Control > ENTS

[SEBASTlAN]

a Twitter tool making $1M+ ARR was recently shut off overnight by their API overlord:

Access has since been restored, but this serves as yet another reminder to never have your business lie solely in the hands of any:
- API
- License agreement
- Affiliate merchant
- eCommerce platform/vendor
- Third-party distributor

Control is the foundation you build your empire on. Don't leave it on sand.

 

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

[heavy_industry]

If we were to pick 1 commandment to rule them all, it would be NEED.

No control, weak entry, bad scale, time dependent can still be profitable, at least in the short run. Wouldn't recommend trying this experiment though.

But without NEED, there are no sales, which means no business.

This is the most important commandment, the heart of any business, and the first thing entrepreneurs should focus on when looking for new opportunities. Everything else can be adjusted.

---

Edit:

As for the commandment of CONTROL, it's not an on/off switch. But rather a spectrum. The only question is how much risk are you willing to take in exchange for convenience and/or extra profit.

In the modern economy you will always have to rely on third parties to some extent (manufacturers, suppliers, logistics, payment processors, search engines etc.), unless you're a multi billion dollar corporation that controls the entire ecosystem / supply chain.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

a Twitter tool making $1M+ ARR was recently shut off overnight by their API overlord:

Access has since been restored, but this serves as yet another reminder to never have your business lie solely in the hands of any:
- API
- License agreement
- Affiliate merchant
- eCommerce platform/vendor
- Third-party distributor

Control is the foundation you build your empire on. Don't leave it on sand.

There is no real control. As @BizyDad said it’s a gradation. But you never have full control. If the government doesn’t like you, they put a lock on your business and take you to jail. And that’s more or less true, even in democracies.

You will always be dependent upon other people and other businesses. If you’re an industrial manufcaturer, there wl be key components you need for what you produce. If there’s only a few suppliers in the world for what you need, they hold you in the palm of their hand.

And so on. You only ever have the illusion of control. But yes, some business offer greater control than others!

Edit: @heavy_industry you gotta change that pfp ffs, I confused you woth Bizy

 

[BizyDad]

If we were to pick 1 commandment to rule them all, it would be NEED.

No control, weak entry, bad scale, time dependent can still be profitable, at least in the short run. Wouldn't recommend trying this experiment though.

But without NEED, there are no sales, which means no business.

This is the most important commandment, the heart of any business, and the first thing entrepreneurs should focus on when looking for new opportunities. Everything else can be adjusted.

---

Edit:

As for the commandment of CONTROL, it's not an on/off switch. But rather a spectrum. The only question is how much risk are you willing to take in exchange for convenience and/or extra profit.

In the modern economy you will always have to rely on third parties to some extent (manufacturers, suppliers, logistics, payment processors, search engines etc.), unless you're a multi billion dollar corporation that controls the entire ecosystem / supply chain.

There is no real control. As @BizyDad said it’s a gradation. But you never have full control. If the government doesn’t like you, they put a lock on your business and take you to jail. And that’s more or less true, even in democracies.

You will always be dependent upon other people and other businesses. If you’re an industrial manufcaturer, there wl be key components you need for what you produce. If there’s only a few suppliers in the world for what you need, they hold you in the palm of their hand.

And so on. You only ever have the illusion of control. But yes, some business offer greater control than others!

Hey @heavy_industry we somehow fooled 2 in one day.

Guys, I'm the light bulb, he's the gearhead. Seems like everyone only looks at our "assets".

 

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

[Prdgy]

Guys, I'm the light bulb, he's the gearhead. Seems like everyone only looks at our "assets".

I usually differentiate you guys because of your bios.
If: Mentions Bizydad = Heavy Industry
Mentions Heavy Industry = Bizydad


Anyway, I think all commandments are equally as important for running a successful business; there's no hierarchy.
If you have all but no Control, how do you expect your platform to be truly yours? (and thus, receive the profits?)
If you have all but no Entry, how do you expect your platform to shock the market? (and thus, sell?)
If you have all but no Need, how do you expect to sell?
If you have all but no Time, how do you expect to not have a job? (and thus, lose out on the time to use your money?)
If you have all but no Scale, how do you expect to make millions?

