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    Home Unlabelled Marketplace Tuesday! (February 05, 2019) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (February 05, 2019) Entrepreneur

    February 05, 2019

    Marketplace Tuesday! (February 05, 2019) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (February 05, 2019)

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 05:05 AM PST

    Please use this thread to post any Jobs that you're looking to fill (including interns), or services you're looking to render to other members.

    We do this to not overflow the subreddit with personal offerings (such logo design, SEO, etc) so please try to limit the offerings to this weekly thread.

    Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    Why You Shouldn't Quit Your Job To Start A Business

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:01 AM PST

    Sounds crazy right?

    Someone on the internet telling you to NOT quit your job to start a business.

    In this day and age, entrepreneurs are seen to hate 9-5 jobs.

    I guess I'd consider myself apart of that group (who likes 9-5 jobs?)

    But if you're considering quitting your job to start a business, maybe rethink it.

    Realistically, if you have a well paying job working 9-5, there's still a block of time where you can work on various side-hustles/businesses.

    Let's consider the 24 hours you have in your day as someone who works a 9-5 job.

    Sleep 7 hours / day?

    Maybe work around 8 hours / day?

    Lets say leisure, commute and daily meals takes up 4 hours?

    There's 5 hours in your day unaccounted for. 5 hours a day on a side-hustle/business is A TON of time to get things started while you're still in the beginning stages.

    And in my honest opinion, if you can't make a business work while you're working a 9-5, the chances are you probably won't be able to make it work once you've quit.

    I don't want to discourage any aspiring entrepreneurs here, but sadly, it's the harsh truth.

    If you put your head down and actually WORK and your income starts to exceed the income of your 9-5, then quit.

    But I genuinely think it's a dangerous environment to have around the entrepreneurship community.

    Risking your entire lively hood, and for some, even their kids lifestyle. Just because some 22 year old on Instagram quit his job and is telling you to do it too.

    Fuck that.

    submitted by /u/clam_powder
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    Why Automation Matters #4: My earliest lesson in automation

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 05:50 AM PST

    Seven months ago i made a post about Automation (If you're not using automation you're wasting your time and money) and got a fantastic response (And, full disclosure, a few leads too). The most common two queries i received on the thread were either asking for more details on what can be automated or tutorials on basic automation you can do yourself. I'm going to make a few posts regarding both. This post is the fourth in a series where i give you detailed examples of automation solutions implemented for both my clients & my own small businesses.

    Disclosure: I own two small businesses (Soon to be 3!) and also work as a freelance automation developer. Both of my businesses are highly automated and I've helped over 30 clients save more than a combined 100+ hours every day.

    Unlike other posts, this one focuses on a nonprofit meetup instead of a business. I'm trying to show how versatile automation is & can be applied to practically any organization to save time & money

    Previous posts:

    If you're new to the series do check out my previous posts on automation

    About the meetup

    The nonprofit meetup is itself a tech meetup in my hometown. I started out as a volunteer and eventually became one of the core organizers of the meetup. We went through several booms and busts, seeing periods of great activity with hundreds of attendees and periods of low activity with less than ten attendees. Over time we were regularly hosting conferences with hundreds of attendees but little did we know it, complacency had started to kick in.

    The problem

    Over time a large meetup like ours had collected a lot of important data: RSVPs and attendees for each of our events, feedback data from dozens of attendees per event, contact details for our attendees, data on various prizes given out etc. Most of this data was originally stored in a single Google sheets spreadsheet (Eventually migrated to an Airtable base).

    Data about RSVPs and attendees had to be pulled from meetup.com and manually entered into the sheet. But since meetup doesn't provide contact details for attendees, we got that from the feedback forms we handed out at each event which included questions for mobile number and E-Mail ID. After every event we'd need somebody to update the Mobile Number & E-Mail ID for attendees through this feedback form (People in India used to change their mobile numbers much more frequently than other countries). This was time consuming work, and after each event the team (4-8 people) would sit down for up to an hour to sort it out.

