How I Built A Golf Website That Now Funds My PHD On Motor Control Entrepreneur |
- How I Built A Golf Website That Now Funds My PHD On Motor Control
- Pricing and Margins | Is my product too expensive?
- [Cofounder Call] I specialize in app developement but not marketing, looking for people with this passion to collaborate with and build something awesome
- Seedling Idea...Feedback Requested: About The Newsletter
- How easy is it for someone to " steal " your idea? Are there any legal repercussions for doing so?
- Successful people, what habits do you have that most people do not?
- My dad owns a bagel business in Downtown Dallas. I plan to quit my job and help him out.
- What to do as an entrepreneurial programmer?
- Our C- Corp is a CA company. Should we incorporate in Delaware instead? What would be the benefits?
- How do you all get into creative mode?
- I want to be an entrepreneur one day. Is this a good way to prep myself to become one?
- How can I figure out what my shipping will cost from China to the USA?
- I am making 5 Free Websites for small businesses !
- Free Cynical Millenial Review of your site (narrated screencast)
- How I launched an online store while recovering from an illness [cards + board games]
- Tips for a potentially great tech/trading side business , looking for feedback
- Business License??? How to get it?
- Becoming A Web Developer and Marketer Questions/Any Advice and Tips?
- What tools do you use for digital marketing /social media ?
- Entrepreneurs of Reddit...
- Is my apps retention rate good, average, or bad?
- 18yr Old Seeking A Loan
- Alternatives to Reddit when it comes to crowdsourcing ideas and insights for business people
- Opportunity to help another company do web design, how should I price it?
| How I Built A Golf Website That Now Funds My PHD On Motor Control Posted: 20 Oct 2019 07:49 AM PDT The concept was brewing for a while, but the pivotal moment came whilst I was waiting to get my haircut, I picked up a well-known golf magazine (it shall not be named). I was saddened by how poor the advice was, in a particular article, I decided there must be a market for high-quality, in-depth golf content. Golf Insider UK aims to build the world's best resources for golfers wishing to get better. To date, it mainly offers written content, videos and some basic analysis tools, but I have grand plans for the future. I see the website as the hub and marketing channel for all that follows. The site started off with instructional content and a small amount of affiliate content, this covered the running costs for the first 2-3 months. The next key business goal was to grow to 25,000 sessions a month so I could apply to join MediaVine and earn advertising venue. How did you validate the idea? I produced 5 articles on Blogger to test if there was a demand for high-quality, in-depth golf content. The 4th or 5th article got shared on Reddit and received ~3,000 reads in a few hours. That was the time I decided to get my head down and build a proper website on Wordpress. Did you have any experience/expertise in the area? A lot of experience, knowledge of golf coaching and sport science, but zero experience in building websites and SEO. The Authority Hacker Podcast and content from Matt Diggity's blog helped a lot in understanding how to build a site and understanding the business models available for website to generate income. Both of these resources are two really useful for anyone wishing to build a website and business model similar to Golf Insider UK. How did you fund the project? I invested all of $150 to set up the business, buy hosting and a domain name. Based on my previous start-up experiences (covered later on) I was keen to bootstrap this project and keep it really lean. The aim was to see if this venture could become something worth pursuing by the time I finished my PhD. I also love the idea of keeping complete control of what I do and where I take the business. Besides my own time, the running costs for the business for the first 12 months were under $50/month. Discounting my own wage, I can still scale the business back to run on under $150/month if I need to. I know this flies in the face of Silicon Valley and the VC world, but my two aims are to:
Because of this approach I'm not constrained like the larger golf publications and competitors to keep churning out content and blasting messages across social media. I can take different approaches and build interesting content and tools. I'm not saying this approach is perfect, but to date, I've been really surprised with how much I have been able to grow on such little funding and resources. Being different from your competitors doesn't end with your branding and marketing pitch. Your usp should be leveraged across your business, from day-to-day decisions, to growth strategies. Who is your target demographic? Golfers, surprisingly. I initially thought it would be 1% of the golfing population, and predominantly advanced players, but I quickly realised the site reaches a far wider demographic. It is closely aligned to a psychographic that loves to understand how things work and also loves playing golf. It includes, beginners, golf coaches and every level of golfer in between. How do you drive visitors to your website? 