Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (May 29, 2019) Entrepreneur |
- Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (May 29, 2019)
- Why Timing Will Never be Perfect to Start a Business a Discussion on When to Start
- Update: Last year my side hustle made $1000/month. One year later and I just cleared $3000 for the month!
- "The Lean Startup" By Eric Ries | Animated Summary. Hope you find it useful.
- What books are considered absolutely mandatory?
- What was your "I've finally made it" moment?
- Why be an Entrepreneur?
- Have any of you been held back by your laziness? How did you overcome it? How do I stop being lazy and start doing more?
- I wrote a guide on all the startup funding and financing options
- What business would you start with 1000sq of rent free commercial space
- How do I know if my business name is too close to the name of another business
- Want to succeed in whatever you are doing? Get better at sales.
- How do I increase subscribers to my political newsletter by an order of magnitude?
- Anyone experienced in rapid business growth?
- Time Management apps to help you you keep on track
- Creating my own business.
- I have the opportunity to meet with someone very high up and am not sure how I should handle it.
- Mobile app monetization with affiliate links?
- “Anything worth doing, is worth doing half-assed”
- Critique our website please!
- Franchise Fees
- Legalzoom advice
- Let’s do an experiment...
- VC Term sheet requirement: Key Man Insurance. A question?
| Wantrepreneur Wednesday! - (May 29, 2019) Posted: 29 May 2019 06:12 AM PDT Please use this thread to ask questions if you're new or even if you haven't started a business yet. Remember to search the sub first - the answers you need may be right at your fingertips. 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]  |
| Why Timing Will Never be Perfect to Start a Business a Discussion on When to Start Posted: 29 May 2019 06:19 AM PDT Starting a legitimate business is hard, possibly the hardest thing you may ever do. My most recent business required me to do some form of work every day for 15 months. I lost 35 lbs (that I desperately needed) and developed stomach ulcers before I was forced to slow down. I missed two Christmas' and two Thanksgiving's with my family. I ruined a relationship. I had zero life outside work. But I was insanely happy. The point here is that no amount of planning could have prepared me for that 15 months. Never will I have 15 months with zero obligations. SO.. When should I start my business? Just. Go.
Things You Should Focus on Instead of When to Start:
It's easier to learn what the market likes than it is to guess what the market wants. This doesn't just apply to tech companies. Let's say you want to start a landscaping business. Yes it would be wonderful to buy a brand new truck $50,000 and mower $1,500 and tools $1000 and website $1000 and get an office space for $2000 down. But let's break down what you truly need to start. An old vehicle, push mower, and business cards will do just fine, $4000. Now some of you might be thinking I don't even have $4000 so I can't start a business. So let's go one step further and limit our service line down to things done by hand. Shoveling, raking, and pulling weeds. What does it really take to start that business? Used hand tools for $70 and business cards for $30. You don't even need a vehicle, you can walk yard to yard if you have to. So we just took our faraway goal of saving $55,500 to start the perfect landscaping business to a $100 business that we can start today and begin making money. The true beauty of this is now that it costs you less than $100 to start a business you can try it and if it doesn't work or you don't like it move on to the next $100 start-up You may be thinking "How am I ever going to grow or make real money if I'm raking a yard myself for $20 a house when I could never do more than 50 houses?" and that brings us to next point of doing things that don't scale. This is a famous philosophy by Paul Graham of Y Combinator. It basically means it is okay and actually a good strategy to do things now that won't work when your business grows to the next stage. That is because without it your business may never even grow to the next stage! Worry about how you'll handle 60 accounts when you're already at 50 accounts and earning the income of 50 accounts, not when you're at 0. Don't Assume You Have a Lot of Time: I don't care if you're 16 or 60 seize every day. Every single day that you're not out progressing yourself or your business is a day lost. We must think in terms of opportunity cost. Let's say on days you work you make $100 and you could have worked today but you took the day off. You need to think in terms that you didn't just miss out on $100 but you actually lost $100. The pain of losing $100 stings a lot more than the satisfaction of earning $100. And we can take that one step further. Let's say every $100 you invest back in your business returns you 10% a year so that's: $110 lost after year 1. $161.05 lost after year 5. $259.37 lost after year 10. $672.72 lost after year 20. And this is just ONE day. Now this isn't a speech