Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

[IGP]

Even if you're not going to post the question that's still unresolved, maybe you could post a bit about how you've gotten to the stage you have? I for one would be interested to read!

Sure, I don't mind. Although, that's probably better done in a different thread. I don't want to clog this one up with details on how I vetted a business.

 

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[Learner Guy]

Sure, I don't mind. Although, that's probably better done in a different thread. I don't want to clog this one up with details on how I vetted a business.

Great, please point me at it when you get around to writing it!

 

[Wisith]

I pay employees $20/hour. On average, the cleaning comes to $150/hour. If they choose to add ScotachGuard to the carpets then it bumps the average up higher.

How do you deal with workers comp, especially in our "sue me" state of CA?

By the strict codes by CAL OSHA, you need to provide medical coverage if your employees get 'hurt' on the job. I used the term 'hurt' loosely. I may be biased, but I have dealt with a lot of employees in various fields who are shady when I handled workers comp. This shady activity is more prevalent in low paying labor intensive fields from my experience.

Always appreciate you dropping gems, bro. I'm tempted to fly up to NorCal to grab ice cream and drinks with you! Haha.

 

[Wisith]

Guys if you are looking to start a carpet cleaning biz, make sure to check the MSDS for the chemicals that you are using. Manufacturers are required by law to disclose the ingredients in their cleaning solutions and whether or not they are hazardous.

You don't want to destroy your lungs just to make money. Not worth it.

Yes. Look for the PPE (personal protective equipment) section, and it will tell you what is necessary if at all, ie some kind of respiratory masks. I would figure N95s would do. It would probably say to mix in a ventilated area as well. Under the MSDS (now SDS globally), they might have a diamond looking shape with pictures and such on it with number. Highest number of 4 means its dangerous, lowest number means it's cool. I work in the field so just want to drop some quick info.

PS MSDS is required for all chemicals, not just in the carpet biz. Good way to reverse engineer if you want to see what brand name X is using in their mixture.

 

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[Darlene L.]

Hey there IceCreamKid, quality post.

I'm posting because my father owns a small contracting company and has been doing work on people's houses for over 30 years. Lately I've been trying to convince him to scale it up but he always becomes hesitant when I bring that up because he is afraid of losing control.

The company is just him and another guy who do small jobs for loyal customers. He does no advertising, has no online presense, and gets ALL of his customers by word of mouth. He is a very personable guy and does an amazing job every time, which is why he doesn't want to give up control by scaling the business. That's also why people keep coming back for repeat business.

The only issue I have with this is that he is getting old and has some health problems, yet he continues to do brutal manual work all day rather than hiring out the work, scaling, and managing. Additionally, if he or his partner can't make it to the job or are having health problems then there is only one person there to get the job done which in my opinion is an unreliable way to go about the business.

He says that he wants to pass the business down to me when he retires, in which case I would work on scaling the business while leveraging his existing customers.

I just want to hear your opinions/thoughts on the control issue that he is worried about, and how you might go about avoiding any issues with this in the long-term if you were to scale up a manual labor business such as this.

Thanks!

Well we're in the same boat. I am young and feisty, so I want to take risks. I advised my father in law to take it to the next level and bid for bigger contracts. He was reluctant but he jumped with me. It looked great at first but I realized there's more to it than things that I know by the book. There are things thay only experience can measure and I saw how overwhelming it was for him. I can see that he wishes to make the business grow too but if you really wish to jump... I do hope you do so when you're equipped and prepared.

I jumped without enough bullets so I ended up breaking even. I was $30K away from a lawsuit. I missed the fact that bigger projects needed lawyers and engineers for all sorts of things.

We were forced to provide service for things we initially didn't agree on during the time that we gave them our quotation. They manipulated us with words that we didn't realize that we're agreeing on providing things we don't even know about. (ex. fire suppression, ducting, electrical works).

Want to scale up a construction business? GET A LAWYER!

 

[Darlene L.]

Thats gold information about the indian culture and realtors. Thank you! Im dealing with Indian's in Bangalore right now for a web app I'm building for someone. Obviously I don't have the same issue because we are dealing with different countries and niches haha.

I love the fact that you train your employee's to actually give them a higher price than usual to avoid being their customer. Get them to say no to you.

Do you get any leads from your website? do you have separate phone numbers to track this stuff?

And how did you hire the person that takes incoming calls, do they do other tasks as well? Did you have to write a script for them?

sorry for so many questions im so curious

My former business partner ran "Arrows Chemdry" a carpet cleaning company in Cali.

He co-founded a BPO company here in the Philippines with me and he trained agents here to serve Chemdry. We did lead generation calls and also received customer support and booking calls for him. Heck even dispatch calls where VA gives actual instructions from waze and google streetmap to carpet cleaners. Chemdry spends $1100.00 a month for a VA working 8hrs a day, 40hrs a week and it went quite well.

Our BPO business is:
http://www.airbpo.com

 

[Darlene L.]

Yes. Look for the PPE (personal protective equipment) section, and it will tell you what is necessary if at all, ie some kind of respiratory masks. I would figure N95s would do. It would probably say to mix in a ventilated area as well. Under the MSDS (now SDS globally), they might have a diamond looking shape with pictures and such on it with number. Highest number of 4 means its dangerous, lowest number means it's cool. I work in the field so just want to drop some quick info.

PS MSDS is required for all chemicals, not just in the carpet biz. Good way to reverse engineer if you want to see what brand name X is using in their mixture.

I think there are established carpet cleaning companies that are open for franchise.

 

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[Oztrepreneur]

Any updates ICK?

 

[IceCreamKid]

I'm currently in the process of locking in a few government contracts and a deal with the San Jose airport. This was never really part of my plan, but it fell into my lap so I ran with it. Cuz why not? It looked like fun.

I went to my local SCORE chapter seeking their thoughts on innovative ways to expand and they ended up showing me how to get into government contacts.

A few words on SCORE...They're a non-profit that gives mentorship to entrepreneurs. ALL of them are vetted to verify that they're not dolphins. If any mentor is found trying to partner up with someone they're mentoring, they're forced to resign. It's a breath of fresh air to encounter mentors who don't have an ulterior motive.

I've found that the real value isn't necessarily in having a mentor, but in his crazy rolodex network. If there is an obstacle that the mentor is clueless on, it's pretty much guaranteed that he knows a guy or another mentor within SCORE can solve it. My local chapter is one of the biggest chapters in the country with mentors whose experience range from running small sweater manufacturing facilities to Inc 5000 tech companies. I'm convinced that if you get enough smart people in the same room then you can solve almost anything.

That's pretty much the only update I have in terms of revenue generation for carpet cleaning.

I've been messing around in my mini laboratory and am now using sodium percarbonate as a booster. Sodium percarbonate is the main active ingredient in OxiClean. If you're looking to save some money on OxiClean, just buy the pure sodium percarbonate because it doesn't have a ton of useless filler like OxiClean. The stuff is dirt cheap and powerful as hell.

Furniture biz is on autopilot at this point. I have a small fleet of employees now. Not gonna lie, the biz is boring to me and my passion for it is gone. I can't deny money that feels free to me though!

Stock option biz is still cranking out cash. Every person in my little circle that is doing it is now profitable. A lot dropped out initially due to the amount of time and mental commitment it takes, but the remaining ones now have a very powerful skill in their hands that will certainly make them millionaires. If you're curious to learn more about that, there are some epic threads on the Inside where we detail out a lot of our key metrics. I kinda stopped chiming in though due to the interest falling off. I could write some feel good inspirational paragraph and 50 people will hit the "like" button, but with stock options there will be 3 likes for what is actionable million dollar advice.

I've been spending a good amount of my time just hanging out with friends and the dating scene. I'm finding it very difficult making a meaningful connection in the dating scene because all I ever think about is biz and investing. Very few people think the way that we do at this forum. At the heart of everything, what we want is freedom. 99% of the population doesn't even think about that.

3 times in the past week I've been asked, "Do you watch Game of Thrones?" and I just can't relate to that. I'm going to binge watch it this weekend though because I'm curious to see what the fuss is all about.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I could write some feel good inspirational paragraph and 50 people will hit the "like" button, but with stock options there will be 3 likes for what is actionable million dollar advice.

The problem is, that "actionable million dollar advice" is gouge-your-eyes-out complicated and it requires a substantial learning effort. Feel good inspirational fantasies are much for palatable. [LIKE].

 

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[CPisHere]

I'm currently in the process of locking in a few government contracts and a deal with the San Jose airport. This was never really part of my plan, but it fell into my lap so I ran with it. Cuz why not? It looked like fun.

I went to my local SCORE chapter seeking their thoughts on innovative ways to expand and they ended up showing me how to get into government contacts.

That's a good reminder for me - I'm setting up a meeting with my local SCORE now.

I've been messing around in my mini laboratory and am now using sodium percarbonate as a booster. Sodium percarbonate is the main active ingredient in OxiClean. If you're looking to save some money on OxiClean, just buy the pure sodium percarbonate because it doesn't have a ton of useless filler like OxiClean. The stuff is dirt cheap and powerful as hell.

Where do you buy chemicals like that?
Any other pointers for me on cleanings?

Furniture biz is on autopilot at this point. I have a small fleet of employees now. Not gonna lie, the biz is boring to me and my passion for it is gone. I can't deny money that feels free to me though!

I can't wait till I'm there! I plan to have my new business there by the end of next year. But now that it really seems possible I have started wondering what I would do with my time...

 

[IceCreamKid]

That's a good reminder for me - I'm setting up a meeting with my local SCORE now.

Most are not aware of it, but you can actually choose who you want to mentor you. Before setting up your appointment, go through the bio of all the mentors in your local chapter and request to meet with the ones whose experience/skills resonate with your biz model the most. The advice I have received from these guys is worth 100x more than any course I've taken...and the price is free!

Where do you buy chemicals like that?
Any other pointers for me on cleanings?

The cheapest route is to buy directly from your local high school or university. If you don't have any connections for that, the next cheapest route is ebay. I don't really look at price though because just a little bit of sodium percarbonate goes a LONG way because the stuff is so potent.

The best advice that I can give you for this niche and biz in general is that EVERY LITTLE DETAIL COUNTS.

For example, if you're going to attack the premium customers who don't care about price then you'd better make sure everything is top quality and express that WE CARE. The colors you use for your brand, the story, the values/beliefs, the font, putting out "slippery floor" signs throughout the house, putting booties on your shoes when you enter, making sure you're wearing a nice shirt with the company logo, being clean shaven...etc.

EVERY DETAIL COUNTS. We're not in the carpet cleaning biz here. We're in the appearance and brand experience biz more than anything else. Same goes for any other biz offering premium service/products.

The guys who make peanuts in this niche are the ones who overlook all of those little details and just want to clean carpets for $20 per room. Customers don't call them because their vans look sketchy, equipment looks dirty, employees look like they were picked up from Home Depot, etc.

 

[Fox]

I've been spending a good amount of my time just hanging out with friends and the dating scene. I'm finding it very difficult making a meaningful connection in the dating scene because all I ever think about is biz and investing. Very few people think the way that we do at this forum. At the heart of everything, what we want is freedom. 99% of the population doesn't even think about that.

When I choose my current girlfriend I specifically picked a girl who I thought would be highly interested in business. She studies business, has a few languages and her family owns a chain of businesses along with property. Turns out whenever I mention business or what I am working on she starts to glaze over (its web stuff so I don't really blame her lol) but she always has my back and loves to see me hustle round the clock.

Point I am making is I think loyalty and support are huge traits in a partner and putting those first will mean you have a great relationship. Not saying girls can't hustle - plenty of epic female entrepreneurs on here but when it comes to a partner there are other qualities to look for first. This is my happiest relationship so far and I think its down to her not really having to know what I am actually doing but that she trusts me regardless to make the right choice and take the risk.

Come to Colombia and I can introduce you to some of her friends! I have a lot of single friends who are scared to come on holidays because they know they won't ever leave ha.

 

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[Oztrepreneur]

all I ever think about is biz and investing. Very few people think the way that we do at this forum. At the heart of everything, what we want is freedom. 99% of the population doesn't even think about that.

Driving to work this morning I was thinking about this...literally cannot stop thinking about a way to find freedom. It is infuriating sometimes, I think because now I know it is possible, then until I achieve it I will not feel settled.
Great update ICK.

 

[Bigguns50]

3 times in the past week I've been asked, "Do you watch Game of Thrones?"

Ain't that the truth ! That and other shows. I shut them down immediately and say "I don't have cable....by choice."

Great progress ! Thanks for updating.

 

[Wisith]

I'm currently in the process of locking in a few government contracts and a deal with the San Jose airport. This was never really part of my plan, but it fell into my lap so I ran with it. Cuz why not? It looked like fun.

I went to my local SCORE chapter seeking their thoughts on innovative ways to expand and they ended up showing me how to get into government contacts.

A few words on SCORE...They're a non-profit that gives mentorship to entrepreneurs. ALL of them are vetted to verify that they're not dolphins. If any mentor is found trying to partner up with someone they're mentoring, they're forced to resign. It's a breath of fresh air to encounter mentors who don't have an ulterior motive.

I've found that the real value isn't necessarily in having a mentor, but in his crazy rolodex network. If there is an obstacle that the mentor is clueless on, it's pretty much guaranteed that he knows a guy or another mentor within SCORE can solve it. My local chapter is one of the biggest chapters in the country with mentors whose experience range from running small sweater manufacturing facilities to Inc 5000 tech companies. I'm convinced that if you get enough smart people in the same room then you can solve almost anything.

That's pretty much the only update I have in terms of revenue generation for carpet cleaning.

I've been messing around in my mini laboratory and am now using sodium percarbonate as a booster. Sodium percarbonate is the main active ingredient in OxiClean. If you're looking to save some money on OxiClean, just buy the pure sodium percarbonate because it doesn't have a ton of useless filler like OxiClean. The stuff is dirt cheap and powerful as hell.

Furniture biz is on autopilot at this point. I have a small fleet of employees now. Not gonna lie, the biz is boring to me and my passion for it is gone. I can't deny money that feels free to me though!

Stock option biz is still cranking out cash. Every person in my little circle that is doing it is now profitable. A lot dropped out initially due to the amount of time and mental commitment it takes, but the remaining ones now have a very powerful skill in their hands that will certainly make them millionaires. If you're curious to learn more about that, there are some epic threads on the Inside where we detail out a lot of our key metrics. I kinda stopped chiming in though due to the interest falling off. I could write some feel good inspirational paragraph and 50 people will hit the "like" button, but with stock options there will be 3 likes for what is actionable million dollar advice.

I've been spending a good amount of my time just hanging out with friends and the dating scene. I'm finding it very difficult making a meaningful connection in the dating scene because all I ever think about is biz and investing. Very few people think the way that we do at this forum. At the heart of everything, what we want is freedom. 99% of the population doesn't even think about that.

3 times in the past week I've been asked, "Do you watch Game of Thrones?" and I just can't relate to that. I'm going to binge watch it this weekend though because I'm curious to see what the fuss is all about.

Killing it, brother. Long time no type. I was going to say hope all is well but I know it is

Re: dating scene, it can be tough for sure. I still go out when I need to, usually just to clubs, bars, and lounges so I can socialize. Otherwise my mind would be completely insane since like most everyone here, I spend a lot of time on the biz.

And yeah, I was talking to a girl at a day lounge and she asked me similar questions: what shows do you like, are you into EDM, etc. It kinda awkward real quick. Lol.

 

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[CPisHere]

ICK, what is your system for hiring/training new employees?

I feel really confident in my ability to get new business, but ramping up employees seems like it will be the more difficult part.

Any book/other recommendations on this?

 

[IceCreamKid]

ICK, what is your system for hiring/training new employees?

I wish I could refer you to a book, but I feel like this stuff is more of an art than a science.

I hire people as contract workers for my furniture biz. They do really simple tasks such as sanding, staining, and glossing. If I see that they have a good attitude and solid work ethic then I consider offering them a shot with the carpet cleaning biz.

Attitude is #1...more than credentials and whatever else I see on their resume.

If I didn't have the furniture biz then I'd probably become a regular customer at a chain restaurant like Applebee's. That place is a really good source for employees. Some of them have very good work ethic and are dying for an alternative. I've found that observing people as they work is a far better way to gauge how well they'll fit than a formal interview. I hate formal interviews because you never know if the person on the other side of the table is telling the full truth.

As for training, the majority is learned on the job. It's not rocket science. They typically learn the whole process in 2 hours.

Make sure you have a policy and procedures manual that all employees must read and sign. Get really detailed with this thing. Clean shaven, tattoos covered, ironed shirt, no stealing, no chewing gum around customers, etc.

Did you know McDonald's has a manual instructing employees how to properly clean the bathrooms? That's how detailed we want to get here. Systematize everything.

 

[CPisHere]

I wish I could refer you to a book, but I feel like this stuff is more of an art than a science.

I hire people as contract workers for my furniture biz. They do really simple tasks such as sanding, staining, and glossing. If I see that they have a good attitude and solid work ethic then I consider offering them a shot with the carpet cleaning biz.

Are your carpet employees contractors or w2 employees?

Do you have a full-time manager that hires/trains?

How do you deal with people not showing up?

 

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[jules 98hustle]

If I was starting from scratch, I’d probably apprentice for another company first just to see if I even like the niche. There’s nothing worse than trying to grow a company in a niche that you have absolutely zero love for. It’s like Chinese water torture. Learn on someone else’s dime first then quickly decide if you are going to move forward with the biz.

Here’s a 10,000ft above view of how I’d recommend you plan your attack:

Level 1
Learn the actual skill(carpet cleaning, tiling, lawn service,etc). Preferably learn from someone already in the trenches because you can seriously damage carpet if you don’t know what you’re doing. For example, some high pH cleaning solutions will actually bleach rugs but work well on carpet.

Level 2
After you learned the skill, proceed to launch your own biz to your friends and family. Your circle of influence. Get feedback from them. Find out what can be improved. You’re not spending money on ads yet. Tweak the product/service based on criticisms and compliments.

Level 3
Set up a customer support system. Start picking up the phone and call strangers. Ask what they liked/didn’t like. Strangers will be far more brutal than friends and that’s a good thing.

You want to continually tweak the product/service according to market feedback. Your goal in this level is to create good will with your base of customers so that you can get testimonials in the next level.

Set up a split test. Long ads vs. short ads. You’re still not spending much on ads. Only testing.

Level 4
Now you’re scaling your advertising budget. Still try to keep the ad budget low. Check the math and analyze ROI. Tweak, tweak, tweak, until you eventually hit something that really clicks.

Level 5
Aggressive expansion. Scale the paid advertising. This is where the real fun begins. Expand the customer support team, staffing, consider expanding to an office if necessary.

Create routines, schedules, and lines of communication for the team(E-mail, Skype, FB messenger, etc). Try to keep the expenses to a minimum. Don’t be stupid by buying t-shirts and coffee mugs with your logo. You may be tasting success at this point, but don’t think you have arrived just yet.

Focus and discipline are the keys in this level. I’ve seen too many people lose everything after they let their ego get in the way. It’s not time to party and go crazy yet.

Level 6
Legacy. Think about investing profits back into the biz for further expansion or invest in other vehicles. Next year, I’ll be discussing how to correctly invest in stock options for weekly cashflow. There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to do that. It will be in the INSIDERS section of the forum though.

Line up CPA, accountant, CFO, set up bank accounts better, insurance, etc. Cross your t’s and dot your i’s.

Set up tax planning, estate planning, etc

Level 7
Liquidation event. Throw a party with lots of pizza. Don’t buy a Ferrari/Lambo unless you own an asset that produces enough monthly cashflow to pay for it. Weekly/monthly cashflow is the key to wealth that lasts for multiple generations.

Level 8
Create more stuff. Invest in more stuff. Innovate. Donate to some non-profits or even start your own.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/276398

I think this article will also help with doing really well within a Blue collar industry and becoming an entrepreneur within this space !
There is so much opportunity for those who want to get involved within the Blue collar industry.

Icecreamkid thanks for all the gems you are dropping !!

 

[IceCreamKid]

Are your carpet employees contractors or w2 employees?

Do you have a full-time manager that hires/trains?

How do you deal with people not showing up?

1. w2.
2. No. The bigtime carpet cleaning guys who have +5 vans do though.
3. Written warning. If an employee receives 3 written warnings for various reasons during his career, he's out. You want to have everything in writing so that they can't come back and say you wrongfully terminated them.

At the heart of everything, the best way to keep your employees happy and doing a good job is to have a ridiculously good cleaning solution that makes the cleaning process easy. With my cleaning solution, you can literally spray the carpet and walk away. We don't do that though because customers would be wondering why they just paid $300 for a guy to spray some stuff for 10 minutes. The employees don't have to work hard at all to achieve results that make customers say WOW.

I'm never going to release all of the ingredients in my stuff, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you spend enough time tinkering in your "carpet laboratory" you'll eventually come up with some powerful stuff that outperforms anything else by a wide margin.

 

[Raoul Duke]

ICK, what is your system for hiring/training new employees?

I feel really confident in my ability to get new business, but ramping up employees seems like it will be the more difficult part.

Any book/other recommendations on this?

I wish I could refer you to a book, but I feel like this stuff is more of an art than a science.

I hire people as contract workers for my furniture biz. They do really simple tasks such as sanding, staining, and glossing. If I see that they have a good attitude and solid work ethic then I consider offering them a shot with the carpet cleaning biz.

Attitude is #1...more than credentials and whatever else I see on their resume.

If I didn't have the furniture biz then I'd probably become a regular customer at a chain restaurant like Applebee's. That place is a really good source for employees. Some of them have very good work ethic and are dying for an alternative. I've found that observing people as they work is a far better way to gauge how well they'll fit than a formal interview. I hate formal interviews because you never know if the person on the other side of the table is telling the full truth.

As for training, the majority is learned on the job. It's not rocket science. They typically learn the whole process in 2 hours.

Make sure you have a policy and procedures manual that all employees must read and sign. Get really detailed with this thing. Clean shaven, tattoos covered, ironed shirt, no stealing, no chewing gum around customers, etc.

Did you know McDonald's has a manual instructing employees how to properly clean the bathrooms? That's how detailed we want to get here. Systematize everything.

https://sivers.org/delegate

 

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[Wisith]

Regarding SCORE, those guys are awesome. Their hours are usually pretty limited but when they get to liking you, they'll make time to meet at a coffee house if need be.