    The solution

    This was when i was getting my first automation contracts. I realized that i and the rest of my team were still spending anything from 30 to 60 minutes every Sunday doing a chore that could very well be automated. I wrote a script that automatically pulled data from meetup.com, loaded it into the database. A second script read data from replies to our feedback form and automatically updated contact details for all the attendees.

    The result

    Not every automation solution leads to monetary gain. In this case, it was simply an extra hour that each of us gained back in our lives (And since most of our meetups were on Sundays, that's an extra hour for other Sunday activities!)

    Lesson learned

    Complacency is easy and it can strike any time. Despite being an automation specialist i was happily settled into a ritual of 30 minutes of cyber-chores a week without ever realizing that it took only two scripts to save me a ton of time. If you or your business want to keep growing, you need to figure out how to save as much time as possible from being wasted on unnecessary chores. An extra hour saved not doing data entry is an hour that can be dedicated to learning, marketing or just some good old family time

    Hopefully this gave you an idea of just how powerful automation can be. If you have any questions please feel free to comment, I'll try to answer as fast and as many as possible.

    If you have a pesky cyber-chore in mind or if you'd simply like to work with me on an automation project, please send me a DM and we can discuss business. If you have any ideas about things that can be automated in your business but aren't sure if they can be automated, send me a quick description and we can take it from there.

    submitted by /u/wiredrone
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    Essential tools to start your business in a very affordable way

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 04:45 AM PST

    Notes from Podcast Episode 4. These are the essential tools you can use to start your business cheaply and have all the tools you need to operate right off the bat.

    Step 1: Generate your idea

    Consider using this guide as a resource. You can also take a look at this list of businesses I love and do your market analysis like this.

    Step 2: Name your business and buy your domain.

    Here is my method for searching domains and naming your company.

    Use Ipage or a similar affordable hosting service. Don't check availability on GoDaddy.com because there is a rumor they buy up domains based on searches. Install wordpress on your website in your hosting control panel. I wrote all of my content and then hired someone on Upwork for $100 to build this website. I would recommend spending a little more if possible.

    Visit tends.google.com to analyze traffic and determine what keywords you want to target in your area. You can use this tool to see the relative size of your competitors and also predict slow and busy seasons.

    Step 3: Incorporate your LLC or do business as a sole proprietor.

    If you would like to avoid personal financial risk or liability set up the LLC and elect to be taxed as an S Corp (pass through). I recommend a sole proprietor if not up until the point you are ready to hire employees or your concept is proven. I like to name my LLC something very generic so that if I shift gears or go after another service I can change my "doing business as" name without any admin headache.

    Step 4: Setup your bank account

    Put $500+ in the account or less if you are strapped or more if you want to move quickly. Get a debit card or a credit card or both. Only use this account for business purposes. No meals. No entertainment.

    Step 5: Get a logo and some media

    Hire someone on a freelance site (like Fiverr or UpWork) to create a logo. Tell them you want it very simple (they tend to over do it) and get them to create a flyer and some other media as well.

    Step 6: Get a uniform

    Use a polo you like in your closet or get some apparel at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Get a local embroider to put the logo on your apparel.

    When it comes time to order polos for employees you can use Thet-shirtland.com. Its the best value out there in my opinion.

    Step 7: Get a headshot wearing your apparel

    Do a photo shoot with a local photographer to get some media for your flyers, graphics and website. A studio is great but if you can't afford that give a college student $100 to get something here.

    Step 8: Customize website

    Build all of your pages and personalize your website with your media and logos. The About us page should have a picture of your and your family and should be a very personalized page. Person who looks at it roots for you, knows your story and who you are.

    Customize the rest of your website and model it off a competitors website you love in another city on the other side of the country.

    Step 9: Set up your Google Account

    9A: Gmail. Set up a gmail account. Create a professional email address on your host like this: name@businessdomain.com. Forward this email to Gmail in your host control panel. Go to Gmail and then settings to set up a send mail as function so you can send mail from Gmail using your professional address. Read about email etiquette here. Set it up on your phone and build your signature using the recommendations at that link.

    9B: Set up a Google Voice number in your Google account at voice.google.com. Select your business phone number with a local area code. Forward this to your phone and set up the voicemail, hours and everything else. Be extremely cheerful and professional in the voice message. You can use this to text customers as well and forward to multiple phones. Get the app on your phone as well. Can also be done from your desktop computer.

    9C: Google My Business is critical. Send a postcard to your location or get a PO box to set up the location. This will be the main way customers find you. Build this and nourish it and get reviews early on. Post on here often and answer every review. Services like OneUp let you schedule and auto-repeat posts on GMB.

    9D: Google calendar is amazing for organizing your schedule.

    9E: Google drive is the best way to store everything and stay very organized. Create folders for your different branches and tasks. Go paperless by using this scanner and printer: Brother MFC-L2700. Keep your expense logs/receipts scanned in one folder and your cashflow projections in another. Track your mileage very accurately using Google spreadsheets.

    9F: Google Analytics. Get all the data on traffic to your site by setting up Google analytics and installing the analytics code in your WordPress header. This is incredibly valuable if you set up conversion tracking and use adwords with it.

    9G: Youtube. Make an account for video and record a video of yourself in your polo talking about your business. Include the town name and other keywords you are targeting. This will be big for you SEO. This video we made a long time ago is still on the front page when you Google "Indiana University student storage".

    9F: Google Adwords. Use this to manage your paid search. Do a lot of research here or outsource this.

    Step 10: Quickbooks Online

    Link your bank account to this and track and categorize all of your expenses here. Hire a book keeper if necessary but make sure you take the time to understand this even if you do outsource it.P

    Step 11: Taking payment

    Accept only credit and debit cards off the bat using a third party payment processor like Stripe. Don't take cash ever unless absolutely necessary. Your employees steal it. Its just another task at the end of the day to deposit or count it.

    Step 12: Insurance

    Get liability, auto, workers compensation, disability and unemployment insurance. There may be additional requirements for your industry (like cargo insurance for moving companies). Remember that workers compensation and payroll taxes adds 20% or more to your overall liability on payroll. Consider property and an umbrella policy as well if applicable. You will likely need to go through a local broker if you are just starting out.

    Step 13: Customer Relationship Management software

    Consider using an out of the box software like Jobber to get started. This will help you communicate with customers, invoice and just generally run a very professional ship with little investment. Its easy to learn and very valuable. This gives you the ability to send customers very professional notification text messages when you are on the way to the job as well as invoice emails after the service is complete.

    Step 14: Payroll software

    Consider using a company that handles your payroll but also allows you to onboard your employees without paper. Gusto is a great option. Get I-9s and W2s done on the internet. It is much much easier than running payroll yourself through quickbooks or something similar.

    Step 15: Mobile time tracking software

    Use a time tracking software like T Sheets or others. Tracks the location and time logged for each employee using their mobile phones. They can clock in and clock out as well as add notes and geo location stamps as they work. Its great and it Syncs with Gusto.

    Step 16: Slack

    Slack is better than calling and texting and is a great way to communicate among employees.

    Step 17: Asana

    A great to do list app and collaboration tool for companies. My wife and I even use this to keep track of our obligations within our household. You can assign tasks, track deadlines and assign tasks to others.

    Step 18: Purchasing

    Craigslist is the place to purchase your vehicles and equipment but keep a look out on Facebook marketplace and other specialty sites within your industry. If you are going to buy a van or truck use this checklist.

    Step 19: Mobile office setup

    Make sure you have a secondary screen that runs on usb power for working on the road. I like the ASUS MB168B 15.6″ WXGA 1366×768 USB Portable Monitor.

    Get an adapter that plugs into your car cig lighter and then creates an outlet for plugging in your computer so you can work in your vehicle.

    Airpods are amazing for customer service and just generally working with.

    I love my Autonomous adjustable desk that lets me sit or stand up in my home office.

    Step 20: Compliance

    Make sure to stay very organized with your filing deadlines for all of the administrative work required. Withholding taxes, payroll reporting, workers comp audits, renewals for your permitting etc. Use Google Calendar to mark important dates.

