15 months later. You might want to read this.

[GuestUser140]

What an acheivement Michael congrats and thanks for the thread.

I have a few questions, when you started out were you focused on a particular market or were you just buying and selling anything? If you were buying and selling anything how did you build a brand around it? Did you brand yourself as a buy and sell anything type of a store?

In terms of tax how did you structure your business at the beginning? did you do more offline transactions to beat the taxman? If it was online were you paying any tax? If not then how when everything is tracked online?

Focused on one thing from the start. It doesn't take half a brain to know what sells best. Be driven by popularity rather than margins, 8% margins buy you a Ferrari if you got need/demand/volume on your side.

Your problem is that you're worrying about taxes before you've even earned a dime. Get an accountant. You want to be a business that hands out invoices with warranty. A company people tell each other about, not just a dodgy guy trying to make a quick buck. It's good to think about how you can maximize your bank account, but use your creativity on a different playing field. Aka, "how can I make more people buy from me?"

 

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

[GuestUser140]

Not directed at anyone specifically, but I just don't get people posting hustling stories on a Fastlane forum and minutes later coming up with ideas for their proper business which is going to make them all their millions.. they have their $M-baby right in front of them without even knowing.

An example. Say you "hustle" bicycles on CL. $40 here and $40 there.

What keeps you from taking the next step?

What keeps you from buying 10 bicycles this week, then 14, then 18, .... then 200 sold by this Christmas? Push yourself. It'll teach you more about life/negotiating/people/money management/marketing/advertising than anything else.

I bet many of you guys know that a subset of race/MTB enthusiasts import their carbon frames directly from China. What keeps you from learning everything about importing on here, studying MTB forums, gauging need, forging connections and go to where the action is?

If individual consumers can save serious money importing their own gear, there must be opportunity. Problem is often quality control. Study this. Can you make an offer they can't refuse? High-end bikes at a fraction of retail, with warranty? Sponsor up-and-coming talent to spread the word? Connect with the demographic, build a brand, ship fast, solve problems fast. Next thing you know...

Food for thought.

 

[s168]

@MichaelGrey

Excellent thread from you that I recently stumbled across. Lots of good info given here. Fastlane forumites, both young and old, can learn much from you.

 

[bboyu]

Focused on one thing from the start. It doesn't take half a brain to know what sells best. Be driven by popularity rather than margins, 8% margins buy you a Ferrari if you got need/demand/volume on your side.

Your problem is that you're worrying about taxes before you've even earned a dime. Get an accountant. You want to be a business that hands out invoices with warranty. A company people tell each other about, not just a dodgy guy trying to make a quick buck. It's good to think about how you can maximize your bank account, but use your creativity on a different playing field. Aka, "how can I make more people buy from me?"

Focused on one thing from the start. It doesn't take half a brain to know what sells best. Be driven by popularity rather than margins, 8% margins buy you a Ferrari if you got need/demand/volume on your side.

Your problem is that you're worrying about taxes before you've even earned a dime. Get an accountant. You want to be a business that hands out invoices with warranty. A company people tell each other about, not just a dodgy guy trying to make a quick buck. It's good to think about how you can maximize your bank account, but use your creativity on a different playing field. Aka, "how can I make more people buy from me?"

How do you personally decide what to sell? Whats you're process to be able to know this will be worth my effort and focus?

 

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

[s168]

@bboyu
I would expect that comes down to working in a market that you know something about, otherwise it's simply research and testing.

Entrepreneurs can spot tons of money making opportunities around them all the time. But it's not feasible to go after them all, so one must focus on one of them that meets their criteria for a good business to get into. It comes down to what value you can offer to your given market.

IMO the market demand is everything. If there is no demand then there is no money to be made. How can there be if people don't want it, and don't need it. But if you hear about people doing things in a not-so-slick fashion and you can do it for them in a better, faster, cheaper, more convenient way, then you have a money maker there.

I think you're over complicating things unnecessarily here. And to ask someone to help you decide how best to determine what venture would be suitable for you is never a good question.

 

[GuestUser140]

How do you personally decide what to sell? Whats your process to be able to know this will be worth my effort and focus?

You don't get it - just yet.

I hear "you", "you", "my". I don't decide what to sell. My customers do. People out there have already decided what's needed / popular / in demand. They're already opening their wallets for it and handing over their hard earned cash.. You, the producer, should produce what consumers consume.

As far as "worth your effort" goes, I'd say can you see this thing putting $100 in your pocket in an hour's work in the near future? Can you see yourself selling 1 - 10 - 100 if you're life depended on it?

I used to like what I'm seling, and that's good because it makes you a genuine salesman. After 4000 units it gets old and you get numb to it. The only thing that matters now is keeping customers happy, improving little things here and there, and trying out new ideas regularly. I could care less about the specific product I'm selling at this point.

 

[bboyu]

You don't get it - just yet.

