Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 03, 2018) Entrepreneur |
- Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 03, 2018)
- Those who bought eCommerce sites (from flippa for example): how did it turn out?
- Ray Dalio's "Principles" summarized in 10 minutes right here. Enjoy.
- You now have $1m, what business do you start?
- Website idea
- Software for managing workflow?
- How much to spend on a website?
- Graphic/web design studio - how to find clients
- Shipping/ Picking up / Customs etc
- Client Scheduling Tool?
- What's the easiest way to create short videos with intro/outro?
- Need help with instagram
- Is there a single website/resource that has a list of every supplier for every category of industry within a city?
- Creating a new network
- New Photography Business Idea
- What type of manufacturer should I be looking for?
- Pricing strategies for ecommerce retail? Need help.
- The Fun Part of Being an Entrepreneur
- Why your Small Business Needs Periscope
- Fundamental Mistake Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid
- How can I create send coupon codes delivered via email as a lead magnet? I'm sure someone here has figured out a good solution.
- Best way to sell bulk clothes?
- Website Idea
- What is a small digital product that you would pay for if someone builds it?
- Anyone have experience charging fees for providing Accounting services?
| Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 03, 2018) Posted: 03 Jan 2018 05:06 AM PST Please use this thread to ask any wantrapreneur questions. We do this to not overflow the subreddit with wantrapreneur questions, so please try to limit the questions 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. [link] [comments]  |
| Those who bought eCommerce sites (from flippa for example): how did it turn out? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 06:10 AM PST Was the website as advertised (revenue, visitors etc.) Were you able to build upon it and grow it? What was the hardest part of it all. [link] [comments]  |
| Ray Dalio's "Principles" summarized in 10 minutes right here. Enjoy. Posted: 03 Jan 2018 08:47 AM PST i am reading 1 summarized business book a day, and posting shortened summaries of them all on my Medium account (FranticRock). This particular book by Ray Dalio, however, has made a very deep impact, and I wanted to share it with everyone in a 10 minute read. Enjoy... Ray Dalio is one of the richest people in the world. He claims it's not rocket science to run a successful business. You just need a set of principles which always hold true, and are there for you to keep you on the right path. Understanding what's most important in your company is very a personal matter for you. However some things in business are just common sense: such as being honest with your employees, to create an atmosphere of trust, so that problems do not fester, and get brought to the surface quickly. Sometimes life can be overwhelming, and you are presented with all kinds of choices all at the same time. It can feel that you are trapped in a blizzard and that it's impossible to make appropriate decisions. You can't see more than 1 foot in front of you. In a blizzard, you should always have a compass, to make sure you can make decisions in a blizzard. In short: principles are always going to be true, regardless of the situation. Ray states that life, often-times, is going to be messy and chaotic. So it's important to keep a realistic outlook on life. Ray's first principle, because of this, is: to be guided by rational thinking, and not emotions, at any given time. An example of an ugly, but true reality is: a beautiful gazelle getting eaten by a pack of viscious Hyenas. That's the way that nature evolved over time. If you were to intervene, it would have dangerous repercussions. Any business that's been around a long time, needs to constantly adapt to hard times, changing markets, and conditions. These hard times are always an opportunity to learn, and you should only think of them this way. You can borrow techniques from other fields. For example you don't have to be a professional athlete, to use some of their training methods. Thinking of life as a game, will help keep you focused on getting results and reaching your goals. Life is not going to be one long winning streak. Even the best athletes have dry spells. When things aren't going well, stay calm, and keep in mind the above perspective of treating life like a game. You need to set an "ultimate goal", before you begin. The secret to setting a good goal is being as specific as possible, and prioritizing. A lot of people make the mistake of focusing on too many goals at once. It's important to choose and commit to the goal that you desire most. In doing so, you are automatically cutting out any other goals. If there is something you feel especially passionate about, but feel you don't have the sufficient skills to master, do not be so quick as to brush it aside. It's never too late to improve existing skills and learn new ones. Once you put in place your goal, you need to methodically examine the situation to determine which obstacles are in your way. Make sure to list all the obstacles, even if they are very personal. Don't be overly optimistic either by underestimating potential issues. Be as realistic here as possible. If you have a personality trait that can hamper your progress such as: "being easily distracted", do not avoid admitting it. Acknowledging your weaknesses is much better than letting them control you. Admitting them is the first step to being able to control them and improve at your weaknesses. In the work place, extreme truth and transparency is Ray's second principle. This means: creating an environment where employees feel free to speak their mind. This transparency is a safeguard against poor decisions, allowing employees to be constantly exchanging criticisms, and catching mistakes before they happen. At Bridgewater Associates, radical truth also applies to the executives. When a division was getting closed down, a lot of managers prefer to keep this secret until the last minute. When