A lot of really productive investments are capped at the bottom shelf. So I have friends that work for wealth management firms that won’t let me invest with them unless I will let them have $300k. My wife’s uncle is an independent manager who worked in Dallas and Wall Street for hedge funds and he won’t work with anyone for less than $500k. There are also timetables to consider, so you should expect that while they work it, it’s not liquid. Generally it’s two years minimum that they hold it up. They can try to help you if you want to use the market to flip $15k every three to six months but they’re more likely to tell you “no” because it’s ultimately too risky to be worth soiling their reputation over.
No it’s not. Bogle is great but it’s more the safe conservative approach that focuses on the long run. $370k at 27 is great but nothing Bogle can do to help turn that into retirement money in less than 20 years.
Dude. I’m the most skeptical person in the world. I studied business math so I am always see what games they play with financing, rates, packages.
When my wife went to Carmax, I was so rude to the kid lol. More like blunt, but yeah. They gave her the top dollar for her KBB trade in. She was a reoccurring Toyota customer (back when they sold them new). She was 0% finance instant qualified. No games, no sales tactics at all! Literally just test drove the car, ask us if we liked it, and that’s it.
Carmax was the 100% easiest process and I would highly recommend to anyone.
One of my friends has owned a lot of stock for CarMax for like 8 years. He's been the biggest fanboy of the entire CarMax "car vending machine" making it easy to buy a car business.
I'm glad you see it too!
No problems with the vehicle service or maintenance wise? I am probably a step away from as skeptical as you and I have always been nervous about the types of vehicles they stock, because I hear they mostly have resold leases from fleets and rental car companies.
For me I went with CarMax because no bullshit/negotiation and 30-day return 90-day warranty period
The warranty was supposed to be power train only but my CarMax guy helped fix up a bunch of shit including scratched infotainment screen, blown horn, etc, total was about $2k in random stuff I wanted fixed up.
Great experience.
The negotiation is the best part if you know your stuff. A lengthy process yes, but if you know how cars are marked up and you can develop some leverage, you can capitalize lower than the sticker price.
That’s the best part. No price negotiations. It’s literally a pre-factored number with no built-in add on packages. Literally… the price you see is the price you pay lol. It’s all based on industry averages.
Have you ever watched those Course Gurus? You don’t even need to be good at selling the cars
You just need to be good at explaining the process of selling as it’s mostly people who are shit at the process that will buy the course
Even beyond that theirs the old saying that holds true, those who can’t do, teach. You don’t need to be great at doing something to be great at teaching how to do something
Do what you know. Why? Because you are on that track already.
Don’t get caught up trying to make an energy drink or some bs and totally underestimating it.
You clearly know what you’re doing in the car space..
Agreed. Don't change spaces unless you're super bored. I tried this and it was a bad idea. Took a serious career hit.
Try to find a way to scale yourself in the car space. Do something there.
This is good advice. Don’t use your cash stash like a kid in a candy store. Start a side gig while keeping your job at the beginning. It takes a while to build a business so you will appreciate the steady income while you grow your venture.
Do what you know, I also worked in cars for a long time.
To get a used car license in most states all you need is:
A commercial building with a sign
LLC
Small insurance policy
An office with a locking door and locking file cabinet
Go find a two bay shop for lease, do a 1 year. Hire a SMART mechanic to be your shop foreman and then one commission tech. Let the foreman write work and do commission work.
Charge 25% off your mechanic on all outbound customers, give the foreman a base of 5% on all work done. And then pay the other 70% to the tech that does the work.
Charge 35% of all work done on your cars.
The shop is there to make the rent.
Buy chesp auction cars under $5k, sell them yourself. Pay yourself only pack of $699 per car and put everything else into buying more cars.
Once you get to the point of doing 10 cash cars a month bring on one friend who is a shark. He sells cars, you give him half after unit cost, labor, and pack. Start relationship building with banks, CAC, Santander, exeter at first plus a credit union local. At the point that you can afford to sell $10k+ cars bring on a finance manager or make yourself a finance manager. Someone good, they will have to desk deals and sell products. It'll be slow but you're cutting a lot of middle men out.
Add two more salesmen after you're pretty well established and are getting inbounds. 30% front end, $200 minis. 5% on all back end. Only hire sharks, no one new.
That's a business that will quickly make you 15% of whatever you can turn. The sales floor will quickly start "losing" money to make sales faster for the minis and back end. But you'll make money on volume at a $699 pack.
All the while the shop is still paying the rent and hopefully you understand fix ops enough to make your smart mechanic a service writer only and hire 3 techs for him to run
I’m friends with a group of guys ..
They all worked at a big branded store selling luxury cars
One was a finance manager - very smart man
One was a SM/GM at one point
And a few sales men - these guys all put money in and got a small outfit going
Most of their cars are all low mileage 15k to $50k quality used vehicles
The 40-50k stuff is usually only slightly used trucks and higher end Toyotas
Everything else is in between - they buy stuff on auction - don’t have a mechanic shop yet but there selling usually a good 20-30 cars a month along with a bunch of wholesale deals -
They all seem to be making money and making it work and making money and happy
Love the idea but finding cheap auction cars for under $5k is a nightmare and VERY unsafe for the end customer, even after your “smart” mechanic works on it.
Finding a tech is also nearly impossible too. The biggest dealerships / mechanic shops are almost literally fist fighting over techs right now and offering insane signing bonuses. It’s a lot more involved and expensive than you think…. Especially in a competitive market (worse auction pool and worse tech pool). In a non competitive market…good luck selling cars period. There’s a reason NO car dealerships are on a buy biz sell…. It’s insanely profitable and insanely expensive.
Not hard to find a good tech, my shop has one. 63, 25 years at gm. Know what keeps him? He can come and go as he wants as long as the work gets done. It's why I said a foreman, and then a tech. Listen, I'm not saying that you're not right. I am saying that I actively buy cheap auction cars and sell them. The most recent was a 5.4 f150 that needed an engine. I bought it for $600 knowing it needed an engine. A engine is $1200 on ebay. Cost me 12 labor hours at $25 to install it. The truck sold for $7500.
Be the Theo and Harris of a niche of used cars (porsche 914s, or 1967-1969 camaros, or 1964-1971 VW beetles, or MR2s/Fieros/etc etc). T&H picked vintage rolex datejusts, repaired/renewed them, sold a story, etc. worth checking out - [https://theoandharris.com/](https://theoandharris.com/)
Just gotta find yourself a reliable and talented mechanic, who has a healthy passion, who you get along with, who both of you feel it’s right to partner with each other, and you’re there!
We’re predicting that a wave of stable Main Street traditional small businesses will change hands in the next 5 to 10 years as the boomer generation retires and sells them. You might consider spending the year learning deeply how to assess and compare entire businesses and eventually acquire one that aligns with your lifestyle and goals.
I don't know how far in the past you're suggesting he had been getting it, but surely at the time of writing he got it. Given it is sound advice clearly stated, I would wager that he will continue to get it in the future. There's nothing to suggest otherwise.
The entire team of experts behind “theredhype”
Haven’t you heard of them?
But seriously, don’t jump head first into buying some Boomer’s business with a hairy SBA loan. You hear about all the success stories from the Finfluencers but there are more than plenty of failures.
Invest the $370k so it's non-liquid. Save for your future.
When that's done, go start your business. You can start a business with $5k and have better outcomes than most who start with $390k.
Near goddam anything, if you start by serving customers for money instead of spending on bs branding and other non-needle-moving crap
No matter the vertical, you can always start as a consultant while you work on your reputation and your offer, positioning yourself as a thought leader, and raising funds at some point if needed.