80% of the traffic has been from SEO, 20% via golfing forums and growing an email list. For the first 18-months I only had 10 - 15 hours a week to grow the business. For this reason I decided to focus on growing one traffic source and to do that really well. I think this focus on SEO was a key reason traffic grew so quickly. Currently I do feel too dependent on Google and their blackbox algorithm, a key aim in the next 12-months is diversify the traffic sources. Youtube and Pinterest are two I'm currently researching and planning. How long did it take you to monetize? Within a few weeks I began to see some incoming revenue, it was patchy, but really exciting. It took 8-months for the site to consistently make a few hundred dollars a month, this was when I started with display ads. That figure jumped to $1,000/month by month 13 with increased traffic and some new affiliate content, like guides for buying beginner golf clubs. Then it really took offer to mid-four figures 2-3 months later, with a combination of how-to content and more affiliate reviews. At the moment the the site is funding the end of my PhD, paying me a wage and I am still building up a sizable amount to reinvest back into the business. Last week I transitioned from 10- 15 hours a week at evenings and weekends, to dedicating 3-days a week on growing the business. I'm excited to see how far I can take it. Did you run any companies prior? I was previously a director for a start-up, building a golf coaching app. The company raised $450,000 and we built a really cool product, hired some great coaches, but there wasn't a strong product - market fit for the paid golf coaching service. Ultimately, the business ran out of money soon after the launch date. A key learning from this venture was to be frugal with resources and having enough time to tweak and refine any products. Following this business I've worked with elite athletes, in and out of golf, applying sport coaching and sport science concepts; on a self-employed basis. I wouldn't class this work as building a company, as it couldn't scale, but the core concepts of Golf Insider UK are based on testing and tweaking concepts from these first two ventures. Golf Insider UK is based on the same concepts, but has been designed on a very different business model. Business models are something that really fascinate me. I would urge any founder who thinks they have something of value to an audience to scribble multiple models they could use to build a profitable business around their idea.It isn't always the most obvious approach that succeeds. What motivated you to start your own business? I love the idea of building and developing things, whether it be businesses, content or improving elite athletes. I used to love playing games like Theme Park World and Sim City growing up. Start-ups are just like playing these games in the real-world. What were your family and friends first thoughts you creating your own your company? I've always been known as the 'happy, weird one'. From golf coach, to lecturing at university, to starting a PhD in Biomedical Science - I've taken quite a strange path through life so far. I don't think people are surprised I decided to build a site like this, but my Mum certainly doesn't understand how it is a 'job'. I think she thinks I'm secretly selling my organs to fund my lifestyle. Do you have any advice for someone just starting out? Set clear aims, and try to do 1-2 things really well. I feel most start-ups succeed because they get 1-2 things really right and provide value. This is far more valuable than setting off with every aspect being sound, but having no strengths. Test, re-test and tweak your product/service. Try to do it in a way that gives you a long runway to get the product/service and business model optimised. What is stopping you from being 3x the size you are now? Time - I'm delighted I've grown the site to reach 100,000 golfers a month and built a profitable business on 10 - 15 hours a week with minimal start-up capital. Next, I can invest more time and begin to outsource some tasks to graphic designers and videographers to up the level of content production. I could outsource a lot of the writing too and become a manager of systems, but I really enjoy producing content. The great thing about building a business is that you have control over what you build and what your days look like. I'm not trying to build the biggest business in my space, but I do want it to be known as the best. Which is your favorite article? This article on Golf Practice Routines - it is an old piece, I hate the way it looks, but it does exactly what great content marketing should do. It ranks number 1 in google for relevant queries, it gives readers great value and then up-sells my product - a Golf Performance Diary. This one piece of content has been really valuable for attracting new customers and converting them into loyal followers. What are the top apps your blog could not run without? Wordpress takes a little getting used to, but is a great content management platform. I've recently invested in Ahrefs, this is the swiss army knife for SEO. It saves me hours each week and gives me great data to build and grow the site. Lastly, a really nice notebook. I do like google drive, but I still scribble down ideas in a notebook whenever they come to me and plan out my key tasks every day. I re-read my notebook every 2 weeks, it is so useful to see my progress, grab missed ideas and keep on top of my workflow. My aim is to keep growing the site and the business. The next big milestone is reaching 250,000 unique golfers in one month. Are there any new features you're working on? I'm currently planning an interactive tool for golfers to find practice games and drills. The idea is that they enter the area they want to improve (iron-play), currently ability (18 handicap) and practice