• Breaking News

    Tuesday, April 16, 2019

    Home Unlabelled Marketplace Tuesday! (April 16, 2019) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (April 16, 2019) Entrepreneur

    April 16, 2019

    Marketplace Tuesday! (April 16, 2019) Entrepreneur

    Marketplace Tuesday! (April 16, 2019)

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:10 AM PDT

    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
    [link] [comments]

    $50k/mo selling studded iPhone cases.

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 09:15 AM PDT

    Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.

    Today's interview is with Andrew Moore of Felony Case, a brand that sells iphone cases.

    Some stats:

    • Product: iPhone cases.
    • Revenue/mo: $50,000
    • Started: February 2012
    • Location: Toronto
    • Founders: 1
    • Employees: 1

    Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?

    Hi, I'm Andrew Moore, the founder, and designer at Felony Case, a Toronto based company designing unique iPhone cases. I founded Felony Case in 2012, and since then we've created several flagship iPhone case designs.

    Our most notable designs are our spiked and studded cases, which feature hand screwed-in metal studs. When the stud fad began to fade, we knew we needed to reinvent our designs to stay relevant in a fast-changing environment. We went ultra-high-end with genuine python and stingray leather cases.

    While these saw success with a certain demographic, I realized it's easier to sell higher quantities of more competitively priced cases. Which lead to the creation of our Kaleidoscope Case — a current top-seller.

    Felony Case started as a small shop on Etsy, and has grown to become an internationally recognized fashion iPhone case brand sold in top tier retailers like Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, Indigo, Urban Outfitters, Revolve, Free People as well as across multiple e-commerce channels including two Shopify stores (felonycase.com in USD and felonycase.ca in CAD), Spring and Amazon. Last year we did over half a million dollars in revenue.

    What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

    It's a funny origin story, because I never set out to start an iPhone case company.

    I had just graduated from college and I was working as a driver delivering construction supplies. It gave me a ton of time to listen to podcasts and I was really drawn to tech and startup focused ones. I had an idea for a while to do a wishlist website where people could create and share a list of gifts they wanted. I ended up having the site built, but I didn't know how to get people using the website.

    From there, I decided I wanted to sell a tangible product, something that people can touch, feel, use and form a connection with. Something that serves a purpose and brings value.

    In 2012, I was on Twitter and someone I followed tweeted a photo of this crazy, punk rock looking metal studded iPhone case saying "Where can I get one of these?!" I had another look at the photo and thought it couldn't be that hard to make it myself. The next day I went on eBay, ordered silicone iPhone 4 cases and 100 metal screw in "punk" studs (the kind you usually see on studded belts or leather jackets). I replied to the tweet "Give me a few weeks, I'm going to try and make one".

    The next week I was on vacation in Miami. My friends and I went to a bar and ended up talking to a girl with a multicolored mohawk, bullet shell belt, ripped fishnets and huge platform boots - a total punk rocker. She introduced herself saying "I'm Melanie but my friends call me Felony". That word stuck with me and ended up becoming the name of the brand.

    When I got home the cases and studs I ordered were waiting for me. My roommate at the time designed leather goods, and had a hole punch tool that's used to punch the belt holes. I used it to punch the holes in the silicone case, and then screwed in the studs by hand.

    Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.

    I showed my friends and family some of the first cases I made and they really liked them. Some friends placed orders from me so I went back to eBay to buy more cases and studs, this time in more colours. Once I made the first batch of cases for my friends I started getting orders from friends of friends. The cases were so eye-catching they were marketing themselves.

    I had a note in my phone of people's names who ordered cases and which colours they wanted - at the time I was offering black or white cases with gold, silver, or gunmetal studs. When I had the case made I'd arrange with the buyer to pick it up from my house. Unfortunately, the first batch I made had some issues - the studs were unscrewing easily which I fixed by adding a dab of Loctite to each of the threads.

    I realized I didn't want to have to arrange meetups every time I made a sale so I started with an Etsy site. It was very barebones with product photos I took myself on my iPhone camera. The Etsy shop grew and eventually I was shipping my handmade studded cases all over the world. I decided we needed a custom online shop of our own so we could be in complete control of our branding and creative, so I started a store on Shopify while still keeping the Etsy shop running.

    Our first big break into retail was bigger than I ever could have imagined and it happened because of a lucky encounter. My friend who had one of the studded cases was sitting front row at a Toronto Fashion Week event beside the Vice President of Holt Renfrew. She caught a glimpse of the studs on his case and said "tell me more about this case". He went on to explain it was his friend from Toronto who makes them and she asked to set up a meeting immediately.

    The following week I was in the Vice President of Holt Renfrew's office with all of their accessory buyers and a table full of cases I made by hand. The buyers picked through the colours and put aside their favourites - they placed an order for 200 cases. I was on my couch for the next 2 weeks straight making cases by hand for Holt Renfrew (thankfully they gave me a 30-day delivery timeframe).

    After hand-making that order, I decided I needed a better method to punch the holes in the cases because I was starting to develop serious hand cramps from punching the holes and screwing in so many studs.

    Luckily, a friend of mine had a tool and die shop, and he was able to make me a jig on a press that punched all 26 holes in one shot. This was a lifesaver for me at the time — I crunched some numbers and calculated that saved me 16 minutes making each case.

    Around the same time, I received an email from Apple's head of retail requesting samples saying "there's an opportunity for Felony Case in Apple retail stores"… Holy shit.

    I put together a package of perfect samples, making sure all the holes were punched perfectly straight and none of the studs were crooked. I shipped the samples out to Apple and waited to hear back from them. He came back to me in a couple of weeks saying the cases were a huge hit when they arrived at their office, but unfortunately, they couldn't sell them because they contained metal which was against Apple's policy, as it could interfere with functions in the iPhone.

    So began the search to find a factory that could replicate the studded design of my case but made fully out of plastic. I found some factories on Alibaba that said they were capable of this and booked a flight to China to visit them a couple of weeks later.

