Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - July 09, 2021 Entrepreneur |
- Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - July 09, 2021
- I (23) already had my hand on the door handle to leave, when I turned around to finally pitch my boss the idea of selling my wooden sunglasses from my side hustle in their store. I was so anxious because I had all kind of doubts (stuff like: will they even take me seriously,...).
- My first startup failed two years ago and left me $86,000 in debt at 23. Here’s what I’ve learned
- Buying Amazon returned items. My experience with it.
- Does being an entrepreneur make it harder to find work as an employee?
- $175k in Sales This Year - Feeling Lost and Alone
- First business ideas?
- My Life (Need Some Advice)
- Which domain do you like??
- Any vending machine experts out there?
- Searching for the best social media management tool for a nonprofit
- $70K to Build a Cross-Platform App - Advice Needed
- Has anybody had any experience with setting up your business through legal zoom?
- Best Resource for LLC Tax Write Off Advice?
- What are two of the biggest expenses involved with running a business?
- Method of Paying Anonymously
- How to get new clients?
- Question For ANY business Owner Out there
- Socials Management software???
- Possible rental property
- The Ugly Side of Building a Successful Business: Entrepreneurship, drug addiction, suicide and everything I went through to build a successful business…
- Seeking mentor for data software pricing structure
- Entrepreneurship iPhone/GroupMe Chat?
- You're not an Entrepreneur, you're Unemployed!
- Looking to sell or take on 50% partner for my shopify dropship business
| Accomplishments and Lesson Learned Friday! - July 09, 2021 Posted: 09 Jul 2021 02:00 AM PDT Please use this thread to share any accomplishment you care to gloat about, and some lessons learned. This is a weekly thread to encourage new members to participate, and post their accomplishments, as well as give the veterans an opportunity to inspire the up-and-comers. 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]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 08:37 AM PDT My boss said yes without any hesitation (because you can always give things a try), and since then I had to restock the inventory several times because the sunglasses go so well and I just sent them their second bill last week. At the beginning I didn't even exactly know how I'm going to bill them or how I'm even going to display the sunglasses, but I figured everything out in the end. Even tho it's only a small step, I want to encourage everyone to be more open about their ideas. Pitch them even if you have doubts or even if you don't exactly know how you'll execute it in every detail. The answer will always be no if you never ask. But you probably heard that a lot already :) [link] [comments]  |
| My first startup failed two years ago and left me $86,000 in debt at 23. Here’s what I’ve learned Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:54 AM PDT You can end up paying for one bad business move or decision for years. But at the same time one good business decision can pay YOU for years. Two years ago next month my longtime B2B marketing agency went bust. I was 23 and just going into my last semester of college before graduating. While in college I had built it to a team of 5, multiple six figures in revenue, and hundreds of clients. I plowed every penny back into the business and into hiring people in pursuit of growth. It wasn't profitable growth though. The bigger we got the more our margins shrunk. In about a months time I lost it all from refunding clients after Google started throttling and restricting the software we relied on. I had no cash in the bank to payout the client refunds so I had to take out a high interest loan. When that was tapped out I had to have everyone file chargebacks with PayPal to get a refund. I was on track to graduating college debt free having gone to community college and then an online college. I ended up graduating with $86,000 in debt. That's as much debt as someone who went to an elite college. I'm still financially paying for those mistakes and the decisions I made. I'm digging myself out of debt little by little. I've paid off almost $27,000 so far. And that's ok. Up until very recently I looked at the debt like a disease and sickness. I wanted to be cured as fast as possible so I could feel better. I had convinced myself that I couldn't be happy or didn't deserve happiness while I am in debt. For a long time the entrepreneur in me was convinced and determined that all I needed was a "big win" to get me back to even and let me breathe again. I spent almost two years chasing a big win because I thought that was the cure. Every business I've tried to start since I pushed to the limits way too fast in pursuit of being cured. And you know what? They all failed. It's taken a mind shift to tackle it. I try not to look at it as a failure or as burdensome debt. I look at it as tuition. It's hard to move on and start new when you have your past chained around your neck. What amazed me is almost every entrepreneur I've talked to has said that at one time they were in as much debt or even more debt than I'm in. Some actually would laugh off the amount of debt I have and say it's nothing compared to what they had. I used to be so upset when they said that. All I wanted to hear how they got out from under it and how they got to the point where they could actually breathe again. But I've realized there's no cure. You just continue one step and one day at a time. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying Amazon returned items. My experience with it. Posted: 09 Jul 2021 01:54 PM PDT Now I'm not talking about those shady websites claiming to sell pallets or eBay. I'm talking buying them directly from the Amazon sellers. I did this about three years ago as a test to see if it would work for me. It didn't fit into my company style, but it might for you. I started contacting Amazon sellers who offered prime because I know those items are shipped from an Amazon warehouse. I used their Facebook groups or email and just point blank asked them what they did with any items returned. Most told me they destroyed them or stripped them for useable parts. But a few said they sell them. The plus side is you got them at a huge discount, down side was that their condition was not guaranteed and there was no return policy. I took a chance and ordered 100 pieces of one item. My cost was $50 per item and the retail was $250 and 100 of another item for $65 per item and the retail was $300. I was actually surprised when I received them. I expected a mess but it really wasn't. I did get empty boxes, boxes missing items and even items that were broken and returned by the original buyer. Some were still sealed and had never been opened. In the end I had I believe I had 165 pieces that I could sell as new, around 80 were still sealed and 15 I could sell as used at a discount. Meaning 20 items were unsellable. I sold the $300 items for $250. The $250 items at $200 and the used ones for $150 each. It took me 3 months to sell them all. In the end I walked away with a little over $23,000 in profit. I used that money as seed money to start my brick and mortar store. Just something you can try. Sometimes you will get great orders, sometimes you will get crap ones. But it's worth a shot. [link] [comments]  |
| Does being an entrepreneur make it harder to find work as an employee? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:26 PM PDT I have side projects, and dream about being successful ( as an employee or entrepreneur ). I question when applying for work, if the things I have done that come off as entrepreneurial hurt me in the labor market. I understand it might be a conflict of interest to hire someone who wants to start their own company, but I feel like most the reason to start your own company is the lack of current opportunities. [link] [comments]  |
| $175k in Sales This Year - Feeling Lost and Alone Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:47 PM PDT Hi All, I want to first start off by saying that I'm very grateful and fortunate enough to say that my hard work in 2020 is starting to pay off. I've managed to do $175k in sales this year, compared to a whopping $7k for all of 2020. The thing is - margins are extremely tight. I've made about $15,000 from that, which averages to about $2.6k/month. (Net Profit Margins vary from 8%-14%) The thing is, right now I'm still in the growing phase and I understand that in the future I will be able to easily and quickly increase profits once all my systems for my e-commerce business are in place. (My philosophy is to just start, and figure things out as you go. If I waited until I perfected everything, I would not have made a single dollar) But right now I'm feeling a bit lost and alone. Lost because the uphill battle is getting a whole lot more difficult. Going from $50k/month to $100k/month in revenue will take a completely different mindset and version of me. I feel like there is so much to do and learn. I get very overwhelmed just by thinking about it. I'm feeling very alone because I see my friends on social media going out on weekends and having the time of their lives, meanwhile I'm at home working and saving money to put it back into the business. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because, at the same time, this is what I signed up for. I just feel like the path I'm on now is extremely dark and empty, but I know that once I reach the destination, it'll be all worth it. Has anyone gone through this or faced anything similar? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 02:03 PM PDT Hi everyone, this is my first time on this subreddit. After learning quite a bit about the nuances of business I feel I'm ready to start a business, but I haven't the slightest clue what to actually start. I have scraped together 1500 for this business. I can't really sink more in ATM. I live in a college town so my business environment is 50,000 person city or online. Initial impressions; I probably want to do a service, as I really doubt I can 1. Have many options at 1500. And 2. I doubt I could do anything WELL. So selling a product is probably not a great idea I have no immense talents, I'm well educated in the humanities and I have an associates in business (year away from graduating) I want something that I can do casually, maybe only make 100-200 a week, which I feel like at 200 It will be a nice side hustle. Any basic ideas or how I can better materialize an idea of my own? Other details: age is 21+ so no age barriers Lots of book smarts in actual business I'd prefer a minimal startup TIME idea, be up and running 2-3 months? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 08:04 AM PDT Hi guys, i'm not sure if this is the right sub for this but i want to see if any other entrepreneurs can make connections with me. i am 19 years old and own a startup called Aerial Dive. i have been working on it for a couple of months now and i'm soo happy with the progress i've gotten so far. this is my story: i cut off all my friends to pursue my passion, work on myself and create the person i want to be in the future my girlfriend of 2 years says i give her no more attention and broke up with me this morning. my mother calls me a recluse. my sister calls me a fun-sponge. my brother and dad say i'm a loser. i love my life and i am the happiest i have ever been. no one in my life sees that i'm doing what i'm doing now in order to create someone that i want to be in my future I'm not like any other teens. i live like no one else now so that i can live like no one else later in life. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 01:03 PM PDT Which domain (I own both options) is more appealing to you without knowing anything about the business, other than it's a B2B service based business. A) MomentumHelps.com B) YouNeedMomentum.com C) I don't like either one. Please provide opinions with the understanding that "momentum" is a very popular word and basically all the .com TLDs with that word are taken I'm too close to the project to look at these objectively at this point.. UPDATE: D) GetYourMomentum.com [link] [comments]  |
| Any vending machine experts out there? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:54 AM PDT Looking for someone to help me build a vending machine prototype. I can fund materials- but need help from someone who understands interfaces and possibly with some engineering/machine knowledge. PM me and we can go from there. Trying to build a prototype vending machine and give it a test run. We could both put one in our markets, get feedback and iterate. Will be a fun side project with potential upside if we stick with it. [link] [comments]  |
| Searching for the best social media management tool for a nonprofit Posted: 09 Jul 2021 11:20 AM PDT I am looking for an easy-to-use, inexpensive social media management tool that has a calendar, and functions where you can assign tasks to different users. We would have approximately 3-4 users and 4-5 social media accounts. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| $70K to Build a Cross-Platform App - Advice Needed Posted: 09 Jul 2021 08:14 AM PDT Hello all! I am a graduate student working with a student team that recently landed a significant government grant (SBIR) to develop a platform to connect family caregivers of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia to personalized resources to reduce the burden of caregiving. Specifically, we aim to build a cross-platform mobile app and have been awarded $70K for software development and need to use these funds efficiently. For more context, we have been working on this project on the side for about two years, conducted a fair amount of market validation, performed a decent amount of market analysis, identified ready customers (2-sided market), and have a fairly fleshed out MVP. However, we do not have too much experience in software development and can use some help on strategy for product development. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to build a cross platform app with $70K (i.e. thoughts on software development firms, hiring developers, mistakes to avoid, etc) [link] [comments]  |
| Has anybody had any experience with setting up your business through legal zoom? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 02:11 PM PDT I am trying to register my business but I'm not sure if I'm better off using a company to help me start my company. I definitely don't want to mess anything up. The one company I've come across is "Legal Zoom" I'm not if they are good or there are other companies that might have better rates. [link] [comments]  |
| Best Resource for LLC Tax Write Off Advice? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 10:25 AM PDT I recently created an LLC for a business where I market, program, and run competitive events. I would like to know what the best resource out there is that would benefit me on gaining knowledge about tax write offs for LLC's. Examples: How much would I save by hiring temporary staff? How much would I save by donating to a charity? How much would I save if there's a grand prize involved? I'm sure there's plenty of other examples and I would appreciate any help I can get! Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| What are two of the biggest expenses involved with running a business? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 01:40 PM PDT Anyone who's ever operated a traditional business knows the answer to this question
[link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:50 AM PDT Hey, I'd like to know if there are already a way to make payment anonymously in the US or any other market (as far you aware) ? I'm thinking about this idea for quite some time now due a lot scam constantly happening to the vulnerable people especially when they don't have good VPN or internet security. With this new creation, people won't need to enter their personal information, address or even phone number because all this can be done with unique numbering system, here customer could transfer or receive privately and IP address will hide. Your input will be much appreciated, thank you fellow entrepreneurs ! ✨ *The app would have yearly subscription plan, works just like pre-paid card. P/s: this also good for paying gambling or adult website (there will be some people going to take advantage after all) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 01:19 PM PDT Hello I recently started a digital marketing business based on Google Ads around 3 weeks ago. So far I've worked with 1 person from Upwork who had me give him consultation and create a Google Ad video campaign for him for $400, He gave me a video review that was really positive and said he was satisfied with the results. I did not get an Upwork review as we did this off of Upwork but I added his testimonial to my site. Now here's the problems I am having, it's been about 2 weeks and I haven't found any new clients. I have submitted over 40 proposals on Upwork and had about 6 people interview but all of them never really followed through on Upwork. I found that the "clients" on Upwork tend to be never that great except for the first guy i worked with. They all say "yea we would love to work with you" then when I ask them on a separate platform if they'll hire me on upwork or prefer to do it elsewhere they all lose contact. I have my own Google Ads search campaign which targets people looking for Google Ads etc. I have been running this campaign for about 3 weeks with $15 a day, 71 clicks, cpc is $4.13 and conv rate is 8%. But all of the conversions have been low quality leads. I work on tweaking the campaign every 2-3 days. I am also doing cold email outreach to businesses running google ads, sent around 150 emails with only 1 response that said "please stop". I am trying to send 50 emails a day and i follow up depending with people who opened my email at least 3 times. I started off by sending hyper personalized emails but that wasnt working so i started sending short personalized mass emails. Any suggestions are appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Question For ANY business Owner Out there Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:31 AM PDT I am trying to come up with a competitive MSP service for my IT Business, and I am planning on selling to small business owners running either construction businesses, Insurance agencies, Accounting Services etc. My All in plan includes : Up to 2 Servers Covered Unlimited Amount of PCs Covered Unlimited Mobile Devices (Tablets, Phones) Covered Daily Remote Computer Maintenance Monthly Network and Security review Unlimited Remote Tech support Full Preventive Maintenance on all devices/year Free Repair on each device (Parts Included)/year Unlimited Remote Printer Support Anti-Virus included Unlimited On-site Support This package I am thinking of charging $950/month or $9,500/Year at a discount rate if you pay annually. Would you pay this for these services, if not what would you pay or those that already have a MSP what are you paying for your service? What kind of cost would you be comfortable with? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Socials Management software??? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 01:10 PM PDT What's everyone using to manage their socials? like an all or MOST in one? I find myself making a 5 minute video and its taking an hour to upload and share everywhere. would be awesome if the software worked great on pc AND mobile also. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:15 AM PDT So to give a little background, i inherited some property and was able to sell it for a decent amount. I paid my husband and I's vehicles off and now we are trying to make the most of whats left. We want to do something with the money that will benefit us in the future, so we were thinking about turning our current house into a rent house and moving to a bigger home. Here is the question. If you had this opportunity, would you A) Pay off your current home and lease it out after moving, B) refinance your current home with a 15 year loan and lease it out after moving and keep about 100 k in savings C) Move, lease your current home, refinance and also purchase another home for renting as well, owning 3 homes in total with none paid off but two have 15 year loans. D) None of the above. Any advice is welcome in this matter. We want to build a future for our family to have a constant reliable extra income. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:09 AM PDT I want to start here, not to brag but I don't want to talk about the wins, I want people to know what the trauma is no one talks about in starting a business… I run a web agency that does a million plus a year in residual income. I have 7 employees, I am happily married and I LOVE my life, looking back on all of this is still hard without looking at where I am and I want everyone to look at it through that sense to see that through the darkness there is hope and if you need help you need to get it, 1 in 10 business owners contemplates suicide and a whole lot follow through, it is hard and it sucks.… but it is not always going to be like that. The below paints the picture no one discusses and I hope someone somewhere finds this helpful. I have been trying to post helpful comments for start ups, new founders and businesses on reddit for some months now. I have noticed that people who have made it to the point where they can pay themselves well and have what most would consider to be a successful business don't talk about getting there. I wanted to share my story, maybe it is relatable, maybe it is discouraging, maybe someone finds some use. The whole point is to point out while we all look at pitch videos with Lambos and big houses… this is the real experience. Maybe not for everyone but for me. I hope this helps even one person see the sun through the clouds. I started my business 10 years ago. I started it because I was sick of working for bosses that exploit talent for personal gain and was always the go to employee, I always took on more than I was paid and I was always passed over for opportunities because I was had to promote out of a position due to the prior qualities. I started a web design business (This is a bad business to start if you want to really make quick money). What I sacrificed… My Mental Health - 5 years into my business I had $70,000 in debt, 4 partners, and a major issue with prescription drugs I used to cope with anxiety from my business. I started abusing these to be able to function and run my business. I got to a point where I snapped. We were facing a lawsuit (We did nothing wrong but the first time someone threatens to sue you is terrifying) not performing well enough to support 1 person never mind 4. Well I walked into my office at the time pulled my bottle of glen livet 12 out of my desk and started chewing through an entire monthly prescription of Clonazepam. I woke up (not blacked out) 4 days later, my legs were covered in blood and I was on my office couch. This was actually my turning point. And the blood.. I had fallen down the stairs from taking a month of anxiety medication and drinking a bottle of scotch to boot, starts were a challenge. During that blacked out phase had attempted to take my own life and luckily one of my friends rented the office unit next to mine and came in at a very good time (I won't go further into that and prefer not to). My relationship - Well you read the above, would you date me? 6 years blown over my large mental breakdown it was not great and everyone rapidly left my corner more so than they already had and no one was to blame but myself. I was paying myself $250 twice a month and living off of savings and three other businesses I started in the vape industry to keep my agency going it was ugly. Rehab - Well… I needed rehab. I told everyone what a mess I had turned myself into, got some help finding a facility and got off the anxiety meds. I stayed for 3 weeks and left against everyones advice. I knew I was good to leave (5 years later I am still good, this normally is really not a good idea for newly sober people). Anywho I found professional help after leaving ongoing as well. Keep in mind, I am a totally normal person who was going through more stress than I was capable of, I have no medical conditions and today am healthy and unmedicated. Apologies - I had some explaining to do and dealt with the damage all of this dealt with. This part was actually easy, people fuck up and I did. So, I apologized for the things I had done and waited for people to see my actions in a positive light well enough to involve me in their life again. Broken Partnerships - My three partners stayed while I was in rehab. They held the ship together and when I got back we all decided on one thing… we couldn't keep it up as it was. So they found jobs and separated from the business and I could actually pay my bills with the business we established. These were the bad events people don't talk about. Mental health in small business ownership is a REAL struggle. Lots of us commit suicide, end up miserable and feeling imprisoned. If you need help get it, find other business owners, a therapist, your family… just talk about it. Life really sucks for everyone sometimes but please… don't ever do anything that can't be undone. [link] [comments]  |
| Seeking mentor for data software pricing structure Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:51 PM PDT Hi! First-time, female, entrepreneur from the nonprofit world converting into the tech world to deliver data services to nonprofits and governments. I'm looking for a mentor with a little extra time that might lend their expertise in reviewing a pricing structure that I've created for a new app launching this month. I'm in a great position in that I have a lot of customers already asking me for quotes, but as this is a new type of service, I'm having trouble comparing prices from competitors. Please let me know how I might help you too! Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Entrepreneurship iPhone/GroupMe Chat? Posted: 09 Jul 2021 09:00 AM PDT Hey what's up y'all. I'm 26 and have had my fair share of failures and lessons learned in what I want to do in my life. Recently I tried to move to an entire different state away from my family and very good friends that support my visions and aspirations. I'm just afraid that I'm running out of time and want to continue to make more connections and network with people that'll help me take me to the next level. I will be moving back to the state that I moved away from to save money and help family with some things. I guess I just wanted to maybe start some kind of group chat centered around entrepreneurship and financial freedom. Because involving myself in those types of conversations and circles is something that I want to continue to do. Any suggestions to meet people in real life too? I appreciate any feedback. Hope all is well with everyone in here. 📝 [link] [comments]  |
| You're not an Entrepreneur, you're Unemployed! Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:32 PM PDT |
| Looking to sell or take on 50% partner for my shopify dropship business Posted: 09 Jul 2021 11:43 AM PDT Hey all, sorry if this isn't allowed but I put my site is up for sale on flippa, has been making about $1000 USD a month recently. I have a slight preference to taking on a 50% partner instead of fully selling, for half my asking price. But must be good with things I am not like social media, seo. Anyway the site info is listed below: https://flippa.com/10893648-e-commerce-hobbies-and-games Thanks for looking. [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Entrepreneur. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment