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Deaf and Daft, getting my first sale

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

evlttwin

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I think i got it , theres a 'tag' that you can type up that will 'auto-on' the captioning wherever it's opened up.

I'm adding it to all of my videos now, so let me know if it's working or not.
Works for me.
 
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jpanarra

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Hey Guys JP here!



Might've seemed like I've been MIA for some time now but the reality is I've been biting off a lot more than I can chew and juggling through them instead of being on my favorite place on the net. Now, the thing is I have not been on here because I've been busy doing so I have a good amount of stuff to share with you guys.


A short list what I've been up to but I'll elaborate on each one
  • Certification in Electrochemistry Finishing (career) and Working
  • 95% parenting at the evenings
  • Working on a patent for an Idea I came up back In December
  • Web Design business now making sales in the (3-5K) range
    • Starting to Offer SEO and SEM services via subscriptions
  • Sales Agency with a niche focus to other Deaf Business Owners

(CEF) - Certified Electrofinisher


First was a career move, I took the course to become certified in Electrochemistry Finishing and took the test just last Friday. I don’t know if I'm certified Just yet but I have a good feeling about it. This will help my career side of things and instill more career insurance. This will open more doors for me to work and earn more $$ in return to invest right into my Fastlane ventures and be able to support my family via benefits. Healthcare costs in the US suck especially when you have 3 active little ones. This course was able to be worked on at work, thankfully because I would've never had the time to do so. I'll elaborate on that a bit later.


However, what I've learned from this course was huge because I now have a better understanding of the electroplating industry which is an extremely niche space that depends on HUGE clients such as Aerospace and Automotive giants. Also, since this space is extremely niche as well there are not a lot of electroplating patents for functional purposes that could lead to a massive opportunity if I think of one. For instance I learned how to electroplate on ABS plastic, which means you could have any metal finish on a 3-d printed part, if I can think of a problem that I can solve with 3d printing, I can add wear resistance and durability by plating metal over it and still be much cheaper than a metal part being forged to fit the purpose. So I'm excited even if I don’t pass the exam to become certified, I've gained so much material I can work with. Now the exam is done, I'll have some more time to hang out on here again!


'95% Parenting'


I don’t know if 95% is the best way to say it but my wife has been studying hardcore for her Real Estate license, She already passed the state exam and only needs to pass the national exam which I've heard is ridiculously tough. So to make sure she passes, she is locked up in our office to study where I take care of the kids from the time they get off the bus at 4 pm and in bed by 7:30-8. And I say 8pm lightly because I've never had all kids stay in bed after 8, they always get up for something aka water, bathroom, cookies, etc… So this cuts into my content creation timeframe since I work from 6:30-3:00, Get home at 3:30 to prep dinner and take care of the kids till bed. So I only have 2-3 hours to work with at night.


This is worth the sacrifice regardless, my wife already has a team lined up that wants her on board. Primarily because she is Deaf as well and has the opportunity to tackle the niche deaf community that will always need accessibility and communication so the opportunity for her and us is HUGE. I view us as a unit, if she succeeds I succeed. We've been spreading the word and the reception has been extremely positive.


THE PATENT!


Here's a recommendation from me to you, get the 'meet-up' app and go to your local entrepreneur meetup. I've met this gentleman that has over 30 patents is living the Fastlane life that I've chatted with on numerous occasions and he has given me fantastic insight on how to get on the Fastlane. Hanging out on the forum here and chatting is a massive daily boost, but I'm sure the guys that attended the summit can reference this, you get so much more when you talk to someone face to face!


Now this idea I had back in December and I brought it up to this gentleman and he was like, this is a great idea and suggested me to try and patent it and if possible bring it to manufacturing and sales. He set me down this path of finding prior art, comparing them, then making sure they're differentiated enough. He recommended me to get a provisional patent prior to getting with a manufacturer and having them sign an NDA. The product itself only has 1 competitor on amazon and there are 2 similar Prior art patents that might have to force me to tweak my design of the product but the reality is I've done the keyword research and people are searching for this specific product and the reviews of the only one that is solving that problem has poor reviews and is only on amazon.


So, I'm working on getting the provisional patent and finding a manufacturer for this. I know I have the skillset to market and sell it online so I'm looking forward to this opportunity.