aim (improve strike). Based on this data the site returns the optimum way for them to practice with videos, notes and training targets. I'll hopefully have a draft version built by January 2020, before deciding if it is worth filming a lot of videos to fully deliver the idea. What is current revenue? The site generates mid-four figures a month, which is a pretty good for one person working 10 - 15 hours a week. I can see a pathway to increasing the monthly revenue by 2 - 3x . If I can get close to that in the next 18 months I will be happy to take a step back and consider what is next. Would you ever sell the company? I've had three offers in the past 3 months, but I don't plan to sell any time soon, I aim to finish my PhD in the next 3 months, then move onto Golf Insider UK full time and see what I can achieve. I wouldn't ever rule out selling a share or all of it, but that is a distant thought at the moment. If you enjoyed this interview, the original is here. [link] [comments]  |
| Pricing and Margins | Is my product too expensive? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 05:17 PM PDT I have a store drafted with product designs ready to launch but I feel like my profit margins and price of product wouldn't get me far. I'm selling custom waist bags they cost about $37 to create through the business I'm working with and I have them proved at about $50. I feel that $50 is a lot for a waist bag and Nike ones from already reputable stores are like $30. Any tips? I'm at a point where I can still modify my products without repercussion. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Oct 2019 03:58 PM PDT Hi Entrepreneurs! I am a 23M app developer from the UK who has been building apps for fun for a few years and in the last year, I made the mindset shift to use my greatest skill to build products that can generate revenue and one day, support a more independent lifestyle. As part of my plan, last month I released a fairly complex app with several features and even a method to generate revenue. While doing that project I further increased my app development skills. However, I noticed that when it came to marketing this, I had trouble figuring out where to begin and frankly lacked the motivation to really do it as seriously as required, Honestly I would be most productive in a situation where I can dedicate 90% of my time to just building and improving the product and not worry about spreading the message of it (I'm not at all trying to say it's not important! I completely understand the need for serving an audience and not just coding in a bubble, which is why I am posting here). Therefore I came to the decision that going forward, I would like together with someone who is as equally passionate about marketing as I am with development because if we can start a project and both get to focus on our areas of interest, then I think we will be much more likely to succeed. Just to help find someone with a similar set of passions, my ideas mostly revolved around fashion, productivity or useful daily tools. I am perfectly happy to settle on a new idea if we have a chat and are both passionate about it. So if you are a marketer and would like to work together to help identify a gap in the market, listen to what a community wants and work with me to help serve them a much-needed solution, then please send me a message so we can start innovating together! All the best, Hussien [link] [comments]  |
| Seedling Idea...Feedback Requested: About The Newsletter Posted: 20 Oct 2019 05:30 PM PDT First, this isn't anything I'm doing at this time, nor have any plans to do. It's an idea that kindasorta popped into my head as a seedling and I'm curious how it might be fleshed out more to make it worth pursuing. So over on Make My Newspaper, there are pretty good rates on short run print newspapers. Aside from selling ad space for a local publication (which I am doing) I started thinking about how to do something else entirely along the lines of maybe creating specific newsletters or branded offers for area businesses but instead of large monthly distribution it would be a much smaller run and something the businesses maybe hand out to customers they do business with or set out on the counters and so on. It's specific to their business, not a co op ad circular or all that. Maybe not even a regular newsletter per se but maybe a quarterly "zine" sort of thing and they provide the content/copy...and would be paying for the service of adapting it to the newspaper format, printing, shipping, etc. The gist of it so far is wondering how it might be implemented if the offer to the business was for the creation and production of the publication itself, not the ad sales. Just creating a 4+ page newsletter or ad circular or whatever that's specifically for one business, order however many copies on the front end and they just dole them out til they're gone, ordering more later if needed. Maybe they just order 500 to start. It's not mass marketing but something they can provide to their current customer base. Like a full color bright at 500 pcs would run about $500 shipped. So the offer would be creating something for the business once that can just be reordered as needed maybe? Not a monthly expense to them. Any ideas how to make this work better so that businesses would like the concept and be receptive to getting on board? Just kicking it around. I like the start of it but not sure how it could be best implemented. You? [link] [comments]  |
