I’m an author and software creator who believes that growth in business needs to be questioned. AMA! Entrepreneur |
- I’m an author and software creator who believes that growth in business needs to be questioned. AMA!
- $90k/month selling respiratory masks.
- Lesson learned; Set goals and rewards for employees
- Businesses that can be ran from smartphone.
- Anyone else feels down by seeing other successful people and what they achieve while trying real hard now to compare but get down anyway by it?
- Nothing Good Comes Easy: A Case Study
- Antisocial entrepreneurs?
- Hi Guys i just lauchened my website!
- I'm starting another business. I'll be doing pressure washing and also offering attic insulating services as well as other home services. Should these be named/branded as separate businesses? Or should I market them as the same business? I'm having trouble thinking of a name.
- I want to get my product in some small shops around my town. Looking for some tips or advice on what I should expect, or the best ways to go about this.
- How I earned my valuable network
- Want to beat your competition? Just communicate better.
- Thinking of starting an R&D consulting firm
- Starting Outside Sales Monday - Looking for Advice
- Where can I learn about need, wants and value creation?
- How can I sell an already growing product to an established company who could use it?
- Need shit to do early-ish in the morning
- I’m getting 120k from a buyout, what do I do with it?
- Where can you find potential collaborators?
- Built an app for my restaurant, how can I incentivize customers to download?
- Seeking More Recruiting Advice (Startup Expansion)
- After starting my business I started a podcast similar to How I Built This but with local businesses, and I'm in the running to be on my city's NPR channel. What are some small businesses you guys would like to hear on a show like this?
- How did you get your first 100 customers?
- How to look for a Chinese manufacturer
- Startup idea
| I’m an author and software creator who believes that growth in business needs to be questioned. AMA! Posted: 08 Feb 2019 07:56 AM PST Hey /r/Entrepreneur/, I'm Paul Jarvis. I dropped out of university to work as a web designer at an agency, then quit that job to work for myself… back in 1998. I've worked with professional athletes like Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash and Warren Sapp, large companies like Microsoft, Yahoo and Mercedes-Benz, and online entrepreneurs like Danielle LaPorte, Marie Forleo and Kris Carr. I've since moved on from client work to focus on writing and making software products. I've just finished writing my new book, Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business, which is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US and Penguin Business in the UK. Folks like Cal Newport, Ben Chestnut and DHH have said great things about it here. The book looks at the main thesis that business growth isn't always good or necessary, and sometimes actually detrimental and that the antithesis or counterbalance to growth-hacking is to consider what's "enough". I'm excited to be here today and I'm stoked answer whatever reddit has on its mind! PS: Proof. [link] [comments]  |
| $90k/month selling respiratory masks. Posted: 08 Feb 2019 09:15 AM PST Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Michael Vahey of Breathe Healthy, a brand that sells respiratory masks. Some stats:
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?My name is Michael, and I'm the owner of Breathe Healthy. As a kid, I ran a lawn and field mowing business. Unfortunately, I also had allergies. There were times when I would be in the fields all day, but then had to come home with my eyes swelled shut because of my allergies. I tried masks, but they were uncomfortable, and not very easy for a kid to keep on his face. A more urban lifestyle and career kept me away from the worst of my allergies until I entered the military. Once again, time "out in the field" brought back my allergies with a vengeance. While serving in a desert environment, we often had to operate in sandstorms and high dust and dirt environments. Often, a shirt or rag wrapped around the face was what we used to protect ourselves. Breathe Healthy is the name of the company that I started. We produce comfortable, wearable respiratory protection that also looks good. We have been in business since 2009, and our sales surpassed 1 million in 2017. We continue to grow and disrupt the "traditional" paper/disposable mask market. What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?After leaving the military, I met someone who had developed a mask that was comfortable, re-usable, and worked very well for allergies and other general purpose uses. The masks had gained a small following among some cancer warriors and people with COPD. COPD is a disease that causes difficulty in breathing and can be helped by the appropriate mask that allows room for oxygen tubes. Chemotherapy weakens the immune system, and sometimes requires masks to be worn for long periods. I decided that this mask was a product that could also really help allergy sufferers as well, and had a great future in the direct to consumer market for all sorts of uses around the home (mold, pet allergies, flu protection, etc.). Research had told me that the global market for mask use was a very large market. Every hardware store and pharmacy in the US sell some sort of breathing mask.. However, none of them had the unique properties of the Breathe Healthy mask. This mask filled a niche between cheap paper masks, and expensive heavy duty respirators. The developer of the mask was in retirement and did not have the desire to bring the product to market. So, in 2009, I purchased it from him for about the cost of a new car. About half of the cost was for inventory. The remainder, or "goodwill", was for the trademark, the associated trade secrets of the mask material, and the rudimentary website. Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.While the basic elements of the mask had been established, there was a lot of improvement needed in the style, fit, and packaging. There were also manufacturing efficiencies to be gained. Adding more variety First, I decided that the mask needed a greater variety of styles that would appeal to a broader array of customer types. We had more custom color fabric created and found a company that could produce a wide array of fabric patterns. For instance, we added camo for hunters, and paw print patterns for animal lovers. Next, we adjusted the size of the masks for kids and adults, using customer feedback. We also added a mask for contractors, which fits more snug and secure. Packaging We then began to work on the packaging. Although most of our product is sold online as direct to consumer, the packaging is still the "first impression" that the customer has when receiving the product. We found a packaging company that could produce a custom sized, custom graphic, sealed (and resealable) package. Prior to this, the masks were all in sealable clear bags, with a printed card inserted in the bag that had product information on it. Not only did the new product bags look better, but they were also more functional. They had safety seals and a clear panel which allowed you to see the product color/style. All this, and we reduce them from two parts to one, all while keeping costs about the same. Manufacturing efficiencies The last major improvement was with our contract manufacturer. The masks were originally made in small batches, partly in a contract shop, and in part at home. Looking to the future, I wanted to have all the assembly process in one place, and this place had to have room to grow with us. For simplicity and cost reduction, I did not want to have any assembly responsibilities at our location. We tried several contract cut/sew manufacturers. Our main requirements were that it be made in the USA, and with high quality. Believe it or not, one of the manufacturers that we tried actually allowed smoking in their building. We were receiving masks that smelled like smoke! Many of our customers use our masks to AVOID second-hand smoke. Another manufacturer we tried also made dancewear for kids. We would sometimes receive masks that had sequins and glimmer inside the packaging! We finally found the perfect partner, and haven't looked back. They also provide jobs for adults with disabilities, so it's a win/win. Describe the process of launching the online store/business.There was an original website already developed, but it was very rudimentary. It didn't even have a built-in credit card processor. The customer would enter their shipping information and their credit card information on an online form. Then, once received by me, the credit card information would have to be copied, and manually entered into a point of purchase store terminal. For every order! The shipping information then had to be manually printed out on to piece of paper, then taped to the package. The packages were run down to the post office every day. I think every order took about 15 minutes to fulfilled. We experimented with a few processors and shopping carts and eventually settled on WooCommerce and PayPal. The original website also needed improvement with product photos. Mannequin heads were used to display each product style, and the photos looked like they were taken in a garage (they were!). They were bald and creepy! Over time, we became much better at displaying the product. Masks, like clothing, don't show well on a flat surface. They need to be worn in order to give a visual of what they really look like. We still hang them on a model, but we photoshop out the faces so that the focus is on the masks The website began to pick up more and more sales organically. Costs were relatively low. We did spend on Google AdWords as well as a consultant that modified the website for optimal SEO. We tried various print ads, but none of them came even close to breakeven. Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?Initially, I was lost. I knew that there was a huge demand globally for masks, but I really didn't know where to start. There are many different types of respiratory protection, and many different applications and environments. I needed to find the markets that were most appropriate for our product. At first, almost all our sales were through our website. We tried all the SEO tricks back then, and they would work but we were constantly chasing the algorithm. Eventually, it became apparent that just building a quality relevant website would produce the best rankings. This was a good thing, because it filtered out all the scammers and rewarded the most relevant search results. We also used Google AdWords, but have since stopped because that platform is not as cost effective anymore. It is more suited to the aggregators, as I call them – large online stores. One of the more valuable endeavors that I took on was to join a local business incubator. It was there that I learned about market focus and targeting. The most important lesson learned was to choose a small market to start out with. Especially as a small, new business – you can't be everything to everyone. You don't have the resources to be in multiple markets at once. You must choose a smaller market and focus on penetrating it. For me, it was pet groomers. We saw through our online orders that there was a demand there. I started going to trade shows and began to onboard distributors for pet grooming suppliers. We were actually chosen as the industry's New Product of the Year in 2011. In 2012, we received the Virginia Business Incubation Association Award, for top incubator client in Virginia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsWyXQxL3zE Incubator Client of the Year Award We began to see interest from other resellers such as catalogs and distributors. Our business soon became about 50/50 between our website and our resellers. Then, Amazon came along and changed everything. We currently do about 70% of our business with Amazon. How are you doing today and what does the future look like?We have been increasing our sales on a yearly basis for almost 10 years now. We surpassed 1 million in sales 2 years ago. It takes daily vigilance to monitor online marketplaces for price erosion. However, with a unique, trademarked product, you dont fall into the "commodity" category, and you can hold your ground. Even with rising costs, we have been able to raise our prices and still be able to keep an 80% gross margin ratio. Our website, which was initially our main sales channel, is now only about 10% of our total business. It continues to give up ground to our other online retail partners, such as HomeDepot.com, Walmart.com, and Amazon.com. Over the past few years, the search engines' algorithms have definitely given favor to the larger retailers. Rather than fighting it, we have just decided to onboard with all of them. Amazon continues to dominate, and we have just onboarded with their Europe division. Our success has been discovered on Amazon in the US, so many cheap copycats have cropped up and have cause our total sales there to level off. Amazon Europe, however, looks like it is presenting us with a whole new opportunity. About 20% of our business continues to be distributors, catalogs, and other resellers. This part of the business has remained steady, and we continue to search for partners. We have had some success with global partners (Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Korea), but it remains difficult due to the abundance of cheap competition from China. Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?Choose employees that are smarter than you are. I once read the quote "surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are", and I never forgot it. It is important to keep your ego in check. Do you want your business to succeed, or are you only interested in being the boss? If it is the latter, please rethink your motivation for what you are doing. Success is a team effort. You may be a good idea person, or a good motivator, but you can't be the best at everything. You need support from all sorts of specialty groups that you can trust and rely upon. Your employees truly are your greatest asset. Never be too confident that you don't seek out help Again, I have to bring up our local business incubator. Nowadays, these are present in almost every mid to large city. Many are associated with a local college or university. They offer low cost, real-world help, usually with volunteers that have lots of experience to share. Additionally, they can offer a space to start up your business or to hold a meeting or collaborate with other aspiring entrepreneurs. Don't try to create a market. It's almost impossible for a startup to do. Instead, find out what is working for a similar product. When it comes to masks, we aren't going to convince anyone to wear one. But we can look at environments where people are already wearing them, and offer a better one. What platform/tools do you use for your business?QuickBooks helps us track all customer accounts, billing, and company performance. (You should still have a good local CPA or bookkeeper). WooCommerce as a shopping cart is great because it is very capable and customizable. Not the best for beginners though. We use The Webmaster Company as technical support that is capable and responsive. For shipping, we like the ease and simplicity of Stamps.com. Generally, USPS for small stuff, UPS for the bigger stuff. Our merchant services provider is PayPal. We use Google G Suite for all things email. What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Save up some money first and don't quit your current job until your new venture can sustain you. Watch your cash flow like a hawk. In the beginning, you will have to do many things on your own in order to save money. Don't let the naysayers bother you: they are probably just jealous anyway. Where can we go to learn more?