Arra Development


I started this over an year ago when I first read Fox's thread, still going strong. I just closed a sale for 5k and this guy might have 3-4 more websites for me at the same price point. Once again, go to meetups in your local area, you'll find people that need help and I met him at one and he needed websites for his local businesses and closed the sale on him. I'm also starting to offer SEO/SEM for my previous clients in a subscription based format. I forgot who mentioned but I believe it was @Andy Black that recommended it, the automatic customer by John Warrillow that made me think about what I'm doing and how can I change it into a subscription type of business. Hopefully this will be the one that helps me to transition to a MRR mindset.


Timafy


I started the journey on this one in February where I found that I'm having a hard time selling my services as a deaf entrepreneur and I wasn’t alone. I teamed up with one friend of mine who's Deaf himself and knows the struggle with trying to sell and find leads to bite. I don't really want to go into detail on how the system works because portions of it will be outsourced and we still have a long way to go in terms of hiring people and training employees. However, we are starting our marketing and sales campaign soon. So I'm looking forward to that.
 
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Litza

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Hey Guys JP here!



Might've seemed like I've been MIA for some time now but the reality is I've been biting off a lot more than I can chew and juggling through them instead of being on my favorite place on the net. Now, the thing is I have not been on here because I've been busy doing so I have a good amount of stuff to share with you guys.


A short list what I've been up to but I'll elaborate on each one
  • Certification in Electrochemistry Finishing (career) and Working
  • 95% parenting at the evenings
  • Working on a patent for an Idea I came up back In December
  • Web Design business now making sales in the (3-5K) range
    • Starting to Offer SEO and SEM services via subscriptions
  • Sales Agency with a niche focus to other Deaf Business Owners

(CEF) - Certified Electrofinisher


First was a career move, I took the course to become certified in Electrochemistry Finishing and took the test just last Friday. I don’t know if I'm certified Just yet but I have a good feeling about it. This will help my career side of things and instill more career insurance. This will open more doors for me to work and earn more $$ in return to invest right into my Fastlane ventures and be able to support my family via benefits. Healthcare costs in the US suck especially when you have 3 active little ones. This course was able to be worked on at work, thankfully because I would've never had the time to do so. I'll elaborate on that a bit later.


However, what I've learned from this course was huge because I now have a better understanding of the electroplating industry which is an extremely niche space that depends on HUGE clients such as Aerospace and Automotive giants. Also, since this space is extremely niche as well there are not a lot of electroplating patents for functional purposes that could lead to a massive opportunity if I think of one. For instance I learned how to electroplate on ABS plastic, which means you could have any metal finish on a 3-d printed part, if I can think of a problem that I can solve with 3d printing, I can add wear resistance and durability by plating metal over it and still be much cheaper than a metal part being forged to fit the purpose. So I'm excited even if I don’t pass the exam to become certified, I've gained so much material I can work with. Now the exam is done, I'll have some more time to hang out on here again!


'95% Parenting'


I don’t know if 95% is the best way to say it but my wife has been studying hardcore for her Real Estate license, She already passed the state exam and only needs to pass the national exam which I've heard is ridiculously tough. So to make sure she passes, she is locked up in our office to study where I take care of the kids from the time they get off the bus at 4 pm and in bed by 7:30-8. And I say 8pm lightly because I've never had all kids stay in bed after 8, they always get up for something aka water, bathroom, cookies, etc… So this cuts into my content creation timeframe since I work from 6:30-3:00, Get home at 3:30 to prep dinner and take care of the kids till bed. So I only have 2-3 hours to work with at night.


This is worth the sacrifice regardless, my wife already has a team lined up that wants her on board. Primarily because she is Deaf as well and has the opportunity to tackle the niche deaf community that will always need accessibility and communication so the opportunity for her and us is HUGE. I view us as a unit, if she succeeds I succeed. We've been spreading the word and the reception has been extremely positive.


THE PATENT!


Here's a recommendation from me to you, get the 'meet-up' app and go to your local entrepreneur meetup. I've met this gentleman that has over 30 patents is living the Fastlane life that I've chatted with on numerous occasions and he has given me fantastic insight on how to get on the Fastlane. Hanging out on the forum here and chatting is a massive daily boost, but I'm sure the guys that attended the summit can reference this, you get so much more when you talk to someone face to face!