| How easy is it for someone to " steal " your idea? Are there any legal repercussions for doing so? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 02:51 PM PDT If I call Johnson and Johnson over the phone and ask if they would like to license a product with me, and they say no to my proposal and walk away from the deal, can they simply launch the product on their own? Is this legal, are there loopholes, do non disclosure agreements protect this, should I keep my product idea which I have a prototype of a secret? I want to share my business idea with friends, family, reddit, and the rest of the world but feel that I would be quickly crushed by competitors who take the idea and build it themselves, since it is quite simple. This is not something revolutionary but very convenient and worthwhile, is Reddit right when they say that if you have competition that means there is a market and your concept is good, or is this an unrealistic statement? Sorry for the many questions, and thanks in advance for any answers, responses, feedback, and personal experiences. [link] [comments]  |
| Successful people, what habits do you have that most people do not? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 10:59 AM PDT I recently read a book and one thing it covered was habits of CEOs. Eating the same breakfast every day to save time, wearing the same suit to eliminate one extra decision every day, sleep patterns, thought process, etc etc. I'm a firm advocate that being a successful entrepreneur is a life style choice more so than a career choice. So every day habits and decisions can have an impact on long term success. Thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| My dad owns a bagel business in Downtown Dallas. I plan to quit my job and help him out. Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:10 PM PDT My dad owns a bagel business in Downtown Dallas. The old man is getting into his late 70's so I want to start helping him out and take the business next level. He's had his business for about 10 years now and it's always done good. At the beginning he use to cater all the time and everything he had was branded with his logo. It's the complete opposite now. His restaurant is doing good but it can be so much better. I have many ideas/plans on what to do. I'd just like some additional advice and input on what else I could do? My plans: -Make a catering menu and start to print/hand out those menus -Samples: I would like to start getting samples and going to each building letting businesses try our product and inform them about our catering -Delivery: A lot of people I'm sure would order from their desk, instead of walking all the way down to my dads place to get breakfast. I was thinking about doing a minimum of a $10 order and I would deliver the food. -Social Media: Of course I'd get into Social media. I'd love some additional input/advice that you think would help me and the business out. [link] [comments]  |
| What to do as an entrepreneurial programmer? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 07:55 AM PDT Hello everyone! I'm thinking about how to make money independently as a programmer. I never fit in with the 9 to 5. I've been working as a freelancer since before I finished college. I worked really hard so that I never had to spend 8 hours in an office. However, as a freelancer I still am selling my time by the hour. My long term objective has always been to work on something for myself. I simply don't mind putting in the hours when it's for me. The chance that I might be successful and that there is no ceiling to how much money I can make is what gets me excited. Working for someone else, I know how much I will make and how much time I have to dedicate to the work and that just kills my productivity. It's like the future is already written so why even bother. I end up procrastinating more than actually doing the work. I suppose maybe I just wasn't built for working for others? Either way, I have spent a lot of time thinking (maybe a bit obsessively, perhaps due to my predisposition for OCD) about the economy and how it works. How people get money to spend and how they spend it. As it turns out, the economy is a very complicated thing. I've been reading this awesome book though and it is one of the best books I have ever read so far! I still don't intuitively understand where the common citizen's purchasing power comes from and what dictates it, but do I really have to anyway? All I need to figure out is how I can create something that people value enough to spend their money on. As to the rest, I can just go the physics route and assume a spherical economy on an infinite plane with no friction and people on the internet with enough disposable income to afford me a Tesla one day. So this is my question: What is the best way I can allocate my time to maximize my chances of success? I want to make a lot of money of course - I'd love to be able to help anyone I wanted to. But I also know it's important to spend my time doing something that makes me happy and that I think is meaningful - we don't get a lot of time after all! I have collected a few resources and have been trying to get inspired to come up with good project ideas. These are a couple. I came here because I think a lot of you know a lot more than me - and likely have something to say that would be really valuable to me right now. So please, if you think you have something to say that might help me find my way, do help! Thank you so much for passing by. I really appreciate you! [link] [comments]  |
| Our C- Corp is a CA company. Should we incorporate in Delaware instead? What would be the benefits? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 05:46 PM PDT |
