Fastlane Success (8 figure exit!) - Now Back to the Starting Ground !!

[NeoDialectic]

This is awesome! Congrats to both you and @NeoDialectic on the 8 figure exit! I really hope to be will be in your shoes one day with an 8 figure buyout. I just finished creating my Shopify site and am waiting on Amazon to approve my product.

I wanted to ask either/or both of you, how many products did you all have in your Amazon store? I also noticed @fastlane_dad said its a long journey that should not be taken alone, but I am having a hard time finding a business partner. When I started this journey, I had a partner, but he was never available. Do you either of you have any tips on finding a business part or maybe where I should look for one or more?

Again, congrats on the exit!

Thank you!

Off the top of my head, we have had 20-30 products on Amazon.

I don't think you necessarily need a business partner. In fact, many people probably couldn't be in a healthy business partner relationship. That doesn't mean they won't be successful. I don't think Steve Jobs would do well having a 50/50 partner for long, and we know how that turned out! But even without a business partner, you don't have to do it alone. There are communities like these that can help along the way.

If you are looking for any advice on finding a business partner, you can check out my post HERE

This is a pretty large topic, but here it goes. There are probably 2 seperate questions here.

1. What traits do BOTH partners have to possess to foster a healthy business partnership
2. What qualities/skills in a business partner mesh well with your qualities/skills

I think the following traits are very important for #1

• Capable of setting boundaries
• Capable of being confrontational and standing up for yourself
• Capable of separating the friendship and the business partnership
• Be willing to compromise
• Have their ego in control

All these traits build a foundation to the partnership. Alot can be written on each of them, but to me, they allow the partners to be able to set expectations of each other and resolve issues when expectations change or are unmet. Most people focus on the first part, but find out when it's too late that the only constant in business is change and their partnership can't adapt to the shifting landscape.

Moving onto #2.

The following are a list of things that would facilitate a less rocky partnership

• Your goals and values should be aligned
• You should have similar financial habits
• You should have similar work ethics
• You should have compatible power mindsets. It's NOT OK if both people are stubborn leaders as they will bump heads eventually. It's NOT OK if both people are passive as this will hamper decision making. It's OK if one person like to take lead and the other prefers to follow. Its probably most IDEAL if both people have leadership qualities that they can exert, but also don't mind taking the backseat if the situation calls for it. This last one describes @fastlane_dad and I partnership and is probably one of our biggest strengths. We are both very easy going, but grab the reins when needed.

The follow are a list of things that would make 1+1=3 in a partnership

• Specializing in separate skills. This refers to things you guys know how to do or specifically like to do.
• Having different iritations. This refers to things neither of you may specifically like to do but don't mind doing

I haven't wrote specifically about this topic in the past, so I'm sure I am missing a few things. This is a good start to get you thinking in the right direction though. The advice to not start a business with friends is generally good advice. But that is simply because most people can't separate business & friendship and people also have very different personal financial habits that may not be immediately apparent. So it's not just because something is inherently wrong with starting a business with a friend.

It's no accident that alot of what I said is just basics of how to have GOOD RELATIONSHIPS in general. A business relationship brings additional intricacies, but many of the requirements are similar to building any type of relationship with someone.

Keep in mind that this advice is based on you wanting a long term good business relationship. Plenty of partnerships work long enough for people to become successful and then break up. But they were still successful so it's not the biggest deal. So it may be OK to get into business with someone that doesn't fit all your criteria. You just have to be cognizant of this and plan accordingly.

 

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[NeoDialectic]

Do you think it's possible to accomplish the same with Amazon starting in 2022?

The Amazon landscape is very different than ten years ago. I looked into Amazon FBA pretty seriously about three years and decided against it for several reason. Lack of control, endless fees, no customer ownership and Amazon literally stealing successful products and selling against you. I also became convinced that many, many people were starting FBAs due to a proliferation of guru courses, doing a crappy job running them and quickly churning out. It seemed to result in artificially low prices (due to the owner subsidizing losses) that penalized better run companies that might otherwise be successful.

The short answer is that yes it is possible. It is different today than 2012. But it is still very possible.

The slightly longer answer is that there is always room for innovative products or innovative marketing angles. However, I would definitely suggest NOT getting into Amazon in 2022 if your idea of selling is trying to be price competitive or dropshipping from alibaba.

 

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[NeoDialectic]

I understand the game now is much different to when you started but i do have a question about starting off on ecom with low capital. Do you source products to sell in a certain niche from alibaba/distributors or go through the design and manufacture process yourself and design your own product.
I am guessing the second option is obviously better since you can work on flaws and create more value, but does this not cost more? Does it sell better than the cheap stuff before people realise the quality/value? (i am just wondering if buyers assume its also a cheap product riddled with flaws)

As you guessed, manufacturing your own is always better but it's also more investment. That's why we rely so heavily on our TESTING model. We ultimately want our own thing and we don't want to resell someone elses thing. You can't demand as much $, you won't have as unique of a product to set you apart, barrier to entry is so much lower, you won't be able to target the value creation as efficiently, you won't have as much of a profit margin, etc... But you also want some kind of reassurance before making big investments.

