Marketplace Tuesday! (April 23, 2019) Entrepreneur |
- Marketplace Tuesday! (April 23, 2019)
- Drop-shipping in 2019 for wantrapreneurs is dead... so get over it already gurus!
- Paypal changed its refund policy...when you issue refunds, they no longer refund you the fees
- Does closing a business always suck this bad?
- Neil Patel Business Model?
- Recommended Books from Billionaire Entrepreneur
- 24 months of work and $100k down the drain - the ups and downs of entrepreneurship
- Should I give up? 5 years in, no money and I hate every day.
- I created r/BenefitMarketing. If you have a company and no budget for marketing or absolutely no clue about it, you can create a post and ask for free marketing. If you are a marketer in need of experience and social proof for your resume you can then message them to work together.
- Ecommerce: What software to use to project sales?
- Teaching classes online-is it valid?
- Taking a Leap of Faith
- How to get all Product Metrics in one place?
- Asking companies for their data, anyone knows the right way?
- Start a Podcast?
- How do you find your passion ?
- The Stereotypical r/Entrepreneur user
- How To Decrease Negative Talk
- How to buy/sell a customer list?
- Build an app
- Hiring graphic designer on a retainer for the business
- Legal Cannabis Cultivation Company having a difficult time turning pledged money into real money.
- Is partnering with a company a good idea or will it make sense to start from scratch by yourself? Plus other questions. Help please. Newbie here.
- Which KPI tells me my App is a success and I should continue working on it?
- Is cost something I should worry about when making a prototype?
- Fulfillment center for just returns? Anyone know of any options?
| Marketplace Tuesday! (April 23, 2019) Posted: 23 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. [link] [comments]  |
| Drop-shipping in 2019 for wantrapreneurs is dead... so get over it already gurus! Posted: 23 Apr 2019 09:01 AM PDT The only drop-shipping that is still relevant is the Best Buy model. They have a beautiful store, tons of employees, and a massive amount of showroom space. When you Timmy the customer comes in to look at a product, and you decide to buy, they say that's great Timmy, we can have it shipped to your door in 2 days, or you can pick it up here tomorrow, or you can go pick it up at this other store location of ours. If your Joe Blow with a cookie cutter Shopify store, selling shit wares from China, and your ship-time is 8 to 12 weeks, ain't nobody buying your shit, no matter how much money you throw at Facebook ads and Instagram "influencers". [link] [comments]  |
| Paypal changed its refund policy...when you issue refunds, they no longer refund you the fees Posted: 23 Apr 2019 09:23 AM PDT Just a headsup to all the entrepreneurs out there. Paypal changed their refund policy as of April in the past when you sent a customer a refund, Paypal would refund you the fees for the transaction. That is no longer the case, now when you send a customer the refund, you still lose the money you paid for Paypal fees. [link] [comments]  |
| Does closing a business always suck this bad? Posted: 22 Apr 2019 06:42 PM PDT After almost 15 years in business I'm laying off all my employees and closing the doors. We've had a good long run with plenty of ups and downs but between the debt, the stress, the low margins, and a changing market I just can't keep it going. I feel like a piece of me is dead and I'd really like to just lay in bed all day. I've never done this before but I feel like these feelings are normal. Hopefully. I'm not trying to have a pity party or asking for advice. Just want someone who has been through it to tell me it'll be alright and that the feelings of failure will eventually pass. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 05:49 AM PDT Can someone explain to me how does Neil Patel make money by just giving away free SEO tools? I don't get it [link] [comments]  |
| Recommended Books from Billionaire Entrepreneur Posted: 23 Apr 2019 08:02 AM PDT Biographies
Leadership
Product Management
Marketing
Sales
Personal Development and Self Improvement
[link] [comments]  |
| 24 months of work and $100k down the drain - the ups and downs of entrepreneurship Posted: 23 Apr 2019 12:24 PM PDT TL;DR: Self storage is a tough business with so many potential deal breakers. Had a smash hit and now have went through 3 properties and none of them have worked out including the most recent project falling apart at the last possible moment with the last possible deal breaker. ... I rarely dive into my my own business here but I have a story and a lesson worth sharing. I'm always learning and failing and getting back up and pressing onward. I got some bad news this week. A self storage development project that I had been working on for 24 months is dead. Let's start from the beginning. My partner and I got involved in self storage with our first construction project in Ithaca NY in 2016. We raised cash from outside investors for 25% and got a bank loan for our 75% ownership. We located the site, permitted the project, built the facility from the ground up and operate it today. The project has been a huge success. We spent $2.5MM to build it. We operate it extremely lean with remote management. We're now about 60% occupied and we are cashflow positive and paying our investors back a healthy return on their initial investment. We also had an offer on the table from a national player to purchase our facility for $4.2MM a few months after we opened the doors for operation. My partner and I could have taken about $600k each off