Marketplace Tuesday! (December 31, 2019) Entrepreneur |
- Marketplace Tuesday! (December 31, 2019)
- New Series on The Formation and Growth of a Business
- Fewer than 12 hours until 2020 (depending on your time zone)! Wishing you all the utmost success accomplishing everything you set out to do. What are your entrepreneurial goals for this year?
- What’s something you’ve done successfully in 2019 but will not be doing in 2020?
- Short Term Daycare
- What is the best platform to host an online course?
- Has anyone ever felt like they were not cut out to be an entrepreneur, but not an employee either?
- Most profitable small-businesses to start with $50k
- How to Develop an Iron-Clad Business IT Strategy
- The Perfect Planner
- My new domain name is 20 characters long. Is that too long?
- How I overcame New Year Melancholy - The steps and techniques I employed..
- 2019 Received, 2020 Giving Back
- Trademark Clothing brand name question.
- Does anyone run an online course business? I want to hear your story
- USD credit solution needed for UK business
- How do I not get fired a 4th time?
- Business name and idea help
- CE Marking and EN71 help
- Could I sell something (t-shirt) that just said “baby yoda” on it but no likeness or other association
- How do I get my first few web design clients
- The best book for MARKET VALIDATION?
- Wrong to book my first client while still employed?
- Close to closing a $2MM series A on CuckCoin - AMA
- SDVOSB Registration and Startup
| Marketplace Tuesday! (December 31, 2019) Posted: 31 Dec 2019 05:07 AM PST Please use this thread to post any Jobs that you're looking to fill (including interns), or services you're looking to render to other members. We do this to not overflow the subreddit with personal offerings (such logo design, SEO, etc) so please try to limit the offerings to this weekly thread. Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. [link] [comments]  |
| New Series on The Formation and Growth of a Business Posted: 31 Dec 2019 07:59 AM PST I've always wanted to watch a series that followed a business from formation and through it's trials, tribulations and success. I was never able to find anything like that. So I decided to make one myself. I will be documenting the beginning and growth of a house cleaning business ran by a woman named Stacey. Stacey will be doing all the work and financing the business, I will merely be in an advisory role. We believe her story will resonate with most people looking to start a business because she doesn't come from money, works a full time job, has family commitments, and has never ran or managed a business before. Starting a new business is scary and I think she will help show that self employment is a very attainable goal. We chose house cleaning because the barrier to entry is extremely low and the opportunity for re-occurring clients can make the business potentially quite valuable. In the first episode we cover: -Expectations of starting a business and setting the stage -Stacey's background -How starting a business will affect your lifestyle -Purchasing supplies for a cleaning business -How to determine pricing for a cleaning business -Getting business cards for a cleaning business -How to get a logo for a cleaning business The first episode is really just setting the stage for the series, but we just wrapped up on episode 5 yesterday and I am very excited about where this series is headed. As a little teaser Stacey has turned out to be an extremely hard worker and is really excelling so stay tuned and subscribe if you want to be notified. There will be two episodes released this week - The second one will be released Wednesday with updates every few weeks from there. Our goal is to build this cleaning business into a million dollar enterprise and document every impactful step along the way. We're really excited for the future of this series and the positive influence I think it will likely create. Episode 1: https://youtu.be/z4V8XrVJzPk [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 09:08 AM PST |
| What’s something you’ve done successfully in 2019 but will not be doing in 2020? Posted: 30 Dec 2019 04:25 PM PST |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 07:31 AM PST Has anyone looked into starting up a short-term daycare before? Around me, all the daycare locations are set up to be like mini-schools for people who work where they can drop off their kid and pick them up at the end of the day. They have a minimum fee, and a steep monthly fee for those who work full time. Something I haven't seen though is a short-term daycare (a few hours at a time). Where parents could drop off their kid to go to the store, go on a date, or to see a movie. Parents would pay on a per-hour basis, and essentially it would be like any other daycare, but for a much shorter time. As a parent myself, this is something I would love to have. My wife and I don't have family too close by, and even those that live fairly close don't always want to watch our son. Because of this, we rarely (if ever) get to go on dates, go out to eat in peace, or even go to the store without having to worry about chasing around our kid the entire time. It's definitely something that I would pay a little bit for. A scheduling app could be included as well so we aren't understaffed during the busy times where parents might be going out more often. Has anyone seen this before in their areas or looked into daycare-like businesses? There's nothing like that where I am which makes me wonder if it's not profitable, or if just nobody has thought of it and made it happen (unless there are some other caveats). [link] [comments]  |
| What is the best platform to host an online course? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 10:06 AM PST I'm looking for a really good platform to host an online course Im going to create. I want a platform that allows full customization for my landing page and funnel. I really like Scott Hilse's Simplified Dropshipping course page layout and funnel, If anybody knows which platform this is, Please tell me. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Has anyone ever felt like they were not cut out to be an entrepreneur, but not an employee either? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 01:35 PM PST I find myself getting discouraged a lot because I have no ideas, no skills, and no business knowledge, but VERY much want to have something of my own one day where I call all the shots and collect all the money. I realize there are a thousand posts like this of people claiming they have no ideas, and am very aware that some people are simply not to be entrepreneurs. I know that I'm young and a great business idea is not going to happen overnight, but damnit ive been trying to think of SOMETHING i can do for yeeaarsss and no luck or no idea how to even start. When this has been going on for multiple years, it scares me to think that maybe I am one of those people, who just simply are not going to make it happen. But then i get even more lost, because if theres anything i truly believe, its that there is no fucking way Im just going to say "well i guess im not an entrepreneur" and go get a regular job for the rest of my life. So for the past couple years ive been just cycling between those two mindsets and I am truly on a hampster wheel going absoultely nowhere. Just wanted to post this and see if there are anyone who is successful or not that maybe feels the same way I do, or maybe felt similar in the past before you actually made something happen. [link] [comments]  |
