How I lost $873k and what I have learned from it Entrepreneur

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• How I lost $873k and what I have learned from it
• How to pitch to a company without them taking your idea
• ZOOM shares were up 49% in 30 days (MRK CAP: $30B) amid coronavirus chaos
• The #1 Reason Why Your Website isn't Converting Traffic into Customers
• After struggling for a LONG time to truly be productive, I decided to use the 5/25 rule to focus on my goals
• How do you organize processes within your organization?
• My ‘advantage’ is that I love writing content. I love making content in all forms. How do I capitalise on this? Are any of you running services that focus strictly on content?
• Web sites that map locations for fastest delivery?
• i'm f*cking tired of it all
• Advice for someone looking into starting Entrepreneurship to get out of a bad situation.
• How should I approach my mentor?
• Is disclosure of profits a good business practice?
• Critique my Registration Landing Page!
• Has anyone used fundable to raise capital?
• How to raise investment for my startup ?
• Finally launched my newsletter "Behind the Curtain" covering concrete methods, tools, and processes of the best org out there.
• Entrepreneur turned software engineer. Will answer any questions about your app ideas
• How to non-awkwardly ask current (and previous) clients for testimonials?
• I'm starting my own e-commerce business, but I can't figure out how to accept money as efficiently as possible. Advice is appreciated, as are links to good articles.
• Feeling insecure?
• Need help building a pitch deck. Anyone have any resources?
• Does principle title matter when forming LLC?
• How to improve in turning abstractions/ideas into concrete thoughts and written plans?
• Hi, could use some help and feedback, thanks

How I lost $873k and what I have learned from it Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:16 PM PST Today I was reflecting on the past 5 years of my life. I will preface that I'm not a millionaire. And, knowing the tendency of some posts, I'm not going to try to sell you some motivational courses - if anything, I will buy some :) I simply want to share my story with someone. I'm told that I'm good at what I do - I manage startups and invest in Wall Street. But I'm not a particularly successful person, I would say pretty average compared to people with my same education and professional experience. However, I had my chances to "get ahead" several times in the past 5 years. But I missed most of them and lost $873k of profits along the way. But I learned some key lessons: Back in 2015, I started a little tech agency with $10k in the bank. I was lucky enough to have some great freelancers around me who helped me land great contracts. The turning point was a $1.4M semi-Governmental tender that I won. Two months later being awarded the contract, not only nothing got started, but my purchaser and his team got fired. After spending months (unpaid) on POCs, my contract was canceled and I had lost $500k in pure profit. The new head brought in his own agency. Loss: $500k (in potential profit) Lesson learned: it is so important not to be tunnel-visioned and try to work exclusively with large corps or Government on high ticket types of projects. Especially if you run a small agency. SMEs can provide the cash you need to keep going. Back in 2017, I land a leading role in one of the fastest-growing startups in my region. I felt so privileged, excited and humbled by the opportunity that I didn't formalize my bonus / equity agreement the way it should have been. I was rushing to get started and I thought "money will follow". 1.5 years down the line, targets were crushed, the startup went through multiple rounds of Series B funding and my bonus was never paid. No specific reason, except "we don't have cash now". And that seems strange when you have just raised $10M. I left and didn't sue. Loss: $110k + equity (in potential profit) Lesson learned: don't let your emotions forget the importance of formalizing business arrangements. Don't trust hand-shake deals: they work only on TV shows like The Profit. Early 2018, I entered the stock market and managed to get a great entry price on my favorite portfolio (mainly tech, slightly diversified). I was semi-experienced, but far from being a PRO. My portfolio grew 25% in a year. However, December 18's correction scared the hell out of me and I decided to book profits by liquidating the whole portfolio. Although I was planning to hold for 25 years, I got scared. I decided to sit on the sidelines and wait for a recession before re-entering the market. If I had kept that portfolio going, this would have returned 180% in 2019 alone. Loss: $180k (in potential profit) Lesson learned: if you plan to hold your portfolio for 25 years, then hold it for 25 years. Don't let your emotions control your investment decisions. Follow Buffet's advice. Don't try to time the market. End of 2017, I was holding 5 BTC, purchased for a total of $10k a few months earlier. They shoot to $16k each, for a total of $83.5k in a matter of a couple of months. I don't sell. Afterall everyone is saying that they will reach $100k. Well, they didn't. I sold them a few years later when they were worth $2.5k each and got my money back. Loss: $68k (in potential profit) Lesson learned: pay yourself first and re-invest the profits from high-risk investments into safer nests (e.g. real estates) when possible. This is my personal philosophy, I know some might disagree. Early 2019, I started taking online stock trading quite seriously. I had done all the study, practice paper-trading for a while, read a few books and found my mentors. Things were shaping up well until I started getting greedy while feeling invincible. My early wins made me forget I was a novice, after all. And, in fact, after an incredible start, I ended up the year with a loss. Stocks take the stairs up and the elevator down. Loss: $15k (my own cash) Lesson learned: again if you want to be in the stock market, train on getting your emotions out of the way. Be humble, the stock market is a b*tch, especially when you're a speculator trader. Be content by small, predictable and consistent wins rather than hoping to catch the new Tesla every week. And, finally, never underestimate the importance of risk management - that's the first thing you should learn. Said that I'm keeping going. I have never felt depressed or sad about how much money I have left on the table. I learned a ton (although at a high price) and I became a much stronger man. I have another couple of projects on the table and I hope at least one of them will go through. To all of you that, like me, had more losses than wins in life - KEEP GOING and, most importantly, NEVER EVER STOP HUSTLING. After all, all we need in life is one big win. submitted by /u/maschera84 [link] [comments]