Now this idea I had back in December and I brought it up to this gentleman and he was like, this is a great idea and suggested me to try and patent it and if possible bring it to manufacturing and sales. He set me down this path of finding prior art, comparing them, then making sure they're differentiated enough. He recommended me to get a provisional patent prior to getting with a manufacturer and having them sign an NDA. The product itself only has 1 competitor on amazon and there are 2 similar Prior art patents that might have to force me to tweak my design of the product but the reality is I've done the keyword research and people are searching for this specific product and the reviews of the only one that is solving that problem has poor reviews and is only on amazon.


So, I'm working on getting the provisional patent and finding a manufacturer for this. I know I have the skillset to market and sell it online so I'm looking forward to this opportunity.


Arra Development


I started this over an year ago when I first read Fox's thread, still going strong. I just closed a sale for 5k and this guy might have 3-4 more websites for me at the same price point. Once again, go to meetups in your local area, you'll find people that need help and I met him at one and he needed websites for his local businesses and closed the sale on him. I'm also starting to offer SEO/SEM for my previous clients in a subscription based format. I forgot who mentioned but I believe it was @Andy Black that recommended it, the automatic customer by John Warrillow that made me think about what I'm doing and how can I change it into a subscription type of business. Hopefully this will be the one that helps me to transition to a MRR mindset.


Timafy


I started the journey on this one in February where I found that I'm having a hard time selling my services as a deaf entrepreneur and I wasn’t alone. I teamed up with one friend of mine who's Deaf himself and knows the struggle with trying to sell and find leads to bite. I don't really want to go into detail on how the system works because portions of it will be outsourced and we still have a long way to go in terms of hiring people and training employees. However, we are starting our marketing and sales campaign soon. So I'm looking forward to that.

Hello JP! Please share how the patent part goes, as I might need it in the near future. :)
 

Late Bloomer

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Hi JP, I'm pretty new to the forum so I haven't seen your earlier posts yet, but your latest update just showed up and I have to say, wow! way to go in so many positive actions!

(CEF) - Certified Electrofinisher

Who provides this certification?

I knew about electroplating, but I had no idea that metal plating could be done as an outer layer on ABS plastic including 3d printed! How very cool!

Is it possible to make a 3d printed core, plate it, then melt away the core to leave a formed metal shell in a custom shape?

'95% Parenting'

Seems like you and your wife are an awesome parenting team. I'm not a parent so I don't have anything specific to add there, just admiration for how you are supporting each other's next steps, maintaining family life while both moving ahead on your next career steps.

THE PATENT!

I worked with an inventor last year. He turned out to be the client from hell, but he did have a great invention, had good legal help the provisional patent in place, and then had NDA arrangement with the good manufacturing engineer who developed the mold design. So I got to see all of that from the inside.

I met him at a biz & tech networking meetup. This was the last in a string of initially promising collaborations that didn't work out (one person moved out of town, another wanted to keep all the money for himself and then decide if I'd get paid). The bad experiences soured me on meetups for a while. Andy Black pointed out to me that "diesel and coffee" might be the best investment I can make in myself right now, so I'll see how to get back in circulation this month.

Arra Development

What is Arra? Or is that a type for Area, as in geographic region?

I did some web work in the few-k price range, but the leads were obtained by my late sweetheart. So lead-getting is the hardest part for me now that I'm on my own. I'm curious what type of meetups you are using, and how you introduce yourself and get into the conversation with the clients? Currently trying to work out how to offer online marketing that turns into a subscription model. I have a Speedway topic on applying MJ's CENTS model to restaurant marketing, would love to have someone else join me in looking at how to switch from "here's one check" to "here's your ongoing subscription payments" in online marketing.

Timafy

Don't know this word, so I'll need to scroll back and see if you explained it earlier.

How to best work with a deaf colleague or freelancer?

Other than learning sign language, and looking directly at you while speaking distinctly in case you're able to read lips, and writing out information for you to read... what else could I do to more effectively include a sharp, astute deaf person such as yourself, in my business activities? You may well have discussed that in other posts I haven't got to read yet.

