will be hell.
– Research, research and research some more
– Is there a need for what you have to offer?
– Don’t give into fads. Just because it’s popular right now, that doesn’t mean that it will still be in a couple of years.
– Do you have money for the initial investment and are you ready to fail?
– Do you have savings that you can fall back on while your business takes off?
– Take business classes. I took an economy class recently that I wish I’d taken back in the day. It was eye opening!
– Know the law. Depending on the size of your business, you may have to provide unemployment benefits, etc. You also have to file taxes every quarter and keep excellent records. The last thing you want to do is mess with the IRS. Believe me, I’ve been there.
For now, I work in an office and I am perfectly happy there. This is where I thrive, amongst computers and paperwork, and by helping others figure out what to do 🙂 I have no interest at this time to venture out on my own.
Katy @ Purposely Frugal says
I had an etsy shop….mostly dishcloths (but also hats and things)…it was a fail.
I think my problems were:
1. There’s a million crochet dishcloths on etsy already and mine weren’t unique in any way. I’m not an expert crocheter, so my things were not extra fancy or anything.
2. It took me probably 2 hours to make one, I can’t remember how much I sold them for, but I couldn’t price them too high because of all the other dishcloths on the market, so after paying for yarn, shipping the dishcloth and then the amount etsy took out, I was making very, very little per hour. And the only people who bought anything were people I knew personally.
Christine says
I started a personal chef business because I love to cook. I closed up after 16 months. Turns out running my own business is not my gift. I loved the cooking part but had extreme difficulty planning menus; having people critique my food was more than I could stand and being extremely shy made marketing almost impossible for me.
Alexis@Clip Your Cash says
I just finished Say Goodbye to Survival Mode and one of my favorite parts was all the stories Crystal uses from other women. Crystal has her own stories to share, but I enjoyed getting to hear about the trials and successes of other women as well. I don’t know how else she could do this without asking others for their insight.
Crystal Paine says
Aw, thank you so much for your kind encouragement, Alexis!
Debi Rohr says
I have tried various home party type businesses. I failed at them all, because I can’t sell anything, I would always end up giving everyone my discount or just feeling guilty about even asking anyone to buy anything. From my failures, I learned that I am NOT a salesperson. I occasionally enjoy mystery shopping, but our lives are not dependent upon my income. I believe that necessity is the mother of invention and that goes for starting a business. I haven’t really needed to start one, so I haven’t. I will say that watching you, Crystal, and having your hubby around to help out with the kids, is VERY encouraging to me!! I am in awe of your success!! God Bless you! Keep up the good work!
Jennifer B. says
My experience is similar to yours, Debi, although thankfully I realized I’m not the sales type after my first attempt! I too gave away my discount to my “customers” in order to get their orders, but I was able to at least receive free product out of the deal!
Elizabeth says
I follow in Debbie’s shoes. I often have ideas about making money, but none of them truly inspire me or would net a decent profit. Through God’s blessings and frugality, we live quite comfortably on my husband’s income. I know I save my family thousands of dollars a year in little ways; I consider that my job! My husband and I love the peaceful pace of our lifestyle. I think the book will be a wonderful asset for those who need to make money, but I think it is also important to point out that not everyone is called to earn income. If you aren’t driven to run a business, there is no point in starting one.
JD says
Not trying to be rude but, are you writing the book or do you want all of us to?
JJ says
In her other book, Saying Goodbye to Survival Mode, Crystal did a great job of interspersing testimonies and quotes with at least 95% of her own writing. I imagine she’s doing the same here, and trying to cater the book to her target audience: all of us who read her blog. Hope you enjoy her books JD!
Alisha says
Books like this need lots of real-life examples. Should she just make up fake stories? You don’t write a book by contributing your personal story or comment. This is going to be an awesome book and I will be preordering it.
Amanda@CrunchyHippieLife says
If you’ve read any of her other books, you would know she likes to use real life examples to illustrate points.
Crystal Paine says
Hi, JD! What a great question… I’m sure others are probably wondering, too!
Writing a solid manuscript involves hours of research, reading, and interviews, in order to collect stories, data, and perspectives to help shape the content in a way that can reach the most people in the most effective manner.
As I was preparing and planning and outlining this manuscript, I realized one great resource to tap into would be the amazing wisdom and experience of my readers. I’ve learned so much from you all and many of you are my target market with this book, so I wanted to reach out to you all as I’m culling through data, collecting stories, doing research, and writing the manuscript.
I’m so very, very thankful for the hundreds of you who have commented and emailed in with your stories and perspective thus far. You’ve been highly instrumental in helping me address the issues many of you are facing and the struggles you are experiencing.
That said, if you have no desire to be involved, just ignore my questions over the next few weeks as I’m fleshing out the bones of each chapter.
Thank you, each of you, for your kindness and excitement about this project. I appreciate you all so very, very much!
Amy R says
What a very gracious response
sandra says
I dont mean to sound snarky, truly, I dont,, but I thought the very same thing as you did.
sandra says
that is, I meant that I had the same thought as J D, not a complaint, just sayin’ though…
Crystal Paine says
I’m glad I was able to clarify for those who were wondering! Thanks so much to everyone who is helping me with the research process! I’m so grateful for you all and your input and how you are helping to shape this manuscript in a way that will make it much stronger and more helpful than I could ever create on my own!
Jamie Rohrbaugh says
I am grateful that Crystal includes stories about other people in her books and even her blog. Any book without stories is just a textbook, good for nothing more than a paperweight if it’s in my house anyway. In order to be interesting and fun, it has to be full of stories and examples… from the more people, the better, in my opinion. Stories and testimonials are what inspire you to bring your life to a higher place.
A super example of this is Dave Ramsey’s My Total Money Makeover. Dave’s writing is great, but it’s the stories and testimonials from his readers that make the book so energizing and motivational.
I’ll send you a failed-business story, Crystal. 🙂 Unfortunately, I have several. LOL