How to pitch to a company without them taking your idea Posted: 29 Feb 2020 04:57 AM PST I have a really great idea that I would want to sell to the company after I make it. The issue is that the company has confidential information that I would need access to to actually make the product. My friend works there and that's where we got the idea from. But we don't want to use their time to make the product and then demo it to the company because my friend could be fired... or worse, sued. How would we present the idea to this to a company without having them use our idea if they don't wish to proceed with our proposal? submitted by /u/manrayboy [link] [comments]

ZOOM shares were up 49% in 30 days (MRK CAP: $30B) amid coronavirus chaos Posted: 29 Feb 2020 09:48 AM PST As the whole worlds financial markets crash amid the breakdown of operations and supply chains caused by coronavirus, the fallout isn't bad for everyone. ZOOM (#ZM) shares were up 50% (seriously) from $76 on 31st January to $114 at it's peak on Thursday 27th February. This increase has largely been put down to the need for remote work during periods of quarantine and the increased need for remote work. Zoom is a video communications software (like Skype) that is used by businesses around the world to connect and communicate. Incredible to see as many of the worlds largest companies take a tumble due to the virus, there has been some breakout stars. submitted by /u/harveyhodd [link] [comments]

The #1 Reason Why Your Website isn't Converting Traffic into Customers Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:28 AM PST I know the title seems clickbaity - but trust, this is the truth. Now let's get the obvious out of the way first. The legitimate most important reason for converting leads is to have a quality product/service in the first place...everyone knows this. If your offer sucks or doesn't provide a solution to a problem, it's just not going to work. With that said, let's say you have a solid product. So why isn't it selling? You have an awesome website. You poured tons of cash into effective Facebook ads. You even hired 10 virtual assistants off Upwork for $3/hr to "promote the sh*t out of the product everywhere you can!" But yet...no one landing on your site is buying your product. Why? Let me stop dribbling along and tell you: YOUR COPYWRITING IS PISS POOR. That may have been a bit harsh. But no, seriously, your site copy probably sucks if you swear you've done everything else right but you're not seeing results. I have witnessed way too many entrepreneurs fail to understand just how extremely important the writing on your site is. Just think about it! Writing is the most efficient and convincing way you can communicate the benefits of your product/service. You may literally have the greatest product of all time. But why the hell is anyone going to buy it if they go to your site and don't have a clue how much it's going to help them? All the most successful brands & companies, big & small, have amazing copywriting. Why is Apple a behemoth even with technically overpriced products? Among a few reasons, their copywriters are freaking genius! How are thousands of eCommerce stores churning out $100k+/month in revenue selling sh*t $2 AliExpress products for $25? Go to these stores and look at their sales pages. The writing is incredibly convincing and asserts it'll solve your problem + better your life. Look, you can spend 10 grand on building a fancy website for your product. But if your copy sucks, it's not going to matter much. And clearly, as the dropshipping model has shown, your product doesn't even need to be anything special at all. PEOPLE JUST NEED TO BELIEVE IT'S SPECIAL. You can have an all-white background sales page with a couple of images and PROPERLY written copy, and absolutely kill it in selling and converting. Now combine having a truly beneficial product or service along with carefully crafted copy - oh boy your business is in for a treat. Whether it's for your homepage, a landing page, sales page, about us page, product descriptions, ebook offer, etc. it doesn't matter. Your copy is always the most important thing. Unfortunately, a lot of entrepreneurs just don't get this. Many either attempt to write copy themselves or hire out someone from a third world country for as cheap as possible - because it's just writing right? You get out what you put in. This inevitably leads to awful results, tons of frustration, and more money needing to be put into the project to fix everything up. If you care about the success of your business and want to see it grow, don't sabotage yourself from the get-go with crap copy. With all this said, you can definitely learn copywriting on your own (I did and most professional copywriters do). There are tons of completely free resources online. Just type in "free copywriting courses" on Google. You'll get tons of results from CopyBlogger to KopywritingKourse - all reputable and free sources to learn how to write copy properly. There's also an amazing post on r/digitalnomad from a copywriter making over $300k/year who put tons of video lessons up for free that he originally made for his sister. And they're incredibly useful. This isn't even to mention quality paid resources such as udemy courses and books like "Cashvertising" and "Scientific Advertising" which help immensely. You can eventually get to the point of writing effective copy. But like anything, don't think you'll become a pro overnight. You need to stick with it and work hard. It takes years to perfect your copywriting and learn what works and what doesn't. And there's so much research and psychology behind it that 95% of people just don't understand. There's a reason most writers struggle to live, yet copywriters always seem to be doing pretty well. This is because of the immense value they provide along with the intricate training that goes into mastering it. I'm a huge proponent of entrepreneurs learning to write copy. And I urge you to go for it. But it is hard to do effectively, and difficult to master. So if you don't have the time or desire to learn, but want to see your business thrive, hire a pro. Don't pay cheap labor or write your own copy untrained, it's not going to turn out well. Writing IS most important for conversion success. Bonus Tip: Anyone really succeeding in this game already knows this. But one of the best ways to bring in new traffic is through consistently writing new articles onto your site. Google loves consistently updated content, and Google loves valuable content. Adding new articles to your site on a regular schedule with some on-page SEO implementation that actually provides value to readers will do wonders for your traffic. And the more valuable your blog articles, the more you'll establish your site as an authority in your niche. Disclaimer: Just in case you're wondering who the hell I am and what credibility I have to be telling you this...I'm a full-time freelance copywriter and content writer who quite regularly contracts with startups, web devs, law firms, eCom sites, and digital marketing agencies. I'm not selling anything, nor do I need to. But being in the position I am, considering the number of businesses I've worked with, I know just as good as anyone how much good copy can completely change a business for the better. I'm in a unique position to be able to offer this advice to all of you. I see it first hand every day. And I want every entrepreneur who doesn't get the importance of copy, to now understand. TL;DR Your website copy is more important than most entrepreneurs realize. Either invest your time into learning or your capital into hiring an expert. It will make or break your business. submitted by /u/iraautemtempus [link] [comments]

After struggling for a LONG time to truly be productive, I decided to use the 5/25 rule to focus on my goals Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:05 PM PST So goal setting can be challenging for us when it comes to deciding where we want to focus our priorities. With the new year and decade, I wanted to really give my everything to all the things that I wanted to accomplish. But there were so many things that I wanted that I couldn't focus on any of them. I tried Warren Buffett's 5/25 rule, which essentially required you to list down 25 things that you wanted to accomplish in the foreseeable future. Nothing was off the table. Next, you have to rank your top 5 in order of importance and circle them. This is super hard because you have to decide what's most meaningful to you. The 20 remaining items became a list of items to avoid. But the truth is that due to their lesser importance, I realized that they were only taking away my commitment to the things that mattered most to me. This was so so helpful to me and I think that I may actually have a shot of accomplishing the things I want to now. If you're struggling with this, I really think you should give it a shot. I break this down in detail here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15u1RTMP3I submitted by /u/Chellz93 [link] [comments]

How do you organize processes within your organization? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 05:47 AM PST We are three co-founders and recently came to realize if two of us take a day off, the company can't run properly. The obvious solution is to create processes and a place where everybody can look for step-by-step instructions in case there's something to do out of the general routine. This is probably the first thing every company needs to figure out even to start thinking about growth and scaling up headcounts. How do you organize and manage processes in your company so that every employee is well informed about their tasks and responsibilities? Do you have some general company wiki that helps onboard new employees and guide them down the road? If so, what software or automation did you implement to run it smoothly? I know the question is very broad and might lead to totally different answers based on industry nuances. I would love to hear how you organize processes in your companies in terms of tools, responsibility separation, and anything you find useful to share with the community! submitted by /u/dcedrych [link] [comments]

My ‘advantage’ is that I love writing content. I love making content in all forms. How do I capitalise on this? Are any of you running services that focus strictly on content? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:13 AM PST Hi guys. I'm a little overwhelmed. I really want to help businesses grow on social media. I know the importance of great social presence and content marketing but I don't even know where to start. How do you convince these people that content is important? Am I looking at the wrong demographic? (brick and mortar local business owners). Ideally i'd write article after article for trendy SaaS firms. But again, how can you stress the importance of great content, let alone get people to pay you for it? I'm mainly web design orientated. Can I/should I bake content into my design packages? Sorry for an array of questions. I just really want to help people but can't pinpoint how to do it. I'd like to think this is a common problem on this sub (as I feel everyone just wants to help). Thanks all submitted by /u/OliverB199 [link] [comments]

Web sites that map locations for fastest delivery? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 03:27 PM PST I found one I really liked but I'm looking for a free version, you guys have any idea? submitted by /u/iamamonsterprobably [link] [comments]

i'm f*cking tired of it all Posted: 29 Feb 2020 11:31 AM PST ​ TLDR at the end I just don't know what to do. In the last three years, I've sacrificed everything for success and didn't get SHIT in return. I lost all of my friends. I lost all of my self-confidence. I lost weight (was already skinny). I lost my parents' respect. I lost more than I can say, and I've just about lost my drive to keep going. First, I started with affiliate marketing. Hours upon hours of studying. SEO, content marketing, web design. All of it for fucking nothing. Not 1 penny to my name after all that work. Then, freelance writing. Constantly competing with foreigners and experienced writers at the same time. Stuck in money-making Purgatory where I can't find clients, and if I do I'm working the whole day for $30. One time I almost caught a break, but I got taken advantage of by my employer. Tens of thousands of words, all for nothing. Yes, I was stupid. Yes, it was avoidable. Yes, I learned from it. But it still left me crushed. Months later, I decided to give plopshipping a shot. Needless to say, that was a complete and utter failure. Now I'm stuck not knowing what to do. Not one of my "business ventures" have been anywhere near successful. I need help and advice. But before you tell me to get a day job, I'll tell you I've tried and am trying. McDonald's(4x), Baskin Robbins, Jack-in-the-Box(3x), Burger King(3x), Tacobell, Subway, Del Taco, Dollar Tree(2x), Panda Express, Dairy Queen, Wendy's, Arby's, Carl's Jr. All no's. Everything I've said is 100% true and so is this: I want to succeed. TLDR: I've failed in just about every way possible and I need help. I want change so fucking bad. I'll literally do anything it takes to see the light at the end of the tunnel. submitted by /u/LostTaranWanderer [link] [comments]

Advice for someone looking into starting Entrepreneurship to get out of a bad situation. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 03:06 PM PST Long story short, my partner of 7 years opened credit cards in my name and put me in massive debt and no credit. I've been responsible my whole life going the normal college --> job route and got completely blindsided. Legal action has not helped me get out of this nearly as much as I hoped. If you were in my shoes and wanted to try to find a way to make money on the side through an entrepreneur route, what steps would you start taking? I'm pretty clueless toward everything but willing to work for the next how many years to put something together. I don't plan to have a big business or make anything crazy, but I could definitely use the added stability. Any help knowing what order of things to start researching would be a great first step. submitted by /u/gombles14 [link] [comments]

How should I approach my mentor? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:35 PM PST I recently reached out to a family friend who owns a small investment firm. He said he'd be happy to guide me through future entrepreneurial endeavors. I want to be sure that I'm not wasting either of our time when approaching him with business related questions. Has anyone had a mentor? If so, how did you communicate effectively? submitted by /u/orthodoxOP [link] [comments]

Is disclosure of profits a good business practice? Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:54 PM PST I run a very small business locally and have been considering sharing my (small) profits to my customers to be more transparent and trustworthy. My goal has never been to make a lot of money, but to share my product with others and charge enough to make the money back and a small profit for investing in new products. I think showing my costs would show my intentions and gain some more respect from my customers. Thoughts on this? Pros and cons? Im thinking I would add a tab on my website laying it all out. More of just a thought at this point and curious to hear from some other people. submitted by /u/Urkelgrue36 [link] [comments]

Critique my Registration Landing Page! Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:04 PM PST Work for a small company and was given the role of creating a landing page. This is attempt three. Nothing about my company, not trying to market! I just want the best landing page possible. Done a lot of research but I could really use some feedback. Landing page: https://imgur.com/a/hpOnb1y submitted by /u/touchofsleep [link] [comments]

Has anyone used fundable to raise capital? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 11:47 AM PST I own a successful business that is currently looking for capital. I came across fundable and talked with one of their advisors who had a program called a "funding accelerator" where you get one on one coaching, guided paybooks, professional pitch materials, they make your pitch deck investor research and investor outreach. The cost is about $3,000 but if we got a decent amount of capital then it would be so worth it, especially because I am so busy with the business that doing all of these things would be very time-consuming. They do not take any money or ownership from any of the capital raised either. I was wondering if anyone here had experience with them. Thanks! submitted by /u/garyscomics [link] [comments]

How to raise investment for my startup ? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 11:27 AM PST I am a design student. Me and three of my friends started making customize designs on shoes, we do hydro dipping too. It is at initial stage, We charge $10 for every order. The design on shoes would be of customer choice or our choice. It's been two months and we got 15 orders till now. We need investors. We have no idea about how to raise investments to my startup.We don't even where to find investors. Do we have to give presentations about our startup to investors ? or How do we even reach them ? Help please. submitted by /u/gotmyvitamins [link] [comments]

Finally launched my newsletter "Behind the Curtain" covering concrete methods, tools, and processes of the best org out there. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 10:50 AM PST Hey guys, I've been passionate about looking at startups like products of themselves for a long time now. I love to analyze org charts, methods, tools used internally, or management methods. Therefore 2 months ago I decided to launch Behind the Curtain on Substack. A newsletter exactly about that. For instance you can check the org chart of the startups I'm working for, comet --> https://behindthecurtain.substack.com/ You can have a look first, and if you like it, welcome onboard! We're now more than 2,100 readers. Also if you'd like me to cover some specific stuff or your startup, let me know :) ​ Cheers submitted by /u/yoann792 [link] [comments]

Entrepreneur turned software engineer. Will answer any questions about your app ideas Posted: 29 Feb 2020 09:06 AM PST submitted by /u/Toovya [link] [comments]

How to non-awkwardly ask current (and previous) clients for testimonials? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 08:55 AM PST Any tips for how to ask clients (past and current) for testimonials, without seeming awkward or pushy? Thanks for any advice! submitted by /u/OwlsLoveTea [link] [comments]

I'm starting my own e-commerce business, but I can't figure out how to accept money as efficiently as possible. Advice is appreciated, as are links to good articles. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:59 AM PST Quick context: I'm starting an e-commerce business within the next month, with an estimated annual turnover of >$50k. . Given that it is entirely online, I'm going to need to accept money that way as well. I thought I'd just get a PayPal business account, but I keep reading stories about PayPal screwing over business owners by seemingly for no clear reason freezing money that is on their PayPal account. . I don't know how often situations like that occur, but those stories got me a little worried, so now I could definitely use some advice regarding: 1) PayPal as a means of accepting customers' money 2) Alternatives to PayPal that would not limit the customers' payment options. . Any advice is greatly appreciated. Kind regards. submitted by /u/July_RS [link] [comments]

Feeling insecure? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:58 AM PST Your just seeing your own insecurity reflected back at you, and it looks like success.... There are a lot of people online that pretend to be more then they are. For entrepreneurs and experts it does nothing to ease or feelings of inadequacy. Feelings of insecurity and imposter syndrome are very real. We look around and see person after person crushing it, and can't help but compare a little and feel that maybe we aren't at that level we are striving for. Fact is, our own insecurities warp the way we see the success of others. We have a tendency to amplify the success we see in others as a way of showing ourselves how bad we feel really are. We might not be, but they might not be either. Fact is we never get there by giving up. Their journey shouldn't matter to us. Stay the course and keep going. Focus on your goals so hard you don't care who is ahead of you or behind you. Goals are not a race, they are a destination. Albert Einstein wrote "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." It's time to make a point of NOT being the fish. submitted by /u/Barny4christ [link] [comments]

Need help building a pitch deck. Anyone have any resources? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:12 AM PST I'm getting ready to build a pitch deck to bring on some Angel investors for my company. We are making profit but it's too slow to grow and scale at the rate we need to be competitive. Any examples or samples of pitch decks would be helpful. submitted by /u/everyonehereishappy [link] [comments]

Does principle title matter when forming LLC? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:54 AM PST I'm starting an LLC by myself and when it asks me if the "LLC will be managed by managers?" I selected no, and " Is the LLC a Single Member LLC?" I selected yes. For the principle information I put myself as the CEO when it gives you a list to select from. Does it really matter? submitted by /u/NoBoostNoLife [link] [comments]

How to improve in turning abstractions/ideas into concrete thoughts and written plans? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:53 AM PST Hi folks I've always had difficulty in turning complex ideas i have in mind into concrete words and thoughts. some examples : ​ I have a marketing strategy in mind but find difficulty in communicating the idea to my team, I also struggle when putting the idea into a written plan. But I don't struggle doing what I have in mind if i do it by myself I have a product development strategy but also have the same issues with #1 example ​ The worst case is I often explain my ideas/thoughts in a haphazard way, the items are all over the place instead of a consistent narrative. I often have to explain verbally several times to other people to make them understand what I mean, because I suck at constructing a story with a clear red tape. ​ How do you deal with this problem? is there any learning and exercise resources for me to improve my skill in turning abstract/complex idea into concrete thoughts / written plans? Thank You submitted by /u/batavianguy [link] [comments]

Hi, could use some help and feedback, thanks Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:47 AM PST Hey, so me and my cousin decided to start a teespring store to try and start a clothing line, I decided to open a facebook ad for about £10 ($13) and after 2 days we received over 700 views but only 1 link click any tips to help get sales would be appreciated Link to store if your wondering submitted by /u/NoisyAzaxas [link] [comments]

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