Post: #401

^ Indeed. There are much more useful, and expeditious things you could do with your time if you are interested in life as an entrepreneur than getting a degree. Night courses in accountancy, law, marketing etc would all run for a much shorter period, cost a fraction of the amount of a degree, and give you a good grounding in the practical requirements of running a business.

Personally I think reading books on entrepreneurship is largely a waste of time. Read materials that teach you something you can directly apply - a good marketing guide would do you much more good than 'The Lean Startup', and you'd move your business much further in the process. By and large, these books are themselves written by marketers of dubious personal accomplishment, or by successful entrepreneurs whose real skill is building a business empire, and whose literary talents (and consequent ability to put useful material on the page) pale in comparison. Those sorts of books should be saved for when you just want to enjoy reading about someone's success story. Something like this is an enjoyable read, but you won't learn much applicable to your business, even if it's the same type of business: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bread-Butter-Le...0704372436
Since time is valuable, and energy levels are easily exhausted, your focus could be much better directed. This is a big part of being a successful entrepreneur - knowing when to just leave a bunch of seemingly important stuff well-the-fuck-alone.

I have an employee who is borderline OCD, brilliant at what he does, and a real detail oriented guy. He reads up on employment law and all sorts for fun. But his problem would be, if he ever tried to start a business, he would be so busy doing everything right, properly and meticulously, he'd never get anything off the ground.

Post: #402

(02-26-2017 04:12 AM)dogfucker69 Wrote:  Hello everyone

I hate to be a pauper dirtying a prince's chambers, but I'm struggling to find no-bullshit simple advice on the route of entrepreneurship concerning entrepreneurship without a degree. Is there any decent compendium of practical advice on it? I'm not inventing anything, so I figure my fundamentals have to be spotless if I'm going to succeed in a market that already has players. Fortunately, I have a stable/profitable job as it is, so I do have some time to study

Great question.

Read The Cash Flow Quadrant, which states there are 4 ways to make money, E, S, B, I.
Employee, you
Self Employed, independent but limited by hours billed
Business Owner, You have a business that makes you money even if you dont work there
Investor, You own investments that pay you.

Degrees are mostly for various types of employees or self employed specialists.

The attitude that your fundamentals have to be spotless will keep you an employee literally forever.

What is it you eant to do?

Post: #403

(02-26-2017 04:12 AM)dogfucker69 Wrote:  Hello everyone

I hate to be a pauper dirtying a prince's chambers, but I'm struggling to find no-bullshit simple advice on the route of entrepreneurship concerning entrepreneurship without a degree. Is there any decent compendium of practical advice on it? I'm not inventing anything, so I figure my fundamentals have to be spotless if I'm going to succeed in a market that already has players. Fortunately, I have a stable/profitable job as it is, so I do have some time to study

"Leap and the net will appear" John Burroughs

"Paralysis by analysis" is the best way to fail before you ever start

Post: #404

(02-26-2017 04:12 AM)dogfucker69 Wrote:  Hello everyone

I hate to be a pauper dirtying a prince's chambers, but I'm struggling to find no-bullshit simple advice on the route of entrepreneurship concerning entrepreneurship without a degree. Is there any decent compendium of practical advice on it? I'm not inventing anything, so I figure my fundamentals have to be spotless if I'm going to succeed in a market that already has players. Fortunately, I have a stable/profitable job as it is, so I do have some time to study

First off never refer to yourself as a pauper again, what you say becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This tells me you first need to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Then read a general red pill business book like The Millionaire Fastlane to get an overview of entrepreneurship fundamentals.

After that read some articles on Minimum Viable Products and case studies using MVPs and get started building a business. You can learn the rest as you go along.

Post: #405

(02-26-2017 04:12 AM)dogfucker69 Wrote:  Fortunately, I have a stable/profitable job as it is, so I do have some time to study

I could say a lot more on this but basically if you have time to study then you have time to act.

I have learned a lot more from acting, taking action, than I have studying. I think that once I had some entrepreneurial experience then the reading helped as I could corroborate what I learned with experience. However, I had read Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill as a teenager as they were in my father's library.

If you are going the internet route, as most people are these days, then you just do it. I would recommend that you search for "no code startup" and check out what some people are doing that don't have tech skills.

I have found myself spending way too much time reading (Medium.com, blogs, etc.) lately as opposed to getting work done.....one of my issues...and I have two startups that I am working on and one that needs me to finish a design and workplan.

Oh, and I don't have a degree.

G

Post: #406

Hi I have a question:

I have a website where I sell music collections.

The music is fairly niche and hard to get hold of. I collected the music and people are happy to pay a reasonable one off fee for me to shoot them a download link, saves them the hassle of chasing down all the songs individually.

It's modest and fairly under the radar currently but I'm planning on doing a marketing campaign using fb and probably Instagram (my customer will use these networks most likely) to up sales. Currently most sales come from page one google for search term.

Currently payments are made to my paypal account which displays my name when they pay, not sure if it displays my registered address? Legality is an issue of coruse, if the original artists or labels who released the records had a beef, majority won't be active/give a shit if they came across but there are a few tracks which were signed to bigger labels who are still active and release music for example.

Would setting up a business paypal protect me? Does anyone have one?

Post: #407

^ I'd say a business PayPal would make it even easier to prosecute you...

Post: #408

Can anyone recommend any good online marketing or internet business forums? I used to frequent blackhatworld but the quality of posters and discussion has gone down a lot since then. I'm looking for a forum with people who actually live the life, run real businesses and aren't just wannabes looking for a $5 a day method.

Post: #409

(03-01-2017 05:34 PM)the-dream Wrote:  Can anyone recommend any good online marketing or internet business forums? I used to frequent blackhatworld but the quality of posters and discussion has gone down a lot since then. I'm looking for a forum with people who actually live the life, run real businesses and aren't just wannabes looking for a $5 a day method.

I like the fastlane forum https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/
Started checking it out recently after I began reading the book. Seems good so far, less marketing guru bs than places like warrior forum and leagues ahead of blackhatworld. I would like to add that blackhatworld is still worth an occasional browse however depending what you're getting into

Post: #410

(03-01-2017 05:50 PM)WhatTheFuck Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 05:34 PM)the-dream Wrote:  Can anyone recommend any good online marketing or internet business forums? I used to frequent blackhatworld but the quality of posters and discussion has gone down a lot since then. I'm looking for a forum with people who actually live the life, run real businesses and aren't just wannabes looking for a $5 a day method.

I like the fastlane forum https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/
Started checking it out recently after I began reading the book. Seems good so far, less marketing guru bs than places like warrior forum and leagues ahead of blackhatworld. I would like to add that blackhatworld is still worth an occasional browse however depending what you're getting into

Thanks for the link. Looks real solid.

Warrior forums are awful and most of the veterans there are assholes. Blackhatworld is hard to sift through for quality, lots of useless threads.

Post: #411

Any insights on this:


I found it motivating as lately I have been really into the idea of "the product" and thinking of ways to use technology to hack the testing and research for potential good(s). This picture helps break down in very easy ways how you can easily make one million in revenues. This is how I think versus the ways of making a product or service and hoping for volume. What are the ways to use innovation and technology to find always to create a quality product that less people would be willing to pay more for.

A simple idea that comes up that I see dudes do is being the boutique service provide, being a personal trainer/health consultant for rich people and charging that premium for example.

Post: #412

(03-03-2017 01:43 AM)kosko Wrote:  Any insights on this:


I found it motivating as lately I have been really into the idea of "the product" and thinking of ways to use technology to hack the testing and research for potential good(s). This picture helps break down in very easy ways how you can easily make one million in revenues. This is how I think versus the ways of making a product or service and hoping for volume. What are the ways to use innovation and technology to find always to create a quality product that less people would be willing to pay more for.

A simple idea that comes up that I see dudes do is being the boutique service provide, being a personal trainer/health consultant for rich people and charging that premium for example.

I really hate these kind of entrepreneurial infographics, personally, that profess wisdom but are actually void of any of the important considerations.

£1 million in turnover is fine, but what does it cost you to get it? If it's all eaten up by cost of goods, staff, overheads etc, and at the end of it all you can do is pay yourself £30k/year as a salary with no capital accumulation, then what's the point?

Equally, the whole 'get someone to pay X/month for a product worth Y' thing is fine, but if you put together a financial model for that, how much capital do you need initially to make that business model work? To fund a £400 product, written down over a year, and sold to 2000 people, you need a lot of starting capital. What are your profit margins on that £400 product? How many months of the year is it until you recover your costs? Fundamentally, why are you selling them a £400 product over 12 months? Even though you're getting £504 for it by the end of the year, there is a very real cost involved in running a hire purchase scheme for your customers. If you're going to take this approach, then you are much better locking them into a service contract over a period of several years, that ideally just renews - particularly if the capital value of your business is a consideration.

In addition to all of this, the infographic takes for granted that you just have this product, with no costs incurred in its development or maintenance. If you've actually had to build the product, then some allowance needs to be made to recover the cost of R&D - a process which has almost certainly taken longer and cost more than originally anticipated.

Post: #413

I have a small...problem with Paypal.


At the end of last month, all the money that I had on Paypal balance was not withdrawn automatically to the card attached to my account (all customers were happy, and left positive ratings on Ebay, so my products aren't an issue).


Did you guys encounter the same problem? Or was there a change in Paypal's TOS?

Post: #414

(03-04-2017 10:54 AM)Irenicus Wrote:  I have a small...problem with Paypal.


At the end of last month, all the money that I had on Paypal balance was not withdrawn automatically to the card attached to my account (all customers were happy, and left positive ratings on Ebay, so my products aren't an issue).


Did you guys encounter the same problem? Or was there a change in Paypal's TOS?

Depending on your record they start holding your money for up to 21 days.

At the moment I am capped at 3 grand in sales per month before they hold my funds. If I need more money I have to call for a limit increase.

Post: #415

Thank you Kirdiesel, but I am afraid that I was not precise enough. I'll elaborate.


At the end of last month, I had USD XX on my available balance (money that I could use freely). Now, Paypal was supposed to wire the money to my card (Visa credit card), and it did not. That is why I am asking if anyone here had experienced the same issue.


I have a USD 48,5 K selling limit (which increased gradually, as I sold things). As long as you provide great service, it will grow (I did not ask Ebay to raise limits).


If I remember well, we have the same niche. Can you please PM me the link of your profile, so that we can learn from each other (I'll do likewise if you are interested)?

Post: #416

(03-04-2017 04:37 PM)Irenicus Wrote:  Thank you Kirdiesel, but I am afraid that I was not precise enough. I'll elaborate.


At the end of last month, I had USD XX on my available balance (money that I could use freely). Now, Paypal was supposed to wire the money to my card (Visa credit card), and it did not. That is why I am asking if anyone here had experienced the same issue.


I have a USD 48,5 K selling limit (which increased gradually, as I sold things). As long as you provide great service, it will grow (I did not ask Ebay to raise limits).


If I remember well, we have the same niche. Can you please PM me the link of your profile, so that we can learn from each other (I'll do likewise if you are interested)?

I have no idea what happened there. I just normally withdraw the money from Paypal directly to my bank account. It takes a few days and thats it.

I am selling clothes but I prefer to keep my business info off of here.

eBay is starting to frustrate me though. It seems eBay is best suited for high volume, low priced items that you can make a decent margin on. I have the opposite business model and it feels like I'm swimming against the tide.

I tend to have trouble getting alot of merch at a low enough price so I can also sell at a low price and move it quickly. People just seem to be so fucking cheap even if the item is brand new with tags on it just like in the store. Sometimes I selling the SAME SHIT as in the store and sometimes at a $150 discount and still people don't want to pay it.

Sorry needed to vent a bit... ugh!

Post: #417

It's just a infographic...not a complete profit and loss financial statement.

Obviously, it is not claiming a million dollars in pure profit.

It is a good tool to focus on customer acquisition and conversion.

It sounds like someone is reading their individual frustrations into it.

Post: #418

(03-06-2017 11:18 AM)buja Wrote:  It's just a infographic...not a complete profit and loss financial statement.

Obviously, it is not claiming a million dollars in pure profit.

It is a good tool to focus on customer acquisition and conversion.

It sounds like someone is reading their individual frustrations into it.

I always wondered who made these things.

Post: #419

Is an MBA worth it these days?

Post: #420

(03-04-2017 04:37 PM)Irenicus Wrote:  At the end of last month, I had USD XX on my available balance (money that I could use freely). Now, Paypal was supposed to wire the money to my card (Visa credit card), and it did not. That is why I am asking if anyone here had experienced the same issue.

Paypal are sharks, they have a reputation for screwing sellers and freezing accounts for no reason. I would be very nervous about betting my primary source of income on them.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/ <= stories abound here of how they have stolen money from sellers

Post: #421

(02-26-2017 03:46 PM)Valentine Wrote:  

(02-26-2017 04:12 AM)dogfucker69 Wrote:  Hello everyone

I hate to be a pauper dirtying a prince's chambers, but I'm struggling to find no-bullshit simple advice on the route of entrepreneurship concerning entrepreneurship without a degree. Is there any decent compendium of practical advice on it? I'm not inventing anything, so I figure my fundamentals have to be spotless if I'm going to succeed in a market that already has players. Fortunately, I have a stable/profitable job as it is, so I do have some time to study

First off never refer to yourself as a pauper again, what you say becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Excellent advice. Recommend also reading "Richest Man in Babylon." It is a very quick and fun read. One item is to always carry a meaningful amount of cash in your wallet. I try to carry at least one $100 bill in my wallet at all times. It makes me feel rich. A lousy Benjamin or two - and I get comfort and confidence knowing it is folded up in my wallet! It can solve all kinds of little problems. Many men never know what it feels like to carry it.

Engage the Mindset Change. If you want to be an entrepreneur, your mindset must change. If you are pushing a lawnmower - you are a landscape professional hired Under Contract, not as an employee, and you are going to be the best landscape man they can find! So own it.

One day you may employ 100 lawnmower pushers, but YOU are the Landscape Pro and El Jefe de Lawn! And anyone that looks down on you is welcome to watch you laugh on the way to the bank.

Post: #422

(03-07-2017 09:26 AM)rafaeld Wrote:  

(03-04-2017 04:37 PM)Irenicus Wrote:  At the end of last month, I had USD XX on my available balance (money that I could use freely). Now, Paypal was supposed to wire the money to my card (Visa credit card), and it did not. That is why I am asking if anyone here had experienced the same issue.

Paypal are sharks, they have a reputation for screwing sellers and freezing accounts for no reason. I would be very nervous about betting my primary source of income on them.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/ <= stories abound here of how they have stolen money from sellers

They are... eBay is also a seriously outdated website. I am surprised someone hasn't come along and revolutionized this industry yet. Its amazing how bad it is.

Paypal are also complete dickheads but they have started some new measures it seems (letting me know that I am about to hit my limit before holding my money) So hopefully it comes around.

Post: #423

(03-07-2017 03:37 AM)Matrixdude Wrote:  Is an MBA worth it these days?

No.

Post: #424

(03-06-2017 03:46 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

(03-06-2017 11:18 AM)buja Wrote:  It's just a infographic...not a complete profit and loss financial statement.

Obviously, it is not claiming a million dollars in pure profit.

It is a good tool to focus on customer acquisition and conversion.

It sounds like someone is reading their individual frustrations into it.

I always wondered who made these things.

Someone who focuses on making sales most likely.

Post: #425

(03-01-2017 05:50 PM)WhatTheFuck Wrote:  I like the fastlane forum https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/
Started checking it out recently after I began reading the book. Seems good so far, less marketing guru bs than places like warrior forum and leagues ahead of blackhatworld. I would like to add that blackhatworld is still worth an occasional browse however depending what you're getting into

Here's my issue with The Fastlane Forum. MJ DeMarco, the founder, built the forum around the concepts in his book The Fastlane Millionaire.

He claims to be a multimillionaire who can buy $100K+ supercars on a whim because he's so wealthy, it's just like buying a pack of gum for normal people.

The best I can tell, his only claim to financial insight is his founding, growth of and sale of limos.com. I haven't seen him make any claims to any other massive financial successes.

The FL Forum has the most valuable threads locked behind a $15 / month paywall. If you don't pay to be an "Insider," you can't access those threads and the interface of the forum is obnoxiously crowded with an excessive number of ads.

Why the fuck is a multimillionaire worrying about squeezing pennies out of a forum by utilizing ads? I can see charging monthly admission to the best part of the website to protect valuable information and create a community of guys who are serious about business, but the amateurish use of ads all over the forum really give the game up.

It's clear to me the MJ DeMarco is not at rich as he claims to be and despite writing a book that is supposed to reveal the secrets of becoming rich, given that he's only struck it rich once, he has no business claiming inside knowledge, especially if his new business plan is nothing more than to try to get rich off of people who want to get rich. Just the same self-marketing drivel you find everywhere else.

I've read his book and while there are a few gems, it offers very little in the way of concrete steps to take and the fluff to value ratio leans heavily in the direction of fluff.

The forum membership itself seems halfway solid and $15 / month is nothing to me, but I'm really hesitant to be another sheep who help someone who claims to be more than he is get richer.