It's a grind

I am always on the lookout for a business that I might want to own. It's not that I'm unhappy with my job now, but the side business with a partner isn't doing great, and never will be something that I'll do full time. I also think about retirement, and the best way to keep working past 65 is to own your own business.

I have looked at sandwich shops, bookstores, a wood business, etc. When I talk about them with friends and my business partner, they always say that those are a grind and do I want to go do that work every day?

They're all a grind. Every job, no matter how exciting to you and how creative, becomes a grind. You do the same things over and over, and while you might get more variety in some, you still mechanically do the same things over and over. Tune someones's computer or car? Always new things that break and new types of items to work on, but the process of troubleshooting, talking to customers, fixing issues is a repetitive process over time. Make pens, assemble sandwiches, pour drinks, they're all the same.

I'm not sure how you get away from this, other than to find the thing that you really enjoy. Even that can be hard as often a hobby you find exciting becomes a chore when you have to do it, and repeat what you've done.

No solutions today, but just a recognition that life is hard, and hopefully you find the thing that you do enjoy doing over and over again.

The Cupcake Store

My wife and I went out for lunch recently and afterward she said she wanted a cupcake form the cupcake store. I played along, and soon realized she was serious when we walked a few stores down in the building to find The Cupcake Store.

There was a small store that did cupcakes and coffee. We bought a few cupcakes from a very nice lady and went on our way. We ate them on the way home and they were good, but they were cupcakes. I'm not a big sweets guy, but my wife loves them. She enjoyed the treat but mentioned that has to be a hard business.

I would agree, and it's a very niche-y business. Not a lot of people would go out of their way for a cupcake, but I could be wrong. I am sure you can't support many of those stores in an area, but maybe one works. However you need to sell a lot of $2.00 cupcakes to make money and I'm not sure how many people will support you.

To be fair, I think there are a lot of things one could do. Offer these cupcakes as desserts in restaurants and other stores, taking a smaller profit in order to grow volume. Perhaps look to advertise and get more party deals, office buildings, etc. I don't know if they are trying any of these things, but I hope they do. A small business like that is a neat idea and I would like to see is succeed.

I'll keep an eye and see if they survive. I know I'll at least go there one more time with my daughter. They sell frosting shots, and that's about all she wants out of a cupcake.