Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - (September 07, 2018) Entrepreneur |
- Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - (September 07, 2018)
- Thank you Thursday! - (September 06, 2018)
- How do you guys handle loneliness?
- Think I might have found a way to do what I love and earn decently from it
- How great marketers use an 'Involvement Device' to turn more prospects into customers.
- Impostor Syndrome - Does Anyone Else Think They Suffer From It?
- $25k/month selling whoopie pies.
- Who Should I Be Targeting For Paid YouTube Ad For Coffee Company?
- I have money to open a business but no college degree. How do i start a business and what business to open.
- Business to Population resource?
- Applying for a job while having "Founder at Startup" on your resume
- I have about 60,000 college students emails how do I monetize?
- Should I register another DBA, or is "Product of XYZ" sufficient?
- Can you make something out of nothing? Looking for general advice.(long)
- Starting a competing business -- boss accused me of being dishonest. Am I in the wrong?
- My business is starting to get hit by negative comments and unverified reviews from a GMO activist group. Is it possible to hire a PR specialist/publicist(?) to take on small jobs like this e.g. help with responses?
- Finding a luxury Jewelry Supplier
- 11 thing which I learnt being an entrpreneur
- Is this typical when dealing with manufacturers in Asia?
- Worst part about being featured on Product Hunt?
- Lots of ATC and IC but low sales - Looking for any Advice or Opinion
- Brand New Sports Nutrition Store - Please Help!
- Why Some Innovative Products Don't Sell, And How You Could Prevent It
- Need help negotiating with my manufacturer and for pricing my product.
- Newbie needs some help regarding selling t-shirts
- How did you overcome introversion to get good at selling clients?
| Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - (September 07, 2018) Posted: 07 Sep 2018 06:06 AM PDT Please use this thread to share any accomplishment you care to gloat about, and some lessons learned. This is a weekly thread to encourage new members to participate, and post their accomplishments, as well as give the veterans an opportunity to inspire the up-and-comers. 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]  |
| Thank you Thursday! - (September 06, 2018) Posted: 06 Sep 2018 06:05 AM PDT Your opportunity to thank the /r/Entrepreneur community by offering free stuff, contests, discounts, electronic courses, ebooks and the best deals you know of. Please consolidate such offers here! 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]  |
| How do you guys handle loneliness? Posted: 06 Sep 2018 09:28 PM PDT I'm sorry if this question seems like a downer, I'm not an entrepreneur myself but I'm working for a startup which has like 10 people in it. I work hard throughout the week and then on the weekends I'll have something or the other to learn cause it'll be useful on Monday, so I spend most of Saturday on work related stuff and even about around half of Sunday I do that. When I'm free though, I don't know which friend (whom I've not seen from a long time) to contact to like meet up or something. It's been long since I've contacted anyone really. All my calls and messages are work related. I'd just got done with college (under grad) about three months ago and started this life. The transition has been a little rough I'd say. I'm okay to sacrifice, but I wanna know your stories. It just feels like it's happening to me. The loneliness bit. Hopefully you're not mad at me for posting this. I just wanna know the harsh truth cause I want to buckle up for the day I start on my own. [link] [comments]  |
| Think I might have found a way to do what I love and earn decently from it Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:12 PM PDT So a little bit of introduction - I have worked in online marketing (yes, another one) and web development for the past few years. Tried agency and freelance etc but I don't really like trying to sell it to people anymore. Too many people have been burnt so I have decided to put my skillset elsewhere. I set up a website about my local town. initially it was going to be news and a little bit of sponsorship on the side, until I found a way to monetise it in a better way. I set up a directory (that I call a "hub") and charged businesses reasonably to advertise on there. I then had a second little brainwave - as well as letting businesses advertise on their categories I would put a contact form at the top of the page, meaning I will also get leads in for specific jobs. There are two options - a basic listing which shows all your contact details, reviews, and a basic description of what you do, and for businesses who don't have a website, I offer to make them a page on the site that looks just like their own - their own branding and none of mine in sight. As well as that, I have now built up two local buy/sell groups with around 1,000 local people in them where I can sell access to my site. I have built these up by stating that I have banned Avon/MLMs on there so there's no chance of any of that stuff on the group, so I've built up a few people. I don't just sell a listing - I also recommend the listed businesses, allow them to advertise in the local groups and every week I ask them to send over any recent work that they're happy with. It's doing rather well, and so far I have spent 0 promoting it. I get most leads by choosing a popular person in the area and naming them business person of the month. The Facebook shares go absolutely crazy, reaching 7,000 people on average, just under 10% of the population. I put a little disclaimer at the top asking if they'd like to advertise their business and then BOOM! Requests galore. It's taken me a while to streamline this and stop doing things that weren't making any money, like writing about events that are coming up. Stick to writing about businesses, specifically good news about businesses. This now makes me a little bit of money depending on how much I promote, but I haven't been able to make a full time living from it. However, I have just bought 8 local domains and plan to have them all in circulation eventually. I have made some mistakes on pricing and currently I charge a fairly low annual rate which I will change to quarterly for the next ones(will still be reasonable), and hopefully I'll see some more interest. Around a year down the line I'll be able to rent out the whole pages for a monthly cost once I start getting regular enquiries - that's the end goal. My selling point is that I'm not just another Yell/crappy directory where you pay and you're there and people have to find you. I'll be out there trying to help all my members find work. If they get through a year without finding anything (or a quarter), they won't be out of pocket and they can leave. My home town has 80,000 people and some of the places I'm going for have 250,000+ so I'm waiting to see what happens. What do yall think? It is hard work doing it all myself, but I have enjoyed the experience so far. [link] [comments]  |
| How great marketers use an 'Involvement Device' to turn more prospects into customers. Posted: 07 Sep 2018 06:24 AM PDT Make 'em step over the fence. It doesn't matter how small the first step is. What matters is they take the small step. A great copywriter once used this for selling spelling computers. In the letter that was mailed to the list, there was a simple 'game' included: For every misspelling they spot in the letter, they can report that while buying and get $1 off for each misspelling they spotted. Even the word 'misspelled' was misspelled by the copywriter, deliberately. That email promotion sold thousands of spelling computers. He told in an interview later that after that sales-letter ran, he had people messaging him that even though they weren't interested in buying a spelling-computer before, but after spotting the misspellings they were eager to buy one, to take advantage of what they had spotted. Isn't that a genius way to get your prospects involved? Shake-up and Wake-up your prospectsYou might have noticed the application of this on some good websites. On the whole homepage, there is just their logo and a single search box asking them to type what they are looking for. Even simpler, some of the best brands I see have just a simple button in the center of their website's homepage asking the visiting prospects to simply click on that button to go inside and explore the website. Here's a great example I love and admire. Nick Fouquet is a custom hatmaker in Venice, California. His hats are unique and artsy. Visit the homepage of his website here. No, Seriously. Stop reading and click on the link to get to Nick's website and experience it yourself. Don't continue reading before checking out his website's entrance-page. Ask the prospects to take a very small and easy action that has zero resistance. Just this small act will do two great things for your conversion-rate.
