Building a Lifestyle Business in a Startup World

Everyone is hopping on the startup bandwagon because entrepreneurship seems to be the best way to build a business with longevity. But what does it take? How can you ensure success? Come learn how this successful entrepreneur has built his own personal brand and lifestyle company in today’s start-up climate.

The “lifestyle business ideas 2021” is a new venture that many people are trying to make in the startup world. This type of business can be anything from a food truck to an online store, or even something completely different. It is important for people to think outside of the box when it comes to building their own company.

This seems to be the era of the startup founder. Startup culture has developed a mystique as a result of the enthusiastic tech press and large investment rounds. Every day, it seems like fascinating new businesses are forming, headed by entrepreneurs who are just a few years out of college (or never having finished school).

The appeal of this story is obvious: the brightest kids in the room get to employ their friends and start a business with money borrowed from others. They eventually achieve unicorn status and sell for a cool billion dollars, bringing fame and riches with them.

Building-a-Lifestyle-Business-in-a-Startup-World

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However, if you look beyond the headlines, you’ll see that hundreds of companies fail for every one that succeeds in making money for its investors and founders. You simply don’t hear about them since the startup industry excels at joyously praising its heroes while discreetly burying its fallen.

With the media focusing on high-profile companies raising millions of dollars, many would-be entrepreneurs are persuaded that these are the only viable businesses to pursue.

A “lifestyle business” is a phrase used in the startup world to describe a company that isn’t a good match for venture funding. It’s often used in a derogatory manner, suggesting that these companies are simpler to start and less profitable. This is absolutely untrue, since many lifestyle firms are excellent enterprises that can provide their creators with a successful and happy existence.

Let’s define a lifestyle company as one that is started with the intention of allowing the owners to live a luxurious lifestyle. Let’s define a startup as a business that exists to generate a profit to investors. It’s important to note that the overwhelming majority of firms do not raise venture financing. Some of these firms take just as much effort as VC-backed companies and have the potential to become world-beaters.

A lifestyle business’s characteristics

A lifestyle company may be appropriate for you if the notion of having control and being able to live a high-quality lifestyle appeals to you. The qualities that your firm should have in order to be a sustainable lifestyle business are listed below.

A well-defined ultimate objective

The aim of a lifestyle company is to create long-term income streams that can run on their own. Many other kinds of business models may be used to do this, but they all need to be able to expand beyond a linear connection between money earned and hours worked.

If you operate a brick-and-mortar shop by yourself, for example, you can only remain open for as long as you’re willing to labor. Move that shop online, set up fulfillment services via a third party (such as an Amazon fulfillment center), and employ someone to handle customer support, and you’ve freed up a lot of time while the store sells 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hire as few people as possible.

It’s preferable to keep lifestyle companies as small as possible and only employ to manage operations that have already been created. Every individual you employ should be able to free up your time in a money-for-time exchange that you consider beneficial.

Pay attention to expenses other than wages, such as payroll taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. It’s possible that you’ll decide it’s preferable to simply do it yourself and enjoy the extra income flow.

They are the ones who own the stock.

Lifestyle companies are distinguished by the fact that they do not need substantial outside equity financing.

Selling a portion of your company to like-minded investors, even if it’s a small percentage, means you’ll be accountable to someone else. This entails giving up a lot of the flexibility that lifestyle companies promise.

If you do need money to expand, other types of debt financing are a better choice. In these situations, debt can be advantageous because once you pay it off, the relationship ends and you retain full control.

Banks may be ready to accept your loan application if you have personal assets that you’re willing to put up as collateral. Banks, on the other hand, are conservative creatures that often reject small companies and startups. Other types of financing that utilize company accounts receivable as collateral and are reimbursed when your customers pay their bills may be considered depending on who you sell to.

a well-established corporate culture

It’s a certainty that you’ll put in long hours, particularly when starting a company. However, your ultimate aim should always be to set up processes and procedures that will enable you to work less.

Recruiting the appropriate workers and keeping them satisfied will be a task in and of itself, but it is possible. Because a lifestyle company usually lacks the perceived potential of a startup or the financial flow to pay large wages, you’ll need to be selective about the people you recruit.

Their company model is cash flow positive.

With lifestyle companies, no long-term capital burning activities are permitted. Your business must be successful from the beginning.

Your unit economics must be positive, which means you must charge more for your products or services than it costs to manufacture, distribute, and advertise them. This may seem self-evident, yet in the startup environment, many companies use negative unit economics to fuel growth.

You’ll be on your way to a lifestyle business if you create a firm with these essential qualities.

Surprisingly, when I ask my venture capitalist friends what kind of company they would start, the majority answer lifestyle rather than venture-backed! When it comes to deciding which kind of company is best for you, disregard what others believe you should do and create something that fits your lifestyle.

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A “lifestyle business” is a business that focuses on the customer’s needs and wants, rather than solely focusing on growth. A “growth business” is a business that focuses on its revenue potential. Reference: lifestyle business vs growth business.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are lifestyle startups?

A: A lifestyle startup is a company that provides services to or caters to people whose primary focus in life is on an activity, sport, hobby, etc.

How do lifestyle companies make money?

A: Lifestyle companies make money by marketing their product to those who want it and can afford it.

What is an example of a lifestyle business?

A: A lifestyle business is a long-term, not for profit organization that engages in non-competitive trade or service. These businesses are typically creative and rely on the support of many individual supporters. They can range from an artist creating art to sell at their gallery exhibitions to authors writing books about topics they enjoy reading to small coffee shops near where people live

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