So in other words, we prefer the design/manufacture model of business but we hedge our losses by testing first.

 

[fastlane_dad]

I understand the game now is much different to when you started but i do have a question about starting off on ecom with low capital. Do you source products to sell in a certain niche from alibaba/distributors or go through the design and manufacture process yourself and design your own product.
I am guessing the second option is obviously better since you can work on flaws and create more value, but does this not cost more? Does it sell better than the cheap stuff before people realise the quality/value? (i am just wondering if buyers assume its also a cheap product riddled with flaws)

It all depends on your abilities, budget and value add.

It is always best to create your own product / formula / unique offering, even if all it presents is a slight twist on what's already out. A Carbon Copy of something else that is already successful will only be that much harder to promote and compete with all the current offerings on the market.

The question always will be what value are you adding, or problem solving vs what has already been done before. Are you merely a me-too copycat (selling a face-wash), or did you come up with a unique formula where your face wash also doubles up as a shampoo - and now you have that many less products to worry about in the shower, etc.

Yes, creating from the ground up (or redesigning existing products) - will most usually cost more. If you have a smaller budget, that doesn't rule out other options though. Sometimes you can literally make a mock up yourself or a prototype of something else that you can sell and offer. Certain marketplaces were literally created for this purpose (think etsy!).

Yes, you will need investment and capital either on the product side and also on the marketing / ads side. There are countless ways to bootstrap if you are starting off small where sometimes the biggest investment will be your time and effort to test new ideas out.

 

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[NeoDialectic]

This one is super tricky in my case.

I've just started a thread for my new project. I focused on problem solving and to start with, I focused on my own problems. And the biggest problem that popped out concerns a piece of equipment that I use for one of my passions (motorcycling). I've been complaining for years about this stuff but now I decided to take actions.

The point is: I did not decide to start this project / brand because I absolutely want to enter the motorcycle business. In the end, I don't care which business I am in as long as I provide value to others (the first business I started (my wife's project) is in the field of jewelry... Not really one of my passions).

In this new case, as I was looking at my own struggles, there were high chances that I end up in a field somehow related to one of my passions.
I'm just trying to do everything to not be biased and to take some distance to evaluate the situation properly and focus on product / providing value first.

Did you also experience this kind of situation ?

As long as you are trying to keep the primary focus in the correct places (providing value, earning income, etc), it's not a bad thing that the venture is in a passionate field. In fact it could be an advantage. You may be motivated to put in alot more work when it's in a field you enjoy. Or you may know a field much more deeply if it's one you have been in for long. With each of those avantages come their own minefields to avoid, but it sounds like you are handling it carefully.

 

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[NeoDialectic]

4 marketers
1 Graphic designer
1 product developer
1 customer service
1 wholesale
2 operations managers
2 warehouse managers
10 warehouse employees
Executive assistant
2 Admins/e-commerce support
Me
1 PT does custom CAD and patent designs
1 PT graphic designer
2 temps for seasonal labor
Plus or minus 1-4 depending on the season.
I’m working on getting the whole operation to run without me. Currently I work remotely and I’ve been working myself out of the operations.

@fastlane_dad & @NeoDialetic,
Thanks for sharing your story! I’ve got an FBA. Business with around 30 employees. I’ve scaled to my current revenue through acquiring and merging 6 smaller brands in the e-commerce space.

Congratulations on your success! It looks like a big part of our employment differences had to do with how much you decided to do in-house versus contracting. We outsourced everything that we could to 3PLs, graphic designer contractors, customer service centers, etc...

As long as you are OK with managing an army of employees, there are many benefits to having in-house employees. It's no coincidence that most large businesses have large payrolls.....

You seem like you’re about 3-4 years ahead of me as far as where I’d like to be at an exit given our current growth rate. I’d love to hear more about what you’re suggesting for maximizing value at an exit. What do I you wish u you ou would have known going into selling a business?

We have a whole series on selling our business that we have had on the back burner to finish. But I'll add a few things that come to mind.

Your valuation will be roughly based on your profit multiplied by a multiple. So the most important thing in your valuation would be your profit. I'm guessing you are already trying to maximize revenue/profit, so not much info there. So most your work will be on the multiple side of things. They will most likely look at your last 2 years. The most important factor for your multiple will be that the profit trend line has been increasing over the last 2 years.

So depending on how your business is run, you may want to strategically deploy advertising campaigns during the last year. Or if you know certain times of year are better, timing the exit to match with that. Investors know about seasonality, so it's not a huge variable as they will take that into account. But the line going up is the equivalent to "curb appeal" when buying a house.

Next, you want to make sure nothing shady or sloppy is going on in your business. Especially during those last two years. Are your employees all above board? Is everything being done by the books with payroll and/or management? Are you running any iffy marketing campaigns? etc..This is increasing liability for the investor. So while you will find interest in your business no matter what the answer to these questions are, higher liability will mean a lower multiple.