Conversion-Booster Tip: Involve your prospect with least resistance. Involvement make people attached to your offer and they are more likely to buy something they got already involved with. The same strategy is employed by a luxury furniture brand to sell premium sofas. A small card is given at the reception-counter to the prospect that visits their store. These are the two questions printed on the card: I'm interested in furniture for: [__] Office [__] Home [__] Other You prefer(choose your favorite one): [__] Coffee [__] Tea [__] Fruit Juice The prospect is asked to tick the right box for each of the question. Then they sit with the customer-representative on one of their most comfortable sofas they offer. They have a chat while the coffee/tea/juice arrives, enjoying that comfortable sleek sofa. The prospect is already involved by the act of filling the simple form. The customer-representative then chats about with the prospect, and prospect is educated and informed while waiting for & while sipping that cuppa, sitting on that comfortable sofa. If you're thinking they must have a high conversion-rate using that strategy, then you're right, my friend. So, from now on, start looking for the examples of such involvement devices. You will find them being used by great brands, best-selling businesses in their conversion-funnel. Offline and Online: you can find these on websites, email-promotions as well as shopping-malls and brand stores. Learn from them and use 'em in your conversion-funnel. Where else have you seen the use of similar involvement devices? On Websites? On Advertorials? On Print Ads? In Email-promotions? Are you using an involvement device on your website, in your email promotions and in your ad-copy? If not, You're leaving money on the table. A LOT of it. P.S. This post was originally posted in r/conversionboosters as part of the Conversion-Booster of the Day series. [link] [comments]  |
| Impostor Syndrome - Does Anyone Else Think They Suffer From It? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:23 PM PDT Hi, I'm nervous posting on here. First up I'm fairly new to reddit and secondly, I've only recently found the courage to blog about my business experiences. I'd really love some feedback on one of my first blogs. I'm not trying to sell anything. I just want to know if people think I can write and if I have anything useful to say...here goes... Stuck On Launch – Are You Suffering From Impostor Syndrome?With my last business, I used to email 25,000 people on my subscribed newsletter list every week. That was a lot of people. A lot of people reading my silly comments and motivational tips for exercising. Real people. It's not something I really want to think about. Real people reading my stuff… I was fine if the readers I pictured were some sort of animated avatar, "woman aged 35 to 45 who loves being outdoors, but wishes she had more time to exercise". Avatars don't get critical. They don't know me. They can't walk up to me in the street and say, "What was that rubbish you wrote last week?", or worse, give me a "look". A look I can interpret as "Who does she think she is?" That's the problem with real people, they have real views and opinions. They might judge… I've run 3 businesses, I've got an Engineering Degree, I've worked as a consultant to large infrastructure companies, I have an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and I'm a Qualified Teacher. Yet, I still wake up some mornings wondering if I'm good enough. If I'm a fake… There's a label for these feelings and I'm not alone. It's called the "impostor syndrome", where individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a "fraud". "Some 70% of us will experience these thoughts of self-doubt at some stage in our lives". Sakulku, J. (1). The Impostor Phenomenon. The Journal of Behavioral Science, 6(1), 75-97. Attributes of Impostor Syndrome.# ProcrastinationYou find it very hard to get started on a task. There's always a "Really good reason"… Maybe a family situation to take care of. Perhaps it's your Aunty Betty's 70th birthday next week… so you can't possibly start writing your business plan, write the first chapter of your book or look for shop premises for your new business until you've made her a cake. You know Betty likes a special type of chocolate in her icing, so you'll have to trek the whole way across town to get it. By the time you finish the cake, it will be Wednesday, so almost the weekend. Might as well wait until next week to start writing your plan, your book, or looking for a store… Does this sound like you? Does it! I am so good at this… We both know there's only one way of dealing with procrastination. Accept it's happening. Recognise its impostor syndrome. Face up to why you're failing to start a task and just get on with it. Clear your desk, shut down any distractions, and make a start. It does get easier.We all go to amazing lengths to avoid starting something difficult. My favourite distraction is to start tweaking bits of my website. Playing around with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), setting up a YouTube channel when I haven't got any content yet… things I can pretend are important but aren't key to launching my business. It's natural to want to stay in the "comfort zone". Sometimes we have to drag ourselves kicking and screaming out of it… I've started writing down what I do every day. It helps to make a plan and stick to it. When you have to write that you spent 3 hours just changing the header image on your Facebook page and getting distracted by a post about buying a villa in Spain, there's nowhere to hide… # Over PreparationThis is really just another way of procrastinating. Instead of making a real start, with real progress, you're spending hours and hours researching your idea. You've collected so much information about your supposed business you're practically the World's foremost expert in your field. Unfortunately, no-one will ever know this. Why? Because you've yet to produce or start something. I have two small words for you… Just start.# The Need to be Special, to be the Very BestYou could call this the "Big Fish in a Small Pool" attribute. Assume you're the best runner in your small town. You've always been the best runner and when you go to the nearest big city to run a race, you expect to do really well. Maybe still be the best. But what if you're not? What if you weren't one of the first to finish? If you're an "impostor" you'd find this difficult to take. Of course, there's always the "I wasn't really trying tactic", but deep down, you know you tried really hard. Suddenly you're "a terrible runner". You're giving away you're running shoes and taking up golf. Never mind that you still ran faster than most people in the race, you weren't the "Very Best". If this is you, get over it. We're on a planet with 7.6 Billion people. Unless you're Usain Bolt, you'll always find someone who's faster than you. Needing to be the very best is really debilitating. Okay, I know, it's easier said than done… I can safely say that starting out in business you're not going to be the best.Definitely not on Day 1. And that's okay. It's a Big World. When I did my MBA there was always talk about being the No. 1 Company, the Best Company… It's BS. It takes time to get there. It doesn't mean you can't be good starting out, and continually improving, and learning… Some of those 7.6 Billion people on the planet will still enjoy buying your goods, or reading your book, or visiting your store. Just don't get hung up on being the best.