Eliminate Debt First or Start a Business?

[Rob Stone]

Hey Everyone

Had some amazing responses here to the questions I have asked.
What would you do.. I just cant decide to get started...

I have £4000 debt (around $5200) I think and 46 years old and had to move home a few years ago due to my dad getting into debt as well.

Mine is down to helping them out as well as not being in the right mindset a couple years ago over.. a ex partner

Anyway!

What would you do to get started when you don't have any money?

1. Pay off the debt first (I can get £300-400 off a month)
2. Use SEO and grow traffic - I had some good sites before Penguin years ago
3. Forget the debt for now and get PPC skills started?

I can see myself in a lovely house again in the future but 46.. it feels like time is ticking

What... would you do?

Thanks everyone

Rob

 

[ToffeeLa]

How are your SEO skills these days? Did you take a break? Did Penguin hit your sites or did you just get rid of them before Penguin?

How manageable is your debt? Are loan sharks knocking on the door for your computer or is it relatively relaxed at a decent interest?

 

[illmasterj]

You know yourself best, but most people I know well (including myself) make bad business decisions when they NEED the money.

SEO or PPC isn't going to begin working overnight, so you need to be mentally strong to make shit happen. If the debt will be looming over you, messing with your mindset, pay it off before getting started. If you are comfortable with debt, there is no better time to start a business than today.

You asked what I would do though. Straight up I would do whatever it takes (active income like consulting, freelancing) to make money and flog the fuck out of that debt while sowing the seeds of a future business in any spare time I had (start a website, write some content, get things marinating).

Good luck Rob!

 

[bernard]

$5000 is nothing to be in debt.

Shouldn't even factor in any decisions. Focus on making enough money, to reinvest and then pay it off in lump sumps, once you liquidate, by negotiating a lower number.

I paid about $10k off in random debt recently and probably got about a 20% discount on it.

In any case, pay the debt or don't pay the debt, but such a small number shouldn't influence any business decisions.

 

[subiudice]

Good afternoon,

I understand that if you value paying the debt first you currently have some kind of income, is that right?

It depends a lot on your current situation. If you can pay off the debt little by little with your current income, that would be perfect. With very little money you can simultaneously start your online business, bringing a lot of work and dedication. When you pay off the debt, you will be able to balance and start injecting money into your project to make it grow faster.

If on the contrary you currently have no income, in my opinion you have no choice but to generate money and fast. Dedicate as much time as possible and speed up the process as much as you can.

Here you should ask yourself another question: do you have knowledge and skills to generate money in the short term on the Internet? If not, the debt will end up eating you up.


In short, the solution depends entirely on the starting point, economically speaking.

Greetings and good luck Rob.

 

[Zach]

Seems like "to eliminate debt or start a business?" is the wrong question to be asking in the first place.

 

[eliquid]

I say pay the debt off first, for many reasons I could lay out here later.

But debt makes you a slave.

Even worse, it makes you a slave TWICE. In some instances it can make you a slave 3x AT THE SAME TIME.

When you have debt you are a slave to the debtor ( to pay it back ). In order to pay the debtor, you are a slave to your JOB ( or however you create your income ).. meaning you have to keep doing what you do for money, in order to get it, to pay the debtor. Imagine if you hate what you do to get that money.

^^ That example is how debt makes you a slave twice.

Now imagine trying to start a business under that stress and pressure. Keeping it in the back of your mind to make those payments.

Sure $5k isn't much. But that depends on how much $5k is worth to you and how long it takes to make.

 

[TheCurator]

What's the interest rate on your debt?

 

[Ryuzaki]

I think of my financial life in terms of net worth and not cash flow, so I absolutely abhor debt. I've never had debt, though I'll be taking out a decent sized chunk soon. My life's mission then will be to pay it off as fast as possible, living well below my means. Because paying interest is pissing away money (for the most part).

There is strategic and reasonable debt, but (and forgive me if I'm wrong) it doesn't sound like that's the kind of debt you're dealing with. It's not business debt, right?

Which leads me to this thought... if you were that good at SEO or PPC you wouldn't have created this thread. You'd just make the money back in spades and pay off the debt. And if you were that good, you'd probably take out more debt to fund those two escapades since you can earn it back in many multiples and cheat time by using other people's money.

