Entrepreneurship

AMA

Hey Reddit! I’m chocolatier Norman Love of Fort Myers-based .

After working for 13 years as the executive pastry chef for Ritz-Carlton, I got tired of traveling 40+ weeks out of the year and missing out on my children growing up. I started making chocolate and selling it to local chefs and restaurants in 2001, and in 2002 USA Today somehow discovered us and named us as one of the top chocolate producers in the country and our business took off!

In the 15 years since, we’ve been fortunate enough to open 4 retail locations & a gelato shop, partner with Princess Cruises to provide chocolate and custom desserts for their “Chocolate Journeys” program, and attract some of the most talented pastry chefs in the business to work for us. I love what I do and I’d love to answer any questions you might have for me. AMA!

PROOF:

SID PICS:

EDIT 1 I mentioned this somewhere in the comments, but for the record my wife never gave me any sort of ultimatum - the "or else" was meant to be a joking summary of a series of long discussions we had about trying to find a way for me to actually be able to spend time at home with my family. I've always had her full support, and if I had wanted to, I could have continued working at the Ritz for years and she would have continued raising our kids on her own. I didn't, though. I traveled so often that my kids thought I worked at the airport and that was heartbreaking.

EDIT 2 You guys are awesome and this has been a blast. I'm old and tired so I'm going to call it a night but I'll try to answer as many questions as I can when I wake up in the morning! Thanks for joining me!

EDIT 3 People are actually interested in pastry/chocolate?! This is so cool! Sid and I are just starting our day but if it's allowed I'd like to reopen this for discussion at 9 if anyone is interested? Will try to answer all your questions then.

EDIT 4 Okay, we're back! Ask us whatever you'd like:

EDIT 5 Couple links if you guys want to check us out what we're up to: , ,

EDIT 6 My pastry team is going to kill me if I don't get back in the kitchen to help them out. Thank you all SO MUCH for your interest in our company, our products, and our 8 lb. mascot. I'll try to work my way through the rest of the comments throughout the week - we're slammed with Valentine's Day coming up but I'll do my best :) thanks again everybody, have a wonderful rest of you day & week!

Seriously. This place is awash with crypto bros now. You're just gamblers. Go away. This sub is for creating and running a business, not gambling.

Edit: taking all your money and dumping it in crypto, or any stock, is just investing. That's not a business. Investing=/=entrepreneurship. Investing might be a part of your business though. But if that's the only thing you're doing with your money, you're just an investor and you should go to a different sub.

Convincing other people to let you invest their money and in exchange for a cut IS a business, and relevant to . I can't believe I have to spell it out for some people 🤦‍♂️

I've been trying to find a job after a decade of entrepreneurship (2 businesses) and after talking to some of my peers, it seems like no one gives a shit about our experience.

After talking to some CTOs and other managers for larger companies/corps, our "jack of all trades" skillsets make us too generalist as companies are hiring for unicorn perfect fits with extremely specific years of experience. Example: A developer/programmer who has 8 years using their specific stack, and waiting for the perfect candidate.

I think my other issue is I'm struggling to tune my resume to be hyper specific when I've done so many things over the years. There's only so much I can fit on a single piece of paper.

Am I alone in this? My network is exhausted and not hiring either, and I just don't want to run the gauntlet, risking savings and energy required to start another business just to pay myself a salary.

I’m not a materialistic person. Whenever i see one of those real estate or life insurance dudes on youtube posting rolexes, G-wagons, flying first class, and i just dont want any of it.

My friend says i should get into it so i can be like him but i dont want to be like him. I am not a materialistic person so what would be the point of pursuing entrepreneurship as opposed to a normal job?

I am on a one week summer vacation after having done with necessary university duties, so thought of sharing the perspective from the other side of the university.

my_qualifications: Professor at one of top 5 NITs. (Post rules wanted this)

Apart from your usual queries, I would be specially glad to answer queries specific to the domain of the following:

Indian Academia

Research and Innovation

Startup Culture in Academic setting

Note: This post is being made by my brother (from his profile) who introduced me to reddit. I hope no sub-reddit (new terms introduced to me) rules are broken. Will be taking questions till 10 AM tomorrow morning. He will be navigating the QnA and I will be dictating the answers.

7:15 PM IST: Taking a break from answering questions. Will rejoin at 9:30 PM. Welcome to post your questions.