    You will get a ton of mail once you start registering for permission to do business and to run payroll. If you are in college or you rent a place and might move in the near term consider hiring a registered agent to accept your mail and scan it up to you and email it to you as it comes in. These services are very nice.

    You can do all of this in a few days.

    You're ready to operate and to start selling. Get out there and mix it up and learn the service!

    To learn more check out my podcast The Sweaty Startup.

    submitted by /u/sweatystartup
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    Anyone with a net worth over €/£/$1,000,000 - what's your story?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:51 PM PST

    Need a Sales Funnel? I'm Gonna Show You How to Write One Yourself.

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:13 AM PST

    This is going to be a long one, folks. I'm going to give you all the basic principals you'll need to start building your very own sales funnels that actually convert.

    Before You Get Started On the Funnel Itself

    AIDA: Awareness. Interest. Decision. Action.

    All sales funnels in the world are based off this simple acronym.

    Awareness - this is the stage where your prospective customers learn about your existing solutions, whether they are products or services. They may also become aware that there is a problem that needs solving and how they can deal with it.

    Interest - this is when a prospect is actually looking for a way to achieve their goals or solve their problems. This is generally done via Google, and why having great content is so key - it's the main attraction for anyone looking to solve the problems you an solve.

    Prospects in this stage are generally happy to subscribe to an email list and/or follow you on social media.

    Decision - when a prospect makes the decision that they are ready to take advantage of your solution. They're checking out different packages, seeing what else you have to offer, etc., so they can decide on what to finally purchase.

    Action - when your prospect becomes a customer. They've clicked the purchase button, and their money is now in your account.

    There might be additional stages to your funnel, but these 4 are included in every funnel out there. There is actually one final stage that I include in all of my funnels, personally, because it is arguably the most important one.

    Retention - when your customer is totally with you. Keeping customers happy is absolutely key - happy customers turn into repeat customers. They also become advocates for your brand, which is an incredibly powerful marketing force.

    On to the good stuff.

    Step One: Understand Your Target Audience

    That's right, before you get started doing any writing at all, you have a few things to do.

    So the very first step is understanding exactly who you're writing for. You can create the best content in the world, but if it doesn't illicit some kind of emotion in your target audience then it's literally useless.

    There are two main characteristics that you must know about your audience: what their pain points are (what problem are you solving?), and what their goals are.

    Getting to know these two things thoroughly is absolutely crucial to your success. You will be able to customize your funnel to target those points and goals, and your copy will be much better off.

    Step Two: Become Your Target Audience

    This is (in my mind) the most crucial step. There are so many business owners out there that can write very well, and produce great content, but they're not doing it right.

    Don't write content you want to write, write what your audience wants to read.

    In order to do this, you have to be able to put yourself in their position. (I'll be making another post this week with exactly how to go about that).

    To give a short list of ways you can begin to research your audience:

    • What content lead to conversions? This will give you great insight of what your audience needs more education on.

    • Talk to your customers. Ask them why they bought your product/service and why they felt they needed it. You will be able to see patterns in your clientele and find out what content made them convert.

    • What are your competitors doing? You're not the first one in your space (maybe not true, but it's ultra rare), and your competitors have done a ton of market research.

    Step Three: The Headline

    Finally, we get to some writing, and it's the most important piece of it. The very first thing people see on your site is the landing page, and the headline is bolded and centered (or at least it should be).

    Since you've done all your target market research, you understand your audience much, much better, right? Good, because it's time to put it to use.

    If your headline isn't compelling, your visitors are going to bounce. Full stop.

    You have to write a headline that is clear in its nature, but also directly solves the problem your clientele is looking to fix.

    To show you the power of a headline, take a look at this.

    Movexa changed a single word in their copy and their sales went up by just shy of 90%.

    According to the blog: "The hypothesis was that adding the word "supplement" would bring better clarity to the landing page and increase sales. And also because headline is one of the first elements seen on the web page, the conversion experts at Source Patrol were hopeful that a simple headline AB test can have a huge impact on the conversion rate."

    89.87% sounds like a ridiculous improvement to me.