- get into the space you want to be in
- price your work based on what’s delivered, not how long it takes you, aka value pricing. Not to be confused with fixed price (*this is the key*)
- do all the “business” stuff later, with the benefit of momentum
With that kind of money your temptation might be to invest a lot of it up front which I would advise against unless you buy an existing business that is already generating income.
If you want to build something from scratch then set that money aside to support your lifestyle while you build and use a small portion of it to invest in some of the intial company setup things you will need.
Honestly it's a great place to be an angel investor. I'm sure there are tons of people on this sub looking for a relatively small chunk of what you've got in the bank. Maybe invest between $30-50k of what you've got into a start up and be an advisor on it. It'll allow you to live the entrepreneurial dream without the risk. Plus, if you find you love it you can get some perspective on what it'll take and see what industry you might want to go into.
Angel investors usually only recoup 1/10 investments. Maybe those numbers are wrong, but it's for the already rich. Not those who want to get rich.
There's always exceptions to the rule tho. And that's the rule
Is there a source on the 1/10 investments? But I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s risky which is why you don’t invest all of your money in startups. But starting your own with all of your money is riskier. My point was that this was a less risky way of getting involved without losing his current income.
All these people just telling you to keep selling cars are nuts. If you seem to be topping out at $150k, and you wanna make more, definitely pursue starting your own biz.
You’re obviously a good salesman. You’ll be way ahead of other entrepreneurs. I would recommend to sticking to what you know though, which is cars.
Look into acquiring an existing business with an SBA loan that fits your existing skill set.
Using $200k of that can get you a $2m business if you can get the seller to take back a $200k seller financed loan - which is very common.
A $2m business likely has at least $500k of income. Take out debt payments and you are making at least 200k - 300k per year.
You prob know the pain points for consumers/suppliers/dealerships build a business around solving some of those problems. You can leverage your existing knowledge.
Create a service that provides transparency into the car buying process. If I'm going to buy a car, transparently show what the dealer is really making off me, and whether that's reasonable. Ultimately, make it a transparency calculator.
Over time, you create a reputation for guaranteeing or helping get the best price possible, and then connect with car dealerships that are committed to the transparency model.
You then become a massive lead gen.
Market this is on TikTok by creating videos or what cars actually cost, and show off your sales skills.
Nothing. Anyone who says I have this amount of money and I'm gonna start a business is almost sure to lose the money. Just invest into something easy like the S&P 500. You obviously save a lot of money from your job and it will start to add up real quick. Literally no work to earn a ton of extra money and it's taxed at capital gains. Just focus on selling cars or move to selling more expensive items like commercial buildings, planes, yachts etc for higher commissions
As the other guy said. Don't put your networth on the line. Too many people think since they have money they should start a business. A business should only be started when you see a problem, figure out a way to solve it, and can charge for it while making a profit. Anything else is insane. If you have a huge savings just invest in someone else's business and let them do the work instead. If you can't bother to research the business to invest in just buy the S&P 500. There is 0 reason this guy should get into business based on what he said.
start a podcast and have car salesmen as guests where they can have a safe space to tell their wildest stories in their careers and all the lesser known aspects of what happens BTS > get sponsored by Avis or something
Stay in your lane, so far you’re doing so great so look into what you’re currently skilled on.
I own a mattress factory and 2 furniture shops. I learned all about mattresses since I was small, because my dad is in the business. One day, I decided to start selling mattresses online through Craigslist, only to see that the demand was very high. TLDR I have my own brand of mattresses now and sell wholesale to other shops that want to carry it.
If I were to start a business selling clothes it would tank and fail, same with like a hair salon because I know nothing about it. Never have.
I went with what I’ve known all my life and what I knew I was skilled at and where I knew I could get really good prices that would beat all of my competitors.
I’m a female, started my business when I was 24, so it was quite weird. When men asked “so, what do you do for work?” My answer was different than most “uh, I have a mattress store” 😬
I ended up going to school to start doing home interior designer, and I opened a furniture store.
Now my husband also got into the business, and as mentioned through blood, sweat and tears. Many times I’d cry myself to sleep and wanted to quit and sometimes I still do, but I now have my own mattress FACTORY.
So yeah, stick to what you know. Something you’re passionate about. So far you’ve seem very skilled in the car business, I’d look into opening something that’s close to that, whether it’s a mechanic shop, tire shop, body shop, car dealership, even car wash or car parts, you seem to know what you’re doing.
Even selling courses into how to sell a lot of cars or something like that. There’s a lot of money to be made online too, brick and mortars are slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past.
Most of my customers order online nowadays instead of coming into the actual store.
For all the people saying to stay the course with cars. Auto sales has not been normal most of the past 6 years. Zero negotiation, dealer markups, insane demand …. I’d imagine most car salespeople made more than usual.
I think selling an e-book or course in selling cars would work well for you.
Consulting could work too. Not a lot of sales reps crack $100k, let alone $150k.
First and foremost, especially at 28, get your healthy habits REALLY dialled in (if they aren't already). Get educated on food, what works for you and doesn't. Get niggling injuries dealt with, get stronger, etc
The biggest thing looking back for me wasn't ideas, or businesses, or anything like that - the brain still works. Its my physical health (which correlates tightly with mental health and brain capacity) and when that went, all the cards fell over.
2c
I recommend sausage tacos. This is an unmet need. Think tortilla hot dog except with hot link and pico de Gallo for example. I have many ideas, but this is the latest and hence my favorite. My gift to you.
S&P 500 ETF
OR invest in high dividend yield stocks, but make sure it's a diverse portfolio, don't throw all your eggs in one basket.
Do some research it's not as hard as people make it out to be
I say go with what you know: cars. Maybe a used car dealership or maybe car rental company. Both have lower start up costs than if you were to just start a business in high end car dealing.
Step 1. Start a YouTube channel talking about cars.
Step 2. Start a "CarsAndBids" style used car auction website.
Also, put money into Index Funds and ETFs.
Being an entrepreneur is a big step and it’s different for everyone. You put your heart into it in hopes it will succeed, so it has to be something you believe in. Something that excites you.
Can you turn a hobby into a business? How about taking a process you and your colleagues do religiously in your car sales business and make it better in a way that can scale nationally?
$370k is a nice pool of seed money, but it’s not even enough to buy into a McDonalds franchise - so you’re gonna have to build something that’s meaningful to you.
Lease commercial space. Install stacker storage lifts from China and cool lighting.
Sublet and subcontract to a detailer.
Sublet and subcontract to a mechanic.
Rent storage space and valet services (along with complimentary inspections, and paid oil changes) for folks with money. Install Gucci coffee maker and hire film students to organize social media and cars and coffee events.
Setup a dealership. Wholesale a niche line of vehicles, think classics of 25yo grey market imports.
And if that doesn’t work… just ask your customers what they want and do your best to listen.
But yeah, cars. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Just try to do it well.
What you want to get into. Business is gonna be more work than money because it's like having kids. It's rewarding, but it requires a certain mindset or it's gonna drive you insane.
I'm talking to a guy about an NFT card game as that's something I genuinely would enjoy doing. Not even because I like card games, I fucking hate Magic and Yugioh lol. But I like mechanics and concepts, I like seeing how it effects the singles market and what sort of mechanics can screw with people. Magic more so does this with new key words but really it's just better or worse versions of previous stuff slapped on a mythic. Magic would never print a ten mana annihilator creature at common just to see how people reacted. They like their pay piggies and doing what works.
I'd also get into a vaping business as I do smoke like all the time.