There IS no most important commandment. They all should be followed. But you do make a great point about Control being a spectrum. I think it's what commands urgency in having a liquidation event at some point in the lifecycle of your business. That, and maybe Need, as time changes.

 

[heavy_industry]

Hey @heavy_industry we somehow fooled 2 in one day.

I think this is the first time we've got 2 in a single day.

I might create a list of users tricked thus far.

I usually differentiate you guys because of your bios.
If: Mentions Bizydad = Heavy Industry
Mentions Heavy Industry = Bizydad

That's some out of the box thinking

Guys, I'm the light bulb, he's the gearhead.

I considered in the past creating some new pictures with a bigger lightbulb / industrial gear.

Will send you a message later.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

As for the commandment of CONTROL, it's not an on/off switch. But rather a spectrum. The only question is how much risk are you willing to take in exchange for convenience and/or extra profit.

Hence why I used the word "solely" in the original post, and used the example where the business in question was 100% reliant on an external factor.

It goes without saying you will never have full control, that's why you mitigate your risks with diversification/backup options.

 

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

[Antifragile]

Successful business > getting @BizyDad & @heavy_industry right.

More commandments met > fewer commandments met.

Healthy & Wealthy > poor & unhealthy

Captain obvious award goes to…

Yup.

 

[MitchC]

All of the commandments are a spectrum, and you can improve all of them in your business as you grow. You can treat them similar to other metrics you may look at like churn or cpa.

Control: as you grow start to build your own platforms and infrastructure, grow an email list so you own the customers etc. eg. An Amazon business that starts collecting email addresses and selling on its own store.

Entry: pull the ladder up as you go. Eg Maybe you start dropshipping with a generic product, no brand and one product. As you make money you invest that in a custom product, add other products to increase ltv, and get a nice brand built. Now even though your entry was dropshipping, someone who wants to compete would now need to invest in brand custom product etc to compete with you, rather than just stealing your ads and dropship the same thing as you.

Need: creating a need is hard but you can educate a market over time to create more demand

Time: maybe you start out doing all the work yourself, as it grows you hire people

Scale: maybe you start out local then franchise or expand globally. Maybe you start out selling $500 websites, get better and then start selling $50,000 websites (impact)

 

[Antifragile]

If we were to pick 1 commandment to rule them all, it would be NEED.

No control, weak entry, bad scale, time dependent can still be profitable, at least in the short run. Wouldn't recommend trying this experiment though.

But without NEED, there are no sales, which means no business.

This is the most important commandment, the heart of any business, and the first thing entrepreneurs should focus on when looking for new opportunities. Everything else can be adjusted.

---

Edit:

As for the commandment of CONTROL, it's not an on/off switch. But rather a spectrum. The only question is how much risk are you willing to take in exchange for convenience and/or extra profit.

In the modern economy you will always have to rely on third parties to some extent (manufacturers, suppliers, logistics, payment processors, search engines etc.), unless you're a multi billion dollar corporation that controls the entire ecosystem / supply chain.

I like your post a lot, but disagree.

I NEED air (water, sleep)… You have no control over air that I get for free. You have no business.

@MitchC is right, it’s both a matter of spectrum & all commandments are important, none rule others. As businesses progress, they accumulate more on each of commandments.

 

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

[BizyDad]

Successful business > getting @BizyDad & @heavy_industry right.

More commandments met > fewer commandments met.

Healthy & Wealthy > poor & unhealthy

Captain obvious award goes to…

Yup.

Receive > Asking

or is it

Asking > Receiving

maybe

Asking = Receiving

I don't know where we are on the spectrum now, but making this image was fun

You have no control over air that I get for free. You have no business.

Furiously writing in my idea journal...

AIR! Learn to control AIR!

Pros
Big need.
Yuge need.
No competition.
Big market.

Cons
No control (yet)
No entry (yet)
No delivery system.

Wait... Bottled Air is already a thing...

The business model for bottled water already exists. Maybe I could do flavored air? Alkaline air? Mountain spring air? Caffeinated air?