| How do you all get into creative mode? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 04:58 PM PDT Those that are successful, how did you come up with your idea? Was it organic or where you on a hunt for that one idea? [link] [comments]  |
| I want to be an entrepreneur one day. Is this a good way to prep myself to become one? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 04:25 PM PDT I was incredibly lazy in highschool, but for some reason I always wanted to own a company and be my own boss. I started college and I started working more, coding, clubs, a bit of freelancing, etc. Is this a good way to help get me ready for the workload as an entrepreneur? [link] [comments]  |
| How can I figure out what my shipping will cost from China to the USA? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 03:39 PM PDT I am trying to figure out how much my shipping will cost from China to the USA for a basic consumer product? The product will be shipped by ship. I got an all in quote from my Chinese supplier and I'm trying to get other quotes to compare to make sure I'm getting an honest price. All the quotes I see on Alibaba don't include the shipping; how do I calculate the shipping? [link] [comments]  |
| I am making 5 Free Websites for small businesses ! Posted: 20 Oct 2019 03:28 PM PDT Hi, I am a new Website designer and I am currently a 3rd year student at an IT college in my country. I know HTML, CSS and JavaScript very well and have recently come across WordPress. I started thinking of doing web design to earn something extra but for that I need a portfolio so that is why I am making 5 free websites. All you need to do is just pay for the domain and hosting and I'll make the website in less than a week. I have experience but as I said I have no real projects ( aside from those at my college ) to show so basically I'm offering you a free website. [link] [comments]  |
| Free Cynical Millenial Review of your site (narrated screencast) Posted: 20 Oct 2019 03:07 PM PDT Hey all, Here's the deal:
Who I am and Why I'm doing this: I'm a 30-year-old marketing manager who's looking to start a youtube channel of ongoing site reviews as a side project. The feedback you get from your friends and family is largely worthless, so I'm offering an unbiased review from a professional in the field. The only thing I ask in return is that you allow me to make the review public so that others can learn and chime in as well. I'll be archiving all reviews on youtube as well as https://www.reddit.com/r/UnbiasedSiteReview/ [link] [comments]  |
| How I launched an online store while recovering from an illness [cards + board games] Posted: 20 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview. Today's interview is with Dennis Michels (u/u/plaatjes) of Good Look Gamer, a brand that makes board and card games Some stats:
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hello, my name is Dennis Michels, I run Good Look Gamer, a webstore for modern board and card games. Our products vary greatly, as new games are released daily. We take a lot of pre-orders for upcoming games, sometimes months before they are released. My customers mainly consist of adults who enjoy the challenge of a board game, competing with friends and family or cooperating in reaching a shared goal for fun or glory :) Our turnaround currently is around $1600 per month, and we're still growing. What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?The start of this adventure was during a bad time in my life. I had gotten ill and was housebound for months, with no hope of returning to my regular job as an audio/video technician. I was really afraid I would never get better and would lose my job and my income. During this period I was also getting back into my old hobbies of reading comic books and enjoying board/card games to keep me occupied and take my mind off things. Me and my wife had fantasized and discussed starting our own business a few times in the past. And since I was sitting at home, not feeling very productive, I figured; hey, let's just do this. And so I started prototyping a website, brainstorming a name and sketching logos. My wife and I came up with Good Look Gamer, with the idea of selling board/card games and geeky fashion so you can Look Good while Gaming :) Well, the clothing part never really took off, so we stuck with just selling games. And to be honest, someone playing games automatically always looks good. To start off the business I did 2 things: I began taking pre-orders for upcoming games, and I started selling off parts my old collection of gaming materials through local listings and forums. And this turned out to be a great way to raise some starting capital and to get a feel for who my customers are and what they are looking for. I was taking orders from the first week of launching the business. Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.Well, I don't really manufacture my own products. I did, however, design, prototype and create my own webshop, so let's talk a bit about that. I have a degree in graphic design and years of experience in building websites as a freelance web designer. For building my website I narrowed down the CMS I wanted to use to two candidates: WordPress or Shopify and actually built prototype webshops in both systems. Eventually, I chose to use WordPress because of a few reasons: cost, expandability, flexibility, and familiarity. Startup costs were kept at a minimum, I bought a domain name and hosting. I got myself registered with the chamber of commerce and that was it. Describe the process of launching the business.I did the web design myself, the logo was suggested by an acquaintance and is… adequate. Probably need to redo that one sometime :) I researched popular online platforms for selling games, and quickly learned that there actually are only two good places to sell games professionally: eBay and BoardGameGeek (BGG as it's known everywhere in the gaming hobby) So, my strategy was as follows:
Doing sales this way is how I started building up capital and stock. I was in luck as one of the first games I listed for pre-order turned out to be in-demand and I got about 10 orders for that one, which felt like a great start to me. I soon realized something about this pre-order strategy. I had no idea what the dimensions of the gamebox were and I needed to arrange packaging material for shipping the orders to my clients. The info was nowhere to be found, so I started asking around in the forums and it turned out no one really knew for sure, although it was suggested the game probably would have the standard box size. Great! What is that standard size though was my next question. Someone actually got a measuring tape and measured some of his other games in his collection that also had the standard size. Armed with that knowledge I took a gamble and bought packaging material for that size. Turned out I gambled right… what a relief. Before I knew it I was shipping out my first orders. Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?I have tried so many things to attract and retain customers. I have advertised on Facebook, Google, and Instagram. I added a free shipping option. I added a loyalty rewards program. I regularly add freebies to orders. All of these with varying success. I tend to alternate my advertising efforts between various platforms and am currently looking to advertise on Reddit, see what that brings. My advertising budget is actually quite small, since I tend to invest all profits I make in new stock or upgrades to the store. The best marketing strategy for me so far has been being friendly and approachable for clients. Clients literally contact me everywhere: Instagram messages, BoardGameGeek forums, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook messenger, etc. I make it a point to respond everywhere as fast as possible, the same day at least, but preferably within an hour or less. I always include a friendly thank you note in every order, which really gets me a lot of positive feedback from clients. Another marketing strategy for me that really works is just being everywhere my clients are. I sell board games on BGG, eBay and local listings. I sell collectible card game singles on specialized marketplaces such as cardmarket.com, eBay and local listings. And every time I make a sale via whatever platform, I include a thank you letter in the order with the details of my webshop in the footer. How are you doing today and what does the future look like?I got better after almost a year of being sick, which is great :) I went back to my job as an audio/video engineer, but actually started working a day less because I am doing good with my online business and I want it to grow. So I'm investing more time in it. I think about 80 to 90% of my sales are from outside my webshop. And I also got some local regulars currently who come by to pick up their orders and am planning some social events with them to hopefully start building a bit of a local community (and sell them my stuff :) I'm working on building 2 other websites that will act more as platforms for communities around some popular collectible games. I noticed that for some games there really isn't an alternative to eBay for players to sell or trade their items. I'm hoping to create income from commissions on sales made by members. My long term goal is to be a full-time entrepreneur. :) Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?The biggest lesson I learned is Just Do It! Go chase that dream. Eventually, you will run into some problems, but don't let that stop you. The biggest problem I ran into was accounting and taxes, it turns out I'm bad at it, very bad. After about 6 months my wife suggested I'd hire an accountant because..well… Anyway, I think I gave my accountant a severe case of migraines because my administration was a terrible mess. It really took some sessions with the accountant and some longs days together with my wife to get it all sorted. I learned that some of my peculiarities really are assets for this business. I don't need much sleep, 5 to 6 hours per night is enough for me. All the extra time I get thanks to that is used for working; creating listings, improving the website, seeking out new products, I'm even packing orders past midnight. Another important lesson I learned for doing business is: be where your clients are. Research the platforms your clients are using, the forums they hang out in and just built your own presence on those platforms. Engage your clients, talk to them, be one of them. It really helps if you are one of the guys. What platform/tools do you use for your business?My webshop is powered by WordPress/WooCommerce. I have chosen this platform because of the low costs, high flexibility and familiarity. For invoicing and accounting I use Moneybird, which is highly automated and I love it. Any invoices/bills I receive in my email are automatically forwarded to a special Moneybird email address, which automatically adds it to my ledger. Thanks to a WordPress