the table but we declined the offer and decided to continue to lease up the facility and explore selling it down the road when its full and worth more or simply continue to operate it and enjoy the depreciation, appreciation and cash flows. A few months after we opened the first facility for business in 2017 I went full time into self storage with the goal of getting another project in the works as soon as possible. My partner took over the service business with the help of a new management hire. We picked a market we loved and got a parcel of land under purchase contract. The property needed a zoning variance to change from a business district to an industrial district. Even though self storage is a "business to consumer" retail-type business it is grouped in with other industrial uses like commercial warehousing and distribution centers. We began spending money on civil engineering, permits, renderings, surveys and more. I attended 8 town hearings over 9 months. The local self storage owners showed up to the town meetings in force. They didn't want the competition so they argued against the zoning variance. One competitor even hired an attorney to stand up and fight my project in front of the town. All in all we spent about $25k on the project before finally getting turned down by the town. We failed and moved on. In March of 2018 we picked a different city and got a new parcel under purchase contract. This one was zoned correctly as an industrial site. It was wedged between a gas station and a highway. We began spending money on engineering, permits, renderings, surveys etc. I attended about 4 town meetings over 6 months before the town made it clear they didn't like that use and decided to change the zoning altogether while I was in the process of trying to get approval. I had spent 6 months working on the deal and another $15k or so when they finally turned me down and changed the zoning. It was a heartbreaker. Back to square one again. So in November of 2018 we got a third site under option in the same town as the previous site. It was zoned correctly, in a great high-traffic location and we negotiated a great price. In talking with the town the planning board members loved my use and were excited about my project. Finally some support! We moved quickly and began the surveys and engineering. The site was near and old indian burial ground next to the mohawk river so they required an archeological survey before we could do anything on the site. They wouldn't even let us dig test holes to check soil types before the survey was completed. In the dead of winter with several feet of snow and the top 40 inches of soil we couldn't complete the survey so we had to wait until April. So I had a decision to make. Hold up the entire project until April or take a chance on the archeological survey coming back clean and the test holes revealing what the soil maps told us they would reveal. I chose to get the project moving forward. I spent this previous winter assembling my investment team, working with my local bank and getting the project use approved with the town. Everything went great. The investors were eager to join after the success at our first project. The bank was eager to lend because my partner and I had a few very good years and had some cash on hand. The town also loved our use. So I began spending money on engineering and environmental surveys. We ordered the appraisal through the bank and I met with the board at my bank pushing towards loan approval. I engaged my civil engineer to compete the stormwater plan so we could get site plan approval with the town. Business is weird because it all happens very slowly for a long time and it all comes together very quickly. Over the past two weeks things begin to finally come together. On Monday April 15th 2019 I flew up, presented in front of the town board and public and we got site plan approval. There were several conditions of approval but they were all minor. We had to have an acceptable stormwater management plan and make a slight change to one of our driveways. This was a huge win because it was the step that killed our two previous deals. Two days later on April 17th we finally received word that the archeological survey came back clean. No Indian remains or artifacts on site. Great news. A day later on April 18th our loan was approved with the bank. Our appraisal had come back strong and the board approved us for the construction loan based on the budget I had built out. Great news and another huge hurdle cleared. On April 19th all partners had reached agreement on the company operating agreement and it was distributed and signed by all of our partners. We scheduled the capital call for May 1st. Another huge hurdle cleared. The last step was the test pits and soil tests. We had to make sure the ground was stable and our stormwater management plan could work on the site. Stormwater management is a lot more complicated than people think. When you build a construction project you have to make the finished site plan drain and filter water at the same rates as before you did anything. This way if there is a big rain it won't flood the local properties or roads. So if you put 100,000 square feet of pavement and buildings on a site that is a lot of water run off that previously was absorbed by green space. The quality of the soil makes a big difference. Some soil, like sandy soil, drains and filters water very quickly and makes a stormwater plan a lot easier. Other soil like silt or organic matter doesn't drain water very quickly at all. Either way a plan is usually feasible and can be made to work with