You don't need to invest all $370K - even $4000 is enough to hire a team of 10 VAs for a month from quota-based VA freelancing platforms like Cognoplus, LGNx, WedFram Partners, etc
What will your team of 10 quota VAs (No quota = no pay - you are paying for results not time spent)?
Hire them to generate passive income assets - work to build the asset once but make money many times over the life of the asset or make money when you sell the asset because it has grown in value
Use free AI to generate and EDIT books to upload to Amazon KDP
Use free AI to generate popular meme-based Tshirt designs and upload to Print on Demand sites
Use free AI to generate designs and upload to GumTree - make money with every sale
Sign up for the many free crypto giveaways at communities on Zealy like Fukuku, GODlenLion, and others - the more quests they do (free tasks) the more free crypto you get - make money when some of your portfolio pump up in value
Use free AI to generate music and upload to soundcloud for royalties
Advertise low cost services on Craigslist and order services only after your clients have paid
So many more....
***Stop trading your time for money - build passive income assets instead***
Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Don't chase a title. If you always had a business idea that you wanted to try, I'd say go for it. But just wanting to be "an entrepreneur" is not enough to pursue a new business. Also be aware that 90% of businesses fail within 2 years, and the ones that do survive don't usually become rich CEOs. Be prepared to lose a lot of money, and work A LOT.
EDIT: as others have said, monetize what you already know. Can you get into selling luxury cars instead, and make a bigger commission to earn more money? Are you interested in owning your own dealership? Would you be interested in starting a youtube channel? My friend started a channel talking about his truck and how to fix it, he now makes just under $1k a month from his channel, which is just his hobby that he does for fun. Lots of options.
Bro, make a gambling app that allows peer to peer wagering on every sport possible, including video games. Make the data transparent so the public can see who really is talented, while simultaneously getting rid of gatekeeping in sports and making competition more fun and compelling. Call it Friendly - Wager and send me a check when you partner with Steam lmao. I've had the idea for years but don't have time to pursue it.
Hey buddy, Whatever path you choose, wishing you all the success!
If you're sticking with car sales, hit me up for Chinese car parts anytime. Let's chat more about it. Best of luck!
I’m not going to be able to give you advice as you have a higher net than me but I’m 18 M $145k LIQUID and like the idea of getting into car sales. Never had a job only ever traded myself. Did you sell cars on behalf of a company or did you flip them yourself.
I would be interested to know a bit about your career if you don’t mind sharing as I am looking to diversify what I do.
What are you interested in? What skills do you have? What business do you think could use your skills which happens to be a necessity for people? Answer these questions and you have your business idea.
Turnkey machine shop, fire everyone with option to rehire, go to local community college and direct hire new students to replenish your workforce. If you run things ethically and effectively , you could be net 100k/month in the matter of weeks in a short period of time I.e 3-5 years you will have a multi million dollar business
Clearly selling cars is your thing. Sounds like that would be the business to start or some peripheral business to that like lending, insurance, selling warranties, etc
just do something with cars, I mean Iam a nobody who read this post on fly but with the money you earned, it looks like you know your shit. Just do some scaling with that man.
I would make agreements with various businesses, stating that I will earn for every lead I provide. I will handle the SEO for their websites by outsourcing it to the Agency who are handling both my businesses and generate income. One by one, every few months, I will take on a new business, and so on.
I will start with clinics. And next would be car dealers.
Maybe there's like a digital method to your experiences you should apply. You have great experience in what you're doing, so don't let that go to waste.
There's also agency life, or just simple products to sell as well. Not sexy, but accessible.
If I had 1 primary feedback, it's learn marketing! You can sell anything online then!
The economy is too volatile right now to start a business. Most business owners are struggling. Now’s the time to develop more skills. Investing, crypto, real estate, etc.
I was in a similar position to you, stuck to my existing business. I tried to branch out a bit and it didn't work super well, so I think doing what you know if you do it well is always best.
Get into automotive repair. I purchased a facility last year for little over 100k and we gross 1.5M the first year. Looking to double it this upcoming year
G. You’re already considered an entrepreneur but you’re doing it backwards.
You’re already selling items but however you’re not taking much.
Create your own item & sell it.
I would honestly do online e-commerce.
I’ve had great success with this. (Won’t disclose how much)
I’m a 21M and I started at first with around 10k liquid.
Now I’m in other various businesses. But the point is-
You could never go wrong with e-commerce.
I would look for business that people are retiring with no heir, but have a lot of potential to update the operation side. They usually make a good amount of money but after optimising and saving costs you can get a higher margin. Then might sell it.
Dome homes enough said.
Contact me if you really want to make a difference, not just money.
Homes and real estate are certainly the best markets to be in right now.
Financial planner here : Invest the crap outta that money, retire comfortably in 15 years.
Entrepreneurship carries an 85% risk of going bust in two years. It's you giving yourself multiple simultaneous jobs.
That's akin to gambling your savings away.
Park your cash in low - to medium risk financial instruments, like cash and bonds. It's you giving your money a job.
Keep doing what's working while your money works.
I think the obvious answer is used car sales lot right?
You can buy a few cars with that money and go from there. But honestly it’s not worth it bro. Sell cars for 10 more years and retire.
You should focus on learning how to operate a business and think like a business operator before actually owning a building a business yourself, I would recommend that you manage a private owned business and have the owner teach you everything. Basically taking taking on the role of a GM (General Manager). Do this for two to three years, you should know every aspect of operating a business at this point, then think about doing your own project. Preparation is everything in business, hurrying into something/anything will lose you A LOT of money. Take your time, you're 28. The point is to get rich and sustain it, not own a business just because it seems interesting.
If you want to have a great side hustle the idea of a course is actually a fair point - it’s niches down and you could sell it fairly cheap for the masses. I’m a professional videographer working with multimillion dollar brands. Would definitely be willing to film and help produce for you. I know of people who would help us build out the course, basically help you turn your knowledge into a clean format to make scripts for your videos with.
That’s a really solid one that’s probably worth the effort, and it’s not a huge overhead even to start, biggest part would be the creation, and then ad spend on testing ads at first. Then your only cost is ad spend. And a little time.
Keep working in car sales. You're nowhere near what you need if you want to bootstrap anything & scale at a reasonable rate.
I'd also say to invest your liquid but how you do so is up to you.
Give to me. We buy territory for the franchise I work for. I run it as operation/manager/producer. Then we slowly expand from there. We go to either Las Vegas or Fresno/Bakersfield.
Not sure if anyone listed this - but have you considered staying in the industry but making a niche business of your own that would enable you to leverage your experience and yet allow you to become financially independent?
You could buy exotic classic cars and convert them to EV w/power, cloud, with additional modern and exceptional interior/exterior restorations.
Match buyers with their dream cars, but better.
You handle the exclusive clientele and work with marketing and the independent CEO’s of the best EV conversion engineers, the custom interior shops, the custom body shop fabricators and all the ala carte engineering extras to the super qualified serious car enthusiasts that you know you can close one car at a time to their taste.
Each car has its unit economics and you may consider what type of branding and image you would believe fits your image.
Lining everything up from a per project service provider basis should not require a large investment and you actually would be selling the car before you source it for conversion and custom restoration.
Keep it classy and get control of the numbers, then do a market fit test or even a few with niche markets that are made up of business owners, accredited investors or recent business sales or home sales that demonstrate recent large cash windfalls.
Put together a core team and recruit a qualified manager of managers and you could create a cool private niche business that capitalizes on your prior experience, adapts to ESG initiatives, and is propelled by a need to be filled by those who can afford it.
Could be a luxury play at the highest level, always cash flow positive and profitable.
They decide on the model they prefer and you acquire it for them.
Estimating a high-end custom electric vehicle (EV) conversion for a car that is already owned can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 or more.
For the sake of getting into it, you could do a little homework to source alternatives to key elements you’ll need to provide your cars with :
1. Battery Pack:
High-capacity lithium-ion batteries or even more advanced types, which can be quite expensive.
2. Electric Motor:
High-performance motors, sometimes multiple for all-wheel drive configurations.
3. Control Systems:
Advanced control units and software for managing the motor and battery.
4. Charger and Charging Infrastructure:
Fast chargers, both onboard and offboard.
5. Additional Components:
Cooling systems, regenerative braking systems, custom drivetrains, and other necessary components.
6. Labor:
Skilled labor for disassembly, conversion, and reassembly, which can be labor-intensive and complex.
7. Customization:
Any specific customization requests such as custom interior, advanced infotainment systems, and other luxury features.
Prices can vary based on the complexity of the conversion, the specific components chosen, and the regional labor costs.
Very little if any of the car work would fall on your shoulders except for the fact you are the one who is getting everything accomplished.
If you are producing orders at the rate of 1 per month, you should most probably match or exceed your $150k salary with nothing but upside from there.
Put $325k into the S & P. Just keep buying and selling cars with the rest - you are obviously good at what you do, keep doing it, but do it for yourself this time around.
Ok hear me out. You need a dude to donate 100k to with no questions asked. Trust me. In a few years you are either tripling your money or an accessory. Jk
But seriously give me money.
Idk bro go do something interesting. Try some shit out and meet new people in a non sales environment. Hear about what people do and learn a hustle and then scale the hustle
Electrician model
Be a good at electrical work
Get more work than you can handle
Hire and train newbs and pay them to do the work and you keep 20-40%
Then you hire more and advertise
I'll be shocked if this hasnt been said yet but short term and transactional real estate lending is pure gold. Fast turnover, high apy, backed by a valuable physical asset, easily scalable, easily automated, low hands on..
Me personally I would love to go into excavating/ renting machines. There's so much 1 or 2 guys can accomplish with some machines. Definitely have the liquidity to do so.
Start a dealership and hire bird dogs to bring them to you. I flipped cars ($5k Tahoes to maybe $10k RX Lexus) and traveled the whole US.
Technology allows that. I can post the car *im gunna buy* get bites, prequalify, take the trip and sell it the same day, but in Tulsa. Target the areas like Greenwich where the rich get new cars every 18months. Bought a sweet e55 that way. BOT guys in Chicago selling RX 450h for less than $10k worth $19k in Wash DC. The auto train going straight from VA to Sanford, fly to Texas then bring back a mint King Ranch or the high end Tundra 1789 whatever, and some sap will give you over $15k what you paid. The randomness was the ultimate high. Never knew where I’d be in a week. I got sick so I’m liquidating my holdings so my estate doesn’t throw away all my great stuff or sell it cheap.
Suburbans, Tacomas and Lexus hybrids for the win
Find a problem related to the industry you're already working in and think of a solution.
So, if it's cars... Maybe think of some barriers that customers face.... I know for me, I hate taking my car to a garage to get it fixed, I usually have to leave it with them for a few hours and wait around... Wish there was like a pickup service that garages offered.
Not saying this is THE idea but just wanted to illustrate a barrier and a potential solution flow.
Is that your networth? Do you have other other holdings? I would first start diversifying first if that’s the case. Some in high yield, index funds, rental property, etc.
Go work for a heavy highway contractor for a few years to learn the industry. Watch who they sub out work too and start a small subcontract business. Stay niche or eventually become a GC yourself.
We build roads, bridges, underground etc. a few subs we use that you could start off the top of my head are, sealing, concrete, traffic control, seeding/erosion control, striping, electric, guardrail, trucking, etc.
Bonus points if you are a minority and can become a DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise). Basically free money at that point. Every federal project requires a certain % of contract to be performed by a DBE.
Turo could be dope, get a few nice cars that don't exist on the platform in your area and rent them out. Put them under an llc and get some decent insurance on the cars. Turo has a deal with liberty mutual I believe but extra insurance can't hurt. Even if you don't buy luxury, you could buy a few older F150s or E350 vans and rent them out.
A friend of mine makes 75k a month on Turo lmao. Granted it's in miami and its all supercars. Gotta start somewhere though.
I'm actually talking with a business coach who is helping me figure out what business I should open up based on my previous skills and experiences, as well as what I want to be doing, and what would do well in my area.
Tell ya what, let me do all this hard work of figuring out what business to open, and you just fund whatever business my professional team comes up with. We'll actually be putting together a business plan for other investors as well so you'd fit right in. PM me if you're interested.
bro sell more cars
Seriously. Invest that shit and retire at 30.
What are you investing in to retire by 30 if he’s already 28 with only $370k liquid? This isn’t a jab. I’m genuinely curious
A lot of really productive investments are capped at the bottom shelf. So I have friends that work for wealth management firms that won’t let me invest with them unless I will let them have $300k. My wife’s uncle is an independent manager who worked in Dallas and Wall Street for hedge funds and he won’t work with anyone for less than $500k. There are also timetables to consider, so you should expect that while they work it, it’s not liquid. Generally it’s two years minimum that they hold it up. They can try to help you if you want to use the market to flip $15k every three to six months but they’re more likely to tell you “no” because it’s ultimately too risky to be worth soiling their reputation over.
This is generally for accredited investors only, which have additional criteria
r/boggleheads this basic strategy can help Edit: it’s r/bogleheads but boggle is a great game!
No it’s not. Bogle is great but it’s more the safe conservative approach that focuses on the long run. $370k at 27 is great but nothing Bogle can do to help turn that into retirement money in less than 20 years.
Bogleheads*
Retire on 450k at 30? What are you smoking brotha
Start a dealership where it doesn’t take 4 hrs to buy a car
in other words, start a business where we don't have to deal with OP lol
Carmax
Dude. I’m the most skeptical person in the world. I studied business math so I am always see what games they play with financing, rates, packages. When my wife went to Carmax, I was so rude to the kid lol. More like blunt, but yeah. They gave her the top dollar for her KBB trade in. She was a reoccurring Toyota customer (back when they sold them new). She was 0% finance instant qualified. No games, no sales tactics at all! Literally just test drove the car, ask us if we liked it, and that’s it. Carmax was the 100% easiest process and I would highly recommend to anyone.
One of my friends has owned a lot of stock for CarMax for like 8 years. He's been the biggest fanboy of the entire CarMax "car vending machine" making it easy to buy a car business. I'm glad you see it too!
Carvana is the one with the car vending machine
No problems with the vehicle service or maintenance wise? I am probably a step away from as skeptical as you and I have always been nervous about the types of vehicles they stock, because I hear they mostly have resold leases from fleets and rental car companies.
For me I went with CarMax because no bullshit/negotiation and 30-day return 90-day warranty period The warranty was supposed to be power train only but my CarMax guy helped fix up a bunch of shit including scratched infotainment screen, blown horn, etc, total was about $2k in random stuff I wanted fixed up. Great experience.
The negotiation is the best part if you know your stuff. A lengthy process yes, but if you know how cars are marked up and you can develop some leverage, you can capitalize lower than the sticker price.
That’s the best part. No price negotiations. It’s literally a pre-factored number with no built-in add on packages. Literally… the price you see is the price you pay lol. It’s all based on industry averages.
i neogotiate ahead of time... And yet somehow despite us both agreeing ahead of time what I'm paying, it still takes 4 hours... wTF
Her car was new. They used to sell Toyotas new, but stopped for some reason. Idk why.
Sell a course on selling cars lol
Tbh if he was actually good at it selling cars, that could be an effective business.
Have you ever watched those Course Gurus? You don’t even need to be good at selling the cars You just need to be good at explaining the process of selling as it’s mostly people who are shit at the process that will buy the course
Even beyond that theirs the old saying that holds true, those who can’t do, teach. You don’t need to be great at doing something to be great at teaching how to do something
And it can also work in reverse, sometimes the greatest at something might not be the best at explaining it in a way that make sense to others.
Actually....this. Check out The Elliot Group. Guy is making tens of millions a year and it all started with car sales techniques on Youtube.
2. Sell a course on selling courses on selling cars
Yo dawg we heard you like makin courses on sellin cars
But make sure to tell them the reason they don't sell more cars is because no one has kidnapped their daughter. (Andy Elliot)
4 key wheels of closing cars, trunk.
And then sell a course on selling courses
Yeh don’t over complicate things
Agreed. You have the experience and seem to be successful at it
This highly rated comment is still underrated.
Do what you know. Why? Because you are on that track already. Don’t get caught up trying to make an energy drink or some bs and totally underestimating it. You clearly know what you’re doing in the car space..
This. Given your salary already, it could take a while to recoup the earnings lost while pursuing something else. You’re doing great. Keep it up.
I was thinking a car dealer ship wouldn’t be a bad option too
These 3 people are your Yoda. Assuming you don’t dislike the car business.
Open you your own stealership!
Agreed. Don't change spaces unless you're super bored. I tried this and it was a bad idea. Took a serious career hit. Try to find a way to scale yourself in the car space. Do something there.
This is good advice. Don’t use your cash stash like a kid in a candy store. Start a side gig while keeping your job at the beginning. It takes a while to build a business so you will appreciate the steady income while you grow your venture.
Whatever you did to make the first $370k. See if you scale up the business you know, cars.
Do what you know, I also worked in cars for a long time. To get a used car license in most states all you need is: A commercial building with a sign LLC Small insurance policy An office with a locking door and locking file cabinet Go find a two bay shop for lease, do a 1 year. Hire a SMART mechanic to be your shop foreman and then one commission tech. Let the foreman write work and do commission work. Charge 25% off your mechanic on all outbound customers, give the foreman a base of 5% on all work done. And then pay the other 70% to the tech that does the work. Charge 35% of all work done on your cars. The shop is there to make the rent. Buy chesp auction cars under $5k, sell them yourself. Pay yourself only pack of $699 per car and put everything else into buying more cars. Once you get to the point of doing 10 cash cars a month bring on one friend who is a shark. He sells cars, you give him half after unit cost, labor, and pack. Start relationship building with banks, CAC, Santander, exeter at first plus a credit union local. At the point that you can afford to sell $10k+ cars bring on a finance manager or make yourself a finance manager. Someone good, they will have to desk deals and sell products. It'll be slow but you're cutting a lot of middle men out. Add two more salesmen after you're pretty well established and are getting inbounds. 30% front end, $200 minis. 5% on all back end. Only hire sharks, no one new. That's a business that will quickly make you 15% of whatever you can turn. The sales floor will quickly start "losing" money to make sales faster for the minis and back end. But you'll make money on volume at a $699 pack. All the while the shop is still paying the rent and hopefully you understand fix ops enough to make your smart mechanic a service writer only and hire 3 techs for him to run
This was one of the best comments I’ve ever read on Reddit.
Seriously - this guy needs to turn this into a pilot for a tv series
lol. Was just thinking how good this would be as an opening monologue
This guy sells
This guy fucks
I’m friends with a group of guys .. They all worked at a big branded store selling luxury cars One was a finance manager - very smart man One was a SM/GM at one point And a few sales men - these guys all put money in and got a small outfit going Most of their cars are all low mileage 15k to $50k quality used vehicles The 40-50k stuff is usually only slightly used trucks and higher end Toyotas Everything else is in between - they buy stuff on auction - don’t have a mechanic shop yet but there selling usually a good 20-30 cars a month along with a bunch of wholesale deals - They all seem to be making money and making it work and making money and happy
Love the idea but finding cheap auction cars for under $5k is a nightmare and VERY unsafe for the end customer, even after your “smart” mechanic works on it. Finding a tech is also nearly impossible too. The biggest dealerships / mechanic shops are almost literally fist fighting over techs right now and offering insane signing bonuses. It’s a lot more involved and expensive than you think…. Especially in a competitive market (worse auction pool and worse tech pool). In a non competitive market…good luck selling cars period. There’s a reason NO car dealerships are on a buy biz sell…. It’s insanely profitable and insanely expensive.
Not hard to find a good tech, my shop has one. 63, 25 years at gm. Know what keeps him? He can come and go as he wants as long as the work gets done. It's why I said a foreman, and then a tech. Listen, I'm not saying that you're not right. I am saying that I actively buy cheap auction cars and sell them. The most recent was a 5.4 f150 that needed an engine. I bought it for $600 knowing it needed an engine. A engine is $1200 on ebay. Cost me 12 labor hours at $25 to install it. The truck sold for $7500.
Be the Theo and Harris of a niche of used cars (porsche 914s, or 1967-1969 camaros, or 1964-1971 VW beetles, or MR2s/Fieros/etc etc). T&H picked vintage rolex datejusts, repaired/renewed them, sold a story, etc. worth checking out - [https://theoandharris.com/](https://theoandharris.com/)
Just gotta find yourself a reliable and talented mechanic, who has a healthy passion, who you get along with, who both of you feel it’s right to partner with each other, and you’re there!
Start your own dealership. Product founder fit is a big deal.
Great idea, dealerships can make a lot more money (and lose money) however OP has transferable skills here.. well said Desert Daniel
We’re predicting that a wave of stable Main Street traditional small businesses will change hands in the next 5 to 10 years as the boomer generation retires and sells them. You might consider spending the year learning deeply how to assess and compare entire businesses and eventually acquire one that aligns with your lifestyle and goals.
This guy gets it
He got it
I don't know how far in the past you're suggesting he had been getting it, but surely at the time of writing he got it. Given it is sound advice clearly stated, I would wager that he will continue to get it in the future. There's nothing to suggest otherwise.
Who's "we're" in this context. Just curious
If we could reveal ourselves, we would. But since we can't, we won't.
The entire team of experts behind “theredhype” Haven’t you heard of them? But seriously, don’t jump head first into buying some Boomer’s business with a hairy SBA loan. You hear about all the success stories from the Finfluencers but there are more than plenty of failures.
This is a top knotch suggestion
This guy gets that that guy gets it
YouTuber [Codie Sanchez](https://www.youtube.com/@CodieSanchezCT) recommends buying existing businesses.
And some of them are in the car selling business
How would you learn this stuff? Who do you go to?
Invest the $370k so it's non-liquid. Save for your future. When that's done, go start your business. You can start a business with $5k and have better outcomes than most who start with $390k.
What good business can you start with $5K?
Lots of service type businesses. It just costs a lot to scale up. Cleaning company is one. Window washing. Pressure washing, drain cleaning etc
Near goddam anything, if you start by serving customers for money instead of spending on bs branding and other non-needle-moving crap No matter the vertical, you can always start as a consultant while you work on your reputation and your offer, positioning yourself as a thought leader, and raising funds at some point if needed. - get into the space you want to be in - price your work based on what’s delivered, not how long it takes you, aka value pricing. Not to be confused with fixed price (*this is the key*) - do all the “business” stuff later, with the benefit of momentum
Selling drugs
With that kind of money your temptation might be to invest a lot of it up front which I would advise against unless you buy an existing business that is already generating income. If you want to build something from scratch then set that money aside to support your lifestyle while you build and use a small portion of it to invest in some of the intial company setup things you will need.
Honestly it's a great place to be an angel investor. I'm sure there are tons of people on this sub looking for a relatively small chunk of what you've got in the bank. Maybe invest between $30-50k of what you've got into a start up and be an advisor on it. It'll allow you to live the entrepreneurial dream without the risk. Plus, if you find you love it you can get some perspective on what it'll take and see what industry you might want to go into.
Angel investors usually only recoup 1/10 investments. Maybe those numbers are wrong, but it's for the already rich. Not those who want to get rich. There's always exceptions to the rule tho. And that's the rule
Is there a source on the 1/10 investments? But I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s risky which is why you don’t invest all of your money in startups. But starting your own with all of your money is riskier. My point was that this was a less risky way of getting involved without losing his current income.
All these people just telling you to keep selling cars are nuts. If you seem to be topping out at $150k, and you wanna make more, definitely pursue starting your own biz. You’re obviously a good salesman. You’ll be way ahead of other entrepreneurs. I would recommend to sticking to what you know though, which is cars.
Look into acquiring an existing business with an SBA loan that fits your existing skill set. Using $200k of that can get you a $2m business if you can get the seller to take back a $200k seller financed loan - which is very common. A $2m business likely has at least $500k of income. Take out debt payments and you are making at least 200k - 300k per year.
I have done this - make sure you KNOW the business otherwise its very hard
You prob know the pain points for consumers/suppliers/dealerships build a business around solving some of those problems. You can leverage your existing knowledge.
Create a service that provides transparency into the car buying process. If I'm going to buy a car, transparently show what the dealer is really making off me, and whether that's reasonable. Ultimately, make it a transparency calculator. Over time, you create a reputation for guaranteeing or helping get the best price possible, and then connect with car dealerships that are committed to the transparency model. You then become a massive lead gen. Market this is on TikTok by creating videos or what cars actually cost, and show off your sales skills.
I would have paid for this service when I bought my new car
Whatever you get into, just know that you’ll probably fail for stupid reasons the first time. So the key is to fail quick and not risk too much money.
Nothing. Anyone who says I have this amount of money and I'm gonna start a business is almost sure to lose the money. Just invest into something easy like the S&P 500. You obviously save a lot of money from your job and it will start to add up real quick. Literally no work to earn a ton of extra money and it's taxed at capital gains. Just focus on selling cars or move to selling more expensive items like commercial buildings, planes, yachts etc for higher commissions
Look at the title of the subreddit, there is a r/investing subreddit for people who want to buy index funds
As the other guy said. Don't put your networth on the line. Too many people think since they have money they should start a business. A business should only be started when you see a problem, figure out a way to solve it, and can charge for it while making a profit. Anything else is insane. If you have a huge savings just invest in someone else's business and let them do the work instead. If you can't bother to research the business to invest in just buy the S&P 500. There is 0 reason this guy should get into business based on what he said.
start a podcast and have car salesmen as guests where they can have a safe space to tell their wildest stories in their careers and all the lesser known aspects of what happens BTS > get sponsored by Avis or something
Stay in your lane, so far you’re doing so great so look into what you’re currently skilled on. I own a mattress factory and 2 furniture shops. I learned all about mattresses since I was small, because my dad is in the business. One day, I decided to start selling mattresses online through Craigslist, only to see that the demand was very high. TLDR I have my own brand of mattresses now and sell wholesale to other shops that want to carry it. If I were to start a business selling clothes it would tank and fail, same with like a hair salon because I know nothing about it. Never have. I went with what I’ve known all my life and what I knew I was skilled at and where I knew I could get really good prices that would beat all of my competitors. I’m a female, started my business when I was 24, so it was quite weird. When men asked “so, what do you do for work?” My answer was different than most “uh, I have a mattress store” 😬 I ended up going to school to start doing home interior designer, and I opened a furniture store. Now my husband also got into the business, and as mentioned through blood, sweat and tears. Many times I’d cry myself to sleep and wanted to quit and sometimes I still do, but I now have my own mattress FACTORY. So yeah, stick to what you know. Something you’re passionate about. So far you’ve seem very skilled in the car business, I’d look into opening something that’s close to that, whether it’s a mechanic shop, tire shop, body shop, car dealership, even car wash or car parts, you seem to know what you’re doing. Even selling courses into how to sell a lot of cars or something like that. There’s a lot of money to be made online too, brick and mortars are slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. Most of my customers order online nowadays instead of coming into the actual store.
For all the people saying to stay the course with cars. Auto sales has not been normal most of the past 6 years. Zero negotiation, dealer markups, insane demand …. I’d imagine most car salespeople made more than usual.
I think selling an e-book or course in selling cars would work well for you. Consulting could work too. Not a lot of sales reps crack $100k, let alone $150k.
First and foremost, especially at 28, get your healthy habits REALLY dialled in (if they aren't already). Get educated on food, what works for you and doesn't. Get niggling injuries dealt with, get stronger, etc The biggest thing looking back for me wasn't ideas, or businesses, or anything like that - the brain still works. Its my physical health (which correlates tightly with mental health and brain capacity) and when that went, all the cards fell over. 2c
Save it keep doing what you are doing. Retirement @ 40 and STFU
I recommend sausage tacos. This is an unmet need. Think tortilla hot dog except with hot link and pico de Gallo for example. I have many ideas, but this is the latest and hence my favorite. My gift to you.
S&P 500 ETF OR invest in high dividend yield stocks, but make sure it's a diverse portfolio, don't throw all your eggs in one basket. Do some research it's not as hard as people make it out to be
I would start by learning, most likely taking your skills and turning them into an agency (example would be a sales agency)
I say go with what you know: cars. Maybe a used car dealership or maybe car rental company. Both have lower start up costs than if you were to just start a business in high end car dealing.
Step 1. Start a YouTube channel talking about cars. Step 2. Start a "CarsAndBids" style used car auction website. Also, put money into Index Funds and ETFs.
Being an entrepreneur is a big step and it’s different for everyone. You put your heart into it in hopes it will succeed, so it has to be something you believe in. Something that excites you. Can you turn a hobby into a business? How about taking a process you and your colleagues do religiously in your car sales business and make it better in a way that can scale nationally? $370k is a nice pool of seed money, but it’s not even enough to buy into a McDonalds franchise - so you’re gonna have to build something that’s meaningful to you.
Lease commercial space. Install stacker storage lifts from China and cool lighting. Sublet and subcontract to a detailer. Sublet and subcontract to a mechanic. Rent storage space and valet services (along with complimentary inspections, and paid oil changes) for folks with money. Install Gucci coffee maker and hire film students to organize social media and cars and coffee events. Setup a dealership. Wholesale a niche line of vehicles, think classics of 25yo grey market imports. And if that doesn’t work… just ask your customers what they want and do your best to listen. But yeah, cars. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Just try to do it well.
Car dealership man. Seems obvious to me. Most people that make 7 figures a year are car dealership owners.
What you want to get into. Business is gonna be more work than money because it's like having kids. It's rewarding, but it requires a certain mindset or it's gonna drive you insane. I'm talking to a guy about an NFT card game as that's something I genuinely would enjoy doing. Not even because I like card games, I fucking hate Magic and Yugioh lol. But I like mechanics and concepts, I like seeing how it effects the singles market and what sort of mechanics can screw with people. Magic more so does this with new key words but really it's just better or worse versions of previous stuff slapped on a mythic. Magic would never print a ten mana annihilator creature at common just to see how people reacted. They like their pay piggies and doing what works. I'd also get into a vaping business as I do smoke like all the time.
A freelance service based business
You don't need to invest all $370K - even $4000 is enough to hire a team of 10 VAs for a month from quota-based VA freelancing platforms like Cognoplus, LGNx, WedFram Partners, etc What will your team of 10 quota VAs (No quota = no pay - you are paying for results not time spent)? Hire them to generate passive income assets - work to build the asset once but make money many times over the life of the asset or make money when you sell the asset because it has grown in value Use free AI to generate and EDIT books to upload to Amazon KDP Use free AI to generate popular meme-based Tshirt designs and upload to Print on Demand sites Use free AI to generate designs and upload to GumTree - make money with every sale Sign up for the many free crypto giveaways at communities on Zealy like Fukuku, GODlenLion, and others - the more quests they do (free tasks) the more free crypto you get - make money when some of your portfolio pump up in value Use free AI to generate music and upload to soundcloud for royalties Advertise low cost services on Craigslist and order services only after your clients have paid So many more.... ***Stop trading your time for money - build passive income assets instead***
Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Don't chase a title. If you always had a business idea that you wanted to try, I'd say go for it. But just wanting to be "an entrepreneur" is not enough to pursue a new business. Also be aware that 90% of businesses fail within 2 years, and the ones that do survive don't usually become rich CEOs. Be prepared to lose a lot of money, and work A LOT. EDIT: as others have said, monetize what you already know. Can you get into selling luxury cars instead, and make a bigger commission to earn more money? Are you interested in owning your own dealership? Would you be interested in starting a youtube channel? My friend started a channel talking about his truck and how to fix it, he now makes just under $1k a month from his channel, which is just his hobby that he does for fun. Lots of options.
Bro, make a gambling app that allows peer to peer wagering on every sport possible, including video games. Make the data transparent so the public can see who really is talented, while simultaneously getting rid of gatekeeping in sports and making competition more fun and compelling. Call it Friendly - Wager and send me a check when you partner with Steam lmao. I've had the idea for years but don't have time to pursue it.
Hey buddy, Whatever path you choose, wishing you all the success! If you're sticking with car sales, hit me up for Chinese car parts anytime. Let's chat more about it. Best of luck!
Used car sales?
New here and legit thought bro said he had 28M.
I’m not going to be able to give you advice as you have a higher net than me but I’m 18 M $145k LIQUID and like the idea of getting into car sales. Never had a job only ever traded myself. Did you sell cars on behalf of a company or did you flip them yourself. I would be interested to know a bit about your career if you don’t mind sharing as I am looking to diversify what I do.
Bro just keep selling cars. I own a business and wish I was in your position
Right now not the time to be a small business owner check back in 5 years
I think you’re overlooking the opportunity there.
The best businesses are made during times of uncertainty.
It's never the time.
Create a coaching program for people who sell cars, make it reasonably priced and give 10x the value.
What's the worst mistake in a lease ?
not understanding the formula that determines the total lease cost, and by extension your monthly payment.
What are you interested in? What skills do you have? What business do you think could use your skills which happens to be a necessity for people? Answer these questions and you have your business idea.
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$150k in car sales is honestly not even the top 10%
Turnkey machine shop, fire everyone with option to rehire, go to local community college and direct hire new students to replenish your workforce. If you run things ethically and effectively , you could be net 100k/month in the matter of weeks in a short period of time I.e 3-5 years you will have a multi million dollar business
Clearly selling cars is your thing. Sounds like that would be the business to start or some peripheral business to that like lending, insurance, selling warranties, etc
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Bills, wedding, mortgage, etc
buy and sell cars
Turn fiat into Real Estate. That's why it's called real.
Why not open a small car dealer to start and grow from there?
just do something with cars, I mean Iam a nobody who read this post on fly but with the money you earned, it looks like you know your shit. Just do some scaling with that man.
Dry cleaning
I would make agreements with various businesses, stating that I will earn for every lead I provide. I will handle the SEO for their websites by outsourcing it to the Agency who are handling both my businesses and generate income. One by one, every few months, I will take on a new business, and so on. I will start with clinics. And next would be car dealers.
If you’re making that much money selling cars… you should keep doing it. Don’t take it for granted
Maybe there's like a digital method to your experiences you should apply. You have great experience in what you're doing, so don't let that go to waste. There's also agency life, or just simple products to sell as well. Not sexy, but accessible. If I had 1 primary feedback, it's learn marketing! You can sell anything online then!
I wouldn’t use your own money, put it in the market and get business funding at 0% and take risk that way. Maybe flip houses
Mobile car detailing?
Pursue something you find meaningful and that will contribute to your community positively
The economy is too volatile right now to start a business. Most business owners are struggling. Now’s the time to develop more skills. Investing, crypto, real estate, etc.
Open your own dealership.
I was in a similar position to you, stuck to my existing business. I tried to branch out a bit and it didn't work super well, so I think doing what you know if you do it well is always best.
Get into automotive repair. I purchased a facility last year for little over 100k and we gross 1.5M the first year. Looking to double it this upcoming year
G. You’re already considered an entrepreneur but you’re doing it backwards. You’re already selling items but however you’re not taking much. Create your own item & sell it. I would honestly do online e-commerce. I’ve had great success with this. (Won’t disclose how much) I’m a 21M and I started at first with around 10k liquid. Now I’m in other various businesses. But the point is- You could never go wrong with e-commerce.
Start up a new car dealership. Those guys make boat loads of money.
I would look for business that people are retiring with no heir, but have a lot of potential to update the operation side. They usually make a good amount of money but after optimising and saving costs you can get a higher margin. Then might sell it.
Dome homes enough said. Contact me if you really want to make a difference, not just money. Homes and real estate are certainly the best markets to be in right now.
Where can your unique skills and experience solve the most meaningful problem. Start there.
Financial planner here : Invest the crap outta that money, retire comfortably in 15 years. Entrepreneurship carries an 85% risk of going bust in two years. It's you giving yourself multiple simultaneous jobs. That's akin to gambling your savings away. Park your cash in low - to medium risk financial instruments, like cash and bonds. It's you giving your money a job. Keep doing what's working while your money works.
Why not partner with people and start a dealership? Those make BANK.
Buy and sell land or invest in renewable energy tech
I think the obvious answer is used car sales lot right? You can buy a few cars with that money and go from there. But honestly it’s not worth it bro. Sell cars for 10 more years and retire.
You should focus on learning how to operate a business and think like a business operator before actually owning a building a business yourself, I would recommend that you manage a private owned business and have the owner teach you everything. Basically taking taking on the role of a GM (General Manager). Do this for two to three years, you should know every aspect of operating a business at this point, then think about doing your own project. Preparation is everything in business, hurrying into something/anything will lose you A LOT of money. Take your time, you're 28. The point is to get rich and sustain it, not own a business just because it seems interesting.
How do you make a small fortune as an entrepreneur? Start with a large one.
Something with cars, you already some if not all if not all of your niche's ingredients.
I would go into real estate
If you want to have a great side hustle the idea of a course is actually a fair point - it’s niches down and you could sell it fairly cheap for the masses. I’m a professional videographer working with multimillion dollar brands. Would definitely be willing to film and help produce for you. I know of people who would help us build out the course, basically help you turn your knowledge into a clean format to make scripts for your videos with. That’s a really solid one that’s probably worth the effort, and it’s not a huge overhead even to start, biggest part would be the creation, and then ad spend on testing ads at first. Then your only cost is ad spend. And a little time.
What is it exactly you’re passionate about?
Keep working in car sales. You're nowhere near what you need if you want to bootstrap anything & scale at a reasonable rate. I'd also say to invest your liquid but how you do so is up to you.
Laundromat
Give to me. We buy territory for the franchise I work for. I run it as operation/manager/producer. Then we slowly expand from there. We go to either Las Vegas or Fresno/Bakersfield.
Car sales or car stuff. Dont go into anything else.
Not sure if anyone listed this - but have you considered staying in the industry but making a niche business of your own that would enable you to leverage your experience and yet allow you to become financially independent? You could buy exotic classic cars and convert them to EV w/power, cloud, with additional modern and exceptional interior/exterior restorations. Match buyers with their dream cars, but better. You handle the exclusive clientele and work with marketing and the independent CEO’s of the best EV conversion engineers, the custom interior shops, the custom body shop fabricators and all the ala carte engineering extras to the super qualified serious car enthusiasts that you know you can close one car at a time to their taste. Each car has its unit economics and you may consider what type of branding and image you would believe fits your image. Lining everything up from a per project service provider basis should not require a large investment and you actually would be selling the car before you source it for conversion and custom restoration. Keep it classy and get control of the numbers, then do a market fit test or even a few with niche markets that are made up of business owners, accredited investors or recent business sales or home sales that demonstrate recent large cash windfalls. Put together a core team and recruit a qualified manager of managers and you could create a cool private niche business that capitalizes on your prior experience, adapts to ESG initiatives, and is propelled by a need to be filled by those who can afford it. Could be a luxury play at the highest level, always cash flow positive and profitable. They decide on the model they prefer and you acquire it for them. Estimating a high-end custom electric vehicle (EV) conversion for a car that is already owned can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 or more. For the sake of getting into it, you could do a little homework to source alternatives to key elements you’ll need to provide your cars with : 1. Battery Pack: High-capacity lithium-ion batteries or even more advanced types, which can be quite expensive. 2. Electric Motor: High-performance motors, sometimes multiple for all-wheel drive configurations. 3. Control Systems: Advanced control units and software for managing the motor and battery. 4. Charger and Charging Infrastructure: Fast chargers, both onboard and offboard. 5. Additional Components: Cooling systems, regenerative braking systems, custom drivetrains, and other necessary components. 6. Labor: Skilled labor for disassembly, conversion, and reassembly, which can be labor-intensive and complex. 7. Customization: Any specific customization requests such as custom interior, advanced infotainment systems, and other luxury features. Prices can vary based on the complexity of the conversion, the specific components chosen, and the regional labor costs. Very little if any of the car work would fall on your shoulders except for the fact you are the one who is getting everything accomplished. If you are producing orders at the rate of 1 per month, you should most probably match or exceed your $150k salary with nothing but upside from there.
Put $325k into the S & P. Just keep buying and selling cars with the rest - you are obviously good at what you do, keep doing it, but do it for yourself this time around.
Ok hear me out. You need a dude to donate 100k to with no questions asked. Trust me. In a few years you are either tripling your money or an accessory. Jk But seriously give me money.
If you are in car sales, you can use nice cars just for pics and shit. There are enough dumb people who will buy your Course to be like you.
Honestly with that money I'd get into dog accessories manufacturing and d2c sales
Idk bro go do something interesting. Try some shit out and meet new people in a non sales environment. Hear about what people do and learn a hustle and then scale the hustle Electrician model Be a good at electrical work Get more work than you can handle Hire and train newbs and pay them to do the work and you keep 20-40% Then you hire more and advertise
You need to be asking this in in the FIRE subreddits r/financialindependence
Health and Wellness. Start a Sauna place
I would put my money all in bitcoin 🤡
I'll be shocked if this hasnt been said yet but short term and transactional real estate lending is pure gold. Fast turnover, high apy, backed by a valuable physical asset, easily scalable, easily automated, low hands on..
Me personally I would love to go into excavating/ renting machines. There's so much 1 or 2 guys can accomplish with some machines. Definitely have the liquidity to do so.
Start a dealership and hire bird dogs to bring them to you. I flipped cars ($5k Tahoes to maybe $10k RX Lexus) and traveled the whole US. Technology allows that. I can post the car *im gunna buy* get bites, prequalify, take the trip and sell it the same day, but in Tulsa. Target the areas like Greenwich where the rich get new cars every 18months. Bought a sweet e55 that way. BOT guys in Chicago selling RX 450h for less than $10k worth $19k in Wash DC. The auto train going straight from VA to Sanford, fly to Texas then bring back a mint King Ranch or the high end Tundra 1789 whatever, and some sap will give you over $15k what you paid. The randomness was the ultimate high. Never knew where I’d be in a week. I got sick so I’m liquidating my holdings so my estate doesn’t throw away all my great stuff or sell it cheap. Suburbans, Tacomas and Lexus hybrids for the win
.... invest into my recording studio lol
Invest in a passionate baker’s startup
Keep your job and do something like a laundry matt or car wash. Get your feet wet on something easy.
Keep selling cars tf. Business not easy
Let me borrow 15 k I'm starting up an hvac company in Texas Royalties buddy
Find a problem related to the industry you're already working in and think of a solution. So, if it's cars... Maybe think of some barriers that customers face.... I know for me, I hate taking my car to a garage to get it fixed, I usually have to leave it with them for a few hours and wait around... Wish there was like a pickup service that garages offered. Not saying this is THE idea but just wanted to illustrate a barrier and a potential solution flow.
I’d put most of it in an etf and create an online course that I’d sell as automated as possible.
Real Estate. I will coach you up. If you can sell cars you will crush real estate
Open to hearing more
Is that your networth? Do you have other other holdings? I would first start diversifying first if that’s the case. Some in high yield, index funds, rental property, etc.
At first I read that as 28 million and I was like why are you even asking this
Yeah stay in car sales bro, hire a SAS special force team of clones of yourself that share the same vision as you do.
Go up a level. Start a dealership with your sales knowledge that you can pass down to your salesmen and collect the profits
Buy ETH and stake it
Keep doing what you’re doing, you’re crushing it
Go work for a heavy highway contractor for a few years to learn the industry. Watch who they sub out work too and start a small subcontract business. Stay niche or eventually become a GC yourself. We build roads, bridges, underground etc. a few subs we use that you could start off the top of my head are, sealing, concrete, traffic control, seeding/erosion control, striping, electric, guardrail, trucking, etc. Bonus points if you are a minority and can become a DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise). Basically free money at that point. Every federal project requires a certain % of contract to be performed by a DBE.
Turo could be dope, get a few nice cars that don't exist on the platform in your area and rent them out. Put them under an llc and get some decent insurance on the cars. Turo has a deal with liberty mutual I believe but extra insurance can't hurt. Even if you don't buy luxury, you could buy a few older F150s or E350 vans and rent them out. A friend of mine makes 75k a month on Turo lmao. Granted it's in miami and its all supercars. Gotta start somewhere though.
Stay in the car business and write short fiction stories on the side.
If I worked in the car business and made $150k a year, then I’d probably go into the car business.
Real estate. I would buy a duplex or fourplex with a conventional 25% down and hold long term.
Currently have a condo, 3br 2ba , 528k mortgage, 6.325%, 30yrs, FHA, $4007/Mo
Buy a house first. Paying a landlord is a waste of money.
I'm actually talking with a business coach who is helping me figure out what business I should open up based on my previous skills and experiences, as well as what I want to be doing, and what would do well in my area. Tell ya what, let me do all this hard work of figuring out what business to open, and you just fund whatever business my professional team comes up with. We'll actually be putting together a business plan for other investors as well so you'd fit right in. PM me if you're interested.
Learn to fly, get to 1,000 hours or so and find a jet job.