

Help me rename "Lifestyle Business" - peter123
http://redeye.firstround.com/2009/07/we-need-a-new-name-for-this.html

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mdasen
I'd have the opposite take on the title "lifestyle business". The opposite is
really the "get rich or die trying" business. The opposite are the businesses
that can only survive as long as they keep coming out with some new novelty
until they're bought without necessarily creating a sound business.

Lifestyle business means that you have your priorities right. The purpose of
business and money is making life easier and nicer. Life's purpose isn't
business and money. The problem is that we put people like Mark Cuban on a
pedestal for creating something that couldn't make money and didn't create
much value simply because someone else was stupid enough to pay billions for
it in a frenzy. At the same time, we don't have a lot of respect for people
like the restaurant owner who does a consistent good job because what he does
can never have the "infini-scale" of large web projects and get bought for
billions.

Of course, as we've seen, the "infini-scale" almost never happens. Really,
what company that was purchased in all the .com land rushes has made the owner
much money? Not broadcast.com, not YouTube, not Geocities, not AOL, not
FeedBurner, not Jaiku, not Dodgeball. . . But all of them were acquired for
tons of money. They played "get rich or die trying" and got rich while making
nothing that lasts up to that measure.

Lifestyle businesses aren't about who works harder. It's about creating known
value rather than the latest fad. It's about giving customers something good
at a fair price rather than trying to corner the market, exercise the
synergies, actualize the growth potential, or whatever other marketing speak
one would use to get a large, scared player to buy you when you have no profit
potential. Lifestyle businesses are about humbly giving people something good
and knowing that you're making a positive impact on their lives. Maybe you
aren't "game changing", but people appreciate a good business.

~~~
fallentimes
Before Broadcast.com, Mark Cuban had multiple profitable businesses and a
hedge fund.

People often put him on a pedestal or tear him down because they're
misinformed.

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xal
I vote for "Business"

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alanthonyc
Replace "lifestyle business" with "business" - because that's what they are.

Instead, come up with a new name for the ones that VC's like to invest in.

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netsp
venture?

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100k
+1 to this.

I like the point of that "Miles" made in the comments: that there really is
such a thing as a lifestyle business, but there needs to be a new term for
businesses too small to interest VCs.

A "lifestyle business" is something that makes you enough money to get by,
perhaps somewhat passively.

But no one should call 37signals a "lifestyle business" -- they are a small
company with millions of dollars in revenue. But VCs probably would not have
been interested in them because they didn't plan to take over the world.

Just wondering...what are the options for funding a business that isn't VC
sized but could be successful in its niche? Bootstrapping? SBA loans?

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MicahWedemeyer
We're going the bootstap + day job route. It's very hard, but we spend our
time working on the project instead of worrying about funding.

However, I'm also very curious about SBA loans, and other loan financing.

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coopr
I've been working the SBA loan route for a while now, and I'm preparing to
post a summary of my experiences to HN. If anyone out there has also tried to
get SBA-backed loans for a startup, holler and maybe we'll co-write some tips
for other entrepreneurs.

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nickmolnar2
I put in my $0.02 with "Freestanding Business"

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MicahWedemeyer
I love the term "Lifestyle Entrepreneur" and I wear it with pride. There was a
time when I thought it was all about raising investment money. Then I realized
that such a prospect was completely outside of reality, and furthermore, I
didn't need the money. Then I just hunkered down and got to work.

Feel free to rename it if you want, but I'll stick with the original.

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breck
i agree. i don't find the term lifestyle business demeaning.

i've had some lifestyle businesses in the past that have done really well, and
frankly, when you have a _really_ successful lifestyle business, if someone
treats you condescendingly, sitting at the beach drinking pina coladas at 11am
on a weekday is a great remedy.

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gojomo
There's nothing inherently 'demeaning' about the term 'lifestyle business' --
except that in the context of people who are seeking something more, it
implies something less.

Picking a new name will shift the implication. See "euphemism treadmill":

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism#The_.22euphemism_trea...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism#The_.22euphemism_treadmill.22)

Whatever new term is picked, no matter how initially flattering, will -- when
repeatedly used in the same contexts -- eventually adopt the same connotations
of 'not good enough for bigtime purposes'.

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netsp
I agree partially. So long as the word means 'that thing VCs won't invest in,'
it's demeaning.

But lifestyle business is inherently demeaning. It implies a goal of cutting
back on stress, hard work, long hours etc. A retirement business. A B&B.

Since most of those it is applied to (in this context) do not have these
goals, it is insulting. Like calling a punk rocker adorable.

The thing is that it's not what VC's won't invest in that needs a name, it's
what they do invest in that needs one. For one thing, an exit plan is
something the majority of businesses do not have when they start.

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pixelmonkey
I like the name "business" :-) But, I do think joshk is right that "lifestyle
business" is a bit of a demeaning term nowadays. My submissions are "pasta
profitable" and "leanstrapped"; latter seems to hit a nerve with people. Feel
free to vote em up or down.

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Indepenture
Indepenture - independent venture

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chaosmachine
Self Employment.

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xal
?? My non VC funded company has 20 employees...

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chaosmachine
In that case, I'd go with your suggestion: "Business".

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sutro
I have always preferred "Lifestyle" to "Trojan." Wait, what were we talking
about?

