NOTABLE! Describe your first sale as an entrepreneur!

[Andy Black]

Bump. Anyone had a first sale of a new product or service recently?

 

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[Itizn]

What’s the story of your first sale?

• How did you feel in that moment? Finally!!!
• What changed from that moment onwards? I realized business is about making other peoples lives easier, so even if it doesn't lead to a direct payment, whenever I come across something that can help those on my clientele list (or those I hope to add to the list) I share without expectations.
• What has it lead to? The confidence knowing I can play this game called entrepreneurship.

In hindsight:

• What would you have done LESS of? Trying to appease people who don't reciprocate
• What would you have done MORE of? Focusing on people who were responsive to my offers and services
• What one piece of advice would you give someone about making that first sale? Don't be afraid to ask for money. Either they say no (or "disappear) and you'll receive "closure", or they'll say yes and you get paid.

 

[robertwills]

I love reading stories of how people got started, especially the turning point where people make their first sale and get hooked.

Let’s see if we can inspire other forum members to make their first sale.


What’s the story of your first sale?

• How did you feel in that moment?
• What changed from that moment onwards?
• What has it lead to?

In hindsight:

• What would you have done LESS of?
• What would you have done MORE of?
• What one piece of advice would you give someone about making that first sale?

Got laid off. Was depressed as can be. Left home with just a suitcase. Got on a bus and I didn't know where I would end up! Called former customer than called former supplier. Put a deal together. Hurray! I moved into a place in an incredibly beautiful location right by the ocean. I was ecstatic!

Went home to family that Christmas with presents galore. Within a time a did some deals with a billionaire. Still doing deals but I'm looking for something else than selling business to business services and goods. I want to do something good for society like - getting the culture to stop drinking alcohol. Helping people in underdeveloped countries "get in the game". Stopping the mindset of hate and violence. Making people aware of the ways to keep trim and fit. And earning a profit doing it!

I would have done less of wasting time on small deals. I would have done more, a lot more, on large deals.

My advice on the first sale (and every one after)? Look at value. Give the best value you can. Only then can you can earn big profits.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Funny I remember them both...

For web dev: A limo company in NY... I redeveloped their website and it gave me one month of rent! They liked our service online and wanted us to do theirs. The sale came via phone.

For my web service: A limo company in FL, even remember her name, Julie. (I think this is mentioned in TGRRE ). The sale came via my website.

 

[Ing]

When I let make a bike gasket for my son’s bike, I gave 2 gaskets in order.
I made a photo with our project s logo in the background.
1 year later someone saw that picture anywhere in the internet. With the logo, he found my hp and asked me for a gasket. he got the second one.
Meanwhile I have sold some more gaskets. I gave a new order for them.

A fine feeling, though there’s no future due to the lack of need.

 

[Vasili27]

My first sale as a entrepreneur is kinda funny tbh. I started off at 16 and decided to open up a drop shipping store and sold dog products like custom harness, leashes and all that. My first ever sale made online was when I finished working out I went up stairs and I went to the bathroom and as I was in I made $60 in literally less then 30 seconds, at my first job it took me almost 8 hours to make $60 so looking back now even though the store didn't work. I now realize the power of being an entrepreneur and its a memory I will remember and be able to look back at and laugh when I become successful

 

[BizyDad]

3rd grade. I read a book on how to fold stunt airplanes. I made one in class, the girl who sat next to me wanted me to make one for her. I asked her what's in it for me? She asked me what I want? I said a nickel. The next day she brought in a nickel and I made her one.

Then everybody wanted one. By the time I sold my fourth one I raised my prices to a quarter.

I tried raising my prices to 50 cents, but nobody wanted to pay that so 3 hours later I lowered it back down to a quarter.

After a few days, or maybe a week, people started asking for refunds. I told them it's not my problem that it's a paper airplane and they stepped on it. Stunt planes are supposed to crash into things.

After 2 weeks I got tired of the hassle. Plus teachers didn't like the planes being left all over the classrooms. But I made something like 20 bucks.

 

[Nick perry01]

I love reading stories of how people got started, especially the turning point where people make their first sale and get hooked.

Let’s see if we can inspire other forum members to make their first sale.


What’s the story of your first sale?

• How did you feel in that moment?
• What changed from that moment onwards?
• What has it lead to?

In hindsight:

• What would you have done LESS of?
• What would you have done MORE of?
• What one piece of advice would you give someone about making that first sale?

I only made 1 sale with my game business(and it wasn't even a sale from a stranger, I just asked another game developer on discord with whom I met weeks earlier to check out my game), but that 1 sale felt amazing. It wasnt so much the money that made me happy(dontget me wrong, the money was amazing) but it was more of the sense that I'm on my way to earn freedom.

My first ever business(I guess you can call it that): I was still in school, and my father ought me a bag of skittles and a bunch of kitkats(yes, I did sell candy that my dad bought me and gave him no profits, not my proudest moment) and I just sold some kitkats to a teacher and the bag of skittles to a kid in my anatomy and physiology class. All in all, I think I made 2$ profit with the skittles and 15 cent profit on each kitkat

Key take away: Join discord servers with skills that you specialize in and just connect with people.....Oh, you meant my 10-grade candy business? Dont sell things youre parents buy for you and end up not giving them anything

 

[Andy Black]

I only made 1 sale with my game business(and it wasn't even a sale from a stranger, I just asked another game developer on discord with whom I met weeks earlier to check out my game), but that 1 sale felt amazing. It wasnt so much the money that made me happy(dontget me wrong, the money was amazing) but it was more of the sense that I'm on my way to earn freedom.

