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    Marketplace Tuesday! (January 02, 2018) Entrepreneur

    January 02, 2018

    Marketplace Tuesday! (January 02, 2018) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (January 02, 2018)

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 05:06 AM PST

    Please use this thread to post any Jobs that you're looking to fill (including interns), or services you're looking to render to other members.

    We do this to not overflow the subreddit with personal offerings (such logo design, SEO, etc) so please try to limit the offerings to this weekly thread.

    Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    I am tired of reading the same old drop-shipping, cleaning, data science, SEO and usual businesses. Who here has a fascinating, unusual or unique business that is profitable? What are your stories?

    Posted: 01 Jan 2018 06:18 PM PST

    Shower Thought: I've never made money online by reading a post on 'how to make money online'.

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 08:13 AM PST

    My first business closed it's first year at $165k in sales. We only used Instagram for marketing and spent less than $1k on ads. Here are a few things I learned.

    Posted: 01 Jan 2018 07:06 PM PST

    In no particular order, here are a few things that helped contribute to a successful first year.

    INSTAGRAM RELATED...

    1. [Assuming your target audience is under 35] Live on Instagram. Don't just post though- follow people/business you truly enjoy and interact with them genuinely, as another human.

    2. Play it straight and don't buy followers or likes. The goal is to attract potential customers, obviously bots and paid followers aren't going to be buying. And it's not worth the appearance of success. As a consumer, it's easy to spot fake interaction which can damage your brand. Don't stress over the amount of followers you have (we only have 15k, but they are 100% real. Grow organically.

    3. In addition to #2, don't out kick your coverage in terms of the number of people you follow. If you don't have time to interact with your whole feed, don't follow thousands of people in hopes that they'll follow you back. Again, it will damage your brand.

    4. Collaborate with other companies with the same target market. It will help pull in real followers.

    5. The algorithm is your friend. There isn't some wizard formula to showing up in people's feeds. Be active in it and stay up on interaction, post regularly, respond to DM's, watch stories, etc. Instagram itself is a business after all, they just want you using their product. Don't take shortcuts.

    6. Use the business analytics in the app, they are solid gold for learning who your demographic is, what days/hours your followers are most active, top posts, etc.

    7. Don't be afraid to be personal. Share videos of yourself talking on your stories and using the product in your day to day life. We share photos of our kids helping pack orders, people love small businesses.

    8. Giveaways will generate many followers, but don't do them too often. My opinion is no more than 8-10 times a year.

    9. Involve them in making decisions. This was an amazing strategy we used. Ex 1: "Help us name the next product and if we use your suggestion we'll send you one for free!" Your customers might have more good ideas than you might anticipate. Ex 2: Polling two potential product options on a story. Get them invested in the development.

    10. Get in and interact in that explore feed, it's a surefire way to reach potential customers without being spammy.

    GENERAL BUSINESS PRACTICES...

    1. Free shipping or death. Build it into the price if you have to. People hate paying for shipping. Also don't skimp on the service. Be on par with Amazon if possible. We ship everything USPS Priority which is extremely fast (1-3 days across the entire US / 7-9 internationally)

    2. Have a generous return/exchange policy. The cost of losing potential sales outweighs the cost of returns/shipping cost.

    3. Out of stock is a good thing. Sure it can suck to decrease sales, but IMO it's heavily outweighed by the benefits of having a more exclusive product. On-the-fencers won't be on-the-fence anymore.

    4. Rarely do sales! They are like a drug because it's such good short term success, but you and your customers will become dependent on them, which will damage the brand and obviously the margins. If possible- treat your prices like Apple does.

    AMA if you have any specific q's

    Happy New Year!

    submitted by /u/milogoestomars
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    How do solo entrepreneurs not get lonely?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 01:04 PM PST

    I've made the leap last year into starting my own online business, but something I was surprised by was how much I miss having teammates and colleagues. It can get lonely - and sometimes, frankly, kinda boring - working on my own goals.

    For solo entrepreneurs who want to stay solo, how do you handle this? Any tips or recommendations?

    Also, FWIW, I'm not in a position to look for a co-founder just yet.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/supplyunica
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    I'm 16 which skills should I learn right now to become a successful entrepreneur in the future?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 10:17 AM PST

    Coding? (what language should the the most useful for me which ones do you recommend? JavaScript, css +html, python?)

    online marketing?

    public speaking?

    any other ones?

    Edit: while I appreciate the responses so far I really want the know the coding language I should start learning first, the best coding site to learn it and the most useful language I should know

    submitted by /u/BooLord
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    How to Build a Million-Dollar, One-Person Business – Case Studies from The 4-Hour Workweek

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 08:24 AM PST

    Full disclosure: I am case study #4

    My friend Elaine, who has been writing about entrepreneurs for years on Forbes, CNBC, and more, recently wrote a guest post for Tim Ferriss.