I read an anecdote about a real estate developer who bought housing units directly under the airport flight path, fixed them up with lights that flash when the phone rings and all the other conveniences to help deaf people, and had great success with tenants who didn't care about air traffic they couldn't hear!
 
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Late Bloomer

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Ok,

Now I’ve put in maybe 3-4 hours in looking at local businesses, it seems like a lot of people already have websites, but I see a few that can be improved so I put those on my list which I only have maybe 4 or 5 possible prospects. I’m not sure if I can make room to go in person. (I still have a job from 8-5). So I might try to look into their hours and see what times I can show up and communicate with them. ( My challenge would try and talk to them since I can’t hear and an interpreter is not going to be there). My strategy would be to use Google’s mic on my android phone and transcribe what they’re saying, and I’ll write out/type what I have to say. (this is what will be uncomfortable for me and can be a make or break for my sale) .

I'm catching up on this thread from quite a while after you wrote it. One thing that comes to mind immediately, is that you have an awesome reason why to do web development remotely. Here's the thought expressed without much copywriting finesse: "I can handle all your web marketing through the efficiency of email and online project worksheets, no need for time-consuming meetings. As I'm deaf, there's no worry that I'll talk your ear off!" etc.

I also wonder about the simple-seeming expedient of teaming up with a non-deaf colleague for sales presentations.

I'll keep reading to find how your journey developed!
 

jpanarra

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(CEF) - Certified Electrofinisher

Who provides this certification?

I knew about electroplating, but I had no idea that metal plating could be done as an outer layer on ABS plastic including 3d printed! How very cool!

Is it possible to make a 3d printed core, plate it, then melt away the core to leave a formed metal shell in a custom shape?

That would be the NASF, National Association for surface finishing I believe. They primarily are in the US but my understanding is that their certification is recognized worldwide. I met people in the course that worked at Rolls Royce, engineers at shops that service Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and others. So it was exciting to see people from companies that are held in really high regard sitting in the same class as I was.

What is Arra? Or is that a type for Area, as in geographic region?

I did some web work in the few-k price range, but the leads were obtained by my late sweetheart. So lead-getting is the hardest part for me now that I'm on my own. I'm curious what type of meetups you are using, and how you introduce yourself and get into the conversation with the clients? Currently trying to work out how to offer online marketing that turns into a subscription model. I have a Speedway topic on applying MJ's CENTS model to restaurant marketing, would love to have someone else join me in looking at how to switch from "here's one check" to "here's your ongoing subscription payments" in online marketing.

Arra Development is my web development business, Its a play on my last name Pan'Arra'. Its also linked in my signature on the bottom, but heres the link anyways so feel free to check it out and give me some feedback if you would like.

http://www.arradevelopment.com/

Don't know this word, so I'll need to scroll back and see if you explained it earlier.

Timafy is the name of the sales agency I'm trying to build, its a play on words for Time and Qualify.

How to best work with a deaf colleague or freelancer?

Other than learning sign language, and looking directly at you while speaking distinctly in case you're able to read lips, and writing out information for you to read... what else could I do to more effectively include a sharp, astute deaf person such as yourself, in my business activities? You may well have discussed that in other posts I haven't got to read yet.

Really the biggest thing is patience, Usually other deaf people like myself have alot of experience in handling/controlling the conversation so just listen to their input and they should correct you to fit their own needs. Everyone is different and has different preferences, just be patient and don't do the 'You know what I'll tell you later." That kinda brush off makes me boil inside.


I'm catching up on this thread from quite a while after you wrote it. One thing that comes to mind immediately, is that you have an awesome reason why to do web development remotely. Here's the thought expressed without much copywriting finesse: "I can handle all your web marketing through the efficiency of email and online project worksheets, no need for time-consuming meetings. As I'm deaf, there's no worry that I'll talk your ear off!" etc.

I also wonder about the simple-seeming expedient of teaming up with a non-deaf colleague for sales presentations.

I'll keep reading to find how your journey developed!

Yep, That was my selling point for almost a year but the reality is always different than what 'sounds good'. I got the majority of my sales in the past year through cold calling using an interpreter as opposed to emailing or shooting a message over Facebook. It might not be ideal because it really isn't easy to control the tone and pace of the conversation that leads to an sale but If I do my research right and get a hold of the decision maker I just take my time and let them know that my expertise is here for them when they need it. A year ago I was struggling to reach people, but now some of those people are reaching back out to me months after I first contacted them and I get referrals from people that aren't even my customer but someone I've reached out to via phone.
 

Litza

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Sure, where are you with yours?
The product is still being designed. I guess I´ll patent it once I have the drawings and specifications. Even though I´m not sure if it´s really necessary (because I intend to release new designs once a year and maybe discontinue old designs). It doesn´t hurt to be on the safe side, right? But I wonder: if you patent something in one country, can you make it valid worldwide? Do you know anything about that?
 
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jpanarra

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The product is still being designed. I guess I´ll patent it once I have the drawings and specifications. Even though I´m not sure if it´s really necessary (because I intend to release new designs once a year and maybe discontinue old designs). It doesn´t hurt to be on the safe side, right? But I wonder: if you patent something in one country, can you make it valid worldwide? Do you know anything about that?

Well you just have to patent it in every country you want to sell it in. Keep in mind not all Countries have trademarks or patent laws. For drawing and specifying you should look your idea up in

Google Patents or the patents US government site and see if anybody Already has your idea patented.

Usually there is a patent that has some similarities and according to the guy i met he said its much easier to get your patent processed if you have a # of prior art or prior patents that have similarities and just make yours differentiated enough to get it approved.
 

Late Bloomer

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I met people in the course that worked at Rolls Royce, engineers at shops that service Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and others. So it was exciting to see people from companies that are held in really high regard sitting in the same class as I was.

Oh, that's really cool!!

Arra is easy to understand, although very close to Arri, a top manufacturer of motion picture cameras.

Timafy as a name just seems confusing to me. But maybe that's just me.

Usually other deaf people like myself have alot of experience in handling/controlling the conversation so just listen to their input and they should correct you to fit their own needs. Everyone is different and has different preferences...

Oh yeah! Duh, you've done this before!

A year ago I was struggling to reach people, but now some of those people are reaching back out to me months after I first contacted them and I get referrals from people that aren't even my customer but someone I've reached out to via phone.

I'm glad to see that's happening for you, even with the difficulties working through a translator for your introduction!
 
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jpanarra

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It gave me The Big Scary Security Warning, and then failed to load. (Palemoon is a fork of Firefox.)
View attachment 19430 View attachment 19431 View attachment 19432

Clicking Try Again just reloads the same error, not the site.
Ah thanks, I'm gnna have to contact my hosting provider about this. This isn't the first time this happened, somehow the SSL port gets glitchy once in awhile. Thanks for catching that. It doesn't show up on my end but I'll make sure that goes away.
 

jpanarra

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MidwestLandlord

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And I say 8pm lightly because I've never had all kids stay in bed after 8, they always get up for something aka water, bathroom, cookies, etc… So this cuts into my content creation timeframe since I work from 6:30-3:00, Get home at 3:30 to prep dinner and take care of the kids till bed. So I only have 2-3 hours to work with at night.

We had the same problem.

My wife came up with this:

If the kids are in bed by 7:30pm, we let them read a book in bed until 8:00pm.

This gets them in bed, but not lying there thinking about how they just really aren't that tired, and by golly, suddenly I have to pee and get a drink and I'm missing my favorite toy and I forgot to tell mom the funny thing that happened at school, and did I mention I'm hungry?!

They get wrapped up in the book and eventually just fall asleep on their own. (we don't stop them reading at 8pm like we tell them we will, but I've yet to see either of them not pass out by 8:15pm)

I've watched my oldest (10) get out of bed with her book, read it while walking to the bathroom to go pee, then read all the way back to her bed and tuck herself back in.

Our nighttime drama dropped by about 99% (which is great because I'm highly protective of evenings cause I get to spend some time with the wife person)

I forget how old your kids are, but if they're old enough to hold a book and even just look at pictures it might work for ya.
 
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jpanarra

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We had the same problem.

My wife came up with this:

If the kids are in bed by 7:30pm, we let them read a book in bed until 8:00pm.

