Comments on: making a buck in NYC

making a buck in NYC

nickyskye — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:09:37 -0800

The wild risks, unexpected niches, and day-in-day-out grind behind making a dollar in New York...for everyone from a drug dealer to Goldman Sachs. The Profit Calculator, New York Magazine article.

By: jonson

jonson — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:15:19 -0800

Wow, this is really awesome. Thanks!

By: Phire

Phire — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:29:53 -0800

That was amazingly interesting to read. I love how the profits were broken down and explained. Thanks for the link! :D

By: danb

danb — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:47:01 -0800

Very cool, thanks!

By: vronsky

vronsky — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:51:42 -0800

This is the type of article that New York Magazine does better than anyone. The drug company article was a little thin, but great find.

By: apathy0o0

apathy0o0 — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:08:28 -0800

I really like how it zooms out from a couple people to the bigger picture, as it's hard to get a sense of the scale of stuff like that without getting walked through it.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:06:58 -0800

That was very cool. I wish the analyst had commented on every business, but then again, his comments weren't all that insightful. Hm.

By: damclean2

damclean2 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:26:01 -0800

Best article: Meth dealer. Nice link.

By: ClanvidHorse

ClanvidHorse — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:37:19 -0800

Interesting stuff. Nice post.

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:49:36 -0800

60h/6d= 10 h/d (but most cabby drive 12) 52w*60h=3120 h/y --> 12K$ /3120h = 3.84$ Average Gross Profit/hour Annual Revenue = 75K$ , sum overhead cost = 56.2K$ Annual Revenue = 75K$ / 3120h = 24.03 $/h , Overhead = 56.2K$ / 3120h = 18.01 $/h , Average Gross profit = 6,02 $/h Clearly there is some mixup in the numbers, as Pekoh is earning an AGP of 3,84$/h. Even by giving the guy 4 weeks/year of rest (and counting working weeks of 6 days) and counting a realistic average of 50h/week we stil have an AVG of 5$/h. Still most cabbies allegedly work 12 hour shifts. I wouldn't take this article numbers as a good average of what happens (on average) to Cabbies.

By: imperium

imperium — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:52:04 -0800

Beautiful piece. Just (say) the graphic from the copyshop one would almost have been sufficient to justify the FPP.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 05:06:03 -0800

This is so much better than the usual dreck from New York Magazine. Or has that stomach-turning rag gotten better in recent years? Anyway, thanks for the post, there's some very interesting stuff here. And some of the accompanying photographs (by one Samantha Casolari) are quite good. I especially like this one.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:17:03 -0800

elpapacito: interesting observation. I imagine a certain amount of tips go unreported. Also he is earning equity in his medallion. Nice post.

By: JibberJabber

JibberJabber — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:41:32 -0800

This was a great article and wonderful FPP. Here's one of those gems that make me say "This is why I visit Metafilter!" Thanks, nickyskye.

By: rubyeyo

rubyeyo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:11:34 -0800

Wow, with a profit margin so high it's obviously a smart move to be a drug dealer. I need to quit my job and jump on that bandwagon. (kidding)