Also feel free to drop a comment below! I'll be sure to answer. Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data. Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM [link] [comments]  |
| Lesson learned; Set goals and rewards for employees Posted: 08 Feb 2019 04:07 AM PST Hi guys, just wanted to share with you a few sentences about the importance of goals and rewards. I hired some employees that started off slow. They were making at least 20% less of my product every month causing late deliveries and empty shelves. Learning the job effectively takes about 2 months so I showed them patience and worked with them at first. Then they seemed to slow even more. I could definitely tell that they weren't putting the effort into the work that they should be doing and I had some conversations with them about that. I asked them if there was anything I could do to make their jobs easier and the answers were always either negative or about some minor thing that was pretty easy to fix. In the end I started calling them out when I saw that the production was shamefully low and asking what happened. The answers were always just "I don't know". I talked it over with a friend of mine that owns another business and he told me to set production goals and deadlines for the employees. Furthermore, I should reward them if the goals and deadlines are met. I tried this and HOLY HELL, I've never had such an efficient production! Not only are they meeting every deadline, they're actually doing far more! So the lesson is learned. Set goals, deadlines and rewards for employees. [link] [comments]  |
| Businesses that can be ran from smartphone. Posted: 08 Feb 2019 01:15 PM PST I am a disabled wantrepreneur. I mostly only have access to a smartphone and also I am in a wheelchair so will be mostly using it to run the business. Are there any suggestions that makes a good fit for someone who has limited mobility and Access. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 09:08 AM PST I read every finance book and saved every penny. Invested half my net worth in index funds including maxing out retirement accounts. Live at home but feel like the state im living in as no opportunities for growth (NJ) lone wolf kind of guy cause people i know arent ambitious at all. Not sure what to do as the moment now im trying to buy rentals and get a better job with higher salary. My online store is up and down. I know freedom is making my own business again and busting my ass by taking a chance. Im not sure what to start tho and feeling stuck is wasting my 20s away. Any advice ? 0 [link] [comments]  |
| Nothing Good Comes Easy: A Case Study Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:40 AM PST Matt Damon is known to tell people who ask him advice about acting that they should quit. The reason being, if you're going to succeed in that business you're going to be told "no" many more times than anyone will tell you "yes". You might find more encouragement in trying to start a company, but you're still going to face a lot of rejection, bad news, and unexpected downturns that you'll need to overcome if you're going to succeed. I wanted to give a case study based on my experiences, as a real example is always better than a hypothetical. My name is Sean, and I created the [Toast! gummy](toastgummy.com). Based on the latest clinical science, my gummy helps boost your body's response to alcohol. The idea was born not, as you might guess, because I was a drinker who got hungover a lot. Instead it came about from a major illness, which was initially (as it turns out, erroneously) blamed on alcohol. I wasn't much of a drinker so I started researching how alcohol interacts with your body, and found a number of fascinating recent studies about how that damage (not just long term, but even hangovers) could be prevented with a number of naturally occurring compounds. Enter rejection #1: I asked my doctors about the studies I was reading, and basically got blank stares in response. When I reached out to the authors of those studies, most of them ignored me. If I was going to go from reading clinical studies to some kind of product or business, I was going to have to do it on my own. Instead of just dropping the idea, I decided to double down instead and do some testing of my own. After I got healthy I started a MBA program, so I had a large pool of people who went out regularly. Many of the compounds I'd read about were fairly common supplements, so I started buying them and asked people to try them before they went out. Enter rejection #2: As it turns out, convincing people to take strange pills before they go out drinking is a challenge, even when you know them personally. Even though a lot of people were sketched out and wouldn't try them, I found that the international crowd in my program was much more willing to try what I was offering. With trial and error, I was able to develop a formula that seemed really effective. Problem was, even with people vouching for it, the fact it was pills still scared off people. So I took that rejection, and turned it into inspiration: if people don't want pills, maybe they'll try something in a different format? So I started mixing my formula into liquid and having people try that. Enter rejection #3: While people were more willing to try a shot, it smelled and tasted positively horrifying. I got samples from flavor houses, talked to food scientists, tried a dozen different ways to get the taste down...nothing worked. Then things got worse. Enter rejection #4: My MBA program offered a variety of programs and services for startups that students were working on, and I applied for almost all of them. Funding? Applied for. Summer accelerator? Applied for. Pretty much across the board, I got turned down. I had one advocate in my corner, who led part of the school's accelerator, and she confided that the "powers that be" had basically vetoed supporting my business because of its ties to alcohol. At this point, it would've been really easy to throw in the towel. Costs were building up from buying all the testing materials, and without any funding or support, it