This gets them in bed, but not lying there thinking about how they just really aren't that tired, and by golly, suddenly I have to pee and get a drink and I'm missing my favorite toy and I forgot to tell mom the funny thing that happened at school, and did I mention I'm hungry?!

They get wrapped up in the book and eventually just fall asleep on their own. (we don't stop them reading at 8pm like we tell them we will, but I've yet to see either of them not pass out by 8:15pm)

I've watched my oldest (10) get out of bed with her book, read it while walking to the bathroom to go pee, then read all the way back to her bed and tuck herself back in.

Our nighttime drama dropped by about 99% (which is great because I'm highly protective of evenings cause I get to spend some time with the wife person)

I forget how old your kids are, but if they're old enough to hold a book and even just look at pictures it might work for ya.


I'll Try this out Tonight!

I'm the same way about evenings, as busy as I am, the precious time with the wife person is always needed!
 

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I'll Try this out Tonight!

I'm the same way about evenings, as busy as I am, the precious time with the wife person is always needed!

Hope it works for you.

It took us a couple days to get it down. Now the kids are like "can I go to bed so I can read?"

Uhhh...I suppose it would be OK if you went to bed on time and with no drama!

Pro Tip: it helps if they are obsessed with a certain series of books

Pro Tip #2: used kids' books on ebay will run you about $2 if you find sellers doing BOGO (not hard to find)
 

jpanarra

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Hope it works for you.

It took us a couple days to get it down. Now the kids are like "can I go to bed so I can read?"

Uhhh...I suppose it would be OK if you went to bed on time and with no drama!

Pro Tip: it helps if they are obsessed with a certain series of books

Pro Tip #2: used kids' books on ebay will run you about $2 if you find sellers doing BOGO (not hard to find)

Looks like i need to invest in a bookshelf for my kids soon
 
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jpanarra

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Hey guys, JP Here


Figured it was time for an update, web sales is doing great!

sales.jpg

As you can see from my Net Profit my web business is booming this month, one thing I’m observing in the past year and half I’ve noticed that things come in waves. It’s not a straight line climbing up to the top. I’ve had downs where I’ve seen no sales and it flatlines then there’s months like this one where I close 3-5 sales that I’ve been working on for almost a year. High price tag sales can take months to close, as long you’re patient and politely follow up with the people you’ve been in touch with.


Talking about web development, I see this approach to bootstrap my business ideas and try to learn the digital marketing side of things by helping others and teaching myself on how to drive traffic and such. I’m very confident in marketing a local business and getting local traffic to take attention a building its brand trust to the point where people just put down the dollar for my clients instead of a long sales process. Now my web sales are earning enough for me to start thinking and planning for the next step.


CEF.jpg

I already mentioned that I took the course for the CEF certification, the good news is I passed and am recognized by the national organization for electroplating that I am considered an expert in the field. I can leverage this to sell ‘electroplating’ services. I’m trying to think about this logically because what is the lowest barrier to entry for me but significantly higher than others.. My web sales can fund a small precious metals plating process in my garage. A lot of people tend to avoid the plating of precious metals because of the high risk of contamination and loss of chemicals in terms of waste. I’m experienced enough not to worry about this. The thing is I’m thinking about is plating Gold onto things, and I might start offering a ‘custom’ gold plating service here in Indianapolis. Gold is inert, and a lot of the pretreatment chemicals are nonhazardous and the waste isn’t a major concern for the ones that are because I know how to extract/neutralize them.

Instead of buying all of the equipment and chemicals what I intend to do is to build the website and try to work with a few local keywords on Google SEM, and see what bites the most and invest in the equipment then. The reason for this is because the biggest thing I’m concerned about is the demand for metal plating onto things. I don’t know what the consumer demand looks like for things like this or where the consumer demand stands? What I’ve found online is related to plating of car emblems and other things where people want to ‘display’ their wealth. Most of the plating in the untied states are related to large scale manufacturing processes for automotive or military, so I’ll be competing with the ones in china importing things in that are already sold as is. Hopefully people will want a ‘custom’ plating process.

I’m thinking about starting a new thread on this and only on the electroplating idea, what do you guys think?
 