    An interesting tidbit:

    the growth of ultra-lean, one-person businesses that are reaching and exceeding $1 million in revenue. According to recent statistics released by the US Census Bureau, in 2015 there were 35,584 "nonemployer" firms— that is, those that do not employ anyone other than the owners— that brought in $1 million to $2,499,999 in annual revenue. That's up 5.8% from 2014, 18% from 2013, 21% from 20 12 and 33% from 2011.

    She also found:

    Solo businesses and partnerships that hit the million-dollar range typically fall into six categories:

    1. E-commerce
    2. Manufacturing
    3. Informational content creation
    4. Professional services and creative businesses, such as marketing firms, public speaking businesses, and consultancies
    5. Personal services firms, offering expertise, such as fitness coaching
    6. Real estate

    In it, she summed up 6 case studies that used an outsourcing approach to achieve success.

    The six:

    1. Split-Testing for Profit

    One thing that helped Nadler was using automated approaches to doing things like conducting A/B testing to determine how consumers were responding to his web pages

    Nadler acted on what he had learned by turning to the site Splitly. This saves him hours of manual work. Nadler has found the site's small team offers smart insights to the questions he is trying to answer.

    2. Mastering the Art of Delegation

    To stay focused on the high-level decisions that grow their revenue, the Arnebergs don't try to do everything themselves and, taking a cue from what they learned in The 4-Hour Workweek, outsource tasks like customer service and photography for the site. They also outsource order fulfillment, relying on their retail platform to handle this. Another example of how they outsource is by relying on a private label manufacture overseas, who customizes their products for them, instead of trying to become manufacturers themselves.

    To avoid getting involved in distracting minutia, they actively empower their contractors to make judgement calls, such as issuing a refund, that will cost the company $50 or less—a general concept they learned in The 4-Hour Workweek. (Ferriss empowered his own assistants to resolve such problems if they would cost him $100 or less). "It's about being smart and strategic and trusting others to make decisions," says Ben.

    3. Fewer Distractions = More Growth

    He found it freeing to realize that he didn't necessarily need a physical space where his team at Science of Skill would work together under one roof.

    Faggella also learned another key lesson from The 4-Hour Workweek: the right cadence of communication with his team. Faggella found it helpful to learn that Ferriss only checked his email twice a day and made conscious decisions about when he would communicate with his team and how often.

    "It wasn't an unbroken, consistent stream of messages back and forth but was an organized way of communicating that kept things moving and functioning," notes Faggella. "You could kind of bucket when you actually handle your digital communication and talk to these folks who are thousands of miles away. It became self-evident to me that those things were manageable."

    4. Success Through Liberation

    "After having spent years building up my business, instead of attempting to just continue growing it, I put my #2 in charge (I trusted him and killed my own job), and then I gallivanted around the globe," he says. Mobile access to the internet was so extensive by that point, he says, that "everywhere I went I could work… if I wanted to."

    The key to pulling this off was working with the right contractor. Orwell, who had initially gotten interested in nutrition while losing weight, had gotten to be friendly with a fellow contributor to the fitness community on Reddit and was impressed by the way in which his buddy shared his expertise with others on the site.

    Orwell had soon enlisted his friend, as a contractor, to run Examine.com day to day, offering a small amount of equity to ensure his buddy was invested in its success. Orwell found the arrangement worked beautifully when it came to indulging his love of travel. "Giving him the authority to do whatever he needed to do implicitly brought initiative," Orwell says.

    5. Rethinking Scale (and Profit)

    made him start questioning the conventional wisdom on scaling a business. "I had a desire to build a big business at the time, but I never questioned it," Gaignard says. "It made me realize I was on a hamster wheel, running a business I hated." He eventually decided to close TicketsCanada. "It was the biggest shift I've ever made in business," recalls Gaignard.

    Despite constant encouragement to grow his business, Gaignard has decided to keep it small, paying himself $250,000 a year. "How much more money do I need?" he says.

    6. How to Overcome Your Doubts and Grow

    "You make what would seem to be a complex, insurmountable task—starting a business—a lot more digestible," he says. "All of a sudden you are going through the checklist—and a year later the business has launched."

    To get out of his funk, Walton looked for mentorship from other successful entrepreneurs, which he found at a high-end business retreat called two12 (Tim has been a mentor twice at the event). At two12, he spoke with Noah Kagan, founder of Sumo and an early Facebook employee, who helped him reset his own dreams. "He convinced me to double down on my business when everyone else was telling me to sell," says Walton. "I felt like I'd really regret it if I didn't give it my all."

