The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

10k in 7 months and 20 days

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
As of today 27th of October 2016 my fulltime job (plus school :headbanger:) will be to make ten thousand dollars by 15th of June 2017

Why?

Because the idea of spending 30k on college where I will learn nothing that cant be learned for free online just doesn't click with me. I have to show everyone around me that getting a job is NOT and only option in life.

The job formula doesn't click with me. I've made the switch in my head. There is no way I will go slowlane/sidewalk. Wasting most of my life just so I can retire "happy", no, :spam::spam:ck that! And this is a start.

Why 10k?

I just feel this is achievable for the start. Here in Croatia, where good amount of people earn about 6k(minimal wage) a year for 40 years(note that there is no 401k or stuff like that here), It really sucks the hope and life from you. No matter how much you keep telling yourself otherwise, It really gets carved into your subconscious without you having any control over it.

If I can do this, no, WHEN I do this I know it will give me fuel for more, A LOT more.

How exactly do I plan to do this?

First source of income will be webdesign that I am earning 200-300 dollars a month from. Pennies I know. But I have increased my prices to 500$ as a starting price because I know I deliver a lot more value that I am paid for. Having couple of projects lined up plus the maintenance fees my clients pay I can do 4k max from this.

Second source of income will be teespring campaigns trough Facebook ads. I have ran 2 of them which failed completely not selling a single shirt. But you fail your way to success if you learn from it, right?

As I am always looking for a problem to solve or a need to satisfy, I might hop into some other field to help and make some money while at it.

-------

Writing this made me realise how hard this will be, although 10k is not at all a lot of money when you think about it. But to actually hold it in your hands as an 18yo that comes from a family that earns around 30k a year combined at their prime, is a completely different story.

-------
If you have any tips or something that might help me in my journey, feel free to post it.

Every week I will write an update here just to keep myself on track. If I for some reason quit or stop feel free to send me a PM telling me to get of my lazy a$$. Thanks in advance for that.

Lets get to it!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:
G

Guest34764

Guest
Man that pumped me up, 10K is my goal as well.

The less help you receive from outsiders, the better you'll feel when you have that sweet 10K in your hands because you earned it.

So saying that, go get that 10K, I'm cheering for you (after I get first place of course ;))!
 

Jphiladeng

New Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
233%
Apr 7, 2016
3
7
42
Man you can do it!

I was shooting for 10K in 12 Months because I work full time and have a new kid. I made that goal in 6 Months. Keep plugging along!

I'm in the t-shirt business so if you need any tips let me know. I've tried Teespring and was mildly successful but it's a really tough gig. Can be done though.

Find your groove and go!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,563
68,692
Ireland
Have you checked out the Gold "Starting a web agency" thread by @Fox ?

If you're already making money at web design, then why not "grow what you know" rather than try to get another idea off the ground?

Maybe the interviews and chats I've done that are up on Soundcloud might help too. They're long, but they might help because I'm chatting with guys who have some success as employees or freelancers and who are on their own journeys. For the minute, they're listed here.
 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Man that pumped me up, 10K is my goal as well.

The less help you receive from outsiders, the better you'll feel when you have that sweet 10K in your hands because you earned it.

So saying that, go get that 10K, I'm cheering for you (after I get first place of course ;))!
We got this man!

Man you can do it!

I was shooting for 10K in 12 Months because I work full time and have a new kid. I made that goal in 6 Months. Keep plugging along!

I'm in the t-shirt business so if you need any tips let me know. I've tried Teespring and was mildly successful but it's a really tough gig. Can be done though.

Find your groove and go!
Thats awesome! Good luck with your kid!

I might shoot you a message or two with some questions.

Have you checked out the Gold "Starting a web agency" thread by @Fox ?

If you're already making money at web design, then why not "grow what you know" rather than try to get another idea off the ground?

Maybe the interviews and chats I've done that are up on Soundcloudmight help too. They're long, but they might help because I'm chatting with guys who have some success as employees or freelancers and who are on their own journeys. For the minute, they're listed here.
I have read it, yup. But as I am not based in US I haven't yet found a way to get new customers out there.

I have read and listened to some of your content, but as there is SO MUCH of it(tnx btw), I haven't gotten around to all of it yet.
 
Last edited:

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,563
68,692
Ireland
I have read it, yup. But as I am not based in US I have no way to cold call people from US and emailing them doesn't work(Sent about 100+, 0 responses)

I have read and listened to some of your content, but as there is SO MUCH of it(tnx btw), I haven't gotten around to all of it yet.
Where there's a will there's a way. ;)

If you want to sell websites in the US/UK etc, then "just" find a way. (I know that's easier than it sounds, but who wants easy eh?)



Also, don't neglect what's right under your nose. Myself and Nico talk about that quite a bit in our call (probably the second half of the call).