Andy Black

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Hey guys, JP Here


Figured it was time for an update, web sales is doing great!

View attachment 19874

As you can see from my Net Profit my web business is booming this month, one thing I’m observing in the past year and half I’ve noticed that things come in waves. It’s not a straight line climbing up to the top. I’ve had downs where I’ve seen no sales and it flatlines then there’s months like this one where I close 3-5 sales that I’ve been working on for almost a year. High price tag sales can take months to close, as long you’re patient and politely follow up with the people you’ve been in touch with.


Talking about web development, I see this approach to bootstrap my business ideas and try to learn the digital marketing side of things by helping others and teaching myself on how to drive traffic and such. I’m very confident in marketing a local business and getting local traffic to take attention a building its brand trust to the point where people just put down the dollar for my clients instead of a long sales process. Now my web sales are earning enough for me to start thinking and planning for the next step.


View attachment 19875

I already mentioned that I took the course for the CEF certification, the good news is I passed and am recognized by the national organization for electroplating that I am considered an expert in the field. I can leverage this to sell ‘electroplating’ services. I’m trying to think about this logically because what is the lowest barrier to entry for me but significantly higher than others.. My web sales can fund a small precious metals plating process in my garage. A lot of people tend to avoid the plating of precious metals because of the high risk of contamination and loss of chemicals in terms of waste. I’m experienced enough not to worry about this. The thing is I’m thinking about is plating Gold onto things, and I might start offering a ‘custom’ gold plating service here in Indianapolis. Gold is inert, and a lot of the pretreatment chemicals are nonhazardous and the waste isn’t a major concern for the ones that are because I know how to extract/neutralize them.

Instead of buying all of the equipment and chemicals what I intend to do is to build the website and try to work with a few local keywords on Google SEM, and see what bites the most and invest in the equipment then. The reason for this is because the biggest thing I’m concerned about is the demand for metal plating onto things. I don’t know what the consumer demand looks like for things like this or where the consumer demand stands? What I’ve found online is related to plating of car emblems and other things where people want to ‘display’ their wealth. Most of the plating in the untied states are related to large scale manufacturing processes for automotive or military, so I’ll be competing with the ones in china importing things in that are already sold as is. Hopefully people will want a ‘custom’ plating process.

I’m thinking about starting a new thread on this and only on the electroplating idea, what do you guys think?
Congrats x2

Makes sense to have a separate progress thread I think.
 

DesignerOne.

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Yep! Make a thread about the electroplating business, that's more e-commerce/specialized services. It'd be a great thread.
 
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I’m thinking about starting a new thread on this and only on the electroplating idea, what do you guys think?

That's a very cool idea and it does seem worthy of its own thread. There are several different ways to look at it, and maybe someone on the forum has experience that directly relates to it.
 

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Hey everyone, JP Here!


I've not been on here for some time. A lot has happened in the last year for myself, my family, and I can imagine the same could've happened to all of you during this strange time in the States.

I started another thread before about progress but this is my original and i think i'll continue to update on here as well.

Now, a bit about my journey through 2020.

I was able to save up to 80k, Pay off my credit cards, downsize to a smaller, cheaper but brand new constructed home (large chunk of the 80k ended up here).

That being said, I got my personal fiscal situation under control. Automated my paychecks to go into separate accounts, automated my bills, automated some investing accounts. I am in a much better fiscal position than i was when i started back in 2017. Now I hope this newly formed habit will impact my approaches and thinking when it comes to my ventures.

At the start of 2020, I had started a new job as a plating department supervisor. This was a job that literally was a trial by fire situation. I am very good with the technical side of the process being a chemist and engineering nerd. I was able to build a strong rapport with my employees and build a strong team and management took notice of my progress and encouraged me to keep moving in the direction I'm going.

This was prior to when COVID19 hit, Once Covid hit, production slowed down big time but we still were deemed essential because we produce alot of parts for CAT and they're infrastructure.

As the dominoes fell, people started to get laid off on the corporate level and eventually down to my level and they let go a number of supervisors and managers. Now during this time i was given the management of the heat treat department as well, without pay. I took this as an opportunity to expand my knowledge and connections when it comes to my career.

