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Summer Progress - "Live a few years like most won't so you can live the rest like most can't"

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

FeaRxUnLeAsHeD

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Right now my back is aching. It's 10:17am as I start typing this.

The first thing that came to my mind is this picture when i outlined the story in my head of what I was about to type:

entrepreneurship.jpg


It's summer 2015. I will be 22 this summer. School's out. I've decided to take an extra year in business school.. Financially it was suitable, I get to stall another year before getting out of school, make more connections, and take some classes that are actually of interest.. maybe useful too, who knows?

I did 2 years of community college, and i'm going into my 3rd year at my transfer-4 year school. This summer's big plans are as follows (By the end of the summer):

Setup my life from a 'college life to life after college' (I don't live the 'college life' at all to be honest, but there's still a transition from being in school for the past 16 years and going out into the world)

Start a business, give it 150%, FULL ON, have it up and running, and have revenue.
Learn to day trade (an unfortunate death in the family from an elder who was dear to me has left me with a small chunk of money to pursue this, which has been something i've been looking into learning for a while due to the freedom of travel / location it can encompass)
Work my internship full time while flipping stuff on the side, and end the summer with $20,000 invested.

So what will this summer consist of? 4-5 days a week, i'll be working full time, and on my off days, i'll be hustling, flipping stuff, and trying to make a few bucks. My goal with flipping stuff is to make $5000.

So let's break down each venture:

Internship-

I decided to take on an internship, because it's better than living at home for the summer, and I have no current income stream so I might as well learn and take something on to get some $$ for 12 weeks. I also have a school bill to pay throughout the year which ends up being a few thousand dollars, and because i'm 100% independent and pay my own school tuition, bills, food, overhead etc, this would help. I don't think i'm going to disclose my place of work on here just for privacy.

Summer Housing-

Here's where the 'live like most people won't so you can live like most people can't" comes in.

I find housing that matched my criteria. Exactly what I wanted.. something cheap where I have utilities, rent, a place to sleep, a place to cook, do laundry, etc. For $500 a month (for 3 months), i'm living im some dudes attic spare room in a single family home with him and his 14 year old and like 9 year old kids. Divorced guy and he has custody days a few days a week so he wants the money to help him pay his bills and to do things with his kids. I'm not sure who needs it more... me with the housing or him with the $.

Just to give you a visual:

I opened the window in fear that it would be warm last night, and this morning it feels like it's 45 degrees in the room.
I order a sofa-bed and a desk online to suffice for the 12 weeks before i go back to school. Turns out the 'sofa bed' was just a mattress FOR a sofa bed. Great. I'll be on the floor for 12 weeks on the mattress, i think.

I'm 5'10 and the room is about 6 ft high with inverted walls.

20hkgtx.jpg

(Yep, flower sheets. I haven't really cared to get another set)

2d29geb.jpg


2el72xj.jpg


If there is a bottom that people feel like they can approach, this is what it is for me. My bottom would be living in an ordinary house, trying to save money to make ends meet to pay for bills while working 9 to 5. That's my bottom. I actually think living in a box trying to make it with a business would be higher up than this... so this is my bottom. It's only temporary and I actually am doing everything according to my own plan so far this summer. Let this be a taste of "If you don't run a business and run your own show, this is what life will be" - Let that be more drive than ever for me to get a business going this summer so that when I graduate next year, I won't need to work 9 to 5 in a dudes attic.

Sure, I could have found nicer housing. I could afford that. I could have a luxury Queen bed. But I'm taking the shit-route to save some $$ to run a business and pursue the REAL dream..

Inner Harmony & Personal development

I've come up with a philosophy that I truly believe is the way to live to be successful. It goes something like this:

Inner harmony and peace ---> Contribution ---> $$$

Most people do it backwards. They try to start out with their only focus being money. Then, they put everyone before themselves and try to help others because they feel something is missing. Then, they realize they don't have anything for themselves, and they get walked on by others, and find themselves rather frustrated with life.

Instead, I choose to have myself at an inner-peace before focusing on a business. I've been focusing on personal development for a WHILE now.. through many books ive studied, courses ive taken, practicing everywhere i go, etc. Whether it's just making people feel better about themselves or being a better conversationalist, i've challenged myself in every way.. and i truly believe i've reached a level of inner peace that is unshapable by the world. Now it's time to start a business full on with the goal to help others..

