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Calling All Salesman (Advice Needed!)

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

College Dropout

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Hello All!

I posted something similar to this in another thread but I thought it was deserving of a thread of its own.

As my username suggests, I dropped out of a college several months back and decided to pursue business by gaining some real-world job experience as opposed to sitting in a classroom listening to professors read off useless, common sense, business concepts from outdated textbooks. After coming home, I got an entry level sales job in the fitness industry and immediately fell in love with it. I've received almost no guidance from my company and have since taken to teaching myself the art of selling, with great success I might add. I wake up every morning excited to get to work and kill it! I listen to sales podcasts in shower, on the way to work, before bed, etc. When I wake up in the morning, I pitch myself in the mirror. When I take my breaks at work, I'm watching Grant Cardone on youtube. I am absolutely obsessed. I am actually teaching my general manager how to sell, believe it or not. The only issue is that while I'm learning an unbelievable amount and having a great time doing it, the job is just not positioning me for financial success. I'm making just above minimum wage before commission, and while I am doing well in terms of sales each month, I am still clearing less than $400 a week. I could do better working at the right fast-food chain. There is also little room for significant advancement in the company. I would like to be able to make a living wage and have room for more learning and advancement in the future. I don't plan on working for someone else my entire life, but for now, I'm having a blast in sales and growing each and every day. In addition, as MJ has said, if you don't know where to start as an entrepreneur, learn to sell.

Anyways, does anyone have any suggestions for a sales career path that would allow me to learn as much as possible while simultaneously making a living wage? I have considered car sales, insurance sales, real-estate, etc. I just don't want to feel stuck in my life as many who don't go to college seem to feel. I want to keep growing and learning. Eventually I would like to move into the sales-training realm, but, obviously, this would require quite a bit of experience first. I don't want to go back to school, since the curriculum appears so painfully irrelevant to what I would like to do.

I would appreciate any and all feedback!
 
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MrYoshi

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This guy has his own digital agency, but his team relies heavily on cold-emailing. You could possibly start your own digital agency in a specific niche or a leads generation company.

Alex Berman

I had to force myself to graduate from college and work in sales now. I think if you really want a position at a big company or even a medium-sized one you'll have to convince a sales manager or sales director that you're better than the others on the team. It's such a joke nowadays that people need to graduate from college to get a sales job. However, as long as you can work your way up and hit your quota, that is always a plus.
 

WJK

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It doesn't matter where you go from here. Just keep honing your skills. All experience counts, and it can be transferred from industry to industry. Over time, you'll own it. Those skills become a set of effortless, ingrained habits.

Selling is a primary threshold issue, and the basis of all commerce.
 

College Dropout

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This guy has his own digital agency, but his team relies heavily on cold-emailing. You could possibly start your own digital agency in a specific niche or a leads generation company.

Alex Berman

I had to force myself to graduate from college and work in sales now. I think if you really want a position at a big company or even a medium-sized one you'll have to convince a sales manager or sales director that you're better than the others on the team. It's such a joke nowadays that people need to graduate from college to get a sales job. However, as long as you can work your way up and hit your quota, that is always a plus.

I tried the whole “social media marketing agency” thing the summer after highschool and eventually got pissed off because it was so sketchy, for lack of a better word. All the info that I could find, including expensive paid programs, all seemed up in the air. It felt impossible to source real knowledge from people who have actually had proven success. Instead, everytime I went looking for decent info, I’d get hit with some bro- marketer running his mouth about absolutely nothing then asking me to download his “free e-book.” If I’m going to sell people, I want to actually be able to help them.
 
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College Dropout

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I tried the whole “social media marketing agency” thing the summer after highschool and eventually got pissed off because it was so sketchy, for lack of a better word. All the info that I could find, including expensive paid programs, all seemed up in the air. It felt impossible to source real knowledge from people who have actually had proven success. Instead, everytime I went looking for decent info, I’d get hit with some bro- marketer running his mouth about absolutely nothing then asking me to download his “free e-book.” If I’m going to sell people, I want to actually be able to help them.
Leads generation company....okay! That I can work with.
 

College Dropout

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This guy has his own digital agency, but his team relies heavily on cold-emailing. You could possibly start your own digital agency in a specific niche or a leads generation company.