#Superwoman/Superman AspectsThis is a bit like needing to be the very best but it's more about being a perfectionist. This is me. It doesn't affect every aspect of my life, oh no, but if I decide something matters, it really matters. I can pour endless hours into a task. Obsessive doesn't even start to explain me. When I left University, I got it into my head I could run across Tibet and I found an equally obsessive friend to join me. We couldn't, but we did break a record running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu. The venture took a whole year of planning focusing on every tiny aspect of the journey. It had to be perfect.The thing is, perfectionism might work for a sporting endeavour, but it's a real handicap when you're a one-man band trying to launch your first business. If everything you produce must be "just-so", your output's going to be really low. Setting the bar so high can feel overwhelming and it's easy to be super critical of everything you do. I'm working on this one…# Fear of FailureEveryone hates the thought of failure. People with impostor syndrome can really fear it. Being super critical of yourself means you take failure badly. When a business fails it hurts but you need to accept that these things happen. A lot of businesses fail. In London, the number of startups failing in the first 3 years is 50%. Failure is part of the learning process. If you have a backup plan and keep your exposure low, failing doesn't have to be traumatic. You can pick yourself up and start over. If it's a choice between fear of failure or lying on my deathbed thinking "What if", I'll choose to take the risk every time.Life's about putting yourself out there. Learn to block out the negativity. Whatever helps. Chanting positive statements, taking up meditation or putting positive slogans on your wall. Mine is… "EVERYTHING AROUND YOU THAT YOU CALL LIFE WAS MADE UP BY PEOPLE THAT WERE NO SMARTER THAN YOU AND YOU CAN CHANGE IT, YOU CAN INFLUENCE IT, YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN THINGS THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN USE. ONCE YOU LEARN THAT, YOU'LL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN." STEVE JOBS.Use whatever works for you… # Denial of competence and discounting praise.Someone tells you they love the piece you've just written, and you tell yourself "Yeah, but they don't know much about this subject". That's classic impostor syndrome. You decide you can't set up a sales training company because you've only got 5 years' experience. You'd love to open a clothing shop because you've been following fashion all your life. You won't because you're only an amateur, and you haven't worked in the industry… All examples of impostor syndrome.# Fear and guilt about success.This last one is perhaps the saddest aspect of impostor syndrome. Imagine you've worked hard for years building up a successful business. You should be really proud of your achievements, enjoying your wealth and making the most of your lifestyle. Instead, you're wracked with guilt. Where does this come from? Becoming successful can set you apart from your family and peers. Impostors can feel less connected and more distant. There are feelings of guilt about being different, a worry about being rejected by others. But it's natural to change as you go through life and everyone's affected by their learning experiences. Remember the "Best Friend" you had in First School who used to run around with a pencil stuck up his nose? No, I thought not. We've all had friends we've lost touch with. We've all found new ones. Grow, learn and don't feel guilty about it…Is this you? Do you have Impostor Syndrome?Take one small step towards overcoming your fears. Acknowledge them. I challenge you to write a comment on this blog about how you're affected and what you're going to do about it. If writing your fears in public is too much (believe me I understand), send me a private message. Impostor syndrome can hold you back. Of the 7.6 Billion people on the planet, how many are living the lives they want to live? 5%, 2%, just 1%… So many of us are stuck in jobs we hate or jobs where we're just going through the motions. This isn't just about you. We have a planet that faces so many challenges…over population, scare resources, climate change… It's going to take all of us, in our own small ways to make a difference. Take the step, comment and overcome your fears…[link] [comments]  |
| $25k/month selling whoopie pies. Posted: 07 Sep 2018 07:51 AM PDT Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Marcia Wiggins of Cape Whoopies, a brand that makes Gourmet Whoopie Pies Some stats:
Hello! Who are you and what are you working on?Hello, I'm Marcia Wiggins and the founder of Cape Whoopies. We are small batch whoopie pie bakers who love creativity in the kitchen. Our mission is to share the most delicious Maine whoopie pies made with the highest quality ingredients with people all over the country. From the moment we tasted our first whoopie pie, we dreamt of endless flavor combinations with unique ingredients in a true gourmet indulgence. We believe in using only the freshest and finest ingredients, remaining chemical and preservative free, and making everything from scratch. Baking is our passion, and so is sharing our creations. We sell our product on our website capewhoopies.com, Goldbely.com, and Amazon.com if you want to order for friends and have them shipped! We'd love to hear from you, and hope the quality and flavor of our pies exceed your every expectation. We have over 80 flavor combinations and these babies hold in the freezer for a year, in the fridge for 3 weeks or just on a shelf for 14 days. We share a 5,300 square foot space with a coffee shop. Partnering with Rwanda Bean Coffee Company has scaled our total sales up by 40%, at this point of the year. One can only wonder where we will be by the end of the year since the fourth quarter is our busiest season. What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?Before Cape Whoopies was conceived, I was enjoying being the mom of two kids in high school, the wife to an airline pilot, and an aerobics teacher at my local gym. When my kids had gone off to college and my husband was in the air, I had much time on my hands. There was only so much time you could spend at the gym, so with the newfound extra time I splurged in one of the things I always loved doing: making delicious baked things for friends. My husband and I spend time a local restaurant as a hangout when he was home, so we would go to DiMillos and take our server friends whoopie pies. Why whoopie pies? I had tasted the Maine creation and thought, "good idea, not great execution". As I had traveled much with my husband, tasting the most delicious foods all over the world, like Belgium street food with the most indulgent chocolate, I realized one of the recurrent themes was more flavor can be tasted with less sugar. So I made these whoopie pies my own with different flavor combinations and would bring them to our favorite restaurant employees. Thus entertaining my guests and friends with delightful homemade treats became a real joy… for both parties! There was some divine intervention when Cape Whoopies stepped on the scene. The recipe just came to me! I decided to follow the inspiration and to date we have come from my home kitchen, to a commercial kitchen I built in my basement, to a shared communal kitchen to our own space that is 5,300 square feet and shared with a coffee company. Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.Have you ever had a brilliant idea pop into your head out of nowhere? I call that God. In creating the whoopies, I was in my own kitchen baking when God planted in my head the recipe I use to this day. I was making the whoopies for DiMillo's and thought, "*What would make this better?" *With the thought plopped in my noggin, I made the product and kept making it. I went from scooping and baking all the cakes sheet pan by sheet pan myself, to having my husband help me. Now we have a team of five, scooping, baking, and filling to bring together what we call Cape Whoopies Gourmet Whoopie Pies. Each cake is uniquely its own, with all having a baseline diameter. Scoop some filling between two cakes and press together, and there you have a pie. You can see how we have a handmade product, similar to your grandmother's homemade treats. This is something we love about our pies. Yes, they are gourmet, with ingredients like Bensdorp Chocolate from the Netherlands and Bourbon Vanilla Paste from Madagascar, and still they are handmade, with each having their own unique character. I use what local ingredients I can, and I love that! For me, I want the best tasting, not the cheapest, even if the means shopping far and wide. I have gone from making whoopie pies in my home kitchen, learning