stormwater structures like swells, retention ponds or underground water storage pipes in extreme cases. So on Friday April 19th, with the archeological survey results in hand, we were finally able to dig our test holes on site. What we found was a heartbreaker. Starting about 1 foot below grade and extending to about 5 foot below grade there was wood debris, bricks, concrete blocks, trash and more all in a rotting organic black sludge. It didn't drain or filter water at all. What's more is that this fill would make it virtually impossible to build proper building slabs that could hold up our storage buildings. It turns out many years ago the property was used as a dumping ground for unwanted fill from all around town. Anytime anyone tore down a building the property owner would let them dump it on site and they would bury it. Anytime anyone had "fill" as extra dirt is called in the construction industry, they would bring it to this site and dump it. The owner thought this would increase the property value because the property got flatter and more consistent as they worked it around. This fill would take hundreds of dump truck loads to remove and we'd have nowhere to take it. Plus it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this. Our project is dead weeks before we were planning to break ground and begin construction. We are out the $30,000 in costs we accumulated preparing for construction with our surveys and engineering. This is a major heartbreaker for me. I've spent 2 years trying to get a second project in the works and have failed 3 times. We've not only lost 2 years of my productivity but also nearly $100,000 in expenses associated with the three projects. Yesterday I called everyone on my investment team and let them know that we would not be able to put their investment to use for another 6-8 months at the earliest. They were disappointed and a few told me they wouldn't be able to commit to that new timeline. I learned an important lesson on this project. Get the deal breakers out of the way as soon as possible. Spend as little money and time as possible working to get these deal breakers out of the way. With construction there are a lot of deal breakers and not all of them are possible to get out of the way early. We couldn't dig in the winter for example. The appraisal could have came back low and we could have been declined on the loan amount. It could have been an indian campsite and artifacts could have been uncovered. The town could have changed the zoning. A neighbor could have showed up and voiced his or her displeasure until the town gave in. A competitor could have hired a high powered attorney to fight our project. The list goes on. It's the cost of doing business. There are ups and downs in business. You have to take risks in the form of time and money to make great (and profitable) things happen. I'm not as upset about the $100k. The next successful project will make that back 10 or 20 times over. Self storage projects are so profitable because they are so darn hard to get permitted and get built. They take 4 years from concept to cashflow. It's a long long game that most people aren't willing to play. The time is what really breaks my heart. I've spent 2 full years working to get a project approved and now I have absolutely nothing to show for it. My partner is sacrificing in a big way by managing our big and stressful service business on his own so I can pursue these opportunities for us. I feel like I let him down. So what can I take away from this? Number one I think we are going to get a few projects in the pipeline from here on out. Most developers do this. They have 6 projects in the pipeline because they know that 3 of the deals will die and the other 3 will be delayed and take twice as long as scheduled. But what happens if all three go quickly and work out? We'll need some more involved investors or to take on a larger partner. We've explored those routes and we think its time to get more serious. We can't risk wasting another 8 months on a project that doesn't come to fruition. Ray Dalio has an analogy in his book "Principles of life and work" that is applicable here. "Imagine that in order to have a great life you have to cross a dangerous jungle. You can stay safe where you are and have an ordinary life, or you can risk crossing the jungle to have a terrific life. How would you approach that choice?" - Ray Dalio He talks about the lizard brain and that its hard wired for us to fear uncomfortable and dangerous situations in order to keep us alive and safe. But what is really the danger? What are we risking? Not death. Not hunger. Not social rejection or humiliation. We have safety nets here. We're risking time and money. We can always make the money back and if we do it right the costs of failing aren't going to cripple us. The worst case scenario just happened for the third time in a row and where do I sit? My family still gets fed. I can still make my mortgage payment. I'm still safe from physical danger. I can't let my emotions get the best of me and make radical decisions right now. I have to trust the process and keep a level head. It's all part of entrepreneurship. Onward and upward! [link] [comments]  |
