Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 10, 2018) Entrepreneur |
- Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 10, 2018)
- $30k/mo selling prank greeting cards.
- In January of 2019, I'm quitting my job to start my own company and work for myself. My plan is inside - would love a critique!
- What's the ideal salary if you're not worried about money?
- Free training/education of my choice offered through government grant. What would you study for free?
- Here is a resource to get free professional graphic design and branding!
- Book recommendations
- Here are companies/technologies that didn't exist in 2006: (Shows how much progress & innovation we have had)
- A dog paw cleaner?
- Looking to start a simple side business but don't exactly have the time to manage it 100% Can I outsource this kind of work?
- I am always dumbfounded when my "friends" and relatives ask me what I do.
- How are T-Shirt Companies Successful?
- Would anyone who's opened a bar be willing to answer some questions for me in private?
- How to drastically change your life in 30 minutes time
- Looking to open a gyro food cart and am having trouble deciding on a name. (Survey, Market research)
- Worth buying ads on a specific website?
- Importing packaging labeled "Made in USA"
- Looking for a ecommerce tracking solution
- Looking for the best online marketing course.
- Door to Door Business Plan - Feedback Requested
- Can we compile a list of the best resources for Digital Marketing? Courses, blogs etc.
- Currently own three businesses (franchise, ecommerce, trades) with over 3.5MM in revenue. This sub is good for growing or online businesses, but would like to gauge interest in a Facebook group for established operators only, especially in the service or trade businesses.
- I can attend to lectures at uni without applying/sitting exams. Which classes should I join to be a better entrepreneur ?
- Any resource where we can browse books in short? Like a 10 minute video or a read?
- "Learn Better" by Ulrich Boser summarized here in a 10 minute read.
| Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (January 10, 2018) Posted: 10 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]  |
| $30k/mo selling prank greeting cards. Posted: 09 Jan 2018 06:12 PM PST Hi /r/Entrepreneur, it's Pat from Starter Story, where I do interviews with successful e-commerce entrepreneurs. Here is my interview with Travis Peterson, the founder of Joker Greeting, a prank greeting card inspired by a joke with his brother. Travis has an awesome story. He is earning $30k/month and running the business mostly by himself: Background.I am Travis Peterson and started Joker Greeting. We make original prank gifts and prank non-gifts for friends, family, and offices. It all started with a non-stop musical greeting card that looped for 3-6 hours. For 2.5 years, I have been working on making musical greeting cards interesting again. To be clear, I never intended on making a greeting card or joke company, but we launched on Kickstarter and raised $92,073 in 30 days with no marketing, so I decided to give it a shot. Here's an example of one of our greeting cards. It plays cricket sounds for 8+ hours straight :D How the idea came about.My background is in finance. I worked in investment banking for six years in New York. I loved the job, the people, and the hours. But as a service job I wanted to be making things not just helping others make things. This desire has led me to where I am today. My brother and I have always loved to make fun of everything. Around 2014, we visited my mom's house and she had this musical greeting card. We thought it was annoying. We asked each other, "Who wants to listen to this!?" Then Nick asked, "What if it didn't stop?" That was it. Nothing more. No market research. So the plan was to make a funny musical birthday card that looped non-stop with no off switch. Seriously, no off switch. It would just loop non-stop for 8 hours. We set a goal to make $1,000 in profit - that was it. We picked Kickstarter because my brother had used it to fund some short films he directed. He raised $10k to $30k already on a few of them. Neither of us had ever made consumer products like this. But we are both creative and starting this didn't seem like a giant leap with any huge upfront costs. Creating the product.This was the real challenge is remains to be the biggest hurdle. While some people did mention that "musical greeting cards are dead, don't do it", I just ignored that and moved forward. Googling "custom musical greeting cards" leads to zero results. We were able to get some quotes, but they were absurdly expensive. Eventually, we found a broker. We pay more for the product than we originally wanted, but they are great and help me achieve all the crazy ideas we have. It's been a great experience so far, and they deliver a super solid QA process. They mostly focus on designing our ideas (the internal engineering), and we create the look and aesthetics, and then make a few iterations. Simple ideas need a lot of work too. Once we had the first iteration of the product, we were able to push the boundaries and add new features. It was fun. I bought 1,000 units