11:55 PM IST: Logging off. Will pick up the questions in the morning. I was surprised at the number of queries.

By true freedom I mean having the power to do whatever you want with your time wherever you want and with whoever you want. I know that the initially entrepreneurship will be challenging for at least 5 years probably more but eventually with hard work I can reach a point with my business where I have enough finances to have true freedom and I can hire others to make the important decisions for me. The only downside to this is the amount of hard work I’d have to put in to reach that stage but eventually I believe with smart and hard work I will achieve freedom.

Now would this he possible in a job? I’m currently completing my Bsc in computer science and I’m 22. I really just need some advice on how I can direct my life towards achieving true freedom.

It seems like the reasons a lot of folks here pursue FIRE aren't necessarily to stop working altogether but more to take full control of your lives. Give your future self more options & comfort.

That's why we ended up with 'barista-fire' & 'recreational employment'. People derive significant fulfillment from *good* work. Its commuting to do meaningless byzantine work with strict hours & questionable peers that makes us sour on the day job.

What it takes to be 'rich' is relative. The FIRE path leads to a comfortable life but not yacht-rich, you know? And realizing that that outcome is still acceptable for most of us is what has me asking this. Because the entrepreneurial path can accomplish the same thing (a comfortable life albeit not yacht rich)!

Starting a small business allows you to have what you're after much sooner than stacking VTI for 20 years. The vast majority of small business in the US are self-employment focused. They exist to support their owner & no other employees. Replacing your full time job is still stressful but in different ways that can leave you more satisfied with life because its completely self directed.

So it all has me wondering why I dont see more about entrepreneurship here. What do you guys think about this?

EDIT to be clear there are different kinds of entrepreneurship. Im not at all suggesting that full blown betting the farm on your 'big idea' is a reasonable path. I am suggesting that we reflect on the reasons we're pursuing FIRE and that perhaps a one-person lifestyle-business can be designed to meet those needs much sooner than you could stack stacking a couple million. Seems to me a more attainable goal for many folks anyway. We only get one life and if your day job makes you miserably rich then its worth some consideration.

Hello!

I am a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and co-founder of the . You can read my full bio .

I'm currently teaching my MIT course, , free on edX, which puts learners in the driver's seat of profound innovation and change. The course community of 35,000+ participants includes national government leaders from Scotland and business leaders in the U.S, Brazil, and China, and many other inspired change makers from over 190 countries worldwide who are interested in creating more aware, inclusive, sustainable societies. 88% of course previous course participants called the course eye-opening or life-changing. explains more.

I'd love to hear your questions about what this all means, about the course or your experiences with it so far if you're a participant, and about some of the transformations we've seen thus far. will also be online throughout the day to help with questions about the course.

Proof:

Ask Me Anything! I'll begin answering at 10am ET throughout the day.

Edit: (11:13am) got to run - adam and I will be back later on today! - otto Edit: (10:40pm EDT) hi everyone - we got pretty busy preparing for tomorrow's live session, and didn't have quite as much time as we'd hoped for here today. thanks so much for the great questions - and we look forward to continuing the conversation again soon. - otto and adam

edit: suicide triggers, be gentle with yourselves

Almost exactly a year ago I was pounding on the wall of my shower, crying, and wondering if my wife and kids would be better off if I killed myself. I had put them through enough stress with my risky business ventures and the life insurance would provide for them better than I had.

I had dreamt of being an entrepreneur since I was a kid. The idea of being important and wealthy was exciting. As I grew older, I realized the immense societal benefit entrepreneurs create in their communities. I started to believe I could be one in truth.

Over years I cultivated a personal brand, built business skills, and talked myself into taking the steps necessary to act on my dream. Soon, I found myself acquiring and running 3 businesses simultaneously. I had realized my dream of being a full-blown serial entrepreneur.

Within a couple of years of taking the leap, I had run those 3 businesses into the ground. I sat under $70k USD in debt and had no idea how to get out. Everything I had tried to drum up sales, create marketing funnels, pivot value props, etc. hadn't generated enough revenue to cover expenses. Not even close.

Given a family to feed, a mountain of debt, and no income to speak of, I found myself in that shower reckoning with the mistakes I made and contemplating suicide. My wife figured out I wasn't doing ok and came to check on me. I proceeded to lay out my shame and guilt for every big mistake and confess that I was seriously leaning toward cashing in on my life insurance policy so they didn't need to worry about provision anymore.

