Millionaire Start Up Entrepreneur Forum - Blogs http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/ Fastlane Entrepreneur and Startup Business Forum - Discuss Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Business Building And Learn How Multi-Millionaires are Made en Wed, 22 May 2013 06:51:39 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Millionaire Start Up Entrepreneur Forum - Blogs http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/ <![CDATA[I'm a Punk]]> http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/dennisduty/779-im-punk.html Wed, 22 May 2013 02:23:36 GMT I gained back a piece of myself. Not sure when I lost it, I think it was because of the company I've been keeping.

I don't like luxury clothes, suits, mansions, or expensive watches.

New/clean/shiny always seemed useless.

There's something about Punk Rock... a style, a yearning for change, an energy.. something... that I really dig and always have.

It's not a hate of money. I love money. Money's a representation of value. Punk's about chaos and hope all rolled into one. Rejection of tangible in-exchange for the spiritual. Making YOURSELF happy no matter what life, luck, or lack thereof throws at you.

SERIOUS confidence in a path that encourages nonconformity regardless of resistance, and self sufficiency.

Back listening to my Punk/Ska music. Gives me the inspiration I need to keep fighting the good fight.

Many entrepreneurs are "Punks".
MJ's words strike a cord with me, partially due to language, partially to 'anti-guru' mentality, partially to drive. Tim Ferris is a Punk. Seth Godin. Steve Jobs.

I've embedded a few songs + lyrics. Punkrock mentality is influencing future business decisions.

[EDIT: I HAVE ONLY EMBEDED ONE, DUE TO FORUM RESTRICTIONS. I HAVE INCLUDED LINKS TO THE OTHERS]

The first song is about traditional 'roles' and conforming to archetypes that were created centuries ago that may no longer be applicable. The original song was by the Rudiments, and I love that version, but this one has more 'spunk' and what I've been listening to:



Lyrics: breakin' out the old wailing paddle
pull the splinters out of your skin
ice your knuckle, vow revenge
corporal rule, teach it cruel
hard times, you missed a grand grime

ingrained acceptance, invisible scars
take your whippin' like a man and you'll be a winner yeah
don't you wanna shine like the stars
good boys do good girls don't
double standards feeding off the rusty remains of the past

the things we learn from consequence
we're all just figures messed up in coincidence
you live your life by foolishness
the things we least require take priority

who listens to the punk rockers anymore?
spit the fire like before, just like Mark Twain

play the roles away

driving past the billboards with the legs that sell
get yourself a new car & a bottle & the babes will follow you
it's all just fun you see, no one gets hurt
why should we question what is commonplace

the things we learn from consequence
we're all just figures messed up in coincidence
you live your life by foolishness
the things we least require take priority

play the roles away

...in the classroom, in the back row, some old lecture
...in the locker room, there's an asshole yellin' at your mom
...on the bar stool, tryin' not to be, but it's hard to change
...but in the end, who do you think created all the roles that we play?
This next one's a bit more cryptic. It's about heresy; Challenging the status quo and order of things, but being ignored, pushed aside, passed by, and locked away despite (possibly) being correct.

Drugs and religion are metaphors for enlightenment and the status quo, respectively.

Another layer of meaning is how jesus came along into a world without christianity and started a movement. However NOW, the very revolution he brought about is so heavily locked in place that a similar revolution (in power or size) would be snuffed out almost immediately.

The lyrics are almost unintelligeble in the song. The singer has varying degrees of verbal clarity throughout his songs, and in this song he seems to be slurring MORE on purpose almost as performance art. You wouldn't know what the song was about unless you knew the lyrics already.

The middle there's a poem which plays on words a bit, so the lyrics don't particularly matter for that part

Rancid - Junkie Man - YouTube

Lyrics:
The common man doesn't suffer pain like this
only the soul that has never been kissed
let us adore our beautiful son
he's ridin' on the rivers of Babylon

bootin' up, shootin' up bring on the brightness
see the son of god is comin' up and I see a likeness
internalize the lunacy of the misery is showin'
when you're brought up you're caught up in a system that's goin'

no one answers no one takes that call from you [x3]
junkie man tell me what your story is [x4]

water water water water I desire
some parents house is on fire
slowly the house gonna burn to the ground
the neighborhood will watch without a sound

will someone be a witness please tell me that he's crazy
but he's not and they know that and they can't get him cause he's not crazy
beat lock him knock him take him away his authority
hit 'em, ship 'em, club 'em submitted conformity


no one answers no one takes that call from you [x3]
junkie man tell me what your story is [x4]

my hand went blind
you were in the veins clairvoyant
you were in the veins clairvoyant
my hand went blind
i make love to my trance sister, my transistor
and my trance parents see from the balcony
I looked out on the big field on the big field
it opens like the cover of an old bible
And out come the wolves! Out come the wolves!
their paws trampling in the snow the alphabet
I stand on my head and watch it all go away

bootin' up, shootin' up bring on the brightness
see the son of god is comin' up and there is a likeness
internalize the lunacy the misery is showin' when
you're brought up and caught up in a system that is goin'

no one answers no one takes that call from you [x3]
junkie man tell me what your story is [x4]
This next song makes me think about my journey thus far. Through college, freelance work, landing a job, loss of job, homelessness, building a business, losing a business, homelessness again, building a second business.

A lot can change in 5 years. Hell, a lot canc hange in 5 days. Each experience changes you, and you're never the same.

You just have to keep the faith, and keep pushing forward no matter how hard things get.

This song, as fast and upbeat as it is, almost brings me to tears everytime. "I guess it came the hard way, but now I know what counts."

the bouncing souls-kate is great - YouTube

(Lyrics):
I used to have home
with a room and bed
a porch and a driveway
with a big garage
but i traded it in
I kept some faith
and laid my head down every night

and it seems so far away
it seems so far away

[chorus]
Remember me now
cuz things always change
5 long years has gone
i've done some time
sleeping where i fall
i know i'll never be the same
[/chorus]

I learned some things
about the places i saw
i learned something about myself
i guess it came the hard way
but now i know what counts
i've got one prayer
it's in your confidence
i know all the places
i know all the beats
everyone's gone
there'e no one, just me

[Chorus]

remember me next time i go away
for the first time in my life i wanna stay
i can count one hand here today
the only things that matter to me anyway
and it seems so far away
seems so far away

[Chorus]
This last song has no subtly, no metaphors. A lot of resentment toward self-entitled rich kids that don't work and threat others badly. I hold the same resentment when I meet the type of person he's talking about... I just haven't had the time to write a song about it yet.

LAX- Big D And The Kids Table - YouTube

(lyrics)
Hey, elitists from L.A.; Los Angeles, California
You know who you are
You drive in fancy cars
Your allowance exceeds my rent
Well listen to what I have to say
Remind yourselves every day
Let's get the message on its way

Well first of all,
Fuck your fucking attitudes
How can you be so fucking rude?
You fucking look at me like when girls are jealous
And fuck your fucking L.A. bars
You're all a bunch of wannabe superstars
Yeah, fuck your fucking act
You're a bunch of dressed up fucking rats

You get anything you want
Mommy's jobless fucking runt
You're fucking lounging in daddy's fucking mansion
And all your fucking stupid names
Blair and Tavis, that's fucking lame
Z-A-C does not spell Zack,
What the fuck is with all that?

And you think you're so fucking impressive
You can get your name on the fucking guestlist
Raise your nose to the people in line
Give the doorman a fucking high five

And they go

Do my shoes match my shirt?
Does my shirt clash with my pants?
Do my pants match my eyes?
Do my eyes look good tonight?
Will this place be cool enough?
Your hair looks so, so tough
This looks so good for us
Tonight my money's gonna buy me love
[x2]

And fuck all of your deceiving
What's your fake heart fake fucking bleeding?
And all the girls you lay to your mat
Are the same fucking girls you fucking laugh at
And fuck your fucking fake ass world
And all your handed out fucking thrills
Some of us, we have to work hard
Just to get our little part
And maybe your glamour's not in Boston
But my friends are fucking awesome
And we'll keep on doing our best
Even though our lives are a mess

Even though my life is a mess, yeah

And we go

Will this check support this tour?
Will this tour lose my job?
Without my job where's the rent?
Should we all just call it quits?
The dinner dates sure cost a lot
When 28 bucks is all you got
And your life is at a stop
And all your dreams are all self-taught
[x3]

And this is the difference between our lives
No wonder tonight you feel alright
And I'm sorry if my mind is occupied
I'm trying to forget to wonder why
[x2]

We're built up from nothing
I'm trying to forget to wonder why
[x4]
I want to know: Do you consider yourself a punk? Do you think most worldchangers are punks? Do you think this whole post was a waste of time? Comment and let me know what you think! ]]> DennisDuty http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/dennisduty/779-im-punk.html AHH!! I have a freaking awesome marketing idea! http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/adiakritos/778-ahh-i-have-freaking-awesome-marketing-idea.html Thu, 16 May 2013 01:12:03 GMT Ok, so I've been building this web application forEVER now but it's reaching time to launch and I'm excited about it. I've got a few more hurdles to crush before it's ready to launch, but when it is... I have a stellar marketing idea for it, at least, my mind mind, it is stellar.

Basically, what I'm going to do is subject myself as a testimony to the effectiveness of my application.

I'll have a set number of weeks in which I need to accomplish the goal that everyone in my demo wants to accomplish, and I'll document my progress on youtube!

I've seen others doing it as well, and they got a MASSIVE number of views with each consecutive video release. What I can do is also release little vlogs inbetween the beginning, middle and end results, to build a following as time passes.

All the while I'll keep my app linked in the video comments and in the video notes on-screen.

It's going to take awhile, but I only see an upside as the time it takes me to "undo" my current state is also a time where I can make some fundamental progress that, when I do go through the process all over again, the end result will be even better!

So, I know I've been very very vague here and careful not to reveal my idea, however, because I'm in the middle of 'process' and I've invested my time and effort into this project, I feel safer from competition exploiting my ideas or coming to market before I do simply because there are more likely others here who are much more financially endowed to execute what I'm doing all by me lonesome. ]]> adiakritos http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/adiakritos/778-ahh-i-have-freaking-awesome-marketing-idea.html May 2013 Update http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thomashoi/777-may-2013-update.html Sat, 11 May 2013 00:22:56 GMT The trial was very successful where I delivered hundreds of visitors to my client's website and the visitors stayed for more than 2 minutes.

From the next posting onwards, I will be paid per post and also open up an opportunity to meet more interior design companies through this client of mine. I'm excited by this and will be posting my revenue very soon.

Do stay tuned!

Blessings,
Thomas Hoi ]]> thomashoi http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thomashoi/777-may-2013-update.html Finished my Dating book - Need Reviewers/ I send you the book for free http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/moonjun/776-finished-my-dating-book-need-reviewers-i-send-you-book-free.html Tue, 07 May 2013 16:14:42 GMT Hello everyone

I'm done writing my ebook on dating for my Internet marketing.

I'm looking for guys who are interested to read the book and
be willing to give some reviews and testimonials.

The book talks about the following

effective mindsets
approaching
conversational skills
attractive traits
and some other advanced stuff

Thanks in advanced. ]]> moonjun http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/moonjun/776-finished-my-dating-book-need-reviewers-i-send-you-book-free.html <![CDATA[Losses & failures are better than wins & successes]]> http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/theking/775-losses-failures-better-than-wins-successes.html Mon, 06 May 2013 05:52:24 GMT Losses & failures are better than wins & successes because they teach.

That's what the captain of an amateur sports team I am on said after we lost a league game tonight. I was fucking pissed over the loss, I hate losing more than anything, but it made sense to me. Failure is not the end, it's just a means of stripping down the inessential and getting better.

Trial and error (I'd call it Trial and Fail) is how many entrepreneurs seem to find their path in business too. Failing harder and more times may be mentally painful and exhausting, but in the end, one comes out stronger from it. And the stronger one is, the more success opportunities they can catch and hold on to.

And losses don't matter, not until the play-offs start. And even if you lose in the play offs, there is always another season ahead. In life it's even easier: there are not even play-offs, and no one is watching you/gives a shit if you fail. As Mark Cuban put it "You only have to get it right once to be considered an overnight success". Here's to failing again and again until we succeed. ]]> TheKing http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/theking/775-losses-failures-better-than-wins-successes.html Running a business is hard work? Nonsense. http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/halffull/774-running-business-hard-work-nonsense.html Sat, 04 May 2013 07:01:38 GMT Things are getting busy around here.

-I have two meetups groups I'm trying to attend regularly now for leads. One of them, I've taken over as admin, the other, I'm just an attendee, but I'm making inquiries into becoming one of the trainers.

-I recently just got done with Startup Weekend (volunteer). I've attended them pretty regularly the past few years, but after experiencing the stress of not having the weekend to get through my workload, I don't know if I'll be participating in another for a while.

-I have three clients now, for each one, I've progressively raised the rates. However, after those three, no new ones have joined. I don't know if it's because of the raised rates, or I just happened to get lucky with an influx of clients who all decided to apply around the same time.

-I'm trying to create more of a sales funnel instead of simply a sales page. Have an email list set up, an optin bribe, and an intial auto response. I will set up more over the upcoming weeks.

-Working on a members area of the site for paying clients. How difficult this is really makes me want to go back to drupal... but I switched to wordpress specifically so that it wouldn't be super ugly.

-Just started the Stanford Tech Entrepreneurship MOOC, which means I'll get to add some more theoretical and practical entrepreneurship tasks to the workload.

-Continuing with my day job. Sometimes it just feels like I'm phoning in, which I have to watch. As long as choose to continue my day job, I choose to fully commit to it and give 100%

-Get 5 Virtual tasks every month for a year from fancy hands. I want to get in the habit of delegating and working with "employees". Hopefully, should also lessen the workload. However, I was unimpressed with the results from the first task. ]]> Halffull http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/halffull/774-running-business-hard-work-nonsense.html April Update http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thetruth/773-april-update.html Fri, 03 May 2013 03:58:40 GMT Pretty good month,


I don't go a day without people asking me to provide services for them. The market is now telling me what it wants and I get to go over their expectations.

I took a smaller role in the food start-up, but I am in talks with 2 other partners to roll out a big agency.

However, I will be building my brand that I control 100%, so things are falling into place.

:)

I expect a good month coming up, lets get it done! ]]> TheTruth http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thetruth/773-april-update.html <![CDATA[Aprils's Blog Entry Fastlane Competition]]> http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/barry/772-aprilss-blog-entry-fastlane-competition.html Thu, 02 May 2013 14:31:45 GMT Hello Fellow Competitors! As a few of my earlier entries stated that sales slowed the past few months it had forced me to really re-evaluate my... Hello Fellow Competitors!

As a few of my earlier entries stated that sales slowed the past few months it had forced me to really re-evaluate my business. I've actually started using a few techniques because I've noticed I have been getting in a lot of orders but the buyers were not acting on them like they'll say oh next week I'll get one then next week It's a different story.

So I started trying to use scarcity to make them act and act FAST this is working! Sales are now back to normal (coming in daily) and slightly rising. There are a few other people in my market place trying to sell the same products but from the looks of it they have no luck.

Reasons for this is 1) POOR camera quality so product isn't all that visible.
2) Their's aren't as good, Mine holds more power. I sell (1900mAH)
They Sell (1500mAh) I TELL my customers
about this as a way to differentiate myself.
3) They just tell the name of the product and not really what it does
to show the beauty of the product.
4) I have cheaper prices and I still have a 250-300% Margin

Tips learned this month: Taking really high quality pictures of your product is a +
If you offer more value than your competitors state it,
with real reasons to back up your claim!

Good-luck To Everyone

Barry ]]> Barry http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/barry/772-aprilss-blog-entry-fastlane-competition.html Am I Just Too Young? http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thrive/771-am-i-just-too-young.html Thu, 02 May 2013 03:51:44 GMT Last month has been finals and catch up month for me so I haven't done a thing, AGAIN, on my business. I was thinking about it, and I believe my depletion of motivation may have been because of a talk I had with my parents several months ago: They think I should just focus on school and stuff like that, and then later once I leave the house I should focus on building a business. I just dont know what to do. :bgh: ]]> Thrive http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thrive/771-am-i-just-too-young.html <![CDATA[Why Aren't You Selling?]]> http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/1step/770-why-arent-you-selling.html Thu, 02 May 2013 02:11:57 GMT I spent time over the last few days reading all the blog entries from most of the competitors in the Fastlane Business Competition and I am shocked... I spent time over the last few days reading all the blog entries from most of the competitors in the Fastlane Business Competition and I am shocked at how few have customers or are selling..

Maybe my expectations were way too high but I expected many many people would have profitable businesses created at this point in the competition with many paying customers but the updates don't make me feel this is the case..

What are you spending your time on?

I realize sales aren't the only way to judge a business but 10 months in I would think everyone should have customers at this point.

Start Selling! This is you last chance! ]]> 1step http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/1step/770-why-arent-you-selling.html April Updates http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/tm33/769-april-updates.html Thu, 02 May 2013 01:44:40 GMT Well I threw a lot at the business in April. Sadly, nothing seemed to stick. I did a lot of Analytic work trying to figure out solid KPI's and keywords. Just ended up spending another few hundred dollars to see no results. I'm starting to wonder if maybe the product is flawed. Maybe people don't want eye holes? Obviously something is wrong because the marketing has been there with minimal results. I'll keep pushing through May and see if I can change anything. ]]> tm33 http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/tm33/769-april-updates.html A Snapshot.... http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/dennisduty/768-snapshot.html Wed, 01 May 2013 23:53:19 GMT A Snapshot: It was a perfect day outside today. I run the risk of sounding cliche when I say I love long walks on the beach. The ocean crashing to... A Snapshot:

It was a perfect day outside today. I run the risk of sounding cliche when I say I love long walks on the beach. The ocean crashing to my left, the seaguls squaking to my right. Deeply breathing the salty air. The sand forces uneven steps. I constantly struggle for balance, but it's beautiful.

The beach mimics life, or the other way around. It's always hard to get a sure footing, but you can't expect it to be any other way. Once you accept it your journey becomes more comfortable.

This is my last Sam Adams. As I reach the bottom of the bottle I take smaller sips to make it last. The glass bottle, initially wet and cold, is room temperature.

I just closed a deal to produce 30 wholesale videos/month for a client, which basically equates to a decent full-time job, while taking up less than half the time. Semi-decent news.

Nothing compares to the rush of releasing my OWN branded content however. I'm re-purposing some videos, making them uniform with the new brand identity.

I'm excited for the future. ]]> DennisDuty http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/dennisduty/768-snapshot.html Startup Competition - April http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/milkanic/767-startup-competition-april.html Wed, 01 May 2013 20:19:51 GMT April was a pretty shitty month and the site is still around 90% done. I’m starting to tweak everything to death when I realize I just to stop and... April was a pretty shitty month and the site is still around 90% done. I’m starting to tweak everything to death when I realize I just to stop and get the thing live.

I ordered samples from a few more places as backups and to possibly offer some high end hand screen printed stuff in the future.

I also signed up for a few classes on http://www.skillshare.com/ to brush up on my design skills. The classes are killer so far.

I’m setting a launch date of May 24th and will go live whatever I have done at that point. ]]> Milkanic http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/milkanic/767-startup-competition-april.html April Update 2013 http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thomashoi/766-april-update-2013.html Wed, 01 May 2013 15:02:12 GMT Quite an interesting month. I was approached by several companies to do trials for them as they would like to check if my advertising give them any... Quite an interesting month. I was approached by several companies to do trials for them as they would like to check if my advertising give them any results.

I rejected most of them as I feel they are looking for freebies.

However, I accepted one company to do 2 postings as trial for them and after that if they continue with me, they will pay me. The reason I worked with this company is because they can open the doors to many other related companies and most important of all, they are very sincere and have good conversion rates.

I will post my earnings in the next update.

Blessings,
Thomas ]]> thomashoi http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/thomashoi/766-april-update-2013.html Fastlane Competition - April update http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/amail/765-fastlane-competition-april-update.html Wed, 01 May 2013 14:11:01 GMT With summer quickly approaching I'm putting focus back on Weather Oasis. I placed my first MOQ order and expect it to ship mid May. I should have it mid June. I got my own custom labels for the cooling towels complete with a unique UPC, so I should be able to go straight onto Amazon as well as eBay.

My stock has diminished to the point I need to slow sales down. I sure managed that! I raised the price by almost double and haven't had a sale in two weeks. While that doesn't bode well for that price point, it does keep my listing active and near the top of the list. ]]> Amail http://www.thefastlaneforum.com/blogs/amail/765-fastlane-competition-april-update.html