"Vending is NOT fully passive income. I'd call it semi-passive, like 70% passive. Social media makes it look like you fill machines once a month and money rains in."
The report contends that the lower rungs of the middle class shrank because more Americans got richer, with 31% of families classified as upper middle class in 2024.
"I found out that I was accepted the day - the literal day after George Floyd was murdered - and this thing that I was so excited about, I instantly stopped caring about it. In the back of my mind, I was just like, 'We need Black-owned grocery stores.'"
Wherever you stand on work from home, put the issue aside temporarily and allow your employees to work more from their home offices. It will save them money on gas and put less pressure on you to reimburse them for higher fuel costs.
Successful founders are comfortable being uncomfortable. Forging a new path as an entrepreneur isn't easy work. There may be times when you're the only person who believes in your idea, or where you're the only person who looks like you do in a meeting room.
To heat the home, I wanted hydronic floor heating. This is a system that uses warm water in PEX to heat the home. However, hydronic systems are uncommon which makes it difficult to find an installer. I managed to get one quote and it was about $120,000. No thanks! I decided to take on the project myself. It took an immense amount of planning and a lot of labor, but I got it done for about $18,000.
Turning skills into a fulfilling and profitable venture is a natural next step for active seniors. The transition offers a way to monetize years of dedication and hard work. Creating a business plan for a hobby allows for a low-stress entry into the market. You already understand the product or service better than most competitors.
According to the Registered Agents Inc. December Business Formation Report, more than 5.9 million new businesses were formed in 2025, an 8% increase over 2024 nationwide. And sure, it's easy to point to the usual heavy hitters, states like Florida and Texas, which posted another standout year and outperformed 2024 month after month.
But if you're innovating within your industry, it's a problem you should expect and prepare for because it means having to operate in two realities-the internal reality where you know the challenges in your industry and how you're going to solve them, and the external reality where nobody else has recognized the problem that needs to be solved. In a highly regulated industry like healthcare, safety, and stability create an inertia that often works against innovation.
