Search results
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The Oft-Repeated Pattern of Stakeholder Demotion and Entrepreneurial Opportunity
HOT!On a smaller scale, I saw the same pattern when I worked for an ERP software startup: Startup made something their clients loved. Sold like crazy. I was a support tech, and our job was to make the clients happy--no matter how long that took. A robust internal training program created a deep...- NMdad
- Post #10
- Forum: Ideas, Concept Feedback
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PL SQL Query!
I've worked with Microsoft SQL Server for the past 20 years, but I have no formal background in computer science or software--everything I've learned has been on-the-job learning. I have a narrow area of expertise, almost entirely limited to using SQL with one specific ERP software application...- NMdad
- Post #5
- Forum: Books and Educating Yourself
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Stumbled onto a product people want but isn't available, how to move forward?
Are there similar glazed items--like in a completely different niche, maybe even B2B? If you can identify some, then you can find out how & who makes those.- NMdad
- Post #12
- Forum: Product Development, Importing, Sourcing
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Job Offer After College - $17 an hour - Demotivated, should I take it?
FTEWhen I decided to switch careers & go into IT, I had bare bones experience--like I had hand coded some web pages (this was back in 1998) and installed a printer. My degree was in psychology, I had moved to a new city, and my prior job was teaching kids about nature. AOL wouldn't even give me an...- NMdad
- Post #17
- Forum: General Business Discussion
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How do you price your software?
WEB/DIGITALPrice depends on what the specific market niche will bear, and the value your software provides. Some apps charge per user while others charge per organization. App prices targeting B2C are typically lower than for B2B. I used to work for an on-premise ERP vendor in a B2B niche, where the...- NMdad
- Post #5
- Forum: Business Models, Niches, Industries
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Small Scale Manufacturing Machines
HOT!I feel this. Another limiting belief for me was the time required to learn 3D modeling & printing, combined with microelectronics, since I have a couple product ideas that combine both the 3D & electronics. I know a teensy bit, but not enough to make prototypes. So, I hired a high-school...- NMdad
- Post #8
- Forum: Business Models, Niches, Industries
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From $575k in 2018 to $1.1M in 2019. Now what?
Agreed. You might want to check out Jay Abraham's book "Getting Everything You Can From All You've Got". On a slight tangential note, you might also be interested in @eliquid's post about alignment & fulfillment, since it might give you clarity about what you want to focus on: HOT TOPIC - Not...- NMdad
- Post #23
- Forum: Ideas, Concept Feedback
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The 2020 Fastlane Summit "Social" Thread
HOT! MEETUPSMe too--count me in on any hike!- NMdad
- Post #43
- Forum: Networking and Meet-Ups
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What do you guys think of Sara Blakely's Masterclass?
HOT!Totally agree with this. For example: How Malcolm Gladwell deconstructs & reveals his writing & interviewing processes/tactics/strategies. How Tom Morello talks about breaking up guitar practice into 4 segments, which each have a different focus. How Gordon Ramsay chooses & then highlights...- NMdad
- Post #24
- Forum: General Business Discussion
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Non-Business Book Recommendation Thread
HOT!Endurance by Alfred Lansing The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Time of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen And like @Kak mentioned, biographies of early industrialists: Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc.- NMdad
- Post #35
- Forum: Books and Educating Yourself
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Need some direction to my problem
If you're basically cloning another site/business, what value skew(s) will you have? Otherwise, it sounds like you'd just be building a castle on sand.- NMdad
- Post #4
- Forum: Business Models, Niches, Industries
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Can You Escape the Giants in an Online Business?
SOCIAL MEDIA RANTHow you acquire customers depends a lot on your target market. For example, I'm building a B2B SAAS for a very niche market, and the only relevant channel from the big 4 would be Google/YouTube for organic traffic--though that'd likely be a trickle. Since I have a lot of experience in the...- NMdad
- Post #29
- Forum: General Business Discussion
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Outsourcing, Specifications & Project Management
PEOPLEThis has worked well for me in hiring contractors: When you post the job, include 1 or 2 small tasks that applicants need to complete. For example: ask them to include a goofy word--like frijoles--at the top of their reply. That way, you easily weed out people who aren't detail-oriented &...- NMdad
- Post #2
- Forum: Managing People, Relationships
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Hello people! Does anyone find that taking on too much work makes you feel overwhelmed sometimes?
MINDSETYes, but having lots of work is a good problem to have: More work generates more revenue, which reduces stress about paying your bills. More work means you can practice delegating & building systems to get the work done. (Yeah, you probably think none of your work is delegate-able; that's a...- NMdad
- Post #8
- Forum: Mindset and Self-Development
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Health Insurance Dilemma
I'm in a sorta similar situation--self-employed with an s-corp--and for myself, wife, and 2 kids--all relatively healthy, we pay over $1,400/month in premiums. F'ing crazy. Yeah, other countries might have high tax rates, but people there don't pay insane health insurance & care costs.- NMdad
- Post #4
- Forum: Mindset and Self-Development
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need some help
If the problem is that you're not actually doing the work--like procrastination--then creating accountability would likely help, especially by publicly committing to take a specific, well-defined action within a specific timeframe.- NMdad
- Post #2
- Forum: Books and Educating Yourself
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Restarting the Engine After a Semi-failed Niche Attempt
FTE EXECUTIONI like your #2 strategy of infiltrating a niche association--especially helping the keynote speaker, who can then introduce you to prospects. Industry associations can be good sources of prospects/clients, since you can often get a list of their members--or at least their leadership, who are...- NMdad
- Post #5
- Forum: Process and Execution
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Trade Mark - Choosing a Lawyer
It's best to find an IP attorney who specializes in what you need. For example, if you want to do a trademark for a brand of dog food, ideally find an attorney who's done consumer-based, food-based trademarks. Likewise with patents: you wouldn't want an IP attorney doing your...- NMdad
- Post #4
- Forum: Legal, Tax, Regulation
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I'm not planning to work all that hard
EXECUTIONI hear ya. We're part of a club of self-employed who've built a job for ourselves (where our expertise is difficult to delegate), but want/need to transition from hours-for-dollars--especially as we get older. You might consider: Instead of devoting 1 week/month on a prototype (i.e., 25...- NMdad
- Post #3
- Forum: Process and Execution
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How has business success changed you?
HOT! MINDSETGreat question. Offhand, I'd say: Realizing that I CAN achieve things--so long as I take enough action long enough. Like Andy Frisella says: If you do the work and make a plan, it will f*cking happen. More abundant mindset. Need more money? Make some more. More personal responsiblity. Asking...- NMdad
- Post #20
- Forum: Mindset and Self-Development
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