    I wanted a prototype in hand to bring to the factories so I could show them exactly what I needed. I had a 3D designer mock up what the case design could look like if it's made fully out of plastic (polycarbonate) and this is what we came up with:

    I then had that 3D printed so I could bring a physical sample to show engineers at the factories. This gives them a better feel and visual representation of what I'm looking for:

    I needed this to be a two-part case so we could do the body of the case with a matte or gloss coating finish but have the studs with a metallic (Gold, Silver, Rose Gold) finish.

    With the prototype in-hand, I was off to China for the first time.

    I had meetings set up with four potential partners that I found through Alibaba. I thought they were all factories, it turns out two of them were actually only trading companies, which means they buy and sell products that other factories make and act as the middleman, but don't actually do any manufacturing themselves. I knew I wanted to work directly with a factory, and ended up choosing one I visited.

    I decided to proceed with production with this manufacturing partner based on a few factors; They seemed the most capable and willing to do what I needed, they had good communication, they had samples of other cases they'd made that were good quality, they were willing to do a lower minimum order quantity to start, and they had competitive pricing.

    On my last meeting with them, I paid a deposit to begin the engineering work to design the Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the case and prepare materials for tooling. The remainder of the payment would be sent upon completion of the production, prior to shipping.

    These are screenshots I received from the engineer's initial designs - I didn't have a CAD program on my computer at the time so I had to rely on their screenshots for the design and their intel to ensure the case would actually fit the iPhone 5 correctly:

    After I signed off on the CAD drawings they began tooling. A few weeks later a sample was ready for me to review, they express shipped it to me and… it was horrible.

    The studs were different shapes — some were sharp, others were dull; there was awkward spaces around the studs, and the two pieces of the case didn't fit together to feel like a one-piece case. We went back and forth a lot on shape, fit, colour and how the two pieces were fused together.

    We eventually dialed everything in and I placed an order for 8 different colours, 1000pcs of each. White Case with Gold, Silver, Rose Gold, and Gunmetal studs, and Matte Black Case with Gold, Silver, Rose Gold, and Gunmetal studs - 8000pcs total.

    I've been to China twice since my first trip, mainly to source new suppliers. Looking back on it now, I'd definitely recommend going to a trade show (sourcing fair) in China or Hong Kong (or locally in your country if there are any). Some good ones to look into are Global Sources, HKTDC, and the Canton Fair. I recommend planning to spend 2-3 days at the fair and then giving yourself time to visit with the factories/producers you meet there, allowing you to see their factories and production capabilities.

    Now I have a roster of about five factories we work with on a regular basis. Some are better for printed cases, others specialize in doing tooling and plastic injection, others are great at doing metallic coatings. We have a few different factories we use for packaging as well. Although it can make it a lot easier to only work with one, don't feel like you have to stick with one factory for everything.

    Tip: The factories you're working with for your product will likely have a good source for packaging. Ask for photos of current packaging other customers of theirs use for the product, this can give you ideas of packaging style and design and it can also maybe give you a sneak peek at which other brands your factory is producing for. Usually, the factory who is producing your product will be able to do the pack-out of your product also, get them to do that before shipping to you so when your product arrives it is already packaged, stickered, and ready to sell.

    Describe the process of launching the business.

    As I mentioned previously I initially launched by selling locally to friends and family with supplies I ordered off of eBay and a free shop on Etsy.

    I did the product photography myself and traded a case to my friend who designed the logo. I've kept the whole operation super lean right from the beginning. I think it was beneficial for me in the beginning to not have had a full-fledged business plan when I started out, I would have definitely overthought aspects of the business that didn't need as much attention in the beginning.

    One big takeaway I can tell other entrepreneurs looking to start a company is to just start. The longer you sit around and mull over 'what could happen', the longer you aren't out there getting feedback and selling your product.

    I remember my first big spend was on the domain name. I was originally using felony-case.com because the domain felonycase.com was listed on GoDaddy as a premium domain (which makes sense because of the law connotation). I think it cost $1400 which was huge for me at the time but I'm really happy I did it. I've since bought most other domain names containing "felonycase", I figure if the case business ever goes belly up I can sell the domains to a law firm.

    I did need a loan once for a large production run for a commercial customer who did a custom case colour way as part of a marketing initiative. I was able to get this loan from a family member and I paid them back as soon as the customer payed me, I hate being in debt to people - especially if its family.

    Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

    A large part of our initial customer base came from referrals through friends and family and Instagram influencer marketing (this was before 'influencer marketing' was as prominent as it is today).

    The spiked cases had marketing built into them because they were so eye-catching. People who had a case told me they were always be stopped in public by people asking where they can buy it. That organic growth was huge for us right out of the gate.

    Organic growth is crucial when you don't have a ton of marketing dollars to spend. Paid advertising is a slippery slope to start out on. I'd definitely recommend having organic traction before dumping money into Facebook, Instagram or Google ads.

    It also helped that people were just starting to break out as 'models' and 'influencers' on Instagram. I put a lot of time into reaching out to influencers in those early days offering to send them cases to use. A key part of my approach was not asking for anything in return. Thankfully cases aren't overly expensive to manufacture or ship and I had a lot of product in storage.

    I was able to send out a lot of cases to influencers and we received a lot of content for our own Instagram which we used by reposting photos from people who tagged @felonycase. Some notable celebrities who've had our cases are Hailey Bieber, Devin Brugman, and Tash Oakley among others. We were also lucky to be featured national news and holiday gift guides (which usually happened organically by someone from the media outlet reaching out to me directly).

    I also worked on a collaboration iPhone case with The Weeknd that put our cases into the hands of his fans. I reached out to his Creative Director with mockups of designs we could do and he got back to me to set up a meeting. A month later our collaboration XO cases were available through The Weeknd's web shop and at his tour stops. Don't hesitate to reach out to people with pitches. You never know what could happen. I've also reached out and designed cases with Deadmau5, Travis Scott, Drake, Jazz Cartier, and Theophilus London – while none of these collaborations made it into production, it was a great learning experience to see how their teams work.

