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Succeeding without network/money/knowledge/education

A post of a ranting nature...

iwantaferrari

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Aug 13, 2013
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Hello Gentlemen.

In this thread I'd like to talk about fact / real life experience and not about " ideas " or " I think that " or " hypothesis ".

Please do not waste your time telling me " 'im thinking too much " or that " i'm reading too much stuff " -> i'm a wantrepreneur.

I've been reading a lot of success story on the web about entrepreneurs. There are a shittons of it because there are a lot of blogs / site about " how to be successfull in life " ( being with girls, money, fitness ) and of course, most of them just want to make money and audience so they put big titles like " How to create your business with 0 capital ".

But if you filter out the noise you will notice something: Very few people succeed without initial capital or connection.

Let's take this case study:

- The average joe is working as his job that he hates and wanna start a business.
- He has some business ideas

But:

- He doesnt have any money excepted his paycheck that he needs to pay the car, the house, school for kids
- his only family is his parents that are dead broke or are in the same position than him ( a little paycheck )
- He has 2 or 3 really good friends, that are also tight in their pocket and has 0 entrepreunarial drive

He can't ask money to his family / friend because they don't have any and they wouldnt risk the few thousands of dollar that they saved since 10 years to try to open a business.
He doesn't have any knowledge / connection in the field where this business idea came from.

My question is : how does he start this project ?


Another paradoxe:

- entrepreneurs are supposed to " try as hard as possible " and to " start over if it doesnt work out ".
> but if you asked to your whole family and friend 5 000 $ and that your first business failed, do you thing they'll give you some more when you'll tell them " hey ! you gotta never giver up ;)))) " ? .

For some of you that saw the videos of noah ( creator of app sumo ) on " how to open a business in 1 week " or " how to test an idea " you'll see that for both of those projects he used his own facebook contacts a lot.

OF COURSE people will agree to buy the product from a young multi millionnaire !



I really love MJ's concept when he say that " loving what you do " is 100 % BS and that the market dictate if you make money or not.

But I would add: being " hard working " or having an " entreprenarial vibe " is also totally worthless if you don't have connections and money.

And this is exactly ( in my opinion ) what 99 % of people dont have.

Ok a lot of people are BIG wantrepreneurs, I myself have a friend like that, always talking about making this of that and when i tell him " lets do it ! " he come up with tons of excuses.

But lets be honest: most of people that would genuinly start their own business don't even have the ressources aka money and connection.

And I didn't even talked about knowledge. If you want to know about an industry you gotta work in it but to got a work nowadays you NEED to have a diploma which bust another myth: that having an education is not necessary.

And even if you take 5 years + X0 000 $ to get the education + 5 years working in the said industry ( lets say i wanna work into finance for example ) but that you realise ( after 10 years & a big debt ) that your business idea is not viable , you're F*cked. Which leads me to think that " testing " a product /an idea is not always possible !

My Conclusion: You can't just try again and again untill you are broke. You can't always " ask your friends and family " some money to invest.
Most of the people are getting an education because this is their only hope to not finish working at mcdonald and even if some WOULD start their own business they just can't due to insufficient ressources (connections / money).

So what do you do if you are the average joe with little money and very few / none connection and that you wanna start a business ?


Thanks for reading and thanks for your time.

PS: I'm sorry but english is not my native language.
 
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iwantaferrari

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Sell your possessions, barter, and then and try again!

Man when you have some responsabilities you can't just " sell your possessions "...

Also, what if you don't have any possession ? You are renting an appartment, "own" and old car and has a TV / iphone. What can you get out of all that ?
 

HardParked13

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I see a lot of excuses and pivots. Like you took the first step ie. outsourced an app, made a pitchdeck for e-cigs, ebook landing page and then when the first barrier popped up you quit and went on to the next venture. You can keep going from venture to venture hoping to find one that has zero resistance or you could pick one and bust through every barrier it throws at you.
 
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iwantaferrari

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Well that was depressing

> I don't wanna depress anyone. I'm just looking for a solution

I see a lot of excuses and pivots. Like you took the first step ie. outsourced an app, made a pitchdeck for e-cigs, ebook landing page and then when the first barrier popped up you quit and went on to the next venture. You can keep going from venture to venture hoping to find one that has zero resistance or you could pick one and bust through every barrier it throws at you.

> Actually I still have money and with luck ( who would deny that luck is a part of the process ? ) and hard work ( of course ) maybe i'll sell my e book. I can also make some coaching to teach guy to pick up girls ( did it for free for my friends already ). But I was just asking myself those things. I think its pretty basic questions. Anybody wanting to start his own business must have those questions.

Please don't just tell me that i'm making excuses. I'm just asking some questions and i know there are some successfull people in this forum. So hopefully I can find the answer.
 
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iwantaferrari

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How did you choose your outsourced programmer for the iPhone App?

I posted an offer on E-lanc and guru. Took the guy with the best experience / price ratio.

I just talked about it as an example. I don't want this thread to be centered around my own experiences. I would like people to discuss about the questions that I asked please :)
 

Mike Kavanagh

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You've only put $50 into testing one landing page? How can you even chalk that up as a failure. You never even tried.

You need to understand that you are doing something that has been played out.
You are only chasing money.

You know nothing about the e-cig business because you don't smoke. It's like me trying to teach someone in the pga tour how to play golf. They know more then I will ever know because they actually do it and I've never played golf.

Your seduction e-book. How many of these do you think there are? How is yours different then anyone else's? Is it on a certain type of women? Is it in a different language? What's new?

Stick around and read. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of threads here that you need to read to begin understanding things.
 

iwantaferrari

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You've only put $50 into testing one landing page? How can you even chalk that up as a failure. You never even tried.

You need to understand that you are doing something that has been played out.
You are only chasing money.

You know nothing about the e-cig business because you don't smoke. It's like me trying to teach someone in the pga tour how to play golf. They know more then I will ever know because they actually do it and I've never played golf.

Your seduction e-book. How many of these do you think there are? How is yours different then anyone else's? Is it on a certain type of women? Is it in a different language? What's new?

Stick around and read. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of threads here that you need to read to begin understanding things.

> I didn't considered the e book thing as a failure yet.
> I educated myself as much as possible about the e cig business. Went into every e cig store in town asking questions and I knew more than most of the vendors.
> About the seduction e-book: If there is competition there is money to make, isn't it ? Also this is a french e book. There is not as much french seduction e book as english one.
> You say that i have a lot more to read but I would tell you that I read a lot already.
Also If i read too much you would say that i don't take enough action. And, you didn't answered my questions. But ANYWAY. I don't want to attack you. Do not feel offended.
>
I am not chasing money. The app that i created came up to me when i though " it would be nice if i could use this on my phone ". So I though I could share my idea with people. The e-cig business was about simplyfing the delivery process of the e-liquids for the clients. He would receive it through shipping with a subscription, and I would give them some free flavor to test each month. And for the seduction e book I find that there is A LOT of BS about seduction around the net. Guys are marketers but have 0 experience about the field. I have real expericen and I helped some of my friend already so I though " hey I could help some other people with that ".
See ? I'm really trying to add value to people's life. But the reality is that you still need to sell your services !


As I said above, I just posted my experiences as examples. This is not the main topic. We are not talking about me here. Please focus on the topic. Concentrate on the message and not on the messenger.

Thanks :)
 
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davedev

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First. Your experiences are where the gold lies. You don't know who may chime in this thread. You never know, you may have to run and grab your shovel -- dig up an idea you've buried months ago -- find out you buried the man alive.

Btw. Did you give that programmer a programming test? A mini project for them to complete. Was the test related to the job?
 

mememan

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Here's an idea. Pare back your expectations. You don't want a Ferrari. You actually don't even want all that much money ;)
 

iwantaferrari

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First. Your experiences are where the gold lies. You don't know who may chime in this thread. You never know, you may have to run and grab your shovel -- dig up an idea you've buried months ago -- find out you buried the man alive.

Btw. Did you give that programmer a programming test? A mini project for them to complete. Was the test related to the job?