this scenario played out at Bridgewater, things were made clear in an employee meeting right away. If you don't do this, only distrust and animosity will develop among the employees. Radical Transparency is similar to Radical Truth. It has to do with making known the expectation of employee behaviour and management behaviour up front. The relationship between employees and management should be similar to that of a long-term relationship. This involves showing mutual respect, looking out for mutual best interests, and being clear about who is responsible for what. A lot of employees are used to a cut-throat workplace where everyone is only looking out for their own self interests. Ray tries to instil the need for everyone to show more consideration than what they are shown. Productivity will go up when relationships are built based on generosity, honesty, and cooperation. Most of the time people are dishonest when attempting to be kind. Once Ray was going to promote an employee to Department Head, based on employees feedback. Multiple people felt that he deserved the job. However, when looking at a performance tracking system which tracked hundreds of parameters, it turned out this person was not qualified for the job. Ray would be doing a disservice to everyone by promoting that person to the position he didn't belong to, and ignoring the evidence. Employees usually feel that they contribute more to the organization than they really do. A poll at Bridgewater asked how much do you feel you personally contribute to the organization. The added up total of that survey came to 301%. This means that employees do not know how much work they are doing, so the managers need to have a more solid understanding of this. Accuracy and honesty are good not only for the business, but for each employee. Psychologists believe that the pain you feel after making a mistake is the biggest motivator for improvement. This is called "hitting-bottom". Such a catalyst event is often what's needed for the person to change their ways. Sorting out employees' shortcomings is time consuming and should be given priority over celebrating their successes. It takes much more time and resources to figure out what the employees true weaknesses are, that need attention. Your employees are parts of the engine, that powers your machine towards your goal. For Bridgewater, the goal was to maximize investments of his clients, and Ray constantly had to "open the hood" of his machine to improve the engine of his Bridgewater machine. You need to have a flowchart for your organization's engine. It's a diagram that describes how work enters and travels from one employee to another until it's finished. You need to use this tool as a mechanic to identify where problems are occurring. There is no way to avoid unpleasant business. Since realism is one of the fundamental principles for success, there's no way to avoid reprimanding or firing employees. Metrics and measurements are needed as a "dashboard" in your machine, so that considerable boosts to productivity can be reliazed. This monitoring dashboard should provide unbiased, accurate performance measurement. These measurement tools go well with an environment that practices radical truth and transparency. Most problems your company faces provide fuel for your machine. But to take advantage of problems, we need to design our company in a way as to notice problems as soon as possible and address them. One of the best ways to build an organization is from the "Top-down". "Top-down" organization design means, to first put in place great managers. They should be trustworthy with high standards. If the managers are not high performers themselves, it means that this will spread to their staff as well. But if the managers produce excellent work, provide strong oversight and strict quality control, then their teams will rise to their level of great performance. Each department should be given their own level of control over the resources they need. If bureaucracy is preventing department from acting fast, your teams won't be able to be efficient. Do not exceed a ratio of 10 to 1 of employees to managers. The ideal ratio, however, is 5 to 1. With this ratio, a manager can really have stronger, more meaningful relationships with each employee. This ratio will depend on each manager's ability, so it's healthier to go on a case-by-case basis, as opposed to setting a hard limit on this ratio. Summary: Firm principles help make decisions during even the hardest, chaotic times. You can have your own principles, but Ray prefers radically truthful and transparent relationships among employees. You are like a mechanic of your machine, using analytics, measurements and flow-charts to make sure things are running slowly. Build the company from the top-down, and keep the manager-employee relationships small. Identify your "blind spots". Keep a list of circumstances around bad decisions you have made in the past. You can ask other people, especially those that found the flaws to help you do this. You can refer to this list when making decisions related to these areas. [link] [comments]  |
| You now have $1m, what business do you start? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:07 AM PST Most of the ideas on here focus on starting a business with a shoe string budget. If you were to receive a $1m investment to start your own business, what would you do? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:39 AM PST How about a website similar to a dating site but instead of a dating site it allows you to find friends in your local that like the same things as you and then you can meet up. [link] [comments]  |
