For those who haven't made a sale yet...

[Spenny]

Reading the posts from JLE of "waiting two years" is giving me major deja vu. This was discussed two years ago, and now that is today. We're just going in circles. We've been here before & the advice has been given. It needs action.

 

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[Cojo]

Can you start today? Can you get interest and/or a sale this coming week?

I would need to learn bubble and dm people on LinkedIn to see.

 

[Andy Black]

I would need to learn bubble and dm people on LinkedIn to see.

My suggestion would be to determine interest first, then figure out the rest after.

 

[BizyDad]

My suggestion would be to determine interest first, then figure out the rest after.

@JLE that's what I've been saying to you too...

 

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[Andy Black]

I'm 100% willing to start anything online.

I'm not sure what.

I'm happy to try e-com, cold-email for copywriting services, anything really. Don't know where to begin with this.

Start helping people in the gym and/or bodybuilding space using a non personal brand?

Make use of all that knowledge and passion you have, but without worrying about people buying from *you*.

Maybe you could help businesses in that space ... doing little bits of freelance work?

Pick something you can start next week and figure it out as you go?

 

[mikecarlooch]

I'm happy to try e-com, cold-email for copywriting services, anything really. Don't know where to begin with this.

I feel like you'd really resonate with Alex Hormozi if you haven't checked out his content.

He built a massive business in the gym space

 

[Kak]

I’m glad to see the support group for mediocrity is waning. Good job to the participants of this thread for dishing out the truth over coddling feelings.

The truth is always harder, but the truth is progress. Coddling is stagnation.

 

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[Isaac Odongo]

I am probably in an emotional state where I should not write such a comment, but the whole JLE vs the world discussion is really getting to me.

It is so easy to say the issue are excuses and that it is a mindset issue. My whole experience with mindset is that it is a result of your circumstances.
Yanking your mindset elsewhere gets you excited for 10 seconds and you are back in the gutter once reality catches up again.

The suggestions I see here are non actionable bs advice. All I see is virtue signalling, nobody who really takes the profound issues seriously.

Time can always be spared for something else.

Stop excusing excuses.

Spare sometime for something.

Take time and think about the goddamn things discussed here.

Nobody putting you on gunpoint to follow them. It is your life.

Why do you think these guys are in earnest with advice?

They mean well.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

Time can always be spared for something else.

Stop excusing excuses.

Spare sometime for something.

Take time and think about the goddamn things discussed here.

Nobody putting you on gunpoint to follow them. It is your life.

Why do you think these guys are in earnest with advice?

They mean well.

I am not saying they don't mean well. I am saying that the advice is wrong or insufficient.

"You make excuses" is not actionable. I still don't see a path to reach escape velocity. If you just want to worship forum vips and can't handle people who don't bow down and instead ask follow up questions this thread is not worth much.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I am not saying they don't mean well. I am saying that the advice is wrong or insufficient.

"You make excuses" is not actionable. I still don't see a path to reach escape velocity. If you just want to worship forum vips and can't handle people who don't bow down and instead ask follow up questions this thread is not worth much.

Seriously, the forum should stop wasting its breath on this guy.

 

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[heavy_industry]

The more I learn about the world, the more I realize that most people deserve the life they are living - good or bad.

Mostly because the life we are living... is our own creation.

 

[JLE]

I am saying that the advice is wrong or insufficient.

You're 42 and slaving away in a job you hate. You have no social life and no real friends. Nothing matters. Your SAAS business is a flop as it's full of ideas you don't act on. Stop being hopeful. Don't reframe your mindset. There's no way out of this. Focus on the things you can't change. Crying is the solution. Resign your life to a defeatist attitude and continue to contemplate suicide.

 

[JLE]

OR

Fail harder. Fail faster. Fail more frequently. Take larger risks. Stop the 'business' you've been thinking about for years as it's clearly a dead end. Try something new. Acknowledge the pain you suffer, which is real pain, and accept it. Seek out pain and overcome it...