If that's not the case, then you should pay off the debt first. Otherwise you're accumulating interest. And if you're having to pay off a principal payment anyways, just get rid of the debt first.

As eliquid stated, that kind of stressful open loop can hurt your productivity and health, too. It's a lot of added pressure. "Oh man this project HAS to work". Pressure.

 

[Rob Stone]

Hey Everyone

Thankyou so so much for your replies, I can't express how grateful I am.

I have been thinking and the last few year's I spent way to much time internet dating, looking for that perfect girlfriend..how embarrasing is that lol

Now I am dating someone who I met face to face when I joined a partner dancing group (highly recommended a us guys aren't always that coordinated but my word it boosted my confidence)

Now! I am in that stage where I should have been on my mission instead of chasing women.

She earns twice as much as me, her own flat and as you can tell would like kids down the line and I am not where I should be.. thats the real pressure I suppose all in all.

Anyway, I am going to pay off the debt each month while writing content, you have all given me a kick where it was needed.

@ToffeeLa - SEO I do know, I just kept having that "what if it doesn't work" thought's or, I don't want to wait months for it to work. Now, I look back and if i had started 4 year's ago when I dated the girl from hell, it would be rockin

@eliquid summbed it up, with debt no matter how much it has been mentally stalling me bigtime and that stuck in a rut situation. It was clear a few year's ago but I purchased so many webinar's on trading and Amazon .. but now I realise Trading I have learnt how to on my own accord and didn't need to spend out

@Ryuzaki also on the loop.. my word.. I have been stuck on that loop.

Amazon - All those purcahased. Did I need them? nope lol Anyone else relate to that?

Thanks again, I am off to write some content.

Overall, all Mindset eh

As Coach Red Pill says online. The Years are long but the decades are short.

Time to get my rear in gear.

Thanks everyone.. no more daft posts from me I am on it

Rob

 

[CCarter]

The underlying problem is you have a problem with money, and a problem saving it, most likely passed down from your parents, grandparents, and previous generations. If any of these resonate with you that means you have a negative feeling about money:

For example if you are taught your whole life by your parents and previous generations that "Money is evil", then tell you to be a "good little boy", Since money is evil, you don't want to be evil, therefore you'll have no money. It's Imprinting. You have to break those above ideas.

I can guarantee you that about 90% of the audience will hear one of the above quotes about money during this holiday season while visiting family and friends. Who you surround yourself by is the reason for where you are in life. If you father, siblings, grand-parents, cousins, or close friends are constantly in-debt the likelihood YOU will be constantly in-debt is nearly 100%.

None of your original solutions fix the underlying problem. The solutions you presented are all sugarcoating that you have a problem with money. First fix that.

SEO and PPC aren't going to solve your debt problems - in fact a janitor's mop will solve your problem faster than SEO and PPC will ever, especially if you have been out of the SEO game since Penguin launched. People are hinting at it, but "sort of".

Paying off £4,000 in debt is pretty fucking simple: get a second job. If you can get one paying £400 a week then you'll have it wiped-out in 10 weeks (2.5 months). If you get a weekend job paying £200 a week, than you'll have it wiped-out in 20 weeks (less than 4 months).

How come a second or third job wasn't presented as a solution? Unless you live in a desert there are fast-food places or even jobs as a janitor you can get if you were really serious.

You are 46 years old, you haven't figured that out yet? You have, you have thought about getting a second job to quickly pay off the debt. You just aren't serious about it cause the debt is not the problem.

Frankly blaming a "girlfriend from hell" is weak, because you chose her. It's not her fault you are in debt. The fact that your father has debt in his old age means you are pretty much following in his footsteps: imprinting. And the debt is so small it can be literally solved in 10-20 weeks, hell you can probably solve in in 4 weeks by working every day this holiday season - IF you were serious.

Your whole framework of thinking is fucked up. The main reason is because you were taught by your parents and previous generations that never rose out of the mud to STAY IN THE MUD, right there with them and other potatoes.