was either give up and get an internship, or debt finance the company...and put post-MBA job prospects in peril if the company didn't work. Still, I knew my formula worked, and I knew people would want what I was making if I could make it in a form that wasn't completely horrifying. So, I kept at it. As I entered the second year of my MBA, I gave up for the first time. No matter how many varieties I tried, no drink worked. But rather than give up entirely, I started experimenting with other ways I could make it. Enter lucky break #1: Another supporter of mine at my school was able to get me a free ticket to a conference at which a number of pharma and supplement companies would be present. While I was there, I saw how a number of them were marketing gummy vitamins and other gummy products. And that sparked an idea. When I got home, I bought some jello, some gelatin, and tossed my formula into the mix. Just like that, I went from god awful smelling and tasting drinks, to a gummy that actually tasted pretty decent! And the difference was night and day compared to the pills and drinks I had before. Whereas previously I'd had to convince people to try my formula, everyone loved the gummies. At this point I knew I definitely had something, but I also realized I couldn't make a scalable company mixing my formula into jello in my kitchen, so I started looking into what it would take to do it at scale. Enter rejection #5: To sell a supplement, not only would it have to be made by a FDA registered manufacturer, but those manufacturers required massive minimum orders. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of gummies. I had already been financing the company through credit card debt for the better part of a year, but it would take multiple times what I'd already put in just to order the minimum. Still, it only cost a couple of thousand to run a small R&D trial to prove the concept, so once again I bit the bullet and kept digging. R&D proved successful, and were were able to make a gummy bear that the manufacturer could mass produce. At this point, my MBA program was just about over, but I had a product that people were really liking, and a pathway to bringing it to market. I just needed the funds to do it. Enter rejection #6: Ultimately, I decided to run a crowdfunding campaign. I spent the better of two months preparing, but still was trying to get the campaign ready for graduation. It was a disaster. The entire thing was rushed beyond belief, I had virtually no gummies to show, I hadn't even finished the basic packaging design so I had no demos to show, and while I had a group of backers from my MBA program, it was entirely too self contained and overlapping an audience to work. So, for the second time I quit, and cancelled the campaign when it became apparent it wasn't going to work. At this point, I was totally stuck. I didn't have the funds to bring my product to market, nor could I legally make it myself in order to start slow and build up an customer base. So I started doing more fundraising. I'd met a few angels and VCs in the course of business school, and I met with as many as I could. I sat in on pitches, and gave pitches of my own. But, things were going slowly. Enter lucky break #2: while my crowdfunding campaign hadn't worked out, it had received some positive attention from my friends and family network. Even after I cancelled it, a number expressed interest in the idea and the company, and I was ultimately able to raise an initial seed round that would allow me to make deposits on a first batch of gummies. But I still needed to raise more if I really wanted to be able to launch. Enter rejection #7: I spent most of the summer and early fall fundraising. It was a slog. Lots of conversations that went nowhere, and lots of "keep us updated". I had some backing, but not enough if I wanted to aim for the kind of growth I was aiming for. I had bootstrapped a company with minimal funds once before so I knew exactly how much of a tooth and nail battle that was, and it was one I really wanted to avoid if I could. But I might not have a choice. Enter lucky break #3: One of the biggest parts of raising funds is networking. You never know who can make the right introduction, and in my case, that introduction came from an entirely unexpected source. Throughout my time working on the gummies, I'd had a number of CPG professionals inquire and basically pitch their services in launching the company; my background was in tech, so working with someone with more industry experience was something I had interest in. One firm in particular seemed like a good match, but it was definitely going to require me to raise more funds. As it turned out, that firm had its own VC network, and so an introduction was made. Less than a month later, I had a term sheet. Of course, things are never quite that easy. It took another two months and lots of back and forth with attorneys to go from offer sheet to signed deal. Of course, even now the journey is far from over. We have a great product, strong team, and high quality support, but curveballs still come from unexpected places, and there's still plenty of ups and downs. But we'll keep figuring out how to make things work, because if you've read this whole post, you know there are a lot of times I could've easily quit, but instead steady work (and a little good fortune) has conquered those obstacles. Problems of all shapes and sizes will come up. But building a quality product and a quality company means enduring through those problems. TL; DR: Starting a company requires facing a lot of challenges that can seem insurmountable, but with perseverance and creativity they can be overcome. Nothing good comes easy. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 06:45 AM PST I have seen many people here claim to be introverted but does anyone here consider themselves antisocial or perhaps even a misanthrope? I'm struggling to get a business off the ground, but I find that my --severe introversion, antisocial or misantrhopic nature--whatever you want to call it, is the thing holding me back the most. I'm ready to throw in the towel, but before I do, I wanted to see if anyone with a similar personality has made it work. [link] [comments]  |