| Should I give up? 5 years in, no money and I hate every day. Posted: 23 Apr 2019 04:32 AM PDT So I've ran a small "business" for the past 5 years. Today actually marks the 5-year point since I started. Things started pretty well but over the past 5 years I've been through insane downs, a tiny number of ups and have been through 2 relationships, countless arguments with family and have perpetually broke. I've had a couple of full-blown nervous breakdowns and have constantly been in a state of burn-out and chronic stress for the past 5 years. Not to mention the total isolation I've experienced during this time. The one thing that keeps me going is my drive, which never stops, I kind of wish it would. I'm genuinely starting to think I'm going insane with this as I'm compelled to keep it going even though I've failed countless times and lost so much already. I really have no idea what else I could possibly do instead, even though I pretty much dread every single day. I wish I'd never heard the words "never give up ." At which point should we call it a day? The constant battle in my mind now is that, yes I could go back in to work, but I can't live with the fact a regular job is never going to make up for the 5 years of earnings I've completely missed, the debt I've accumulated in this time and all the previous failures I had before I even started this. I'm way behind my peers (late 30'S/Early 40's) in terms of earning power and savings so the thing keeping me going is the fact that at least there's a slight glimmer of hope that by running my business I have at least a slight chance of making up for these losses. My creativity at this point is completely dead and my mind is just in a constant loop of "how do I make enough money NOW to just see me through the week" I can't afford to even think long-term, let alone more than a week into the future. I've created a prison for myself , I know it. I'm just wondering, how the hell do I even begin to get out of this mental and financial hell? Have any of you guys been through something similar and been able to find a way out? I know there's people far worse off so I shouldn't be complaining but this really is hell and a seemingly unstoppable loop of behaviour that I just can't switch off , whether it's through fear or gambler's fallacy or whatever. I'm terrified I'll be in this position or much worse 5 years from now, or even 5 months from now. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 10:28 AM PDT |
| Ecommerce: What software to use to project sales? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 01:55 PM PDT I'm trying to forecast sales for my Shopify-based ecommerce website and I can't tell if I'm on the right track or overthinking it. I think the process would be easier if all of my website traffic came from one source but the majority of traffic comes from 3 different channels (different conversion rates, different # of followers/users coming from ea. traffic source). And what I'm trying to do is align marketing activities for each channel with sales goals... To project (or forecast sales), I figure that all or most of the following numbers are required:
What formula or software do I need to project sales using the above variables? Am I on the right track? Simpler alternatives to projecting sales? [link] [comments]  |
| Teaching classes online-is it valid? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 01:44 PM PDT Hello, I am looking for ways to make some extra money on the side. I love teaching people and I have some areas that I am knowledgeable in but before getting started I want some advice. Either first, second or third person experiences would be good to hear. I have heard of sites like skillshare and teachable and want to know if they are any good. Thanks. :) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 01:43 PM PDT I have been employed and took on contract positions with a few startups in my professional career. I am truly full-stack which means I can design full-blown applications from scratch. My wife and I just launched our business. This is the very rough draft copy. When need to definitely change the copy. Along with add more pages, a blog, social media. The essentials. Thanks for anyone that has the time to give feedback. Look forward to seeing what other entrepreneur endeavors on the reddit community. Cheers!! [link] [comments]  |
| How to get all Product Metrics in one place? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 01:15 PM PDT Anyone else have the need to have a centralized place where we can monitor product metrics according to goals and see periodically if we are reaching the golas? Follow up on metrics from Mixpanel, Kissmetrics, Segment, Sendgrid, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, A/B tools, and many other metrics in one place? Do you know any tool that can make this possible? If there is no tool for that how do you keep track of those metrics on your Startup? I am trying to organize our product development around goals (something like OKRs) for each business unit (Squads). [link] [comments]  |
| Asking companies for their data, anyone knows the right way? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 04:04 AM PDT Does anyone have experience asking companies for their data, I'm talking about factories, refineries etc. Is there a standard legal documents I can offer to them to give them trust/comfort? What are the usual procedures? I'm sure companies have their own internal data sharing procedures, but what can be offered from my end? If you have any experience it would be much appreciated! EDIT: The idea is that we would use the data to train machine learning models that could be used to optimise their operational costs. In return we would be able to build a software which would profit their business. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 08:55 AM PDT Hey folks. I'm a Design Thinker-turned-Podcaster and run my online business. I know that a lot of entrepreneurs are looking at starting a podcast or just started one.