Switch your mindset from "paying off debt" to "generating MASSIVE revenue" - magically your £4000 debt is going to disappear.

Debt is not bad, it's only bad if you take on debt you cannot pay off. All major corporations have tons of debt because they buy revenue by buying companies by leveraging commercial debt. More than 95% of M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) deals are financed through banks, seller financed, or investors, or some form of OPM (Other People's Money).

Why doesn't Apple with its $193 billion dollars cash pay off its $80 billions debt if "paying off debt" is such a smart move? Because it has revenue coming in - not a grunt paycheck, but an actual business that has revenue coming in daily, they don't worry about shit like debt.

You haven't learned the basics of managing debt, saving money, and getting your personal finances in order. If you have money coming in constantly to cover your debt you won't have a problem sleeping at night. How about you create a fucking simple personal budget? Learn how to do that and you'll be able to get out of debt quickly and start saving money.

A lot of the shit you guys have learned is just wrong, and no one cares enough to tell you it's wrong. If you look at people winning - at the top of the pyramid, and see how they are operating and mimic them you'll quickly realize the bottom of the pyramid and the top of the pyramid think completely opposite - and that's why the bottom is at the bottom and the top is at the top.

No one at the top of the pyramid is going to come down and explain what a non-recourse loan is.

They aren't going to tell you that a ton of banks are handing out money at 1-2% interest rates, not some raping 25% credit card rates the grunts are used to. Banks for the last several years have had a problem because not enough people are coming in and asking for money, and now with COVID everyone is scared so Banks have to give even better rates. What the fuck is a better rate than 1-2%?

No one is going to tell you that you can get money from the IMF and World Bank.

Even at the grunt level you can walk into Chase bank, open a business account and they throw a $35K credit card with 0% interest for 18 months at you for a brand new business that has ZERO revenue. If $35K at 0% interest rate for 18 months isn't free money to start and grow your business I don't know what is. And it's the LLC's credit not your personal so if the business dies you just close shop no one is coming after you personally. And that's just the shit they advertise.

As wolves I'm telling you there is a lot of money out here AND no one is guarding the hen house. You guys should really be taking advantage of what's going on right now.

Anyways, I'm a bit off topic here but, the problem isn't debt, it's your relationship with money.

"The more stress the more success. The irony is a lot of your families have had stress in their lives for nothing. They have nothing to show for it at the end of their life cycle." - Dan Peña​

 

[Rob Stone]

Hi @CCarter

Thankyou for one direct post that you got me spot on. I am a guy who will always take something on the chin and take it to heart and food for thought.

I have had a problem with money, I have never been a gambler but I am very guilty of spending way to much money on so many areas including spontaneous buying on Amazing, not performing simple budgeting as you pointed out.

I looked at my bank account and I could easily save £700 ($940) a month which is horrifically bad.

Ironically my parents watch programs on tv here about budgeting and I am baffled how people spend so much, but ironically.. that has been me! as well.

On the other side in that I have spent that for many years! BUT! I would be scared to spend money on any part of a business such as data gathering for PPC. Go Figure.

Where my life would be if I had stuck with a project say 10 years ago rather than simple budgeting and moving forward, things would be extremely different.

I can assure you, I am now budgeting which I should have done from day 1 of owning our own life and will be back and report how things have changed.

Hopefully in a non cheesy way, this thread also helps idiots like myself who have done things wrong over the years and regret but learn by it.

On a more business note, I am in the UK and very intrigued by your comments and information on banks handing out 1-2% interest rates so I will see if I can find anything similar in the UK.

Obviously this should not be taken on unless you have good money management which I can assure you I will have going forward.

Any tips on researching and educating ourselves on that and other opportunities the general public are not aware of would be great to learn.

Thanks again CCarter, It has been taken on the chin and received well.

Rob

 

[Philip J. Fry]

Hopefully in a non cheesy way, this thread also helps idiots like myself who have done things wrong over the years and regret but learn by it.