    I would also recommend having multiple ecommerce channels. We currently sell through our two Shopify sites (felonycase.com and felonycase.ca), an Etsy shop, and Amazon. I wanted to get our products in front of as many people as possible — we needed to be where the searches are happening. Amazon has been a huge growth channel for us since we started selling through Amazon FBA two years ago.

    Having your product stored in and shipped from Amazon warehouses through their Fulfilled By Amazon service (FBA) gives your listings the 'Prime' badge. Having your products FBA also gives your listings a big bump up in search results; they favour listings that are FBA/Prime. It's hard to tell if purchases made through Amazon are from customers who originally found us through our websites or social channels then searched Amazon to get the free Prime shipping or if these are new customers who found us via Amazon searches.

    Our cases don't currently rank very high in generic 'iPhone case' search results on Amazon or Google as there's a ton of competition at lower prices but I think it's important to have a presence on Amazon regardless. Google SEO is also a constant that I'm always working on improving, but it's a tough nut to crack.

    We've been able to partner and grow with some incredible retailers worldwide which makes up a large percentage of our overall revenue. I consider myself more of a creative than a salesperson as sales don't come as naturally for me. I've managed to put together a sales tactic that seems to work okay but it is by no means polished or perfect. I have all of our products in a Brandboom presentation, often referred to by retail buyers as 'line sheets'.

    It shows all of our styles, descriptions, retail and wholesale pricing along with photos and video. I send this link to buyers and they can get an idea of our brand and products through the presentation. Buyers can also place orders directly in our Brandboom presentation. It's a great service but it can be costly if you're just starting out.

    Something similar I recommend doing is having an order form in an Excel file along with a .pdf presentation that you can send to buyers. This mimics what Brandboom does to a certain degree while avoiding the monthly fee.

    Finding retailers who are a good fit to reach out to can be hard, I often start with stockist lists on competitor's websites. With smaller boutiques you can usually reach the person in charge of buying by emailing their general email address. For bigger retailers and department stores you have to get a little more creative. I often start at LinkedIn and search for "'store name' buyer" but some of these stores have hundreds of buyers so you need to find out which buyer is in charge of buying for your category. You can often do this by searching "'store name' 'tech accessories' buyer" - insert your category where I have 'tech accessories'.

    Another tactic that I was actually surprised that it worked was sending a sample package directly to head office with 'Attn 'category' buyer' on the shipping label. This worked with getting Felony Case into Urban Outfitters, I was surprised to get an email from their iPhone case buyer a couple weeks after I sent the sample package to their head office.

    How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

    By keeping business operations lean we've been profitable since the start. I'm a solo founder and still work as the only employee for the most part.

    I've outsourced our shipping for online orders to a third-party fulfillment partner. They pick up, store, pick, pack, and ship all of our online orders from Shopify and Etsy. I have people who come in and help pack orders for retailers and shipments to Amazon FBA warehouses. I've been fortunate to have a great crew of interns over the years who have helped with design, marketing and customer service.

    I've also hired people via Upwork including a virtual assistant from the Philippines who helped with customer service and influencer marketing, and an Amazon listings expert from India who helps upload listings onto Amazon. I've tried outsourcing advertising to 'specialists' but no one has been able to turn advertising profitable for us yet — feel free to get in touch with me if you can.

    Currently 40% of sales come from selling to retailers. We've been lucky to have incredible retail partners like Nordstrom, Indigo, Urban Outfitters, Free People, Holt Renfrew. The rest is split by our Shopify shops doing 30%, Amazon 25% and Etsy 5%.

    I'm always designing and prototyping new case designs. It's an especially exciting time right now, as we're still fresh off the release of the iPhone XR and iPhone XS Max, meaning it's a great time to introduce new styles.

    I'm working on some interesting concepts that will be available in the coming months. Follow us on Instagram @felonycase and check out our stories to see what I'm working on prototyping right now. It feels good to be back in the studio focusing on design as opposed to putting all of my energy and effort into sales/marketing.

    To me, it feels like I'm getting back to the roots and where it all started — working hands on developing new products. We're using state of the art rapid prototyping like 3D printers, CNC and laser cutters to come up with some really unique new designs. Not all of them will go into production because they're a bit "out there", but it's been really fun experimenting.

    Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

    There are a lot of factors at play when selling direct to customers (DTC) or selling to retailers. You have to have the right product fit, at the right time, at the right price.

    Selling to retailers it can be tricky. You have to send them a great sales email or phone call when they have a need in their stores for your product. Buyers have budgets at different times throughout the year, so you need to ensure you're getting into their inbox when they have budget to spend or before they do so they can keep your product in mind when they do have the budget. Holiday is the busiest time of year for retailers so you need to be emailing them in July or August to be considered for their back to school and holiday season.

    I've also learned there are a lot of people who think they can help you grow. Whether it be marketers, advertisers, salespeople, people trying to sell you apps or add-ons to use, etc. Unfortunately most I've worked with haven't been able to back up their claims. I get pitched all the time by advertising and sales agencies who claim to be the best, but through working with numerous agencies etc. I've yet to find anyone who really moved the needle for us.

    A lot of starting your own business is about trying different things out, just make sure you keep the ball in your court when you're testing. For example, don't give up any part of your business or agree to any crazy sales structures until they've backed up their claims and that they're a good working fit with you and your business. Know when to say "no" and don't have any hesitation in saying it. Setting these partnerships up takes a lot of time and energy, could that time be better utilized in other ways to grow your business?

    When looking for a production partner or factory to work with be as clear as possible when discussing your product with them. Your best bet is to already have a physical sample made to the exact quality and specs that you'd like the final production run to be. If you can't get a physical sample made, have a digital mockup with sizing, Pantone colours, and all other relevant specs. I've learned to always have factories send photos of products prior to shipping so I can diagnose any issues before they're shipped. Sometimes factories will agree to refund the sample fee with the mass production order, so be sure to ask about that too!

