Entrepreneurs- How have you found your “thing?” Entrepreneur |
- Entrepreneurs- How have you found your “thing?”
- Work at the Zoo. Looking for attraction ideas. Any help?
- I have a laser clinic and increased competition and discount wars have turned our service into a commodity - how to effectively break out of this situation?
- Startup validation: taking payments from a static landing page
- I have 300,000 to start a non food service related business. I live in Tampa, Florida. Any ideas?
- Shipping from UK to Worldwide - i want to cover customers local customs fees.
- Thoughts on selling a business that’s mostly IP? (back story in post)
- Accepting purchase orders from Schools. Offer credit terms? Good or bad idea?
- How I Built This By With Guy Raz is a really great podcast that shows one how companies are built.
- The Secret Hack / Magic Pill to be very successful
- Where to find investors for a Business with 0 in revenue and hasn't even launched
- Good places to list businesses for sale online that are free?
- Anyone use Airtable? Thoughts on it?
- How should I request a meeting with a franchise owner?
- How to understand people?
- Options for Sending and Receiving Money Online
- Can you recommend a high-end web development and design company (U.S. or EU)?
- Quick Question
- Am I allowed to copy a discontinued product?
- A buddy of mine started an online instant coffee business, Waka Coffee, all feedback welcomed!
- What makes people download social networking apps?
- New Business for Amazon FBA in Japan
- Looking for some partners to develop a business idea. Need back and front end developers and a marketing wizz.
| Entrepreneurs- How have you found your “thing?” Posted: 06 Oct 2018 10:11 AM PDT I feel like this is my least productive year. I'm saving money, so I guess it's not all "lost," but in February I closed up my small one-man iPhone repair biz/side hustle after an 8 year run. It was time to let go of a business with diminishing profits. 2017 I closed what was a very short run, building boutique lighting. Many Lessons learned on that one. My interests are with music, cars, technology (I have a "career" in IT), and real estate. Whenever I seem to hit a mental wall, "real estate" whispers in my ears. I read about entrepreneurship often and I've learned one common theme: "find something you're good at or could become good at, that's valuable to the marketplace, and freakin go all in." I'm 25, single, I live at home, I have minimal bills- I COULD start what could become a property management company. (Hell, I work for one- I know how it works) Should I follow that voice? [link] [comments]  |
| Work at the Zoo. Looking for attraction ideas. Any help? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 04:19 AM PDT So. This might be a bit unconventional. I've read the rules and saw nothing against asking questions for personal benefit, so I'm hoping any of you might be able to help me. I work at the zoo as stated. Management are about to ax one of the attractions and are looking for something extra for the park. Things that are currently there: - Animals - Golf carts - Mini plastic cars to mobilize children with - Instructions and tours - There used to be big trampolines for kids. This was discontinued. - Food stands / restaurant Now, I'm looking to expand that list. I've got contacts in the zoo and can make it happen. Profit and loss are 100% on me. I just need an idea. I was thinking a virtual experience, maybe a fortified tablet for kids to walk around with. The park is 3.5km of walking, and while there's a map, I thought of something interactive with cordless headphones and games. This may be a crap idea, I'm not sure yet. Another option is a Safari Escape Room. Pricy, but could be fun. And what's also possible is a generic idea like inflatables or whatever. I dislike that route and don't think I'll go for it. If anybody has any opinions about these or ideas I'd love your help. If not and this is too much to ask that's also okay. Thanks for reading! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2018 03:23 AM PDT So, I have a Laser Hair Removal clinic; we have been in operation for over a decade and when we started it was good times. We have good equipment, good staff, an excellent location and a good reputation. Over the last 3 years or so, business has dropped dramatically ( 40% of what it was 5 years ago, we're basically breaking even now and costs are always rising) due to mainly the introduction of Groupon type sites hoodwinking our competitors into giving out ridiculous deals. We avoided that, but it created a situation where people in this area now view the service as a commodity. The amount of competition in our vicinity has increased 400% in the last two years and EVERYONE competes on discounts and offers. We've had to do the same as we saw our numbers going down, to the point where offering 60% off is the new normal. I know that to escape this downward spiral we have to stop chasing after what other people are doing and create our own message of providing value and differentiating ourselves from the completion. But HOW do we deal with the price issue? I'd be grateful for any insight people have into packaging prices of this sort of thing differently so it hinders the immediate price comparison that potential clients will be doing. Stuff like changing how we charge for the the service, for example charging by the minute or amount of shots instead of per area/per session. Hope that makes sense - this kind of crept up on us and we've been reactive to the whole situation and constantly on the back foot, but it's time to do something proactive and separate ourselves from the "always on discount" cycle... Tia! [link] [comments]  |