Decrease dependencies. MJ's not the only one that knows not to violate the Commandment of Control! If 100% of your sales are on Amazon, you are at their mercy. If you could take 20% of your customers off Amazon and onto your website, that would be a big deal.

Then there are a lot of things that may not affect your valuation but will give you ammo during negotiations. I.E having a lot of customers signed up on your email list could be a powerful tool for the buyer to utilize not just on your products but other businesses they may have. It's your job to point out that the brand X they already own would be a perfect fit for your customers. As luck would have it, you have a list of customers that are just waiting to be given a coupon code for that type of product! The day they buy your company, will be a fantastic day for their other brand X!

Have you thought about acquiring a business for your next play rather than starting from scratch?

We have been looking around and thinking about buying a business. We haven't found the right one for us yet. Our motivation for buying a business is less about the passive income and more about the skills and knowledge we can learn from taking over a business in a different field (and marketing strategy).

 

[NeoDialectic]

I will counter your math with my reality of knowing several hundred millionaires ranging from single digit net worth to one centi-millionaire. The handful that are fearful about running out of money have always been fearful and will remain fearful until they stop breathing. The guy running the Financial Samurai blog is like that. Sam knows a lot about finance, but his grasp of personal fulfillment and life satisfaction is non-existent. No number in the bank will give them peace.

The rest of the millionaires I know have zero concerns. They learned about "enough" ages ago.

I understand what you are saying and I don't think we are using "fearful" the same way. I am fairly confident I won't run out of money. I was just addressing a commonly held belief that just because you have XX amount, you never have to think about or budget money again.

 

[EquinoxS]

Congratulations! It's hard to imagine what struggles you must have had - and overcome - over the years!

Maybe it sounds funny but I believe I would have an easier time growing and optimizing a business than getting it started. To me, the start of a business has always been the big mystery. Can you tell more about the moment you realized there was value to be skewed and how you figured out how to do it:
First, you need to realize there is some way, e.g. a modification, that could improve the product. Did you check existing products and have some kind of heureka moment as in "that can be done in a better way"? Did you have domain experience with those products (used them in the past, worked in that industry...)?

Second (and certainly more important) is the idea / knowledge on how to turn that modification into reality. Did you already have the skills to do so right away (e.g. sat down in front of your PC, opened a CAD program, designed the modification with your already existing engineering knowledge...) or did you have to have to learn those skills first?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mr27]

OK so there's a lot to my story - my journey and how it all happened (I'd be willing to share if there's any interest) - but long story short I have recently achieved the pinnacle of the 'fastlane journey' - selling my online business a year ago and amassing a low 8 figure net worth.

This was not a 'get rich quick' story either as this took the better part of the last 15 years to begin my entrepreneurship journey full time, and eventually build a business to the point of sale a decade later. I was working a full time corporate job (with my slowlane degree!) prior to embarking on this wild ride. I quit at 25 years old, and never looked back again or had a boss since that lovely July day. There were MANY failures, trials and tribulations along the way. If you want a 'process' and not an 'event' ---> I am no better example of that.

I am now at a point of figuring out what the best next steps forward are. Some of the things I have started working towards is thinking about starting another business for fun rather than just profit (orienting it closer towards a passion), currently investing the proceeds of the business sale, and gauging if there are other values to chase in this lifetime vs. the constant pursuit of building / scaling / selling businesses and building wealth for wealth's sake (once you figure out your 'enough').

I am late 30s with a small family (one child) and *think* I have close to enough to make my money last until the day I die, so pursuing extra wealth through hard work and additional sacrifice is becoming less and less appealing with each passing day. I have experienced all the exotic rides, dream vacations, top restaurants and parties (all responsibly of course) and many of all the other luxury goods we all aspire to. While great in its own right, and was a lot of my motivation from the get-go -- much of that has lost its charms on me over the years.

Additionally, I am looking forward to merging my life towards providing value to any/all that want help with business advice in any facet. My schedule is open now (as I consider myself partially retired) and I am open to mentoring / coaching anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship, scaling a business or just thinking of ideas / niches to pursue.

I haven't participated much on these boards while pursuing my entrepreneurial journey but am at a point now where I have the time, motivation and willingness to engage in helping others achieve 'the dream.'

In a way I am now back to ground zero - and yes, even though the pressures of day-to-day paycheck are further beyond me, I am in many ways faced with the same but different constraints that I was bootstrapping and growing a business, or trying to figure what is it now that I'm 'optimizing' for.

I am very conservative in my investments as well, so having money does not automatically enroll you in some special club where now 'making money' becomes much easier (in facts sometimes its the opposite when you are afraid of losing it all).

For those wondering how I made the bulk of my money it was through various e-com ventures, latest being an Amazon FBA business that led to an exit. The 'process' took me the better part of the last decade (the Amazon business actually was started exactly a decade ago this month!) - but I have been entrepreneurial in various facets since the age of 14.