Glad that @CCarter helped you. In capitalism, the individual must take financial responsibility for himself or herself. No one tells you that but that's the truth. Marketing creates a culture that separates the worker from his or her money. By learning budgeting, you guard yourself against that. It's not sexy but it's what no politician will admit and no company will state. "You need to take financial responsibility for yourself" is political suicide. "You should be prudent with your money" is marketing failure. Hopefully this is one less person who is advocating for reform of the whole capitalist system, because they were unable to take financial responsibility, and felt bitter about it.

On a more business note, I am in the UK and very intrigued by your comments and information on banks handing out 1-2% interest rates so I will see if I can find anything similar in the UK.

He might be referring to EDIL in the US. I doubt you'll qualify for something like that. This might sound harsh, but you just seem like a low income individual with a so-so credit history. If I was the bank, I wouldn't give you a sum of cash at 1 or 2% with no collateral. That'd be way too risky.

Also, I wouldn't begin a business in debt either. I totally disagree with CCarter's view of debt. While companies do carry debt, accounting for publicly traded companies is totally different than accounting for privately owned small-medium size business. With a publicly traded company, paying off debt, which lowers the debt to income ratio, is a signal from management to shareholders, that they foresee a very good future. With a privately held company, taking on debt is a risk that can risk the whole livelihood of the company as well as the owners own credit history. If a C-corp goes bankrupt, the employees are unscathed other than losing their jobs. If your business goes bankrupt, you're going to have to file for bankruptcy, which will affect your ability to borrow money for the next 8 years, in the US.

So, yeah, if you don't have the capital for a new business venture, no matter how promising the returns seem, don't take on debt, even if you were able to obtain financing in the first place. You might be risking the whole business as well as your own potential to obtain financing in the future.

I say pay the debt off first, for many reasons I could lay out here later.

But debt makes you a slave.

Even worse, it makes you a slave TWICE. In some instances it can make you a slave 3x AT THE SAME TIME.

I think we can agree on this

 

[CCarter]

On the other side in that I have spent that for many years! BUT! I would be scared to spend money on any part of a business such as data gathering for PPC. Go Figure.

Lack of Self-Confidence. That's why you aren't willing to spend money on your business and why small businesses never think big. It's why all these SEOs would rather write content themselves versus spend $100-$500 a week on content writers to build their business. Somehow them doing the work themselves makes more sense than spending money even though it is THEIR time and in their mind time = money. Conflicting logic.

Where my life would be if I had stuck with a project say 10 years ago rather than simple budgeting and moving forward, things would be extremely different.

This is an interesting one: Where would your life be if you had given 10% more effort in your attempts? For most people their lives would be completely different. But they fail and don't get back up OR they don't put in the extra 1-2 hours a day to give that extra push.

There are Zealots and Psychopaths like Elon Musk, Alexander Graham Bell that "never give up", work 120+ hours a week. Forget that, how about instead of putting 40+ hours a week you put in 44+, like a real 44+ - not 40% of that time being you surfacing Facebook and Instagram. You would accomplish at lot more in life, in your work, and be in a better position by just giving 10% more.

But that goes back to Lack of Self-Confidence. And when your buddies, girlfriends, family, and friends are complaining you work too much and don't spend enough time with them that social pressure creeps in. If the people you "hang" with aren't trying to better themselves financially - how can you?

That's why people cut away people IF they want to rise out of the MUD.

On a more business note, I am in the UK and very intrigued by your comments and information on banks handing out 1-2% interest rates so I will see if I can find anything similar in the UK.

Actually the 1-2% interest rate example is from someone in Europe.

However if you can't handle money to the point that you are unable to not go negative personally, how are you going to handle a $10 million loan at 1-2% interest rate? This is one of those things where you are worried about the wrong thing. What are you going to do with a 2% interest loan? Or even 10% interest loan? You don't have good ideas to not be negative in-debt, how is adding more money going to solve the problem?

There is a reason all the people that win the lottery of $1-$100 million lose it all in 4-7 years, they can't handle money.

This is also one of those things where your thinking is all fucked up. There is no difference in a 2% loan or a 10% loan.

If your banker gives you $100 to go after a business idea and you come back with $102 or $110, that was a shitty business idea. If you have an idea that turns $100 into $200, $400, or $1000, then paying $2 (2%) or $10 (10%) against the $100 loans is literally meaning less.