    (#6 Allen Walton is also a redditor).

    Full article: How to Build a Million-Dollar, One-Person Business – Case Studies from The 4-Hour Workweek

    submitted by /u/AhmedF
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    Happy New Year! "Window Cleaning Guy" here with a 2017 update and 2018 goals.

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 05:23 AM PST

    Alright, if you dont know my story you can see my previous posts in this subreddit. Short version is that I was losing my job last Jan and I started a window cleaning company on a whim.

    We finished 2017 with over $140,000 in revenue.

    Our goal for 2018 is $400,000 in gross revenue.

    My greatest weakness has been bookkeeping so I just hired a bookkeeper and feel SOOOOOOO much less stressed as a result.

    This year I will be making a video post at the beginning of each month outlining our monthly goal required to hit our $400,000 target as well as a brief review going over the previous months success/failure. Here is this months video: https://youtu.be/VmqdJPJKrEA

    Here is a short video that briefly explains how we came up with each months goals as we did not simply divide 400,000 by 12: https://youtu.be/ELGidgNtlT8 I used some numbers from a company that was kind enough to share some of their records with me that has been doing the same sort of business in my area for 20 years for my monthly % projections.

    Using the "Profit First" method we will be setting a 5% company profit for Q1 and will evaluate/adjust as the year goes. If you are not familiar with the book "Profit First" go read it!

    As a preemptive strike to all of the "How can I do this" and "What's the secret" questions that I am about to get in my inbox I have recorded a couple of short videos to answer your questions here: https://youtu.be/7BS7UIJFPQE https://youtu.be/eDfF6f_jALA

    2017 was amazing for me. I started the year simply trying to survive and I now have a goal and plan to dominate my local market. Thanks to this subreddit for the help and encouragement!

    Feel free to ask me anything and I'll do my best to answer.

    P.S. We are more of a pressure washing company now as roughly 66% of our revenue comes from pressure washing.

    submitted by /u/do_it_every_day
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    I have to teach grade 12 Entrepreneurship (focus on e-commerce) with 11 year old curriculum. What would YOU include in this course?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:09 PM PST

    I am a teacher, not an entrepreneur and am tasked with teaching entrepreneurship with a focus on online ventures. The curriculum is from 2006 so I am hoping some of you might have some ideas of what I should include that would make this course more authentic and interesting. Any ideas, case studies, advice is very welcome! Thanks for taking the time!

    submitted by /u/mistycalhoun
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    Some of us from r/entrepreneur started a book club!

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 07:23 AM PST

    We have over 200 members now and would love for you to be a part of the group. We read one book every month that either highlights the story of an entrepreneur or otherwise will help us along the journey. If you're interested in joining, check us out on Goodreads. Reading more is a great new year's resolution for all entrepreneurs!

    Here's a look at a few of the books we read last year:

    • The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon - By Brad Stone
    • Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Thrive and Others Die - By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
    • Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose - By Tony Hsieh
    • Onward: How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul - By Howard Schultz
    • Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World - By Adam Grant

    If it sounds like something you might be into, here's the group. I'd love to get some more discussion going in 2018!

    https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/221300-entrepreneur-book-club

    submitted by /u/juicefactor
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    Looking to start ecommerce/dropshipping. I have 0 knowledge at this point. Any advice on getting started?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:55 PM PST

    I am looking to get started asap. I've seen hundreds of youtube videos available, but these sound more like sales ads than actual good ol' free advice. I need to know where to start. Any legit resources are greatly appreciated. I need something that will take me from 0 knowledge at all to having a fully running store. PLEASE HELP!

    submitted by /u/dnunn12
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    Could you share a "learn how to start a business" roadmap?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 10:21 AM PST

    Hello! I haven't found this yet, or at least not as clear as I would like. Can someone share an entepreneurship or a "learn how to start a business" roadmap?

    I have lurked this subreddit and there are a lot of book sugestions, The E-Myth, 4 hour week, Rework, Purple Cow, etc. I could read them no problem, but I don't want to waste my time reading tons of books and never actually start something. Or basically where should I start so I don't start learning random shit.

    To give some backround, I'm 30 years old, have some savings, no debt, live in a third world country, married, no kids, Chemical Engineer, Master in Finance, experience in quality of food manufacturing (is a franchaise so there is not R&D, just follow the recipe...), i don't know what else. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/Lourdz
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    If you had 40 hours a week's worth of time, little to no budget, and the goal of making as much money as possible in a year, what would you do?