and received them about eight weeks later. We thought we could only sell about 750 units and we would use some for marketing and personal use. We launched on Kickstarter - we didn't have a brand, website or anything. We hit our $7,500 goal in 3-4 days after being picked up on CNET, and ABC News. Later it was BuzzFeed and Gizmodo and more. This was when I learned what "going viral" truly meant and how making a great product can matter so much more than making a just a good product. I have no tips or tricks for going "viral." In our case, it was 99% organic luck and 1% blood, sweat and laughs. We sold way more than 750 units and ended up making 15,000 units and making some small improvements and shipping those new ones. I don't think we actually shipped any of the original batch to backers (they worked but we wanted them to look better). We designed some packaging for the cards with instructions and some marketing material and that was it. So how did we go viral? I don't think anyone can narrow it down. We launched on April 1st (April Fools Day) - I think that might have helped. Was it a joke or was it not a joke? The video was great and new and that helped. We also created some funny videos content to go along with it. We had a video showing the card not break - it had 300,000 views. I had an 8 hour video of the card playing non-stop on YouTube - it had over 100,000 views. Also, I think Kickstarter projects received a lot more attention at the time than they get nowadays. Here's a video to show how indestructible our greeting cards are :) How we attract new customers and grow the business.We were very lucky when we launched. But it's not like we didn't have a plan. Our plan was to make something unique that people would want to talk about. And it happened! The plan was to make a great product that was unique and shareable. Today we focus 95% of growth on Facebooks ads. I get the most traction and results from videos and like this one. Google is pretty good but it's not the best for me. We also work with retailers and wholesale. We push very hard to reach out, but I'd say that 80% of our buyers are organic. Kickstarter really helped Joker Greeting get noticed by retailers and inbound requests were pouring in. Then, it was a matter of competitors seeing Joker Greeting and more requests coming in. Keep in mind, stores and retailers are always looking for new ideas that have strong sell-through. Every product on their shelf goes stale at some point. To find those retailers that were not inbound, I just had to call and email all the time; some of my bigger vendors are from these cold calls. They thought our product was a gimmick - it took 1-2 years to land those deals. My thoughts on competition.It's not a huge market, but it is niche enough that we have owned SEO since BuzzFeed and Gizmodo and ABC News used the words "Prank Greeting Card". A few websites have tried to copy us, but they could never beat us on SEO. And since they are startups, they have little to no capital - they aren't going to be able to outspend me with ads. As for the bigger boys - I am a blip on their screen and they aren't too interested. If people are buying my cards, they must be not buying from our competitors. It will be interesting to see who comes up. I just keep making great products and keep my customers happy - sometimes at the expense of short-term capital. Plans for the future.In 2017 we sold nearly 40,000 units. We could have sold more than that but each holiday I sold out like valentines, Mother's and Father's Day and Christmas as well. I kept ordering and selling through. 2017 sales were nearly double 2016. Looking forward, 2018 is already stronger looking at Valentine's Day compared to last year, and through overall wholesale and web sales. And I have ordered 3x Mother's Day Cards. I could see 50,000 and 60,000 units being sold, assuming no new vendors. However, With a more robust product line I will also visit trade shows for the first time so upside is higher. Not bad for a single employee. I like to make stuff. In 2018, I will be launching a fantastic new product. Greeting cards is a platform and I just need to keep expanding our concept within the greeting card market and other paper goods. I am just going to test some pins and designs with my brother; it will be fun. Tools I use.I use Shopify. It has been great and I have no plans to change. It's excellent for multi-channel sales, and it's cheap. Also, their 3rd-party App Store is superb. It's super simple to add new features to your store. Judge.me has been great to get user reviews, although I'm sure many others are just as good. Advice for others getting started.Make a product people want to buy not one you want to sell. If you are pushing too hard to make a sale it's probably wrong. You will know when you have something great - the product will sell itself. You will see a much better ROI. Interview on Starter Story. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 07:41 AM PST Hey guys, So at my full time gig, I do web design + development. I've been working in this field since 2013ish, and I also do freelance work on the side. I do SEO work on the side as well. Why am I quitting?
I currently get all my clients through cold e-mail, which is fine for side work - but I want to ramp this up as I plan on doing this full time. I plan on doing web design, development, organic SEO, social media marketing and consulting. My plan is to make $4,000 Canadian per month. I make $2,800 per month at my job right now - and even though I can pay the mortgage and all the bills with money left over, I still feel like I'm getting way underpaid. I have about ~$13k-$14k in savings right now, and the goal is to have between $25k-$30k by January 2019 in savings as a safety net. Below is plan for getting more clients in the door, as well as some ideas for a monthly retainer. I'd love a critique from you guys, just so I can set myself up for years upon years of success: Legal Stuff
Website (I have my own independent portfolio, but I am setting up an actual "company" website)
Getting Clients
Monthly Retainer Revenue
Resume Writing / Design Service I've also done this on the side for clients, charging about $100 a pop. I could probably charge more. So this would also be another source of income. In order to market this, I'd design and build a website, I'd probably do Facebook / Instagram ads, as well as set up SEO funnelling pages for inbound. What do you guys think? Any sort of advice you can give me? Like I said my goal is to hit $4,000 a month. Obviously more would be great. [link] [comments]  |
| What's the ideal salary if you're not worried about money? Posted: 10 Jan 2018 06:24 AM PST I have a C-corp and I can set my own salary. What is the ideal amount to pay myself? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 12:40 PM PST My provincial government has a program where they cover 80 - 100% of the training costs (including accommodations and transportation costs if necessary) to improve the skills of employees of small businesses. I have an online real estate business and have used this program to pay for my real estate broker's course in the past. They got in touch with me and encouraged me to apply again as I'm in a "Priority Stream" (young entrepreneur) and I guess they still have a ton of cash to hand out in that category and not enough applicants. The requirements are pretty broad, it just has to be training that would assist the business. They have a preference for local courses offered by local colleges/universities but it's not a requirement. It can be any training program in the world. It can be online or in person. The application process is super easy, you fill out an online application, talk to someone briefly and then get a cheque in the mail a few weeks later. I'm thinking some entry level accounting courses could be useful, but can't think of much else that I could take to improve my business skills. What training has been invaluable for you in pursuing your entrepreneurial goals? [link] [comments]  |
| Here is a resource to get free professional graphic design and branding! Posted: 10 Jan 2018 12:23 AM PST This is a project I have been working on for a while now, and it just launched officially today. I wanted to tell you guys first - I have been a longtime lurker in this sub, and want to give back to the community. If you need art or graphics done free of charge, check out the project site for more information at www.theredditproject.online . Hopefully some of you can get some value out of it! Cheers! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 09:22 AM PST Looking for a new read, any entrepreneurial books / motivational reads you guys recommend? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 08:35 AM PST I thought this chart was amazing, here, it really puts into prospective the amount of change and innovation we actually have had in a little more then a decade. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 02:23 PM PST Our dogs ravage the yard (most anyways) and come in the house with who knows what. So I thought what if there was a pad that could clean your dog. Perhaps like drying the paws or sanitizing or something. It would be electric. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 02:22 PM PST I want to hire someone to be at first a part time Virtual assistant while I start the business. They would aid in purchasing, recruiting part time work and scheduling appointments for the business Eventually the position would be full time and they would hopefully take over most day to day tasks. [link] [comments]  |
| I am always dumbfounded when my "friends" and relatives ask me what I do. Posted: 10 Jan 2018 07:54 AM PST I used to work at a "trading company". I did my research and turns out it was a scam. Well, technically in their country they're licensed and regulated by their own commision but technically still a scam because brokerage firms were illegal in my country as we don't give out licenses and we have no regulation for them yet. And most of the "brokerage firms" here are multilevel marketingish and have a bad reputation. If you say you do stocks and shares, the locals just assume that you're a multilevel marketing con-artist who will try to get their money. So, after like 2 months, I quit. Then, I started working for a "reseach company". It's pretty famous in South East Asia with its awards and everything. I worked there for about 5 months, got a pretty decent pay for a "beginner" like me but it turned out to be just a simple mindless survey company. It wasn't a research company. Anyway, the boss started to get weird by asking me to do overtime everyday and almost every weekend with no pay. Since I had been working overtime without pay, I asked if I could get flexible working hours. Despite having agreed before I was hired, he said