If you are playing with such small margins that 8% makes or breaks your company you don't have any room for a margin of error. Anyone that's ever been in business knows there are going to be A LOT of errors!

People think way too small and therefore get weak results. And that small thinking is because of lack of self-confidence. People your whole lives have been telling you to do "small goals" to get to your bigger goals. The people that are giving you that "small goals" advice aren't from the top of the pyramid.

A banker knows that a loan for $500K and $5 millions is the EXACT same amount of paperwork. They would rather do bigger deals because that's how they calculate their bonuses. It's in their interest to give you bigger loans. But the grunts tell you "bankers don't want to give you money." WHAT? That's literally how they make their bonuses! You see how the thinking is fucked up?

Now if how you think of bankers is wrong, what other shit do you current think is right might actually be wrong?

Any tips on researching and educating ourselves on that and other opportunities the general public are not aware of would be great to learn.

Enough with the fucking research and education.

"Poor people equate education with success." - Dan Peña​

Enough with the webinars, podcasts, blog posts, video logs and other crap that simply take up your time and prevent you from pulling the trigger. Just take action.

Pick up the fucking phone.

How do you fund your business idea? Pick up the fucking phone.

I didn't know anything about running a SAAS when I started building a SAAS or running it. I didn't know anything about running a marketing agency when I built one and ran it. I just pulled the trigger.

You don't know anything about riding a bicycle when you get on a bicycle from the first time.

You didn't Google "How to ride a bike."

You didn't Google "How to walk" when you were a baby and wanted to stop crawling.

Ironically riding a bike and walking are a lot more dangerous than picking up the fucking phone or pulling the trigger on an idea.

How are you going to Google or research topics no one bothers talking about? The people getting money from the World Bank are too busy getting money from the World Bank to stop and "create a course" on how to get money from the World Bank. That's why I'm telling you no one is going to come down from the top of the pyramid and help you.

You have to do it yourself. You have to do it yourself by taking ACTION. Not researching and reading books.

"If your life depended on it you would figure it out on your own." - Dan Peña​

Guys - ACTION is the answer to everything. Every book you read, every podcast you listen to, every motivational speech or guru you guys go to in the end the ONLY solution is ACTION. You can't get out of whatever hole or problem you are in without action. You cannot obtain your goals you want in life without ACTION.

And most of you, the 99%, simply don't take ACTION. If you take ACTION you can pivot as you make mistakes. It's like a space ship going to the the Moon or Mars, it's off-course 99.99% of the time, but it's constantly course correcting to it's goal. But if it never launches it just sits there wondering "what if?"

I can go on and on but @Rob Stone out of all the suggestions I gave you, you picked the pieces that were the easiest for you emotionally and are disregarding the hard ones - doing a budget is fine but sticking to one isn't easy.

Getting a second job is literally the fastest way to solving your debt problem, you are skipping that.

It's like the 10% extra effort, if you do the things that are emotionally hard for you instead you'll be a in a lot better place in life than you are now.

"It's easy to give up, you'll come up with all kinds of excuses why that is the right choice. If there are 10 options and 1 is the most emotionally hardest for you that's the option you should take." - Dan Peña​

--

@Philip J. Fry is the exact type of person that you need to avoid. ALL his advice is "don't do this, don't do that because you can fail." Then he goes on some weird narrow narrative about C-Corp to make his weak point.

He doesn't mention an LLC where creditors don't come after you if the business fails.

He doesn't mention a non-recourse loan either.

He doesn't mention that all of Silicon Valley is funded by venture capitalist which is OPM (Other People's Money).

Don't pierce the corporate veil and you avoid personal liabilities in case of failures.

He doesn't mention this stuff because he is employee #1124 of a business and doesn't have self-confidence to start his own business. Yet he is giving out business advice. It's like taking financial advice from a homeless person. Wild.

Re-read what he wrote, it's all about playing it safe.

Papa Johns expanded by commercial debt. Starbucks started and expanded by commercial debt. Small business turn into large business by guess what? Commercial debt. Your boy Elon Musk's Telsa is buying battery companies with... COMMERCIAL DEBT.