on taking zero days off, rest days should be factored into opportunity cost. You know that taking that one rest day every 10 or 20 days is necessary to not lose out on any days in the next 10-20 days, a net positive gain. The overarching point is today ALWAYS matters and the sooner you start the sooner you can use this compounding to your advantage not your disadvantage. For more visual learners I talk about these concepts more in this video: https://youtu.be/vsjA9RP0FRo [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 02:45 PM PDT Here is the original post for those that missed it. Last year I made a post about starting a side hustle with $50 and growing to a $1000 a month. It's now been one year later and its still growing and I am very excited to hit $3000 this month! After spending the last 7-8 months hovering in the mid $2000 range I finally broke the next small goal I set for myself. Now this won't seem like a big score for some on this sub but I wanted to highlight this growth for those that want are starting out and point out that the slow climb and not instant success that we see so much. So since last year I continued to do the same thing, go home and make candles, hit local markets and then make a couple videos to put on Youtube. It wasn't until the fall that I started to really take the next step and leap forward. In September I created a facebook candle group which is now helping over 12,000 members learn how to make candles. It is also a great help for growing the channel. I don't heavily promote my business on the group as I try to keep it all about beginners and strictly candles. I am not worried about monetizing that audience. I do get sales from the group but it's mainly people using my products and talking about them in the group to other members. The misteps (and there are many)
Future
That's quick and dirty but I wanted to just update and give a little look into even a small side hustle that is working. I have some images of the monthly totals. The first image is the monthly total from Shopify. The second is the monthly Youtube revenue. The rest of the revenue that is not represented here are the two candle making classes that were paid outside of the website. Class one here, class two coming this Friday. Both of which combined brought in $925 totaling for the month, $3,063.82 Shameless plugs for reference. [link] [comments]  |
| "The Lean Startup" By Eric Ries | Animated Summary. Hope you find it useful. Posted: 29 May 2019 09:49 AM PDT Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6QPZp--lJE I've done summaries of other books like:
If you're interested and want to subscribe here's a link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfbLDMh6uGOZePAfqqjVZ-g?sub_confirmation=1 If you'd prefer to read the script instead of watching the video, here it is: The Lean Startup By Erick Reis The Book's Main Idea The book's main goal is to help readers avoid the number one mistake that makes start-ups fail i.e. launching a product or a service without the entrepreneur knowing who the product's customer is and what those customers really want. To quote the author: "Success is not delivering a feature; success is learning how to solve the customer's problem" Erick Reis You can get this book for free with a trial of audible using the link in the description of this video. Subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you don't miss any future summaries. The Lean Start-up focuses on teaching readers how to better their start-up businesses by exposing them to a new way of thinking that is able to mitigate their risk going forward which automatically increases their likelihood of finding a product that sticks. The book does that through introducing the readers to a systematic and scientific method that enables them to get all the information they need to make fast and decisive decisions when starting a business. "The ability to learn faster from customers is the essential competitive advantage that start-ups must possess"' Erick Reis A Look at the Main Topics Discussed In the Book Here is a taste of what to expect from the three phrases of the book.
In the book, Reis, through his experience, explains why start-ups fail. He tries to make readers understand that the battle for a successful start-up is first lost in the vision where entrepreneurs follow a conventional approach of starting a business; which dictates that immediately they get an idea and it has been approved by either their friends or family, the idea becomes legit and ready to be launched in the market. According to the Lean Start-up, the conventional approach is wrong because it makes entrepreneurs launch start-ups based on untested assumptions, which increase the possibility of them creating a perfect product that nobody wants. Reis says that the first goal of a start-up is to figure out the right thing to build, the thing that customers will want and will be willing to pay for as quickly as possible. Under the topic of vision, Reis teaches the readers how to kick start a start-up the right way. He uses a super formula, which makes the reader better at starting a successful business. Here is a glimpse of the formula.