| Startup validation: taking payments from a static landing page Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:53 PM PDT A common tactic in lean startup and associated methodologies (Traction/Bullseye etc) is gathering validation for startup ideas through driving traffic to a landing page, and capturing email address or collecting deposits. I've done email capture a few times, and there are loads of tools that can help, but when I wanted to do this for a tiny startup idea recently (subject of another post to come) it was surprisingly hard to do the "actually take money" option without having to build and run some backend code to handle the secure token exchange stuff that Stripe, Braintree etc require. Fortunately, after a bit of effort it can be done using new tools like static site builders, modern hosting (eg Netlify) and serverless-friendly backend API services like Trolley. I wrote it up in more detail here: https://hackernoon.com/startup-validation-sell-products-take-payments-from-a-simple-landing-page-in-10-minutes-eed9f66e22f [link] [comments]  |
| I have 300,000 to start a non food service related business. I live in Tampa, Florida. Any ideas? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:52 PM PDT |
| Shipping from UK to Worldwide - i want to cover customers local customs fees. Posted: 06 Oct 2018 07:16 AM PDT I sell and ship products through my online store worldwide. Prices range between $500-$1000. I offer essentially free shipping, but through UPS i would be able to also pay for the customers local customs fees. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm wondering what would be the most it can cost? In the UK and EU I have to charge VAT which is 20%. Would this 20% cover the import tax into US as well for instance? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on selling a business that’s mostly IP? (back story in post) Posted: 06 Oct 2018 10:17 AM PDT I'm a creative powerhouse. A kick ass designer, a writer, an intelligent idea maker. Sales is my weak area, and under normal circumstances/at another time in my life I would hire a sales person, suck up the rest and move forward... but I'm also a full time homeschooling mom. I started selling my line of children's products about 8 years ago. Posters, books, textiles, toys. I sell through mass market catalogs, museum gift shops, and of course Amazon and my own .com My plan was to grow slow and steady while my kids were young and then break out and do trade shows etc once they were teens. Welp. My youngest just turned 13, and let me tell you raising teens is no fucking joke. Two years ago we learned that my oldest has an endocrine disorder that requires a lot of management and appointments etc, and my 13 year old is just... tumultuous I guess? He is an intense human and his entry into adolescence is not going great. It's not a crisis, but enough that I'm afraid to shift my focus elsewhere for long. (I have to keep workaholic tendencies under control - not great at balance!) Right now these kids need me present and focused on their education and well being. In another life I would have been an ambitious serial entrepreneur, executive type, but this is the path I chose and I have to give it my best. BUT I hate for my awesome products to sit idle, like a pet that gets ignored. Someone else with the time and sales skills to devote could take the brand a lot further. I need income but right now I'm struggling to find time for even basic things like managing FBA keywords or sending out monthly newsletters, managing social media, and responding to PR and wholesale inquiries. This kills the business owner. :-/ I'm having stress dreams about it. Something needs to change. But I don't have an easy way to valuate. There's some non perishable inventory, but the vast majority of the assets would be branding, artwork, a fiercely loyal customer list, rights to books, and designs for related products that are no longer or not yet in production. Also expertise and connections for manufacturing and distribution. Like — That's all worth something certainly, but where do I start putting a price on non tangibles? Any other thoughts or advice welcome. [link] [comments]  |
| Accepting purchase orders from Schools. Offer credit terms? Good or bad idea? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 09:57 AM PDT One of our websites sells wholesale quantity items mainly to businesses. As of now all orders must be paid via credit card at time of purchase. Most businesses have no problem with paying at time of order, however we get many requests from schools to send us purchase orders. We have always declined it, as it just seems like it is more trouble than it is worth. We are now getting more and more requests from schools and some of their orders could be a dollar amount that might make it worth it. I'm assuming these schools are looking for credit terms? Net 30? How can I do my due diligence that the school is reliable and will pay the invoice? Most of these schools seem to be a one time purchase. It seems kind of silly to offer Net 30, have them fill out a credit application, etc for just one order. But maybe I am missing something. Does anyone have any experience with selling to schools? Is there a better process for handling these types of requests? [link] [comments]  |
| How I Built This By With Guy Raz is a really great podcast that shows one how companies are built. Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:38 PM PDT He interviews the founders of famous companies and asks them to tell their story. [link] [comments]  |