how to design packaging because I needed packaging...then learning how to pack and ship and what I could expect from my product by trying it to finally making my way to borrowing money for an entire kitchen of equipment and doubling our business last year. For packaging and shipping, initially the challenges were to make sure that the product would make it in heat and in the cold. I contacted a packaging specialist. The specialist conveyed to me everything from how to package the pies tightly without the package being too snug to what packing materials to use for protection from crinkle paper to bubble wrap. Our greatest resulting experiment was testing the temperature for shipping. Placing temperature-tracking computer chips in the packages, we sent pies in heat to a hot place and pies in the cold to a cold place. Upon arrival, we asked the recipients how the pies were- they were delicious and undamaged. The recipients then sent the computer chips back, allowing us to review the temperature during shipping. This reflected the temperature moderation was under control. After four trial runs and no failures, we knew what size box to buy and ship in, temperatures that would results and maintain the product, and packing materials to use. Describe the process of launching the online store/business.My start up costs were in the neighborhood of $20,000 which my friends gave me because they wanted me to be making the whoopie pies they loved. They wanted to buy them for their friends and that was reason enough for them to help me get Cape Whoopies started. Thus began the journey of moving the business from friends to Internet community. The process of launching the business online was relatively simple. I found a software called Shopify and hired a company, Inspire Studios to help me do the initial design of the site which took maybe two days. Through this process, I wrote all the content and plugged it in. I photographed my beautiful pies and plugged the pictures into the site, as well. The entire process from start to finish was six days. Periodically I stumble across a problem that I can't solve but Shopify is so great that it has Help you can contact to guide you through tough spots. With Shopify you can go to the site and click a link with a chat option and these help gurus will talk to you on the spot. They will explain what to do if it's a problem they can solve. If not, they have a page of different sites to which they can outsource your case. All in all, Shopify and its Help are great. Even though I don't have a business background, I've realized there isn't anything I can't learn as long as I can find a point person to walk me or lead me through the issue. When I look back over the past six years, I recollect how much I've learned and I am so grateful for these awesome resources that have helped in the launching of my online store. Gearing up for the launch of our brick & mortar site required a different type of hustle. At this new space on Cottage Road, Cape Whoopies would share the building with Rwanda Bean, a coffee shop. Via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we shared about the building being bought, painted, baked in for the first time, and a bit of the journey it had been setting up. We started advertising the purchase of the place three months prior to doors opening. Between that month of February to our soft opening in May, we advertised only through Social Media and opened the doors May 18, 2018 to our warm and excited South Portland Community. We sent out a press release the week of for our soft opening to local newspapers and TV stations. The week of the Grand Opening in June, we sent out a press release to all the newspapers from weekly local, to the Currier, to the Portland Press Herald and the Boston Globe. We also sent the release to TV stations such as WGME, WBI, for example. For our Grand Opening, which included a celebration of Rwanda Bean stepping on the scene, we had the mayor in for ribbon cutting, the Director of Economic Development, the Consulate from the Rwandan Embassy from Washington D.C., and Rwandan dancers. Cape Whoopies had samples of pies available all day. We made a new whoopie pie and had a naming contest, with the prize being a free dozen pies of your choice. My whole family and friend clan of twelve came and helped the whole day through. It was a really incredible celebration. Initially in sales, we had a big increase and we have indeed been able to keep up with that. Comparing sales the month of May 2017 to sales the month of May 2018, they have increased 81.16%. We kept up with the rise in demand of pies by tracking what is in highest demand and supplying more of that product. Pretty simple. Launching the business via our brick & mortar site has yielded a great increase in demand and sales. Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?I worked with a SCORE mentor that taught me that to run a good business you only need three things:
He told me that you only need two of the three items to make it but that I have all three in spades. I have taken what he taught me and worked hard. I started my SEO and social media by posting twice a day, myself, and making sure to use the same words to describe products, over and over. Now, I pay my daughter to do it for me and it's even better than when I did it myself. I don't do any formal marketing or advertising. I just print cute tee shirts and baseball caps and ask everyone I know to wear them. I ask them to take pictures of themselves in amazing places, wearing the swag, and post the photos saying #CapeWhoopiesAreEverywhere. Now I have customers coming in to buy the tee shirts and hats because they want to be part of the fun, too! In retaining customers, I just think about what engages me, what I think is clever in other companies and then recreate an avenue for myself. It's not rocket science, it's much easier than one would think. What are some of the metrics of the business?In the case of my business our margins are in the neighborhood of 50-60%. I am constantly checking my numbers and factoring in how much volume I need to make everything work well. This last year we grew by 150% which was great, until our biggest account decided to cancel their program with us. At first I had some heartburn over it, but as soon as we opened the doors on our new space, sharing with the coffee shop, we are now 42% ahead of last year's numbers even without our biggest customer from last year. Going into brick & mortar, we really had no choice. It was difficult carrying the batter downstairs to upstairs to bake it at Fork Food Lab communal kitchen. Then also difficult bagging and tagging tray after tray and carrying them downstairs to freeze the pies. Fork is a communal kitchen, which is focused on small businesses. We were outgrowing the kitchen, and the price we had to pay for two tables was not worth the amount of work that was required in maneuvering in the space to create and store our product. The opportunity to move into 185 Cottage Road arose in November of 2017. We looked at the building and tried to rent it. The owner said no. Two days later, our church shared a video about the Cape Whoopies business, which was on generosity. That same Sunday, the owner wrote me a letter saying "I felt like God was hitting me in the back of the head today at church when I saw your video." So in this way, I learned that the owner not only goes to Eastpoint Christian Church as well, but also, a way was opening up where this man would come to rent to us what is now our beautiful new commercial kitchen. Thus our brick & mortar business model began to flourish all the more. Currently, our biggest account is our own front door with Rwanda Bean. Besides this, Amazon.com and Goldbely.com take 2nd and 3rd place. Goldbely.com, a food gift website. Since January 1, 2018, 47% of our sales have been online, with Amazon.com and Goldbely.com adding to the majority of the mix. Since opening up 185 Cottage Road on May 18, 2018, to date 53% of our sales are from our brick & mortar storefront. This is pretty remarkable. We landed an unspoken partnership with Rwanda Bean as we worked side-by-side with White Cap Cold Brew in Fork Food Lab for 2 years. After White Cap partnered with Rwanda Bean, the six of us began joking of finding a place together where we would have coffee out front and whoopies out back. Now the Rwanda Bean brick & mortar storefront is our top account. As for Amazon, they called me in July of 2016 asking to sell my whoopies. As soon as I heard from them, I realized I need to move out of my basement and that is when I found Fork Food Lab. As for Goldbely, we wrote to them and asked if they'd consider reviewing our product. Once we sent it, they loved it. That was now six years ago and they continue to be one of our top accounts. Current operations include daily making 2-3 80 quart batches of filling and sometimes as many as 4 80 quart batches of cake batter and baking, filling, bagging and tagging all of it. We get it into the freezer within an hour and it's ready for shipping. We are always adding new flavors to our line and constantly receiving interest from potential customers over what we are doing. I continue to have a long term goal to get our product into Dean and Deluca, but am very happy to be sold at Whole Foods Market and Goldbely.com, along with Amazon.com and my own website. Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?I have learned that there isn't anything I can't learn. I keep my focus on the business and remember that the divine intervention that started the business is still firmly there. Keeping my mind on my goal of making the best tasting, most delicious, and creative whoopie pie that I can... I find I am golden. I don't worry about what others are doing or saying...I just stand tall in my own aim to be creative with pure food, no preservatives or fake foods for me. I want what I make to be something totally amazing in taste and just like my grandmother would have made. I keep my focus there and don't fall for mixes or products that may make things easier but ultimately affect the taste. So, my tip for anyone is to keep your focus on your original goal...it's always the best. In terms of partnerships, I am quite lucky in that I have met an amazing group of people in Rwanda Bean Coffee company and we both had the goal of a great coffee shop with whoopie pies being baked in the background. We do not have a formal legal partnership but we have a great deal of trust in one another and generally the same basic ethic as we all go to the same church. It is my belief that finding those you can partner with is always a bonus. Working together makes things more interesting, more creative, and more fun! What platform/tools do you use for your business?I use Shopify because it is truly the easiest software to use. I did not grow up using computers but even I can maintain my site on Shopify. I also have apps that automatically contact my customers to ask for feedback, give discounts after a year of being a customer and follow them as they leave my site. It's easy to set up and gives the customer the feeling that we are a full service site, rather than a smaller company striving to grow. We also have an app that allows our customers to purchase swag that is individually printed with our logo, for them. We have not sold very many items but again when a customer sees swag they automatically think bigger company, offering more items… it's a good thing with no extra cost. I do all my own shipping set up because I partner with goldbely.com. Goldbely allows me to be a third party on their shipping account with FedEx which gives me a discount that is deeper than I could get on my own. Back to the partnership item in the last question, this has been an excellent partnership as Goldbely does a lot of nationwide marketing for me. Pick your partners well and you will cure a lot of problems before you even encounter them. What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I have loved the E-Myth series. They also allow you to sign up with them and they send you free booklets about important topics as you scale up. Things like company structure, how to create a meaningful work environment, how to source the best people for the job...they really help set up, scale up and grow your business, and much of it is free. Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?If you want to get started in your own business, you need to truly love what you are doing. Have a passion that is so deep that even on the days when its 2:00 am and you are still working, you are loving what you are creating. You need to understand that the amount of push and hustle that you will need to have to make this happen is far greater than you can even imagine, today. Understand that it's going to be hard in the beginning and be willing to say no to certain things so you can continue to say yes to keeping your business going. I have been creating my business for six years and I love it more, today, than I did even in the beginning. For me, I feel like Cape Whoopies is my alter ego, my child, my creation. It's all the goodness I have, expressed for others to enjoy. Sometimes people don't appreciate what you are doing...its okay, just think of a duck and how the water runs off his back and that's how you let the negative comments go, so you can continue creating your perfectly divine business! If you're just starting out, keep tuned in to that still small voice that's inside you that's quietly roaring about your passion. Forge on! Success requires walking on water while keeping your eyes on the ultimate goal. You will fail and doubt, but keep on. You have to believe in yourself even when others do not. My Cape Whoopies dream, (that is now far greater than I ever imagined), is fueled by keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, my passion, and lots of hustle and push. Certain attributes I find helpful is having a really clear voice and being outgoing about your product or service. In addition to this, that same attribute aids me in borrowing money as well. The lack of procrastination in my mindset helps in getting things done well. Where can we go to learn more?Our new whoopie pie cafe is located at: 185 Cottage Road South Portland, Maine 04106 or at Whole Foods Market here in Portland. If you'd like to get to know us better: Our website www.capewhoopies.com [Email](mailto:marcia@capewhoopies.com) And I invite you to contact me, anytime, should you have questions, concerns or just want to express some whoopie love! Liked this interview? Check out more founders that shared their story on StarterStory.com. [link] [comments]  |
| Who Should I Be Targeting For Paid YouTube Ad For Coffee Company? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 08:11 AM PDT So I am new to paid ads and would like some guidance with this so I do not waste too much money getting started with paid ads. I sell custom roasted coffee and will be filming a commercial on the 17th that will be a short funny skit that will also talk about the coffee. My company borders on the Coke of the coffee world promoting a care-free lifestyle mixed with some Patagonia feels to it with camping, hiking, and adventurous people altogether. What should I be targeting or how could I figure out what to be targeting with this? Any and all information is greatly appreciated! My website is https://www.DefianceCoffee.com [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:34 PM PDT Since i graduate from school i didn't go to college. For 5 years I've been living the same. Some of my friend almost graduate and some already graduate. This give me depression all the time. I have family problem that didn't allow me to go to college. But i have money to open a business. Without knowledge in business or any internship do i still have a chance to have a future in business. What business should i open and how do i start. [link] [comments]  |
| Business to Population resource? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:30 PM PDT I'm trying to find an old post or resource that I remember stumbling across a couple of years ago that essentially was a moderately large list of different businesses with the average city population size necessary to support each business on the list. Anyone have any ideas where I could find that? I'm pretty sure I'm not going crazy and it really does exist... [link] [comments]  |