no. Well, so I quit again. I don't regret at all that I quit this one. Since then, I almost went and study abroad (UK) for Master as I only had UK Business Management Diplomas. Applied for some universities. Well, high raking universities straight up said no because I didn't have a Bachelor. Low ranking universities accepted me but I thought the prices were still too high (Actually my family isn't even rich). So, I thought I would try to get a scholarship after I'm ready when I've got experience with something to show after I become an entrepreneur. Since then, I started reading up on ecommerce as I was so facinated by the power of internet. The internet was expensive and connection was poor and I got to use it in 2014 with my mobile phone. The connection was bad and the price was still too high so, I couldn't watch videos. I had to stick to blogs, textℑ websites and mostly just wiki. Then after 2 years, the price of the internet went down and I could start to afford it a little and then I started watching vidoes on YouTube. Still the internet wasn't unlimited. It charged by the data size, so I had to stick to low quality videos. A few months later, I discovered reddit (been a Redditor for about a year and a half) Then after two more years (today), my family finally could get an unlimited internet for $50 a month (still not cheap for a third world country) so, I've just tasted it for a month so far. It actually took me 4 years to get familiar with the ecosystem of internet. I wanted to create a passive income. I was told I was a good explainer and when some of my friends panicked near exam, I tutored some of them at home. They thought they were going to fail but I tutored them for 2 days and they actually passed with B. I also helped a teacher of mine teach some kids in her class. My little brother left and is now studying at a really expensive university abroad so, my family could no longer afford to send me abroad. It's now impossible for me to study at a university abroad. Then I had some anxiety attacks and some issues and I figured working with my computer to create a passive income was my best option. I had an eye for colors and I know how to draw a little so, I did some research and found: Fivrr, Redbubble, blah blah, etc. Then found YouTubers make money. Then I wanted to sell my drawings but PayPal blocked our country and basically all payment systems blocked us. Banking systems too. So, I found Bitcoin. Now I know some about Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and have some idea about how cryptocurrencies work (both maths and economics behind it as I studied some Business Management luckily) Nobody actually really knows what ecommerce even is in my country. Now, I just made an Adsense account using my little brother's address abroad and confirmed it with my local phone number. My next step was to get 10,000 views to get my channel monetized. I always get asked by my relatives "What are you gonna do?" "What have you been doing?" "What are you going to do about your future?" Well, I'm working on it and I just freaking can't up and leave to study abroad. Can't afford it, and I'm trying to learn and create a passive income...... I have nothing to show when they ask me those questions. Working on the passive income, the success curve is a U curve - not a straight like straight up working as an employee. Sure, if I go get a job and work as an employee locally, I would get a fixed pay monthly but being an entrepreneur, first of course his income is lower than the employee but with a U curve, it gradually gets exponentionally higher than the employee's salary.. I need to show them that I'm doing good, making money and being happy. They all think I'm poor (well, I AM poor with like $70 a month from some investments, but I'm not THAT unhappy) What could I do to fake it? [link] [comments]  |
| How are T-Shirt Companies Successful? Posted: 10 Jan 2018 01:45 PM PST I've always wondered about this. I'm specifically talking about the ones that AREN'T run by celebrities with millions of fans willing to throw out cash at them. So my question is, How do you get people to by t-shirts without the company being focused on a personality or charity of some sort. [link] [comments]  |
| Would anyone who's opened a bar be willing to answer some questions for me in private? Posted: 10 Jan 2018 01:43 PM PST I'm currently putting together a business plan for a neighborhood bar I want to open, but I'm struggling with some of the necessary information for it. I'm hoping someone with experience with this would be willing to lend me a hand and help me polish up this proposal. [link] [comments]  |
| How to drastically change your life in 30 minutes time Posted: 09 Jan 2018 04:24 PM PST I found myself lost in a sense that I had gotten comfortable with my short-term success. A year ago, I couldn't imagine raking in 6 figures owning my own company - but now, i've caught myself floating somewhere in between mediocre and average - the same place I promised myself I would never steep to. Entrepreneurship is more than just registering with the state and creating a fancy logo and website. True entrepreneurship is founded on endurance - the ability to bounce back from defeat, failure, hardships and shortcomings. Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that at some point in their life, prior to entrepreneurship they had reached a low point. Mine was my mother dying of cancer, and my father becoming addicted to pain medication. That was 4 years ago. My routines that helped me achieve my success had gotten lost somewhere between the 6 figure salary, the comfort of sleeping in, and my business running itself. It's hard to admit that I've fallen into the trap of complacency, after all, this was my first time having my time all to myself - I finally felt the feeling I've longed for: Personal Freedom. But, I knew the high wouldn't last, and after going up a pants size, I knew it was time to make a change. 