| The Secret Hack / Magic Pill to be very successful Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:19 PM PDT I quit my IT job 3 years ago to start an Importing and Marketing Company. Since then I've been to TONS of conferences and met a lot of entrepreneurs, some very successful, but most of them not at all. So I wanted to do a quick writeup on what my biggest lesson has been. A lot of people I meet are chasing the "Next new method to get rich quick". In conferences many are looking for that super ninja trick that will make them money. I hear so many talk about a certain business (freelancing, Shopify, FBA, local business, whatever) and always ask "Am I TOO LATE?".. "Are there still opportunities?" The secret I've learned is that THERE IS NO SECRET. This is VERY important to know. And there are opportunities, but only if you CREATE them. The KEY to success is... dun dun dun... CREATING VALUE FOR THE CUSTOMER! In today's world, MOST people want a "blueprint" or a "system" for success. People just want to follow SET steps until the money starts raining down on them. This puts people into a "copycat" mentality. Be it starting a local business and copying someone who is already successful or seeing what items are already selling on Amazon and selling a "me too" version. This drives down prices and you have NO WAY to differentiate your offering. These business are AVENUES to bring value to customers, NOT schemes to make money fast. Instead of thinking "What is working for others that I can copy?" think.. "What do people want that is missing from the market?" "How can I make people's lives easier" "Can I EXPAND the market to NEW customers instead of simply trying to get a piece of the pie?" Schemes are short term (if they work at all), but real business are long term, create value, and can make the REAL MONEY. "How can I create value for people?" I might make a post about this soon, but I would highly recommend the book "Blue Ocean Strategy", which talks a lot about this. [link] [comments]  |
| Where to find investors for a Business with 0 in revenue and hasn't even launched Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:05 PM PDT Heres the deal. I had an idea today while sitting in Starbucks. I realized that a LOT of businesses have trouble hiring the right programmer/developer for their team. And I do know that corporations and businesses would pay a decent amount of money to hire the right person that WOULD actually fit their team better. So I managed to start on a business proposal to take to an investor. It has a great revenue model and could easily gain members... The only downside is that the website needed would be very complex as the features I need would require a great amount of security and back-end development (far more than I can afford). While getting the programmers to join would be fairly easy the only difficulty would be to get the businesses to join and pay the fee for the system I have designed. Everything I have designed and put on paper is quite fascinating and maybe it is already being done but I couldnt find a company that is currently doing. My system would make it easier for both the applicant AND the business looking to hire individuals. And when I say easy I mean it, it completely eliminates the need for people to spend hours and hours applying to jobs and not even getting their resume/application seen by the company.... That's what I call wasted time. Wow.... Im getting carried away here... ANYWAY, my question to all of you experienced and amazing people we call entrepreneurs how would you go about finding a funding source? P.S. I know Reddit is about to hammer me with "Goodluck! Lol, youre not even launched yet! You're just an idea."... I would get irritated by you guys but I guess you dont know how to dream. Hit me Reddit! [link] [comments]  |
| Good places to list businesses for sale online that are free? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 09:18 AM PDT As the title implies.... Local business owner/friend wants to put their business up for sale and move on, so I told them I would assist. After digging around a bit, it seems like all the best or top rated sites cost to list and wondered if anyone had suggestions? It's a bar/restaurant, and while they don't care to pay for listings, they are looking to gauge interest as much as anything so they didn't want to shell out a grand for ads off the bat. [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone use Airtable? Thoughts on it? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 05:24 AM PDT I'm looking to find some updated cloud/collab setups for data management, scheduling, and internal sharing of resources. We have OneDrive but nobody hardly uses it (out of sight, out of mind). I'm trying to nudge the office into the 21st Century on some concepts when it comes to collaborative work. [link] [comments]  |
| How should I request a meeting with a franchise owner? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 12:43 PM PDT I'm researching more and more of seriously considering a specific franchise, the location in my city is extremely successful and I'd be interested in opening one elsewhere. Can I contact the franchise owner and invite her and husband to lunch so that I could ask them questions of how they're successful? Or invite them to coffee? I don't have an office where I could invite them to... what would be best? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2018 12:35 PM PDT Hey all if this isn't the right sub-reddit please direct me to the right one, I just assumed the audience here may have what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a book, guide, series of videos, or anything on understanding people. I mean this in terms of someone's thinking, non-verbal cues, personality, all of that good stuff. Does anyone know of any resources that may be useful? Maybe a good book you read, or a blog post somewhere? [link] [comments]  |
| Options for Sending and Receiving Money Online Posted: 06 Oct 2018 12:08 PM PDT I will be starting a side hustle which will basically be me buying and selling electronic stuff on Ebay and other sites. It's not anything big, just a way for 18-year-old me to keep a bit of money in my pocket legally unlike my weed-selling classmates. Anyways, online transactions will primarily be dealing with online money. I was considering opening a business account with Bank of America (where I recently got a debit card [don't worry, I asked my financial advisor nearly straightaway if I could conduct business on my debit card and he put me off of it]) but I'm pretty sure my business wouldn't be able to keep up with that monthly fee and other clauses. I thought back to my time selling CSGO skins and realized that Paypal could be an option. However I still have some doubts that may sound self-explanatory or just be stupid in general, but here I go. For example, what if a customer were trying to pay for some of my goods with a credit card that isn't a Paypal credit card? Would they be able to pay? How about me? If they would be able to pay, would I receive the money as a Paypal balance or would it go to my debit card, which is linked to my Paypal account? How about purchasing stuff? Are there any sites where Paypal balance isn't an accepted form of currency? And how would I transfer my Paypal funds from online into real cash? Thanks in advance for answering my questions. [link] [comments]  |