| Most profitable small-businesses to start with $50k Posted: 31 Dec 2019 09:36 AM PST Incredibly general question, I know. But I think it's a good one. So - if someone handed you $50k and said start a business, what would it be? I'm really just looking for ideas/markets that you've seen become successful on a small scale and eventually grow. There's a lot outside of what I've been exposed to that I can learn from. $50k is a decent amount of capital to start with for a SMB, what idea would you put your money on to best ensure success? Things to consider:
Interested in hearing what you'd do! [link] [comments]  |
| How to Develop an Iron-Clad Business IT Strategy Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:01 PM PST For those creating or revisiting business strategies in the New Year, here are some best practices to follow when developing or updating your IT strategy. Share any areas important to your business I may have missed or specific areas that are helpful when crafting an IT strategy and I'll include in a follow-up article. Link to post at bottom but all content (minus the images) is included here. Cheers and Happy New Year! How to Develop an Iron-Clad Business IT StrategyInformation Technology plays a dramatic role in global business, producing disruptions that upend industries and alter the manner in which business is conducted. However, the process of developing an effective IT strategy for business can be quite complicated involving in-depth analysis and input from various business areas to ensure a holistic view of the organization is captured. According to a recent online global study by McKinsey Digital, a large percentage of companies realize minimal success in their efforts to digitize their business models and technology management. Interestingly, this aspect of IT strategy vs business strategy is evident even in the most cutting-edge industries. The need for an agile IT strategy in business is clear, and yet it eludes many organizations. Below we've made a comprehensive guide on how to formulate and implement an effective IT strategy that facilitates your business goals and your business success. Ensure IT Focuses Align with the Business StrategyYour business operating model encompasses the way different pieces of your business fit together. Its main purpose is to ensure that everyone in the organization focuses on the value the business seeks to create. You can articulate how your business will uniquely deliver this value only when your business model is clear across the board. As such, both IT and business leaders have to be on the same page on how the business operates as a whole before any strategies can be formulated. In many cases, business leaders and IT leaders tend to have varying visions on what the organization should look like. Isolated IT and business functions lead to misaligned and often times conflicting strategies. Issues that misalignment between IT and business areas can include:
As a business manager, you must be willing to not only understand the business, but also the implications of IT to the business. This way you can encourage IT to translate their concepts and ideas into your business language. A great practice would be to schedule brief weekly or bi-weekly IT strategy and business alignment meetings to create strategic plans and assess your strategy. On an ongoing basis you must ensure that the business strategy is aligned with the IT strategy. Get the Right People InvolvedOne of the differences between organizations that successfully align business with IT, and those that fail; is the role of leadership in making decisions concerning IT. As a business leader, you must be directly involved in decision-making where major IT initiatives are concerned. Senior business managers have to meet regularly with IT managers to discuss strategies that encompass both functions. It is much easier for employees to get behind a business IT strategy when the executive leadership team is involved as well. Consider including these people at the table when planning out an IT Strategy:
Getting the right people involved also includes getting external IT and business experts involved in your strategy. It is inadvisable to only use in-house talent for business-IT alignment. External parties bring several key aspects to the table, including better expertise, a different perspective, objectivity, access to more resources, and creative approaches for cost reductions. An IT Consulting company experienced in developing IT strategies can bring forward frameworks and methodologies built on best practices so that your IT Strategy is aligned and covers all the necessary pieces to be successful. Set Clear ObjectivesNot so long ago, IT-related initiatives used to be knee jerk, unclear and lacking in a meaningful direction. Today, an effective business IT plan must include carefully formulated objectives aimed at developing various business capabilities such as product/service innovation, product/service delivery, collaboration across the department, and customer care. You should ensure that these objectives are divided into smaller, inter-related IT and business initiatives which cover different functional areas. Formulate the objectives such that they can be adapted, accelerated, reconfigured, or cancelled depending on the overall business direction. Having well-defined and realistic objectives will provide both IT and business managers with a unified focus and direction. This will challenge them to think and move beyond current operations to meet the set objectives. Examples of clear business IT-related objectives would be to "use IT resources to make the company a great place to work" or "improve the customer experience and increase engagement through digital solutions." When you tailor business and IT initiatives around such concise objectives, it is easier for leaders to track and steer crucial strategic goals over the deployment period of the plan.
