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TheodoreA

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Hello, my name is Theodore and I'm an entrepreneur!

I stumbled across this forum a couple of days ago and have been lurking through the posts and found a ton of value. I've ordered the book (arrives tomorrow) and will try and power through it over the next few days. But for now, here's my introduction:

My name is Theodore and I live in the UK (Guildford, just South of London). I am 23 and currently work as an aircraft engineer. I achieved this job by completing an apprenticeship, and have not been to university. When I started my apprenticeship in 2012, my dream was to work my way up through the company, become a manager, and maybe one day earn over £100,000. However, after about a year, something I read would realign my goals entirely...

In 2013, a newspaper published an article about the CEO of the company I worked for and his salary. In one year, this man's had taken home over £10 million!! £10 million!! Here I was, aspiring to hopefully one day earn over £100,000, whilst this guy was earning over 100x that!! This got me very interested, and I started researching more and more about business owners and CEOs, and quickly realised that that is what I wanted! I imagined being able to pay myself £10 million in one year, the things that I could do, the places I could go, the difference I could make to the world.

So, I started reading. A quick google told me that reading was a trait shared by many of the rich, a lot even attributing reading almost entirely to their success. I went out and bought about 30 books, some on business, some on finance, psychology, public speaking, etc, etc, and I read. I would wake up and read, I would go on work breaks and read, I would get home and read, I would read, read, read. So, naturally, because of all of this reading, I became a business god.

Or so I thought. My first business that I tried to start was a men's beard and hair care business. It cost me about £100, I never launched it. My second was a social media marketing company. This one cost me about £600 to create, I launched, I couldn't get any customers, I got overwhelmed, I shut it down. The third was an e-commerce site selling men's clothes and accessories from smaller brands. It cost me about £1500 in total. I launched, I marketed, I marketed, I marketed, I marketed, I didn't make one sale, I closed it down. "Perhaps, I'm going about this the wrong way? Maybe I'll be better at buying and selling on something like Amazon?". I bought 50 kettles (don't ask me why). I tried to sell them to make a profit...I didn't make a profit.

And now here I am, stumbling around the internet googling "good business ideas" and asking myself "have i set my goals too high?":.

I like to think the answer is no. I believe that my problem thus far has been a lack of direction, a lack of understanding, a lack of perseverance. But, after reading around this forum, I feel hopeful. The value here looks astounding, the book looks great and I am pumped to restart my journey.

I shall forget everything I know, become a beginner, and rebuild my life.

Hello, my name is Theodore and I'm totally new to business.
 
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Almantas

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Hi!

You know what's one of the biggest traits of financially successful CEOs? They're master executioners.

Enjoy your stay!
 
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XxThelionxX

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Woooo! Another Fastlaner... You seem like you'll fit right in. Which book did you get?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

sparechange

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It's awesome you are going out and failing at things, just learn WHY and someday you will get it right, gl on the journey!
 

Dunkafelics

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Welcome to the forum @TheodoreA

Absolute kudos to you for starting with an idea and executing it with very little direction. I very much admire the fact that you weren't successful in the first three attempts at starting a business, but you dusted it off and are ready to get at it once again.

I would recommend picking up Unscripted as well while you are at it. Having both of these resources as a guide will give you a foundation to start from.

My only insight would be for the 4th business. Keep going! Get that first sale and do not stop until it happens. Take massive action and develop a product or idea that will absolutely help people all over.

I really enjoyed your introductory post and found it quite refreshing. All the best to you!
 

Michael Burgess

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Hahaha I got a good chuckle from the kettle comment! I've been through little blips and moves like that lol.

I'd echo something like what @Dunkafelics said. Get a business up and going, make a first sale, make a second sale after that, and keep pressing.

Stick with it until you've actually got a good little business going - it will evolve over time, but getting some real traction will be immensely satisfying for you. This first business that kicks off doesn't have to be "100% fastlane" or change the world overnight... but if you can build a business that makes $50,000 in profit a year, you're in a much better position to know how to make one hit $500,000 a year.

Get something going and keep pushing!
 
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Laughingman21

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As people have already said, you're taking action which is the main thing. You will never get anywhere trying to put together the perfect plan (trust me I should know).

Read the books and ask questions on this forum. I'm always amazed at how willing people on this forum are to give invaluable advice.

Keep going and you'll succeed.
 

Lex DeVille

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Some years ago I worked collections for this payday loan company. On our first day the floor supervisor came in and talked with a group of us about how great of an opportunity it was.

He said we could earn huge commissions collecting. Mentioned how most of us had probably never earned anywhere near the kind of money we could make there. Then he asked what other positions would give us that kind of earning potential. He didn't seem amused when I said "the owner" and asked to meet him.

Sadly the owner wasn't around often... I wonder why ;)

Didn't take long to get burnt out cold calling debtors 8 hours a day 5 days a week on an autodialer. Soon I was back on my entrepreneurial journey. I think that was the last full-time job I ever had.

But I had several failures before, during, and after that last full-time job. Cool thing is it's kinda like playing guitar or walking outside barefoot. Eventually your skin gets real thick. Setbacks, fears, doubts...you don't feel them no more.

Welcome to the forum.
 

WJK

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[become a beginner, and rebuild my life.

Hello, my name is Theodore and I'm totally new to business.[/QUOTE]

Theodore, if you never try, you have 100% chance of failing... so, get up, brush yourself off and figure it out! Have you learned anything from your failures? What truth, or truths, can you take away from each and everyone of them? It all part of the learning curve.

It sounds like the marketing is your weak link in the chain. What can you do to teach yourself to be a master salesman for your next future venture? How can you practice that skill set without breaking your piggy bank? How can you test market in the future before you go too far into your next business? It's OK to fail small and often. Remember, you can have a whole chain of failures, and you only have to hit pay dirt ONCE to make up for all of them!
 
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