making a buck in NYC

June 7, 2007 9:09 PM

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.
posted by nickyskye (14 comments total)

Wow, this is really awesome. Thanks!
posted by jonson at 9:15 PM on June 7, 2007

That was amazingly interesting to read. I love how the profits were broken down and explained. Thanks for the link! :D
posted by Phire at 9:29 PM on June 7, 2007

Very cool, thanks!
posted by danb at 9:47 PM on June 7, 2007

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.
posted by vronsky at 9:51 PM on June 7, 2007

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.
posted by apathy0o0 at 11:08 PM on June 7, 2007

That was very cool. I wish the analyst had commented on every business, but then again, his comments weren't all that insightful. Hm.
posted by maxwelton at 12:06 AM on June 8, 2007

Best article: Meth dealer. Nice link.
posted by damclean2 at 12:26 AM on June 8, 2007

Interesting stuff. Nice post.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 1:37 AM on June 8, 2007

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.
posted by elpapacito at 2:49 AM on June 8, 2007

Beautiful piece. Just (say) the graphic from the copyshop one would almost have been sufficient to justify the FPP.
posted by imperium at 2:52 AM on June 8, 2007

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.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:06 AM on June 8, 2007

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

Nice post.
posted by exogenous at 7:17 AM on June 8, 2007

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.
posted by JibberJabber at 9:41 AM on June 8, 2007

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)
posted by rubyeyo at 2:11 PM on June 8, 2007