| Can you recommend a high-end web development and design company (U.S. or EU)? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 11:36 AM PDT Hi guys, I've searched the last 5 hours trying to find a great partner that does high-end, outsourced web design and development. The main issue is that it's really tough to find a company that does full-stack web development (React etc.) AND also offers great design. The latter almost always is missing. So if you know a good partner, please share here or PM. I really appreciate any help, thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2018 11:32 AM PDT Okay so I want to help as many people as possible. So I'am want to know what questions do you all have about affiliate marketing or just business in general. I'am no "Guru" but I will help if I can and atleast be able to give you my take on it. [link] [comments]  |
| Am I allowed to copy a discontinued product? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 10:36 AM PDT Hi guys, I used to play a game and a popular accessory product has been discontinued for a few years now. You can still find the product on the second hand market for inflated prices, but I am wondering if I am allowed to use the product as a prototype and look for my own manufacturer? Would I be able to use the brand name, since there are no current products being released under that name? Or do I have to get all this approved and buy the rights from the old company that sold the product? Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| A buddy of mine started an online instant coffee business, Waka Coffee, all feedback welcomed! Posted: 06 Oct 2018 10:30 AM PDT Waka Coffee, a quality instant coffee with the mission to help more people experience coffee in an easier way, wherever they are. They also take part in charitable work through an Add Water, Give Water program, donating a portion of sales to a New York-based nonprofit that brings clean and safe drinking water to communities around the world. Please check them out at www.wakacoffee.com and help them bring the instant back! Feel free to send over lots of feedback. [link] [comments]  |
| What makes people download social networking apps? Posted: 06 Oct 2018 04:38 AM PDT Is there a set of patterns that we can learn from Tinder or Instagram or it is just by sheer luck some of such apps go viral? If I ask you one thing that makes you download a social networking app, what it would be? [link] [comments]  |
| New Business for Amazon FBA in Japan Posted: 06 Oct 2018 01:35 AM PDT Hello everyone, naturally I'd like to advertise my business, but I do not want to offend anyone or violate any rules, so I won't post any links unless asked to. I am living in Japan and currently focusing on my own business. We are offering service for those who want to expand their Amazon FBA Business to Japan, but can't do so because they are unfamiliar with the language, fees, taxes and more. We help translating and optimizing Amazon Listings and PPC-campaigns in Japanese, help with customer support and communications and offer assistance for importing goods in terms with Japanese regulations. I know that this subreddit has a lot of visitors who are very successful in their fields, Amazon being one of them. We hope that people take an interest in our services. Today I contacted one of the most successful FBA merchants in Germany, who has his own brand, offers optimization services, podcasts, online courses for FBA and more. He agreed to help me after he took a liking to my concept and will help promoting me further. He also referred me to friends and partners who are active in this sector as well, so I am really happy about this unforeseen turn of events. My Service is not yet officially available for the US, since I need to check back with my payment service provider to authorize sales to the US. But it is all going very well and I feel like I'm finally achieving something. If everything goes right, we can become the Bridge that connects foreign merchants from Europe, the US and more with the amazon market in Japan, increasing both the revenue of our clients through this new market option, as well as allowing more diversity and options for Japanese customers on Amazon. Not everyone will agree with me. But I've learned to stop listening to those who keep saying no. I have found valuable support and new friends. We have a goal and the commitment to achieve it. Thank you for your time. I just needed to get this off my chest somehow. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2018 11:18 AM PDT This is the first place I've asked and this is very early stages. I have an idea with a basic plan and bootstrapped budget. I'm looking to put together a team including a back end and front end developer. Someone who is comfortable making a retail and membership website. Graphic designer for onsite and off site design. Also looking for someone with a keen interest in marketing who has an insatiable hunger to persist with and create new leads. The basic idea is merchandising for podcasts and musicians. An interest in these areas would really help. I have a small budget to start with and would be starting the business with partners, each owning a percentage of the business. A little about me. I'm 37, male, live in the UK just outside London. I currently run a profitable cleaning company with 5 employees. I have also been joint partner in a record shop, metal fabrication shop and landscaping business. Pm with any questions or interested. [link] [comments]  |
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