70% effort was no longer going to cut it - my business needed me, and my old-motivated mind was begging for it's revival. Tony Robbins says a rapid change in movement could be the difference maker when it comes to making a drastic decision. I knew in order to change my habits and develop a new routine I had to begin with: Motion. In order to change my emotions, I had to bring (e)nergy to my (e)motions. I brought my treadmill that had been outside collecting cob-webs inside the house. I knew If I had seen it every day, I would feel the guilt of not using it. One day, after a treacherously long day of performing estimates, checking on job-sites, and performing follow ups (240 total miles driven - data provided by MileIQ) I came home exhausted. My new routine would have been to sit on my computer, check emails, update spreadsheets, and scroll facebook - feeding into the meme garbage and the ad-spam. This time, was different. I got on the treadmill and learned, perhaps the most valuable lesson in life. Champions are made in between the moment of pain, and defeat. I chose the "30-minute Intense Fat-burning session" and began to walk, then jog, and started to run. I haven't run this consistently in at least a year. I wanted my old self back - I wanted to feel the power of self-control, routine, and consistency again. 8 minutes in, I began to feel it. My body ached from top to bottom, I recognized this feeling, and it had been so long. I began to check the clock, and realized I had 22 minutes to go. The speed increased. 14 minutes in. I began counting down from 60 in hopes to trick my mind into not feeling the pain any longer. I got to about 40, and checked again. 17 minutes in. Everything in me wanted to get off the treadmill. At this point I was running faster than I have ran, or would have ran had I went for a run around the block. My body was begging me to just hit the "stop button" Eric Thomas was blasting in my ear (Motivational Speaker) I didn't even register what he was saying, all I could hear in the back of my head was my old self - "Don't quit" 22 minutes in. Holy sht. At this point I could feel my legs shaking, my body trembling, and sweat pouring profusely down my head - I didn't even care to wipe it. Why am I doing this to myself? I thought. No one is watching, get off the treadmill and give up. You did enough. Pause for a second - This is exactly the moment I realized the reason I had found lasting success in business and had created this inner fire in me to change my habits and routine. Throughout the 4 years of pain and hardship I had dealt with, I had mastered the ability to overcome Minute 22. I thought of every single reason why I wasn't going to quit. I pressed forward. On that 30th cold call? I made one more call. On that 27th door knock? I knocked on number 28 and got the sale. On that 4th estimate of the day? I came with the same amount of enthusiasm as I did on number 1 and it made all the difference in the world. You hear over and over to not quit, this is why. Because just when everything begins caving in, this is exactly where the champions are made. I looked forward, strong, and confident. Remembering my past decisions to press on. 27 minutes in. 3 more to go. There was no way I could ever let 3 more minutes stop me from this incredible epiphany. 3…2…1. The best feeling in the world. It's not the fact that I ran 30 minutes on a treadmill. It's the fact that I overcame the very thing that had been trying to stop me my entire life, one more time. I had began to build, grow, and mold that muscle that had become dormant for the last year. This is the secret. Fight the fight within you, and Do. Not. Quit. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking to open a gyro food cart and am having trouble deciding on a name. (Survey, Market research) Posted: 10 Jan 2018 01:22 PM PST I am looking to open a traditional Greek gyro food cart, but am having trouble decided on a name. If you could take my survey to offer some clarity, it would be greatly appreciated. Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RRQNLRL Thank you :) [link] [comments]  |
| Worth buying ads on a specific website? Posted: 10 Jan 2018 01:15 PM PST Hi there, so I am selling this product for 3D artists, and I'm considering putting an ad for it on one of the most popular websites in the world for the 3D stuff. I have already sold it to around 120 people (it's a digital product that costs $6 to download) in just two days, by posting about it in facebook groups and 3D forums, but obviously I don't want to post so much that I get kicked from these places. The site that I am looking at is asking for $2000 to have the ad there for a month and predicting 360k impressions + putting the ad in their magazine as well. I feel like this sounds like a good deal? I'm selling the product for only 6 dollars, but I have made around $700 in total the first two days. [link] [comments]  |