Balance IT Infrastructure Investment and IT Business StrategyAmong the challenges of implementing an effective IT strategy for your business are the different ways that you can apply technology. As such, determining how to allocate your IT budget is key to your business IT strategy. Gartner divides IT spend into three categories.
In this regard, there are a few main components you must consider. The first is how to drive down fixed costs (doing more with less). The second consideration is how to allocate resources towards IT investment opportunities that further your business strategy. Driving down fixed costs can include initiatives such as outsourcing some or all of your IT, using Application Services Providers (ASPs), shared services, and grid computing. When it comes to IT investment opportunities, there are several types that support and further business strategy. They include:
Each type of IT investment detailed above provides a different kind of business-IT value. As such, your strategy must reflect an appropriate balance in all the dimensions of IT investment and technology strategy. Set Success MetricsSetting success metrics is central to business and IT alignment as it establishes common goals and binds all parties to the strategy itself. Success metrics provide quantifiable methods for visualizing performance measures and its direction as well as key responsibilities and actions that need to be taken. Good baseline IT Strategy success metrics include:
Success metrics will make management and staff strategically aware and able to respond quickly, with a clear understanding of how their actions/inactions affect the achievement of the business-IT alignment strategy. Apply a Set of Principles that Govern High-Level Strategy ItemsThis covers high-level decisions like whether you decide whether you are going to be cloud-first, cloud native, or on premise. Whether you will source work internally or partner with an IT firm, these are some of the IT principles you should decide on before you land on your IT strategy:
ConclusionOverall, effective IT strategy and business strategy formulation and implementation are an integral part of any organization in the long term. While there is no definitive business IT strategy, the aforementioned best practices are some of the crucial success factors for where IT infrastructure and business strategy meet. As a business leader, learning to implement them well ensures the business is well-placed to tackle the dynamic business environment. Full post (all text is in the Reddit post but the supporting images are here): [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:20 AM PST Community, Has anyone had success with creating the perfect planner for entrepreneurs? I see planners for sale online such as the "Full Focus Planner" that go for a pretty penny (waste of money in my eyes). It would be great to get input from everyone on what constitutes as the "perfect planner." I see the examples for sale having a short term goal section, long term, daily tasks, etc. If anyone has experience or success in this area drop a line. I believe a planner that keeps the mind on track is an asset. I would love to see/have a nice outline that someone has used in past. Hopefully, if people are interested we can create a nice final product and share the wealth. I hope everyone has a great new year and cheers! [link] [comments]  |
| My new domain name is 20 characters long. Is that too long? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:10 AM PST |
| How I overcame New Year Melancholy - The steps and techniques I employed.. Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:01 AM PST HOW I OVERCAME NEW YEAR MELANCHOLY - THE STEPS AND TECHNIQUES I EMPLOYED.. In a bid to understand my conflicting thoughts and emotions that would typically emerge near the end of each year, I started reading into psychology and came to the realisation that the brain is like a computer. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza a healthy brain can process 400 billion bits of information per second. The brain is very sensitive in the sense that whatever we subject it to it receives, processes and then broadcasts it as our thoughts and our reality. After coming to this realisation, I became increasingly aware that EVERYTHING I subjected my computer (or brain) to would shape my identity, personality, emotions, perspective, behaviour and reality. THIS LEAD ME TO RE-EVALUATE MY LIFE.. This included the people I spent time with, the places I went and my daily habits. I retreated and I spent time alone in meditation to reflect. It was through this retreat that I became what I can only describe as an outward observer looking into society. It was only then that I observed the sheer scale of the constant bombardment of false depictions of life everywhere; through film, Facebook, Instagram, porn and TV for example. These exaggerated versions of 'reality' can also be found in marketing for food, holidays, fashion and dating apps. I came to the realisation that pretty much all the imagery I subjected myself to was an exaggerated version of the true nature of life. That through subjecting myself to these things that I had unconsciously measured my life by these inaccurate portrayals of life. My life didn't reflect the 'reality' I had subjected myself to. In turn, this made me think that I was inferior or incapable and therefore, it wasn't worth trying. At the end of each year I would reflect and feel sh*t because I had not achieved the goals I wanted or just couldn't find the consistency or motivation. Things never changed. I REALISED THAT I NEEDED TO FEED MY BRAIN DIFFERENT