i just can't seem to get it together

[andrew m]

After many failed attempts at a startup and weeks maybe even months of searching i am coming here for some advice. Im 19 years old and ever since i can remember i have always been focused on moving forward and making money to get where i want to be doing anything possible (ebay sales, my regular job, any extra side work i could pick up) Straight out of high school i wasn't sure if college would be the correct move for me. I did however enroll in a "computer information systems" program and after a week of going i realized that i had made a huge mistake and by no means was this for me. I ended up dropping out of school and have had a few monthes off since then. I am reenrolled for another program starting in about 3 weeks (Electrical construction and maintenance: a much more hands on program) with the hopes of working the field for a short amount of time and starting my own business soon after. However, my entrepreneurial interests have always over taken all my other interests so far. I have gotten quite a few recommendations like "why don't you go to school to be an entrepreneur is you're so interested in it" don't get me wrong, i am a very motivated person but book work has never been my strong suit. I have tried to find many products to start up my online ebay/amazon business but have had no luck what so ever. I do have a few questions
-What would be the best website to get wholesale items from? Most websites i find with good prices have a large shipping fee
-What is a reasonable/desirble profit %?
-Can anybody give me a rough idea as to where to start looking for items. Ive read numerous times "follow your passion" however, my main true passion is cars. There is not many items in the automotive field that could be used as a good start up and would be an easy sell to most people.

Any help that i can get from all you successful men/women is greatly appreciated.

 

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[ZCP]

Sounds like you start something, find all the negatives, and quit. Then shift focus to something different, it gets hard, and quit.

You keep walking along the bank instead of venturing out into the stream. You are at a point in life of being unsure and having fear that you will 'waste' time on something not fruitful.

Pick a path to follow through to completion....... either make it all the way or crash and burn hard. But take it ALL the way through to completion. It is either making money, you sell it off for capital for the next project, or it crashes and burns out completely.

At the same time, start a progress thread with what you are doing in your hustles. Show progress and execution.

Doing these things will give you strength and confidence. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you want to do. Try it!

 

[andrew m]

Sounds like you start something, find all the negatives, and quit. Then shift focus to something different, it gets hard, and quit.

You keep walking along the bank instead of venturing out into the stream. You are at a point in life of being unsure and having fear that you will 'waste' time on something not fruitful.

Pick a path to follow through to completion....... either make it all the way or crash and burn hard. But take it ALL the way through to completion. It is either making money, you sell it off for capital for the next project, or it crashes and burns out completely.

At the same time, start a progress thread with what you are doing in your hustles. Show progress and execution.

Doing these things will give you strength and confidence. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you want to do. Try it!

to be 100% honest, when i went to college i had no idea what i wanted to do. I saw programming as a very lucrative business and had absolutely no background in the field at all. School came up on me quick and i had to make a choice. I figured i would give it a shot but it just wasn't for me. Im a very hands on person. Ive attempted to find products for the last month or so and i just can't seem to find something and it is very discouraging to say the least. I am not sure if i am looking to hard for a lucrative product and i may be trying to hard to make a profit right in the beginning.

 

[andrew m]

Sounds like you start something, find all the negatives, and quit. Then shift focus to something different, it gets hard, and quit.

You keep walking along the bank instead of venturing out into the stream. You are at a point in life of being unsure and having fear that you will 'waste' time on something not fruitful.

Pick a path to follow through to completion....... either make it all the way or crash and burn hard. But take it ALL the way through to completion. It is either making money, you sell it off for capital for the next project, or it crashes and burns out completely.

At the same time, start a progress thread with what you are doing in your hustles. Show progress and execution.

Doing these things will give you strength and confidence. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you want to do. Try it!

Also, i know exactly what you mean but i feel as if I'm getting no where/ wasting time. Ive searched hundreds of threads and websites and i feel like i read the same thing numerous times and its not very helpful.

 

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[Bigguns50]

Welcome to the Forum @andrew m .

There is an 'Introduction' thread but I guess this was sort of your introduction.

All the answers to your questions are posted in the forum. I suggest starting with the 'Gold' threads as you don't have to be an 'INSIDERS' to access them.

You just joined so take some time...actually...take a LOT of time to read the threads. It's 'real-life' knowledge and it's free.

Enjoy !

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Your first lesson, at least on this forum is to investigate a MONEY FOCUS vs an VALUE FOCUS. One is a chase strategy, the other is an attract. Everything I've read in your intro suggests a CHASE is in high gear. And "follow your passion" is bunk, its no wonder you're struggling. Instead, strive for meaning and purpose. I'd suggest to read the book, but I don't want to be accused of upselling newbs.

 

[Bigguns50]

READ THE BOOK !!

 

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[andrew m]

Your first lesson, at least on this forum is to investigate a MONEY FOCUS vs an VALUE FOCUS. One is a chase strategy, the other is an attract. Everything I've read in your intro suggests a CHASE is in high gear. And "follow your passion" is bunk, its no wonder you're struggling. Instead, strive for meaning and purpose. I'd suggest to read the book, but I don't want to be accused of upselling newbs.

Another thing that I'm struggling with is the amount of items that sell. Even when i do find a good product, when searching on ebay/amazon i find that only about 200 of these items have been sold in a 9 months period. This means that i would be sitting on my product stock for quite some time and only have a minuscule profit margin.

 

[Kingmaker]

Ive read numerous times "follow your passion" however, my main true passion is cars. There is not many items in the automotive field that could be used as a good start up and would be an easy sell to most people.

Become a car mechanic to learn the industry and search for a pain point/need in it?

Just make sure that's really your passion. As in you'll be able to tolerate long hours of working with dirty a$$ parts etc. I thought it was mine until I had to do an engine swap on a civic and realize that it's not my passion just an interest. It can be lucrative regardless though I've made some money flipping cars and the above mentioned engine I bought for $400 and the shop just cut it out of a crashed car they got. So car parts are a good item you just need to figure out a way to get them for cheap.

 

[JAJT]

i find that only about 200 of these items have been sold in a 9 months period.

I sell about 15-20 different skus (mostly on Amazon) and even my failures sell faster than that.

Either your research is wrong or you are picking some damn strange products.

 

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[Wuz]

Give more time to one venture you start from now on. When we are young we want things fast, But then reality hits. We start realizing , that 99,9% of people will not give you money unless you have a damn good thing to offer.



To have a good thing to offer, takes time.

 

[ZCP]

Will say it again and then move on until you take the next step........ how many products / units have you actually bought and sold? Go 'do', then report back. Setup a progress thread. Throw a few $k around and make a bunch of mistakes. If they don't sell, liquidate through another outlet. Best way to learn. You might get a hit, you might lose your a$$. You will learn a lot of the 'other' stuff involved in setting up a business. Go 'do'!! The progress (and failures) will build your confidence. Go create value!

 

[andrew m]

Will say it again and then move on until you take the next step........ how many products / units have you actually bought and sold? Go 'do', then report back. Setup a progress thread. Throw a few $k around and make a bunch of mistakes. If they don't sell, liquidate through another outlet. Best way to learn. You might get a hit, you might lose your a$$. You will learn a lot of the 'other' stuff involved in setting up a business. Go 'do'!! The progress (and failures) will build your confidence. Go create value!

One last question, I've seen a few recommendations for sites to buy from (aliexpress, alibaba, liquidation.com and so on) have any of you guys had very good/bad experiences with any of these sites? alibaba seems like a good direction to go but the shipping time and communicating with the reps (due to time difference) is a little difficult. Anybody have any other website suggestions?

 

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