Alex Berman

I had to force myself to graduate from college and work in sales now. I think if you really want a position at a big company or even a medium-sized one you'll have to convince a sales manager or sales director that you're better than the others on the team. It's such a joke nowadays that people need to graduate from college to get a sales job. However, as long as you can work your way up and hit your quota, that is always a plus.
Do you see other salesman with your company or elsewhere succeed without a degree? It’s absolutely ridiculous that high-paying sales jobs often require degrees. Nothing they teach in college is even remotely prepares you to sell professionally. It’s just a waste of four years that could be spent actually learning how to sell and run a business as opposed to sleeping through art-history courses and blacking out at frat parties. Thoughts?
 
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Goldstandard

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I would get a part time sales job. Any sales job. I'm lucky that as a business owner, I do all the sales. I get to practice everything I read. I've been reading a lot of Grant Cardone and Jeffrey Gittomer.
 

SvvyDO

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I was in insurance sales at the age of 19, trying to sell life insurance to 50-65 year olds.

I did that for 3 years, and it was the most valuable asset I've learned, even until this day.

I don't know about where you currently reside, but here, you don't need a college degree to get into insurance... They'll literally hire anyone (because they want your market).

I was also in retail sales for around two years and that was something completely different. I don't recommend it.

With insurance sales you'll force yourself to be in environments which might scare you at first (cold calling, talking to random people, going to networking events, etc.), and those are things that'll jump start your development the quickest.

But TBH.. Retail sales is much easier, because your customers come to YOU.

Insurance sales on the other hand, is more difficult because YOU need to go to THEM (..and gas, coffee, and lunch meet ups don't pay for themselves you know).

BUT, you learn priceless skills that'll carry with you forever.. (ecommerce? Marketing? product launches?.. Yeah, you'll be able to pick up on those REAL quick).

PS. My username stands for "Savvydropout".. A "savvy, college dropout" :smuggy:
savvydropout.com was my first "blog business" that failed miserably when I went the route of learning how to build businesses rather than continuing my college educations. :innocent: :halo:
 

Real Deal Denver

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The only issue is that while I'm learning an unbelievable amount and having a great time doing it, the job is just not positioning me for financial success. I'm making just above minimum wage before commission, and while I am doing well in terms of sales each month, I am still clearing less than $400 a week. I could do better working at the right fast-food chain. There is also little room for significant advancement in the company.

You are a frickin slave.

What do you want to hear here? $10 an hour is an insult. There. Now what?

If you can't find a company to pay you $100K a year, then make your own.

$100K / 52 weeks / 40 hours is $48 an hour. That's five TIMES what you're making now.

Highly doubtful anyone is going to pay you that, but not impossible.

Now you have your map to success. Chart your destiny. The next move is yours.
 
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MrYoshi

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You are a frickin slave.

What do you want to hear here? $10 an hour is an insult. There. Now what?

If you can't find a company to pay you $100K a year, then make your own.

$100K / 52 weeks / 40 hours is $48 an hour. That's five TIMES what you're making now.

Highly doubtful anyone is going to pay you that, but not impossible.

Now you have your map to success. Chart your destiny. The next move is yours.
This and I don't see anyone here without a degree. It's actually a joke at this point because they're all getting fired.
 

College Dropout

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Hello all!

A lot has happened since my last activity on this forum. Below I've detailed everything... for anybody who might want to read, offer insight, or just talk.

RECAP: Dropped out of College at 19, read Unscripted . Took MJ's Advice from the book and got a sales job at a gym I'd been working out at. Found I really enjoyed the excitement of selling but eventually got frustrated with the job.

UPDATE:

Looking back at this thread feels surreal. I'm sorry I forgot to thank you all for your advice, it was helpful to say the least.

I'm almost 21 now and these past 2-ish years have been insane.

Eventually, one of the members at the gym I was working at noticed my enthusiasm for selling and decided to offer me mentorship and a job. Turned out he owned an online software company that relied almost entirely on phone/email sales tactics to drive business.

He explained that he was looking for someone to eventually take over for him while he pursued investing full time. I spent the next year training with him until I was running a majority of sales and marketing strategies for the company. I designed and implemented successful email marketing campaigns, and closed hundreds of thousands of dollars in business. I made a point out of trying to get higher click-through rates and webinar engagement rates than my mentor and on several occasions I was able to do so.