I hear "you", "you", "my". I don't decide what to sell. My customers do. People out there have already decided what's needed / popular / in demand. They're already opening their wallets for it and handing over their hard earned cash.. You, the producer, should produce what consumers consume.

As far as "worth your effort" goes, I'd say can you see this thing putting $100 in your pocket in an hour's work in the near future? Can you see yourself selling 1 - 10 - 100 if you're life depended on it?

I used to like what I'm seling, and that's good because it makes you a genuine salesman. After 4000 units it gets old and you get numb to it. The only thing that matters now is keeping customers happy, improving little things here and there, and trying out new ideas regularly. I could care less about the specific product I'm selling at this point.

Thank you for your reply.


OK then, whats thes best way to search the "market" as a whole to see where is the money being spent? Is there a universal way to do this regardless of the niche and product? If i went out today and wanted to stand infront of a stream of money thats being spent and sell something would i search the whole economy to see what's money being spent on? Whats the way to find out?

 

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

[s168]

Thank you for your reply.


OK then, whats thes best way to search the "market" as a whole to see where is the money being spent? Is there a universal way to do this regardless of the niche and product? If i went out today and wanted to stand infront of a stream of money thats being spent and sell something would i search the whole economy to see what's money being spent on? Whats the way to find out?

OMG.

 

[GuestUser140]

Thank you for your reply.


OK then, whats thes best way to search the "market" as a whole to see where is the money being spent? Is there a universal way to do this regardless of the niche and product? If i went out today and wanted to stand infront of a stream of money thats being spent and sell something would i search the whole economy to see what's money being spent on? Whats the way to find out?

Despite the wording, it's a legitimate question you got there.

I too wished I had an excel graph with all transactions in my country's economy neatly recorded. But then again, you don't need that.

Don't look too far. You're probably already using these products and if not, your neighbors do. In all seriousness, they are called "popular" for a reason.

Take a look:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers/zgbs

http://www.ebay.com/ctg

http://www.watchcount.com/searches.php?bcat=15032&bkw=&bsfsb=Show Me !&bcts=&bmx=bmdef#serp

http://www.walmart.com/c/popular/

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buy&subject=most_pop&story=popUsed


Compare to sold eBay listings, active CL listings, and get going.

 

[Devin Out]

I'm still climbing my mountain, but thanks.

Your age is a great starting point. If I could go back to the 20 year old version of me, this is what I'd tell him to do:

Learn about life, success and money. It's imperative that you understand why only a small minority of people are living a life worth living and the rest is paying bills till the day they die. The following media, read in this order, should help you understand.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (listen to the audiobook)
The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale (download audio from youtube)
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (listen to the audiobook)
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (listen to the audiobook)
The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss (listen to the audiobook)
Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech (watch on Youtube, then download audio and put it on your MP3)
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ De Marco (read paper/pdf version)
How to get Rich by Felix Dennis (paper/PDF version)

There's no manual for this type of life. Go by instinct, gut feeling. Sure, these books will help a ton. It's you and only you, however, who has to decide what to do today, tomorrow, or next hour. Don't doubt yourself so much. Just try things out. You've got nothing to lose and the whole world to gain. Action beats mental masturbation.

Spend your waking hours improving yourself. Dress well, eat healthy, think before you speak, brush your teeth a couple of times daily. Whatever you can think of that makes you better, do it. Doing things right means doing them right when no one else is watching. Give this short life your best shot.

Sleep 8-10 hours a night. Wake up early. Again, you decide if that's 5:00 or 7:30 AM.

Stop spending money.

Observe other people. Learn non-verbal language. Learn to negotiate.

Don't do things because people around you are doing them and you just happen to be there. I mean this in a sense of, don't feel obliged to go out and drink this Saturday if you know in your heart it's not really you and you'd rather have a Lambo in your twenties. It's ok to avoid the noise.

Work out 3-5 times a week.

Make a powerpoint presentation with all your goals in it. Collect pictures, snippets, be as detailed as possible. So not just "a" lamborghini but the black Gallardo Spider priced $xxx,xxx. Do this for everything: physical fitness, athletic accomplishments, dream girl, car, house, vacations, hobbies. Open the powerpoint often. Visualize you having accomplished all of that. What does it feel like? Use your emotions to give you relentless drive.

Look for angles. There has to be some way you can make money. Don't look for get rich quick things, how many millionaires do you know that used them? Right. Try to make $100 without a job. Your first $100. Go from there.

Don't be afraid of embarrassment while pursuing your goal. It's all part of being committed.

Money is not just for other people. It can be for you too. Expect a great, happy life.

And lastly, where do you want to be 5, 10, 20 years from now? Chances are big you're not going to be anywhere worthwile, just like most citizens in adultville. Unless you really want it. Do you want it? Then go get it. It's up to you now. You against the world, but you'll make it.

No if, ands, or buts about it, this post absolutely needs to be seen by more people. True emotion in these words, great transfer of energy. Do great things people, your time is right now in your chair as you read this. Not tomorrow, or the day after that. Get what's yours, be happy, be stress free.

 

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

[Brentnal]

This thread is great, hard work pays off.

 

[mikeyjd]

I too sell on Craigslist for many of my sales. I hit 100k sales 13 months into my journey and just hit 100k profit 17 months in. I'm facing many of the same challenges that you've faced regarding scalability of physical goods. I think persistance and patience will prove key as important relationships and connections are established over the ensuing weeks, months, years etc...

It's very encouraging to read about your success. I recognize that same fire to make every sale now! You can never get today back, and tomorrow will bring a full new day of opportunity and challenges. You're doing great work, I have confidence the best is yet to come for you

Here's my introduction https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-checking-in-from-michigan.64541/#post-506111

 

[GuestUser140]

I too sell on Craigslist for many of my sales. I hit 100k sales 13 months into my journey and just hit 100k profit 17 months in. I'm facing many of the same challenges that you've faced regarding scalability of physical goods. I think persistance and patience will prove key as important relationships and connections are established over the ensuing weeks, months, years etc...

It's very encouraging to read about your success. I recognize that same fire to make every sale now! You can never get today back, and tomorrow will bring a full new day of opportunity and challenges. You're doing great work, I have confidence the best is yet to come for you

Here's my introduction https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-checking-in-from-michigan.64541/#post-506111

Nice to see this thread was found again, roughly a year later!

I hope to post a very positive sequel in a short while.

I like your thread, and I think you could really surprise yourself by thinking hard about the following:

unit profit x units sold = total profit
a.k.a.
margins x sales = financial freedom

Essentially, what stands between you and financial freedom are margins and sales. How can you increase both?

Margins: buy lower (sourcing) - sell higher (addons, perceived value, ...)

Sales: marketing, product photography, copyrighting, advertising, sales skills, e-commerce, distribution, ...

Study the subjects above and that's how you double what you have now. Logical, simple, but few actually do it.

 

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

[mikeyjd]

Nice to see this thread was found again, roughly a year later!

I hope to post a very positive sequel in a short while.

I like your thread, and I think you could really surprise yourself by thinking hard about the following:

unit profit x units sold = total profit
a.k.a.
margins x sales = financial freedom

Essentially, what stands between you and financial freedom are margins and sales. How can you increase both?

Margins: buy lower (sourcing) - sell higher (addons, perceived value, ...)

Sales: marketing, product photography, copyrighting, advertising, sales skills, e-commerce, distribution, ...

Study the subjects above and that's how you double what you have now. Logical, simple, but few actually do it.

I make roughly 200% profit per deal on the average. Average sale being $256ish, average profit around $179. I'm sourcing my machines very inexpensively for the most part (most are $25 per) I outsource most of the repairs and all of the cleaning. I don't currently have a reliable delivery person, which is killing my $/hour numbers. We're averaging 2 sales per day roughly (60 machines per month) I do sell addons and services. This is difficult sometimes and can kill deals if you push to hard. I often use them as a bargaining chip to seal a deal.

I think my salemanship is probably my strong suit. I make mistakes just like anyone, but I can usually close a deal if I get someone on the phone.

Photography sets us apart, definitely. We photograph each machine outside in the best lighting possible. It makes our machines look amazing.

I don't really advertise much outside of craigslist (I usually have roughly 40 ads up). I've been getting a lot of repeat business and have a pretty good relationship with a couple rental property managment companies that are amazing to work with.

E-commerce is a virtual unknown for me at this point. I know that this is probably one of the next steps I should be taking to optimize what I have going. I could even be wholesaling machines considering the prices I can get them for. I just need to buckle down and network a little bit more to find the right relationships.

 

[GuestUser140]

You know what to do: set up a great looking website, get a good delivery guy, contact other rental property management companies,...

Especially the e-commerce part might definitely take you from "a guy" to "a brand". Doesn't mean you can't be personal and put pictures of yourself/your team up. It's not at all hard to build a webstore with services like Shopify.

You know the reason people buy from you, right? Make that your main message online. Also, it's good seeing orders come in throughout the day when you're doing something else. You're already putting up ads on CL, use the power of the internet to your full advantage.

Imagine a scenario where you are abroad, but see the orders coming in and make some calls/have procedures in place to get your team to handle incoming and outgoing stock. It's possible and can be a reality in less time than you'd think.

 

[BlakeIC]

Just finished reading this thread and your previous thread

Very very helpful information to me

I currently have around $450 to my name, lets see what I can make of it

 

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

[Sashioni]

What happened to Michael Grey? This was a great thread.

 

[Mazzolini]

So every sale this guy does is in person but not at a brick and mortar shop? And every purchase he has to drive to the person? How is this not destroying his time?

 

[Merging Left]

So every sale this guy does is in person but not at a brick and mortar shop? And every purchase he has to drive to the person? How is this not destroying his time?

He rented an office space (as opposed to a storefront/warehouse). He makes the sale on Craigslist and the customer drives to him to pick it up.

 

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