Nobody cares about your hardships. You're the one in this trench and also the only one who can get yourself out.

 

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[Spenny]

Nobody cares about your hardships. You're the one in this trench and also the only one who can get yourself out.

Its ironic you're giving this as advice.

 

[JLE]

Its ironic you're giving this as advice.

Said the man who passionately wanted a personal trainer and then ghosted once he was actually given a routine.

You're not above it.

 

[Antifragile]

I am not saying they don't mean well. I am saying that the advice is wrong or insufficient.

"You make excuses" is not actionable. I still don't see a path to reach escape velocity. If you just want to worship forum vips and can't handle people who don't bow down and instead ask follow up questions this thread is not worth much.

Your problem isn’t the forum.

You will hate me saying this.

Your problem is YOU.

Seems you want the exact steps to success. Like a navigation system with turn by turn instructions “in 50 meters, turn left” type.

And no one will give you that. Because it’s on you to tinker and iterate to find the destination. Tinker. Try something different etc.

Then, when you start having some success, treat those iterations like a microscope that’s generally in focus. Small changes only. Results can become massive then.

You don’t like hearing that because it’s “not actionable” to you. Good news is that this place isn’t just for you. My response, this post, is public and my audience is those who are open and will get this message. They don’t wallow in self pity. They are action animals, trying and improving every day.

 

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[Antifragile]

The more I learn about the world, the more I realize that most people deserve the life they are living - good or bad.

Mostly because the life we are living... is our own creation.

I’m loving your latest string of posts. Quality = gold. Keep it up.

 

[heavy_industry]

Said the man who passionately wanted a personal trainer and then ghosted once he was actually given a routine.

You're not above it.

Please be kind with those that have tried to help you.

@Spenny can get any personal coach that he wants. But he decided to get in contact with you just to show you that what you're trying to achieve with your business is possible. You can get clients, or at least can get in touch with them.

The fact that he did not follow up is completely irrelevant. He, or any of your future clients can change their mind at a drop of a hat, no questions asked.

Be grateful. You're not entitled to anything.

Its ironic you're giving this as advice.

^ And what he said here is completely accurate.

You are doing the talk but not walking the walk.

It's very easy to give advice to other people, while your own life doesn't go according to plan. It's the perfect action fake. The perfect distraction from reality.

How about taking small steps to lift yourself from your own situation, which you consider sub-optimal (by your own definition)?

And perhaps then try to help others. Just like you have been receiving hundreds of positive encouragements on the forum yourself.

With kindness, instead of this vitriolic shit:

What does this have to do with the fastlane at all? Get a diary.

 

[JLE]

@heavy_industry

It is relevant considering he didn't take the initiative. Called for? No. Relevant? Yes.

And moreover I'm not interested in arguing with you. I've had enough of it over the past weeks. I don't have ill intentions but it doesn't bother me if you interpret it that way. I'll post whatever I like whether you consider it helpful or not. If the moderator team finds problem with it, then the choice is at their leisure, but I'm not out to get anyone.

------------------------------------------

EDIT:
When it comes to motivation. Personally at least...

I find "You're a complete loser and here's why" far more motivating than "Wow. Bummer that didn't work out for you. Better luck next time" and I try to give that same sort of mentality to those crying about their situation.

Does it suck? Yes. Absolutely.

Should you run from it? No.

That vitriolic shit isn't coming from a bad place. It almost seems as if you're reading it out of context.

 

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[Andreas Thiel]

Your problem isn’t the forum.

You will hate me saying this.

Your problem is YOU.

Seems you want the exact steps to success. Like a navigation system with turn by turn instructions “in 50 meters, turn left” type.

And no one will give you that. Because it’s on you to tinker and iterate to find the destination. Tinker. Try something different etc.

Then, when you start having some success, treat those iterations like a microscope that’s generally in focus. Small changes only. Results can become massive then.