    Another thing I've found incredibly beneficial is connecting with other entrepreneurs, even if they're in different categories or sell different products. Chances are you'll have some of the same pain points and they could have advice from their own journey. Go to meetups in your city, join Facebook groups (Shopify Entrepreneurs are some good ones), or even reach out directly.

    What platform/tools do you use for your business?

    3PL or Fulfillment Partners: As soon as you're spending more time packing orders and standing in line at the post office than you should be, definitely outsource your shipping to a Third Party Logistics (3PL) or fulfillment partner. Search for one in your area and see if they do pickups directly from you, this will save you having to spend money to ship your products to them. Some other beneficial features of fulfillment partners are better shipping rates that you may not have access to with the volume you alone are shipping. If you're shipping internationally from Canada you know shipping with tracking to the US is expensive. Look up a service like Chit Chats and see if the fulfillment partner you're working with can offer something similar. Another benefit to working with a fulfillment partner is they may have multiple fulfillment warehouses. This means they can store your products in more than one location and they'll ship out orders from the warehouse closest to the customer to save on shipping rates and shipments will get to your customers faster. Make sure you shop around and price compare with different fulfillment companies to get the best rate and service. A lot of these companies have minimum number of orders per month you'll need to hit. Don't get frustrated if the first few won't work with you because of your current order volume. There are a lot of smaller fulfillment companies out there who are willing to work with smaller brands and grow with you.

    Upwork to find freelancers. I've found great designers and virtual assistants through Upwork. I also work with an Amazon listing expert who adds all of our products to the various Amazon marketplaces for me.

    Instagram to find designers and content creators to work with.

    Consistent Cart for abandoned cart recovery is a no-brainer. They recovered over $8k in abandoned carts for us last year. You only pay based on what is recovered.

    Product Reviews with the Product Reviews Addon. Shopify's native 'Product Reviews' app doesn't automatically send emails asking for reviews which is why you need the 3rd party add-on. Start this right away even if you don't think the amount of sales you're getting justifies it. After you've set it up, this just runs in the background and helps you get product reviews which will hopefully lead to more people purchasing your product down the road based on great reviews you receive.

    Product Upsell which helps increase average cart value. I have it set up so when a customer adds an iPhone case to their cart they get a pop-up asking if they'd like to add a screen protector too.

    What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

    Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss - even if there's no chance in hell of actually working 4 hours each week as an entrepreneur, this book has a lot of great insights into optimizing tasks and workflow as well as great tips on outsourcing

    Shopify Masters podcast (I'm on this episode: Before You Take a Trip To China Looking for a Manufacturer…)

    The Amazing Seller podcast

    Hypebeast - Business of Hype podcast

    How I Built This podcast

    The Tim Ferriss Show

    Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

    Don't be afraid to start! Don't overthink it, get a product out into the world and start your journey.

    Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

    I'm always looking for talented, up-and-coming product and graphic designers as well as photographers and content creators.

    If you're a PPC master and can get us running +ROI ads, hit me up.

    Where can we go to learn more?

    If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!

    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

    submitted by /u/youngrichntasteless
    [link] [comments]

    Successful entrepreneurs and people who've managed to form a routine that helps you achieve your goals, what do you do when you notice yourself being lazy, how do you get back on track?

    Posted: 15 Apr 2019 09:23 PM PDT

    So Ive got the makings of a good routine, I can plan my time well and my anxiety has dropped loads because I plan for things now, I can actually get work done without that nagging feeling that I've forgot something.

    That being said there will be days where I miss a few things from my routine, skip a gym day here, dont adhere to my diet, put off work until the next day. What usually happens from this is it can snowball into a couple days of not doing anything.

    If this happens on a Monday it feels like Ive wasted the whole week as I started off on a bad foot and if I'm not diligent that feeling will persist the whole week and makes it harder for me to get stuff done as it's messed with my routine (I know this is false it's just my mindset and I'm working on it).

    The way I'm approaching it now is that if it happens I must forgive myself for being lazy and go from where I am. If Monday was a bust Tuesday is "reset day".

    On reset day I clean the house, plan my meals out for two weeks, go over my gym plan, work on what's absolutely critical for my business then plan to follow my routine normally from the next day on.

    Rather then feel like Monday was a bust and let it ruin my whole week, I take control on Tuesday and put the train back on the track so to speak.

    I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this kind of laziness and how they combat it.

    I know the easiest way would be to just not be lazy and I'm working towards that, but I also know I'm human and some days I will fail, it's what I do after those failures that matter.

    submitted by /u/lestralen
    [link] [comments]

    Business Dream- realize it might not be as hard as I thought. Anyone have experience in this kind of business? Advice? Potential problems I haven't thought of?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:32 PM PDT

    Hi guys,

    So I have had this fun business idea, but I have always thought it was too fun to actually be viable, but yesterday I scribbled down a business plan, did some price checking on some stuff, and realized that (other than insurance, I am totally lost there) I could start this business with $3k, and eventually invest into more equipment as I see the need for it

    ​

    So essentially I would be renting out 'glamping' equipment for camping my immediate area. I fucking hate the term glamping, but I love camping and I live in a very beautiful, touristy area that has been featured in Sunset Magazine a ton of times for their tourism, wineries, camping and hiking. We have a MASSIVE options for camping right here in my area.

    So I just buy to begin with- 3 canvas 1-3 person tepees, 3 fold-able bed frames, 3 fold-able mattresses, three sets of bedcloths, three pinterestey rugs, 3 night stands, 3 cute little lanterns and a new little boho looking ottoman poofs.

    Rent this equipment out to people, check in their camping reservation before they get there, set up their shit so it looks all Instagram worthy when they get there.

    Eventually have bigger and better canvas tents (like those big Bell Tents), rent out generators, movie projectors, a whole kitchen set up, those big relaxation station floating islands, all sorts of cool shit.

    submitted by /u/titlewhore
    [link] [comments]

    Is it best to get an LLC before doing any type of service for people?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 08:33 AM PDT

    So I have a service based business idea, mainly revolving around trying to do a Children's Party Entertainment Business.

    ​

    Just kind of curious about how many people here have started doing business before getting themselves separated from their business idea (LLC, Corporation, etc).

    ​

    If yes, then what is the best and easiest way to go about doing this? Is using a service like IncFile a good option or is the only real way to do it is to do it all yourself?

    ​

    If no, then did you feel like you were at a disadvantage to someone else who had established business already? I heard that you don't have to report or become an official entity in the US until you clear $500 for a given calendar/tax year. Is this correct?

    ​

    The reason I ask this is because, I am trying to find a low investment opportunity ($1000 or less) and think I might have a really good niche idea that I would thoroughly enjoy as a side business - however, if I have to get a business license, insurance, etc right out of the gate then it doesn't leave much room for actual investing at my current target investment.

    ​

    I mainly want this to just be a side business to just help supplement my main work income and give me something productive and fun to do in the evenings and weekends, maybe eventually growing out to more than that, but mainly something to just learn some of the basics of business.

    ​

    Since it appears LLC's have about a $300 formation fee + some taxes every year. Insurance would be around $300-500 a month, then that would leave very minimal amounts for investing, and if the business isn't as completely viable as I hope, then I will be out that money anyways - I can at least sell the product to make some money back on it, but otherwise will be out a substantial loss.

    ​

    ---

    ​

    I know of plenty of people who "back in the day" would for example cut grass for people, and now today have a great actual commercial business with employees, etc. But they never started out forming a business (LLC, corp, etc), or even had any type insurance to start, alot of them just started doing it as a side biz and it grew from there, which is awesome and inspiring. But I know those times are more or less gone it seems, or at least people don't seem to talk about it as much if they do actually do that.

    ​

    So just looking for some insight on the topic really. I mean I guess you just take on more risk if you don't have an actual business identity yet - but just curious about how many people actually form up and get insurance and things before they ever even get one customer vs. how many companies have actually begun because they just had the passion and drive to do it and got the customers and grew and got the proper licenses, insurance, etc as they begun to establish themselves.

    submitted by /u/Mastemine
    [link] [comments]

    Add These 3 Things to your Landing Page and I Guarantee Higher Conversion Rates.

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:24 AM PDT

    Strong customer service will increase your landing page conversion rate, guaranteed.

    How do you show strong customer service on a landing page?

    Here are 3 easy solutions you can implement TODAY:

    1 - Have a phone number clearly displayed, with a capable rep ready to answer phone calls. Protip: Use CallRail to track and record calls.

    2 - Implement a chat function like Intercom on your landing page with a rep available to answer questions during biz hours. These are phenomenal for engaging and converting those visitors on the fence about your offer.

    3 - Write up a wicked FAQ section! (Sales people, this is your time to shine). Marketers, consult with your sales team about common objections, questions and pain points from customers. Use this FAQ section to your advantage by qualifying visitors and increasing their trust by telling them exactly what they need to hear! At the end of the day, its all about making your brand accessible!

    I read recently that the best marketing strategy is to "care", and these items above simply show that you care :) If you aren't willing to invest into customer service or a basic customer service rep, these items may be a bit more difficult to achieve, but in my opinion they are necessary!

    Can you think of any other trust building factors that are a must have for your landing page?

    submitted by /u/scatteR634
    [link] [comments]

    The best talks on the topic of Startups & Entrepreneurship

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 06:34 AM PDT

    I'm working on a tool that assembles a daily playlist of the best talks for entrepreneurs to listen to (while at work, working out, commuting etc.). Would love to get feedback and talk suggestions from the Reddit community.

    submitted by /u/krimjibly
    [link] [comments]

    Cleaning company: the prices are getting cheaper and cheaper.

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:06 PM PDT

    My dad used to own a cleaning company a couple of years ago and he has been making $12,000 a month. He even once made $20,000 a month, but since he passed away then that business crumbled. After he passed, I've been left with wanting to grow that business again to provide for my family. I've been selling and hustling to market the business and I've been having interests. The only problem is that people are asking way too low for the service. Even with additional services, they are still asking too low. I live in Utah so I am not sure if it's the area I'm in also? Or if the cleaning industry is just way too cheap?

    Any advice would be helpful!!!

    submitted by /u/IAmAGodz
    [link] [comments]

    Director or owner: Making a leap?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:25 PM PDT

    You hear something like this all the time. I know, I've searched and read as much as I can on the topic.

    So some background. I work in IT in the UK. Outsourced managed services to be precise. I started as an engineer changing passwords and learning the ropes. I moved through that realm to being a senior engineer planning and carrying out large IT projects and support.

    I was then asked if I'd like to try my hand at commercial and account management. A 'rarity' I keep getting told. Someone with a technical background who can sit in front of customers and discuss IT solutions and scope/sell the best solution to them. I now head up the commercial team in a small MSP.

    I'm at a crossroads. I've got an opportunity to become a director at the company I work for, but not a shareholder and that's something that won't happen. At the same time, and very counterintuitive to my role, a few local businesses I'm friendly with have asked me to support their business. Not the company I work for, but me from commercial to technical support. Not enough to pay the bills, but a start to something I've always dreamed of and wanted to do which is run and grow my own company.

    I have a mortgage and family and all that jazz, and I've worked out I'd probably be able to live on about £1500 a month, but I've no idea what the best way to do this is. Do I take a full on leap of faith and hope I make it work? Do I get a part time job and run the business part time? I've even toyed with moving to an internal IT job so I can freely grow my business on the side without any conflict of interest.

    Thoughts? Help? Advice? Books I can read? Everything welcome.

    tl;dr Can be a director for someone else's company with no equity or build my own business with a couple of clients that won't pay all the bills but it's a start.

    submitted by /u/Sam3773
    [link] [comments]

    How to Stay Fit As An Entrepreneur

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 02:09 AM PDT

    As entrepreneurs and business owners, we have a limited number of hours in the day to fit in everything we need to get done for our businesses and then to add in the extra hours spent in the gym and cooking healthy meals can make it difficult to stay in tip-top shape.