Perhaps out of the 100 successful multi-million dollar revenue companies there is 1 that hasn't taken on debt to grow in the beginning. But the other 99 have. There is this fantasy of being a super-unicorn I guess.

Taking advice from @Philip J. Fry who has never done a commercial debt transaction, you might as well be taking advice from a homeless person (Getting a mortgage for a real estate property isn't a commercial business transaction). He's talking about shit he's never done, and giving advice to not do it. What? What in god's name?

If you Googled my name against merchant processing, commercial debt, merchant banks and related you would see hundreds of press release and content about myself within the industry. I literally talked about this stuff for years on Wickedfire and on here. One of my mentors is a former executive VP of JP Morgan Chase.

It's wild seeing someone like @Philip J. Fry give advice on something that he has zero clue about. This is not the first time he's talked out of his ass just to waste everyone's time. But when it's a serious subject we don't have time for these games.

I think a lot of you get this "debt is bad" from an experience where you seen a relative or family friend take a ton of debt out and are unable to pay it back and it spirals them out of control. Guys you aren't suppose to take debt out WITHOUT a plan or understanding the payment terms of how to pay it back. It's like getting a $1 million lottery ticket and having zero plan, THAT's the problem.

Some of you people want to take the EXTRA EXTRA long climb up the mountain. Okay. No one is going to give a fuck. Come back in 15 years and tell us how it worked out. I take the shortcuts that smarter guys in the room use. I have nothing to prove taking the extra long way up the mountain.

There is a difference in taking debt to CREATE revenue versus taking on debt to buy shiny objects. The first is backed by the business revenue, the latter is backed by your grunt paycheck. It's a completely different "reality", so to speak.

"There is a difference in playing to Win and playing not to lose, a quantum difference."

Your whole life people have been telling you to play not to lose. Take the safe route. Don't shoot for the moon.

No one is going to come down and tell you that all that advice comes from fear.

@Philip J. Fry is full of fear of "losing" more-so than wanting to win. Lack of Self-Confidence.

Sad state of affairs.

"Rockefeller never used his own money. What's wrong with you people? Now I would tell them: Why would I use my money when I can use yours?" - Dan Peña​

 

[Jord]

There is a difference in taking debt to CREATE revenue versus taking on debt to buy shiny objects. The first is backed by the business revenue, the latter is backed by your grunt paycheck. It's a completely different "reality", so to speak.

100%. Completely agree with this! Stop and think about all those people you know that view debt as bad, the majority will have this opinion because they themselves or those close to them have either only ever taken debt out for shiny objects.

People freak out about a 10k loan...yet they’ll have a mortgage of 300k. What’s the difference? The 10k loan is prob on a holiday or some shiny object but the mortgage is an investment that in general grows year on year

 

[Rob Stone]

Hi Philip.
Thanks for your reply and thoughts on my positon.

Aside from me, I was shocked on how many families and small businesses come to that who have relied on our Governments to support them through the Covid situation.

I am not one myself as I kept my role and I will not be if and when this kind of situation comes again due to being responsible for my own financial situation as you say.

I have slapped myself in the face and said wake up regarding personal budgeting, it’s not something I will ever stop now. I admit I have been one for one click shopping online, swiping that debit card in a shop. Horrifically bad money handing behaviour.
Thanks for the feedback on the my debt, it wont take me long to pay off but as CCarter said it’s all about confidence and it has taken some very deep self-reflection and the post here with the feedback from you all to really make a difference.
@CCarter – I am not agreeing for the sake of it but you seriously got that one right in that many of my bad decisions in recent years and recently have been due to self-confidence.

I can assure you that is changing and not just by having a kick up the rear by you guys 
All I can say is when you have low confidence, you just don’t think straight, do things on a whim and then regret and then feel down about it. Vicious circle.

I am far from someone who needed counselling, I can assure you on that but some stern talking to and just freaking out enough is enough to put me on the straight and narrow.

I admit yep I have been in that position where I had content outsourced then stopped due to spending money - shoot me now lol
I also have spent way too much time on YouTube, that did come to halt when I was sick to death of my brother sending me Covid conspiracy theory videos be It if they are right of wrong, I saw how YT can suck your life away so that kicked me out of that habit by seeing it from an outside perspective from my own actions.

