It’s really weird how much of /r/antiwork hangs out here. But I guess they can’t just go yell at the people who own the big businesses, so we’re a good enough proxy for the evils of capitalism

In my experience, all the bankers not only know each other but probably have each worked at each other’s banks. With that in mind, I would be candid about not just the offers but the other bankers you’re working with. They are a little bit competitive but as it’s a tightknit community, they a) like knowing what their competitors are doing, to use that leverage with their management and b) are likely to be candid in return. Small business banking isn’t just a long game, because they jobhop they are more likely to make sure you get the best fit (because they want you to come to them, personally, the next time you need something, and they might not be at that bank anymore).

At least, that’s been my experience

The economics of a used bookstore are ridiculous. If he’s willing to give you all the inventory, okay. You might put a roof over your head for a few years.

But if you sell online you will be slightly more profitable than normal.

I also like the Ryan Holiday approach - he has a retail front and runs his real business in the back. He sells (probably) a lot more on the basis of his recommendations and relationships. The bookstore is a combination community investment and loss leader for his larger empire

I was unaware that PirateShip did international shipping but I will say in my experience (primarily EU, UK, and Canada) shipping USPS is much more preferable, even though it looks more expensive up front. USPS just seems to interface smoothly with whatever governmental mail is in the other country, preventing headaches like “UPS phoned up and said I owed $60 in duties, and I don’t want it anymore. Can I get a refund?”

We don’t have sharing across shifts, we actually share with seasonal business that has opposite seasons to ours. In our off season they can drop to 40% or 0% and make up the other hours at the other job. The work is fairly similar, but the vibe is different - theirs is more chatty, ours is introverted. The workers definitely know which business vibes with them more but don’t seem to mind the switch up for 3-4 months

That’s a pretty good sign of an entrepreneur though. To see technology unfolding and make a guess where it’s going. I can’t get in on automation or robotics with just little old me, but I did make a guess where e-commerce was going and got in with it.

I went to a student entrepreneur thing. One of the teams I was mentoring decided that:

1. Uber was too expensive for people getting from their small commuter town to the adjacent city
2. A lot of people worked in a fairly set geographical area, often shift work.
3. Therefore instead of multiple Ubers they should just buy an (electric) bus and charge a flat rate per use to shuttle folks back and forth on a fixed schedule.

Didn’t have the heart to tell them they basically reinvented public transit. Mainly because once we got into cost discovery it became clear WHY they’ve never experienced public transit.