| Applying for a job while having "Founder at Startup" on your resume Posted: 06 Sep 2018 09:53 PM PDT Hi Guys, I've been wrestling with this for a long time. I'm quite comfortable getting a full-time job now for the next three months until we start nearing launch...as I have the things I need in place to do things. Instead of having 'Founder" on my Linkedin I have "Copywriter" as my title instead so. My thing is employers might not take a chance on me because they see me as someone who will leave eventually. Has anyone ever felt the same or been in a similar situation? If so, how did you play the situation out? [link] [comments]  |
| I have about 60,000 college students emails how do I monetize? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 02:10 PM PDT Other than selling spring break packages can anyone think of how I can monetize this? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I register another DBA, or is "Product of XYZ" sufficient? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 08:06 AM PDT I've been building a SaaS app for business customers over the past few months. I currently have an LLC BusinessName Technology LLC, and a DBA BusinessName Apps under which I build websites and Web Apps. The SaaS app is on a whole different level than the other work I've been doing. I'm currently planning to market it as SaaSName, a product of BusinessName Apps. Is this sufficient? Basically, I'm using SaaSName as the product, not as a business name of its own. But considering the magnitude of the product, it may be better to market it separately as its own DBA entity. Anyone have advice or further reading on this topic? [link] [comments]  |
| Can you make something out of nothing? Looking for general advice.(long) Posted: 07 Sep 2018 01:32 PM PDT I got a message from someone suggestion this subreddit. I see most posts here are short, so here's the summary: I am not the kind of person who has many great ideas, however somehow I stumbled on one. Problem is that besides my willingness to work and wanting to succeed I don't have much : I am from a poorer country, my family/friends are not able to help me (with money or favors). I don't make the best impression and I'm not really convincing (or good) with people..."On paper" I'm just a below average or bad from most perspectives. However I worry that this is one of the few good ideas that I have, so I don't have other chances. I tried everything I can think of but I couldn't make it happen. Now I need to decide what is next. hello! Need advice from someone older and wiser than me Some people say I talk too much and get lost in the details...so this time I will try to be very, very clear. I have a business idea. It is a good one, maybe even a great one. I honestly think it could work and spent a lot of time thinking about it, but the big stuff and the details. It will not change the world or reinvent the wheel... but it might make the world a little better and at the same time giving me the chance to do something meaningful but also profitable enough so I can help my family. The idea has certain drawbacks: 1)It has to be done NOW or at least soon. Six months from now it might work, a year from now...maybe, but anything more and the idea is useless. 2)I can't start it alone. I need to either find a pile of gold buried in the woods or someone who is willing to help. 3)I am not the right person for the job. Now lets talk about 3. If this is such a good idea, why can't I do it? well, I tried just about everything. This is me: 1)I live in a shitty east European country. In a good month I can put aside 25-50$, in a bad one one all of that dissapears. My "budget" right now is basically theoretical. I don't have rich parents/friends/connections. The vast majority of people I know are in similar situations. 2)The first point leads to this one. While some of my richer country-folk or westerners have wealthy parents, friends or maybe they have a social circles I don't. I don't have lawyer friends, I don't have web designer or programmer friends. I can't just call someone and tell them "hey, do me a favor, help me out". 3)All of this + my own past makes me really...unimpressive. I can't afford to go to the barbers, so I cut my own hair. My clothes are from second hand shops. I mostly eat shitty food and even if I had some success, without money it's hard looking healthy and trustworthy. I can't just go into the supermarket and buy whole grain bread, some almonds and organic milk, I can't afford any of that. I look like the average joe, not the kind of guy who has good ideas. Not the kind of guy who gets shit done and when he talks people listen. So here's the deal. The reason I am writing this (it got longer than I intended) is that I got a job offer. I could go to the west and make some good money picking fruits. However truth be told, I don't have an abundance of great ideas. If I do this, the chance will be forever lost. Who knows what my life will be years from now...however I am certain of something. This is my only chance to become more than a worker in the system, it is my only opportunity to make something of myself that makes me and my family proud. Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Starting a competing business -- boss accused me of being dishonest. Am I in the wrong? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 09:27 AM PDT I work for a small consulting company and have done relatively well for myself, bringing in several hundred thousand dollars of revenue. We don't have a commission model and I make around $50,000 a year. I've been pretty disappointed in our culture in the past year and have been thinking of starting my own competing company. Recently I gave my boss the news. He was extremely compassionate and understanding... until he asked what I was doing next and I said I was starting my own competing business. I was trying to be very graceful and careful in this, but his behavior changed completely. I let him know that I would not be contacting any of my clients other than a simple email saying I was resigning, with a CC of the new account owner who would be taking over the relationship. I let him know that I would not be contacting any of these clients again in the future, and that my resignation email and handing over to a new account owner would be my final correspondence with them, additionally adding that I would keep the email vague and say nothing about starting a new venture. He was seemingly okay with this, until he mentioned something along the lines of, "And if they contact you, you need to direct them to our company." I said this was fine, because naturally there's probably some clients I will have missed in my correspondence so naturally I'm okay with letting people know I've resigned and here is your new contact person at our old company. Unfortunately, the conversation got downright combative when I followed up with, "Obviously I wouldn't do that if someone contacted me 2-3 years down the road looking for work specifically from me." This is where he really lost his composure and took it really personal. He told me this would be extremely dishonest, and that even years down the road if someone contacts me for work I should send them to his company, since the relationship would have initially started with that company. I told him this was nonsensical, that clients are not "clients-for-life" and that they are able to make their own decisions. I added that again I would not be seeking business from these individuals, but if someone reached out to me years down the road after having ZERO contact with the organization, that it would make no sense for me to continue directing them to a competing business. I added that it was his job to keep his clients -- not my job to keep them for him. We could not get to a point that we agreed. He also added that it was up to me to make honest and ethical choices and that I would have to look into the mirror to make sure I can make peace with myself. He is also a religious man (as is our whole company) and added that frankly it would be up to me to make peace with myself and God. He also added a couple examples of people who have left in the past and who continue to direct business to the organization rather than taking it themselves. I'm really open to seeing this from another perspective. My initial reaction is that this is manipulative and that my method is ethical and sincere -- that I won't contact any of my clients but if someone reaches out years down the road that it would be okay for me to take their business myself. Am I insane? Am I really being unethical or dishonest? Give me your genuine opinions please. Edit: Forgot to add -- there's no contractual obligation and no non-compete clause. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Sep 2018 03:32 PM PDT My company is starting to deal with the occasional comment about the sourcing of our products. It started with unverified product reviews on Amazon which we responded to, and now is on social media. The comments are a little out there, and I haven't seen any change in sales so far-- but they seem to be garnering more attention. The gist of the comments are along the lines of [lippindots inc. might be using GMO corn in their snacks. Genetically modified corn is killing good insects and causing cancer in kids.] I want to use this as an opportunity to respond in a civil and polite way to make our company look better to consumers. Is freelance/small job PR help a thing that we can look for? I'm not sure if I should be calling firms or whatnot. My company is pretty new, but our sales started blowing up in August. [link] [comments]  |
| Finding a luxury Jewelry Supplier Posted: 07 Sep 2018 12:38 PM PDT Hello everyone. I am looking to drop ship high end luxury jewelry however I have been having a hard time finding a supplier. Is anyone here in the jewelry business that could shed some advise? I've reached out to Allurez as they have a wholesale signup section however they do not seem to be interested. Does anyone know of any good suppliers who I could reach out to? [link] [comments]  |
| 11 thing which I learnt being an entrpreneur Posted: 07 Sep 2018 12:17 PM PDT
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| Is this typical when dealing with manufacturers in Asia? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 10:56 AM PDT I had a product idea which is based on something which already exists. Nothing too complicated or overly technical. Just a neat idea with some minor alterations that are enough to differentiate in its respective market. I drew up a rough 2D sketch to convey my idea to manufacturers, so I could get some quotes on how much they think it would cost me for them to produce. One particular manufacturer got back to me with a image file of my own design, modelled in 3D - complete with measurements. It seems that in the west a service like this would typically cost. Perhaps this is a manufacturer's standard? Or perhaps just something unique to Asia? I'm sure they benefit from having a design etched out on their systems. It's a resource they can draw from in future. As a new Entrepreneur - I'm a tiny bit taken aback. Could more experienced entrepreneurs chime in on your experience with this? [link] [comments]  |
| Worst part about being featured on Product Hunt? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 10:55 AM PDT A project our startup just launched - Video Transcription by Headliner - is currently featured on Product Hunt's homepage. Would appreciate any advice from people who have been there before -- What was the best/worst part of being featured? How did you keep your ranking? Do anything special to convert incoming sign ups to loyal users? [link] [comments]  |
| Lots of ATC and IC but low sales - Looking for any Advice or Opinion Posted: 07 Sep 2018 10:04 AM PDT Hey there, So as the title states my current obstacle that im trying to overcome is to get my traffic in my funnel to take the leap from initiate checkout to purchase. My adsets appear to be running just fine, im getting a cpm of ~$5 on average between my adsets, as well as 2.5-3% CTR. My Cost per ATC is ~$1.75. To give you an idea of how people are moving through my funnel, I get about 25 ATC a day, and usually around 15-19 Initiate checkouts and only the odd purchase. To recapture the ATC and IC traffic Ive setup a retargeting campaign using the Reach objective. There are three different levels to this retarget funnel. The View content traffic are shown a different ad than the ATC traffic, as well as the Initiate checkout traffic are shown a different ad in hopes to give them the push to purchase. As the traffic gets deeper into the funnel I offer more entising discounts in hopes to convert as well as mention ideas of scarcity/sale running out of time. In conclusion im looking for advice/opinions as to what you would do if you were in my position. Thanks, and let me know if there is any other info that may help with formulating an answer. PS: All my adsets are optimising for ATC because Ive tested this against Purchase event and ATC seems to get me more purchases for cheaper. [link] [comments]  |
| Brand New Sports Nutrition Store - Please Help! Posted: 07 Sep 2018 09:44 AM PDT I'm not exactly sure if this is the right place to post this, if so, please help me crosspost to another board! Primary Objective: I've been presented with the opportunity to run my own sports nutrition store (think protein powders and pre-workout) with the guidance of the franchisee owner who I've worked for in the past. I'm completely new to controlling every operation of a small business, I know the products very well, but would like some pointers on how to handle this situation properly. I'd eventually like to own my own business or become an executive, I believe this is a good way to get my feet wet. I'm curious what I should expect, and be prepared for going into this. My Background: 26 year old Business Administration student living in New Jersey. I've worked in the health and wellness industry for four years. The first two I spent as a sales associate, eventually a manager at said franchise owned sports nutrition store similar to GNC. I eventually branched off to create my own private personal training business, appeared in a few nationally recognized magazines showcasing my personal training and nutrition knowledge. Except for running my own business (parduccifitness.com) I have no other formal managerial experience. I have about 100k followers on instagram, networking through social media is how I got to where I'm at today. The Specifics: My old boss gave me the opportunity to launch my own store in a prestigious area, the franchisee's realtor found a Health & Nutrition store that is shutting down, they have three months left on the lease, we're moving into the location without any obligations, we can walk at any time if things go sour. We're surrounded by a ton of gyms and Princeton University. These will be the main business' that align with the products that we're selling. This is a completely foreign location for our franchise, neither my franchisee or myself have any formal relationships in this area. I won't have a sales associate under me for the first month, it'll pretty much be all me handling marketing, advertising, inventory, community outreach, social media networking with the guidance of the owner. The Numbers: Lease + Utilities: 800/month - Overhead: 1000 in products - Salary: $12/hour + Negotiated Commission Concerns: What are the most important areas of the business that I should be focusing on? Is a social media presence needed this early on in the business? At what point should I hire a sales associate? What else am I missing? [link] [comments]  |