    But the catch is, for your business to excel you need to be at your best.

    And let's face it, you can't be at your best when you're an overweight, tired, lazy lump.

    Yesterday I wrote about the reasons why you should be staying on top of your fitness and health as an entrepreneur, so I won't go over those – plus we all know the benefits of being a healthy human being anyway. If you're not too sure, then click here to read my post on why you should be healthier and fitter.

    Let's dig into how you can make it easier to become a high flying, healthier entrepreneur…

    1. Have a Plan

    I know, I know, it's been said over and over for almost everything you need to do in life. You need a plan for your business, a plan for your social media, a plan for your marketing, a plan for managing your life and a plan for your breathing (joke, obviously).

    But it's true.

    You need a plan, so you know what the hell you're going to do to get from where you are now to where you want to be. At the end of the day, a plan is a blueprint – without the blueprint, you're probably going to get lost and give up.

    You wouldn't run your business without some kind of blueprint guiding you so your health and fitness shouldn't be any different.

    2. Think Small

    Unlike your business empire, you don't have to think big with your health and fitness to get great results.

    In fact, doing so little as 30 mins of exercise 4 times a week can provide substantial results like losing weight, becoming more focused, more disciplined, creative and boost your memory. That's 120 minutes, or just 2 hours, across 7 days.

    How's that for a return on investment huh?

    The trick is to aim for quality over quantity.

    You could spend hours and hours in the gym but if you spend most of your time texting on your phone then you're just wasting time.

    Instead, aim for some intensity for the 30 minutes you do spend working out. Use things like circuits (multiple exercises in a row) and supersets (2 exercises back to back) to the rest time where you would normally just stand around doing nothing and get extra work done in the same amount of time.

    If you're more of a runner/cycler/etc then instead of doing a slower pace for 45-60mins, crank up the speed you perform at and do the same amount of distance/work in less time. Follow the ever-touted HIIT (high-intensity interval training) protocols to save time.

    3. Limit Your Decisions

    If you've already got yourself a plan, then your decisions will already be narrowed down anyway but there are things you can do to limit your decisions even further…

    Food – invest in a company that prepares and delivers healthy meals to your door every day (or every other day) so you don't have to spend the time preparing them yourself. They can set the plan to your own nutrition needs and are a great way to ensure you can eat great tasting meals meaning you're less likely to cheat.

    Workouts – Download a program to follow or hire a coach. You hire a coach to help your business so why wouldn't you do the same for your health and fitness? When you hire a coach, they'll create a program specifically designed for you and your lifestyle meaning you're more likely to follow it. Plus, they'll provide all the accountability and support you need to stay on track when things get tough.

    Time – schedule your workouts into your calendar ahead of time so that you're making time for them rather than trying to find to get them done. This avoids that constant battle of when you should work out on a daily basis meaning 100% more likely to stay on track (I made that statistic up but I'm sure it's true).

    4. Get Accountability

    Much like when you hire a business coach or analysis your business practices, these things help you keep accountable for the actions you take and also help measure your progress.

    You can do the exact same thing with your fitness and you must do this too.

    Whether it's a case of finding yourself a workout buddy to help you stay on track, recording your workouts (do this all the time anyway) or hiring a trainer/coach, having that accountability is key to keeping yourself on track. Without accountability, you having nothing stopping you from giving up and going back to your old ways.

    5. Focus On The Journey, Not The Results

    Too many people who start a journey to a healthier, fitter life but too much weight on the results they do, or don't, achieve as they go along.

    The problem with this is that the results you achieve are not really within your control. The only thing you have control over is whether or not you work out or eat that doughnut versus a banana.

    These are the things you should focus on rather than the scale and celebrate when you do them often.

    As you may or may not know, when you step on the scale and start borking at your weight going up and down constantly, you have no idea why it goes up or down. That's because it's just showing you what your weight, that's it. It doesn't show you if you lose some fat, gain some water, lose some muscle, how much you just ate, what you dropped in the toilet or anything else. The scale just shows you what you're carrying currently on you so it's only going to drive you insane focusing on the number beneath you.

    Focus on how fitter, stronger, healthier and energetic you feel as you go along your journey and understand that there will be times where you slip up and it's perfectly normal not to be 100% perfect all the time.

    ​

    ----------------------------------------------

    Thanks to those who gave me feedback on my last article and I'm happy to hear any feedback on this one too as I'm still new to this whole writing thing - both positive and negative are welcome.

    Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helped you!

    submitted by /u/UndesirableWaffle
    [link] [comments]

    IPhone Calling App to Juggle Work Calls

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:30 AM PDT

    I don't know if this the right place for this question but I'll take a gamble. Lots of people here probably use their personal cell for work calls. Do you just give customers and contacts your cell number or do you use an app like Google Voice which creates a new number and give your work folks that number?

    I'm leaning towards the Google Voice option because it would be nice at 5pm to just turn off work calls but still receive calls from the family. Is there an app for this better than Google Voice?

    submitted by /u/scrlk990
    [link] [comments]

    Buying an established online business?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:27 AM PDT

    please let me know if this is or isn't the right sub, thanks.

    So, i am the point where i'm sick of working and making someone else money (who doesn't aye). I live on a very expensive island (uk) where wages are low and exporting product out of my island is not possible (shipping costs).

    I'm due to receive some money and was thinking of buying an established online business and going from there?

    I currently work 2 jobs just to make ends meet. I would LOVE to start fresh and make it my own but due to crippling debt, low wages and the fact i have 2 kids, this is not possible.

    Is this a bad move? I fully understand i would need to research some before even buying to understand etc etc.