    Posted: 01 Jan 2018 02:56 PM PST

    This is my current position. I work in a very slow retail store by myself most of the time. In a typical 10 hour business day, 9+ hours of that time is uninterrupted. I have a good laptop with me and an internet connection, and a drive to bring more success into my life. I've been teaching myself skills and trying to make myself more marketable, but at the moment my primary goal is to earn more income. I could either look for a higher paying job with better opportunities, or I could leverage my current paid free time to try to earn income while I earn income (pursuing both possibilities right now).

    That said, entrepreneurs, if you found yourself in a similar situation, what would you do (or learn) to bring some money into your life?

    submitted by /u/Sporkitized
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    Guys, what is the best way/platform to find an experienced tech business mentor? Someone who has founded multiple startups himself.

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 01:39 PM PST

    What was the most transformative year of your life, and what was the catalyst for that change?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 01:31 PM PST

    Moving into 2018, everyone's got a new routine, resolution, or discipline. The ones who keep it are the ones who will find themselves in a different situation come 2019.

    Contrary to what appealing self-help books would like you to believe, change is oftentimes messy. Both Dell and Facebook were created in dorm rooms -- and the greatest successes of 2018 probably won't be realized the way many people would expect.

    I'd like to learn from you, /r/entrepreneur. Looking back at your most transformative year (successful or not, monumental change is my greater focus), what was the catalyst for that change?

    Wishing everyone a very spectacular 2018.

    // - James

    submitted by /u/jamescharlespaine
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    What do you guys focus on in January?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 01:25 PM PST

    Now that Christmas is over and a lot of customers are taking a bit of a reprieve from spending, what are you fellow entrepreneurs working on before the sales pick up once more?

    I'm currently directing a lot of my energy to marketing and new product design. Finally got a laser cutter set up and next up will be getting it operational for new item production.

    So what's on your plate at the moment?

    submitted by /u/SkeptiBee
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    I've read over 150 business/entrepreneur books, but would a business book review blog be monetisable?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:48 PM PST

    Hi there everyone. If you're reading this right now then thank you in advance for taking the time out of your day to care about my question.

    So I'm a closeted book nerd - and the majority of books I've read have been non-fiction, entrepreneur/startup/business/digital marketing/psychology books in an attempt to boost my knowledge and generally become more insightful. Since I've done this and I take pretty detailed notes on everything I read to try and retain as much as possible, I was considering starting a business etc book review blog. However, I have a few reservations.

    Firstly, how do you go about monetising a book review blog? I considered affiliate links - but then once people have read your review of a book (likely with the intention of reading this so they don't NEED to read the book) then surely they wouldn't then go and buy it?

    Moreover, can you even grow a book review blog easily? I can't imagine SEO being easy since well-known book titles are going to return the respective authors and amazon etc when googled. How would you try to grow an audience apart from putting out the highest possible quality, to start making enough money to make it worthwhile?

    If anyone has any experience in the area, I would love to hear your opinions. Thanks again if you made it all the way through this, I hope 2018 is good to all of you!

    submitted by /u/northlondonsfinest
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    Wrike's No Refund Policy

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:37 PM PST

    I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub, but it made sense to post here.

    I like using the Wrike tool to organize my work. I'm the only person using it at my company. When I signed up, I got the 5-license package. But ultimately only used it myself.

    As a result, I tried to downgrade my package in early December before my annual renewal, but didn't see a way to do this on their website. I unfortunately didn't get a chance to call Wrike to cancel before the renewal on the 16th. As entrepreneurs, you surely understand how this can happen during December.

    I was charged not only the renewal fee for 5 licenses (almost $600), but an additional $40 in taxes that I wasn't charged last year (and they didn't send a heads up to let me know that taxes would be charged this time).

    I caught this on the 25th, and contacted Wrike immediately. They downgraded my account going forward. But they have a "no refund" policy that I wasn't aware of that they refuse to budge on.

    As an entrepreneur, I would be more reasonable than this. If they looked at my account, they would be able to see that I was the only one using it for my company for the past year.

    I also called in and raised how I didn't get a heads up about the taxes nor about the renewal (yes, no renewal reminder...even Salesforce reminded me). I reasonably asked to reconsider the full year charge for 5 licenses, and said that I may upgrade in the future. Also, I was the only one using it after the 16th, and it's not like a month went by since the charge.

    Unfortunately, Wrike isn't budging. So I wanted to warn anyone else who uses Wrike that wants to change their package to cancel/downgrade before your renewal date. Set an alarm that sets off fireworks so that you don't forget because you won't get that money back. I understand as a business why they have a no refund policy. But at least listen to reason. It doesn't feel right to treat a customer that way.