| Importing packaging labeled "Made in USA" Posted: 10 Jan 2018 12:41 PM PST Hello /Entrepeneurs Seeking advice regarding US customs... We are currently in the process of importing 5,000 150ml/5oz empty glass bottles from China - all of which are screen printed with our brand name, product name, as well as "Made in USA". Meanwhile, we have a manufacturer in the USA that will be receiving the bottles and responsible for mixing, compounding, and filling all bottles with cosmetics/beauty products such as soap, serums, etc. I was curious, has anyone had any experience importing in packaging (bottles, jars, boxes, etc) from China with Made in USA label printed? From what I understand, as long as the main product itself (soap for example) is made/mixed/bottled in the USA, it can be labeled as such. However, my customs broker is telling me that I need to label it as Made in China because the bottles are in made in China. Seeking any advice! Edit: Should also mention... I know for a fact that many of our competitors are doing this... their products are printed Made in USA in China and imported in... so it must be possible, I just don't know if there are special considerations to take before we do it. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking for a ecommerce tracking solution Posted: 10 Jan 2018 03:35 AM PST Hi, I'm currently using Google Analytics' ecommerce tracking, however I don't think it's possible to get stuff like:
etc. Is there a better system, capable of reporting these? [link] [comments]  |
| Looking for the best online marketing course. Posted: 10 Jan 2018 06:14 AM PST Hi r/Entrepreneur, I want to take an online marketing course to learn as much as I can about online marketing. Anybody done any of these? I've been looking at Udemy and some of those look good. Any idea what I should be looking out for? [link] [comments]  |
| Door to Door Business Plan - Feedback Requested Posted: 10 Jan 2018 11:43 AM PST Ever use a bidet instead of toilet paper? It's fantastic, it's cleaner, and you save money on toilet paper. The cold water bidets are incredibly simple to install and require no tools. A bidet kit (essentially just a faucet sprayer that connects to toilet) costs between $15 and $50. My plan is to go door to door and offer to install a bidet right then and there for $100 (I think?). Create a pitch with some shitty humor that quickly highlights the benefits of a bidet, and having me install it on the spot (generally about a 10 minute install). For consumer: no researching products, no online shopping, no headaches, and not much risk. Statistics show installing a bidet reduces TP usage by 75%, so not only does it complete the task better it will pay for itself eventually. Alright friends, tear this plan a new one! How can it be improved, and why would you turn me down? [link] [comments]  |
| Can we compile a list of the best resources for Digital Marketing? Courses, blogs etc. Posted: 10 Jan 2018 07:48 AM PST |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2018 03:47 PM PST EDIT: Wow, lots of PMs, logging off tonight (11pm PST) but will follow up with more PMs tomorrow. Please send me a PM so I can see your request. If you don't run a business, sorry, understand you want to just hang around and listen, but want a place for owners to talk freely. TL;DR: Starting a no spam FB group for established business owners. Hey guys, this is Grant. I run CuttingBoard.com. I also am a multi-unit franchise operator and run a restaurant maintenance service business. Previously, I was one of the hosts on EcomCrew.com, but I parted ways last year to focus on my own businesses. My old partner Mike still runs it, but his focus is on China importing, something I don't have much interest in, but if you're looking to get in that game, it's worth listening. While I enjoy ecommerce and think there are miles of runway ahead, I see trades as my future. Unsexy, yes, but I already sling food and had years of running cables in tight spaces, so I don't mind some dirty. The main reason I like trades is that as a marketer, I see all the smart people running toward the ecommerce space. That's not saying being a contrarian is a winning strategy, but competing against the smartest guys in the room is something I was fine with as a twenty year old. But when I'm fifty, I want to rely on my years of relationships instead of the newest funnel or channel. Call me old school too, but for reasons I can't explain, I absolutely hate the idea of VAs and the 4 hour work week movement. Give me a handshake and someone that speaks eloquently on the phone any day. Plus, I want to employ people in my community. So, last year I purchased a small specialized restaurant maintenance business for $300k. Owner wanted the business to continue, but was overwhelmed with paperwork and operating the business, as their real passion was being in the field. Ended up agreeing to 80% seller financed purchase on a 3 year note, so no banks needed. First few months were intense, as there was no "time out" but just a straight crash course in GSD. Documentation was just about non-existent. The paper workflow with bids, approvals, work orders and accounting was completely unorganized. My greatest fear when purchasing the business was that the owner was discounting their hours in the field, but I realized immediately there was zero chance of that happening because it literally was just pushing paper all day and making/getting parts for jobs. It took about 3-4 months with testing different workflows, but we finally went to a paperless office using a combination of Trello, Slack, Helpscout, Zapier and a few other apps. That cut office time by literally 80%, which was great, because it meant we were no longer at max capacity. Hired another tech, then an office admin and in the first 10 months we've grown average monthly revenue from a modest 30k to close to 40k. Not a screaming success, but I can live with it. The goal is for 60k by the same time next year. Cash flow is still tight as we're under capacity again with the new hires, so it's a fine line between ramping up sales and having enough techs