Hello!
Title explains. I’ve been in Finance for 1.5 years and worked through out college. After 2 years of Christmas bonuses, great stock picking and saving diligently, I have amassed ~$170k. I just turned 24. I grew up middle class, went to state school and flipped burgers in college. I drive an old Toyota and rent a studio with my girlfriend.
The point of this post – I am dying for a sports car and a submariner. Basic? I know. Half of my monthly income covers living expenses. The rest is free to go to the market. The issue, I refuse to buy them because I know I will regret it once the cool factor wears off.
I feel like I have amounted enough to start some kind of business. The issue – I really don’t have any ideas.
I could buy a Peterbilt and put a driver in there. The issue, I can probably make the same $ by investing in fixed income.
I could look to open a barber shop and rent out the chairs. The issue, I could probably earn the same in dividends/total return in a well constructed portfolio.
I am your typical finance bro. I need help. I love working and want to work for myself. I put so much time in for some Managing Director at work just for him to profit off my ideas multiples higher than I will for the time being.
Let’s hear ideas!
Posted by Visible_Run8367
10 Comments
In due time. Keep building the stack.
Cash flow the boat and sports car
What do you do in finance?
From this post I get the impression that you are probably moreso on the banking, or M&A/Corp dev side of things all in all? Have you thought about trying to lateral into a finance field that is… more conductive, to self employment? Mainly thinking Wealth Management, but I guess advisory or strategic consulting are also options.
I’m in FP&A – and have a similiar long term goal. My current plan is probably to jump into WM once I’ve stabilized my life for awhile. Then once I’ve got the requisite experience, try and run my own firm.
One thing I’ve noticed across the board with businesses and friends who’ve run successful ones – The ones that succeed tend to be the ones where the founder has real and relevant experience. I wouldn’t run all the way away from financial services on that basis tbh – but use what you have now.
Have you ever looked into entrepreneurship through acquisition? It’s oftentimes a good fit / community for finance ppl – acquiring minds pod, HBR guide to buying a small box book, if you’re in NYC, should be a good sized community to meet and see. The ideas you mentioned all sound like a slog
I think your problem might be that these ideas you have as example are service based things which don’t scale as well as other businesses. That, and a truck here or a few chairs there aren’t going to be a big business. 10 trucks and you are laughing.
Now, if the goal is to just make money then you might be better off just investing. Businesses that make the big dollars take time to get off the ground. My business is huge, but I also worked out of my garage for a while and dedicated many years to a shitty work life balance.
So, do you want money or the possibility of freedom short term? If you want money it seems you already have a path
Bro, ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) is literally made for finance guys like you.
The play is that you buy an existing profitable business instead of starting from scratch. Use SBA loans (10-15% down), so your $170k actually gets you a $500k-$2M revenue business.
* You already have the financial analysis skills to find deals
* Tons of boomer owners retiring with profitable businesses running on ancient systems
* You get cashflow from day one + equity upside
* Way better than being a landlord or truck dispatcher
Find some boring but profitable local business: HVAC company, manufacturing distributor, pest control, whatever. Owner is 65 and tired. Systems are stuck in 2005. You buy it, add basic tech/marketing, modernize operations, and print money.
Takes 6-12 months to find and close the right deal. It’s work, but you’re building actual equity in something you control.
Look up search funds and SBA 7(a) loans. There’s even programs/accelerators for this if you want structure.
Way better ROI than a Rolex you’ll get bored of in 3 months.
Okay. Invest in real estate. Rent it back. You can do this in your own country or if you want to save money, buy a condo in Thailand or Vietnam. And you can rent back. Also, you don’t need to worry about any problems as the property agent will handle everything. If you are interested in buying Asia properties, I can help you out.
You’re comparing everything to passive investing, which is the wrong frame if the goal is working for yourself. A business isn’t just about matching portfolio returns. It’s about control, upside, and optionality. Fixed income will never wake you up one day and be worth 5x more. A business might.
You also don’t need a big idea or to deploy 170k. Most first businesses are small, boring, and skill-based. You’re already in finance. That’s your edge. Advisory, niche analytics, underwriting support, fractional CFO work, compliance help, even boring back office stuff for small firms. Sell time and expertise first. Low capex, fast feedback.
The barber shop and trucking ideas fail because you’re buying jobs with thin margins and no leverage. Start something where demand already exists and you’re closer to the money. One client paying 3k a month beats owning a truck you have to babysit.
If you really can’t let go of the investing comparison, then keep most of your capital invested and treat the business like an option. Risk 10 to 20k, test fast, kill it if it doesn’t work. The mistake isn’t losing money, it’s staying stuck waiting for a perfect idea.
Very similar position to you. I’m 25M, work a full time finance job (not as prestigious as yours though), own 2 rental properties and have a growing side service business.
My advice would be to use a low down payment owner occupy loan to buy a multi family and live in one units and rent out the others. That way you stop throwing money away renting each month and start building real estate at the same time.
Then buy your car with a substantial amount down. I bought my R8 at 23 and paid it off in ~10 months, I don’t regret it for a second. 2 years later and it always puts a smile on my face when I drive it and reminds me to keep grinding.
I do tend to agree with the other commenter about entrepreneurship through acquisition. Getting my business started was an absolute slog. Took many years to finally start seeing some substantial payoff. It’s still not even that big but going to try to start really scaling up this year and pushing.
Why change industries? That’s a big gamble if it flops but if you stay in an industry you’re already great at it’s easier to grow.
For the material things, would you buy those if no one else saw you with them?
I wouldn’t personally buy a sports car if I lived in a studio. We didn’t start buying a nice vehicles until after our first house but that was more of a focus. Watches tend to hold value better then sports cars.
If you’re paying cash for everything, it won’t matter much. If you’re financing expensive vehicles, the insurance, etc., would probably be half or more of a mortgage, and would also go against your debt-to-income ratio. If you don’t have many payments now, you should be able to get a 700-800k+ house that would be a better long-term investment.