This phase the book focuses on teaching the reader how to steer his/her start-up business through using the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop formula. In the book, Reis says the lean start-up methodology is based on a cycle of rinse and repeat; the build-measure-learn. What the reader is taught from the steer phase is how:
In the book, Reis uses the vision and steer phases to set a foundation for the reader's last move to take to have a successful start-up, which is acceleration. In acceleration, Reis teaches the reader how he can move past the feedback loop faster and go on to set the innovation and growth ball rolling. Under accelerate Reis focuses on teaching the reader the following topics.
Conclusion The big take away from the book, 'The Lean Start-up' is; entrepreneurship is management so for the reader to succeed in it, they need to manage their start-up business as the institution it is and avoid jumping head first into ideas. [link] [comments]  |
| What books are considered absolutely mandatory? Posted: 29 May 2019 12:52 PM PDT Textbooks Which would you add?
'Mandatory books' what books would you add?
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| What was your "I've finally made it" moment? Posted: 29 May 2019 03:17 AM PDT We all have different criteria for success, but what was your breakthrough? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 02:05 PM PDT When I was kid I used to spend a lot of time with my dad and try to be like him in so many ways. He taught me so much and even today a lot of my actions are inspired by what he taught me when I was young. Among the things he taught me was how to make money even without a job. When I was really young, or maybe even before I was born, he would refurbish furniture and sell it to make a profit. I remember when I got a little older he would make bootleg DVDs and would sell them off. He even taught me how to make them and let me have some of them so that I could make sales as well. In 2008 when Barack Obama became the first black President of the United States he had pictures of Obama and his family printed off and would put them in various frames. I remember him even giving me a few of them, and I sold a few myself. My grandparents still have that picture in their living room to this day. Years later my dad started his own moving business and is still making money on his own time. He makes business card with his contact info and heads to the mall and put them on windshields and hands them out to people to find clients. He also makes Craigslist post to get his business. When I call him these days he is either at home, fishing, about to go fishing (he loves going fishing), or he is on the road moving someone. I have even gone with him on a few jobs and made some money. My dad has always been a entrepreneur and made things happen on his own terms. He is the reason why I am so adamant about loving life on my own terms. What I enjoy is the freedom of doing things on your own time and not having anyone tell you what to do. This is apart of the freedom that I, and so many other people, desperately desire and I am proud of what my dad has accomplished. He graduated college at 43 an age where many people say they are too old to go back and he is even in divinity school these days. My dad has always been an inspiration and positive influence on me and he is the reason why I want to become an entrepreneur and work for myself. He was the first person I had know to live this way and seeing the space he is in these days it looks like everything has worked out. He has a beautiful fiance, a nice home and the truck he had always talked about and even owns a boat so he can go fishing on the water. He isn't rich but he is in a really great space that most people never reach in their life. I have never heard him complain about how much he hates his job like I hear from so many other people. He even bought me my first car. I wrote this post not old to show my dad love but to explain that it is possible to live life on your own terms. I'm sure he has had hard times in his life and things have not always been great, but even though the dark times he has done things his way. And if you want to do things your way and live life on your terms then you should be an entrepreneur. Because that is why I am doing it. May your blessings be doubled and your sadness be halved! I wish you all well on your journey and do not forget to stay prayed up. RichWisdomRichWisdomtess.com [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 May 2019 11:03 PM PDT |