Given that my background is in risk management, and safety...how do you handle workers compensation insurance? The premium is high in some fields for our clients i.e. In construction and landscaping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Deri]

Fantastic thread this is.
It has been really inspiring for me..
Grass roots business is alive and well. I used to always have my fingers in different pies so to speak but in the end just stuck to my small general building and plastering business.
But reading all this has reignited the flame.
Thanks @IceCreamKid

 

[CPisHere]

I'm never going to release all of the ingredients in my stuff, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you spend enough time tinkering in your "carpet laboratory" you'll eventually come up with some powerful stuff that outperforms anything else by a wide margin.

Why not bottle it & sell it?

 

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[MattCour]

I have to re-up my INSIDERS status. I was hoping for more options trading talk in this thread. I'm missing a bunch of Gold on the inside about options huh?

 

[IceCreamKid]

Why not bottle it & sell it?

Because it doesn't pass all of my criteria. It passes some, but not all.

1. Is there decent demand for the product?
2. Are the profit margins decent?
3. How much does it cost to drive traffic to the site?
4. How easy is it to rank in google for this niche?
5. How seasonal is it? For example, I don't want to sell fireworks because July 4th is the only time when I'm making money. I want weekly or monthly cashflow.

The bulk of my current focus is invested in an e-commerce store that I'm building. There's a very good chance it's going to hit 7-figures annually(revenue, not profit). It's kinda a pain with all the inventory though. 250 different SKU's and growing. It's a logistical nightmare, but I'm doing it simply because I want to see how far I can take this.

I have to re-up my INSIDERS status. I was hoping for more options trading talk in this thread. I'm missing a bunch of Gold on the inside about options huh?

Hmmm it depends. So far only a small handful of members have taken action on the advice in that thread. One member will likely be living on his trading income full time by 2018 after just a few months of hardcore studying though so I definitely still see hope for the people.

The information is gold, but applying it is an entirely different game because of the mindset/emotional issues that arise when it's finally time to risk some cash...and you're best off risking cash sooner rather than later because you'll be more engaged.

 

[Goobii]

Hey @IceCreamKid ,

Great updates and thanks your openness regarding your ventures.

I'm about to get into my 4th venture (1 Commercial Cleaning Biz(In a Different State), 1 Carpet Cleaning Biz , 2 Fast Food Restaurants).

I share the same sentiment as you - Zero care factor with Cleaning, but enjoy the passivity of the income.

I've got other projects that I'd like to get into as well, but I feel as though I'm putting too much on my plate.

Do you have a criteria that you follow with getting into your projects/ventures? Is it better to focus on the ONE thing, or cast the net wide as possible?

 

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[Riddic4766]

First of all thanks for sharing IceCreamKid.

I'm starting carpet and upholstery cleaning service in eastern europe as a side business.
Currently I have a job as a quite succesfull B2B sales representative in a bank and a consulting businnes on a side. Both jobs pay pretty well but it's just trading my time for money and quite a lot of stress.
I read a lot about about advertising lately (especially Garry Halbert recommended books) and I was considenring applying some of your methods in my new bussines.
I would be very greatful if you could share some more information about your ad campaign.

1. Short or long copy worked better for you?
2. What are the main objections you found to be importnant to adress?

 

[CPisHere]

Because it doesn't pass all of my criteria. It passes some, but not all.

1. Is there decent demand for the product?
2. Are the profit margins decent?
3. How much does it cost to drive traffic to the site?
4. How easy is it to rank in google for this niche?
5. How seasonal is it? For example, I don't want to sell fireworks because July 4th is the only time when I'm making money. I want weekly or monthly cashflow.

The bulk of my current focus is invested in an e-commerce store that I'm building. There's a very good chance it's going to hit 7-figures annually(revenue, not profit). It's kinda a pain with all the inventory though. 250 different SKU's and growing. It's a logistical nightmare, but I'm doing it simply because I want to see how far I can take this.

Whoa, so you have some type of furniture business, a carpet cleaning business, and an e-commerce store?