I made about $55k my first fiscal year, moved into a luxury apartment (whoops), and gained a ton of insight into what a million dollar/year company built on nothing but 1's and 0's, an email list, and raw sales ability looks like from the inside.

I closed total strangers from my cellphone over and over and over again. I ran through sales videos, books, etc. like crazy. I was obsessed.

Long story short, I basically sold through their entire customer base in less than a year and increased revenue for that year by approximately 50% from the year prior. That was the figure I was quoted though I assume it was probably a bit lower.

I don't think I was all that good in actuality but I was enthusiastic, willing to do the work that nobody else wanted to do (cold calls, etc.), and the way the company had been operating up into that point gave me access to a huge base of loyal customers who had yet to be upsold as well as an innovative series of products available for upsell.

I was literally running the sales and marketing side of the company at 19. I was making tons of mistakes and I still don't think I'm that great of a salesperson in practice. But, somehow it worked. (at least until we ran out of leads but that's another story)

At one point I asked my mentor if he thought I was any good at selling and he responded by saying that he wouldn't have entrusted me with his financial security if he thought I wasn't capable of closing.

Still not sure if he was just amping me up. I definitely have self-confidence issues and have trouble gauging my own ability. (Again... another story.)

Anyway, I basically served the role of a consultant/ advisor for the company. I came up with new ideas and orchestrated the selling/ email process.

In one instance I identified a need for training covering common issues and questions I was hearing throughout my calls with our customer base.

My mentor and I came up with the idea for an event and made an additional 30k.

I found something that made us 30k.

Eventually, we ran out of leads and I got frustrated with not making enough money to support my lifestyle.

As of a few weeks ago, I've parted ways with my mentor and his company.

I've also tried my hand at real-estate and worked under a successful wholesaler as an Acq. Manager, closing deals for him.

He was a killer entrepreneur... at least it seemed like it. Though, I suppose he could have been full of it.

So, I know how real estate business works as well. I've put houses under contract, etc. I actually designed a lot of his sales processes but had a sort of mini FTE and basically decided I was being undervalued.

(and put a lot of money on the table for him for essentially free)

I've also tried my hand at business consulting and actually managed to close a "client" over lunch on a $250 package consisting of a few skype meetings. That lasted about a month.

My mentor gave me the idea of starting a sales strategy/training/ consulting firm to help small businesses (who often suck at sales) generate more revenue... basically what I'd done for him.

He wanted me to basically secret-shopper businesses and deliver a report with everything they could do to generate more revenue.

I've been playing around with the idea and recently acquired a luxury office space for dirt cheap.

The only thing that's been holding me back is the nagging gut feeling that I might not be qualified, that I'm not a good enough salesperson to help businesses and that I should sell a product or non-consulting service for a decade or two before trying to tell other companies what to do.


Up until this point: I've successfully cold-called and set meeting with investors, sold over email, text, webinar, skype, and in person. I've sold across 4 industries (fitness, software, consulting, real estate) and have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for people.

But, there's always different ways of looking at it. Maybe I wouldn't have been so successful if I didn't have my mentor's killer sales webinars and loyal customer base.

I think sales, in particular, is an industry where it's easy to exaggerate your wins despite the fact that you might suck in general. So, I won't try and make myself seem better than I am. I'm not even 21. I'm an idiot and I'm absolutely lucky. I worked hard. But still lucky as hell.

I'm still super socially anxious and I definitely feel awkward but I seem to have a fairly good understanding of human psychology and the psychology of selling.

I also feel that I could confidently provide business consulting services that could deliver some degree of value.

I'm an ENFP on the Myers Briggs and I think in thought maps, making connections and identifying opportunities that not everyone can see... especially when it comes to generating revenue.

And I've done so. However, set up for me it might have been.

The problem is... I'm 20.

I've been pitching 10k products to strangers over the phone while swiping through tinder.... hitting a vape pen... and cold calling millionaires.

I'm a dummy. I'm depressed, highly anxious, and socially awkward. Or at least it feels like it.

I'm not sure how much gets through to other people observing me.

I've taken up coaching a social media marketing agency owner I know and he's been singing my praises, helping me network, etc. He's trying to get me on a podcast as well. The people I've been talking to, pitching, and sharing my ideas with seem to believe in me as well. My parents, business owners, etc. seem to be giving me positive feedback.