While I haven't hit all the tenets of CENTS with my last business (primarily violating control and entry) - the rest of them were hit right on the mark to make it a success.

I'm still learning and browsing these forums weekly but will plan and contribute more as time goes on!

Congratulations mate! I know Ecom is a wonderful business model.

This is a very inspiring story, and it's a nice feeling to get involved in an online community where people you wouldn't normally meet IRL that are living the life you desire reside in.

I just joined the forum, and I am looking forward to broaden my horizons. I just received my copy of TMF , can't wait to delve deep into it.

 

[fastlane_dad]

@fastlane_dad

How did you end up being partners? What's your take on partnerships?

Great question!

Around 2006 we got into affiliate marketing. @NeoDialectic was partnered with my brother at the time, and I was working with one of my friends. We were both partnered up with other people before we started working together, and after a brief chat, discussing how our vision, plan and hope for this opportunity lined up - our partnership was born.

It made sense to partner up together under one account, as the commissions were tiered by the volume of sales that was brought in. We had very similar values on work, taking advantage of a lucrative situation, and saw the opportunity that was presented to us.

We're going on 16 years of working together, and it has worked out for us great. Everything from one person initiating action, one of us being stronger or more motivated in one area or other, or just having someone to bounce crazy ideas all day and philosophize for half the time.

From what I understand, the general consensus is majority of partnerships fails. It's tough to keep it going. Values of people not only start out different, but diverge many times. People get greedy, they lose trust in each other, family values and priorities shift -- and many other things can go wrong. In many ways, it can be tougher then a marriage as money (lots of money) many times is on the line.

For us through a decade and a half - our TOP value was always on the prize - to get wealthy and be able to 'retire' young. Once the business has grown to a seven then an eight figure net worth, we setup a buyout agreement in place, to protect both parties and our respective families.

The mindset of both people needs to be congruent as well, we were believers in the TMF mentality before the book was written. Corporate grind was never in the books for us for a long time.

Did we always see eye-to-eye on every single topic and issue when it came to business? Certainly not. But we were able to make it work through all the years, and had / still have very similar viewpoints on many topics as it relates to business, fastlane, investing and many general life philosophies.

Here is more on the topic by @NeoDialectic

partnerships!

 

[fastlane_dad]

@fastlane_dad Interesting point you make "This was nearly a decade ago" ... I often wonder, what makes one realize how and when to start something when it's still early days? (ie. Drop-shipping using Shopify is so saturated right now)
Is it just plain old research & then giving it a shot?

As a summary that's correct - taking action, working towards a small win - and having persistence to keep going. Whether that's in same field/idea or different.

At one point, when I was COMPLETELY out of ideas where I knew I had to do something - I started reselling CUTCO knives (purchased locally off craigslist / listed on eBay).

It wasn't a gold mine in any sense, but gave me the feeling of control again that it is possible to turn a small profit selling items online. @NeoDialectic and I were just discussing this topic today, and will make a post on this shortly.

Of course that (cutlery arbitrage) was all very short lived, as some of the other ideas @NeoDialectic and I had slowly picked up and eventually turned into an 8 figure business with an exit.

BUT ALSO at one point or another we have tested and tried many of the 'hot platforms and methods' that today more or less seem outdated or won't yield nearly as instantaneous results (affiliate marketing, eBay resells/flips, Google AdWords, amazon FBA, etc). Many were missed along the way as well (social media uprising, youtube, instagram, etc). Not to say that ANY of those can't still be used to gain a significant market advantage, or identify a specific opportunity that will work. All it is, is it will be much more difficult and require more ingenuity going forward.

Always keeping your eyes peeled on new/trending/coming up marketplaces, figuring out how to add or provide value, and deliver it on a mass scale is always the key. And also, don't forget to enjoy the actual 'process', rather then some far away , mystical goal that might or not come. That's the only way you will garner wins along the road, even if they are in some views a quick 'fail'. Many, many ideas we had - where websites were setup, products researched and sourced (or planned on sourcing), advertising tried etc that wen't absolutely 'nowhere' in terms of revenue or profit - but scratched our itch to try that IDEA, and learned a lesson (or two) along the way on why things didn't work out as we hoped.

 

[aabawe]

Congratulations! It's always great to hear from those that have made it, gives the rest of us hope XD

 

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[Crazy GG]

Hi there!

First of all, kudos to you growing your business to such a high level - really interesting that you put a phone number on your eCom site - I don't see a lot of people doing that.

I have recently turned my attention to eCom as well since I think it's a good business model to start if you have a full time job. I have tested a couple of products already from AliExpress and they have all failed, and ad costs on Facebook are very expensive, so even if I did make sales it would be pretty hard to be profitable.

Do you have any advice on someone starting out? Thanks!

 

[Ernman]

Awesome! Congrats! Now get back to work...OK, just joking, kind of. Take some time to celebrate and then get back to work.