| Software for managing workflow? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:36 AM PST For the past 2 years, I've just been so focused on client work for my migration business that I haven't yet put much thought into systemising our processes. Now that I have some breathing space, I really want to get into this because I believe it can really help increase our efficiency and help us scale-up the business! I've quantified the tasks of our different services into 15-minute blocks (e.g. collecting documents = 2 units, checking documents = 1 unit, etc.). I've also allocated the tasks to different positions for staff. I'm looking for software that can measure how many "man-hours" we have left for the month, so I can give my clients a more accurate estimate for completion. I would prefer this to be able to predict workload based on the workload of individual staff members. I also want something that can measure how many of these 15-minute blocks have been performed by each staff member so that we can report on KPIs, etc. I've looked at monday.com and wrike but they don't seem to have those two things that I need. Do you guys have any suggestions? Any ideas on how else I should formalise our processes? Thanks for your help fellas! [link] [comments]  |
| How much to spend on a website? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 10:33 AM PST How much should I budget for the design and build of my e commerce business? I make a product for kids in the outdoors that no one has really done before. I tested the idea via Adwords and the results were very optimistic. We have 3 sizes of just one product so the site inventory is very small. I really have no idea how much I should expect to pay for a high quality site for a startup like this. The funds allotted for this startup are $30k. To this point I have spent about $8k (includes my first order of product) and my last milestone is the website. I would love to hear from other entrepreneurs familiar with e commerce startups and how much they spent to get their site off the ground. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Graphic/web design studio - how to find clients Posted: 03 Jan 2018 08:10 AM PST Does anyone here runs or work in a graphic/web design studio? How did you find your first client? How do you find new clients? Is there any difference between design studio and freelance designer when comes to finding clients. I find my clients only on Reddit. Pretty good so far but I think I should have it more. Social media? There is so many ''designers'' all over it with low prices. How to fight with them and how to explain to people that good and professional design costs? [link] [comments]  |
| Shipping/ Picking up / Customs etc Posted: 03 Jan 2018 10:09 AM PST Could someone kindly answer these questions. 1) Not sure if I should do FOB or CIF because ive heard that CIF has many hidden costs? 2) Once goods have been delivered to port, could I pick up the goods in a van? How would I go about this? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 01:38 PM PST I offer time management coaching, and I like to let my clients book times with me online. I find this much more efficient than going back and forth in emails, trying to find a time that works for us both. I have tried a number of tools for this in the past like ScheduleOnce, YouCanBookMe and 10 to 8, but haven't really found the right one yet. Features I need: *Google Calendar integration *Ability to include my conference room link *Reminders for the client before the session I am willing to pay up to $20 a month for the right tool. Does anyone here have one they love that they could suggest? [link] [comments]  |
| What's the easiest way to create short videos with intro/outro? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 01:31 PM PST Hi all, I'm looking to add video to my website and I don't have any experience with it so far. I have a pixel phone and a nice DSLR. What is the easiest way to shoot, edit, add intro/outro so I can publish them? Thanks for any tips! (In the future I will outsource this, but for now I'll have to do it myself). [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 01:06 PM PST We just made a instagram account. @Gamessdd , do you know of any ideas how to promote it? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 12:51 PM PST |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 08:49 AM PST Hello everyone. I'm seeking some advice. Three years ago I stayed with a friend in Dallas Texas for about three months. This friend is a multi-millionaire who rose from abject poverty to now owning several companies and doing great things with/for his life and the lives of those around him. Myself included. One of the greatest things that I experienced living with him was being in his network of other wealthy, successful and powerful people. It was not at all uncommon to find myself having lunch, dinner, cocktails, wine, etc with everyone from Mark Cuban to Former President George W Bush. I have pictures of myself and a member of the British Royal Family toasting Crystal while skinny dipping in the pool even. (We're all gay. She was safe. LoL) I have no concept of royalty/celebrity/fame/etc. All these people were just great guys and gals to spend time with and learn from. I was honored to be allowed into their fold and gifted with many great life and business lessons. Fast forward three years. Now I live in Phoenix, Arizona. While I still occasionally visit my friend in Texas and get to spend time with his "friends," I find myself completely at a loss for how to build a network like his, here. I get that you are the sum of your closest companions. And therefrom completely understand why it is not at all advantageous for anyone of that level success to allow me, a guy with only about $200k of annual income from his career and other entrepreneurial endeavors (dreams), into their fold. However, this is where I found the greatest support and drive. Being around these people propelled me fast into my success than ever before. So here's the question: How do I get there without having an inroad in the form of my friend in Texas? How does one walk into that crowd and say "I want to be like you and know that I inherently bring the collective sum down for a time, but let me stay and show you I can join your ranks!" (?) Thanks for your thoughts. Cheers Greg [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 12:16 PM PST So... I have no experience in photography at all but what I do have experience with is creating a lead generation and having a funnel system for it.