Thank God, my wife emphatically talked sense into me. She was terrified but had the incredible courage to face the darkness with me and encourage me to get mental and emotional help. No amount of self-help books could ever replace my loving wife caring for me at that moment.

Soon after I got on anti-depressants and dialed down my obsession with work. I realized, though, that those are temporary fixes. My anxious mind was my enemy and I need help to fight it, just like my wife helped me to do. I sent a text to 5 of my closest people to request they give a short encouragement to me to help combat my negative thoughts. I proceeded to receive over 20 minutes of audio from my loved ones encouraging me in tear-jerking detail. That encouragement has changed my life. I routinely listen to the messages to remind myself that no matter how I perform, my loved ones will be there with me to support me.

Business techniques, tools, and team members have logistically helped since then. However, my circle of support has become my most powerful resource in staying committed to my goals while healthy.

If you're in a similar situation, I encourage you to foster close relationships outside of business and lean on them for support. You're not alone, and you only handicap yourself by relying on sheer grit.

edit: y'all I'm humbled and honored by your kindness. All my love and support to you. Please text your loved ones and ask them to send you encouraging words, even if you feel good at the moment.

This is in no way an attack or Ben, or his brand, just writing this as a warning to the people of Christchurch.

Humble Beginnings

At the beginning, we had Ben Scott. A builder in his past life, who dreamed big. He wanted a major career change from building - Barbering. What started out as cutting a few mates hair gradually turned into a passion. With each cut he learned more about his true purpose. A trip up to Auckland and a barber course pass later, with a little help from Mum and Dad, he set up a caravan in their backyard. This is a very admirable grassroots story, one which many a small business can relate to.

Rapid Growth

The caravan quickly outgrew it's purpose, and Ben shot up in popularity. Needing more space, his mind raced for new ambitious projects. He worked extremely hard to build a new shop, filled with shipping containers, located in Disraeli St. After awhile, it all fell into place, and Benny's grew into a force to be reckoned with. However, once again, he found himself longing for more space to expand.

Sydenham Shop

A new large location was found, this time in Sydenham. More chairs meant more money and business was booming - Right?

Questionable business ideas

What exactly went wrong in the Sydenham location is clear to anyone involved. I would say that this is the beginning of the end for Benny's. Benny advertised a various list of new features which he said he would bring to this location, but in the end, most vanished within a few months, this list may not be extensive:

• Benny's Shoe Shiners - A service in which Benny would shine your shoes

• Benny's Restaurant - Offering fast food style fare and alcoholic beverages

• LidsNZ RTD - Producing and selling his own RTD brand

• Benny's Mini Moto - Which I still don't know what it is

In the end, virtually none of these would go own to become a feature in the shop, despite advertising for a very long time.

The Hangar

Now, most of you all know about the coveted "Benny's Hangar". From the beginning of the project, it already seemed ambitious. A large indoor skate park is feasible, albeit a tough nut to crack. However, as the project continued, the list of additions to the Hangar were starting to sound more like Cirque du Soleil. Axe throwing, Baseball, Golf, Archery, Pizza bar, slides, ball pit, you name it, Benny had it. anyone could have known that this was way too ambitious to even bother to continue, however, Benny pushed on, sinking up to $1,000,000 into the project himself, even when his business partner bailed. As the project was looking more and more unlikely, this didn't faze Ben, who continued to order work to be done, even though he did not have enough money to continue the Hangar. In the end, he needed at total of $750,000 to continue.

The Dubious Pledge Me/appealing to emotions

Once Benny had run out of funds, he decided to go down another avenue to secure credit - public donations. Cold calling hundreds of potential clients. Once that failed, this is when he started the Pledge Me. His pledge me was straight up dangerous. He project cash flows that were seriously unrealistic - he valued the company in the multi millions and was hazy about details. He projected hundreds of customers per week and his EBITDA projections very very generous. His balance sheet stated that may of owed up to 500,000 - and that's just in the next 12 months. Simply put, this was at best ambitious, and at worst, dishonest. It seemed like, at this point, he was desperate.

"A community project" - Really?

When Benny launched his Pledge me, he started talking about how this was a project funded and for the community, which was never mentioned before. This was a half hearted tug at the heartstrings to the people of Christchurch and try and guilt them into feeling like they aren't doing some kind of civic duty by not donating. Again, just my two cents, as it was never launched as a community type deal.

So, why does it matter? Wheres the harm?

Benny operated under a limited liability company, a marvelous invention of capitalism that allowed him to carry out his ambitious and downright silly business ideas, quoting work and issuing notes to creditors promising to pay them back. But when shit hits the fan, who really pays? Benny can simply liquidate and the pickings are left for secured creditors. Granted, he loses his lifes work, but this is through complete fault of his own. Employees, Contractors and their friends and families are effected greatly by this failure too. It was entirely preventable.

Hangar opening day ticket dash and run

Many people who bought tickets to the "Grand opening" of the Hangar in September 2023 are still left out of pocket. Hopefully this is rectified by Benny in the future. (Each ticket is around $40 from what I remember.)

The dangers of trendy entrepreneurship.

Due to the rise of social media, it has become fashionable to create a small business, even creating wacky and zany companies to try and compete in a saturated market. The people that support this often comment things like "Good on you for giving it a go!" etc. This has been quite frequent on Benny's page to, even when the Hangar was obviously on deaths door. A POORLY RUN BUSINESS HAS IMPLICATIONS. It should NOT be appropriate to enable this, and society as a whole needs to be better at giving real, honest feedback.

Conclusion

From what started as a humble business, grew into a booming business, but through a multitude of poor business ideas, lack of planning, ego and greed, poor financial advice, and a string of enablers has left many residents of Christchurch out of pocket and asking more questions. Not everyone can be a small business owner and we need to take this very seriously in our society.

Thank you all

Compared to the US, where entrepreneurs are in abundance, the general culture in Australia seems a lot more risk averse and less open to entrepreneurship.

Go to Uni, get a basic job, buy a house, retire. This seems to be the message sent to people <40 years old.

Would you agree or am I wrong?

My prediction is as Australia becomes more unaffordable more and more people will start taking big risks, potentially making entrepreneurs in the process.

I don’t know if I’m getting older but I’m honestly okay with having a job and maybe having a few side hustles. But just straight going into entrepreneurship has been so stressful. Working a 9-5 if I could work from home doesn’t seem that bad anymore. You get secure income, benefits. Plus now all I see entrepreneurs doing is becoming content creators. Everyone selling information. Most entrepreneurs I know are in there 30s-50s not 18-21. And I hate how most of them always say how college is a waste of time yeah if your studying liberal arts. But if you study a skill you can definitely get a decent job. No it won’t make you the richest but you can have steady income until you start your Business

I hired my wife half a year ago, and today, I hired my sibling. They both used to work at a mediocre yet demanding job.

The fact that I can "rescue" them by offering a very flexible and sustainable job definitely feels like a superpower.

I'm not sure how long this will last because no one knows what tomorrow will bring. But I'm proud that I'm improving the lives of those around me.

P.S: I work in e-commerce. Please refrain from spamming my inbox.

Edit: Perhaps I'm not the best with words. I certainly don't believe I'm superior to anyone. It's just that I've somehow managed to carve out a little space that allows me to share my freedom with those close to me.

Here's another analogy: It's as if I happen to be able to afford a car, so I decided to drive my friends around. This way, they don't have to use the less than ideal public transportation. Am I their savior? No. Have I improved a small aspect of their lives? Yes.

I've been upfront with them about this not being about making a ton of money, but about gaining sustainable freedom to do whatever they love in their spare time. I'm also not sure how long this will last, so if they're willing to take the risk, they're welcome to join me.

None of us on the team are money-oriented people. My sibling didn't even negotiate the wage I'm paying him, and it is about half of his original pay from the ex-job. I've combined the finance part with the wife way before the company is established. So there might be thousands of causes to make this collab a failure, money is not one of them.

A recent tweet by Andrew Wilkinson got me reflecting about my experience with entrepreneurship. (fyi: I can't link it, otherwise this post will be removed)

Here are the 3 concepts that resonated with me the most:

1. You have to be unemployable

2. You have a continuous (and perhaps obsessive) desire to improve things

3. You are perpetually dissatisfied

I quit my corporate job in 2022 after realizing the path I was on was not how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

I found myself frustrated with how I was showing up at work.

Don't get me wrong -- I excelled at my job. However, I was not performing in line to my true self anymore - I was just doing things how "the top" wanted things done, and that killed me.

Entrepreneurship was no longer "something I would like to eventually explore", it became a need.

I was either doing it or not doing it. That's it.

Has your experience been similar?