I'm not going to dive into the conversation of how much is enough to ensure your family's security through retirement. But my sense from your comments is that you believe you need more AND that is what matters. However, you are in the enviable position of having both resources and experience.

One of the many things I liked about MJ's recent book, The Great Rat Race Escape , is what he calls the Escape Number. Have you done such an exercise? You might find it helpful as you contemplate your next moves.

I'm looking forward to learning all that you'll share with us and hope that will be A LOT! Also hoping you'll sign up as a presenter whenever we get around to another SUMMIT...hint, hint

 

[DCDeuce]

OK so there's a lot to my story - my journey and how it all happened (I'd be willing to share if there's any interest) - but long story short I have recently achieved the pinnacle of the 'fastlane journey' - selling my online business a year ago and amassing a low 8 figure net worth.

This was not a 'get rich quick' story either as this took the better part of the last 15 years to begin my entrepreneurship journey full time, and eventually build a business to the point of sale a decade later. I was working a full time corporate job (with my slowlane degree!) prior to embarking on this wild ride. I quit at 25 years old, and never looked back again or had a boss since that lovely July day. There were MANY failures, trials and tribulations along the way. If you want a 'process' and not an 'event' ---> I am no better example of that.

I am now at a point of figuring out what the best next steps forward are. Some of the things I have started working towards is thinking about starting another business for fun rather than just profit (orienting it closer towards a passion), currently investing the proceeds of the business sale, and gauging if there are other values to chase in this lifetime vs. the constant pursuit of building / scaling / selling businesses and building wealth for wealth's sake (once you figure out your 'enough').

I am late 30s with a small family (one child) and *think* I have close to enough to make my money last until the day I die, so pursuing extra wealth through hard work and additional sacrifice is becoming less and less appealing with each passing day. I have experienced all the exotic rides, dream vacations, top restaurants and parties (all responsibly of course) and many of all the other luxury goods we all aspire to. While great in its own right, and was a lot of my motivation from the get-go -- much of that has lost its charms on me over the years.

Additionally, I am looking forward to merging my life towards providing value to any/all that want help with business advice in any facet. My schedule is open now (as I consider myself partially retired) and I am open to mentoring / coaching anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship, scaling a business or just thinking of ideas / niches to pursue.

I haven't participated much on these boards while pursuing my entrepreneurial journey but am at a point now where I have the time, motivation and willingness to engage in helping others achieve 'the dream.'

In a way I am now back to ground zero - and yes, even though the pressures of day-to-day paycheck are further beyond me, I am in many ways faced with the same but different constraints that I was bootstrapping and growing a business, or trying to figure what is it now that I'm 'optimizing' for.

I am very conservative in my investments as well, so having money does not automatically enroll you in some special club where now 'making money' becomes much easier (in facts sometimes its the opposite when you are afraid of losing it all).

For those wondering how I made the bulk of my money it was through various e-com ventures, latest being an Amazon FBA business that led to an exit. The 'process' took me the better part of the last decade (the Amazon business actually was started exactly a decade ago this month!) - but I have been entrepreneurial in various facets since the age of 14.

While I haven't hit all the tenets of CENTS with my last business (primarily violating control and entry) - the rest of them were hit right on the mark to make it a success.

I'm still learning and browsing these forums weekly but will plan and contribute more as time goes on!

This is awesome! Congrats to both you and @NeoDialectic on the 8 figure exit! I really hope to be will be in your shoes one day with an 8 figure buyout. I just finished creating my Shopify site and am waiting on Amazon to approve my product.

I wanted to ask either/or both of you, how many products did you all have in your Amazon store? I also noticed @fastlane_dad said its a long journey that should not be taken alone, but I am having a hard time finding a business partner. When I started this journey, I had a partner, but he was never available. Do you either of you have any tips on finding a business part or maybe where I should look for one or more?

Again, congrats on the exit!

 

[EquinoxS]

Briefly in terms of how some of the ideas were born that ended up being profitable - for one there was an automotive accessories line that we carried. I had the product on my car, and soon enough people in parking lots / gas stations asked me where they can get a similar one! We experimented with a few products, made a mock prototype and a website and a store was setup! We improved the design slightly over what was already on the marketplace. We made a few basic videos and took some pictures of the products. One of the other value skews was great customer / phone support (that we were doing ourselves!). The ability to upsell the customer and explain your products was great at the time.The ironic part is that this didn't take of as a business until YEARS later, when we decided to take that idea more seriously.

Some other ideas were born strictly because I noticed a lack of a few ingredients combined into a personal care product many people use daily. I thought the combination of those several ingredients was a great value skew (as each one held benefits) - and now packaged up it carried even more weight.

Other products followed suit. All were typically born around something that is / was a part of my daily life. The value adds and iterations were not groundbreaking inventions, trying to break into a new market (think shaving cream BUT also containing an ingredient that prevents follow up razor burn). For everything we sold, the market was already there or small and growing. Some products were more niche then others and only applied to a select group of the population.