so my customers aren't screaming at me. While this might sound like I know what I'm doing- the truth is I'm just winging it just like I'm sure many of you other owners are. I would love to hear what others are doing for their direct marketing, sales commission structures, managing field techs, finding/retaining talent in trades and other various lessons over the years. What kind of financing are you utilizing (SBA? bank?) for expansion and growth management strategies. Namely, I'd like to start a private Facebook group for established businesses. It doesn't have to be trades or brick and mortar, but there's more than enough FBA MILLLLLIONS! groups that it would be nice to have discussion limited to existing operators who want more diversity and topical discussions they can relate to. And before anyone states- I have no issue with this Subreddit and am not looking to create another Subreddit. A FB group is simply convenience and more community oriented. Plus, it would be a closed group, so no wading through spam. You would also be expected to participate fairly regularly, so it's not just a lurk fest. So, if anyone has interest, please reply and/or PM and I'll start a group if there's enough interest. Again, I repeat, zero spam tolerance. I'm in marketing, I can smell that stench a mile away. Don't even try to bring that in. Lastly, if anyone is from the Seattle area and has a landscaping background, we should definitely talk! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2018 11:20 AM PST hello; I know that we learn best on the field but in my country we can attend to lectures for free as ''a listener" only without sitting exams or whatever. You just pick the classes that interest you and go home. I was thinking about doing this for a few months since I still need to learn a lot. Which class should I attend to learn more ? I would like to open an event planning business within a specific niche. Do you think it's a good idea ? [link] [comments]  |
| Any resource where we can browse books in short? Like a 10 minute video or a read? Posted: 10 Jan 2018 11:18 AM PST As goes by the title. I'm working all day long and don't have enough time to read the whole book. It takes me a good 3 months to finish a book. Any way I can get a summarised version of it in a good manner. Don't mind paying a monthly subscription fee either. [link] [comments]  |
| "Learn Better" by Ulrich Boser summarized here in a 10 minute read. Posted: 10 Jan 2018 11:09 AM PST Hey, I made this 10 minute summary of "Learn Better" (Mastering the skills for success in life), which describes specific techniques for learning and practicing any skill, so that you maximize both the learning efficiency, as well as the overall gained level of skill and performance in the end. Enjoy.
This book talks about a specific set of learning methods used to become an efficient learner. These don't require any special conditions such as: having an outstanding memory, photographic memory, or being a "genius".
Experts are showing that learning ability is not dependent on innate intelligence, but rather on a few strategies and tools.
Technique is Key In a 1980 study, conducted by Anastasia Kitsantas, she split girls into 3 teams, and taught each team to play darts. The first team was asked to win by hitting the bullseye. The second team was taught throwing strategies, such as keeping their arm close to their body. And the third team was simply told to do their best. The second team not only outperformed the other two, but also enjoyed themselves most.
Self Quizzing Self-quizzing is a strategy where you constantly ask yourself questions about what you learned and test yourself. This makes ideas stick in your long term memory. Research has shown that self-quizzing was 50% more effective than other learning strategies.
A 2006 Washington University study compared 2 groups of students. The first group was asked to read the text 4 times. The second group read it only once, but practiced recalling the text 3 times. When re-tested a few days later, the second group significantly outperformed the first one, because they had done self-quizzing.
Minimizing Distractions Another method is using ear plugs to block out external noise. Ulrich did this when he was 11 years old, and had trouble concentrating on his math problems. Constant use of ear plugs really helped him concentrate.
There is a 6-step process to improving learning: Value, Target, Develop, Extend, Relate and Rethink
Value Involves making the knowledge and skills you learn more meaningful and valuable to you. This increases your drive, initiative and perseverance. As an example: a professor at the University of Virginia wanted to motivate some students to get excited about statistics. He asked the students to write essays about how statistics could enhance them personally and their interests. They came up with all kinds of applications for nursing, management, and marketing. This had a large, positive effect on their interest in statistics, and some of them even jumped a grade level as a result.
Setting Targets Large goals are important, but they should be broken down into smaller tasks that are achievable targets. This way you can focus on one at a time, without being overwhelmed. If, for example, you wanted to improve at running marathons, you can have a smaller goal of practicing running through hilly terrain, and measuring your time improvement. You can work on different aspects related to your running, one at a time. Before being able to break it down, however, you need to learn the basics of an all-new subject. Small achievable goals can only be set after you understand all the basics at a high level.