    Step Four: The Copy

    Ah, my pride and joy. This is my favorite part of any sales funnel. We'll save the ultra in-depth stuff for another post, and instead we'll focus on the basics: again, AIDA.

    Awareness - You must grab the consumer's attention starting at the first sentence. The headline is only there to get them to read the first sentence of your copy. Highlight the main benefit of using your solution, and by doing so they move on into the next stage.

    It should also be noted that if they're not into your product in the slightest, this is where they click away, or "bounce." This is totally normal, don't worry about it. Not everyone is going to be convinced.

    Interest - After you manage to grab their attention, generating interest can be tricky. The main way this is done is by what I (and probably many other professional copywriters) call "twisting the knife." Focus on those pain points you researched earlier, and give your consumers a little bit of relief by letting know that your product can help. I'll be going into much more detail on twisting the knife in another post, I promise.

    Desire - Once you've sufficiently twisted the knife and let your prospect breathe a sigh of release, you can begin to build on the "desire" part of the funnel. Make them want your solution - explain exactly how your product solves their issues and helps them achieve their goals.

    Action - If you've built your prospect's desire for your solution, action is almost non-existent (for you). Your prospect becomes your customer, and then we move onto retention, but that's another beast all together.

    A few more things to note:

    Now that you understand (hopefully) the basics of a sales funnel, there are a couple of things to note.

    A funnel can take a long time to construct, and it should. A great sales funnel is going to have a very high conversion rate, and is worth the investment (which is generally either time or money).

    There are some very elaborate funnels. For example, I've been testing and retesting a new type of funnel that I think it going to be a huge game changer. I've been working on it for several years.

    Basic funnels still work, every single day. You can still get a lot of work done with just a basic funnel. They've been working for pretty much ever, and won't stop any time soon.

    Last thing: I said "to be continued" in a few sections. I plan on being around for awhile, and they will definitely be continued.

    submitted by /u/Killer-Copy
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    Advice for beginning entrepreneurs, the do's and don'ts.

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:39 AM PST

    Okay, plain and simple, if you were at the very beginning of your careers, and you could write a singular reddit post to your younger self, what would you tell yourself? What are the most vital concepts that lie at the heart of entrepreneurship?

    submitted by /u/kiripeiju
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    I have an idea, I have a plan, but it’s loosely put together and I need advice from someone familiar with the industry

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 01:22 PM PST

    Hello r/entrepreneur, I'm a 20 year old man living and working in Southern California. Since I can remember, I've had a passion for the ocean; the life in the ocean, ocean sport, sailing, but mostly diving and spearfishing. Being beneath the water is truly my passion, so much so that I've decided I'm going to earn my commercial diving certification at Santa Barbara City College in the Fall 2019 semester. Now when I began this new venture, I originally planned on entering the off-shore diving industry, and working on oil rigs either off the coast of Southern California, or off the Gulf of Mexico. However, I realized that the constrictive hours, and extremely physically tolling work is not something I'd like to do if I have other options. As of late I've been doing some research into boat detailing, and in-water boat cleaning. There are many harbors lining the Southern California coast, enough that I could definitely develop a customer base, even if I started small by just being self-employed and doing in-water cleaning with my scuba gear and some cleaning gear. The commercial diving certification and associates in marine technology would at least go to show I understand how the marine equipment should be handled and how to care for it. All I'd really need is a decent sized van or truck, some simple business cards and the rest of the gear I'd need to clean the boats. This would definitely start small, with just myself, but my vision is eventually to bring a team of divers around with me, doing professional cleaning in half the time it would take just by myself. I understand this idea seems simple, but I believe that something simple yet sustainable is a safer idea especially considering I really have no experience in business management, and I feel there's room to grow as I earn more clientele and money.

    If anyone comes from or works in this industry, I'd love to hear your thoughts, any advice, or even if you think my idea is flat out bad, I'd just love some feedback so I can recalibrate my expectations and hopefully find some fundamentals to learn and build from. This plan is flexible in its execution; I'm not hard set on anything yet, mostly just brainstorming how I can turn a simple in-water boat cleaning service into an actual, profitable business. I plan to at the very least take one step ahead and start doing some freelance in-water cleaning starting this summer, and go from there. Thank you for reading, and any advice you may have to offer.

    submitted by /u/thedogz11
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    Help me with my money

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 01:08 PM PST

    I'm ecstatic, because I've finally reached a small goal of mine to save $1500. I currently work as a server in the restaurant industry, and I'm 3 semesters away from a bachelors degree in Business Management.