Thanks for the detailed answer!

So, most of the ideas for things to improve came by using them yourself - that makes sense!

If you don't mind, I'm really interested in the product generation part: you mentioned the automotive accessory. I take it you had this accessory on your car (bought from another company) and people came up to you asking about it. That's when you realized there is demand for this type of accessory.
Next, you thought about ways to improve the design. How did actually implement the new and improved design? Did you draw sketches, sent them to a supplier and they figured how how to build that product? Or did you create a (detailed) CAD model and asked for quotations from suppliers? Or did you outsource the whole thing - design & production ("would be cool if XYZ was attached to the accessory, you guys figure out what it should look like and build it for me")?

As for the personal care product, you combined two ingredients A and B that previously had only existed in separate products (think "2 in 1" shower gels and shampoos)? Did it take you many iterations to get a good result? I could imagine that the combination of A and B might behave very differently than one might expect. E.g. if you only knew elements sodium (explosive reaction with water!) and chlorine (toxic!), you probably would expect the combination of the two to be some very dangerous stuff, not table salt. ;-)
I could also imagine that it was tough to get your new product approved by some authorities since it comes in contact with skin? Think regulatory affairs hell...

Maybe I'm overthinking this but you make it sound 'so easy' and I'm pretty sure it wasn't!

 

[biophase]

I feel like you need something that is adjacent to a popular item, but not easy for competitors to see is selling well.

What *would* you launch on Amazon starting from ground zero again? I mean the process of figuring out the exact product, not a specific items. Although if you have any of those in mind, feel free to shout out and I'll start an FBA tomorrow.

Chris, before you launch a product, you should ask yourself, “Would I be starting this business if I couldn’t sell with FBA?”

If your answer is yes, then proceed. Else I’d rethink it.

 

[fastlane_dad]

Thanks so much for sharing your story and congrats, fastlane_dad and NeoDialectic. A success story is always great to hear and personally motivates me to work more on my goals.

I just wanted to ask, what is your opinion and outlook on NFTs and Web 3.0 overall. NFT collections for example can be successful with the right team and can generate millions in the mint phase as well as secondary fees, like BAYC and Azuki. Do you think there's any VALUE behind them, a business that people should pursue?

Haven't dove into this much yet, but I'm sure much wealth will be created in this space in the next decade or so. For now, a lot of it seems like speculation / hype. Based on my quick take, majority of the people currently actually 'making money' in this space are the ones talking and writing about it. Many of the others are just gambling and speculating. But an interesting topic and way forward nonetheless. I will be curious to learn more and understand where all this is going to potentially open up some new opportunities even for myself!

 

[NeoDialectic]

This is a good reminder.
I am South African born. We have many third world country problems here, like shortage of water & electricity reduction.
Being an engineer with a first world mindset, continiously showing interest in new technology and ways to solve higher level problems, I read a lot & I try to execute & implement my first world ideas in a country that, although somewhat first world, we do have more third world problems to solve.
Yes, the last 2 to 5 years have seen tremendous growth in technology & adaptation of solutions from Western countries (myself I have launched a startup few months ago with this in mind - which is still catching ground).

BUT very recently (as I am tuning my FASTLANE problem solving head more) I noticed a huge need within my residential complex literally on my doorstep where my neighbours are 'screaming' for a solution (which I know I can solve). The idea popped into my head like a bright light bulb flashing on (LOL).
It may not immediately be CENTS based BUT it's a definite problem solver. I am currently solving it for myself then IL offer it to my neighbours, let's see what happens. Kinda excited about it.

Good luck! I recently made a thread HERE asking whether anyone is applying fastlane ideas outside the USA. Glad to see people are in the process!

 

[Akita]

OK so there's a lot to my story - my journey and how it all happened (I'd be willing to share if there's any interest) - but long story short I have recently achieved the pinnacle of the 'fastlane journey' - selling my online business a year ago and amassing a low 8 figure net worth.

This was not a 'get rich quick' story either as this took the better part of the last 15 years to begin my entrepreneurship journey full time, and eventually build a business to the point of sale a decade later. I was working a full time corporate job (with my slowlane degree!) prior to embarking on this wild ride. I quit at 25 years old, and never looked back again or had a boss since that lovely July day. There were MANY failures, trials and tribulations along the way. If you want a 'process' and not an 'event' ---> I am no better example of that.

I am now at a point of figuring out what the best next steps forward are. Some of the things I have started working towards is thinking about starting another business for fun rather than just profit (orienting it closer towards a passion), currently investing the proceeds of the business sale, and gauging if there are other values to chase in this lifetime vs. the constant pursuit of building / scaling / selling businesses and building wealth for wealth's sake (once you figure out your 'enough').

I am late 30s with a small family (one child) and *think* I have close to enough to make my money last until the day I die, so pursuing extra wealth through hard work and additional sacrifice is becoming less and less appealing with each passing day. I have experienced all the exotic rides, dream vacations, top restaurants and parties (all responsibly of course) and many of all the other luxury goods we all aspire to. While great in its own right, and was a lot of my motivation from the get-go -- much of that has lost its charms on me over the years.