Working hard it is now to pay off that debt, build something to be proud of and create a future because I really do think my employer may make me redundant in the next year or two and I don’t want to be where I am now.

“Enough with the webinars, podcasts, blog posts, video logs and other crap that simply take up your time and prevent you from pulling the trigger. Just take action.”

I am not sucking up lol but I can relate to that. I have spent countless hours watching, watching, watching and not taking action and then also realising, if they are so good at something why are they teaching..

Anyway,
If I had taken action in those 100s of hours, my word… I was around in the days of Stompernet, Wickedfire but I have lacked direction and just getting on with it!

I know you and Philip have different views but an accumulation of them has been great o hear, truly.

One last comment from myself is that yep, my debts were an accumulation of bad planning and a whim and not based on a plan.

I will read the post you linked to.

@Jord - Totally guilty of that. I think I mentioned that I was scared to spend on a PPC campaign but they would buy something on Amazon, a take away..or that shiny object when that money could have gone into something much more productive.

2pm here in the UK and off to do a significant amount of work and nowhere near Social media or going round in circles anymore.

I am off to TAKE ACTION!

Thanks very much guys.

 

[BCN]

Debt isn't that big of a deal. Just focus on getting cash flow. I.e. I have a mortgage, but it's like $800 per month. If my mortgage was twice as big, I could still manage it by flipping burgers. It doesn't make sense to pay down the mortgage quicker just to be "debt-free", better to invest in my own business.

 

[Aporia]

I'd agree with CCarter and BNC here, if you believe what you are working on or doing has a market and you're willing to invest as much time as you are awake, the money is simply an investment that will project your business further to provide larger returns. Being debt free doesn't nessiserally mean anything, there are broke people living debt free and rich people with debts.

 

[MSF]

I believe before you even consider loving or hating debt. you really need to ask yourself "what I am going to do with that money?" if you need cash to scale an operation, take on the debt immediately, you will grow and pay a little fraction to the bank.

but if you have a student loan or something, don't take another loan to pay off that loan, that's just stupid and eventually, you will face the music, so better face it now. (just saying)

For your situation, I think if you can acquire an online business through debt, it won't be a problem as long as you do forensic due diligence and make sure the asset isn't compromised in any way and the asset must have a big room for growth. So, you take the business, grow it, and pay off your loan and keep what is yours.

Sadly, most people are terrified of the idea of taking a risk.. they play the what-if game.. you know, the famous game plaid by every average loser out there. They think they are smart and careful, they aren't. They just fall as easy prey for paralysis of analysis. don't think like them.

I myself sure hope that any bank could lend me, I live in Egypt. Christian Egyptian (a direct descendant of ancient Egypt) yet we get treated like minorities.. we face all kinds of racism and even terrorism. for 12 years I have been at it spending what I get and living it large, like an idiot. when my health deteriorated, I was forced to face the music, been over three years and I have nothing to my name and from the outside looking in trying to come back to the game and this time do it 100% right. Point is, we all fuck up, we all take on debt, the challenge here is doing what we must do and never, EVER doubt our capabilities to thrive again and achieve what we want.

what we do ain't easy... Well, it kinda is, on paper, but push comes to shove and you start building, you are the architect, the entrepreneur, and the captain of your own ship. patience, skill, and experience are what makes what we do worth doing... we build our shit, from idea to a fully scaled-up profitable business.

I have been doing brokerage, business development, tech startups, CPA, and even a mini online asset agency. guess what? NO ONE was next to me telling me I am about to blow a client with a high five-figure monthly spent just because I didn't like how he talks to people on the phone.. I didn't have a bank willing to give me cash to scale, hell, I didn't have anyone telling me shit, let alone a mentor.

If I had the right advice a few years back, I would have done a few things differently

1. Be patient
2. Save the fucking money
3. Invest some fucking money
4. Buy my own place and all essentials.
5. Banks are your best friend (to grow and scale up with minimized calculated risks)

I hope this helps you realize the importance of taking calculated risks. Take the debt, take it, buy an established asset with potential, then grow it. wish you the very best.