plugin all incoming orders will automatically create an invoice through Moneybird. It really saves me a lot of time and frustration. I'm currently looking into integrating eBay with Moneybird, so all my eBay sales also automatically get a Moneybird generated invoice. Also, I'd like to automatically synchronize my website stock to eBay. I think this would really save me a lot of work and time, so I'm also looking into how to do that. I don't use any real productivity tools. I've tried plenty, but they all feel clunky, complicated and don't really seem to save me any time. What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I don't listen to podcasts, because I think they are boring and I really can't focus on work when someone is talking to me ;) I do read a lot of books, but mostly fiction. I love Terry Pratchett, Marten Toonder, Tolkien, Frank Herbert and Douglas Adams to name a few. I did start an online marketing course on Udemy a little while ago, which I'm finding quite enjoyable and inspiring. Highly recommended. I tend to watch 1 or 2 lessons per week and get inspired to take some actions to enhance my webshop or web presence. Some things I skip though, I don't need someone explaining how to set up a Facebook page :P Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Go for it, follow your dreams, you got nothing to lose. Grab any chances and opportunities you get firmly with two hands! Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?Not at the moment. But eventually yeah. I would love to eventually get a creative artist for making unique assets like playing cards, custom meeples or tokens. Also, I'd love to someday start a Youtube channel for reviewing games, I'm not good on camera, so I'd be looking for a host. 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. For more interviews, check out r/starter_story - I post new stories there daily. Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM [link] [comments]  |
| Tips for a potentially great tech/trading side business , looking for feedback Posted: 20 Oct 2019 02:48 PM PDT Hi I am a programmer and have an excellent database , so good actually it was published in an engineering conference(I have the specs to back it up and explain it to you if you don't believe me) And I was planning on working with some stock traders (one guy has a couple years of trading experience at the Chicago board of trade), the other has an MBA , a CPA , and a CFA , and an expert in in the tech stack also a CS PHD professor who backs up the project\technology as well. We were gonna work out a deal if the traders use the database I can make 5% commission , I was also thinking about letting them use the technology for free if they can get potential clients.. a more experienced trader pays 1000$ a month for something similar. Am I being low -balled here? Any advice , recommendations? I'm looking for feedback from people who are experienced on the business side of things with tech and or trading or any expertise in general. Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| Business License??? How to get it? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 02:38 PM PDT Alright so I figured I'd just ask the general question here. When I've been looking at starting my own business the issue I consistently run into is legalities. To be more specific, licenses, permits and insurance along with how to actually afford/acquire them. When it comes to insurance I know that would probably be preference on company but suggestions would be awesome. As for the licensing and permits the main issue I run into is how to afford them, since I can't legally sell things without one, but I can't make the money to legally sell stuff without one. Just from stuff I've seen online I've seen people that have made money from small business ideas by just setting up and selling stuff. Whether or not they have a license and such for it. Though the main issue I have with that is that I'd rather avoid having to deal with the legal consequences if I managed to get caught and ticketed. Since I doubt I could afford getting ticketed on top of trying to do said business and bills. Even though I do have a few ideas for different side hustles I'm planning on doing to help make a bit. Any suggestion as to stuff I could sell/where I could sell things that I could hopefully avoid getting ticketed. While I'd rather get all the legalities dealt with affording it is an issue. TLDR: Trying to open a business, wondering about licensing and such specifics. As well as alternate solutions if I can't afford the license currently. Edit: Forgot to add in that I'm in Canada specifically. Got missed up about the subreddit I was on since I posted a similar question on my city subreddit. To be specific I'm in Edmonton, Alberta. [link] [comments]  |
