Showing posts with label KTF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KTF. Show all posts

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Need Advice - On Starting a Company

So my little brother is starting a business. Well, to be honest, he did a while ago. But we're making it official now.

You see, my brother is 20. He's fallen straight into the heart of not being able to find a job. He has severe ADD, and it wasn't managed in high school - so he struggled just to pass his classes, and having a job wasn't even on the radar. Now that he's seeing a myriad of doctors and has his issues "taken care of", he's enrolled in college and doing well. Except for the whole working thing. See, no one really wants to hire a young adult who's never had a job before and isn't a college graduate. His resume is literally blank. He wasn't in clubs or sports in high school. He didn't graduate with honors. He's your typical "fell through the cracks" person. He's trying so so hard to get out.

My brother is in school for computer programming. He loves all things electronic. He loves taking them apart and putting them back together. Last summer, he started scrapping. He takes old computers and tvs, pulls them apart, and sells the pieces. It's a great deal. Most people just leave this stuff out on the curb or have it collecting dust in their basement. He makes money from it. It takes a special skill set - one he's developed over the years from tinkering with my dad and school. It takes determination - he drives around for roughly 3 hours a night, looking for electronics on the side of the road, and then spends hours more dismantling it and sorting it and taking it to the recycling center for money. My brother will take a string of Christmas lights and take all 500 bulbs off (and makes about $3 from it). But he's being resourceful. While he still lives with my parents, he's able to make income.

I'm so proud of him turning his life around.

But in a few years, he's going to graduate. He's going to give a resume out to employers. And they're going to ask, "What have you been doing with your life?"

I want him to be able to say, "I built this company. From the start." So I'm building his company. I want him to go from a "kid driving around picking up junk" to "let's call him to pick up our stuff!". I want him to have car magnets, business cards, a website, and an email. I want him to look professional. Hell, I want him to have a Facebook page.

Has anyone started a website from scratch before? Preferably free? I'm looking into websites and emails that work best. I'd love an email with a phone app (right now I'm looking at gmail or mail.com). I'll be using Vistaprint for the material stuff. I'd love anyone's advice!! Thanks!