Yeah... I churn out a lot of content. I don't want to turn people into consumers, but for the moment, just recording conversations I'd have anyway seems to help people. Maybe later I'll get round to editing them and making them shorter, except building my own business is my priority.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Where there's a will there's a way. ;)

If you want to sell websites in the US/UK etc, then "just" find a way. (I know that's easier than it sounds, but who wants easy eh?)



Also, don't neglect what's right under your nose. Myself and Nico talk about that quite a bit in our call (probably the second half of the call).





Yeah... I churn out a lot of content. I don't want to turn people into consumers, but for the moment, just recording conversations I'd have anyway seems to help people. Maybe later I'll get round to editing them and making them shorter, except building my own business is my priority.
Let me edit that answer to the one with no excuses. When I wrote that I was like "rly dude you have NO way?".. Not the right mindset to have.

Are you refering to this https://soundcloud.com/andy-black-605183154/growing-a-local-lead-gen-business
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,563
68,692
Ireland
Let me edit that answer to the one with no excuses. When I wrote that I was like "rly dude you have NO way?".. Not the right mindset to have.

Are you refering to this https://soundcloud.com/andy-black-605183154/growing-a-local-lead-gen-business
That was a good call, but I meant the back half of this call:
(You can read the comments in the thread too to get a feel for what was said.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,563
68,692
Ireland

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Well done. US? UK?
Both US

A bit of background:

One is actually my existing client that is now starting a clothing line. Of course in order to do that he needed a designer. So I setup a meeting with the designer to discuss the products and what they plan to do with the website.

Turns out, the designer made his own website on square space. During the meeting, he made a complaint that he wasn't getting the conversion rate that he wanted so I gave him a few tips and pointed out the bad. And in the end he asked me to redo his website, and get on my maintenance plan.

 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
UPDATE: Finally got my brother to cold call from US as he is currently staying in the states.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
UPDATE: I just found out that you can buy skype subscription for like 9$/mo and have unlimited calls to US. This is a game changer. Tommorow im starting.

Will post results.
 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
UPDATE: I realized that there is more to selling over the phone then just "wanna buy a website"(not literally) so I took my time to learn about cold calling and using scripts etc.

Not I have a script for gatekeeper, for decision maker, for the meeting(I won't be reading every word of it, it is just to guide me)
List of 29 potential companies that I will call
A way to call

There is nothing left to do except to pick up the phone and call those 29 companies tomorrow.

I would say wish me luck but I don't really like luck.
 

458

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
343%
May 21, 2011
1,144
3,919
UPDATE: I realized that there is more to selling over the phone then just "wanna buy a website"(not literally) so I took my time to learn about cold calling and using scripts etc.

Not I have a script for gatekeeper, for decision maker, for the meeting(I won't be reading every word of it, it is just to guide me)
List of 29 potential companies that I will call
A way to call

There is nothing left to do except to pick up the phone and call those 29 companies tomorrow.

I would say wish me luck but I don't really like luck.

You need more companies to call, you should call 200-500 min...
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
You need more companies to call, you should call 200-500 min...
This is just a test run. Something to start with.

I will for sure make bigger lists, there is no shortage of companies with bad websites.

Thanks for the tip.
 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
I didn't call ANYONE... I was afraid of something. For 3 hours I sat there and looked at the dialed number and just couldn't do it. I don't know what the fu*k happened..

I'll try again tomorrow

On a better note, I just got my first 4 figure job(CCA 1000$ might be even more), via email. So there's a plus and a minus to today o_O
 

458

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
343%
May 21, 2011
1,144
3,919
I didn't call ANYONE... I was afraid of something. For 3 hours I sat there and looked at the dialed number and just couldn't do it. I don't know what the fu*k happened..

I'll try again tomorrow

On a better note, I just got my first 4 figure job(CCA 1000$ might be even more), via email. So there's a plus and a minus to today o_O

Lol, your making it out as more than it is.. There is no "what ifs" to think about because there's only "will happens". The following WILL happen:

1. Gatekeeper will handle you
2. You'll get yelled at
3. You'll be told to jump off high ledges
4. You'll be told to get a real job
5. They will tell you that you have the wrong number when it is actually them
6. They'll tell you he's dead when your actually talking to him
7. They will ask you who you are several times even after you repeatedly tell them your name and company
8. And of course a lot of hanging up

But then after all of that, someone will finally listen, then your ready to obsess over your mistakes, which you'll make a whole list of those too.

Good luck
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Well, I did it, once you get going it's not that bad. It was all in my head.

And let's just say that I am closer to my goal by around 1500$(not final) :rockon::rockon:
 

andrewhook

Bronze Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
185%
Oct 22, 2016
94
174
27
Italy
Is building websites your fastlane or a way to raise funds and make a living? :)
 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
I'm 18, so I don't have to raise any funds.

It's more of a way to get some income so I can finance some other ventures in the future.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Excuse my ignorance but is $6,000 USD the minimum wage salary?

I am not sure for the US. There I was referring to Croatia and a yearly income of 6000 USD which is around 42208 Croatian Kunas. Making the monthly minimum wage of 3500 Croatian Kunas(It's a bit less actually) which would account for around 500 USD.

Of course, the living standard is not the same but still, its VERY little money.
 

Chimp

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
190%
Sep 30, 2016
96
182
43
I am not sure for the US. There I was referring to Croatia and a yearly income of 6000 USD which is around 42208 Croatian Kunas. Making the monthly minimum wage of 3500 Croatian Kunas(It's a bit less actually) which would account for around 500 USD.

Of course, the living standard is not the same but still, its VERY little money.
Yeah, I meant is 6k USD the average salary for croatia. Very interesting, good luck!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Just writing this to keep myself on track.

So the guy from this post (https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/need-help-with-pricing-negotiating.71622/) still hasn't replied to my email and it bummed me out a bit. I've sent it Friday morning 2am my time(Europe), so I am still expecting a reply on Monday or Tuesday, if not, well fu*k it, what can you do.

To not get all pity over myself I made a 100 prospect list for cold calling and this week I want to land my legit first 5k deal over the phone.

I've picked up Belfort's Straight Line Persuasion and some books and it's go time for real now.

Regarding my existing clients, still finishing up the 1k deal and some smaller ones, got a new lead from my website(from the signature on one of my client's website actually.) but that will probably be a 300-500$ website, we will see.
 

DVU

In Progress
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Sep 24, 2016
256
603
25
Croatia
Haven't posted an update so here we go.

I gave this "venture" of mine a real thought and realized that if I want to go anywhere with this I shouldn't do this alone. I know I posted before this that I will do the sales myself, but it will be faster and a lot more efficient if I hire someone with real experience to do it. And, It allows it to grow a lot more than with just a one man team.

----

In the past two months, I have made calls, made sales, but haven't finished anything because for some reason people like to drag the simplest things to infinity and some just bailed on me. Just one of the reasons I want to work with "bigger" clients. If I finished every project that I had right now I would be at 50% of my goal(5k). If. Yeah.

In 3 months It will be a year since I started this "web design" thing and I want to end year one with some bigger numbers. One month after that is the initial goal set with this thread and I KNOW that it will be checked off as a done goal of mine.

Knowing that, I want to put myself in a position to grow. So as mentioned above I got a sales guy.

He is a guy I know trough my brother and has been working in a call center for Deutsche Telekom. Technically he wasn't a sales guy there but they had to pitch products to people that called and he HAS experience, a lot more than I do. And something I learned is that you shouldn't do everything yourself, especially if you want to grow.

Based on fox's models of finding clients(Google the business type and city name and click trough the results, find bad websites, call them up) I found a LOT more effective way of doing it. In fact, I am quite sure that as long as I will be doing web design, my current sales guy, and future ones should run out of numbers to call. In maybe 8 hours of doing this I have found around 350 numbers.

Capture.PNG

So what now?

I gave my sales guy SLP from Belfort to watch, we compiled a script (new one, based on Belfort's script) and on Monday he is starting. I will supply him with numbers and design the websites and he will call.

Let's see how this goes.
 

David Kotevski

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
71%
Mar 4, 2016
38
27
31
Haven't posted an update so here we go.

I gave this "venture" of mine a real thought and realized that if I want to go anywhere with this I shouldn't do this alone. I know I posted before this that I will do the sales myself, but it will be faster and a lot more efficient if I hire someone with real experience to do it. And, It allows it to grow a lot more than with just a one man team.

----

In the past two months, I have made calls, made sales, but haven't finished anything because for some reason people like to drag the simplest things to infinity and some just bailed on me. Just one of the reasons I want to work with "bigger" clients. If I finished every project that I had right now I would be at 50% of my goal(5k). If. Yeah.

In 3 months It will be a year since I started this "web design" thing and I want to end year one with some bigger numbers. One month after that is the initial goal set with this thread and I KNOW that it will be checked off as a done goal of mine.

Knowing that, I want to put myself in a position to grow. So as mentioned above I got a sales guy.

He is a guy I know trough my brother and has been working in a call center for Deutsche Telekom. Technically he wasn't a sales guy there but they had to pitch products to people that called and he HAS experience, a lot more than I do. And something I learned is that you shouldn't do everything yourself, especially if you want to grow.

Based on fox's models of finding clients(Google the business type and city name and click trough the results, find bad websites, call them up) I found a LOT more effective way of doing it. In fact, I am quite sure that as long as I will be doing web design, my current sales guy, and future ones should run out of numbers to call. In maybe 8 hours of doing this I have found around 350 numbers.

View attachment 13950

So what now?

I gave my sales guy SLP from Belfort to watch, we compiled a script (new one, based on Belfort's script) and on Monday he is starting. I will supply him with numbers and design the websites and he will call.

Let's see how this goes.
I think you'll easily reach your goal. With the $5k you have now you can do alot more damage then at the beginning.
May be invest in a few more sales people and advertise like crazy and I think if you were already finding client keep doing what you're doing and now just invest in area which save you the most time to really focus.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top