| Becoming A Web Developer and Marketer Questions/Any Advice and Tips? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 01:25 PM PDT Hello! I work for a local garment printing business as a graphic designer. The business has been open for 4 years and I have taught everyone a lot of things about design, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. We have had a lot of success in our brick and mortar store and with our local community. My boss has been wanting a website for a number of years but every time he's tried to get one it hasn't worked out. We hired a web developer and she ended up not responding to our emails and dropping the project. Then we hired a student who had finished the Web and Graphic Design program at our local college but she was a mess of an employee with no work ethic and didn't really know how to build a site despite having been in the program. I had been in the same program at the college but had to quit due to personal reasons, though I did get some really useful information while I was there. I decided that I would take on the project but it involved a lot of self teaching which was fine and ended up being really fun. We now have a website that looks pretty darn good if you ask me, and I'm very proud of what I've managed to accomplish. We haven't had many sales or traffic there yet but I know that takes time. The issue now is that I have to maintain the website and market it while I also manage the in-store operations (we are a very small team) but I don't know where to start, plus the amount of stuff I've discovered I have to learn is pretty overwhelming but I'm determined to do it. Before I came to this job 3 years ago I worked for a photographer as an editor and I managed her Facebook page which gave me a good foundation in this area. Facebook is just one aspect of what we're doing now though. We're advertising on Instagram, Facebook, and I'm learning about how to effectively use Google Ads before we start with those. My questions for anyone who can help me are as follows:
Like I said, we are a small operation and we are trying our hardest to grow as much as we can. This year we are projecting to double our Christmas sales from last year which is huge for us. I am a young guy and I am getting a lot of practical experience here and I really value what I can learn from other's business experiences which is why I've come here for help! Thanks in advance [link] [comments]  |
| What tools do you use for digital marketing /social media ? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 01:18 PM PDT There so many tools out there, and i have no idea which one to use. I want to offer services: lead generation,social media marketing/management,seo, ppc, content marketing and copywriting and maybe web development. I won't offer these service all at once. But i am curious of what people use. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:59 PM PDT I am in college right now & am taking a Entrepreneur class as an elective I need to graduate, this class has inspired me to develop ideas for a business to open, sooner than later. I'm in my last semester though so I'm just going to grind out until December. One of my assignments is to "interview" an Entrepreneur, I should not have waited last minute to do this but since I have I could use some help. Please answer 10 questions from this form & put your name in the first question and initials after every one after that. [link] [comments]  |
| Is my apps retention rate good, average, or bad? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:45 PM PDT So my app is a bookmarking service similar to Pocket, Instapaper, and Flipboard. I'm not exactly sure what industry it is in. I know those three apps are in the News section but my app has very little news on it compared to other content, maybe it would be more entertainment I feel like measuring my retention rate weekly is more accurate as it isnt really an instagram or twitter kind of app where you check it daily. My retention for the last 3 weeks are Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 9/22 - 9/28 (54 Users) - 29.40% 11.80% 8.90% 9/29 - 10/5 (146 Users) - 11.80% 8.60% 10/6 - 10/12 (28 Users) - 15.10% [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:45 PM PDT Hello! I am an 18yr old who is looking for a $30,000 cash loan. I have a 760 credit score, but no legal income. I'm making this post not to be convinced whether or not to do this. I am starting a business and I want to know what methods i could use to acquire the cash. I'm willing to take out loans if that was unclear. [link] [comments]  |
| Alternatives to Reddit when it comes to crowdsourcing ideas and insights for business people Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:44 PM PDT Reddit is cool to read and comment and help others, but when it comes for me to get specific information, I've posted many threads and most of the time get 0 replies. There are millions of users but somehow my content doesn't reach the people who can help. I'm wondering if there are other popular and with more engagement forums on the internet, for entrepreneurs and business owners of small/medium companies. My company is considered a medium company where i'm at (over 50+ employees) so my questions are different from someone who is starting out. most of my questions are related to team, HR, compensation, motivation and people. if you know any forum where I can ask my burning questions and get replies so i can bounce ideas off i'd be immensely grateful! [link] [comments]  |
| Opportunity to help another company do web design, how should I price it? Posted: 20 Oct 2019 12:31 PM PDT Background info: * Running 2 small business myself. * Renting car from a rental company So the rental company decides that they like what I do with my website, asks if I could help them update their website using the same platform as I am currently using. They said that other companies are currently offering them $2k for a simple website with a form. How should I charge them? How should I charge them according to the website updates that they might eventually need? Should I offer them SEO, since they'll probably need it? How have other people who have done this before priced and pitched their services? [link] [comments]  |
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