Additionally, I am looking forward to merging my life towards providing value to any/all that want help with business advice in any facet. My schedule is open now (as I consider myself partially retired) and I am open to mentoring / coaching anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship, scaling a business or just thinking of ideas / niches to pursue.

I haven't participated much on these boards while pursuing my entrepreneurial journey but am at a point now where I have the time, motivation and willingness to engage in helping others achieve 'the dream.'

In a way I am now back to ground zero - and yes, even though the pressures of day-to-day paycheck are further beyond me, I am in many ways faced with the same but different constraints that I was bootstrapping and growing a business, or trying to figure what is it now that I'm 'optimizing' for.

I am very conservative in my investments as well, so having money does not automatically enroll you in some special club where now 'making money' becomes much easier (in facts sometimes its the opposite when you are afraid of losing it all).

For those wondering how I made the bulk of my money it was through various e-com ventures, latest being an Amazon FBA business that led to an exit. The 'process' took me the better part of the last decade (the Amazon business actually was started exactly a decade ago this month!) - but I have been entrepreneurial in various facets since the age of 14.

While I haven't hit all the tenets of CENTS with my last business (primarily violating control and entry) - the rest of them were hit right on the mark to make it a success.

I'm still learning and browsing these forums weekly but will plan and contribute more as time goes on!

Good to hear this story, I know that there’s many like myself that have so much to learn. So I’m sure you’ll be able to add much value in some capacity. Can’t wait to hear from you!

 

[Two Dog]

8 figure net worth and you're concerned about running out of money? C'mon.

Congrats on the successful exit!!

 

[biophase]

Wuh? I'm almost there now for a family of two, platinum plan though.

I was trying to quote a single guy, based on my $500/month plan now.

 

[mr4ffe]

Congratulations!

You mention that you're considering mentoring entrepreneurs who are starting out.
Have you considered writing books or holding (non-scam) seminars?

I know I'll either do that or become an angel investor when I've become retirement-wealthy.
It sounds like YC and Shark Tank guys know what's up when they invest in and mentor young entrepreneurs (especially in emerging markets worldwide), as that's sort of a hedge against black swans.

 

[Two Dog]

The short answer is that yes it is possible. It is different today than 2012. But it is still very possible.

The slightly longer answer is that there is always room for innovative products or innovative marketing angles. However, I would definitely suggest NOT getting into Amazon in 2022 if your idea of selling is trying to be price competitive or dropshipping from alibaba.

I feel like you need something that is adjacent to a popular item, but not easy for competitors to see is selling well.

What *would* you launch on Amazon starting from ground zero again? I mean the process of figuring out the exact product, not a specific items. Although if you have any of those in mind, feel free to shout out and I'll start an FBA tomorrow.

 

[Two Dog]

Chris, before you launch a product, you should ask yourself, “Would I be starting this business if I couldn’t sell with FBA?”

If your answer is yes, then proceed. Else I’d rethink it.

Actually, that's close to my next question. @NeoDialectic It sounded like you were marketing your products directly instead of relying completely on Amazon. You mentioned starting with picking up the phone and upselling. If you can use Amazon for fulfillment without relying on it entirely for promotion, it solves a lot of the business problems for me.

Is that the case?

 

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[YelmisPravida]

There was no one single home run 'event' occurring in any of our business. Much / many of the days were very uneventful - with many of them actually felt like they were 'wasted away' brainstorming, researching, reading and/or deliberately trying and executing on a mini plan we made.

I am on my journey, currently figuring out how to get to the next big step with my business (700K$ revenue today and growing roughly 10% yearly), and this is exactly how it feels. Small challenges and next steps, seeing the big vision but working on the next few steps ahead, and tackling unforeseen circumstances, day in and day out. And I'm loving it.

 

[NeoDialectic]

.Wow great!!!,
Congratulations to you ( @fastlane_dad and @NeoDialectic). Your journey is very inspiring. I am glad to read such stories in this forum. This forum is changing the way I see things in business. .I hope one day to share my experience as well to inspire others.

I read this whole thread and it is really very interesting and I found that you have already answered all the questions that I would need as a beginner. I have a little trouble asking questions to strangers. .I don't ask enough questions right now because my big concern right now is getting coding skills, because I know with those skills I wouldn't miss any opportunities. .I have already started and do enough on HTML5 and CSS 3, I have already acquired a little but it cannot yet allow me to create a solid website. So when finished, I would really need this thread to build my very strong fastlane business.