Develop through Feedback Practicing with an audience is a great way to improve. Another person's perspective helps shed light on the areas where you still need to improve, as you're still learning. There is a little extra time overhead to this, but it's worth it, since the benefits are profound. The author loved playing basketball, but he only practiced shooting hoops. He didn't work on his footwork, or his movements on the court. This is what's called "unfocused efforts". He then found a basketball instructor on Craigslist, who taught him various moves, such as: foot positioning, the one-dribble pull-up jump shot, and rolling the middle finger off the ball. Within just a few weeks, the author started succeeding executing these moves, including jump shots, and three-pointers.
Another important component of developing through feedback, is monitoring for, and reducing your error rate. This slowly builds the habit of being meticulous and mistakes are repeated much less. Toronto brain surgeon, Mark Bernstein recorded every mistake that occurred in the operating room, into a database, over a 10-year period. This ranged between: miscommunication, a poorly positioned sponge, or a delay in anesthesia. This allowed his error rate to drop from 3 mistakes per month to one and a half.
Extend your existing knowledge Genius scientists only succeeded because of continuous learning. To reach the absolute highest echelon in your skill area, you need to constantly improve understanding of a given topic.
Jackson Pollock was a painter who, at 23 years of age, joined the workshop of Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. There, Jackson experimented a lot, with techniques such as: drip-and-pour, for which he eventually became world renowned. It took a long time to master, practicing working with fractal structures, which are geometric patterns, which repeat on smaller and smaller scales, as found in Romanesco broccoli or spiral galaxies. At first, Jackson's fractal structures were not very complex or detailed. But he kept working on this technique's detail level, until a physicist, Richard Taylor spotted his paintings.
Relate Create relationships between concepts. Practice alone is not enough, because it's not very efficient. You have to make relationships between concepts which can be used in many situations. Charles Judd was a psychologist at the University of Chicago in 1908. He conducted an experiment, teaching two groups of students to throw darts at a target that was under water, at a depth of 4 inches. The first group was simply asked to practice throwing darts at the target. But the second group learned about the physics of refraction first. They understood that the target wasn't where it appeared to be, because of the bending of light. When Charles Judd moved the target downward from 4 inches to 12 inches under water, the second group significantly outperformed the first, due to their understanding of the refraction of light.
A case study in basketball found that those practicing more variety of specific shot distances performed better than those practicing basketball free-throw. In other words "Systematizing your practice".
World famous guitarist John Petrucci, of the band Dream Theatre practices guitar by working through each topic for only half an hour at a time. He has a filing cabinet full of hundreds of guitar magazine clippings for various topics, such as: chords, scales, arpeggios, sweeping, alternate picking, hybrid picking, legato, left hand exercises, exotic scales, etc. By the end of the day, he has covered every topic/category in his practice.
Create mental, visual associations, with your "mind's eye". Comedian Bob Harris wanted to memorize all the book titles of E. M. Forster. Bob imagined himself in a room, looking out the window at a "giant, throbbing, thirty-foot-wide buttocks of a guy named Howard". This strong mental image ensured that he remembered the book titles: "A Room with a View", and "Howard's End".
Rethink Review your knowledge and rethink. Knowledge can lead to confidence, causing you to not be willing to ask for external feedback. Overconfidence has been proven to cause regular mistakes, as people overestimate their abilities based on previous performance. The military calls this "victory disease". If a general has won many battles before, he may underestimate his own abilities. A famous example of this was: General George Armstrong Custer, who held many victories during the civil war. He then led 200 of his men against 1,000 Native Americans, who killed 199 out of his 200 men. So make sure to review your knowledge objectively and understand the details of each challenge ahead.
It doesn't have to be a complex issue for you to become overconfident. For example: do you know how a toilet really works? How does water come in? Why does it stop? What prevents it from overflowing? Where does the water go after a flush? What can go wrong in a toilet? etc. If you've never opened a toilet cistern, chances are you won't really understand the mechanics, unless you take the steps to learn about it.
Summary: The 6 steps again are: value, target, develop, extend, relate and rethink. It's very frustrating to study hard, only to find that you've forgotten everything a few days later. Also break down learning itself, into small, achievable goals. Your mind needs breaks to be able to store new information.
I have 30 more business books summarized on my Medium: https://medium.com/@franticrock
Let me know if this stuff is useful. [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Entrepreneur. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment