Thankful Entrepreneur |
- Thankful
- Want to E-commerce but stuck? let's get you over these blockers. (real stuff)
- Looking to join a tribe of business entrepreneurial minded people?
- Did Anyone Apply for (Government Sponsored Grant) SBIR This Year??
- $12k/month helping men of modest height.
- Any tips on how to find yourself a niche?
- Has anyone given up their entrepreneurial pursuit for a corporate life?
- Startup studio, friend or foe?
- Looking to create a mastermind group, any interest/ideas?
- Are there any books/ case studies on entrepreneurship in a recession?
- Entrepreneur Itch?
- How do “experts” in a field or entrepreneurs balance honing their craft vs social life?
- Sleeping matresses on subscription
- Anyone made an app when you didn’t know how?
- How can I push myself to start?
- Best Online Advertising Methods for Driving Traffic to a Website
- How can I boost the number of content on my website
- Techstars alumni — tips for the interview
- Extremely New to Affiliate Marketing
- The Misunderstood Entrepreneur
- What quick profit can I see with the skillsets I have?
- Speak up against an abusive manager?
| Posted: 11 Nov 2018 09:15 AM PST Today is a thoughtful day and I'm thankful. I'm self employed, and although it can be stressful, lonely, scary and downright exhausting I wouldn't have it any other way. Despite all those things I am free to make my own decisions and choose my own path within the constructs of a free and safe democratic society. People died for my ability to do this and I am grateful for it. [link] [comments]  |
| Want to E-commerce but stuck? let's get you over these blockers. (real stuff) Posted: 11 Nov 2018 02:56 AM PST You probably want to ride the e-commerce wave. But despite all the motivation and all the technical tools available, you are stuck because of one big hurdle. Let's take a swing at few of these hurdles that majority of e-commerce entrepreneurs get stuck at: (Just to be clear, I am NOT a DropShipping or E-commerce guru :D) Hurdle 1: No money for Shopify to get started?
Here's the installation-steps page to get you started right now. (you can host your website for free on a heroku instance initially) Hurdle 2: How to research & find great products that have market?
Now, figure out which one you can bring to market fast using manufacturers in China. Here's a successful example of Canadian guy Jack doing this. Read it so you understand what it takes and how to get started. Shortlist a product, talk to the manufacturer put on the website & start taking orders. Hurdle 3: Website & Product is ready, but visitors are not converting?
This was a quick one, I might add more later. Disclaimer: I mod the above-mentioned subreddit. Edit: Hurdle 4: How to find good examples of Facebook-ads to learn from? Find good examples by searching on Facebook for "Get Yours Now" and other similar calls-to-action and shortlisting ones with high-engagement. Then you can click on their FB pages and click on the "Info and Ads" tab to see their all ads Hurdle 5: How to register a company? What about patents? Focus on making enough first so that your business is worth suing or worth copying for someone out there. Don't worry about someone stealing your logo or registering an LLC until then. Now, I know not everyone will agree with this opinion, but considering this advice is for those who are stuck, I'd focus on making money first. This is NOT legal advice. This is practical business advice though. Once you are making enough, you can ask a consultant to do it for you easily. Until then, focus on selling. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking to join a tribe of business entrepreneurial minded people? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 08:30 AM PST Hey all. Long story short I come from a long line of government employees and menial laborers. I am familiar with hard work, and ENJOY the idea of making my own money, but frankly I think like a government employee (afraid of risk, and mentally cant recognizes business opportunities). So I was wondering are there any groups, hobbies, or professional associations I can join to rub elbows with people who think entrepreneurially? Like a toastmasters for entrepreneurs. I just want to be in an enivorment where people are thinking in ways that contrast with mind. If I was in the private sector this wouldn't be an issues cause in theory I could run into one or two people like this at work. [link] [comments]  |
| Did Anyone Apply for (Government Sponsored Grant) SBIR This Year?? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 07:23 AM PST Hey folks? Did anyone apply for NIH (or any other) SBIR this year? My CSR group meets this week, and I'm nervous/excited and awaiting the results. Would love to hear about other folks experience this year, or if you happen to be waiting too, even better. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, SBIR is a 100 percent non-diluting grant from the federal government to launch/sustain your startup. http://www.sbir.gov is the site. [link] [comments]  |
| $12k/month helping men of modest height. Posted: 11 Nov 2018 11:03 AM PST Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Brock McGoff of The Modest Man, a men's online publication. Some stats:
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?My name is Brock McGoff, and I run The Modest Man (TMM), a digital media brand dedicated to helping guys dress better and feel more confident, with an emphasis on the man of modest height. TMM content is created for and published on YouTube, themodestman.com, Instagram and other social media channels. At the time of writing, TMM reaches almost a million people each month across platforms. YouTube is the "biggest" platform with over 166k subscribers. In a given month, TMM generates $10-15k revenue from advertising brand partnerships, digital products (an e-book) and affiliate programs. Since there isn't any inventory or "cost of goods" profit margins are very high. What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I didn't really know what I wanted to do after college. My dad was an entrepreneur, and I had the spirit, but with no direction. I got a job in marketing/communications and ran a music production side hustle for a while. I tried my hand at music full time and basically broke even after a year. I read The 4-Hour Work Week and started learning about online business, passive income, WordPress and SEO. I took a 4HWW style sabbatical in Ecuador and, after building countless niche affiliate sites, finally settled on an idea I could sink my teeth into (and feel good about working on), The Modest Man. The other sites were mostly based on opportunity. I used keyword and product research to figure out lucrative (but not too competitive) niches for products sold on Amazon, then built "review" type sites around these products. It was a great way to learn about SEO, WordPress and affiliate marketing, but I wasn't passionate about any of the sites I was building. This model was an example of doing something just for money, which (in my opinion) isn't sustainable. Granted, I got my library of sites earning about $500/month, which was awesome, but after a Google algorithm update tanked some of my rankings, I had no desire to try to build these sites back up. I wanted to sink my teeth into something I cared about. I was getting more and more into menswear and trying to teach myself how to dress better. There were plenty of great style blogs, but nothing was focusing on me - a smaller guy who has trouble finding clothes that fit. So I started writing the stuff I would want to read. Luckily, there were lots of other guys who also needed this info. Since no one else is focusing on them, I'm able to develop a special bond that generic style blogs might not have. For example, after realizing that I couldn't find anything that fit my 5'5" frame properly off the rack, I started going to the tailor a lot. I had no idea how to get things tailored or how much it would cost, so I learned the hard way - by doing it. I decided to make these little infographics about getting your clothes tailored, and they got shared tens of thousands of times on Pinterest, Reddit, etc. These graphics and articles about clothing alterations are still some of my best performing pieces. That's the amazing thing about creating content: it can end up generating revenue for years. I worked in various tech and digital marketing jobs while building TMM for three years. These jobs paid well, and I learned a lot during this time. But I always viewed my "day job" as a fundraising activity to fund my entrepreneurial endeavors - never something permanent. Finally, I left my last 9-to-5 at the end of 2016 and haven't looked back since! Take us through the process of creating the website.I had learned how to build content-based niche sites, and how to monetize these sites through Amazon Associates and Google AdSense, before I started TMM. So by the time I started it, I had a pretty good handle on WordPress, affiliate programs, etc. But I had never made more than $500/month. I also spent a lot of time learning about SEO, from black hat to white hat. I just wanted to know how it worked. When I started TMM, I found that high-quality content that's on-page optimized for search will pretty much always get traffic, eventually. Example of high quality content that worked. For example, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of articles about watches. Even subtopics like "watches for small wrists" have been covered extensively, but not very thoroughly. I try to make content that's very thorough. Think "ultimate guide" type articles. So when I wrote about watches for small wrists, I included 25 watches instead of 5 or 10. I included a sortable table with links, along with an infographic and explanation about sizing. In my opinion, it's the best article about small watches on the Internet (at least when I wrote it). And Google will always reward you for creating this kind of content. Coming up with ideas for content isn't hard. I would just field questions or look at what other more popular sites were doing and add my own spin to it. For example, if Esquire was ranking for "best jeans" I would write an article about "best jeans for short men" and make it even better than theirs. Add media like original photos and videos. Add infographics. Make an audio version for people who don't like to read. Make it longer, more entertaining, more concise, easier to scan. Make it better. It's a rinse and repeat process that takes a bit of patience, but it pays off in the long run. Describe the process of launching the business.My "launch" was just clicking the publish button in WordPress for this article. Not very exciting! I posted about once a week, usually shorter articles. I wasn't taking pictures or making videos yet, so the articles were pretty boring by today's standards. In the first year, I made about $1,200 from Amazon Associates and Google AdSense. All of the early traffic came from Google. I didn't really share anything on Facebook because I didn't tell anyone about the blog. Instagram wasn't a thing yet, so I wasn't on there either. Building an audience from scratch doesn't have to be a super slow process, but it was for me (mostly because it was a side hustle, and I was somewhat new to the topic of men's fashion). Since launch, what has worked to grow the brand?For the website, it's simple: creating helpful, in-depth content with solid on-page SEO (here's my exact process for that part). On YouTube, it's a little different. The content should still be helpful, but it helps if it's also entertaining. Attention spans are much shorter on YouTube. At the very least, a video should be pleasing to watch/listen to (i.e., nice production quality). My best performing video is this one. I think it's just a popular topic that pretty much everyone wants to know about. It's a solid video, but not my best work. I've come a long way, in terms of production! Here are some of the videos I'm most proud of: These videos are honest, and the production is pretty polished (#notsohumblebrag). I think it's important to make things you love and can be proud of, regardless of how many views they get. In terms of growth tactics, I've used a lot of the best practices from the online business world: Using a free lead magnet to build a 20k+ email list Whatever you give away, make sure it's so good that people would have paid for it. There are so many free ebooks out there, and people are more hesitant than ever to hand over their contact info. Make sure to give massive value, even if it's free. Selling a premium quality e-book via automated email funnel This is a very small part of my business at this point. I've come to the conclusion that it's hard to sell style advice, mostly because there's so much great free advice out there already. But the guide has sold hundreds of copies, and it's one of the most passive parts of the business. Monetizing content through affiliate programs and high RPM ad networks For me, the best programs have been Amazon Associates (although it's gotten less lucrative has they've slashed rates), RewardStyle, Skimlinks and AdThrive. Once you have a site that gets over 50k visits per month, make sure to partner with an ad network like Ezoic or AdThrive ro raise your RPMs. Partnering with brands to monetize sponsored content (for much higher RPMs) Sponsored content is one of the best ways to make money online, assuming you have an audience. I think it's best done tastefully and sparingly, especially on YouTube and your website. After all, audience trust is and always will be my number one most important asset, and people don't want to feel like they're always being sold to, and that all of your content is paid for. I've also done something that's not very common in the "fashion blogging" world: I've been transparent about my business by explaining how the blog makes money and by publishing quarterly income reports. This type of content offers more monetization options, such as the super-profitable web hosting affiliate commissions. I haven't done much in this arena (yet), but I have started tagging anyone one my email list who's interested in this sort of business content. It's something I'd like to focus on more in the future. How are you doing today and what does the future look like?My goal with TMM is to create more and better content, while removing myself as the production bottleneck. This means hiring solid writers and video editors, as well as bringing different men on board for modeling, etc. TMM is a nice little lifestyle business. It provides a healthy income, location independence, plenty of flexibility and passive cash (the best kind!). It's currently generating between $10-15k per month, depending on whether or not I do any brand deals. About 60% of this revenue is from advertising, and the rest is from affiliate programs and digital product sales. But it could be much bigger. I see no reason not to shoot for $500k/year revenue within 2-3 years. Recently, I was able to leverage my experience building TMM to enter into a partnership with Peter Manning NYC, a niche clothing brand based in NYC. This is a very synergistic relationship, and I'm excited to work with a company selling physical products (clothes), which is new for me. You never know what opportunities your efforts will create! Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?Assuming your basic needs are met, time is more valuable than money. Don't spend any time doing things you don't enjoy. If you dread going to work on Monday morning, it's time to find something new (or start something). Passive income is more valuable than non-passive income. My main metric each month is passive income (rather than total income). For this reason, I focus on increasing revenue from affiliate programs and advertising, rather than working with brands. Know yourself and your "seasons" in life. I know I get bored working on the same thing for a long time, so I structure my day accordingly. I also think about the next few years and try to plan for the next chapter now, before I get there. Like most entrepreneurs, I have lots of ideas for other businesses… If you're starting a content business (like a blog), I recommend niching down. Try to cover a specific topic (style for short men), rather than a broad one (men's style). What platform/tools do you use for your business?So many, but some favorites are WordPress, StudioPress, WPEngine, Canva, Wave Accounting, Google Analytics, Upwork and ConvertKit. Full list of resources here. What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?The book that changed my life was The 4-Hour Work Week. It opened my eyes to the world of location independent work, passive income and mini retirements. Another great book is How to Win Friends and Influence People. It taught me how to talk about myself less and ask more questions. I try not to spend too much time listening to business podcasts and reading non-fiction, as you can burn a lot of time on "infotainment" these days. Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Everyone is different, so I won't try to say "do this" or "don't do that" to anyone. But for me, it has to be about more than just money. Some people can look at business as opportunity. Look at all of these online mattress companies, for example. You think those founders are passionate about mattresses? Probably not. They probably used their business school analyst chops to find a hole in the market, then they seized the opportunity. There's nothing wrong with this. Many of the best growth companies take this approach. For me, I see business as a creative outlet. If I'm only doing something to make money, I'll probably give up on it before the money starts flowing in. Especially for young people, I recommend asking yourself: what do I love doing? Don't even think about money. If you love doing something and get really good at it, money will find you. Instead, think about who you want to be and how you want to spend your time. If you want to be an influencer or content creator, my best piece of advice is to just start. Now. Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?Yes, I'm looking for a part-time video editor and freelance writers (especially with experience in men's lifestyle and fashion). Where can we go to learn more?My "home" is themodestman.com, but you can also find me around the web: If you want to ask me a question, hit me up on Twitter! Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos. [link] [comments]  |