| Hi Guys i just lauchened my website! Posted: 08 Feb 2019 08:10 AM PST Greetings lads, i just lauched my website that proposes accessories such as rings and necklaces. I would like you guys to give me a grade for it, evaluate the website what could be good, where can I make it better and how! Even though it's in french i would like you to give me ur insight on it thanks! (Made a google translate in english, i know its scuffed keep in mind that it's a complete project yet thanks again!) https://andrefalcone.com/?fbclid=IwAR1BPNt2aLJA9HN8Mmg4fvCcSG-rK6dITX1okMA8mIpNiborjH4BzehUrxo [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 10:03 AM PST I'm having trouble thinking of a name for the business. Edit: I'm thinking "My City" Property Services is a good option. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 05:20 AM PST So I have a product. I have identified a list of small shops in my town that attract the niche my product is marketed towards. I want to see what I can do about getting the owners of these shops to consider selling my product. Here's the quick run down of my product and how I plan to get the shop owners attention. I would appreciate any feedback or critique on my plan, because honestly this is a shot in the dark for me. I have crafted an essential oil air diffuser spray. I had a designer brand the label, and it looks awesome. I'm making this spray by hand, and using a sticker cutter to cut the label out of vinyl. It still looks pretty legit, but that's the extent of my production. Out of my list of shops, only one has a section on their site to submit a product as a vendor. I plan to go that route for that particular shop, and if I get no response I will actually visit the store and speak with the owner (I'm actually acquainted with her so she knows of me). Besides that, I plan to just email the other shops using the provided contact information via their website. Otherwise, I can either visit the store, or I was thinking of even drafting an official looking letter with my logo offering my product to them. I have a sales pitch in mind and have already thought of ways to market this product to my audience. I really just want my name out there, and want to build connections. I'm not even trying to make profit at this stage. I am willing to give free samples if they want to see how it sells first. They can keep any profit. So I guess my questions are: Is that a feasible plan, with potential for success? What kind of questions should I be prepared to answer? My product has 0 sales. Will this be an issue? What's the most successful way to reach out to these small shop owners to get their attention? Thanks for any help or advice, I really appreciate it. [link] [comments]  |
| How I earned my valuable network Posted: 08 Feb 2019 05:10 AM PST A lot of people run around networking as if its the key to success. I have bad news. The network doesn't come before success. It comes with success. You earn a network just like you earn money. You gain it over time by providing value to people. A network is mutually beneficial. People invest time and resources in people who bring something to the table. People invest energy in people if they can find mutual gain. You help me. I help you. That is a network. It has to be a win win. If you have nothing to bring to the table your network will never grow. You will never get recommended to meet people. People won't come to you to do business with you. People will not go out of their way to help you get ahead unless there is something to gain. They won't put their neck out to recommend you for a job or to a friend unless they know everyone wins. Powerful people will give opportunities to people when there is a chance at mutual gain. When there is a chance to make money. When there is a chance to solve a problem or reduce stress. I spent some time recently thinking about the most valuable people in my network and how I met them. I didn't meet them at networking events. I met them because somebody recommended me to them because they thought I could help them with a problem they were having. There was mutual gain. I could provide some utility. You have to earn your network. If you aren't good at anything or you aren't helping yourself your network will never grow. You have to be a master at something. You have to be able to add value somewhere. A network grows when someone says "I know a guy that you need to talk to about that". Be that person! Be that person that people refer people with certain problems to. Get really good at something. Help powerful people solve a problem they are having. Add value first. Don't build your network - Earn it. [link] [comments]  |
| Want to beat your competition? Just communicate better. Posted: 08 Feb 2019 02:42 PM PST Seriously. You can offer the exact same service as someone else with the same quality or even slightly LESS quality and STILL beat out the competition because you COMMUNICATE with them as if they are human beings. DO NOT underestimate the importance of communication or you will screw yourself. I have one client who I needed to fire as the time spent was not worth the effort. They were extremely sad about it. I have been late on projects, and even have had errors in my work. In my mind, I have no idea why they would even want to stick with me, but the conclusion I've come to is that I communicate with and treat them like a person instead of a "client" or someone that gives me money. This doesn't just translate to my clients. At my day job clients that I end up being involved with are very happy. They just want to know what's going on. They don't want to be surprised, and as long as you are logical and reasonable, then they're good. Obviously this doesn't apply to EVERYONE, but a vast majority. Just remember, that when you're on the phone with someone, you're on the phone with a person, not a business, not just someone that pays you. Treat them like it! Just thought I'd throw out the quick rant. [link] [comments]  |
