25 years old and deep in debt

[merithyn]

I find it somewhat amusing that you're trying to make some sort of analysis of the soundness of their business plan given you know next to nothing of the industry, the market, the competitors, their track record with their business, or the specifics of their plan.

He's not.  He's questioning Meri's assumptions.

Which assumption is that? The one that counters his assumption that their business plan is crap?

[Admiral Yi]

Which assumption is that? The one that counters his assumption that their business plan is crap?

My bad.  Jacob made the assumption the company was profitable, not you.

[Barrister]

I find it somewhat amusing that you're trying to make some sort of analysis of the soundness of their business plan given you know next to nothing of the industry, the market, the competitors, their track record with their business, or the specifics of their plan.

He's not.  He's questioning Meri's assumptions.

Which assumption is that? The one that counters his assumption that their business plan is crap?

You keep saying this is a successful business.  I pointed out that is not stated in the original article.  You said their products are sold on Dharma Trading Company.  I told you I sure can't find them.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

Where are you getting this information from?  If it is personal experience then why not just answer my question - "yes I have seen products from this company offered for sale lots of times".

[The Larch]

YOLO

Never understood that reasoning.  If you only live once, surely that's a reason to be careful with your health and money?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Otla5157c

[The Minsky Moment]

UMaine is a public uni.  Tution and fees are 10k a year.  So the level of debt reported in the story probably involves borrowing for room and board.  That plus the fact that two people aged 29 and 31 have not completed a post-undergrad degree between them.  I don't intend this as a criticism: there may have been good reasons to make those choices.  But some choices in life have the effect of limited or foreclosing others.  It is common for young entrepeneurs to eschew college or leave early to avoid those substantial opportunity costs.   Those entrepeneurs that elect to incur those costs will, everything else equal, have less time and financial flexibility.

The US has a great tertiary education system but the benefits are spread unequally.  Compared to say Germany, US universities have better facilities and resources and more options.  Far greater proportion of school leavers attend.  On the other hand tution fees in Germany tend to range from zero to very low even by US public university standards.  Germany has a much better and more extensive system of vocational and technical education. One downside of the German system is that it tends to stream people early in their lives, perhaps before they really understand what they want to do.  But for many kinds of jobs and occupations, the German system probably does better at preparing youths for work without imposing costs on them. 

The US system is a lot more flexible.  It works best for the very top students that can take advantage of the elite unviersities with names that will always get the graduate "in the door" with employers, regardless of major choice.  It also can work for young people that may want to pursue less conventional options but are very disciplined about how they go about doing it.  And it also works for young people that take advantage of the public university system to get employable qualifications at a reasonable cost.  But for others it doesn't work as well and the availability of unguided choice, high expenses, but easy financing can be deadly. 

[merithyn]

You keep saying this is a successful business.  I pointed out that is not stated in the original article.  You said their products are sold on Dharma Trading Company.  I told you I sure can't find them.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

Where are you getting this information from?  If it is personal experience then why not just answer my question - "yes I have seen products from this company offered for sale lots of times".

I never said that I thought they had a profitable company. I said that the industry they've chosen to go into is a profitable industry.

And I misspoke. It's Oriental Trading Company that I'm thinking of, not Dharma. (I go to Dharma for silk painting supplies, so I often confuse the two.)

Oriental Trading

[Valmy]

I must admit when i hear students telling me they are majoring in Music, I want to bash their faces in.

Yeah if you want to be a musician you need to get out there and play music.  People in the music business do not care about a degree, only how good you are.

Though I suppose you might need the degree if you want to teach music or maybe in some specialty fields like wanting to be a symphony orchestra director or something.

[The Brain]

Maybe it's wise not to expect to be able to make two big investments in a row if you don't have any money.

[Jacob]

My bad.  Jacob made the assumption the company was profitable, not you.

I think  it's a reasonable assumption to make - albeit with small profits - but I'm willing to concede on that point as it is secondary to my amusement at BB. What I'm finding funny are statements such as these:

And to my mind a business making cupcake toppers sounds like a terrible business to get into.  The cupcake fad has long since peaked.  They're trying to sell bell-bottom jeans and disco balls in 1982.

If not, then it sounds even worse - they're trying to enter a crowded market.

He knows nothing of their business, their plan, their prior success, or the market they're in (except what Meri tells him) yet he's ready to call say their plan is terrible; presumably due to a dislike of cupcakes, young people with student loans, and/or people with degrees he doesn't like.

As CC said, BB would make a terrible minister responsible for planning the allocation of cupcake thingies.

[Barrister]

You keep saying this is a successful business.  I pointed out that is not stated in the original article.  You said their products are sold on Dharma Trading Company.  I told you I sure can't find them.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

Where are you getting this information from?  If it is personal experience then why not just answer my question - "yes I have seen products from this company offered for sale lots of times".

I never said that I thought they had a profitable company. I said that the industry they've chosen to go into is a profitable industry.

And I misspoke. It's Oriental Trading Company that I'm thinking of, not Dharma. (I go to Dharma for silk painting supplies, so I often confuse the two.)

Oriental Trading

Glad we could straighten that out.

Trying to enter an already existing industry can be tough though.  What differentiates them from the existing companies that make cupcake toppers?  What competitive advantage would they have?

[Jacob]

Glad we could straighten that out.

Trying to enter an already existing industry can be tough though.  What differentiates them from the existing companies that make cupcake toppers?  What competitive advantage would they have?

You should email them and ask.

If their answers satisfy you - and we know that will be a challenge - perhaps we can pool some resources and invest in the $140K laser cutter they need. The "Languish Cupcake Thingie Company" could make us all rich 

[Barrister]

My bad.  Jacob made the assumption the company was profitable, not you.

I think  it's a reasonable assumption to make - albeit with small profits - but I'm willing to concede on that point as it is secondary to my amusement at BB. What I'm finding funny are statements such as these:

And to my mind a business making cupcake toppers sounds like a terrible business to get into.  The cupcake fad has long since peaked.  They're trying to sell bell-bottom jeans and disco balls in 1982.

If not, then it sounds even worse - they're trying to enter a crowded market.

He knows nothing of their business, their plan, their prior success, or the market they're in (except what Meri tells him) yet he's ready to call say their plan is terrible; presumably due to a dislike of cupcakes, young people with student loans, and/or people with degrees he doesn't like.

As CC said, BB would make a terrible minister responsible for planning the allocation of cupcake thingies.

I'm glad that I can amuse you Jacob, but I find it puzzling that someone talking about an issue without having all the facts is amusing.  This is Languish after all - we see this phenomenon on an hourly basis.   

I freely concede I don't know much about the industry (other than the fact that at Andrew's 1st birthday a month ago we had cupcakes with toppers), which is why I continue to use words like "sounds like".  I offer opinion and speculation, not hard facts.

[merithyn]

Glad we could straighten that out.

Trying to enter an already existing industry can be tough though.  What differentiates them from the existing companies that make cupcake toppers?  What competitive advantage would they have?

That they could make custom toppers if they had a laser cutter?

I thought that point was made ages ago.

[The Brain]

Isn't a cutter a kind of small boat? Let's discuss this at length.

[crazy canuck]

Though I suppose you might need the degree if you want to teach music or maybe in some specialty fields

Maybe in some places.  But in our school the band teacher is a jazz trumpet player they hired out of Chicago.  He is the awesomest.