    Has anyone done this before and realistically could this be pulled off.

    submitted by /u/Philosofried
    [link] [comments]

    What is a reset day?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:51 PM PDT

    I've heard someone mention this here. What would that entail for you?

    submitted by /u/NewMindRedPill
    [link] [comments]

    How should I approach asking for referrals?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:37 PM PDT

    Hi all!

    I post here pretty often, but for those who don't know me, I run a web and mobile development company that has so far been doing pretty well! Now I'm faced with scaling.

    So far we've had a ton of happy clients, which is amazing. I definitely need to ask for referrals more, but I'm not quite sure the etiquette here. I'm more than ok with paying them for referrals, but since I do large projects I typically don't work with a client more than once, so offering a future discount isn't always useful. Is it weird to just pay them? lol

    If someone could give me some insight that would be awesome!

    submitted by /u/durantt0
    [link] [comments]

    Selling an ecommerce business, thoughts and advice?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:28 PM PDT

    I am starting down the path of selling my niche ecommerce business, but face some challenges, and was hoping for some honest feedback, thoughts.

    It's been a solid business, but it needs some serious TLC. We've shipped something like $4million with close to 25% profit margin. Unfortunately, sales have dropped in recent years and I've kind of burned out on wearing all the hats.

    There are a few head winds to the business, but the main one is something a buyer could easily turn around: It needs a new website.

    Asset-wise, there's the inventory, vendor relationships, at least $1k of packing supplies, five or six related domains, a 5 star Amazon seller account (most SKUs are not on Amazon), and most valuable, IMO, our customer database of 30k unique customers (plus another 10k who abandoned after entering their info).

    The abandoned carts don't have much value, but our past customers, many of whom order year after year, could be a gold mine towards revitalizing the business.

    Considering sales are down and any buyer would absolutely have to invest in a new website, I am thinking about offering it for $10k + COGs on inventory, but have also considered asking to keep a 1% stake in exchange for my ongoing time and advice after the sale.

    I'm still working on a final inventory count, but I'm guessing it will be somewhere between $5-10k of good, sellable product, and a bunch of other stuff that may or may not sell (not counting that stuff towards COGs mentioned above).

    Considering my best single sale was $17k (average is $80), selling the whole thing for $15-20k seems reasonable, but I may be too close to the business to see clearly.

    Does this sound reasonable? Is asking for a 1% stake crazy? Would a potential buyer even care about all the shipping supplies? It might sound silly, but boxes are expensive. Is ebay or craigslist my best bet, or should I try one of these services (most aren't interested in physical product businesses). Am I missing anything?

    I've thought about targeting ecommerce companies in a similar niche to see if they'd be interested, my thought being they'd already have infrastructure in place to warehouse, plus pick, pack and ship, plus there could be overlap in the customer bases, or am I better off just putting it out there?

    Any thoughts at all would be appreciated.

    submitted by /u/MilkMiner
    [link] [comments]

    Best LLC Formation Service?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:16 PM PDT

    Looking around for what is the best LLC formation service, and found that quite a few places offer it and all of them seem to have really hit and miss style reviews. I don't really know if the people who review poorly are just doing it because they didn't provide the proper information or really what the whole store was with them.

    ​

    However, the best review one I have found so far was CorpNet, which has some seriously good reviews on sites like trustpilot & trustlink (both that are much more vetted than others)

    ​

    I really like IncFile though for the pricing and it says they have over 4,000 reviews on ShopperApproved which are "5 star" but I have heard that a lot of companies will buy their reviews for that "approval site" as there are some companies that are less than a month old with 1,000+ reviews, and when I search for them on other sites, they hover around a 2-3/5 star review.

    ​

    Just was curious about anyone else who has experience forming through one of these and could give some insight?

    ​

    Thanks,

    submitted by /u/Mastemine
    [link] [comments]

    My 21 year old nephew came to me for advice and help on opening his own retail clothing store .

    Posted: 15 Apr 2019 08:00 PM PDT

    My nephew wants to open a small boutique urban clothing store. He's 21 years old and has been a pretty successful entrepreneur since his early teens. He's really into fashion. He currently is a full time barber and has a small barbershop with 5 other full time barbers working for him. I know he's got the drive and the vision to execute his plan. I guess what I'm trying to ask is do you guys have any advice or experience with retail clothing.

    submitted by /u/someboringdude
    [link] [comments]

    Is there a place in 2019 for a simple, slick webpage of interesting historical topics....

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 01:12 PM PDT

    ... With a well-researched, well written long form article attached, and adsense? Nothing else and nothing fancy.

    Precise angle to be fully thought through of course. Have I entirely missed this boat? I'll have some time to research and write coming up.

    I'm not looking to get rich, just maybe enough to pay my half the mortgage in 5 years time.

    submitted by /u/Megalev
    [link] [comments]

    First Sale after launching site 3 months ago

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:44 PM PDT

    So this will also be my first post in /Entrepreneur which I'm super happy to contribute to now that I have my learnings.

    ​

    Business
    My background is in web dev and marketing, primarily with SEO. I've worked on the digital publisher side for city magazines in the past, so I decided to go hyper-local vs competing with city or regional sites. The model is to build out a bunch of content around relevant search terms, e,g. "places to eat with kids {city}", "best private schools in {city]", "Spring break ideas", etc. Then sell ad-space based on traffic.

    The Product
    Using Wordpress, I built a local website around things to do, places to eat, events, community, and local businesses. I then started pumping in content at around 2 - 4 articles per week. Once I had 20 articles I spun up accounts on the major socials (FB, IG, Twitter) and then a small brand campaign on Google Adwords to capture our brand name since it was new and contained a competitive keyword, e.g. our city name.

    The Funnel
    Once we started crossing 5k page views, I opened up ad space and only populated them with house ads and a couple of local spots as decoys. I then added "Advertise Here" ads in the most visible spots. I then started doing paid promos in FB (first sale) with filters around behavior (e.g. is Page Admin, is Business Manager) as well as outreach based on local magazines that promote local businesses. People would land on our "Founding Advertisers Club" page, see our offering, then have an option to purchase on the next page. I offer 3 plans (3-months, 6-months, 12-months) with the largest discount going to the longer commit deal.