| I wrote a guide on all the startup funding and financing options Posted: 29 May 2019 02:18 PM PDT Here's the guide: baremetrics.com/blog/startup-funding How have you gotten "funding"? [link] [comments]  |
| What business would you start with 1000sq of rent free commercial space Posted: 29 May 2019 09:48 AM PDT So I have been pasted down a good size building in a low income community on a busy strip. It was previously a real estate office. I'd love to here some ideas from you guys, on some possible businesses you would start up using this space. This building also has a parking lot big enough to fit about 5-6 cars. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I know if my business name is too close to the name of another business Posted: 29 May 2019 01:27 PM PDT So I had an idea to start a business around two of my hobbies, however there is currently another another business is a pretty similar area(their business is a series of fighting tournaments while mine is apparel but for the sport). The business names are pretty close, although spelling would be different. How do I find out if I can use the name legally? I don't want to get things started only to be screwed in the long run. [link] [comments]  |
| Want to succeed in whatever you are doing? Get better at sales. Posted: 28 May 2019 08:55 PM PDT Sales was something I never wanted to do but ended up doing for 6-7 years while I was finding myself. I didn't like it but the skills I learned helped me reach 6 figures before all my peers. Sales taught me how to: be persuasive, listen/understand people better, communicate better (not perfectly but well enough), ask the right questions to guide people into communicating better with me, and most importantly how to make myself look good (that's how I passed the on the phone interview with a fortune 500 doing what I really love to do, which is software development) If you can, spend a bit of time in retail or sales and get to know people a bit more. I'm using my income to build a business which is SOOOO much better than trying to build a business to survive. Another bonus tip is get your money right before trying to build something for yourself because otherwise you might end up desperate and chasing dreams instead of being realistic and having the luxury of being patient with testing results. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I increase subscribers to my political newsletter by an order of magnitude? Posted: 29 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT I started Clear the Lobby at the beginning of 2018. It's an email newsletter that explains the laws MPs in the UK Parliament are voting on each week. Here's a recent example. I have just over 5,000 subscribers, about half of which came from my initial posts to /r/unitedkingdom and /r/ukpolitics. The rest came from weekly stickies I have on both subs. Now I'd like to step things up a gear. What are some things I can do to grow more quickly and reach 50,000 subscribers? Some ideas I've had already are:
I'd also be keen to hear ideas for monetising beyond advertising, and any ways I could add value. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone experienced in rapid business growth? Posted: 29 May 2019 10:05 AM PDT I'm starting a sole proprietor pest control business in the next few months. I project everything will be complete and I'll be ready to start business some time in July. On my own, starting out and growing slowly by myself is no issue at all. I know what I'm doing as far as a slow, steady scale goes. My issue is an exact plan to grow rapidly with a large investment up front. I have a good friend who's willing to invest 100k-300k and jump full in on the business with me. My idea would be to hire a team of salesmen, get them trained and have them blitz a summer sales program year after year. In one summer it would be realistic to add on 1-4 routes depending on the size of the sales team. I guess my question is, do you have a better idea at growing a pest control/service company other than the model I provided? I've seen it work wonderfully for a company I used to work for and I'd like to emulate that. If anybody else has any other great ideas or if you're experienced in this area, please reach out to me and enlighten me. Your time is very much appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Time Management apps to help you you keep on track Posted: 29 May 2019 10:59 AM PDT I found this article about some time management apps, I've used one of them and thought I'd share it with the rest of you. Most of us entrepreneurs have a 9-5 and spend the rest of our time working on our business. I hope these apps are helpful, I'll also post a link to the article if you are interested in reading more.