Hope you find it helpful! [link] [comments]  |
| How do you find your passion ? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 07:24 AM PDT I know it sounds basic but I find it hard to find something I like that I want to start something on it. I think I am not the only one, and the days are passing I just can't come up with something [link] [comments]  |
| The Stereotypical r/Entrepreneur user Posted: 23 Apr 2019 02:43 PM PDT I feel like this user perfectly sums up the aveage r/Entrepreneur user. He would ask for advice on a particular online business. He typical spends about a month on the business, but never really puts in the works. He would then come back to the sub complaining that the method is dead. It doesn't matter if you are getting into;
All of these methods require more than 1 month of works ( most require multiple years of experience ). Most people just want to get rich quickly with minimal effort, very few are actually willing to put in the work. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 02:40 PM PDT Entrepreneurs are different from other people. They are:
The issue I am dealing with right now is that I am surrounded by negative talk from both friends and family. They are are speaking from an emotional viewpoint and a lack of information. Not one of them has researched any industry or topic that comes up in conversation. Even though I know this, comments like:
Still are very discouraging because they are coming from people that, in the past I trusted. Is there any way to get these people to understand our mindset or am I going to have to cut them out of my life to succeed? [link] [comments]  |
| How to buy/sell a customer list? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 02:35 PM PDT I'm switching businesses from ecommerce to house cleaning. Yes, I know, I'm basic. I want to sell my list of previous customers and buy a soon to close business current list. Wondering how to do these to ensure no one is buying random emails and phone numbers. What is industry standard for this kind of transaction? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 06:56 AM PDT Hi, how can I make an app without any knowledge in coding/app development??? And with a very small budget compared to what most app developers ask for. [link] [comments]  |
| Hiring graphic designer on a retainer for the business Posted: 23 Apr 2019 08:04 AM PDT I currently do logo design and branding for companies as a freelancer. One of the biggest issues with this is steady income stream, so I decided to invest my time researching retainers. With $2000 per month I would be able to start my own company (small business). I'm currently negotiating with one possible client who would pay me around $1000 per month for 25 hours of work. I would do all kind of graphic design for him. I had some clients in the past who are pretty active on social media, but their images could be much more professional if they pay to someone who knows what he/she is doing. My first step will be to reach to my past clients and offer my monthly service. Can I hear from you (business owners)...Have you ever hired a graphic designer on a retainer? Do you have a constant need for graphics? How realistic that small business owner will hire someone on a retainer? Please share your thoughts on this, I would like to see it from your point of view. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Legal Cannabis Cultivation Company having a difficult time turning pledged money into real money. Posted: 23 Apr 2019 10:03 AM PDT So I have been floating around this sub for a few months looking for advise on raising seed capital for my cannabis cultivation company. The resources for entrepreneurs in my sector are extremely limited and it becomes extremely discouraging. I can't go get a small business loan and traditional investors act extremely interested until it comes time to write the check. I have heard so many times "I'll write a check I just don't want to be the first to do it". I have a hard time rationalizing this thought. I have been a grower since 2008 and I have built a small social media following as well as the knowledge it would take to run a large scale facility. We are looking for a 450k to 600k with a minimum of 10k per investor. We expect a 2000% return on the investors money over the course of 6 years. Sometimes I think investors are frightened by this so I have offered to pay all investors back at a higher rate and I've even gone so far as to not take any of my dividends until everyone is made while on there investments. I have been extremely willing to work out non traditional deals to get this done but all I have at this point are a couple of LOI's and some promises. Does anyone have any advice or know anyone looking to get into the cannabis space on the ground floor of a company? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2019 07:26 AM PDT I recently thought of this product that i think will benefit people with skin issues a great deal. I asked around good freinds and family and everyone thinks this idea is revolutionary. The thing is I have absolutely no idea where to start. Infact I am reading comments and posts and these business terms are so foreign to me. My background is biochemistry, health science and public health so im very new to business but when it comes to how my product will work on the human body im very knowledgeable since thats my feild of study. I am aware i need to do more research which i am already currently doing. My question: Since my idea is in skincare will it makes sense to partner with a company like for instance neutrogena and sell them my idea and get some profit from their sales? Is this even a thing that people trying to get their business idea out there do? If this is possible, who will I talk to within a popular skincare company like neutrogena to get my idea to them. What if they steal my idea? Will i have to go in with a lawyer or sign some document that my idea wont be stolen? I dont mind starting from scratch as in finding manufactures and all that stuff on Alibaba etc. My older brother is a successful entrepreneur who is signing contracts with other countries politicians and his products are being widely used. I can ask him for guidance about getting started but its just that since his business took off its been hard to reach him since he is always traveling. Any advice as well on how to get started will help a great deal. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Which KPI tells me my App is a success and I should continue working on it? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 09:27 AM PDT I launched an iOS App four weeks ago and got the first few users. It's a Crypto News App where I aggregate daily news and also sell a subscription for some pro features. Of course I follow the analytics daily, both from Apple and internal analytics where I use firebase. It's a side project and I want to know at which point I should invest more time. I was looking at KPIs like Daily Active Users or Installation, but not on sold subscriptions since it's too early for that. As a sign to continue I saw 100 Daily Active Users as appropriate to measure the success. What do you think? Is that enough or would you still not call it a success? [link] [comments]  |
| Is cost something I should worry about when making a prototype? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 08:56 AM PDT So I'm trying to work on a prototype for a new idea I have and I'm just wondering should I worry about the cost of making it? Or should I really focus on making sure the prototype actually works? [link] [comments]  |
| Fulfillment center for just returns? Anyone know of any options? Posted: 23 Apr 2019 12:39 PM PDT I'm looking for a fulfillment center that can handle just returns, but not do any shipping for you. Basically, when a customer wants to return an item, send them the address for the return center and they will process it and send you the info from the package so you can initiate a refund. Any options out there? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
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