So I got a 'promotion' to be a manager over 3 departments, and I'm only 32 and report directly to a plant manager.

This is not my long term goal to climb to the top of the ladder, but this is an opportunity for me to learn, expand, connect to make myself a stronger entrepreneur.

I've done Website development, online stores, drop shipping, t-shirts, and right now I'm enjoying 3d printing as a hobby but plan to pivot it somehow. Haven't figured that out quite yet, but I'm thinking of different ways and testing the market.

Oh and if you read this thread earlier, you'll find out that i am profoundly deaf.. so no excuses for high barriers to entry... get working and you'll have a return one way or another.
 

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Hey guys, JP here



It’s been some time since I’ve posted on the forum.

I wanted to share with you the ‘trial by fire’ thing paid off. I’m deemed a expert within my industry and am relevantly well known in my area.

I got an offer to be a salesman for industrial chemicals tied to the metals manufacturing industry in the Midwest.


I started on this job in the past summer. The one thing I’ve noticed the mindset and focus that’s required for me is parallel as an entrepreneur. So I’ll think I’ll have some valuable opportunities as I document my way through this sales job.
 
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jpanarra

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Setting up Sales goals



What I do in my job will be selling proprietary chemicals to metal manufacturing sites. My company has the stance of a one stop shop for chemicals in the metal manufacturing industry. As for my niche/background, I am an expert in the electroplating process when it comes to chemicals, equipment, troubleshooting and more. This knowledge is what got me this job. I know “JOB” is the feared 3 letter word around here in this forum. The way I see this is I own my own business and my company is just an external investor that is supporting me to generate them revenue.



The reason why I feel like that is because majority of my income will be commissions. I have no shame in hiding how much I’m going to earn in commissions. Every 100k I sell for my company I will get approximately $550 in commissions per month. Short term goal (within 2-5 years) is 20k per month for me. I already have a base salary; I will not disclose how much. Once again, the bottom line is Commissions will be most of my income, I’ll have to sell roughly of 3,500,000 in a year to achieve my goal. Within my state alone, the metals fabrication industry is easily over 7.5 billion dollars in the state of Indiana alone. So I know there’s a lot of opportunity out there for me within a 2-3 hour drive. Just need to identify who, where and what they are.


The nice thing is the industry I’m working in is a very high barrier to entry in terms of electroplating, machining oils, cleaners, wastewater, and a. Which I’ve penetrated with my expertise, experience, and knowledge. I’m going to have to break this down logically and see who is within the region of my already current customers.



My understanding of the sales process is a simple breakdown of



Prospecting [who] -> Discovery[where,what,who(in terms of people)] -> Presentation -> Proposal -> Close

As of now I'm still I’m currently in the prospecting phase. I’m in the act of finding random individuals that might be a client and putting it down in my CRM.
 

Andy Black

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I’m in the act of finding random individuals that might be a client and putting it down in my CRM.
Will you reach out at the same time as inputting to your CRM?
 

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Will you reach out at the same time as inputting to your CRM?
Andy,

As always its great to hear from you!

I use the Microsoft 365 CRM, this thing is way different than anything I've used before. Once I reach out it'll slide to the discovery phase in the program immediately and moves into a different tab of the program called "opportunity" (they're still a prospect in my take) instead of the "leads" tab.

SO what I'm doing is investing my time to filling up the list then following up.

I haven't dedicated myself 100% to this yet but the vision for my routine is to have 3 different time blocks for the days I'm home. I have a little dial oven timer; I work in 20 min intervals for now with the intention of slowly increasing the amount of time focused. That said, I do a quite a bit of travel to visit current clients, maintain relationships and technical support if they have any issues.

First hour is just searching for prospects - What I'm doing now is I start in an area where I have a current client, go on google maps and look visually within the 5-mile radius if anything stands out if they remotely seem like a manufacturing plant I'll just type their name and address in the Prospecting list

2nd Hour is more Discovery - Who are they, Dig around on LinkedIn and see if there's any connections. Try to find people and decision makers, along with their emails and phone numbers.

3rd hour is outreach- I take the time to write personal emails based off a template I've written up. Being deaf, its hard to build up the confidence to cold call but gotta take that plunge soon.
 
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