What to invest 20k in to start a business?

Question

I'm looking for some help and ideas on what I could invest 20k in so I can start my own business. I'm looking for good returns and I'm always work hard. I am 20 yrs old and have no serious obligations as of now. I want a business that will thrive and that will grow. I have dreams of millions so a business idea of heavy income is a plus. The year is 2012, so i'm looking for ideas that are up to date. Whether it's gold, oil, real estate, websites or solar power I don't care. Help me make it big and share your how you "made it"!

Joel Owens · Answer

"Whether it's gold, oil, real estate, websites or solar power I don't care."

You SHOULD care.

I owned some businesses when I was your age.I had a car audio shop.

The key to any business is that you are passionate about it.If you aren't passionate about it you will not get the stellar results you are seeking.

For most businesses 20,000 is not that much for start up.The number one reason for business failure is under capitalization followed by mismanagement a close second.

There is a difference between working IN your business and ON your business.Many small businesses such as restaurants,coin laundry,etc. are owner operators.Meaning they make it run day to day but it is not scalable since YOU can only be in one place at one time.

Smart operators learn how to scale the business by putting systems and people in place.By doing this you can grow your business and work on it and not in it.

J Scott · Answer

I think you should invent something like ketchup...only better and more popular...

James Park · Answer

When I was 20 years old, I was in San Francisco at the peak of the .com bubble, I put all money into tech stocks like everyone else and lost my shirt.

Hopefully you are a much smarter 20 year old than I was back then and do exactly the opposite of the crowd.

Take that $20k and short the S&P, short the Euro, and short the long term treasury bonds. I would not recommend shorting oil, gold, but i do recommend that you become very greedy to buy real estate today, especially when all the people around you are afraid to buy real estate.

"Whether it's gold, oil, real estate, websites or solar power I don't care."

Don't forget you are 20 years old only once.. Have fun!, date women, travel, and enjoy life.

Carlos Flores · Answer

Reminded me of those old commercials waiting for the ketchup to make its way out of the bottle.  Can the OP wait that long?

Ed L. · Answer

Leverage the 20,000...

If you have good credit, and proof of income you could use the 20K as a down payment to start flipping....

My goal would be to buy a property in the 30-40K range in my market..

Do a secured line of credit with the property as collateral.  Bank will loan funds to renovate...

20K can turn into 40K easily with leverage and a good eye for deals..

Research, Prepare, Inspect, Buy, Restore, Resell...Repeat...

Ziv Magen · Answer

Agree with what alot of the above said. Get passionate about something, enjoy doing it, decide how many hours you want to spend doing it every day, and find the right investment funds/work combination to suit your passion. Guaranteed recipe for success.

Ziv Magen

Rich Weese · Answer

This business opportunity may not seem very sexy to you but I always determined that if I went broke I would do the following. You didn't list where you were from so I'm not sure this would work in your particular area but here goes. When I was very young I got my start actually being a janitor and doing a lot of floorcare- mostly carpet cleaning and stripping tile floors and rewaxing. Most of these were businesses.

The startup is not very much as you can buy a couple buffer machines for a couple thousand dollars. The buffer and carpet cleaning pads are also very inexpensive as are the chemicals to use to clean carpets. I would then put flyers together and go around  middle to upper class neighborhoods and offer tremendous specials to get your foot in the door. You are young enough, that you can build this business over a period of time. Another method was to go visit car dealers. Their floors, both carpet and tile get a tremendous amount of traffic and they will pay a high amount of money for the few hours it takes to put them back in good shape. This is an ongoing problem for them and if you just find out what they are paying you'll be able to undercut the current crew unless they do it in-house..

Doing it yourself also allows you to undercut the franchises in any particular area because you have no franchise fee, van cost etc.. It is also not difficult work and you can always hire a minimum-wage employee to take care of the corners that require the hand scrubbing, stripping, or waxing. Good luck. Rich

Darius Kellar · Answer

Keep STACKING

Frederick Reese · Answer

Work with a real estate investor to get a good roi.

Andre C. · Answer

Lot of great ideas mentioned.  For me if I would not spend I dime yet.  given your comments you made.  I first would set out to get a Financial Education.  One of my favorite starter books I recommend is Richest Man in Babylon.  Read it five times and take notes..... Another book I recommend is Increasing your Financial IQ.
- Andre

What to invest 20k in to start a business?

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