| Thinking of starting an R&D consulting firm Posted: 08 Feb 2019 01:40 AM PST Some background: I've been a professional software engineer for almost 15 years now. My last job was highly challenging and rewarding in the sense that I worked on problems in many different areas that I hadn't touched before: custom network protocols, operating system internals, reverse engineering, virtualization and hardware emulation (to name a few). Looking into the future, I see an opportunity to replicate past success by starting an R&D consulting firm which would specialize in problems that most software developers find intractable. Something like a SWAT team for software engineering (sorry for the silly analogy). My main hypothesis is that SMB companies rarely have enough resources to pursue "crazy" engineering ideas, that if proven to work, would open new business opportunities to them. Specifically, it would seem imprudent to distract skilled engineers from clearly defined goals of improving core products. Does this sound like a good value proposition? What should I consider before starting verifying this hypothesis? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Starting Outside Sales Monday - Looking for Advice Posted: 08 Feb 2019 10:35 AM PST (Admins: I think this post is allowed, if not please let me know and I will amend or remove it) Hey gang, so I am starting outside sales on Monday and am excited to start, but also looking for tips from those wiser than myself. Background: I have been in sales for 10+ years (half and half retail/commercial), and I have done outside sales before too, and I want to know if I need to approach this any differently. Current: I work for a pump distributor on the west coast just outside SF Bay, which will be my territory. I have been at the company 3 years in April as an inside sales tech, and love the job. I love going to work. I am treated with respect and people are genuinely happy to work here. Plan: I want to aggressively go after customers the last salesperson lost or didn't maintain. I have also used Thomas net.com to find around 65 dead cold leads, untouched by my company as far back as I can see. Weakness: I have never been in a high stakes (for me) sales position like this before. I'm going to be selling thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and I know there are customers I am going to be going after that are currently working with our competitors. Pros: I don't really throw shade on competitors, Its not my personality to do so. But I do believe that I am good at what I do, and I honestly want my customers to like working with me because of my work ethic and capabilities in helping solve problems. I'm rambling. Any help will be appreciated guys. (Typed this on mobile, forgive any weird formattings) (cross post from r/business) [link] [comments]  |
| Where can I learn about need, wants and value creation? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 02:10 PM PST |
| How can I sell an already growing product to an established company who could use it? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 12:55 PM PST I am involved in a start up that now has 7 venture capitalist investors and 2 major partnerships. We're growing but it's slow. How can I get myself in front of the people that make those decisions? [link] [comments]  |
| Need shit to do early-ish in the morning Posted: 08 Feb 2019 08:35 AM PST I've always been a morning person but I'm also not. It's dependent on if I have shit that I HAVE to do in the morning. Meaning if I go 4 days in a row with morning errands that I have to do (car stuff, various types of renewals, flights, etc) then I'll wake up and be a chippy morning person. Not only that but I'll actually be more productive during the day. I'll get some work done, go to the gym, get more work done, and maybe even grab a beer with a friend. It caps with feeling real tired at 10:30PM and sleeping by 11:30-12 which is like perfect. I graduated from college almost a year ago and the school offers all CS classes in the morning so that helped a lot. That being said, I don't need to run errands TOO often. I mean car and other renewals are usually bi-yearly, yearly, or sometimes MAYBE 2 times a year. Flights are common but it depends on the time of year. Furthermore, while work stuff (calls and such) can sometimes require me to wake up early, that's only a handful of times a month. Also, I graduated sooo. I've thought of gyming in the morning but that only worked in college when I could ONLY work out in the morning cause of scheduling conflicts once or twice a week. Now it's not a MUST so I can't get myself to wake up early to workout. I have hobbies like fishing but again, not a NEED. Work can be done whenever so long I have x amount of hours allocated for it. Anyone have my recommendations for either wiring my mind to turn hobbies into needs or just straight up creating more errands to run? [link] [comments]  |
| I’m getting 120k from a buyout, what do I do with it? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 12:15 PM PST Hi guys. I was recently bought out from my salon and I'm getting paid next week through a wire transfer and I'm honestly confused with what I want to do with it. I know forsure I don't want to sit it in the bank for years. I currently don't have a job and my reoccurring bills are 3k a month. In my current savings I have roughly 35k, wife has about 40k. My wife has a decent job and we split some bills. I have over ten years experience in brick and mortar businesses. Owning, operating, and managing salons, trade schools, and a beauty supply store over all these years. I don't want to get into any business that has high reoccurring bills (heavy payroll, high rent, inventory with short life spans, etc). I was thinking of buying property, but every time I do the math, it doesn't equate to the cash flow of operating a business. Equity is great, but its not enough. A friend recently told me to put some money in stocks & startups. I just don't have the liquid to play with my money like that (unless someone has a goldmine they know about). I'm currently on the fence about getting a day job, or jumping back into the entrepreneur saddle and shooting for the stars. Time is ticking and my intention is NOT to use my savings esp my buyout money. I'm sure there's plenty of people on here whom have had a good influx of cash come in, what did y'all do? Do you have any advice? What should I do; get a job, or create one for myself? Any direction would help me as I'm so confused about what I should do.. [link] [comments]  |
