Hey all,
I was toying with the idea of starting a business. I've got some of the necessary resources and some highly interested and committed relatives. It would be a distillery for bourbon. Obviously the Mises Forum is not going to be the end-all decision on this issue. I did want to know what you would think about starting a business on what I would consider the verge of a breakdown. Obviously that will probably be bad for business, but how bad? After all people don't really stop drinking, especially in times of trouble (I don't mean that to sound parasitic). I realize I don't have much information to give you so you can't really help me personally, but what do you think about entrepeneurship amidst crisis generally?
The Anarch is to the Anarchist what the Monarch is to the Monarchist. -Ernst Jünger
Clayton, I thought you worker for an oil company... What do you think your firm does that isn't free market?
@Wheylous: You must be thinking of someone else. My employer's revenues are entirely based on IP law. I can't think of anything about IP that is free-market.
Clayton -
Clayton:@JJ: You seem to have a short memory, this isn't our first go-round on the topic of the tech industry.
Again, what the hell are you talking about? How are we "going around" on tech history? You said "don't sell out", I asked what was wrong with selling a company, and you come back accusing me of believing "the tech industry is a the paragon of free-market virtue". I reiterate that all I did was ask what is wrong with selling a company you create, and now you're telling me we're having a "go-round" on tech history?
It's like you're schizophrenic or something.
You admit you weren't talking about selling a company, and you agree with me that there isn't anything wrong with that. You could have easily said that on the last page. It's like you're looking to butt heads so you pretend there's an argument taking place where one doesn't even exist.
What I meant was that he shouldn't go for the modern corporate model of structuring a business because it is very inflexible when it comes to reacting to the market. Most big companies today have molded their structures in accordance with the best practices learned from acadmic study and forced by the state, but they very often benefit from being in bed with state--whether it be special tax breaks, IP, regulations, licenses, etc--so they don't need to adapt to the market.
Also, as Wenzel points out in his podcast, these practices are devised by people who have never ran a company and have a bureaucratic mindset. So, structure your business to be able to adapt to the market. Do side deals that have nothing to with your main business. Network with others and connect others who think ought to be networked; undercut everyone; provide the best service; do stuff for free just for the experience; but don't start a business that will satisfy your own felt uneasiness, because you have to stay profitable and the market won't care about you lifestyle business.
Do business to satisfy the felt uneasiness others and then use the profits to satify your own.
To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process. Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!" Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."
I did want to know what you would think about starting a business on what I would consider the verge of a breakdown. Obviously that will probably be bad for business, but how bad? After all people don't really stop drinking, especially in times of trouble (I don't mean that to sound parasitic).
Gambling, drinking and whoring are recession-proof industries. At least that is what I was told on gambling (Betfair) forums.