I just don't want to be a fraud. Again, I don't think I'm that great in practice.

I think I've just had access to a lot great info/ experience early on and I've seen how far you can get with nothing but brains, b$lls, a phone, and a touch of craziness.

For instance, the real estate guy I worked for had his eyes on a supercar he'd wanted for years.

He hopped on facebook marketplace.... messaged as many people who'd listed that particular car for sale within several states of us... and eventually found a gentleman who was financially distressed and willing to both lend the car to him for $1500/mo for a single month and sell it to him for a fraction of the market price. He needed the money. The real estate guy then called a connection he had at a local sportscar dealership who agreed to purchase it for 20k more than what he would be paying for it.

The real estate guy is 20. Same as me. Maybe he was full of it. But these sorts of things happen all the time. Arbitrage has been around as long as people. It's not impossible.

And it's just words... think about it.... just words.

The right words in the right order with the right tone and the right body language at the right time = $20k in a weekend. That right there is what I'd been obsessed with since I was in highschool... reading through MJ's books and taking B.S. social media marketing agency courses.

Anyway...

I recognize that when it comes to actual value delivered I can probably do more for business owners than your average fast-talking "consultant."

I've considered lead generation as a more quantifiable, concrete way of helping businesses and I have access to plenty of people who could help me (social media marketers, copywriters, SEO experts, salespeople, etc.)

I've worked with, trained, and wrote phone scripts for virtual assistants so that could always be an option as far as cold calling is concerned. Cold calling and lead gen tends to suck/ be stressful.

I think I'm damn good at understanding how to put leads through a funnel and I have basically unlimited resources/manpower when it comes to high-quality media production, copywriting, etc.

Virtual assistants overseas (the Philippines for example) could benefit quite a bit from $50-$60/day.

If $50 gets me 500 cold calls + lead entry... with my scripting and the right margins... and I think I could sell in almost any industry. Again... maybe I'm delusional but it feels feasible.

I've managed to secure a shared luxury, professional-looking office space for $150/mo with no contracts. I'm sharing with two other people (the social media guy and his videographer.)

I've been offered recurring commission deals on any new clients I can close for them but frankly, I don't like the idea of essentially working as an inside salesperson in my own office.

Is it crazy to think I can just talk, take massive action... and find my way to a successful business (Fastlane or not) within a few years at 20?

Options I've Considered:

# 1 - Sales Consulting Agency

# 2 - Business Strategy Agency

# 3 - Lead Generation Business

# 4 - Copywriting

#5 - Email Marketing

#6 - 100% Outsourced Creative Agency

I think the biggest issue I'm having is a lack of confidence but I'm not sure if that's just a smokescreen for the fact that maybe I'm not all that qualified. Regardless... I feel that I could absolutely talk clients into paying me.

I know there's a lot of "I" and "Me" in this post but if anyone has any input or would like to share their own experiences, stories, etc. please do so!
 
Last edited:

College Dropout

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Nov 22, 2017
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Hello all!

A lot has happened since my last activity on this forum. Below I've detailed everything... for anybody who might want to read, offer insight, or just talk.

RECAP: Dropped out of College at 19, read Unscripted . Took MJ's Advice from the book and got a sales job at a gym I'd been working out at. Found I really enjoyed the excitement of selling but eventually got frustrated with the job.

UPDATE:

Looking back at this thread feels surreal. I'm sorry I forgot to thank you all for your advice, it was helpful to say the least.

I'm almost 21 now and these past 2-ish years have been insane.

Eventually, one of the members at the gym I was working at noticed my enthusiasm for selling and decided to offer me mentorship and a job. Turned out he owned an online software company that relied almost entirely on phone/email sales tactics to drive business.

He explained that he was looking for someone to eventually take over for him while he pursued investing full time. I spent the next year training with him until I was running a majority of sales and marketing strategies for the company. I designed and implemented successful email marketing campaigns, and closed hundreds of thousands of dollars in business. I made a point out of trying to get higher click-through rates and webinar engagement rates than my mentor and on several occasions I was able to do so.

I made about $55k my first fiscal year, moved into a luxury apartment (whoops), and gained a ton of insight into what a million dollar/year company built on nothing but 1's and 0's, an email list, and raw sales ability looks like from the inside.

I closed total strangers from my cellphone over and over and over again. I ran through sales videos, books, etc. like crazy. I was obsessed.

Long story short, I basically sold through their entire customer base in less than a year and increased revenue for that year by approximately 50% from the year prior. That was the figure I was quoted though I assume it was probably a bit lower.

I don't think I was all that good in actuality but I was enthusiastic, willing to do the work that nobody else wanted to do (cold calls, etc.), and the way the company had been operating up into that point gave me access to a huge base of loyal customers who had yet to be upsold as well as an innovative series of products available for upsell.

I was literally running the sales and marketing side of the company at 19. I was making tons of mistakes and I still don't think I'm that great of a salesperson in practice. But, somehow it worked. (at least until we ran out of leads but that's another story)

At one point I asked my mentor if he thought I was any good at selling and he responded by saying that he wouldn't have entrusted me with his financial security if he thought I wasn't capable of closing.

Still not sure if he was just amping me up. I definitely have self-confidence issues and have trouble gauging my own ability. (Again... another story.)

Anyway, I basically served the role of a consultant/ advisor for the company. I came up with new ideas and orchestrated the selling/ email process.

In one instance I identified a need for training covering common issues and questions I was hearing throughout my calls with our customer base.

My mentor and I came up with the idea for an event and made an additional 30k.

I found something that made us 30k.

Eventually, we ran out of leads and I got frustrated with not making enough money to support my lifestyle.

As of a few weeks ago, I've parted ways with my mentor and his company.

I've also tried my hand at real-estate and worked under a successful wholesaler as an Acq. Manager, closing deals for him.

He was a killer entrepreneur... at least it seemed like it. Though, I suppose he could have been full of it.

So, I know how real estate business works as well. I've put houses under contract, etc. I actually designed a lot of his sales processes but had a sort of mini FTE and basically decided I was being undervalued.

(and put a lot of money on the table for him for essentially free)

I've also tried my hand at business consulting and actually managed to close a "client" over lunch on a $250 package consisting of a few skype meetings. That lasted about a month.

My mentor gave me the idea of starting a sales strategy/training/ consulting firm to help small businesses (who often suck at sales) generate more revenue... basically what I'd done for him.

He wanted me to basically secret-shopper businesses and deliver a report with everything they could do to generate more revenue.

I've been playing around with the idea and recently acquired a luxury office space for dirt cheap.

The only thing that's been holding me back is the nagging gut feeling that I might not be qualified, that I'm not a good enough salesperson to help businesses and that I should sell a product or non-consulting service for a decade or two before trying to tell other companies what to do.


Up until this point: I've successfully cold-called and set meeting with investors, sold over email, text, webinar, skype, and in person. I've sold across 4 industries (fitness, software, consulting, real estate) and have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for people.

But, there's always different ways of looking at it. Maybe I wouldn't have been so successful if I didn't have my mentor's killer sales webinars and loyal customer base.

I think sales, in particular, is an industry where it's easy to exaggerate your wins despite the fact that you might suck in general. So, I won't try and make myself seem better than I am. I'm not even 21. I'm an idiot and I'm absolutely lucky. I worked hard. But still lucky as hell.

I'm still super socially anxious and I definitely feel awkward but I seem to have a fairly good understanding of human psychology and the psychology of selling.

I also feel that I could confidently provide business consulting services that could deliver some degree of value.

I'm an ENFP on the Myers Briggs and I think in thought maps, making connections and identifying opportunities that not everyone can see... especially when it comes to generating revenue.

And I've done so. However, set up for me it might have been.

The problem is... I'm 20.

I've been pitching 10k products to strangers over the phone while swiping through tinder.... hitting a vape pen... and cold calling millionaires.

I'm a dummy. I'm depressed, highly anxious, and socially awkward. Or at least it feels like it.

I'm not sure how much gets through to other people observing me.

I've taken up coaching a social media marketing agency owner I know and he's been singing my praises, helping me network, etc. He's trying to get me on a podcast as well. The people I've been talking to, pitching, and sharing my ideas with seem to believe in me as well. My parents, business owners, etc. seem to be giving me positive feedback.

I just don't want to be a fraud. Again, I don't think I'm that great in practice.

I think I've just had access to a lot great info/ experience early on and I've seen how far you can get with nothing but brains, b$lls, a phone, and a touch of craziness.

For instance, the real estate guy I worked for had his eyes on a supercar he'd wanted for years.

He hopped on facebook marketplace.... messaged as many people who'd listed that particular car for sale within several states of us... and eventually found a gentleman who was financially distressed and willing to both lend the car to him for $1500/mo for a single month and sell it to him for a fraction of the market price. He needed the money. The real estate guy then called a connection he had at a local sportscar dealership who agreed to purchase it for 20k more than what he would be paying for it.

The real estate guy is 20. Same as me. Maybe he was full of it. But these sorts of things happen all the time. Arbitrage has been around as long as people. It's not impossible.

And it's just words... think about it.... just words.

The right words in the right order with the right tone and the right body language at the right time = $20k in a weekend. That right there is what I'd been obsessed with since I was in highschool... reading through MJ's books and taking B.S. social media marketing agency courses.

Anyway...

I recognize that when it comes to actual value delivered I can probably do more for business owners than your average fast-talking "consultant."

I've considered lead generation as a more quantifiable, concrete way of helping businesses and I have access to plenty of people who could help me (social media marketers, copywriters, SEO experts, salespeople, etc.)

I've worked with, trained, and wrote phone scripts for virtual assistants so that could always be an option as far as cold calling is concerned. Cold calling and lead gen tends to suck/ be stressful.

I think I'm damn good at understanding how to put leads through a funnel and I have basically unlimited resources/manpower when it comes to high-quality media production, copywriting, etc.

Virtual assistants overseas (the Philippines for example) could benefit quite a bit from $50-$60/day.

If $50 gets me 500 cold calls + lead entry... with my scripting and the right margins... and I think I could sell in almost any industry. Again... maybe I'm delusional but it feels feasible.

I've managed to secure a shared luxury, professional-looking office space for $150/mo with no contracts. I'm sharing with two other people (the social media guy and his videographer.)

I've been offered recurring commission deals on any new clients I can close for them but frankly, I don't like the idea of essentially working as an inside salesperson in my own office.

Is it crazy to think I can just talk, take massive action... and find my way to a successful business (Fastlane or not) within a few years at 20?

Options I've Considered:

# 1 - Sales Consulting Agency

# 2 - Business Strategy Agency

# 3 - Lead Generation Business

# 4 - Copywriting

#5 - Email Marketing

#6 - 100% Outsourced Creative Agency

I think the biggest issue I'm having is a lack of confidence but I'm not sure if that's just a smokescreen for the fact that maybe I'm not all that qualified. Regardless... I feel that I could absolutely talk clients into paying me.

I know there's a lot of "I" and "Me" in this post but if anyone has any input or would like to share their own experiences, stories, etc. please do so!
You are a frickin slave.

What do you want to hear here? $10 an hour is an insult. There. Now what?

If you can't find a company to pay you $100K a year, then make your own.

$100K / 52 weeks / 40 hours is $48 an hour. That's five TIMES what you're making now.

Highly doubtful anyone is going to pay you that, but not impossible.

Now you have your map to success. Chart your destiny. The next move is yours.

I've taken this advice to heart over the last year or so. It just doesn't seem this simple.
 
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College Dropout

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This guy has his own digital agency, but his team relies heavily on cold-emailing. You could possibly start your own digital agency in a specific niche or a leads generation company.

Alex Berman

I had to force myself to graduate from college and work in sales now. I think if you really want a position at a big company or even a medium-sized one you'll have to convince a sales manager or sales director that you're better than the others on the team. It's such a joke nowadays that people need to graduate from college to get a sales job. However, as long as you can work your way up and hit your quota, that is always a plus.

I've been reading back over this thread and have been looking at this guy's content. Lot's of great stuff... but like with most of these guys... my spidey sense is tingling... If it's this easy why isn't every 17 year old kid with a macbook air living like a little mini Zuckerberg?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tcOQJ9E11I


That's a problem that's been eating at me with all of this... the whole entrepreneurship thing in general... if it's as easy as everyone tries to make it look... why aren't we all rich?

What is the barrier to success I'm not seeing here?


Update: Re-reading Unscripted . I was being a dummy.
 
Last edited:

sparechange

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Come up with your own product and sell that.

People have made millions of dollars selling garbage
 

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