| Why Some Innovative Products Don't Sell, And How You Could Prevent It Posted: 07 Sep 2018 05:48 AM PDT Dear fellow entrepreneurs, Have you ever wondered, like I have, what makes a business either a success or a failure? I am sure 90% of you reading this, can't answer this question properly. If you think you know the answer, try to compare yours with mine. If you don't know the answer, read this and decide whether you agree or not. I will tell you things that do NOT determine success. · It's not your location. · It's not your price. · It's not your customer service. What truly determines the success is not that complicated. Let me give you an example: I want you to imagine that we are competing on a business. Let's say a burger business. You will have all the advantages you want for your burger shop. You can have better ingredients, cheaper price, better staff and any other perks you can think of. I still can beat you in sales, here is how: You can have all the advantages you can think of as long as you let me have ONE advantage, and with that advantage, I can easily out-earn you. Here is what I want: a crowd of hungry people around my shop. That way, I can beat you in sales, any time. This is what Gary Halbert, the best copywriter in history, told his son about business. You can learn a simple lesson from this. In order to be successful in your business, you need to sell what the people want. There are many entrepreneurs that try to sell products that has no value. It could be the most advanced technology people ever witnessed, but it doesn't matter, your business won't be successful if the customers don't want it, that's how people value your product. Common sense isn't it. Even if you're selling a great product, a product that is actually useful, you still might not sell at all. This is because you have an issue with your marketing, and it's not a problem with your product. You simply didn't convince your prospects enough to buy your product. At this point, what you should be thinking now is to figure out a method to attract customers. It's simple, you probably did it, or doing it now, but cannot do it properly. The key is a great advertisement. I am sure most of you who have advertised your product, didn't seem to have a positive outcome. You try advertising but your sales don't seem to increase by much. The reason is very simple; your ad sucks. I will give a few reasons why your ad actually sucks, and explain in full detail why it sucks. You could be writing your ad or hired a so-called "professional" copywriter to write your ad. But according to Dan Lok, one of the best copywriter living today, 95% of ads sucks and if you write a bad ad it's not your fault. You've been brainwashed about writing. The biggest reason that your ad sucks is because you write to impress people not to sell. What I mean by "write to sell" isn't "Buy my product cuz it's good" kind of ads. In fact, if you write something like that, it will convince people to do the exact opposite. What I mean is your writing style. You try to write using the best vocabulary, complex sentences and any other writing tricks to make your ad look like the writing you wrote in English class to get an A. If you do that, stop right now. Do you want to know why that kind of writing won't help you sell? It's because its hard to read and understand. You see, before buying any product, people want to know what your product does. They want to know how it does it. So, do you think they can grasp everything if you try to write it too complex just to impress people with your writing skills? Claude Hopkins wrote in his book, "Scientific Advertising", the following: "Fine writing is a distinct disadvantage. So is unique literary style. They take attention from the subject. They reveal the hook. Any studies done that attempt to sell, if apparent, creates corresponding resistance." After that, he explained that copywriting is basically salesmanship in print. He gives an example of how a great speaker cannot be a great salesperson because people will feel overwhelmed by the speech. They feel that the speaker is over-influencing them to buy the product which is uncomfortable for them. The same thing should be applied to an ad copy written by a great writer. The reader would feel that you are trying too hard to sell them the product which stops them from reading your ad. To back it up, I will show you two ads and you choose which one would you would actually buy after reading. Click this link if you want to read: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QvNa7GMqjmDdQ8JKxHC5pILaLUKQL6MI If you think the second version is better, I've proved my point. But here is the funny thing, most ads today try to impress you with their writing. All the fancy wordings are useless, but people still use it because it satisfies them. If you're making the same mistake, stop now and change your habit. But I want to talk about car ads on TV these days. I find it really bad, and it makes no sense. I want to know what you guys think. (Remember ads that make you in awe is not necessarily a good ad if it does not make you think "I want to buy that car no matter what!") The second reason why your ad sucks is because you try to be brief. We all think that people are too busy, we have to write our ads as short as possible, so that people will read your ad. I can't emphasis how stupid this is. I will bring out a quote from Scientific Advertising again: "Some say "Be very brief. People will read for little." Would you say that to a salesman? With a prospect standing before him, would you confine him to any certain number of words? That would be an unthinkable handicap. So, in advertising. The only readers we get are people whom our subject interests. No one reads ads for amusements, long or short." This quote explains why the length of your advertisement does not matter. Only people interested in your product will read your ad. And yes, some people do skim through your ad, so you need to make sure all the important parts are easy to notice. "How?" you may ask. It's simple, just do something like THIS. Again, when people are reading your ad they want to know everything about your product. Make sure you answer all of the question they might ask on the ad. Try to avoid making a Q&A section. Okay, I think I've written a lot and reading more than this would make you tried. If you want more information about copywriting give me a positive feedback so I know there is some of you who want these kinds of posts. If you have any questions or any disagreement make sure to comment so we can discuss about it. I hope you all learned something from this message! Sincerely, LordFangis [link] [comments]  |
| Need help negotiating with my manufacturer and for pricing my product. Posted: 07 Sep 2018 09:13 AM PDT I am making a foot massage ball but need help on pricing.I am planning to sell this ball direct to consumer via shopify / FBA. I just got the quotes from the manufacturer and need help in how to approach/price my product. this is the best quote i have received so far, i have one other better quote but not sure if i can trust him as he seems to be shady ( based on google search) Cost of tool - $4000 Cost per piece $3.95 Minimum order quantity - 1000 Competitor price for similar ball - $7 Do i plan to sell it at $10 ? if i increase the quantity - he said he can reduce the price per piece. Can someone more experienced please advice ? [link] [comments]  |
| Newbie needs some help regarding selling t-shirts Posted: 07 Sep 2018 09:07 AM PDT I am selling gym t-shirts for mens. I have just finished designing them, and I am now selling them on Zazzle. Zazzle is a print-on-demand shop. If people buy the t-shirts, payment will be collected from the customer, and then printed and shipped to the customer. If not, nothing will happen. So far, I have not sold a single piece of t-shirt. Could the designs be too exaggerated? Could they be too expensive? I need some constructive feedback (@_@)" [link] [comments]  |
| How did you overcome introversion to get good at selling clients? Posted: 07 Sep 2018 05:15 AM PDT I'm the most introverted person I know, quite comfortable being by myself (My secret is exercise, it seems to keep you content no matter how weak your social ties). Conversely I have major reluctance in conversations of significance. Sales situations being the most severe. My current fix has been to let an assistant handle most of the rejection related efforts while I do the final discussion, and this has helped a ton. If I could get over my reluctance though, I think I'd enjoy my work a lot more and probably make more money too. Just curious if anyone else has dealt with this and anything you might have done to improve over time. [link] [comments]  |
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