What's new

Search results

  1. Jon L

    Construction business question

    I have to second the 'rent the equipment' idea. Dumping $250k on used equipment where you already expect to only get back 60% when you sell is a bad idea. You'd take a loss of $100K. Even if you make little profit because you rented the equipment, you can test the waters to see how good the...
  2. Jon L

    Great CRM and E-Mail Marketing Service to get started with?

    MARKETING 
    I use Pipelinedeals.com. Its awesome. But probably not suited for your needs. Check out https://www.g2crowd.com/ That site does an amazing job of collecting a vast number of reviews of various software packages. It's helped me find a few pieces of software that have really helped my...
  3. Jon L

    Should I trust this guy?

    LANDFILL 
    Handling feedback well, regardless of how constructive it feels to you, is an important skill to have. This is something I think you need to work on. Here's why: Future scenario: You sell something to someone who gets incensed over some small detail that didn't go well. He calls you all...
  4. Jon L

    Should I trust this guy?

    LANDFILL 
    There's a thread on here somewhere where someone talks about how to start on Craigs List from basically 0, buying and selling stuff until you pile up enough cash to matter. Its a very good read. Search for it. I think it something like 'how to make $500 as a teenager' or something like that...
  5. Jon L

    Burn the Ships - what are you experiences ?

    MINDSET 
    Ideally, you would start your fastlane business on the side, and then build it up to a point where it was producing enough cash to quit your day job. For me, that wasn't really an option. Here was my situation, and its not ideal: 1) I was not working smart enough in my day job to make enough...
  6. Jon L

    Should I trust this guy?

    LANDFILL 
    for the OP: from your questions, you're in a spot where you don't know what you don't know about business yet. I do think you're right to trust your gut, but the fact that you're asking this question means you don't have the experience to do this kind of deal. There's all sorts of things that...
  7. Jon L

    What about Ethics?

    MINDSET 
    we all post some fairly personal and business-sensitive stuff on here. I don't use my full name or my company name because I don't want clients googling and finding how I 'make my sausage.'
  8. Jon L

    What about Ethics?

    MINDSET 
    You could look at any business that way. I sell custom programming services. I hire people in low-cost-of-living countries and charge my clients many times what I pay my developers. However, I've also spent considerable time developing a whole bunch of stuff (expertise, management, systems)...
  9. Jon L

    How to guarantee the developer won't steal the idea?

    IDEA 
    on that note...I use developers in Pakistan and am based in the US. I have a sales employee in Pakistan who is able to drive to the developer's house and yell at them if need be. (we've needed to do this on more than a few occasions). I also have a developer in Portugal that is amazing to...
  10. Jon L

    Should I learn programming or pay someone?

    WEB/DIGITAL 
    I think the OP should hire my company to write his software ... if he is still interested ... though, given the fact that the thread was started in 2011, he might have moved on. I would also charge considerably more than $500, so ... nevermind.
  11. Jon L

    How to guarantee the developer won't steal the idea?

    IDEA 
    This. Precisely. I have a company that writes custom software. I am very entrepreneurially minded. With one guy, I signed a contract that said I wouldn't compete with him. I'm fine with that because I don't want to compete with him. Another product, I'm taking a percentage of equity for a...
  12. Jon L

    You already know enough

    MINDSET 
    I've been thinking about why I didn't start my entrepreneurial journey much earlier. (I'm 42). I should have. Would I have created the same company back then that I did now? No. I wouldn't have known nearly enough to do the kind of work I do now. BUT. I would have been able to make...
  13. Jon L

    Contacted by a competitor, any possible advantage to dealing with them?

    I'm in software development myself (custom business software). I've thought about your situation over the weekend...I'd definitely say No, and explain to them that you're actually in the process of developing a competing product. I'd do this in an email so you have proof of the conversation if...
  14. Jon L

    Contacted by a competitor, any possible advantage to dealing with them?

    Do they know that you're a competitor? Seems really odd that they'd come to you for this.
  15. Jon L

    Laravel vs Codeigniter vs Fuelphp

    I'd say that language/framework is the least important concern (ok ok ... don't use LISP). First, find a development team you can trust that will do good work for what you need. If they do PHP, that's fine, as long as they build good stuff. My PHP team has built stuff used by fortune 500...
  16. Jon L

    Lacking grit.........How do I fix it?

    HOT! MINDSET 
    I think you're WAY too worried about the opinion of some book (and random people on the internet that don't know you). The answer to that? Go do stuff. Creating a successful business can be accomplished with the following plan: 1) create a SIMPLE plan (with as few steps as possible) 2) Take...
  17. Jon L

    Opening a restaurant! (I'm 17)

    HOT! 
    I don't want to pile on TOO much, but what you just said is a bit like saying: Here's a process for creating a company that is insanely profitable. Follow this, and you'll be a billionaire: 1) create a brand-new product that is insanely desirable and patent it 2) make sure it is something...
  18. Jon L

    Jonathan's Fastlane Idea: 'Study Buddy'

    IDEA 
    I think you need to put some more thought into this. Here's an example: Ebay processes about $50B in orders every year. Just a fraction of that would make you a very rich man. However, very, VERY few ebayers make more than a few hundred dollars a year. Most people trying to make money on...
  19. Jon L

    Jonathan's Fastlane Idea: 'Study Buddy'

    IDEA 
    Great post by the way. Is your market size really 640,000? I mean ... are there 640,000 people in your country that are willing to part with $200/month for a service such as yours? The size of the car market in the US, for example, isn't the number of people that would like to buy a car. For...
  20. Jon L

    Anyone Have Experience In Hiring Sales Staff?

    EXECUTION 
    yeah I've had the same experience with hiring sales people. In this case, though, I've worked with her for years at a previous job. She is *really* good.

Welcome to an Entrepreneurial Revolution

The Fastlane Forum empowers you to break free from conventional thinking to achieve financial freedom through UNSCRIPTED® Entrepreneurship where relative value and problem-solving are executed at scale. Living Unscripted® isn’t just a business strategy—it’s a way of life.

Follow MJ DeMarco

Fastlane Resources

Get The Books that Change Lives...

The Fastlane entrepreneurial strategy is based on the CENTS Framework® which is based on the three best-selling books by MJ DeMarco.

mj demarco books
Back
Top Bottom