To show you don't have to live in this personal hell.
The one thing I've learned about dating some of the most beautiful people I have ever dated in my life is that, they're human too ! Everyone has insecurities. Ontop of that, with the rising of the social media market, and the decline of authentic and over quality of social skills, I want to tap into that market and teach shy nerds, like myself, how to communicate effectively. Whether it is through dating or even business. Because let's face it, if you're still too shy to approach the cutie at the bar and not say something stupid, atleast learn effective social skills for your career. If you have a great idea, but can't communicate it in a relatable fashion, then it's useless. Creating vlogs of my journey and tips and exercises will help create the investment I need for a media business So anyway, for 2017 I got over a lot of my social anxiety. For 2018, This is my new journey. Does this sound solid or no ? Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| What type of manufacturer should I be looking for? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 12:10 PM PST What type of manufacturer would specialize in making tools like; screw drivers, ratchets, and hammers? Would it be a manufacturer that specialized in machining? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Pricing strategies for ecommerce retail? Need help. Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:59 AM PST I've been running an ecommerce store for about 2,5 years now, and I'm reaching out to you about pricing tips and strategies. We have a few bigger competitors here (we sell only in a small European country) and then there's of course the international stores that ship worldwide. We have our own small product line but 95% of our products are different brands. We've managed to grow a decent amount in a couple years, which I'm very happy about, but I have no idea what role my pricing strategy played in that. Who knows, maybe it has played a negative role. First off, almost everything is priced XX,90. This is just something I noticed many doing and kept sticking to it. I just couldn't find a logic to make exceptions from that. I have also always tried to beat the price of our competitors and there probably hasn't been one single item that hasn't been cheaper at our shop or at least matched our competitors in our country. Of course I haven't been able to compete with Amazon or for example some Eastern European stores that ship worldwide and tend to have very low prices. Now I have been thinking I might lose on some profit by pricing our products too low. We take pride in our fast shipping, very good and personal customer service and otherwise a very pleasant buying experience. We are the little guys here and not a faceless corporation. Are people willing to pay a little more to shop with us if the experience is better? Also, should I price even numbers, instead of XX,90, ie 30,00 instead of 29,90? Maybe just for the more premium stuff and keep the cheaper ones XX,90? This is a "semi-luxury" niche with better products for mundane everyday things. Pretty much affordable for all though, but could the products benefit from a "premium" price tag with a higher looking price? Really looking forward to your tips, I'm a little afraid to make changes when everything's going good. [link] [comments]  |
| The Fun Part of Being an Entrepreneur Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:53 AM PST Hello everyone and mods. If this type of post is not allowed I apologize, but I needed to get this off of my chest. I am a young entrepreneur that started a business just over a year ago. Essentially the way that I pay myself enough to survive is through commission on renting units of properties that we manage. The holiday season is extremely slow for my business and as such I have not had much in the income department. To help supplement my income I shop for shipt in the evenings (which is great by the way). Which brings me to an interesting crossroads. I only have enough money for 1/2 tank of gas. I can either save the gas to use for showing properties or I can do some shipt shopping that will pay out the following Friday. This doesn't even include money for food which puts me in a bit of a pickle. (Thankfully chamber of commerce events have food! Haha) My girlfriend and I own a home together (where I live owning is cheaper than renting) and she is going to be taking on a second job to make ends meet. But because of our dire financial situation tension is high and she asks me to find a different job that can support us every once and a while. We have only been open for a year and once we break even things will be totally different, but it's hard to see the light right now since I am surviving on about 1k a month. If anything breaks or Someone gets sick we are in trouble. What do other entrepreneurs do during times like this? How do you make it through not even being able to put food on the table? I didn't jump in on this venture only to quit after a year. Any thoughts would be awesome. Thanks everyone Thanks for reading if you made it this far and I apologize if this is a little all over the place. [link] [comments]  |