Even though i'm living this summer under this shit circumstances, i feel at peace.

11437_196924843534_424739_n1.jpg


Summer Flipping:

So at the end of the school year, I realized something. At my school anyways, there's such a large international population and people from all over the country (US) that when people have to clean out their rooms and LEAVE campus, they leave ALL their shit behind. So I started grabbing an inventory. Mini fridges, snowboards, laptops, microwaves, you name it. I grabbed it. Ipod shuffle. Shoes. Textbooks. Air circulators. I've already made about $250 with very minimal work. My goal is $5000 at the end of the 12 weeks. So I even went and bought a truck that I will use to move stuff, so I can really stock up next time around, but not only that, I can also flip all this summer... using freecycle and craigslist to my advantage. I've got about $1000 worth of stuff still up that i'm trying to sell... then i'll start looking for more inventory. I figure i'll hold onto the truck until the end of the school year next year and really take an inventory next year..

2vmtreq.jpg

Best of all, the truck's book value is $3600 and I paid $1900, so i'll be able to make a nice flip there as well.. After taxes, gas, insurance, expenses, minor repairs, etc i'll make a few hundred dollars on the sale of the truck when the time comes too.

Previous Business Experiences:

I started at 17 with a lawn care business and was a sole proprietor. I had 25 accounts i'd worked with and a nice bit of assets to work with. I sold the business when I went off to business school.

Then, a passion of mine for fitness, which i'd stemmed through years of weight training since high school, led me to a personal trainer path. I later realized (took me a while) that trying to make $ and a business out of a personal passion of mine was ruining my passion, and the business wasn't working. I was running an online fitness coaching business, focusing solely on making money, and nearly lost all interest in my passion for bodybuilding. I have since stopped operating the business.

Business School is a Joke:

You'd think after 4 years in business school / taking business classes, i'd be ready and know what to do to start a business? Nope. I use the millionaire fastlane as my bible though, and continue to read many business books to learn from REAL business people, not Ph.D professors who have never ran a business in their life. I think I know what i'm doing, but this thread is here for help and advice too.. in case i F*ck up too big, too many times.. i can learn from y'all. Some of you all never went to college and could blow me away with your businesses, whereas 4 years of business school hasn't gotten me further than a full time job.

New Business:

So i did one of MJ DeMarco's decision matrix analysis's and narrowed down to 4 potential business ideas. I think I know which one i'm going to pursue, I just need to get my apartment living stuff all taken care of, finish a book, and then i'm diving in.

My internship starts tuesday. My new business venture starts before then.. hopefully later today.

First step is picking one and analyzing the industry, target markets etc.

It's go time.
 
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Will Hodge

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Right now my back is aching. It's 10:17am as I start typing this.

The first thing that came to my mind is this picture when i outlined the story in my head of what I was about to type:

entrepreneurship.jpg


It's summer 2015. I will be 22 this summer. School's out. I've decided to take an extra year in business school.. Financially it was suitable, I get to stall another year before getting out of school, make more connections, and take some classes that are actually of interest.. maybe useful too, who knows?

I did 2 years of community college, and i'm going into my 3rd year at my transfer-4 year school. This summer's big plans are as follows (By the end of the summer):

Setup my life from a 'college life to life after college' (I don't live the 'college life' at all to be honest, but there's still a transition from being in school for the past 16 years and going out into the world)

Start a business, give it 150%, FULL ON, have it up and running, and have revenue.
Learn to day trade (an unfortunate death in the family from an elder who was dear to me has left me with a small chunk of money to pursue this, which has been something i've been looking into learning for a while due to the freedom of travel / location it can encompass)
Work my internship full time while flipping stuff on the side, and end the summer with $20,000 invested.

So what will this summer consist of? 4-5 days a week, i'll be working full time, and on my off days, i'll be hustling, flipping stuff, and trying to make a few bucks. My goal with flipping stuff is to make $5000.

So let's break down each venture:

Internship-

I decided to take on an internship, because it's better than living at home for the summer, and I have no current income stream so I might as well learn and take something on to get some $$ for 12 weeks. I also have a school bill to pay throughout the year which ends up being a few thousand dollars, and because i'm 100% independent and pay my own school tuition, bills, food, overhead etc, this would help. I don't think i'm going to disclose my place of work on here just for privacy.

