Ask HN: If you were to start a business outside of tech, what would it be?

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Discussion (8 comments)

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muzani

4 months ago

1 reply

Previously, I did coffee. It was low profit margin, high capital, and the whole reason I'm in tech was to make enough money to do it. But I wouldn't go back to it again — I had to deal with a lot of miserable people.

Not sure if it counts as "tech", but my retirement plans are to be making indie games. Just the weird, high risk stuff that you don't see out there.

dabockster

4 months ago

1 reply

Coffee is all about location, location, location. Honestly, you could sell Folgers at $1 a cup at the right location and you'd still make tons of money.

muzani

4 months ago

How many $1 cups would you have to sell to make the equivalent of an engineering salary? Now work backwards from that - cost of a cup, cost of beans, transportation, water, heating the water, and all the people needed to move this, with two shifts covering the peak hours at breakfast, lunch, and dusk, plus cleanup.

Selling was fairly easy, but if you pay good wages, you get mediocre people. If you pay mediocre wages, you get terrible people. And with cheap coffee, we were cursed with either terrible people or working 14 hours a day for terrible profit.

The partners were almost as bad. The people we'd rent the spot from. The ones who moved the beans and sold the cups. The ones who handled disputes. It was just toil for most of them. I don't blame them; they're not getting rich either. At least in software, if you were willing to work 14 hours a day, you get peace.

mikewarot

4 months ago

If I were younger, I'd start a machine shop specialized in gear manufacturing. It's a fascinating field, and very rewarding to me personally. Some of the thousands of gears I made during my 5 years in the field will still be in use 100+ years from now.

methusala8

4 months ago

I would love to transition into counselling. If I can make ends meet with it, It would be sufficient.

sema4hacker

4 months ago

Retired out of tech for 5 years, then started an art gallery a year ago. Now starting a sandwich shop in the same building. Couldn't resist applying a bit of tech to each.

Food and clothing are constantly consumed, and clothing is too trend-dependent, so food it is.

moomoo11

4 months ago

I want to grow food/produce in a small space, and sell them.

Like imagine grow kits in cities growing essential produce and selling it right there.

I met some Mennonites who run a hydroponic operation that sells produce to high end restaurants. I was surprised how compact it was. It would be cool to figure out how to use robotics and vision, and partner up with a creative gardener who wants to trial and error and sell better tomato’s than I get at WF made locally.

WantonQuantum

4 months ago

Last year I decided to plan ahead for a career change to become a counselor. I started volunteering with a crisis support help line (lifeline.org.au) and did their training course (quite substantial!). I'm now doing volunteer shifts and getting some experience. In the future I will do some more formal courses while continuing to volunteer and likely cut back my hours working as a dev (over 30 years experience). My ultimate goal, when my financial position allows it, is to work full time or perhaps part time as a counselor whether that is my own business or through some other organisation or a combination.

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