INFORMATION OR AN 'ALTERNATIVE REALITY'.. What kind of information would I feed my computer (or brain) in order to lead a more fulfilling life? What kind of actions would I need to take in order to achieve this? Part of this was based on advice I took from this contemporary Hindu philosopher by the name of Dandapani (He works with athletes and entrepreneurs in the US). I heard him in a Youtube video saying to simplify your life. So I simplified my life. I wrote the shortlist of the three things that were most important to me (based on his advice) and invested all my time and energy into these things. I looked at my shortlist and then set actions that corresponded to my three life priorities. I started finding myself saying 'No' to about 85-90% of everything people were asking me to do because I realised my brain will download pretty much everything I subject it to. I NEEDED TO PROTECT MYSELF.. One thing on my shortlist was a commitment to self education everyday. Through reading, I came across Stoicism and became fascinated. How was this practice possible? What were these people doing in order to achieve this mindset? I started to experiment... What kind of steps could I take to try and replicate some of the things they were doing? THROUGH THIS EXPERIMENT, EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE BECAME SIMPLE.. This included the festive holidays and New Year will be the same. I treated it like any other day. As soon as I simplified things in my life to the key things that mattered and paid attention to the information that I fed my brain everything changed. A lot of my unhappiness at the end of the year came from the information I was unconsciously feeding my brain throughout the year. Once I understood how my brain works, it helped me to understand what I needed to do. It helped me to identify the lifestyle I wanted to live where the byproduct was happiness. The questions I asked myself above really helped. There are some other steps I also took to reflect on other things in my life which I break down in this step by step video guide. You will also find a document there you can print off and work through if you wish. [link] [comments]  |
| 2019 Received, 2020 Giving Back Posted: 31 Dec 2019 01:33 PM PST Thank you to this subreddit for all your awesome advice. I've learned so much. Launching big in 2020 with Best Practices for Marketing online and a service to help entrepreneurs to easily know What, Where and importantly When to sell. Thank you for making me feel welcomed and for my 45 karma points :) Happy New Year and I hope I can be helpful to others as you have been to me. [link] [comments]  |
| Trademark Clothing brand name question. Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:58 PM PST Hello, I'm currently starting a clothing brand. The brand name is a common name. I have the domain name, IG name is slightly different, clothes are being made as we speak. When i was starting to look at brand names, nothing was shown in late summer for trademarks. I've been reading and it seems best for a clothing brand to trademark the it's brand name. I looked today and someone has started a trademark since October. Status still says pending. Here are my question:
Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Does anyone run an online course business? I want to hear your story Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:52 PM PST I'm putting together an online course based on the industry I've worked in for the last ten years. My plan is to use Thinkific as a platform, and to release a module at a time as I create them, with an emphasis on quality and production value. Its my first time doing this, would love to get input from people who have done similar. [link] [comments]  |
| USD credit solution needed for UK business Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:37 PM PST Hi, I'm in the UK and looking to start a business with the vast majority of transactions using USD. I may suddenly need a lot of USD on credit for purchases as payments coming in are likely to be held. For this I will need an account that can hold USD and a USD credit card. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| How do I not get fired a 4th time? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:17 PM PST I've just been fired for the 3rd time. Unfortunately, they refused to give a reason (which is legal where I live) and it was only days in. This was an est. company. The two previous times were at starts-ups where I was the first hire outside of the founder (very chaotic, stressful environments - first guy said he ran out of money, another guy said the market wasn't ready after a while - however, there were tensions at both places - one hired me for a job but then wanted me to do something different, the other one and I disagreed on implementation). None of them lasted more than 3 months. On the flip side, I've held down other jobs for years on end/become like family with bosses and co-workers. Anyways, I have a problem. I would say I'm fairly aware of my shortcomings and strengths. I have certainly improved in the last 5 years, but it's obviously not been enough. I plan on talking with a therapist etc but am wondering if anyone here has been through something similar. How did you overcome it and learn to succeed in the workplace? Below are some strengths and weaknesses of mine (both my perception and other remarks). I wonder if one of the main problems is that it takes me a while to warm up/get adapted to new environments...I can be standoffish, quiet, cold and probably perceived as "bitchy" since I'm a woman in sales. Until I get a bearing on things I'm