    I've wanted to start a business for years.

    Should I use the $1500 to start a small business and gain experience? I know it is not a lot of money, but I figure I could find some avenue that does not require a big investment. Or should I just continue to save?

    submitted by /u/mylawwwwd
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    Never use Squarespace for SEO - My personal experience

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 02:34 PM PST

    Hi all,

    In this post, I would like to share with you some insights about my personal experience with Squarespace. Like many of you here, I run an online business via a small website I created with Squarespace. I am not technically inclined and I don't need any sophisticated functions, so I went with the easy option.

    Recently, I started doing some SEO work on my website and saw very good results in visibility and organic ranking. Traffic spiked and everything looked good for about a week. That lasted until yesterday. SEMrush sent me an alert that my visibility plummeted and I am no longer ranking for three of my core keywords. With a little bit of research, I found out that the culprit was that the sitemap.xml of my website (submitted automatically by Squarespace).

    Long story short, it links to the non-canonical version of the urls, causing the search robots to flag my content as duplicate (I am not entirely sure about that like I said, I am not an expert). The point is, there is something wrong and I can't do anything about it.

    Now since this is not Wordpress, I can't manually edit my sitemap.xml or htaccess files, so I contact customer support, which was initially quite ...supportive. However, after we finished the chat, I received this glorious reply from them (word for word):

    After speaking further with my team about the sitemap errors you encountered, I can confirm that this is due to an issue with the way tools will read the information on the sitemap.xml file of the site on our end. To explain further, this is because the main navigation adds the trailing slash by default when linking to a page on your site. This can appear as a duplicate page on the site, for example:

    • website.com/page and website.com/page/

    As you can see, the URL in the sitemap does not include the forward slash, which is also how it appears in the screenshot provided. However, when accessing the page using the link you your page, the forward slash does appear.

    Our engineers are aware of this issue, and we're working to have a fix in place as soon as possible. Because of the volume of requests we receive, we can't always follow up personally on cases like these when the issue is resolved. Additionally, please keep in mind that we can't guarantee how long it will take to fix issues like these because we like to thoroughly test any solution so it doesn't affect other parts of Squarespace.

    What they're basically saying, is that they fucked up my ranking, ruined my SEO efforts and they will fix this whenever they're inclined. I would highly advise anyone who wants to do a decent SEO effort to stay away from Squarespace. Seems like I'm learning the hard way but it doesn't have to be like that. Also, from what I'm hearing, I'm far from the first one to have such issues.

    TL;DR: Website SEO ruined because of Squarespace fucking up, they are nonchalant about it instead of fixing the issue immediately.

    Sorry for the long post, I hope I helped someone with that. Sorry if not entirely relevant.

    submitted by /u/vita_voom
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    its difficult being a young entrepreneur

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 02:00 PM PST

    Hello, I am 23 and it the progress of opening a food service business within this year in CA. I was wondering where I can try to meet people to partner with or just some advice? I have had a difficult time trying to talk to people as some are older and don't feel like talking to a "kid" and as for my connections most just graduated college (just like me) and are not interested/can't be involved. Ive been looking relentlessly for a partner/someone who can help me and it's been very tough.

    Any suggestions help.

    submitted by /u/tseebers
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    Website

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:39 PM PST

    Any recommendations?