Summer Housing-

Here's where the 'live like most people won't so you can live like most people can't" comes in.

I find housing that matched my criteria. Exactly what I wanted.. something cheap where I have utilities, rent, a place to sleep, a place to cook, do laundry, etc. For $500 a month (for 3 months), i'm living im some dudes attic spare room in a single family home with him and his 14 year old and like 9 year old kids. Divorced guy and he has custody days a few days a week so he wants the money to help him pay his bills and to do things with his kids. I'm not sure who needs it more... me with the housing or him with the $.

Just to give you a visual:

I opened the window in fear that it would be warm last night, and this morning it feels like it's 45 degrees in the room.
I order a sofa-bed and a desk online to suffice for the 12 weeks before i go back to school. Turns out the 'sofa bed' was just a mattress FOR a sofa bed. Great. I'll be on the floor for 12 weeks on the mattress, i think.

I'm 5'10 and the room is about 6 ft high with inverted walls.

20hkgtx.jpg

(Yep, flower sheets. I haven't really cared to get another set)

2d29geb.jpg


2el72xj.jpg


If there is a bottom that people feel like they can approach, this is what it is for me. My bottom would be living in an ordinary house, trying to save money to make ends meet to pay for bills while working 9 to 5. That's my bottom. I actually think living in a box trying to make it with a business would be higher up than this... so this is my bottom. It's only temporary and I actually am doing everything according to my own plan so far this summer. Let this be a taste of "If you don't run a business and run your own show, this is what life will be" - Let that be more drive than ever for me to get a business going this summer so that when I graduate next year, I won't need to work 9 to 5 in a dudes attic.

Sure, I could have found nicer housing. I could afford that. I could have a luxury Queen bed. But I'm taking the shit-route to save some $$ to run a business and pursue the REAL dream..

Inner Harmony & Personal development

I've come up with a philosophy that I truly believe is the way to live to be successful. It goes something like this:

Inner harmony and peace ---> Contribution ---> $$$

Most people do it backwards. They try to start out with their only focus being money. Then, they put everyone before themselves and try to help others because they feel something is missing. Then, they realize they don't have anything for themselves, and they get walked on by others, and find themselves rather frustrated with life.

Instead, I choose to have myself at an inner-peace before focusing on a business. I've been focusing on personal development for a WHILE now.. through many books ive studied, courses ive taken, practicing everywhere i go, etc. Whether it's just making people feel better about themselves or being a better conversationalist, i've challenged myself in every way.. and i truly believe i've reached a level of inner peace that is unshapable by the world. Now it's time to start a business full on with the goal to help others..

Even though i'm living this summer under this shit circumstances, i feel at peace.

11437_196924843534_424739_n1.jpg


Summer Flipping:

So at the end of the school year, I realized something. At my school anyways, there's such a large international population and people from all over the country (US) that when people have to clean out their rooms and LEAVE campus, they leave ALL their shit behind. So I started grabbing an inventory. Mini fridges, snowboards, laptops, microwaves, you name it. I grabbed it. Ipod shuffle. Shoes. Textbooks. Air circulators. I've already made about $250 with very minimal work. My goal is $5000 at the end of the 12 weeks. So I even went and bought a truck that I will use to move stuff, so I can really stock up next time around, but not only that, I can also flip all this summer... using freecycle and craigslist to my advantage. I've got about $1000 worth of stuff still up that i'm trying to sell... then i'll start looking for more inventory. I figure i'll hold onto the truck until the end of the school year next year and really take an inventory next year..

2vmtreq.jpg

Best of all, the truck's book value is $3600 and I paid $1900, so i'll be able to make a nice flip there as well.. After taxes, gas, insurance, expenses, minor repairs, etc i'll make a few hundred dollars on the sale of the truck when the time comes too.

Previous Business Experiences:

I started at 17 with a lawn care business and was a sole proprietor. I had 25 accounts i'd worked with and a nice bit of assets to work with. I sold the business when I went off to business school.

Then, a passion of mine for fitness, which i'd stemmed through years of weight training since high school, led me to a personal trainer path. I later realized (took me a while) that trying to make $ and a business out of a personal passion of mine was ruining my passion, and the business wasn't working. I was running an online fitness coaching business, focusing solely on making money, and nearly lost all interest in my passion for bodybuilding. I have since stopped operating the business.

Business School is a Joke:

You'd think after 4 years in business school / taking business classes, i'd be ready and know what to do to start a business? Nope. I use the millionaire fastlane as my bible though, and continue to read many business books to learn from REAL business people, not Ph.D professors who have never ran a business in their life. I think I know what i'm doing, but this thread is here for help and advice too.. in case i F*ck up too big, too many times.. i can learn from y'all. Some of you all never went to college and could blow me away with your businesses, whereas 4 years of business school hasn't gotten me further than a full time job.

New Business:

So i did one of MJ DeMarco's decision matrix analysis's and narrowed down to 4 potential business ideas. I think I know which one i'm going to pursue, I just need to get my apartment living stuff all taken care of, finish a book, and then i'm diving in.

My internship starts tuesday. My new business venture starts before then.. hopefully later today.

First step is picking one and analyzing the industry, target markets etc.

It's go time.

Chris, you're the man! Very inspirational post, looking forward to seeing your continual growth
 

brewster

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Business School is a Joke:

You'd think after 4 years in business school / taking business classes, i'd be ready and know what to do to start a business? Nope. I use the millionaire fastlane as my bible though, and continue to read many business books to learn from REAL business people, not Ph.D professors who have never ran a business in their life. I think I know what i'm doing, but this thread is here for help and advice too.. in case i F*ck up too big, too many times.. i can learn from y'all. Some of you all never went to college and could blow me away with your businesses, whereas 4 years of business school hasn't gotten me further than a full time job.

Couldn't agree more.

All business school does is groom you to be another cog in a wheel.

I honestly can't remember a damn thing I learned that has had any applicable use to me in the real world.
 
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FeaRxUnLeAsHeD

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Hey guys thanks for the bump on this thread.

I've been hustling that's for sure.

I've been saving nearly all of my money from work to fund this extra year of school while I continue to focus on a business.

It's taken me a bit longer to get off the ground, longer than i thought, but i'm a totally different person now than 2 months ago. I've learned an immense amount.

I've got 200 units of inventory coming in within the next 2 weeks for a private label product i'll be selling, starting on amazon.

I have some software being developed for a serious need i personally had, that i share with a lot of people i found out after the fact. It's some software that will help me significantly, so i paid to have it developed and i'm planning on licensing it B2C but mainly B2B (targetting audiences like schools)

More on that when the software is fully developed..

The product is the bigger thing and my main focus right now so i dont spread myself thin..

It's been going well thus far.. just need to wait on inventory.

The flipping has gone okay, ive made maybe $2000 but it's kind of died down and ive taken my focus off of it. It's just not fastlane at all, i'm better off working more hours at a job than to try to flip things to be honest.

I'll be back to school in 2 weeks. But barely taking any classes. just using it as a way to live and have a roof over my head while i work businesses.
 

RHL

The coaching was a joke guys.
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With flipping, you can't just do various and sundry stuff unless you're going to use the strategy of going to yard sales or the freecycle section of craigslist and nabbing things that have actual value for nothing. I got a nice, functional, Craftsman random orbit buffer that way yesterday. If you're doing that, you can buy anything and just use your spider sense.

But if you're buying individual items at market rate with cash and selling for cash, and especially if you don't want your living space to look like a massive yard sale, it works best to pick 1-2 target items or categories and know them inside out. This is when you're not looking for a dumb-luck steal, but shrewdly browsing one category that you dominate and rule. When you see a deal, you need to not even have to think, you need to know, not just "I can make money" but, within maybe 10%, I can make x amount of money. It's worked really well for me. I do an assload of driving, and it is "slow-lane," I guess. But, like the other day, I bought a set of magnesium wheels in Rhode Island and sold them here. I made $850, and it was maybe 6 hours of work, 5 of driving, and 1 to list photos, answer texts, and meet people. I also may have spent $100 on a nice dinner and some craft bears in Boston. But I knew, knew what those wheels were worth, not just generally, but in any given condition, how long it would take to sell, and how many similar sets for the same car model were for sale near me.
 