    I considered on-boarding other team members when it made sense, and upgrading to higher packages. But I'm looking elsewhere. If you have a no refund policy, post it prominently. And let customers know when their bill is coming, and if it'll be higher than before. Make it easy to downgrade from your website. I'm trying to be fair, but this felt like shady practices to me.

    submitted by /u/gijuts
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    How did you find your mentor?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 03:53 AM PST

    The correlation between having a mentor and success is well documented. How did you find your mentor? Any tips from your experience?

    submitted by /u/breakingtree
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    An Attention-Grabbing Front Page

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:28 PM PST

    Hi, I just made an MVP for my site movingcollage.com (create video collages and edit videos online) and am struggling with what to do with the front page. At the moment as you can see it's just a select box, for visitors to choose between creating a video collage and creating a feed (in the future there will be options like "create gif collage" and "create gif from video", "subclip a video/gif" , etc.

    I am also struggling to find inspiration that has similar content that my site offers. I'm struggling with what exactly I should put on the front page. Does anyone have any ideas?

    submitted by /u/Mjjjokes
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    How To Make Sure I Don't Get Scammed?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:14 PM PST

    Just got an order purchasing 18 products from my shopify store. The shipping address matches the billing address, and am probably going to call them up in a bit asking them what their address is to see if they stumble. Are there any precautions I can do right now to protect myself from a chargeback?

    *Also if this helps with any information, I ship my products myself from my house

    submitted by /u/subzand
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    Limited Liability Partnership or Private Limited Company?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:13 PM PST

    Hi, I'm working on a group university project simulating the business aspects of an engineering consultancy.

    Part of the project requires that we decide on the form of our business legal entity and I've managed to narrow the selection down to either a Limited Liability Partnership or a Private Limited Company. The company will be incorporated in the UK.

    The consultancy will provide engineering solutions to large scale projects, including the hiring of temporary employees on behalf of client companies. The ownership of the company will be equally split between nine individuals (most likely).

    What are the benefits of either business structure? I'm struggling to tease out why I would choose one over another.

    Any answers or links to resources would be appreciated, thanks!

    submitted by /u/Skatchan
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    Anything like Trello that is free for Getting Things Done Kanban Boards

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:11 PM PST

    Maybe you know of an open source app or simply using something like Excel in a way that works similar to Trello. I've not used Trello but it looks pretty good. Or, are you mostly just using a little notebook and paper with bullet points?

    submitted by /u/Freds_Premium
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    What print service to use?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 12:00 PM PST

    Hello I am about to create a hoodie for my brand and need the best service for my purpose. Best would be if I could find a service that prints my design completely over the whole hoodie. Otherwise a print on the back and front is what I am looking for. I need it to be setup with API to my own website.

    submitted by /u/eliascreate
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    Recommendations for an online only business checking account?

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 11:34 AM PST

    I've been running my small e-comm business through my personal checking account for a couple of years now. Things are starting to pick up and make some meaningful money, so it's time to take it to the next level and finally legitimize my operation. I'm already legally registered (EIN, Sec. of State, etc..), but need a good online banking solution.

    I'm looking for recommendations for a reliable online business checking account provider. I've been searching, but am having a hard time sifting through affiliate links and questionable reviews.

    I'd love to find a company that specializes in online accounts since I'll be travelling for most of the next couple of years, and likely won't be using any branch locations or in-person services.

    Any advice is much appreciated!

    submitted by /u/mindspin70
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    Dispensary Start Up Preparation for 2019

    Posted: 02 Jan 2018 11:30 AM PST

    Hello Reddit!

    As the title suggests I would like to begin setting myself up to be able to open a dispensary when medical marijuana cards becomes legal in my state of WV in 2019.

    About me... I am a 24 year old recent graduate working as a software dev full time. I have started small side businesses before but nothing of this scale or money invested. So that means much to learn!

    I have been saving and am on route to have around 15-20k by mid-2018 ready to put into the business with another 30k by mid 2019. I know this won't be enough but with marijuana still being federally illegal what are my options for bigger capital?

    In the proposed rules it also mentions the following

    26.2. An applicant for a dispensary permit shall provide an affidavit that the applicant has at least $150,000 on deposit with one or more financial institutions.

    Is there any possible chance of coming up with this money through other means such as a loan or would that be a really bad idea? What are other ways to be able to comply with this rule?

    Are there any insights into where to get professional consultation in this industry? I know it's still a new industry so I would like to have a good plan so as to not have any surprises later on.

    tldr: Planning to start a dispensary in 2019, have some questions on the business start up.

    You can also tell me I am way over my head and do not have the money for the startup haha

    submitted by /u/Reece387
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