    I know a lot of people recommend using Wix.

    submitted by /u/kahiny
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    How did all of you feel bootstrapping your first business?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:38 PM PST

    I was trying to think of how I felt last night while making dinner when this song popped up on my playlist. I think it sums it up best https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvHYWD29ZNY

    submitted by /u/NumenSD
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    Few Tips for New and Growing Businesses That I Don't See On Here Too Often

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:51 AM PST

    I realized that a lot of the same material gets regurgitated so I wanted to offer a fresh outlook. My business is a bit interesting, not linking it here because it's being redesigned right now and completely butchered, but we do a mixture of business development, growth hacking/creative marketing, and Automation for service industry entrepreneurs looking to buy, scale or prepare to sell their business. Each case is different- some are more marketing focused, others more business, but it's fun and growing. This business is fairly young but I've owned and sold a few in the last few years since discovering this subreddit so here's what's

    ​

    Know who you are, what you do, and who you do it for: You're a house painter who makes custom wallpaper-like paintings for single professional women in their 30s in the Phoenix area. That's it. Start their and expand to other markets. You can do all the different markets at the beginning but once you find that market that pays well, stick to it. Then add another market and so on.

    The most important thing in this entire thread - SALES. If you can't sell your product, don't expect anyone else to. Sales is the redheaded stepchild of this sub and often forgotten. If you're in B2B forget facebook ads, adwords, etc. Learn to sell. Make 100 Cold Calls a day. Put yourself in places that your customers hang out in, and talk to them find their pain points, and show them how you can help. Check out r/sales and read the book (summary) SPIN Selling.

    Get creative- Someone mentioned last week about ubering around to meet people, I've gotten multiple clients that way. Sign up for co-working places of your target market. I've thrown barcrawls, sold tickets, and handed out shirts with my clients logos on them as sponsors as a new channel. Marketing isn't just facebook ads, SEO, etc. you can do marketing millions of different ways.

    Create a new industry - I had a call yesterday with a redditor who after talking for a while realized his business was no different than anyone else's. Why would people go to his store when they have 20 others to choose from. So we went over a few things and basically realized there's more than one way to position your business. You can sell to consumers, you can sell to people as a business in a box, you can sell to stores, etc. Find something that everyone is doing and merge it with another industry to create your own. I have a few case studies we've done that I can link when my site is finished.

    Build Systems, Make more efficient with automation - Everything you do write it down and tweak it. So for onboarding:

    Client signs contract -> contract goes to GDrive -> Client receives welcome email with assistant.to of available times for first meeting -> client chooses 9:30am -> saved in both calendars with reminder email the day before and reminder email for you an hour early to leave ->receives thank you email with what to bring (just an example)

    Goals - Very important so you don't lose sight. Set up one goal you want to accomplish this month, and what you have to do to get there: 1 new client -> 50 calls/day, write everything down and figure out what works best, use CRM whatever.

    Set up an IFTTT so you get an email every morning with your goal to remind you what you have to do to get there.

    ​

    That's all I can think of for now. Make some sales today guys

    ​

    submitted by /u/GSMM17
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    Managing Your Schedule

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:28 PM PST

    Over the past two weeks, I've made a minor alteration to my daily routine that has allowed me to be much more productive.

    9 p.m. - 10 p.m. - Read 10 p.m. - Sleep 5 a.m. - Wake up, exercise 5:30 a.m. - Shower 6 - 7 a.m. - Answer emails, finish schoolwork, read news. 7 - 7:30 a.m. - Get ready for class 7:30 a.m - Head to class.

    This is the first schedule I've been on, in the sense of a sleep schedule, and I honestly can't tell if I like it or not. While I am able to get more done, I have less free time in the evening.

    Is this worth maintaining? I feel less happy ever since I've started this schedule, because I've had a lot less free time to do the things that I want.

    I'm really struggling here, so any advice would be appreciated!

    submitted by /u/foondle
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    Game Devs, Youtubers, Streamers, and Content Creators, this is a great podcast episode for you!

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:19 PM PST

    The guys at Game Dev Unchained spoke with Zac Rich from Press Start Legal about the legal side of the running a business. Tune in here.

    submitted by /u/PressStartLegal
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    Great books on recruitment?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:17 PM PST

    I feel this is such an overlooked theme in business books. Is there any 'go-to' book on the theme? Bonus points for induction, retaining, and training as well, but with special focus on recruitment styles, questions, advertising positions, attracting talent, etc.

    submitted by /u/ChronicTheOne
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    My friend is great at after effects and cinema 4d. He even has a channel with over 4000 subscribers. How can he use his skills to make some cash? Im trying to convince him that he can make money buy im not sure how.

