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Comment by thirdstation | Hacker News Reader

"3. Selling bottled water for more than you paid on a hot day accomplishes this, and you could make decent coin doing it…"

I took the most exception at this comment for some reason. I guess because it seems like a serious suggestion instead of an example of what I understand as arbitrage. Maybe because it seems the most hand-wavey of all the suggestions.

Yeah, you can sell bottled water on the beach for more than you paid but, I think it's dubious to say that you can make decent coin in the long, or even mid-term. When I think "decent coin" I think of an income that can support my lifestyle and family.

Valuable as a way to learn about business? Sure.

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It's not even arbitrage, since embedded in the price increase is the value of your hard physical labour in carrying heavy bottles around. Sure, you can make money doing sales and heavy lifting for markup, but it's not a strategy - its a self-employed service job.

A guesstimate of how many bottles you can reasonably expect to sell in an hour suggests that most of us on HN wouldn't consider it to be "decent coin" either. Although if the objective is to show the guy pestering you to buy things on that Thai beach is showing more entrepreneurial ability than some rocket scientists, Sebastian's choice of examples does that.

Joe Ades wore custom thousand dollar suits and lived in park avenue while selling potato peelers on the street.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ia7TF2yVQU

I reckon I'd hate to sell water bottles in the beach to make a living, but don't knock it till you've tried it. You might be surprised at how much money you can make doing the simplest of things. I bet that if you made the money Joe Ades made while selling potato peelers, you would easily support your lifestyle and family.

>Valuable as a way to learn about business? Sure.

hah. well, it depends on what you want to learn.

I was taught business that way; If anything, in an even lower-paying way. I grew pumpkins, with my Father's help, and then took them door to door in a wheelbarrow, selling them. Seventy five cents for the big ones and fifty cents for the little ones. I made maybe $25-$30 a year that way. I was maybe 10-12 at the time.

The thing of it is, most HN readers, and especially Sebastian, would call me a loser even today; he would say I'm still overly focused on the "provide value" side of the coin; the business I spent the last five years on is worth maybe a cheap south-bay condo[1] right now, and I believe has the lowest margins in the industry. It pays my rent, sure, but if Sebastian looks down on patio11, he's going to look down on me, and really, anyone else who takes that view of business.

[1] note, I actually like doing this, I wouldn't sell at that price; but as far as I can tell, that's market value, give or take.

I'd never call you a loser for building stuff in the world. Never. I think that's fantastic and wish you the best in your endeavors. Additionally, if you were to drop me a line and asked something I could lend a hand with, I'd do what I could.

I think weakness and mediocrity sucks, and it's worth fighting to transcend the weak/mediocre elements of ourselves that we all have. But I'd never look down on someone for building, I'd never call someone moving forwards a loser, never. Best wishes in your endeavors.

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