Ok, just need to convince people living in polluted cities to use my air instead. Maybe I can start by making masks fashionable. Hmm. That might be a non-starter.

Maybe start by targeting vapers.

Possible company name/tagline.

Vapers. Use Vapors

I think there's potential here. Tanks will need to be refilled, so bonus! Built in recurring revenue.

Make people schedule service appointments too.

Have little tanks of air at convenience stores and charge 5x what they're worth.

So many revenue streams.

I don't know how you do it @Antifragile these good ideas just pour out of you even when you aren't trying. You, my friend, have a gift.

 

[Kak]

They’re all important. Every. Single. One.

Stop trying to make this “easier” by choosing favorites or letting some slide.

In the long run adhering to them ALL will make your career in entrepreneurship “easier.”

CENTS might be the easiest way to define proper entrepreneurship ever devised.

 

[Antifragile]

View attachment 48328

Receive > Asking

or is it

Asking > Receiving

maybe

Asking = Receiving

I don't know where we are on the spectrum now, but making this image was fun



Furiously writing in my idea journal...

AIR! Learn to control AIR!

Pros
Big need.
Yuge need.
No competition.
Big market.

Cons
No control (yet)
No entry (yet)
No delivery system.

Wait... Bottled Air is already a thing...

The business model for bottled water already exists. Maybe I could do flavored air? Alkaline air? Mountain spring air? Caffeinated air?

Ok, just need to convince people living in polluted cities to use my air instead. Maybe I can start by making masks fashionable. Hmm. That might be a non-starter.

Maybe start by targeting vapers.

Possible company name/tagline.

Vapers. Use Vapors

I think there's potential here. Tanks will need to be refilled, so bonus! Built in recurring revenue.

Make people schedule service appointments too.

Have little tanks of air at convenience stores and charge 5x what they're worth.

So many revenue streams.

I don't know how you do it @Antifragile these good ideas just pour out of you even when you aren't trying. You, my friend, have a gift.

Bizy …
Get people in a room, like a party. Suck air out and charge for opening a window! Instant millionaire!
.
.
.


The prison sentence after is a bit of a bummer…

 

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

[MitchC]

View attachment 48328

Receive > Asking

or is it

Asking > Receiving

maybe

Asking = Receiving

I don't know where we are on the spectrum now, but making this image was fun



Furiously writing in my idea journal...

AIR! Learn to control AIR!

Pros
Big need.
Yuge need.
No competition.
Big market.

Cons
No control (yet)
No entry (yet)
No delivery system.

Wait... Bottled Air is already a thing...

The business model for bottled water already exists. Maybe I could do flavored air? Alkaline air? Mountain spring air? Caffeinated air?

Ok, just need to convince people living in polluted cities to use my air instead. Maybe I can start by making masks fashionable. Hmm. That might be a non-starter.

Maybe start by targeting vapers.

Possible company name/tagline.

Vapers. Use Vapors

I think there's potential here. Tanks will need to be refilled, so bonus! Built in recurring revenue.

Make people schedule service appointments too.

Have little tanks of air at convenience stores and charge 5x what they're worth.

So many revenue streams.

I don't know how you do it @Antifragile these good ideas just pour out of you even when you aren't trying. You, my friend, have a gift.

I don’t understand what that picture is but it should be your profile picture

Bizy …
Get people in a room, like a party. Suck air out and charge for opening a window! Instant millionaire!
.
.
.


The prison sentence after is a bit of a bummer…

Those pesky ethics interfering with our get rich quick methods again

 

[BizyDad]

The prison sentence after is a bit of a bummer…

Furiously writes in idea journal...

Prison evasion service?

Talk about identifying a pain point!! Striking gold again AF.

Hey mods, can we move this thread to the speedway? This is getting good. Lolololol.

Those pesky ethics interfering with our get rich quick methods again

Fill the party room with evil rich people, especially the get rich quick kind, and they will need my air service and prison evasion service.

Mental note, must discuss further with BD43.

Win win! Fortune favors the prepared...

Thanks for idea.

I don’t understand what that picture is but it should be your profile picture

View: https://youtu.be/Am3FjwsNqXc


There's a whole series of commercials with this guy...