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:29 AM PST

    What chat app would you recommend for website?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:07 PM PST

    Guys hi,

    I am thinking about adding chat service for small travel site.

    About year and half ago i tried zopim and it was ok, but i wonder if now there are better options.

    It's relatively small website, so ideally something not very expensive or free.

    Update: searched previous posts and Tawk . to looks interesting.

    submitted by /u/Bnooc
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    Video # 5 on Sales and Marketing Basics: The Blurring Lines between Sales and Marketing

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:58 AM PST

    Our latest animated video around Sales and Marketing tarted towards business owners and entrepreneurs. Hope you find it of value!

    ​

    - The Blurring Lines between Sales and Marketing

    submitted by /u/maliknyc
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    Writing an E-book

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:45 AM PST

    Hello

    I have something I would really like to write about and turn it into an ebook.

    Has anyone every written an ebook? What programs / software is needed in order to actually write the book? Anything relevant is appreciated

    submitted by /u/businessmatt
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    How do i do market research on a subscription box business idea

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:32 AM PST

    I sort of quit my job one month ago as a lawyer and I'm currently looking to start a subscription (box) business.

    I'm looking to burn as little cash as possible since I'm tight on money at the moment.

    There is basically no competition here in my country (Romania) for this sort of business. At the moment I'm pondering between 3 different ideas for the subscription:

    • A box for pets (or specifically dogs) containing toys, treats etc.
    • A box for girls/women whilst on their period containing goodies like chocolate, snack, tampons, maybe a funny/personal touch note
    • A box containing random useful 3d printed stuff

    Before i jump head first into any of these (like I usually do), I would like some advice on how to research the market for all of these ideas. How do i know if there's a demand for such a thing?

    Could anyone else who has already successfully started and ran a subscription company please share some info about your endeavor?

    Also, if anyone has any ideas for a service subscription (maybe it would be cheaper to start) and won't mind sharing that would be awesome.

    Thank you guys!

    ​

    submitted by /u/nitupaul91
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    How to reach small businesses?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:17 AM PST

    I'm looking to do some work in consulting with small businesses but I am not sure how to find small businesses that want help.

    submitted by /u/GoldCrown_Studio
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    Does anybody know if you can get around Facebook's ridiculous policy?

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:12 AM PST

    My ad keeps getting pulled because it's political.

    I sell greetings cards that feature political puns/jokes/politicians and Facebook will not budge on this.

    It makes ZERO sense since I have had ads approved before featuring the SAME mfing cards.

    Shall I just wait until tomorrow and try again? I know that ad approva/rejection is inconsistent af.

    It's properly pissing me off cus I wanted to get this ad out tonight.

    Bastards.

    This is my page and it's the very first post with all the photos in.

    Like, seriously, if the fuckers would have rejected 3 other ads I did weeks ago (featuring the SAME cards just individually) I could have had my ID verified by Facebook and had this problem sorted before now, but nope, they were approved no problem.

    Fucking honestly. What a joke.

    submitted by /u/Luke_James
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    I have a question for the smma owners!

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:04 AM PST

    What's the best apps to charge clients with and also what's the best app to send the client automated texts with the leads information? Also what are some other apps that would help with being efficient? Thanks!

    submitted by /u/life-boat
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    Someone start this business - Sports Memorabilia Leasing

    Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:59 AM PST

    I recently came to find out that art leasing is a thing. Law firms, accounting firms, hotels, movie & television production companies, interior designers/stagers, casinos, etc. all lease art. Why?

    • Capital conservation

    • Tax savings

    • Try before you buy

    • Easily change pieces

    So I had the thought, why not start a business leasing sports memorabilia to basically the same clients. Especially the "Harvey Spector's" of the world. There's also the sports-themed bars and restaurants that want to have current items, but not hold them forever. Perhaps even the guy with the man cave who wants to impress his friends. Thoughts?

    submitted by /u/photoboothtraining
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