    ​

    The Result
    3 opportunities so far, with 1 closed/won for $1,250.00! Super stoked on how well this plan has worked and excited to keep it going! Check it out here: https://www.danvillesocial.com

    submitted by /u/killab619
    [link] [comments]

    How to market directly to university science professors?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:39 PM PDT

    I've developed 12 years experience at a company that works closely with hard-science research professors at high end universities (chemistry, physics, engineering).

    I'd like to somehow advertise my service directly to these professors or their top assistant. It's an important skill that these types require yearly or even semesterly and they know they need it.

    What is the best way to directly advertise to these potential clients?

    submitted by /u/muff_marauder
    [link] [comments]

    First time running ads for a local business. What do you think of this funnel?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:34 PM PDT

    I've recently been given a test budget for Facebook ads at a local garage door company I built a website/manage SEO for, and I'm looking to make the most of it. I've run ads for SaaS businesses in the past but never for local businesses.

    The strategy is based around a ~2-year-old guide posted in the entrepreneur subreddit. Curious to see if it will hold up, so I'd love your thoughts! Here's what it looks like:

    ​

    1. The core ideas are a) people won't buy from us directly after seeing an ad, and b) people are using Facebook to consume content and network with friends.
    2. To start, I'll create a few optimized landing pages dedicated to "hooks" that get my audience to either give us their email addresses or schedule a call with us (or just call, if they want). My main hook -- and one that appears to work well for local services businesses -- would be worded something like "Get a free estimate."
    3. Next, I'll write a few blog articles that provide informational and entertainment value relating to the previously stated hook. I may talk about the benefits of installing a new garage door, the X things you need to look out for when hiring a garage door company, how [client] sold their home for 10% more after installing a new garage door, etc.
    4. Next, I'll install pixels on both the article and the landing pages/thank you pages.
    5. My first set of ads will all be PPE ads testing dark posts. I plan on testing different audiences in each of my 5-10 different ad sets, with each ad set only having a max budget of $5. I'll run ads in each of these ad sets to see which of my articles/copy/picture combinations gets the most likes for the least amount of money per engagement. Whichever has the highest likes at the lowest engagement, I'll know will be the article/copy/imagery/audience variation to use for my next set of ads.
    6. The next set of ads will be website click ads targeted towards that working audience with a bigger budget. The goal of these ads will be to drive traffic to my pixelated article I wrote early just to provide some value and get my audience acquainted with the brand first. A soft CTA will be placed at the bottom of the article in case readers want to convert them and there.
    7. Once I run ads to the people who read my article, I'll hit them with website conversion retargeting ads that drive them to our landing page where the main hook will be. This page will be dedicated to converting leads.
    8. Once the leads are converted there, I'll toss them to the salespeople at the business to convert to customers.

    ​

    The good thing is that the business already offers free estimates, so that hook will be easy to implement. Once I've driven 250-500 or so people to my article, I plan on creating lookalike audiences and honing the targeting down even further on those lookalikes, perhaps starting the process over again with next month's budget.

    What do you think? The main things I'm worried about are a) there may not be enough steps between the initial ads (the article getting the audience acquainted with the brand) and the hook page (getting the audience to book a free estimate), and b) my hook may be stale. But again, I'm not terribly experienced in this area so I may be paranoid.

    I'd really appreciate any help/thoughts you can give here. Thanks very much!

    submitted by /u/aaronmarsden
    [link] [comments]

    Are our purpose and mission understandable and making sense?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:23 PM PDT

    "Our purpose is to help improve the quality of life by providing innovative and skillful assistance in analyzing complex problems and accelerating the introduction of game-changing solutions into the market."

    ​

    By just reading the above lines, can you figure out what we do? Do we make sense? Do you feel any misalignment between our purpose and mission? (PS: Our mission is the part that comes after "by providing ...").

    submitted by /u/CoOui
    [link] [comments]

    Learn how I grew my online CBD business without ad networks or Facebook.

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:53 AM PDT

    On this podcast interview I share how I grew my online CBD business to five figures per month. This all happened in just a few month span for some context.

    As you may or may not know, CBD along with many other "high risk" categories are not allowed to advertise on Facebook or utilize Google ads.

    More than likely Facebook and Google will never open up this channel to high risk categories, so how do you win without traditional ad networks?

    ​

    The CBD Business And How To Market Without The Ad Platforms

    submitted by /u/hempdaddys
    [link] [comments]

    Just Starting Out

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 07:48 AM PDT

    When just starting out how much should be done in regard to legalities/registration? I have read that it is not necessary to register a DBA, I can just use my legal name and do business as a sole proprietorship.

    ​

    I have started an e-commerce site,own the domain but, that is far as I have gone. I also have an EIN.

    ​

    I will be selling products as a distributor, no branding.

    ​

    Would anything else be advised?

    submitted by /u/tootles24
    [link] [comments]

    College for Education or Connections?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:23 AM PDT

    Hi, I live in Turkey and im a senior high school student and i will be 19 soon. I have several business ideas in my mind that i want to accomplish.

    I won't go into the details of the university entrance system all that matters is I have 2 main options in front of me.

    1) Go to a really good (maybe not Turkish Ivy League level good but one of the best outside of it) and one of the oldest (still not the best in the country but an accredited one) Economics departmant in the country at an overall meh university with alot of random people in it from all levels of every single criteria.

    2) go to one of the top 3 universities in the country (like the Ivy League of Turkey minus the upfront debt) which has the golden kids of the Turkey in it but i will get in with Translation Studies as a major. ofc this university has an extremely well established Economics and Business Club.

    Which one should I choose ?

    Im more on the side of the second one because;

    in the end im not planning on working as a white collar employee

    the connections i can make there seem too good to miss out on

    i think i can learn about economics through books and internet

    submitted by /u/s1rreal
    [link] [comments]
    Read more
    at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment