University Bundles

[coffees4closers]

This thread is awesome

 

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[Twiizlar]

This thread is awesome

Thanks for the kind words! I actually took what you said earlier in this thread into account. I added the option to rent out the electronic system bundle and kitchen appliance bundle! Thanks for the help.

Sad that i just found out that when you cancel a gig on fiverr they dont refund the money to your paypal. They refund it into you "fiverr acount balance" . Now im sad because i was planning to take the bus to the nearest wells fargo to deposit a couple bucks so i can install my SSL certificate. Now i dont even have the cash on hand lol.

 

[blackhat]

Thanks for the kind words! I actually took what you said earlier in this thread into account. I added the option to rent out the electronic system bundle and kitchen appliance bundle! Thanks for the help.

Sad that i just found out that when you cancel a gig on fiverr they dont refund the money to your paypal. They refund it into you "fiverr acount balance" . Now im sad because i was planning to take the bus to the nearest wells fargo to deposit a couple bucks so i can install my SSL certificate. Now i dont even have the cash on hand lol.

Is the $10 a fee from your web hosting company? Who are you using?

 

[Twiizlar]

Is the $10 a fee from your web hosting company? Who are you using?

I am using host gator. And yeah its from them. I thought i could install it myself but since i have the most basic plan (hatchling) so i dont think i can install myself. I dont have some things in cpanel that i would need to install myself.

 

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[blackhat]

I am using host gator. And yeah its from them. I thought i could install it myself but since i have the most basic plan (hatchling) so i dont think i can install myself. I dont have some things in cpanel that i would need to install myself.

Hmm...couple ideas if you want to get it going without the $10.

You can look into cloudflare. Among many other things, they offer free SSL. You'd need to keep in mind that the free certs are not compatible with older devices. Specifically XP and oldish Android phones.

Also, they are a CDN of sorts, and the SSL is added on their servers, not yours, so that warning might continue to appear on your check out page. Free (and quick) to try though.

OR

You could use an external site for payment processing. Paypal or similar? Not ideal because customers would still be sending some personal details in the clear, but it would let you get going.

 

[Twiizlar]

Hmm...couple ideas if you want to get it going without the $10.

You can look into cloudflare. Among many other things, they offer free SSL. You'd need to keep in mind that the free certs are not compatible with older devices. Specifically XP and oldish Android phones.

Also, they are a CDN of sorts, and the SSL is added on their servers, not yours, so that warning might continue to appear on your check out page. Free (and quick) to try though.

OR

You could use an external site for payment processing. Paypal or similar? Not ideal because customers would still be sending some personal details in the clear, but it would let you get going.

I have already purchased the ssl from namecheap it just costs $10 to get it installed. And thanks for the ideas but i think im just going to wait a couple days until i get some money deposited into my account (cashed out on my .03 bitcoins lmao)

 

[Twiizlar]

Day 7:

Did absolutely nothing today. I hung out with some friends. I cant do anything until i get my ssl certifcate installed so im just waiting on that.

 

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[blackhat]

I have already purchased the ssl from namecheap it just costs $10 to get it installed. And thanks for the ideas but i think im just going to wait a couple days until i get some money deposited into my account (cashed out on my .03 bitcoins lmao)

I misunderstood. I thought you had to buy it from hostgator and the $10 was cert/install. If you already bought the cert, yeah, just wait and use that. That is your best bet. I was thinking you didn't have the cert yet and were waiting to buy that.

I thought I had already read the first page, but it looks like I missed a few important posts. Now where you're at makes a lot more sense and my questions look pretty dumb.

Great thread by the way. Can't wait to see how things go when you get SSL up.

 

[LightHouse]

Do you have any customers or any leads at all?

Not to be totally negative, but this whole thing looks like a huge action fake. Website, logo, etc and the process itself isn't even worked out.

To me, you should be finding out if you could get any orders first, find out what people are going to want to buy that way, and get that stuff, even if you have to sell it as a loss. You will start to develop the process and get the feedback loop rolling.

What is going to happen potentially with what you are doing now, is you are going to spend all that time "looking established" and never be able to take orders as the time winds on, and you still have not completed a bundle or sourced the products that people actually want.

I would re-align what you are doing. You are working on the easy stuff that you can sit at a computer and complete pretty easily. The real challenge if you want to be successful your first year, is to get on your feet and get the really hard stuff working. Sourcing that many different products and moving them to you is not going to be easy or cheap. So if anything I would limit your customers base to your local area so you can hand deliver the first year and see how things go while ironing out a solid replicate-able process.

 

[Twiizlar]

Do you have any customers or any leads at all?

Not to be totally negative, but this whole thing looks like a huge action fake. Website, logo, etc and the process itself isn't even worked out.

To me, you should be finding out if you could get any orders first, find out what people are going to want to buy that way, and get that stuff, even if you have to sell it as a loss. You will start to develop the process and get the feedback loop rolling.

What is going to happen potentially with what you are doing now, is you are going to spend all that time "looking established" and never be able to take orders as the time winds on, and you still have not completed a bundle or sourced the products that people actually want.

I would re-align what you are doing. You are working on the easy stuff that you can sit at a computer and complete pretty easily. The real challenge if you want to be successful your first year, is to get on your feet and get the really hard stuff working. Sourcing that many different products and moving them to you is not going to be easy or cheap. So if anything I would limit your customers base to your local area so you can hand deliver the first year and see how things go while ironing out a solid replicate-able process.

No customers. No leads.

I have been on this forum for a while now. I know what action faking is. I have done it myself in my past ventures. Ive only actually started working onn this idea beginning of this week. Past 5 days I have been working on my website. I have an excel with all my products and where/how much/when to get them. (every single one) and just need to order. I think i have everything worked out. I have payment set up, rental conditions, and website done. Only thing i am waiting on is for money to go into my account to install my ssl certificate so i can start marketing.

Literally the last step is this ssl certificate. If i had the money availible it would of been on my website a couple days ago but unfortunately I have had to wait a couple days for my money to go in.

I have most of my marketing thought out already. I dont want to market a website that cannot take orders. That is counter productive.

As for doing the "hard work" i cannot do that yet. We ship our bundles in the beginning of August before move-in. To purchase the bundles i will need the money from orders to purchase the items. Also since i do not ship until August i can wait until i get orders before i purchase a large amount of items. No need to be in a hurry.

If you have any more questions please let me know.

 

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[Twiizlar]

Wow. After looking more into installing a sll certificate i was confused because in my cpanel i need a "ssl manager". I didnt have that because i thought it was due to having a basic account. It turns out that i have to have dedicated ip in order for the "ssl manager" to show up. I just filled out the form to buy/request dedicated ip and have to wait 12-24 hours. After that I will install my ssl certificate and be good to go!

 

[Twiizlar]

After 4.5 hours with hostgator support (no exaggerating) i have finally got everything almost done. I recieved some misinformation from one online chat representative (2 hours) and it took 2.5 hours of chat with another representative to get everything fixed. Now i am just waiting for them to grant my account a dedicated ip so i can install my ssl certificate so i can finally start marketing!

Side note: My headphones broke and now im sad lol

 

[Twiizlar]

Day 8:

After being with hostgator online chat support for 5 hours (not exaggerating) i have to pay to get my ssl installed. First person told me i can do it myself if i upgrade my plan (i did) and the next said i just have to fill out dedicated ip form and i should be good to install myself. After i submitted the form a couple hours later they said i still have to pay to get it installed. I am very angry at hostgator and will switch in the future. For now i am stuck.

That means i have to wait until tuesday for my money to be deposited into my account.

Today I have created a spread sheet of all blogs in my niche. I have emailed all of them also. for a feature or guest post.

I just want to start selling man.

 

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[Choate]

Taking a look at your pricing page leaves me curious. There's nothing on your site I would buy that I wouldn't rather buy on Amazon instead. With that said, there is also nothing unique about your niche or your process. "Entry" is a commandment of the fast lane. As Kevin O' Leary says so often on Shark Tank to many aspiring entrepreneurs, what is to stop me from spending $5 million and just blowing you out of the water by entering this market and doing it better?

Using that as a metaphor, what is stopping me from copying this process with about 1 week's worth of work but setting up a site using Amazon affiliates? I honestly think that is your best option. Set it up as an affiliate site at first.

Right now, I don't see any pictures, no specifications, nothing. What kind of 32 inch TV am I getting? A Sony or a Vizio? Are my sheets going to be twin XL or queen? Where do I specify my exact needs?

What is your profit margin per bundle? Cost per bundle? How long does it take you to ship one order? How are you going to ship the order? Packaging? What will you do with that?

With the budget you have, you aren't prepared to enter with the model you are proposing. Keep it lean, simple, and just use an affiliates model. Sure, you lose the "control" factor, but you need to create revenue because without money coming in you can't invest in or run a business. Let Amazon take care of the dirty work and you just be the middle man, or platform, where college students look.



So far your main concern is the site, SSL certificates, you've spent more time speaking to HostGator than actual customers. Your concern is creating a front end brand image. I'd rather put the bundles together, take some nice pictures, and set up a stand in your school's campus center and offer the bundles while explaining to the customers how its a local project, so they should support local causes, you can meet their needs, this is how it will benefit them, etc. You have no unique value proposition at the moment and the only thing you are doing is throwing what little money you have out the window on processes which aren't directly benefitting you.

WHO IS YOUR FIRST CUSTOMER, WHY ARE THEY BUYING FROM YOU INSTEAD OF SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND WHICH BUNDLE ARE THEY INTERESTED IN? WHY? HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT SALE? Figure that out, and scale from there. Everything I see so far is non-sense.

 

[Twiizlar]

Taking a look at your pricing page leaves me curious. There's nothing on your site I would buy that I wouldn't rather buy on Amazon instead. With that said, there is also nothing unique about your niche or your process. "Entry" is a commandment of the fast lane. As Kevin O' Leary says so often on Shark Tank to many aspiring entrepreneurs, what is to stop me from spending $5 million and just blowing you out of the water by entering this market and doing it better?

Using that as a metaphor, what is stopping me from copying this process with about 1 week's worth of work but setting up a site using Amazon affiliates? I honestly think that is your best option. Set it up as an affiliate site at first.

Right now, I don't see any pictures, no specifications, nothing. What kind of 32 inch TV am I getting? A Sony or a Vizio? Are my sheets going to be twin XL or queen? Where do I specify my exact needs?

What is your profit margin per bundle? Cost per bundle? How long does it take you to ship one order? How are you going to ship the order? Packaging? What will you do with that?

With the budget you have, you aren't prepared to enter with the model you are proposing. Keep it lean, simple, and just use an affiliates model. Sure, you lose the "control" factor, but you need to create revenue because without money coming in you can't invest in or run a business. Let Amazon take care of the dirty work and you just be the middle man, or platform, where college students look.



So far your main concern is the site, SSL certificates, you've spent more time speaking to HostGator than actual customers. Your concern is creating a front end brand image. I'd rather put the bundles together, take some nice pictures, and set up a stand in your school's campus center and offer the bundles while explaining to the customers how its a local project, so they should support local causes, you can meet their needs, this is how it will benefit them, etc. You have no unique value proposition at the moment and the only thing you are doing is throwing what little money you have out the window on processes which aren't directly benefitting you.

WHO IS YOUR FIRST CUSTOMER, WHY ARE THEY BUYING FROM YOU INSTEAD OF SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND WHICH BUNDLE ARE THEY INTERESTED IN? WHY? HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT SALE? Figure that out, and scale from there. Everything I see so far is non-sense.

Thanks for all the feedback man. I really appreciate it.

With any eccomerce website you could just go to amazon and buy. But people still buy from these ecommerce websites. By having several bundles available on my website I am adding a convenience factor. Last year when i was shopping for my dorm I had to run around to 5 different stores and hoped to have my items in stock. With University Bundles I can buy/rent everything i need for my dorm room on one website. One order and i am done.

Sure, you can copy the process and try to make it work. But are you going to? For example, you said you wanted to get some certificate and become a fitness trainer. What stops me from hiring a fitness professional and creating a brand myself? Using your scenario I would have about $4.9 million left for marketing. Which is a lot. While the barrier of entry is low, i believe in my service and myself to take this to the next level.

Amazon affiliates is not the way to go. I will be renting out bundles, which is not an option on amazon affiliates. Also as you stated i lose control which i do not want to do. I want to create a brand.

You are right about pictures. I have not ordered any products yet so i cannot take pictures. Once i order (around July) i will hire someone to take some product pictures.

Profit margin on purchases is percent depending on bundle. Bundles cost me anywhere from $ to $. I will use economy shipping. I will ship order using UPS. Packaging isnt my priority but im sure i can figure something out (custom boxes, etc). I have already worked all of the logistics out. (Took out exact numbers)

Sure, when i started this project i had a very low budget. The good thing about this business is that I dont have to ship until around move-in day (August). That gives me two months to build up capital from orders.

Who says I have not talked to customers? First of all I am a customer myself. I have talked to multiple friends and they said they would purchase. The only reason I spent so much time with hostgator is because they provided me with some misinformation and it caused a lot of confusion on my end. SSL certificates are important as my business is online focused and that is the only way i can take orders online. I didnt want to have customers come to my website to only be able to not order. I cant just set up a stand on campus as I am marketing towards incoming college freshman (class of 2019) and they are not on campus. One of my marketing strategies is try to set up a booth during orientation but thats not until later. My two USP are convenience and affordability (for rentals).

I have just got my SSL installed today so i will start marketing and try to get my first customer. There is no where else to buy from (with my USPs). Once I make a sale i will tell you but i have yet to start marketing. I have a final exam today and after that I will start. Ill let you know how it goes

Thanks for the long thought out post. If you have anymore questions let me know.

Also, I dont think everything so far is non-sense. It has literally been one week exact since i started this. Sure. it would be non-sense to be working on this for 2 months and not even have the website rolled out yet. But I have a fully working website done in one week. So far this thread shows how easy it is to get a website going for non-technical people. Hopefully in the coming months it will also show how to build a full business with sales.

Edit: Took out specific numbers.

 

[GreedyBGoode]

Sad that i just found out that when you cancel a gig on fiverr they dont refund the money to your paypal. They refund it into you "fiverr acount balance" . Now im sad because i was planning to take the bus to the nearest wells fargo to deposit a couple bucks so i can install my SSL certificate. Now i dont even have the cash on hand lol.

By the way, they don't do it immediately because they assume you will buy another gig. But you can contact customer support to get all the money back to you. It may leave a negative feedback on the seller though.

 

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[Twiizlar]

By the way, they don't do it immediately because they assume you will buy another gig. But you can contact customer support to get all the money back to you. It may leave a negative feedback on the seller though.

Thanks I did not know that. I guess its too late know since I dont need the money anymore so i will just leave it in there to purchase another gig in the future. Thanks for the tip though i could possibly use it in the future.

 

[D11FYY]

Do you have any customers or any leads at all?

Not to be totally negative, but this whole thing looks like a huge action fake. Website, logo, etc and the process itself isn't even worked out.

To me, you should be finding out if you could get any orders first, find out what people are going to want to buy that way, and get that stuff, even if you have to sell it as a loss. You will start to develop the process and get the feedback loop rolling.

What is going to happen potentially with what you are doing now, is you are going to spend all that time "looking established" and never be able to take orders as the time winds on, and you still have not completed a bundle or sourced the products that people actually want.

I would re-align what you are doing. You are working on the easy stuff that you can sit at a computer and complete pretty easily. The real challenge if you want to be successful your first year, is to get on your feet and get the really hard stuff working. Sourcing that many different products and moving them to you is not going to be easy or cheap. So if anything I would limit your customers base to your local area so you can hand deliver the first year and see how things go while ironing out a solid replicate-able process.

Totally agree with this guy, You did this on your last venture you wanted to establish a brand before getting any sales at all.

Get even the basic bundle together even if you are buying it from Wallmart or anything if you have it on Campus someone may buy it from you may only be a few dollars made but its still your first sale. Concentrate on sales at first not marketing a brand. If you get that one sale then another guy will go oh look twiizlar is selling this for a good price ill go to him and it can grow from there.

Also what I said about pre used stuff. Get out there and find out whats broken or whos in desperate need for cash that needs to sell stuff in their room (you really could have some of them by the short and curlys), find another student willing to buy it. Its quick bucks and gets you contacts!

Also not meaning to be harsh but you keep claiming your literally skint? Why dont you get a few jobs just to get some dollars in? Even MJ once delivered newspapers and pizzas

 

[ZCP]

Maybe I missed it in the thread somewhere........How exactly do you purchase the item to rent when they will be paying you less than they could purchase the item for themselves? Where does the extra startup cash come from in your business model?

 

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[Twiizlar]

Maybe I missed it in the thread somewhere........How exactly do you purchase the item to rent when they will be paying you less than they could purchase the item for themselves? Where does the extra startup cash come from in your business model?

Even if they rent I will still have enough to purchase the items. Most people rent for 2 semesters and while I am not profiting much initially, i can purchase the items in whole. After a year its all profit from rental side.

 

[ZCP]

So mini fridges on Amazon go for between $80US and $150US. You are renting them for $40 a semester? Paid upfront?

Aaron's rents a 40" 1080 TV for $40/month. You can buy the TV on Amazon for between $350 and $500. Will you require a 12 month rental upfront?

How exactly do you have enough liquid capital to purchase the items you plan to rent?

 

[Choate]

Thanks for all the feedback man. I really appreciate it.

With any eccomerce website you could just go to amazon and buy. But people still buy from these ecommerce websites. By having several bundles available on my website I am adding a convenience factor. Last year when i was shopping for my dorm I had to run around to 5 different stores and hoped to have my items in stock. With University Bundles I can buy/rent everything i need for my dorm room on one website. One order and i am done.

Sure, you can copy the process and try to make it work. But are you going to? For example, you said you wanted to get some certificate and become a fitness trainer. What stops me from hiring a fitness professional and creating a brand myself? Using your scenario I would have about $4.9 million left for marketing. Which is a lot. While the barrier of entry is low, i believe in my service and myself to take this to the next level.

The long thought out response was just food for thought, some tough love, as others are giving you here. The $5 million response was only a reference to shark tank, but what I meant is what's to stop anyone with a bit of money from copying what you do?

From an outside perspective, if I lacked integrity and I saw that your process worked, sure I would copy it. I would crowd your marketplace, force you to lower your prices, and compete for your suppliers (and customers). That's not what we're here to do though, and its ethically wrong as a fellow fastlaner. But as an outside competitor coming into the space? Absolutely.

A week's worth of work for what you've come up with is not bad. Its a good progress thread. The problem is the thread is so focused on the actual website, which has many of us wondering about the direction you're taking it. I never said you weren't talking to customers, its just that in your progress thread everything is about website/related issues.

Perhaps I'm just excited to see something more, to see this work, to see you say "got my first presale today" etc. The website is a good start but I think myself (and I'm speaking for others) are more interested in the back end process. I feel like I'm reading "Struggles of Making a Website on No Budget 101" versus an entrepreneurial project, but its all part of the end process I suppose.

The reason I mention the campus stand is so that you get infront of customers. A website + some minor marketing doesn't put you infront of anyone. You aren't thinking big enough if you are only worried about the incoming freshman. A lot of kids the first month or two still don't have everything they need. Hell, as a college junior I was still buying new things. Even as you upgrade from a dorm to an apartment you need a new set up. What if the school liked what they saw and decided to work out a contract with you?

The brand approach is doable but what will make you THE go-to premier bundle package that people go to? Make them refer to their fellow friends?

Still curious about the size and specifications of TVs, sheets, etc. If I was a prospective customer what would you tell me?

 

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[ZCP]

Went to your website.... so say I want the Video Game bundle for 1 semester. When do I get it?

On the back end, how do you acquire it to rent it to me? You obviously cannot buy one for $149. How have you addressed this issue? Seems to be the biggest stumbling block.

 

[Twiizlar]

The long thought out response was just food for thought, some tough love, as others are giving you here. The $5 million response was only a reference to shark tank, but what I meant is what's to stop anyone with a bit of money from copying what you do?

From an outside perspective, if I lacked integrity and I saw that your process worked, sure I would copy it. I would crowd your marketplace, force you to lower your prices, and compete for your suppliers (and customers). That's not what we're here to do though, and its ethically wrong as a fellow fastlaner. But as an outside competitor coming into the space? Absolutely.

A week's worth of work for what you've come up with is not bad. Its a good progress thread. The problem is the thread is so focused on the actual website, which has many of us wondering about the direction you're taking it. I never said you weren't talking to customers, its just that in your progress thread everything is about website/related issues.

Perhaps I'm just excited to see something more, to see this work, to see you say "got my first presale today" etc. The website is a good start but I think myself (and I'm speaking for others) are more interested in the back end process. I feel like I'm reading "Struggles of Making a Website on No Budget 101" versus an entrepreneurial project, but its all part of the end process I suppose.

The reason I mention the campus stand is so that you get infront of customers. A website + some minor marketing doesn't put you infront of anyone. You aren't thinking big enough if you are only worried about the incoming freshman. A lot of kids the first month or two still don't have everything they need. Hell, as a college junior I was still buying new things. Even as you upgrade from a dorm to an apartment you need a new set up. What if the school liked what they saw and decided to work out a contract with you?

The brand approach is doable but what will make you THE go-to premier bundle package that people go to? Make them refer to their fellow friends?

Still curious about the size and specifications of TVs, sheets, etc. If I was a prospective customer what would you tell me?

Your right. While my school is still in session i will past out flyers so they can order for their apartments next semester. Thanks for the tough love.

I will have to think about specifications. Maybe make a popup when the scroll over items in the pricing table? Will need some coding.

 

[Twiizlar]

Went to your website.... so say I want the Video Game bundle for 1 semester. When do I get it?

On the back end, how do you acquire it to rent it to me? You obviously cannot buy one for $149. How have you addressed this issue? Seems to be the biggest stumbling block.

I guess the video game bundle is the only bundle i couldnt fund off the order directly. I could use profits from other bundles (hopefully) to fund it. If im still short i can take out a loan.

 

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[ZCP]

Not seeing how you fund the others upfront either. "Oh, I'll just take out a loan." If I came to you with the same plan, you would fund me??

So no sales. No workable math based business model. Cool website.

What are your next action steps?

 

[D11FYY]

Guess my advice has been ignored.
Honestly you need to address the cash flow problem

Have a look at this thread mate
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/naivete-is-a-great-thing.39708/

Thanks, man. It means a lot. At the end of the day, it's not a business unless you HAVE business.

 

[Twiizlar]

Guess my advice has been ignored.
Honestly you need to address the cash flow problem

Have a look at this thread mate
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/naivete-is-a-great-thing.39708/

Sorry i read your comment but forgot to reply. And i will take a look

 

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[Twiizlar]

Also is it normal for people to add items to a card and then proceed to the checkout page and then not complete their order? I feel like once they commit to checking out they should just fill in their details? Maybe something is wrong? Or maybe im just overthinking.

 

[JDRose]

Hey @Twiizlar I am liking the effort you are putting forth!! I was wondering if you have thought about a certain type of linen bundles for certain types of people. For example, as a college student myself, I have seen my friends get Star Wars, Harry Potter, Galaxy Cat, etc sheets as a joke but they actually use them. Almost every girl has a super bright, extra shot of princess type sheets haha it would most certainly draw in the college crowd and help with marketing. I am going to continue to watch this thread. Don't give up!

P.S. it is college, and I did not see any shot glasses in those bundles