There are a few more in the article with full description of each one. https://www.shopify.com/blog/time-management-apps?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest&utm_content=digest [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 02:37 PM PDT Hi, hope you're having a great day. I'm here asking for some kind of advice to start my own business, I have my ideas but I don't know where or how to start, I've read lots of books about money and business but I want you give me something that you've done before, something that has worked for you and your business. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| I have the opportunity to meet with someone very high up and am not sure how I should handle it. Posted: 29 May 2019 02:36 PM PDT I don't want to give away too many details, but here is some background: I've been developing a social app that hasn't launched yet but has been gaining some pre-launch traction through friends and marketing. I've been in it alone and self funded the startup. It's pretty much ready to launch as well. Now, someone I know personally has done business with the president of one of the largest private companies (it is a tech company) in the nation and offered to get me a meeting with him. This president is also in business with some of the most prominent people in tech and pretty close to the CEO of one of the largest social media companies in the world. Of course I'm taking him up on the offer. The only problem is I'm not sure how to handle it or what to ask for. I certainly do not want to waste the mans time, but I would also love to have my idea heard by someone in that position. I'm not opposed to selling my startup, but I was planning on growing my user base and the company itself to build value before I would sell it (if I would). If selling it isn't something that might happen, I would love to just hear his opinions and develop a connection with him and simply network. Given the current situation though, I'm not sure how I should proceed. I've never met with someone in his position and never really pitched an idea like this either (this is my first true startup). What should I prepare for? What could I expect from something like this? Also, any other pointers you guys have would be very much appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Mobile app monetization with affiliate links? Posted: 29 May 2019 02:32 PM PDT Hey I am looking for a way to monetize my android ios app. I see mostly people suggest classic ads but I wouldn't like to show my users ads for lawn mowers when app is about sport. Did anyone try to use ebay or amazon affiliate links inside app? [link] [comments]  |
| “Anything worth doing, is worth doing half-assed” Posted: 29 May 2019 02:26 PM PDT Saw this quote yesterday, and I've been thinking about it non stop— trying to see if I agree with it or not. Personally, In my business, I tend to agree with it. I can spend so much time waiting or working for something to be perfect that there is no forward direction. Have to keep reminding myself to make imperfect actions. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 02:05 PM PDT My roommate and I are starting our own clothing brand. My roommate developed the website. We were hoping to get some feedback on how the website looks and what could be improved. Link: https://onbalu.com/ [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 01:23 PM PDT My wife and I had an idea to start a niche medical goods business. We contacted the owner of a similar store in a different part of the state and they offered to set us up with a franchise, although it sounds like this isn't something they ever thought about doing. We are in the process of negotiating franchise fees. I think we can agree on a fair royalty fee but I'm having a hard time valuing the initial investment? How would you here go about that? Since we would be first time franchisees and first time business owners I'm not sure what kind of information to provide but would be happy to do so. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 12:59 PM PDT I had a person helping me incorporate and said we should use legal zoom.They ending moving out of state and I have no idea what to do does anyone have experience with legal zoom.I feel so dumb sould I just get a lawyer and explain everything so the can help me finish everything? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 May 2019 03:01 AM PDT What I'm proposing here is admittedly hopeful and extremely naive. Just an experiment if nothing else... I listen to a lot of How I Built This. A common theme is, with the right team of genuinely talented people, you can build (or replicate) anything. While that's not necessarily insightful, let's assume it's true (yes luck & other variable factors blah blah blah...) I see a lot of posts asking where to find a tech founder, yet there's not a well thought out business case or strategy (yes this does include a financial plan aka pro forma which people seem to hate, which gives major clues as to their business acumen). Opposite, I sometimes see tech founders looking for a CEO/CFO. Anyhow, I thought it might be an interesting experiment to see what kind of team we could pull together and bring to market an actual product/service. I'm talking development of a concept through execution. Obviously full commitment at first won't work for any of us. Realistic expectations will. Personally, my qualifications are an MBA, Business Planning and Development Manager for the largest hospital in Hawaii; 1st place Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship; 2 (failed) startups. Any interest? [link] [comments]  |
| VC Term sheet requirement: Key Man Insurance. A question? Posted: 29 May 2019 12:11 PM PDT Quick question for any VC funded startup out there. One of our requirements is to get Key Man Insurance. Was wondering if i should be worried about a medical screen of possibly turning up marijuana usage. Would they just quote me a higher rate or is this some news that would make it back to the investor? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
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