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.

Aim for singles or home runs?

gabeb1920

Bronze Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Feb 1, 2016
142
184
37
Wollongong, Australia
First off this may be a mute point because I am yet to start a business in spite of spending a lot of time learning about the topic. All the same it's still an interesting question:
Should I be only aiming for home run business ideas which are going to lead to my ultimate lifestyle or should I aim for singles which will incrementally add up?
@snowbank over at foreverjobless.com has spoken about his 4 step process to evaluate an idea and step 4 is to make sure the idea has the potential to fulfil your goals. But should this be your ultimate goal or just an incremental goal?

For example my ultimate goal is to build a lifestyle which has a yearly cost of around $600K. However I have multiple other incremental goals which I would achieve along the way:
  1. Create or acquire a series or single income producing asset separated from my time.
  2. Earn enough from these to replace my current income from my 9-5.
  3. Save enough to earn this level of income from 100% passive investments such as dividend paying stocks.
  4. Increase business and investment income to my ultimate lifestyle level of $600K per year or a level where I feel happy and satisfied.
As you can see there will be many business ideas that will satisfy the first couple of steps but may not have the legs to grow to fill my ultimate goals. So is it worth pursuing these smaller scale projects? Or would I be better off spending time finding that 1 big idea and throw all my energy into that?

As I said I haven't taken any real steps along this road apart from learning about it but perhaps that is doing me more harm than good?

I can see how it would be easy to develop an idea which fulfils the first couple of goals but ends up just being another job which would leave me just as busy as currently and would not allow me to scale because I'd be too tied up with the lower level business.

Anyway, I'd appreciate people's thoughts or references to any other resources when considering this.

Cheers

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

nradam123

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
165%
Mar 14, 2016
413
682
33
@jon.a and @biophase knows what they are talking about.
Lets also include Mark Cuban to keep my post in the same league :)

Typically this is how Mark Cuban build businesses –
  1. When you start a new company the key is to look for the low hanging fruit. A low hanging fruit is a customer who is willing to write you a check or commit to it. They should be ready to integrate your business into their daily life or daily business. So getting either a commitment in time or revenue is typically what you should look for.
  2. Since you have a commitment from the first customer you will be able to learn. You can observe how they use the product and stuff like that.
  3. Also start looking for the second customer. Hopefully you will get the second customer faster than the first one.
  4. Then look for the next customer. And the next one after that and so on. Also ask for referrals.
  5. By this time you should have a good understanding of your customers and your sales process. Just keep ramping up the sales from then and the business will speed up.

Maybe I will also add my 2 cents -
  1. Multiple source of income is great, but you need to start with one. And build it all the way up.
  2. Before you start a business test whether it can reach your goal (Think big, goal should be in several millions) in 3-5 years. Basically write a business plan if things goes extremely well. I had to get help from entrepreneurs in my area to make a business plan which includes: Checking your mindset -> Idea creation -> Idea evaluation -> Profit and loss statements/transactions/revenue/sales/margin/net-profit -> Forecast -> Team Building and financial planning -> Business Intelligence .etc. You CANNOT do it yourself, needs help. That is the number one mistake i made last year. Also check http://www.bplans.com.
  3. When you make business plan see if it can hit the CENTS commandments "if everything goes well".
  4. If steps above look positive you have the green light. Execute the business plan until everything becomes real.
  5. No excuses. No self doubt. No conflicting beliefs <-- These can kill you.
I 100% believes that executing a business should be done after a lot of evaluation and putting everything in numbers. You don't want to execute for 5 years and then look back and think "Wtf did i just build".

Also see if the business idea excites you or you won't work 20 out of 24 hours on your business.

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

minirich

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
113%
Sep 4, 2016
82
93
48
Austria
I don't play baseball, but in soccer I always try to score goals. :cool:
Me too.
And usually you score one goal after another. And after you have scored the first goal you know you can score again.

But as in bowling, to throw in another sport, you train to score strikes, you do not go after spears or bed posts (7-10 splits).

So now for business try to hit that single to the end (scale it up and/or make it passive) before you start a new one.
 

mayana

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
120%
Apr 26, 2011
984
1,183
Georgia, USA
I don't know anything about sports, so this thread kind of makes my head hurt lol.

That said, you have to make your first dollar before you can make $1 million. And while it is possibly to make millions from your first business, you probably won't. So start with the single, or whatever analogy you want to use, and after that, you won't ever need to ask this question again :)
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,517
Utah
If you're just starting and young, go for singles. Gain small wins. Ignore Fastlane stuff.

Overtime, you can start shooting for bigger hits; doubles, triples, homeruns.

The key in the whole thing once you gather up some wins is to eventually make it to a field where you can hit homeruns.
 

Chazmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
174%
May 23, 2013
465
811
USA
I also say go for singles at 1st. There's something to be said for adding up small victories because it will grow your confidence steadily and be much more enjoyable. Aiming too high too early only sets impossible expectations and that equals misery if you don't hit the lofty target. Misery is not the formula for a successful life.

I totally believe in 'going big', but gain traction first then worry about shifting into high gear.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
G

GuestUser155

Guest
Depends on your circumstances.

When you're young you can afford to go out and swing wildly. If you fail, you can start over with what you learned (more so than if you were to just be conservative and try only a few, calculated things out).

Although, you could look at it in the way that you're young, you don't need to rush. Take your time and explore.

Now, I don't know if 30 is old or not, or what your exact situation is, but if you can't dedicate all of your time and efforts into a home run (due to responsibilities, etc.) then don't. If you feel like you'd be happier taking things slow (which it sounds like, someone who didn't want to would be out doing it), then there's no shame in it. Dip your feet in the water. Learn to crawl before you run a marathon. Platitudes ad nauseam. Have enough passive income to support you so you can work on your home run.

Choose a decision that you know you can stick with and won't regret. Don't put other people's thoughts and expectations before yours.

But most importantly, take the first step. What use is the time you spent learning unless you put start doing?
 

458

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
343%
May 21, 2011
1,144
3,919
You should focus on one thing in a large enough market for long enough to determine success or failure. A .300 batter doesn't contemplate his stats when hes batting, he concentrates on the ball.
 

Fox

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
Forum Sponsor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
690%
Aug 19, 2015
3,881
26,766
Europe
If you're just starting and young, go for singles. Gain small wins. Ignore Fastlane stuff.

Overtime, you can start shooting for bigger hits; doubles, triples, homeruns.

The key in the whole thing once you gather up some wins is to eventually make it to a field where you can hit homeruns.

I was hoping you would add to this thread. Thanks MJ, great advice.

I know you are not a huge fan of referring back to your earlier days but do you mind elaborating on your small wins with the web development side of things when you first started (not Limos.com)?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

SparksCW

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
327%
Dec 14, 2015
256
838
38
South, UK
Don't try to run before you can walk.

Every small business can lead to bigger business if bigger business is the ultimate goal.

Sure some people go from zero to Facebook but the vast majority of people DON'T.

My current business could fulfil my lifestyle, but I'd need to be quite big in the industry to do so. However every day, every single day, I'm learning, improving, growing with the company. I see parallel industries and opportunities and a "single" soon turns into "home runs". And when my business is doing well enough I intend to use it to build on passive incomes/investments... and snowball from there...

For example... Mowing lawns might not seem a big business, but it might enable multiple spin offs in that company...

other services - i.e patio cleaning, gutter cleaning, etc etc
selling products - i.e patio cleaner, gutter cleaner
making products - i.e better patio cleaner, better gutter cleaner.

You can make millions from anything and everything if you dig deep enough, have PATIENCE and work hard. There are LOADS of millionaires out there that make their fortunes from the seemingly "boring".

However if you spend all your time thinking about hitting home runs instead of in the park practicing then you'll never get the lifestyle you desire.