.I'm currently a beginner in business, I'm at square one to be a little clearer. But to tell the truth the reason why I am writing this text to you is this: currently, I am facing total indecision. .and I have to make a decision to be able to focus better on one activity and become more productive, because I feel like I'm wasting my energy. .apart from my coding apprenticeship, I work as a hitchhiker for a company., I am a hitchhiker for a company named Epigpanthéon ( www.epigpantheon.com ), it is still at its starting point. So no gains first. .but the problem with this company is that the family intervenes too much in it, and moreover, I have the impression that we do not have the same vision of things. And they refuse to establish work rules. It was created by a fellow student and his big brother. .so they who manage things and have all the control. Now I want to make a decision and really become more productive, because I feel like I'm procrastinating. .because me, currently I'm the type to want to have management control of everything I'm going to do. Because I have wasted enough time in relational marketing networks, I know the consequences of being in a company that you have no control over. .it's for this reason that i want to leave the business and focus on building my own business that lives up to the five commandments, outlined by dad MJ in his book. I especially want to leave because I am not too focused on my own activities. .for example, last week I didn't read the discussion threads of this forum (fastlaneforum.com) nor made much of my own purpose because I was taken up with the activities of this company.


.I wonder if it's a good idea to do it that way. s If so, I think I'm thinking of starting a journey thread, to share what I do on each of my days in order to stay motivated, more focused.

Any advice would be accepted, I look forward to hearing your advice. .I am willing to answer all kinds of questions in . thank you

It sounds like you are asking a question that will be impossible to answer without knowing your values and risk tolerance.

Personally, we did not feel confident enough to leave our "standard career path" that would pay for our daily lives until we actually started making money with our businesses. So if you are depending on your paycheck to live, then I recommend trying to build your business in your spare time. But that is just based on our values and risk tolerance!

 

[radiximus]

Honestly the stress never goes away. There are different types of stress and questions / mindsets along the way...

The best I can summarize - is it just changes. Here is a typical map experienced with the most recent business we built up and sold...over the course of a decade

1 - Product research / what to sell / OMG I'm making a big investment / Will this work out ... I'm putting in LOTS of work without instant results...and yet I'm not rich or an overnight success, the gurus lied!!
2 - I'm converting some sales, I'm making a profit, how do I scale ...
3 - My company is growing, I need to add and hire employees, increase my product offerings ...
4 - How do we take the business a notch higher, look for other ways of advertising, promotion etc ...
5 - How much bigger do we want to grow this company, is there a better use of my time, are we working on the business or in the business....which ultimate leads to....is it time to sell ...
6 - Yes - we're selling - is this the right move?
7 - Yes! The business is sold ... what now!!??

Long story short, there are stresses and challenges every single damn day.

The funny part is post business sale, and accumulation of wealth - the stress is ever present, just in a different form.

There are new questions that pop up now that the business is sold. In some ways the new questions are tougher to answer then the ones I had a decade back. The variables are different. My age is different. My motivations are different. My values changed. I also have a growing family etc. But that won't stop me from evolving and doing what I need to do to move forward !!

As they say you must love the process.

The journey , whether with business or any other part of my life has been much 'sweeter' then the destination.

The 'event' itself (selling a business, getting married, buying a lambo, reaching many travel destinations) - has been mostly irrelevant and very uneventful.

It is the labor, thoughts, contemplations, ups and downs, emotions, arguments, pondering if this is all worth it along the way --- that are REALLY the prize to it all.


Thanks! Looking forward to providing and delivering as much value as I can. And learning / refining how to deliver my message simultaneously!

I understand the game now is much different to when you started but i do have a question about starting off on ecom with low capital. Do you source products to sell in a certain niche from alibaba/distributors or go through the design and manufacture process yourself and design your own product.
I am guessing the second option is obviously better since you can work on flaws and create more value, but does this not cost more? Does it sell better than the cheap stuff before people realise the quality/value? (i am just wondering if buyers assume its also a cheap product riddled with flaws)

 

[chuma003]

This is such a massive success story.

Thank you so much for sharing it here and inspires everyone here to go for BIG dreams!

 

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[CardinalFlame]

- There was no one single home run 'event' occurring in any of our business. Much / many of the days were very uneventful - with many of them actually felt like they were 'wasted away' brainstorming, researching, reading and/or deliberately trying and executing on a mini plan we made.

This resonated with me deeply. I quit my slowlane corporate job this last March (which had been in the works for some time), built a non-CENTS service based business over the last 18 months (lacks control - which I am in the process of selling) and have 4x'd my income vs. last year but I still feel like an wannatrepeneur most days. Many of the days feel like wasted time and it becomes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been working on a few products I have full control over (again, for the last few years) and am working to get these across the finish line in terms of testing the market. I am finally beginning to give my full attention to CENTS fastlane (e-com) but the fastlane vision can get somewhat blurry and you begin doubt whether you have what it takes to make it happen. Thanks for this reminder!

List building is one of the things we realized we should have done a better job doing during our last venture. It can be very powerful, so definitely pay attention to it.

I know this to be true but have not started. I am going to dig in today and see how I can begin to work this into my strategy. Thanks!

I'm looking forward to learning all that you'll share with us and hope that will be A LOT! Also hoping you'll sign up as a presenter whenever we get around to another SUMMIT...hint, hint

I second this motion

 

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