| Any tips on how to find yourself a niche? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 05:57 AM PST I've been struggling to find a niche where I can try to start something, because I can't think of something that I'm good at. Seems like I just know a little bit of a lot of stuff... Any tips? Ideas? I'm lost. I also don't have any capital to start yet, because I'm living off small gigs. I'm trying to find a way to earn some cash online so I can save to invest later. [link] [comments]  |
| Has anyone given up their entrepreneurial pursuit for a corporate life? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 07:03 AM PST Has anyone ever gone from an imagination that is focused on entrepreneurial creativity to becoming more focused on corproate work and corporate productivity? I used to get home from work and carve out all this time to mind map and brainstorm on ideas that I was really passionate about. However, the more that I get involved with my companies to tasks, the more that my entrepreneurial passion gets dismissed. Entrepernueship is something that I've always been intrigued by. I have two business plan scholarships from separate schools, but sometimes I feel like maybe it's just easier to try to continue to work hard and climb up the corporate ladder. Has anyone gone through something similar? [link] [comments]  |
| Startup studio, friend or foe? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 02:22 PM PST Hi there! After having built 3 companies, with some modest successes and even bigger failures, I have learnt that the most scarce thing for an entrepreneur is not money but TIME and ENERGY. Every "project" took/consumed around 5 years. As I am 40 years now, I realized that it means at most I can do another 3 to 4 "project" max... That scared the sh.t out of me. Especially, the fact that I have at least 10 ideas I would like to try out. That is why I decided to setup a startup studio with a group of like minded and a bit crazy people, to be able to build and launch multiple ideas together and let the world decide what the best idea is. A multi disciplinary group with UX, Data science and Business specialists. So far this approach seems to be very fruitful. Your thoughts on this. Does this make sense? [link] [comments]  |
| Looking to create a mastermind group, any interest/ideas? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 02:37 AM PST Hey guys, Long time lurker, thought I would do a post. I am a web developer from Australia and looking at starting a few businesses in the coming months this year. I am finding it hard to stay focused and also to work on my own without ideas from others. I am assuming a few of you are going through the same issues. I would like to setup a group and do a weekly/fortnightly calls where we talk about each others business plans, give ideas to each other and help each other improve, focus and stay motivated. Anyone interested? Please PM. I am keen to start with even 1 extra entrepreneur. [link] [comments]  |
| Are there any books/ case studies on entrepreneurship in a recession? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 09:21 AM PST I would like to learn about the 2008 recession- what kind of business ventures flourished, which ones were hurt, etc. For example, during the dot-com bubble burst, some people were making very healthy profits from buying liquidated high-end furniture and equipment from failed startups. The foreclosure cleanup business did very well when the housing bubble burst... etc. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 Nov 2018 02:49 PM PST Hey everyone! I hope I am posting in the right area here regarding this. I've been lurking and I've finally decided to push forward with a project and have been constantly trying to find what I need to make it a success. I know I have some time ahead of me before I feel comfortable with my work however, I want to get some advice from you guys. I feel like my current work is just something I'm not passionate about. I want to continue to be inspired it but my drive to make this a successful project is a huge thing for me. Have any of you guys been in my shoes where you were comfortable with your current job and scared of letting go (assuming you were making profit or ready). I understand I am not ready for that yet. Just any advice in all about getting this implemented faster. [link] [comments]  |
| How do “experts” in a field or entrepreneurs balance honing their craft vs social life? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 06:39 AM PST Let's say you got a long way to go being an amateur, I'm not talking about running a business but rather learning a skill and the required tools to get the job done. At the same time...you like going out and meeting your pals and going to almost every gig and diners and what not. How do you balance that on a day to day basis? Like if you know you gotta learn something versus meeting that friend at the bar. Given that there's not always a black and white, how do you go about it? [link] [comments]  |
| Sleeping matresses on subscription Posted: 11 Nov 2018 01:18 PM PST So I´ve been recently looking for a new matress. I had no idea there are up to 20k$ matresses. I´ve read a lot of people online buying 5-6k$ matresses arguing if used for 10years its just 1$ a night... I was looking for a similar subscription in my area... something like 3 year matress lease for 300-500$ a year (specially for young people too, my bed size has change 3 times in 7 years now...). What do you think? [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone made an app when you didn’t know how? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 01:05 PM PST I have extremely basic knowledge of app making. I really don't like to code though and like I said I'm purely trash at it. But I have a few ideas for apps that I'd like to have made for me. Has anyone here done that? Like find someone or a team of people to make your app? How did that go? Thanks :D [link] [comments]  |
| How can I push myself to start? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 12:47 PM PST I know after watching all these tips videos that the most efficient way to improve is to start, and I just can't push myself to do it, anything I can do to help? [link] [comments]  |
| Best Online Advertising Methods for Driving Traffic to a Website Posted: 11 Nov 2018 11:50 AM PST I have recently launched a review website. I'm looking into the best ways of driving traffic to my site, both free and paid. But this post is in relation to paid advertising. So far I've only been using Facebook ads to drive traffic to my website. I've found the FB campaigns to be a bit 'hit & miss' in terms of audience reach. So I'm wondering what Ads campaigns people who've been in a similar position found successful operating on a relatively low initial budget? Any better options than FB ads without a large campaign budget? [link] [comments]  |
| How can I boost the number of content on my website Posted: 11 Nov 2018 11:24 AM PST Hi, I made a website which is a place for reading articles based on a user following. There are a few articles on there but I was wondering which methods to use to get more content writers and a community? Link: https://www.readlad.com What's your advise? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Techstars alumni — tips for the interview Posted: 11 Nov 2018 07:56 AM PST Hey folks, I'll have a Techstars interview for their Berlin acceleration program this week. I read everything they posted, but I was wondering if I could get more personal advice here, specially from the people who've lived their program. Any tips? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Extremely New to Affiliate Marketing Posted: 11 Nov 2018 07:45 AM PST Hey guys, new to this subreddit and new to affiliate marketing. So I thought I would get into affiliate marketing and I chose airsoft as my niche. Ive been playing airsoft for awhile and I thought doing reviews on airsoft products would be enjoyable for me to do. I created my own website called skytonairsoftreviews.com I know it isn't much at the moment but I just got started. Any tips and tricks you guys could point me to or great sources for information would be greatly appreciated. I'm skeptical of the youtube Gurus because I feel like they are just trying to sell me their stuff without actually giving any useful information away. Anyways, thanks for any help guys! [link] [comments]  |
| The Misunderstood Entrepreneur Posted: 11 Nov 2018 11:20 AM PST Are you an entrepreneur that often feels misunderstood for the sacrifices you make to benefit your business? If so, this is for you! https://gadgethabits.net/blogs/gadget-talk/the-misunderstood-entrepreneur[The Misunderstood Entrepreneur ](https://gadgethabits.net/blogs/gadget-talk/the-misunderstood-entrepreneur) [link] [comments]  |
| What quick profit can I see with the skillsets I have? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 05:45 AM PST NOTE: I know that there's no such thing as a "quick" return without an initial amount of work, but I'm dying here not seeing any growth in my current pursuits. My skills are as follows:
I have a very artsy background and self-taught web development for 8 months before entering the year-long software development intensive I'm in. I actually made a website with a portfolio to market my web development services (www.katalexisdesigns.com) but no matter what I do, I cannot drum up clients (I have asked friends, posted on listing sites, exhausted my personal pool of resources... nothing). I need money right now and definitely want to use at least one of my skills in a way that can start me making money by next week. I'm just frustrated that I have these marketable skills but every time I attempt to monetize them, it never seems to work out. I'm wondering if I'm just not coming up with the right ideas or something of that nature, but I don't know. [link] [comments]  |
| Speak up against an abusive manager? Posted: 11 Nov 2018 08:12 AM PST I am a bit frustrated with our manager, he:
I think our entire team consists of Mr. Nice Guys and that the person who was fired was the last person who could stand his ground and defend our team. I have always been a very nice guy and never spoke up, but I feel aside from trying to find a new job, I should speak up. We don't have "At-will employment" in my country, so the worst that can happen is hurt feelings. When I am helping a colleague he also gets angry that people should fix their own problems. 1 person is often verbally abused during the stand-up. He already reported our manager to HR last week. He is not the best at this job, but he is the oldest and I'm starting to think he's quite wise. Lots of what he already said is true. I know of many people in the team that are already looking for a new job. The manager also keeps seeing himself as a victim because of his horrible past, he thinks horribly about the world, about people and behaves like a hateful tyrant and dictator himself. He has a tendency of fighting with everybody around him and think very negative of his team. [link] [comments]  |
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