just really anxious, worried, scared etc. Again, I'm just looking for anyone that's helped someone who's been through this or someone older and wiser. Please don't rip me a new one in the comments. I feel like a hopeless cause, but no one is and I'm trying to remind myself of that. At the same time, I strive to take responsibility for myself. Cons: aggressive, dominant, authority figure problems, harder to do things when I don't believe in them/think it could be done better, prideful, impatient, impulsive, demanding, overthink things, independent, quick to make decisions Pros: kind-hearted, thoughtful, observant, joyful, excitable, giving, silly/funny, endearing, passionate, hard-working, resilient, faithful, curious, enthusiastic, knows how to have a good time, go-getter [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:09 PM PST Hello, I'm currently a student at Toronto university. I always seem to be low on money and always working. My idea is create a cake shop out of my house and do strictly deliveries to students. I make about $300 a week with my part time job. I don't want to focus on fancy cakes but affordable cakes for students in my area. So my questions, 1. Your opinion on cheap cakes and baked goods for students 2. What should I name my cake/baked goods shop (I'll put your name on the bottom of my website) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:18 AM PST Hi guys Can anyone explain to me what I need to do and what certification I will need to sell plush toys (UK based) I don't fully understand what I need to have, my responsibility and if the EN71 testing is what makes the product CE certifiable. Any help is much appreciated Have a good new year! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2019 09:57 AM PST |
| How do I get my first few web design clients Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:50 AM PST So I'm a collage student and have recently started making websites but I'm stuggeling to find any clients. The reason I went into web design was I coundnt find a reasonable priced web design to take the website from idea all the way to it being hosted so I want to keep my prices low but still make some profit. I am currently offering my websites with one years hosting for £250 but who should I target them at? Should I have a niche? Where's the best place to advertise? Is £250 a good price? My own website is chestnutsoftware.com if you want to check it out Any tips and advise are greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| The best book for MARKET VALIDATION? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:21 AM PST I think most of us wantrepreneurs get caught in the endless cycle of "launching" since we are running off of unverified assumptions. In your humble opinion, what is the best book for validating your market/idea? I have read "Let It Fly" which has been a good one! [link] [comments]  |
| Wrong to book my first client while still employed? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:10 AM PST I'm a software engineering consultant specializing in product design. I've developed many products over the years and now I want to start working independently. Over the past year I've been working on a toolset to help rapidly build fully functional prototypes... like a micro-MVP. The goal is to build a prototype over a handful of weeks (my goal is actually a week) and hand you the code and all the product design work. If the prototype succeeds then continuing development is made infinitely easier - you're already set up with a build pipeline all the way to production. Anyways, I'd like to book my first client before I quit my job but this is tough because I don't want to expose to my employer that I'm looking to leave. Obviously I can't post something on LinkedIn or anything like that, and my marketing website would be anonymous (super fishy vibes!) Folks here who've faced a similar situation, how did you handle it? [link] [comments]  |
| Close to closing a $2MM series A on CuckCoin - AMA Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:31 AM PST CuckCoin is a cryptocurrency that is earned by driving past a deployed military members home and verifying the license plate numbers of any vehicles parked outside the home. It's a way for active duty military to ensure that their spouses are faithful while they are oversees -- and provides a way for local residents to make extra cash in their free time. In addition to this basic mechanism of operation, the real money comes from the licensing of the CUK Index. Soon after the creation of the JP Morgan "Volfefe" index that tracks the market impacts of the President's tweets, I was approached by a large bank interested in licensing the rights to distribute an index based on the current price of CuckCoin, which provides a proxy sentiment indicator of trust within the general population. Happy to answer an questions you may have, and wishing everyone the best of luck in their 2020 ventures! [link] [comments]  |
| SDVOSB Registration and Startup Posted: 31 Dec 2019 05:53 AM PST Greetings all, I've started an IT Security Consulting firm and have done the following thus far: -Acquired EIN with IRS -Registered with State of Michigan (Articles of Organization for LLC) -Acquired DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet -Registered with SAM.gov I'm looking to utilize my Service Connected Disabled Veteran status to get priority on government contracts, as well as serving private industry. Does anyone have any suggestions where I've missed or what I should focus on next? Thanks Dustin [link] [comments]  |
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