Will Hodge

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With flipping, you can't just do various and sundry stuff unless you're going to use the strategy of going to yard sales or the freecycle section of craigslist and nabbing things that have actual value for nothing. I got a nice, functional, Craftsman random orbit buffer that way yesterday. If you're doing that, you can buy anything and just use your spider sense.

But if you're buying individual items at market rate with cash and selling for cash, and especially if you don't want your living space to look like a massive yard sale, it works best to pick 1-2 target items or categories and know them inside out. This is when you're not looking for a dumb-luck steal, but shrewdly browsing one category that you dominate and rule. When you see a deal, you need to not even have to think, you need to know, not just "I can make money" but, within maybe 10%, I can make x amount of money. It's worked really well for me. I do an assload of driving, and it is "slow-lane," I guess. But, like the other day, I bought a set of magnesium wheels in Rhode Island and sold them here. I made $850, and it was maybe 6 hours of work, 5 of driving, and 1 to list photos, answer texts, and meet people. I also may have spent $100 on a nice dinner and some craft bears in Boston. But I knew, knew what those wheels were worth, not just generally, but in any given condition, how long it would take to sell, and how many similar sets for the same car model were for sale near me.

OP mentions getting his flipping business inventory from students who dump their extra stuff, so I am assuming he is getting them for free. It sounds like he is learning what he can get good money for and what isn't worth the effort to try to flip. I learned this the hard way as well, great lesson here.

I need to hop back on CL if there are $850 flips out there, RHL!
 
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RHL

The coaching was a joke guys.
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You just have to ask yourself, even if you have to drive 300 miles (and burn $25 in gas and about $40 in tolls), it takes less than 8 hours, how much did I make working a 9-5?

The answer is, about $200/8 hour day.

So it's worth the trip. Also, remember that you can make just as much buying cheaper stuff. The margin and frequency is important, not the total cost. So I had to lay out several hundred to get these wheels. When the price point of your sale is higher, your sale will take more time and involve more "sunk" capital. If I put out $300 for a set of wheels and sell them for $1000, that's the same as you paying $30.00 for a textbook and selling it for $100, provided you can do it 10 times for every one time I flip the bigger item, which, with the right variables, is more doable than it sounds. Focus on margin and frequency, not on total cost. Most of the money in industry is actually to be made in cheap high volume sales. The CEO of Enterprise Rent A Car, and the CEO of Campbells Soup are both billionaires. Gordon Ramsay and the CEO of Gotham Dream Cars will never be worth even 1/10th what they are.

My advice-Keep the pickup. I'm buying a truck this winter; too many times I've needed to haul something and it hasn't been possible because I have all these little cars and nothing with cargo space.
 
Last edited:

FeaRxUnLeAsHeD

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With flipping, you can't just do various and sundry stuff unless you're going to use the strategy of going to yard sales or the freecycle section of craigslist and nabbing things that have actual value for nothing. I got a nice, functional, Craftsman random orbit buffer that way yesterday. If you're doing that, you can buy anything and just use your spider sense.

But if you're buying individual items at market rate with cash and selling for cash, and especially if you don't want your living space to look like a massive yard sale, it works best to pick 1-2 target items or categories and know them inside out. This is when you're not looking for a dumb-luck steal, but shrewdly browsing one category that you dominate and rule. When you see a deal, you need to not even have to think, you need to know, not just "I can make money" but, within maybe 10%, I can make x amount of money. It's worked really well for me. I do an assload of driving, and it is "slow-lane," I guess. But, like the other day, I bought a set of magnesium wheels in Rhode Island and sold them here. I made $850, and it was maybe 6 hours of work, 5 of driving, and 1 to list photos, answer texts, and meet people. I also may have spent $100 on a nice dinner and some craft bears in Boston. But I knew, knew what those wheels were worth, not just generally, but in any given condition, how long it would take to sell, and how many similar sets for the same car model were for sale near me.

Thanks for the idea on narrowing into a category.

I have been searching freecycle and grabbing stuff for free, but most have been large items that im sitting on now waiting to dump. Mini fridges etc.

I have about $800 worth of inventory and probably make 1-2k.

I should narrow in though for sure and get to know a category and what a good deal is etc.

You're in RI/MA area? Let's chat sometime. You aren't more than 30 minutes from where I am if you're in the RI / Boston area. My hometown is on the RI line and i go to school 20 min away from boston.
 

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