| Why your Small Business Needs Periscope Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:50 AM PST In case you aren't sure what Periscope is, it's a live streaming video app that was purchased by Twitter in 2015. The allure of Periscope is that it allows you to 'Go Live' from anywhere, at any time, while anyone in the world can watch you via your mobile device. There are over ten million users on the platform today, so needless to say if you're not using it, you're missing out on some markets that might be of use to your business. If you can conceive of any way your company can put Periscope to use, you should do so. Today. So why does your small business need to be on Periscope? Let's take a look at a few reasons. Market Saturation Or lack thereof. The market for Periscope isn't as saturated as other social media behemoths like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. It's still in its growing phase, and hopping on board now would go a long way toward getting in ahead of the game. Many large businesses have yet to make this technology a part of their marketing strategy, leaving plenty of opportunities for small companies to jump in and fill the gaps. New Followers A new social media platform means a new follower base. Those that follow you and your business on other social media sites are not necessarily the same ones that are going to follow you on Periscope. The Periscope market offers a whole new list of bloggers, small business owners, and marketers that weren't available before joining Periscope. Connecting with this group of followers provides the opportunity to move them over to your other social media platforms as well. Engage in Real-Time When it comes to engaging and responding to customers, nothing beats being able to see and react immediately via a live stream. Facebook and Twitter response times are nice, but customers will appreciate the immediacy and personal connection the Periscope provides. Today's society seeks instant gratification – we want it now – otherwise, users will move on and find what they want somewhere else. Periscope allows for real-time engagement and gives followers actively involved in the feed the answers they are seeking in the moment. Showcase Your Business Periscope provides an opportunity to show off your business and show followers what happens behind the scenes. Customers want authenticity, and what is more authentic than looking directly at your followers as you speak to them live? You are no longer a faceless brand or company; people get to talk and interact with you, which drives the personal connect aspect of brand loyalty. Natural and organic conversation leads to followers knowing, liking, and trusting you, which leads to future decisions made in your favor. Untapped Opportunities Since Periscope is relatively new to the social media marketplace, businesses are still learning how to use the platform to interact with customers. The opportunities are limitless, but most commonly companies will offer live tutorials, product releases, special promotions, or live shows. Use your business to come up with new and creative ways to promote via Periscope. Build Relationships Communicating in real-time with followers offers the opportunity to have a more meaningful and involved discussion with someone. It can be fun to fully engage with those that are invested in your company and learn more about one another. Consider for a moment what Periscope is offering. Through what other method can you pick up your phone, point it at yourself and begin communicating immediately with people from all over the world? If you're able to do a good enough job of interacting and engaging with your followers, they might just buy what you have to sell. [link] [comments]  |
| Fundamental Mistake Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid Posted: 03 Jan 2018 05:43 AM PST You are not perfect no matter how much you want to be able to run and manage your business without any hitch, problems will still crop up every now and then and you will forget things from time to time. Allowances must be made and you need to ease up on the pressure you impose upon yourself. But as an entrepreneur, there are just some things that you need to avoid from bungling or doing wrong. An article I have stumbled upon talks about some cardinal mistake every entrepreneur should avoid no matter what. Here is a short summary of that article:
Do you agree with these tips here? Let me know what you think about these mistakes that every entrepreneur should avoid. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:37 AM PST Hello, I'm looking for a software solution to send coupon codes via email. The coupon codes don't have to be unique, but I would prefer them to be that way. My plan is to offer website visitors a $5 coupon, all they have to do is give their email address to receive it. After the subscription is confirmed, the coupon code is sent. Here's where things get tricky. We are a manufacturer that sells to local retailers. We don't retail anything ourselves. What we would like to do is create unique coupon codes our retailer can scan or collect so we can measure response rate, etc. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your comments. [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to sell bulk clothes? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:27 AM PST Before I made my dropshipping site, I invested a lot in clothes that aren't selling. Any thoughts on how to get rid of bulk clothes? Im trying ebay atm, but thats about it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2018 11:00 AM PST What are your thoughts on a cryptocurrency trading site with low commissions as opposed to the high commissions on most sites that do this? Please leave feedback as I am really trying to make $100 per day. [link] [comments]  |
| What is a small digital product that you would pay for if someone builds it? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 10:58 AM PST I am looking for a small product I can build and sell that can make $1000 a month (in total). What products do you buy that you would pay $1-$100 for? [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone have experience charging fees for providing Accounting services? Posted: 03 Jan 2018 10:50 AM PST Naturally as CPA's we get hit with questions left and right. A business has just come to me asking for help incorporating an LLC or S corp for them as well as helping with taxes, setting up bank accounts, 1099's etc. I can help with all that however I have absolutely no fucking idea how to charge the client. Hourly? Whole package? Rate? Lol, no clue... Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! [link] [comments]  |
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