My first ever business(I guess you can call it that): I was still in school, and my father ought me a bag of skittles and a bunch of kitkats(yes, I did sell candy that my dad bought me and gave him no profits, not my proudest moment) and I just sold some kitkats to a teacher and the bag of skittles to a kid in my anatomy and physiology class. All in all, I think I made 2$ profit with the skittles and 15 cent profit on each kitkat

Key take away: Join discord servers with skills that you specialize in and just connect with people.....Oh, you meant my 10-grade candy business? Dont sell things youre parents buy for you and end up not giving them anything

Lol. Yeah, be nice to supportive parents.

Like your avatar btw! Makes me want to go back to my one where I pulled a funny face. Clients loved that one actually.

 

[keanoon8]

I love reading stories of how people got started, especially the turning point where people make their first sale and get hooked.

Let’s see if we can inspire other forum members to make their first sale.


What’s the story of your first sale?

• How did you feel in that moment?
• What changed from that moment onwards?
• What has it lead to?

In hindsight:

• What would you have done LESS of?
• What would you have done MORE of?
• What one piece of advice would you give someone about making that first sale?

I still remember 3 years ago i was still studying in university. I work part time in those retail store for almost a year to hit my saving target.

And at that time I have been thinking, how can I start increase my income without putting so much time and energy, since I have study and part time job that need me to cover.

So , I start looking around and I start my first e commerce business. It didnt hit. Until one day it come with an order of USD4 , in malaysia , it's around RM20.

I jump up and down and i feel the boost in my vein. It feel so great and make me believe that I can do it !

And since then, I have no worry on getting orders !

What I have done less is lack of leverage of time , I didnt hire people to do those work for me. All I do was solo, from customer service, to packaging to delivering..

This is the process. I am glad that I could learn this in early twenties.

I would said my piece of advice to those about making first sales, dont be afraid of not getting first sales. Refine your tune, and get better next time, first sales would definitely come

 

[Andy Black]

I jump up and down and i feel the boost in my vein. It feel so great and make me believe that I can do it !

This is the beauty of that first sale - not just the excitement but also the sudden belief you can do it.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

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[Eudaimonium]

First sale online ended in disaster:

I was 17 and lacked direction, when I visited a neighbour that repaired electronics. A small solo business run from his own basement. Not wealthy by any means, but he was his own boss. If he created a job for himself, why couldn't I? Inspired by him and seeing how he would sell computer parts on eBay etc, I got my hands on some broken game consoles, phones, laptops he did not have the time to fix. Being naive, stubborn and way too proud to ask for his help, I spent weeks in my room, only managing to fix one of the laptops. I then sold this laptop online for a few hundred $ (HUGE!).

Excited, I quickly packaged the laptop in a box and sent it with a shipping carrier... and the customer never received it. Instead I received the laptop in return, ten times more broken than before I fixed it, practically smashed, in a plastic bag, without the box I sent it in.

From the great feeling of making my first sale, I now had feelings of extreme rage, blaming this failure on the carrier, thinking they were incompetent + evil and had crushed my box or dropped it. Teenage hormones kicked in and I felt my view of the world change -- from opportunity, to being in an evil world where not just 'bad luck' haunted me, people were screwing me over intentionally. I felt crushed, lacking in control and maybe I should just focus on studying for the next test in school, where at least there I could change my future outcome and succeed. It's what my parents hinted at.

I can only thank God that I came to my senses the next day and realised that my own incompetence probably caused the issue. I did not know how to package any product safely, why insurance existed, or how postal carriers treat packages. Many naive beliefs and refusing to ask anyone for help.

Humbling experience that I persisted through at the time. That day honestly means more to me than any birthday, graduation etc. How to take ownership of my own mistakes, unhappy customer, risks etc. The next sale couldn't possibly feel worse.

 

[thechosen1]

First around 4th grade, I drew pictures and sold art to other students. They loved my drawings and I loved drawing. But I realized (at the age of 10) that it was hard to create a really good drawing, so I started copying them at home on the printer and labeling them (1/100, 2/100, 3/100) etc. I learned this from a grandparent who was an artist. Kids in class paid me $5 for a picture I drew of Jack Sparrow (the prints!!), but after a few sales, the teacher got angry and stopped it.

Then there were tech decks. 5th grade. They were all the rage - I figured out I could buy a pack of 4 for $10 and then sell them for $5 each to the kids at school. Skateboarding was a huge trend around 2007 or so and every kid wanted to have these miniature skateboards.

I went so far as to buy thin pieces of wood veneer at Hobby Lobby, super glue, and press them together in the garage with a clamp with tiny drilled holes to make my own higher quality "wooden fingerboards" like Tech Decks! I got the idea because I spent a lot of time on YT and saw some German people making their own wooden mini skateboards.

The 5th graders weren't into that though - it was a quick trend and it was over fast.

 

[Zaratustra]

First around 4th grade, I drew pictures and sold art to other students.

I've read somewhere, that the greatest correlation with having a successful business is how early you've had your first entrepreneurial venture. Almost every billionaire seems to have done something 12 years old or younger.