Send you a MP. As I said I dont like the direction that the thread is heading toward. Please focus on the subjet ! Succeeding without money or conection, borrowing from friends / family, etc...
 
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iwantaferrari

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Here's an idea. Pare back your expectations. You don't want a Ferrari. You actually don't even want all that much money ;)

Please lets keep this thread serious no offense but this kind of chit-chat is not making the thread progress. Don't focus on the messenger and answer the message please :) !

Thanks !

PS: Maybe you wanted to send a message through this little provocation in this case just write it clearly so everybody can see it and there is less risk of misinterpretation ! :)
 

mememan

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Send you a MP. As I said I dont like the direction that the thread is heading toward. Please focus on the subjet ! Succeeding without money or conection, borrowing from friends / family, etc...

Pick smaller, doable projects that won't make or break you. You won't become a billionaire, but hey, maybe you can pull in $5k a month or so and not have to go work on a J-O-B.

Check out my "Lost $10k Outsourcing" thread. Shark-infested waters there ;)

Realistically, I'd pick a niche/authority site project where you can sell an eBook/work with affiliates and run it off WordPress. Lots of competition in this area too, but at least you don't have to spend a lot of money to find out if something doesn't work.
 

Kak

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Well-

"I don't have money" ---- Call 200 VC firms
"I don't have the connections" ---- Call 200 people that could help
 
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mememan

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Please lets keep this thread serious no offense but this kind of chit-chat is not making the thread progress. Don't focus on the messenger and answer the message please :) !

Thanks !

PS: Maybe you wanted to send a message through this little provocation in this case just write it clearly so everybody can see it and there is less risk of misinterpretation ! :)

Haha, it wasn't provocation. Desire less, value leisure more.
 

iwantaferrari

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Pick smaller, doable projects that won't make or break you. You won't become a billionaire, but hey, maybe you can pull in $5k a month or so and not have to go work on a J-O-B.

Check out my "Lost $10k Outsourcing" thread. Shark-infested waters there ;)

Realistically, I'd pick a niche/authority site project where you can sell an eBook/work with affiliates and run it off WordPress. Lots of competition in this area too, but at least you don't have to spend a lot of money to find out if something doesn't work.

Thanks for the idea, you are right for now i'm more focusing on making a honest living without working at a "JOB".
I'll check your thread :)
 
D

DeletedUser394

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Send you a MP. As I said I dont like the direction that the thread is heading toward. Please focus on the subjet ! Succeeding without money or conection, borrowing from friends / family, etc...

Just curious, where are you from?

You post a thread with a super defeatist attitude in a forum with extremely positive and forward looking entrepreneurs and you expected what to come from it exactly?

Do you want a step by step instruction?

How to get connections: Network. There's dozens of self made people on this forum. I'm sure whatever country you are in has rich people. Use meetup.com, attend conferences, put yourself out there. Use the phone.

Have no money to start something?

Get a job. Have a job? Get a second job. No time? Quit school.

Hate jobs? (who doesn't!) then hustle. Buy and sell, buy and sell, buy and sell.
 
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iwantaferrari

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Just curious, where are you from?

You post a thread with a super defeatist attitude in a forum with extremely positive and forward looking entrepreneurs and you expected what to come from it exactly?


Do you want a step by step instruction?

How to get connections: Network. There's dozens of self made people on this forum. I'm sure whatever country you are in has rich people. Use meetup.com, attend conferences, put yourself out there. Use the phone.

Have no money to start something?

Get a job. Have a job? Get a second job. No time? Quit school.

Hate jobs? (who doesn't!) then hustle. Buy and sell, buy and sell, buy and sell.

I'm expecting this kind of post. Not necessarly a step by step, just simple answer to my questions. Thanks ! :)
 
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Silverhawk851

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Well if you don't have the money, the connections, the knowledge, education....

Then you raise money, make connections, learn by doing, and learn from people doing it already...

I don't get it. what's the question?
 

jon.a

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An app
E-cigs
and a
seduction book

You're chasing money and picking niches that are too hard to start with.
Read ALL of @RichKid's threads, you'll learn how to make some money hustling. After some success you'll grow bigger balls and a thicker skin.
Don't post any more until you're done reading.
 

iwantaferrari

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Well if you don't have the money, the connections, the knowledge, education....

Then you raise money, make connections, learn by doing, and learn from people doing it already...

I don't get it. what's the question?

well, as I wrote in my original post, the problems are:
> how do you raise money when you can't borrow from friends / family
" from VC " > yes but VC like to see result before they invest, and to get resulst you need to have the actual business already set up

> Talking about the connections, lets take the example of the shipping company (that MJ wrote in the book) you can't just go to a " packaging & shipping meet up " and make friends there... Or can you ? Could you tell me how do you make connections in such a specific domain ?

An app
E-cigs
and a
seduction book

You're chasing money and picking niches that are too hard to start with.
Read ALL of @RichKid's threads, you'll learn how to make some money hustling. After some success you'll grow bigger balls and a thicker skin.
Don't post any more until you're done reading.

> Why do you say that i'm chasing money ? I explained my motivation above. Those ideas came up spontaneously into my mind, I didn't pick them up into a " business idea checklist " blog. Was MJ chasing money because he started an internet company during the .com boom ? I don't think so, he just found an opporunity in a trending market, and i'm trying to do the same ! :)
Thanks for the " rich kids " threads, i'll read them ! :)


> I will delete this stuff from my thread. I really wanted to discuss about the money / connection stuff and everybody just wanna talk about my own businesses :(
 
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Silverhawk851

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well, as I wrote in my original post, the problems are:
> how do you raise money when you can't borrow from friends / family
" from VC " > yes but VC like to see result before they invest, and to get resulst you need to have the actual business already set up

> Talking about the connections, lets take the example of the shipping company (that MJ wrote in the book) you can't just go to a " packaging & shipping meet up " and make friends there... Or can you ? Could you tell me how do you make connections in such a specific domain ?

Money is all around you. There is more money available in a 15 mile radius from you that you'll ever need.
Make friends with people who have it, show them that you hustle, that you get results, pitch them. I promise If you pitch 200 people you'll raise some money.

Connections...Easy. Just go to where they hang out, forums, events, parties, and buy Em a drink. Or just make friends.

The mantra is Just find a way. nothing comes easy

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
 

iwantaferrari

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Money is all around you. There is more money available in a 15 mile radius from you that you'll ever need.
Make friends with people who have it, show them that you hustle, that you get results, pitch them. I promise If you pitch 200 people you'll raise some money.

Connections...Easy. Just go to where they hang out, forums, events, parties, and buy Em a drink. Or just make friends.

The mantra is Just find a way. nothing comes easy

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

Thanks. I'll try harder.
 

Determined2012

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you can't just " sell your possessions "

I am 10,000% POSITIVE that there is SOMETHING in your house you can sale to earn money to bootstrap your business idea. If you can not find one thing in your home that you believe you can sale to put toward your idea then maybe its just not for you.

Clothes
Electronics
Shoes
Tools


Stop buying snacks, cut down your grocery bill, cut off your cable, change your cellphone from contract to prepaid or boost mobile. Sale your car. How BAD do you want to do it. If you want to do it bad enough you will sale off as much as possible and live with BARE BARE minimums.

Are you unable/ unwilling to do any or all of these things?
 
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jon.a

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Richkid's stuff is the shallow end of the pool, to get you started.
Then read all the progress threads you can find. Start with @zen******* @Vigilante and @biophase.

Don't post any more until you're done reading.

You're starting to sound whinny.
 

Steve A

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Out of all those things you say you don't have in your thread, the one thing you don't mention is time.

Use your time to GET educated and informed in the things you need to know about to make your business work
Use it to make extra money that you think you need to get it up and running
Use it to make connections, network, speak to people

The reason other people have all these things "already" is that they have previously invested their time to get them.

You're analysing other peoples situations from the wrong starting point. They didn't start out with education/money/connections. Go back further in their timeline and you'll reach a point when they too didn't have any of these things.
 

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