| Where can you find potential collaborators? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 12:13 PM PST I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit to ask. I don't frequently roam outside of my regulars. I will be trying a few other subs, but if you have suggestions or if the content is inappropriate, please let me know and I will remove. The question is simple. I'm thinking of entering the startup/tech world after grad school. I have lots of ideas and a particular skillset (science-based, statistics, programming), but I don't know the business aspect of opening a small business or startup. What's a good way to find others that share similar interests to you and may be interested in collaborating on a new project? [link] [comments]  |
| Built an app for my restaurant, how can I incentivize customers to download? Posted: 08 Feb 2019 08:07 AM PST Hello everyone, I work as a Software Engineer and in 4 months my family business will be expanding from a food truck to a full-blown fast casual restaurant. We have decided to go with the more technical backing and have designed a restaurant that will provide customers with self-ordering capabilities both in drive-thru, indoor, at the patio and online ordering while also offering the conventional methods of ordering. Drive-thru will still have the typical drive-thru setup, indoor will also have a cashier etc. With all of this, I have also designed an Angular 7 website that uses what I've learned as my time as a full stack developer. I then converted the website into iOS and Android app and they both offer additional functionalities that the website doesn't like the following:
Since we are opening the restaurant and this is all going out on release day, I was wondering if it would be a bad marketing strategy to make this app be downloaded in order to connect to our restaurant's wifi. Would forcing people to download our app in order to get our Wifi password be considered as a bad marketing ploy? At the end of the day, the App themselves will provide customers with a better experience our restaurant. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Seeking More Recruiting Advice (Startup Expansion) Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:53 AM PST Last time I posted here I got a ton of helpful feedback and now I want to hear other people's thoughts... My name is Nolan Clarke, I'm senior at Evanston Township High School (IL) and I helped found a small business called @ChoreBug. ChoreBug is a community driven startup that connects high school workers to an online platform that allows them to match with members of their community seeking workers to complete odd jobs (e.g. yard work, moving, cleaning, etc.). The business has been very successful in my city (Evanston, IL) and we are looking to expand to communities and high schools across the country. We are currently trying to recruit students to register as workers (pay is $15/hr and people only work when they choose), and affiliates (people who will essentially start a branch of ChoreBug in their city by recruiting workers and advertising to clients [they make money on every worker they sign up and on every job each worker completes]). My question is... how can I get the word out to recruit reliable affiliates? What is a good platform or method (besides reddit)?[link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:36 AM PST So my city's NPR channel is holding a contest to find their next show, a few weeks before they announced it I had started recording a business podcast called The Southern Source where I sit down with local business owners and talk about how they started and ask for what advice they can give. Now I've made it to the public voting round. I've interviewed the founders of a local brewery, yoga studio, recording studio and bistro. What are some other businesses that I could have on? If you want some more info on the podcast or the contest then you can hit the link below. This is also where you can vote once every day of this month (I would really appreciate it if you did, but that's not the point of this post). https://queencitypodquest.strutta.me/gallery?entry_id=1347101 Thanks guys! [link] [comments]  |
| How did you get your first 100 customers? Posted: 07 Feb 2019 11:37 PM PST Many people think entrepreneurship is easy and they take a domain, write some content and call themselves the CEO of XYZ company, many such people without an intention and goal in mind are just diluting the word 'Entrepreneurship.' [link] [comments]  |
| How to look for a Chinese manufacturer Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:12 AM PST I need to use a Chinese manufacturer to make a product... Does anyone have tips for sorting the wheat from the chaff? Any mistakes you made that I should try to avoid? The product is a crayon but will require some customization and so far most manufacturers I have found seem to make a few generic packs of crayons and that's it. Some I suspect are just retailers. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Feb 2019 11:02 AM PST Hello guys! I'm a student graduating in May and struggle to land a decent job. I've always wanted to start my own thing but I decided to enjoy my youth instead. I've done that and I think it might be time to start my own thing as employers seem to not need me. My budget is around 150k USD and I was wondering what you guys would do in my position. I'm single, have no debt and a lot of passion to help others. Even though making bank is not my life goal, I want to be able to have enough to enjoy life and eventually support a family. Thank you in advance! [link] [comments]  |
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