You don’t like hearing that because it’s “not actionable” to you. Good news is that this place isn’t just for you. My response, this post, is public and my audience is those who are open and will get this message. They don’t wallow in self pity. They are action animals, trying and improving every day.

I get that I need tp figure things out and that I need to do the work. And I am trying things and I have been trying to apply all the advice on this forum for years.

Maybe I had the wrong impression that this thread is about figuring out sticking points - and since I have clocked enough time working on my mindset I can tell that this isn't it. OKay, so this thread seems to be about establishing that it is possible and yet another place for bragging by those who have already done it. If you can't figure things out you suck.

Fine. Whatever.

 

[Lex DeVille]

If you can't figure things out you suck.

Fine. Whatever.

Maybe nobody else will tell you this, but you are being the biggest bitch.

 

[JLE]

If you can't figure things out you suck.

Fine. Whatever.

Why is your default giving up? Complain. Can't do it. Publicly contemplate suicide to garner sympathy. Wah wah. Boohoo.

You've tried and failed. That sucks. Get up. Try again.

What precisely should you try? Nobody knows. But clearly not what you're currently doing.

 

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[Antifragile]

OKay, so this thread seems to be about establishing that it is possible and yet another place for bragging by those who have already done it. If you can't figure things out you suck.

Fine. Whatever.

If you can’t figure it out, stop trying, start bitching about how hard it is… then yes, you suck!

If you had a newborn, how long would you give it to learn to walk? 12 months? 5 years? When do you’d say “F*ck it”? Never! Same with business.

No one has given up on you and here you are butt hurt with strong emotions.

We’ve all had more fails than wins. By a large F*cking margin! You don’t want me to tell you all the shit I had to do. That’s why I am trying to tell you what worked after I was done with self-pity.

Trying one more time… see how this lands…

What is the secret to success in business?

• Work harder?
• Wake up at 4am?
• Meditation?

No

Will. It’s an attitude.

I have willed deals to happen after they died many times!

Your turn

 

[Spenny]

Said the man who passionately wanted a personal trainer and then ghosted once he was actually given a routine.

You're not above it.

I was going to keep my mouth shut on this because I couldn't be bothered to get into an email argument but I've now been invited to divulge. Here is my testimonial:

HONEST PERSONAL TRAINING TESTIMONIAL
Context: I've not put on muscle for quite a while & was seeking guidance. My goal was simple, to put on muscle and get stronger.

The Regime.

I went to three people I know who have personal training experience & qualifications. One is a competitive lifter, one is a good friend of mine who does medicine, and the other has worked at the gym for a couple years & done PT. They checked out what you gave to me. Here's the problems they & I found.

• The gym routine you gave me wasn't yours. It was mine. The same exercises (21/23) from my old routine but in a different order, generally starting with smaller muscle groups first. The reviewers had an eyebrow raise at this.
• The only other thing that changed was the rep ranges from 8-12 to 15-30 & a decrease in sets from 3 to 2. My goal was hypertrophy & strength, not so much endurance.
• As for the diet, nothing changed much either, biggest take away was to get impact EEAs to fill essentials.

All three sources raised an were surprised at the advice you gave me. Instead, I found far more value from them.

• Eat 150g of protein a day (previously eating 70-100g)
• Eat more stuff (previously >2000kcal)
• Keep the same routine, it works fine. They actually added some exercises I was missing too.
• EEAs are cool, but useless if you are hitting the above protein requirements. I lost £30 to this mistake.
• Maybe do a deload week after three weeks of hard work.

The value you did give was:

• telling me to drop alcohol (however another friend convinced me to drop it, not you)
• Quality of protein sources are important.

Personal Experience

• I didn't like the "my way or the highway" approach. Didn't like the non-flexibility in diet approach. I felt overwhelmed from the restriction, I have no idea how a beginner would feel. They'd likely give up. Your role is not just to give out advice, it is also to motivate. Didn't get an inkling of it.
• I felt you had disbelief that I was committed to going to the gym, even though I've been going 4x/week for two years. Was mentioned many times that the work you put in is what you get out. I know. I go to the gym.

OVERALL REVIEW - 2/10
I would ask for a refund. I didn't take in your advice because I didn't believe all three of my sources could be wrong. It was not because I couldn't commit to going to the gym, it's I didn't see that the advice was worth anything - even if it was give for free.

I got far more value from my PT friend & would instead pay him. No idea how you could charge $200 for this service a month. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.


Edit: Oh, forgot to add, here is the difference between then and now:

• I eat 2500kcal a day
• I have >150g protein a day
• I kept to the same routine & rep ranges.
• I go four times a week.
• I went from 68-69kg to 70-71kg in a month. I've been stuck at 69kg for a year now. I'm now moving forward.
• I've gotten more bulbous and succulent.
• I consistently go up in weight and progressively overload on two out of eight exercises everytime.
• I'm £30 poorer.

 

[JLE]

I was going to keep my mouth shut on this because I couldn't be bothered to get into an email argument but I've now been invited to divulge. Here is my testimonial:

HONEST PERSONAL TRAINING TESTIMONIAL
Context: I've not put on muscle for quite a while & was seeking guidance. My goal was simple, to put on muscle and get stronger.

The Regime.

I went to three people I know who have personal training experience & qualifications. One is a competitive lifter, one is a good friend of mine who does medicine, and the other has worked at the gym for a couple years & done PT. They checked out what you gave to me. Here's the problems they & I found.

• The gym routine you gave me wasn't yours. It was mine. The same exercises (21/23) from my old routine but in a different order, generally starting with smaller muscle groups first. The reviewers had an eyebrow raise at this.
• The only other thing that changed was the rep ranges from 8-12 to 15-30 & a decrease in sets from 3 to 2. My goal was hypertrophy & strength, not so much endurance.
• As for the diet, nothing changed much either, biggest take away was to get impact EEAs to fill essentials.

All three sources raised an were surprised at the advice you gave me. Instead, I found far more value from them.

• Eat 150g of protein a day (previously eating 70-100g)
• Eat more stuff (previously >2000kcal)
• Keep the same routine, it works fine. They actually added some exercises I was missing too.
• EEAs are cool, but useless if you are hitting the above protein requirements. I lost £30 to this mistake.
• Maybe do a deload week after three weeks of hard work.

The value you did give was:

• telling me to drop alcohol (however another friend convinced me to drop it, not you)
• Quality of protein sources are important.

Personal Experience

• I didn't like the "my way or the highway" approach. Didn't like the non-flexibility in diet approach. I felt overwhelmed from the restriction, I have no idea how a beginner would feel. They'd likely give up. Your role is not just to give out advice, it is also to motivate. Didn't get an inkling of it.
• I felt you had disbelief that I was committed to going to the gym, even though I've been going 4x/week for two years. Was mentioned many times that the work you put in is what you get out. I know. I go to the gym.

OVERALL REVIEW - 2/10
I would ask for a refund. I didn't take in your advice because I didn't believe all three of my sources could be wrong. It was not because I couldn't commit to going to the gym, it's I didn't see that the advice was worth anything - even if it was give for free.

I got far more value from my PT friend & would instead pay him. No idea how you could charge $200 for this service a month. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.


Edit: Oh, forgot to add, here is the difference between then and now:

• I eat 2500kcal a day
• I have >150g protein a day
• I kept to the same routine & rep ranges.
• I go four times a week.
• I went from 68-69kg to 70-71kg in a month. I've been stuck at 69kg for a year now. I'm now moving forward.
• I've gotten more bulbous and succulent.
• I consistently go up in weight and progressively overload on two out of eight exercises everytime.
• I'm £30 poorer.

I really was trying to help you. Even now, you doubt my credibility and feel the need to argue with me.

Those really cool but useless EAA's you bought, I suggest you actually take them. As I made clear before, you will not grow muscle eating a diet of black beans, fake sausage, and peanut butter. None of those are complete proteins and therefore make your intake essentially worthless. I'm not being facetious when I say this, but I'm doubtful the additional 50 grams of protein you're getting are complete proteins either.

You haven't made progress in the past 2 years of going to the gym as your diet isn't conducive to muscle accrual. You will not be building muscle eating incomplete proteins whatsoever, I'm actually led to believe this is why most vegans/vegetarians are statistically less likely to have muscle than the average man.

I deliberately made your diet comprised 95% of the foods you already eat, plus a workout routine 95% of what you already do (disregarding rep ranges) as a start for the first week of us working together. That wasn't a mistake and is how I would start with basically any client that would hire me on as a casual lifter. Also considering I made it foods you already eat, your claim of it being too restrictive doesn't make any sense, unless you're just saying that because I told you to stop drinking alcohol.

Good job on dropping the alcohol anyway. Even if I'm not the one who finally convinced you to, it does make a difference.

And lastly, thanks for the testimonial of the routine you never even started.

 

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[piano]

@JLE @Spenny
I know this isn't my discussion, but what do you gain by debunking/proving each other wrong?
I'd argue that what you get is only a short feeling of righteousness which will actually only secretly eat you up inside.

How about this: You guys state whether you had honest/well-meaning intentions or not and then simply accept that the other person might have another viewing point.

 

[Isaac Odongo]

Let's help those who haven't made a sale yet.

For those who haven't made a sale yet, reply below with what you're struggling with.


In the meantime, here's some questions for you to ponder:

1) What currently keeps a roof over your head?

2) What do people already come to you for help with?

3) If someone had a gun to your head and said you need to make a sale this week then what would you do?

4) If money was no object what work would you be doing?

Fastlaners,

This thread is about selling something in a week. Or something of the kind. Selling anything that can be sold. In a week.

@Andy Black dropped me this thread on PM.

He asked me a few questions on PM too. Gave him some answers I won't deliberately repeat here because they were more thoughts than decisions.

The point he made was, instead of starting something from scratch, why not grow what you know. I have been busy blowing my head learning to code. I probably will continue to but I must first make a sale, any sale.

I am a teacher of English Language and Literature and a creative writer with a number of short stories and poems. And a long manuscript.

How can I get paid outside school ?

Which of my skills can I use immediately to make a sale?

First, I need to be willing to help others solve their problems even if they don't pay me immediately or as a result. In time I may get paid.

I have decided to help the learners at my school more. I am paid to do this job but there are aspects of it that my salary doesn't cover and yet these aspects are vital to the students. For example some students need extra and specialised remedial teaching. I have decided to enhance this more. Details left out of post.

Second, I could design a book for revision of English grammar structures which is learner friendly and rigorous and current. The ones in circulation don't meet those qualities. This may go beyond a week, maybe months. Therefore, with it, I cannot make a sale in a week. As the grammar aspects are relatively broad and the accompanying activities on comprehension may need additional time. This will therefore come up later.

I Could also design a book explaining literature to high school students and teachers in such a way that eases the understanding of literature concepts and terms. I could as well proceed and write thorough explanations of the books(novels, short stories and plays) set at end of cycles to candidate classes. And those notes to learners.

I could give these books terrific titles.
Ear to the ground. I will see about this.

I could even offer to teach people outside school English, but this number is highly limited as English is a widely spoken language in my city.

Third, I have short stories and poems that I have kept in written manuscript for up to five years now. I have all that's needed to revise them in a few days and package them on one of the self publishing platforms and get them out to sell.

I see my writing is the fastest product I may sell, in a week or so. I have resolved to taste these strange waters of self publishing and see what it has to offer. I have also resolved to publish fiction and poetry, which have no physical contribution to anybody, yet they have been produced and enjoyed for hundreds of years now.

Hence, I have resolved to package first my short stories into a collection and having them sold on some of these platforms and distributors out there. Then I will package my poems in another collection and sell them that way too.

Steps
Edit and revise the stories in 2 days
Organise the stories thematically in the above 2 days
Get a great title for the collection in the above 2 days
Get an appropriate platform for my stories in a day
Determine the price of the collection some point in the week
Design a cover page 1 to 3 days
Format the book for easy readership in I don't know how much time.
Publish
Spread the word in Act, Assess, Adjust
Make my first sale

I Have identified some self publishing platforms using ChatGPT
Amazon KDP, huge crowd but issues with control
IngramSpark, requires my payment which I don't have, I crossed it out
Smashwords seems to be great. I will see it more. I may use it.
Draft2Digital is small crowd. I don't like this
Kobo Writing Life is okay with royalties like the others but has design problems. I may pass.

Are there other platforms I may need?

Are there things I may need to know?

Are there warnings or cautions?

TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO HEAR NOW.
I WANT TO MAKE A SALE AT THE END OF THE WEEK
~Isaac~

 

[Spenny]

I know this isn't my discussion, but what do you gain by debunking/proving each other wrong?

Not at all, just didn't have a good experience.

 

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[Isaac Odongo]

Fastlaners,

This thread is about selling something in a week. Or something of the kind. Selling anything that can be sold. In a week.

@Andy Black dropped me this thread on PM.

He asked me a few questions on PM too. Gave him some answers I won't deliberately repeat here because they were more thoughts than decisions.

The point he made was, instead of starting something from scratch, why not grow what you know. I have been busy blowing my head learning to code. I probably will continue to but I must first make a sale, any sale.

I am a teacher of English Language and Literature and a creative writer with a number of short stories and poems. And a long manuscript.

How can I get paid outside school ?

Which of my skills can I use immediately to make a sale?

First, I need to be willing to help others solve their problems even if they don't pay me immediately or as a result. In time I may get paid.

I have decided to help the learners at my school more. I am paid to do this job but there are aspects of it that my salary doesn't cover and yet these aspects are vital to the students. For example some students need extra and specialised remedial teaching. I have decided to enhance this more. Details left out of post.

Second, I could design a book for revision of English grammar structures which is learner friendly and rigorous and current. The ones in circulation don't meet those qualities. This may go beyond a week, maybe months. Therefore, with it, I cannot make a sale in a week. As the grammar aspects are relatively broad and the accompanying activities on comprehension may need additional time. This will therefore come up later.

I Could also design a book explaining literature to high school students and teachers in such a way that eases the understanding of literature concepts and terms. I could as well proceed and write thorough explanations of the books(novels, short stories and plays) set at end of cycles to candidate classes. And those notes to learners.

I could give these books terrific titles.
Ear to the ground. I will see about this.

I could even offer to teach people outside school English, but this number is highly limited as English is a widely spoken language in my city.

Third, I have short stories and poems that I have kept in written manuscript for up to five years now. I have all that's needed to revise them in a few days and package them on one of the self publishing platforms and get them out to sell.

I see my writing is the fastest product I may sell, in a week or so. I have resolved to taste these strange waters of self publishing and see what it has to offer. I have also resolved to publish fiction and poetry, which have no physical contribution to anybody, yet they have been produced and enjoyed for hundreds of years now.

Hence, I have resolved to package first my short stories into a collection and having them sold on some of these platforms and distributors out there. Then I will package my poems in another collection and sell them that way too.

Steps
Edit and revise the stories in 2 days
Organise the stories thematically in the above 2 days
Get a great title for the collection in the above 2 days
Get an appropriate platform for my stories in a day
Determine the price of the collection some point in the week
Design a cover page 1 to 3 days
Format the book for easy readership in I don't know how much time.
Publish
Spread the word in Act, Assess, Adjust
Make my first sale

I Have identified some self publishing platforms using ChatGPT
Amazon KDP, huge crowd but issues with control
IngramSpark, requires my payment which I don't have, I crossed it out
Smashwords seems to be great. I will see it more. I may use it.
Draft2Digital is small crowd. I don't like this
Kobo Writing Life is okay with royalties like the others but has design problems. I may pass.

Are there other platforms I may need?

Are there things I may need to know?

Are there warnings or cautions?

TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO HEAR NOW.
I WANT TO MAKE A SALE AT THE END OF THE WEEK
~Isaac~

Additionally,

I have an idea that I need to test.

Recently, some serving dishes have been displayed at school. They are for large groups and small groups.

They cost up to 250USD for a package.

But they can be bought and taken for only 30USD, the balance paid in installations of four months.

My idea is to purchase them at the installation arrangement and rush them to business.

I believe it is possible for people who have parties but don't have serving dishes and are not hiring events management or catering services to hire these dishes.

For example, birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary parties such as weddings.

My plan is to first advertise for the service such that I see if the demand is available. For example if there are clients willing to hire the equipment, it means there may be others of the same type. In which case I may purchase these equipment. And get them in the business of hiring them out.

I assume that if the dishes are hired consistently throughout the four months of installation payment I will be able to complete paying for them using money they themselves make.

Expansion is easy too. If 10 parties need the dishes at once I expand by simply buying them on credit and hiring them out then using their revenue to pay for them.

But I first need to test this idea.

I need photos of the two packages, the small and large such that I may display them on Facebook at least, and WhatsApp groups of my city. This way I spread the word and see what happens.

But this may not be in a week.

 

[Artiom O]

Additionally,

I have an idea that I need to test.

Recently, some serving dishes have been displayed at school. They are for large groups and small groups.

They cost up to 250USD for a package.

But they can be bought and taken for only 30USD, the balance paid in installations of four months.

My idea is to purchase them at the installation arrangement and rush them to business.

I believe it is possible for people who have parties but don't have serving dishes and are not hiring events management or catering services to hire these dishes.

For example, birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary parties such as weddings.

My plan is to first advertise for the service such that I see if the demand is available. For example if there are clients willing to hire the equipment, it means there may be others of the same type. In which case I may purchase these equipment. And get them in the business of hiring them out.

I assume that if the dishes are hired consistently throughout the four months of installation payment I will be able to complete paying for them using money they themselves make.

Expansion is easy too. If 10 parties need the dishes at once I expand by simply buying them on credit and hiring them out then using their revenue to pay for them.

But I first need to test this idea.

I need photos of the two packages, the small and large such that I may display them on Facebook at least, and WhatsApp groups of my city. This way I spread the word and see what happens.

But this may not be in a week.

Feels a bit complicated for me when I'm just thinking about making a sale, instead of helping one person.

Fastlaners,

This thread is about selling something in a week. Or something of the kind. Selling anything that can be sold. In a week.

@Andy Black dropped me this thread on PM.

He asked me a few questions on PM too. Gave him some answers I won't deliberately repeat here because they were more thoughts than decisions.

The point he made was, instead of starting something from scratch, why not grow what you know. I have been busy blowing my head learning to code. I probably will continue to but I must first make a sale, any sale.

I am a teacher of English Language and Literature and a creative writer with a number of short stories and poems. And a long manuscript.

How can I get paid outside school ?

Which of my skills can I use immediately to make a sale?

First, I need to be willing to help others solve their problems even if they don't pay me immediately or as a result. In time I may get paid.

I have decided to help the learners at my school more. I am paid to do this job but there are aspects of it that my salary doesn't cover and yet these aspects are vital to the students. For example some students need extra and specialised remedial teaching. I have decided to enhance this more. Details left out of post.

Second, I could design a book for revision of English grammar structures which is learner friendly and rigorous and current. The ones in circulation don't meet those qualities. This may go beyond a week, maybe months. Therefore, with it, I cannot make a sale in a week. As the grammar aspects are relatively broad and the accompanying activities on comprehension may need additional time. This will therefore come up later.

I Could also design a book explaining literature to high school students and teachers in such a way that eases the understanding of literature concepts and terms. I could as well proceed and write thorough explanations of the books(novels, short stories and plays) set at end of cycles to candidate classes. And those notes to learners.

I could give these books terrific titles.
Ear to the ground. I will see about this.

I could even offer to teach people outside school English, but this number is highly limited as English is a widely spoken language in my city.

Third, I have short stories and poems that I have kept in written manuscript for up to five years now. I have all that's needed to revise them in a few days and package them on one of the self publishing platforms and get them out to sell.

I see my writing is the fastest product I may sell, in a week or so. I have resolved to taste these strange waters of self publishing and see what it has to offer. I have also resolved to publish fiction and poetry, which have no physical contribution to anybody, yet they have been produced and enjoyed for hundreds of years now.

Hence, I have resolved to package first my short stories into a collection and having them sold on some of these platforms and distributors out there. Then I will package my poems in another collection and sell them that way too.

Steps
Edit and revise the stories in 2 days
Organise the stories thematically in the above 2 days
Get a great title for the collection in the above 2 days
Get an appropriate platform for my stories in a day
Determine the price of the collection some point in the week
Design a cover page 1 to 3 days
Format the book for easy readership in I don't know how much time.
Publish
Spread the word in Act, Assess, Adjust
Make my first sale

I Have identified some self publishing platforms using ChatGPT
Amazon KDP, huge crowd but issues with control
IngramSpark, requires my payment which I don't have, I crossed it out
Smashwords seems to be great. I will see it more. I may use it.
Draft2Digital is small crowd. I don't like this
Kobo Writing Life is okay with royalties like the others but has design problems. I may pass.

Are there other platforms I may need?

Are there things I may need to know?

Are there warnings or cautions?

TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO HEAR NOW.
I WANT TO MAKE A SALE AT THE END OF THE WEEK
~Isaac~

You're probably thinking too much about "how to make a sale this week", instead of thinking "how to help someone this week".

Let's get back to the current goal you have.
You've got a collection of poems and stories that you want to wrap inside two different books and sell at least one copy this week.

From what I've seen, the problem you're trying to solve is:
- Either help someone to learn English, or
- Help someone improve his English skills

I don't know exactly what type of poems and stories you have. But, you probably got a bit too busy with the building stuff on here.

Let's pretend that you're trying to solve the second problem first. As an English teacher, you already saw the demand for this. Next, look at what solutions are already serving the market. How do people already improve their skill. Be it at school, online apps or already published books. How accessible are those solutions ?

First, look at what the already existing books are offering. Look at what they are already doing to fix the gap. And then, think about how you could do it better. Maybe the stories they got are too long. Maybe they got an ugly cover design that you could improve.

Second, look at the reviews they got. What problems did they mention ? You need to value skew here. Their problems are opportunities for you.

Lastly, just think about other features and ideas you could implement. Maybe you can also add a copy of each story translated into your native language, so the people will find it easier to understand the sense of the story. You need to add things that will help the customers even more into solving their problem.

Now, making the actual sale will depend on how good you executed all of this. After you publish the books, I suggest you grab some copies and give them to some of your students who really want to improve their English skills and are already taking action towards that goal. Give them a book and listen very carefully to their feedback.

Maybe most of them can't find themselves reading because the books are boring, and it's easier to just watch a movie or something. This is a potential value-skew. Figure out a solution. Change the stories and make the books more interesting. Act, Asses, Adjust and then Act again.

I know this scenario is a bit too simple, and you probably know most of this stuff already. But I think you got too much into the building phase (It's normal to do it like this when your goal is making a sale). The most important thing you have to consider is how you're going to help them and solve their problem. Would they consider paying for such products ? Just don't forget about the people you're serving, and before considering how you'll make a sale, think about how you'll help them.

Hope this helps !