Action.
 

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
18,566
68,699
Ireland
I like chipping away.

Dunno what sporting analogy I can make out of that...


I'm a big fan of the philosophy of "Pick a direction. Get started. Keep going."




Read this great article by Paul Graham:

I like this part in particular (my bolding):

Empirically, the way to do really big things seems to be to start with deceptively small things. Want to dominate microcomputer software? Start by writing a Basic interpreter for a machine with a few thousand users. Want to make the universal web site? Start by building a site for Harvard undergrads to stalk one another.

Empirically, it's not just for other people that you need to start small. You need to for your own sake. Neither Bill Gates nor Mark Zuckerberg knew at first how big their companies were going to get. All they knew was that they were onto something. Maybe it's a bad idea to have really big ambitions initially, because the bigger your ambition, the longer it's going to take, and the further you project into the future, the more likely you'll get it wrong.

I think the way to use these big ideas is not to try to identify a precise point in the future and then ask yourself how to get from here to there, like the popular image of a visionary. You'll be better off if you operate like Columbus and just head in a general westerly direction. Don't try to construct the future like a building, because your current blueprint is almost certainly mistaken. Start with something you know works, and when you expand, expand westward.

The popular image of the visionary is someone with a clear view of the future, but empirically it may be better to have a blurry one.
 

Azure

Perpetual Motion
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
189%
Mar 12, 2016
439
829
32
Sounds like you should aim to get into the game before you worry about singles or home runs.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jon L

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
272%
Aug 22, 2015
1,649
4,489
Bellevue, WA
I'm a big fan of the philosophy of "Pick a direction. Get started. Keep going."

Exactly. For me, I'm aiming for what I know I can hit right now, but I have an eye out for bigger stuff later on. I also have triggers set up along the way that will get me to take the next step when its time. Basically, I'm taking the stairs. Here's my path:

0) try misc other businesses (check)
0.1) read a lot (check)
1) Start freelancing on the side (check)
2) Quit job. (I got fired, so, Check)
3) turn freelancing full-time so it can pay the bills (check)
4) Hire people to do the work I was doing, and manage them (check)
5) build a product that we can sell (in process, so, not yet checked ... the trigger that I've tripped here is, 'if you can build a product that customers or someone else finances, go for it.' Later, the trigger might be 'if you have enough money to fund development yourself, go for it.')
6) sell the heck out of that product and expand more (not yet started)
7) not sure what #7 is ... part of Andy's 'blurry future' idea above ... it could be all sorts of things, but I don't know what just yet.
 

The Racing Driver

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
177%
Apr 20, 2015
182
323
UK
Depends on your circumstances.

When you're young you can afford to go out and swing wildly. If you fail, you can start over with what you learned (more so than if you were to just be conservative and try only a few, calculated things out).

Although, you could look at it in the way that you're young, you don't need to rush. Take your time and explore.

Now, I don't know if 30 is old or not, or what your exact situation is, but if you can't dedicate all of your time and efforts into a home run (due to responsibilities, etc.) then don't. If you feel like you'd be happier taking things slow (which it sounds like, someone who didn't want to would be out doing it), then there's no shame in it. Dip your feet in the water. Learn to crawl before you run a marathon. Platitudes ad nauseam. Have enough passive income to support you so you can work on your home run.

Choose a decision that you know you can stick with and won't regret. Don't put other people's thoughts and expectations before yours.

But most importantly, take the first step. What use is the time you spent learning unless you put start doing?


You're right, there's a ton of shit you can do when you're young, fail at, and have potentially very low downside. I've got my feet wet for sure, and well....you could say there's no need to wait any longer for the home run.

Already working in my singles business, though I'm happy committing more time to a potential home run and reducing time spent on my current business by outsourcing more operations.

Currently in the due diligence stage to figure out the workings and expected value from the potential home run idea...

Fantastic insights in this thread though!
 
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