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RHL

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After seeing the upteenth thread where a new member says "I decided to go fastlane, but I have 10 dollars and am eating a raccoon I hit with my '94 Mercury Tracer right now to stave off starvation," or "I read TMF but tell me the exact steps and don't leave anything out," I decided that apparently MJ's really simple explanation wasn't simple enough.

I don't know how else rationalize that guys like @SinisterLex and @IceCreamKid are putting points on the board in mundane fields and people are totally shocked that it's possible to make money that way, like "how could someone who owns a cleaning company for a living possibly get that rich?"

It's pretty easy, as they illustrated, CENTS+badass execution, but it's also easy in parallel fields that don't involve ripping them off. If you missed the basic principle behind their threads (which seemingly a lot of people did, because instead of using it as a launching point for the millions of possible parallel businesses, everyone just started copy/carpet gigs), I'm going to spell it out for you.

There are lots of ways to go fastlane, you can apply CENTS to figure them out. But if you're dead out of ideas, if you've got nothing, there is one way that never fails. In the last two years I have used it over, and over, and over again. Since it seems a lot of people couldn't distill the secret of "churning their own ice cream" from the other threads, here it is:





4mkSumH.png





Boom.





Think it doesn't work? Think again. I'm going to make this live for you guys, at the risk of inadvertently starting dozens of non-EPA and non OSHA compliant ghetto auto body operations, which hopefully won't happen because now you guys have at least the six other possibilities whose little cliparts I pasted up above.

A little over a month ago I decided I was going to learn to paint cars. I had to buy equipment to do it. The equipment cost me $1200. I spend $700 on paint (would have been $350 but I messed up so many times on the first panel that that one consumed the entire materials supply and took three weeks) so $1900 overall. The last panel I shot took me 6 hours including dry time, without dry time, my total effort was 1 hour. Very, very steep learning curve with very, very shallow effort curve once I cracked it.

So I get the car done. I know this girl from back near my parent's house who is friends with one of my younger siblings. She's hard up and has an old station wagon that has a mismatched door because she couldn't afford to fix it or buy a better car. I make her a deal-you buy the base coat only for the door ($45.00 1/2qt ppg) and I'll use my leftover base and clear and my own sandpaper and tools and respray the door to make it an exact match, but no blending because that's a lot more effort and cost. $45 for a probably $250+ job normally.

So he does, and I do, and it looks great. Boom. Done.

So not 4 days later, I get a call from a guy this kid knows from work. He has a car that he wants repainted. He want's it done in a custom metallic (mixed by the shop, no real work on my end except evenly blending the metallics) but the shop wants $9,500 to do it. He says he'll remove all the trim and everything and sand the panels if I can do it for less (that's like at least 75% of the work, but I had the specialty tools and knowledge, whereas unbolting things and sanding requires few/no special tools or knowledge). I'm not typically down for manual labor because I prefer to get paid for sitting or sleeping, but I'm always looking for ways to make tools and other things I buy pay for themselves quickly, so, long story short, I eventually ended up getting paid $4000 for three 8-hour days of work. And I've only been doing this for a month.

I needed no degree, no education, no contacts, nothing except a computer or phone, internet access, access to electricity, and the gumption to save up $1700-2000 to risk on supplies, to increase my income from hypothetically as low as minimum wage to $160/hr. How long would your mummified corpse have been in the ground waiting for Burger King to raise your pay from $10.00/hr to $160/hr? The general managers don't make a third that much. But follow my map, have some savvy in picking a real need people have, and you, O teenage roadkill eater, can be making $7.25/hr January 1st and potentially more than $15,000/mo by January 31st. Replace my spray kit with a battery of carpet cleaners and a van, or some wicked copy skills a laptop and a modem, and you see it's the same formula, with some good advertising thrown in, to get these results.

Luck? You wish you had that excuse. You know how long it was between the time I blew my first content up on social media to the time I landed my first xx,xxx advertising contract?

less than 3 weeks.

See you with your resume are wandering around beating on doors (whether for VC for an untested unproduced and unsold idea, or for a slow-lane job), implicitly broadcasting to employers (and anyone who will follow you online) "I have no direction and no drive, teach me how I can produce some value for people so I can afford to live and eat, hold my hand, make me stable." So, predictably, you get rejection after rejection, and you keep eating that tasty raccoon.

But if you follow the map above, you switch from being like the McDonald's employee, to being like a mini version of the McDonald's restaurant itself. Word gets out. You talk, and people talk, and suddenly, it's like you're there on the corner with your neon sign glowing in the dark. People can smell the value being created inside, and people who see you know instantly "If I want something to satisfy my hunger, that's where I can go to get it." The whole game changes. I haven't looked for work in AGES pursuant to my consulting stuff. I learn new skills. I get the tools to manifest the value of those skills. Work comes looking for me. And when it does, it's the employer, it's the job, that's clutching the resume, looking hopefully at me across the desk, wanting me to do for them what they heard I did for X and Y other local business.

This is a hustle. It's not a time independent fastlane (not in its nascent stage anyway, hire others to do the work, get spending your capital on advertising rather than on bottle service at the club, build out, and you're on your way). Whether you have lawn care equipment or a team of painters or a floor sander or video equipment for rent, get the expensive tools (entry) that are built to meet needs (need, duh), that only your fastidious research could have assembled in just such a way to maximize their value (entry), get trained to use it to meet needs more effectively (Need, entry), and sit there and watch your magnitude variable absolutely explode as you with your $5000 worth of video camera go from being worth $12.00/hr at Kohls to $250/hr at Susie Q Public's wedding. Work two days, take 5 off to work on your fastlane, earn more money than you did working 5.

Now get out there, kick a$$, get started, get the cash you need to launch, and have fun...

but I swear if anybody PMs me asking what paint equipment I bought or how to find clients for car painting, Imma be waiting under your bed when you turn off the lights tonight.
 
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Andy Black

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Thanks @RHL. Tremendous post. Rep+

Love the bit below especially.


Team consumer
See you with your resume are wandering around beating on doors (whether for VC for an untested unproduced and unsold idea, or for a slow-lane job), implicitly broadcasting to employers (and anyone who will follow you online) "I have no direction and no drive, teach me how I can produce some value for people so I can afford to live and eat, hold my hand, make me stable." So, predictably, you get rejection after rejection, and you keep eating that tasty raccoon.


Team producer
But if you follow the map above, you switch from being like the McDonald's employee, to being like a mini version of the McDonald's restaurant itself. Word gets out. You talk, and people talk, and suddenly, it's like you're there on the corner with your neon sign glowing in the dark. People can smell the value being created inside, and people who see you know instantly "If I want something to satisfy my hunger, that's where I can go to get it." The whole game changes. I haven't looked for work in AGES pursuant to my consulting stuff. I learn new skills. I get the tools to manifest the value of those skills. Work comes looking for me. And when it does, it's the employer, it's the job, that's clutching the resume, looking hopefully at me across the desk, wanting me to do for them what they heard I did for X and Y other local business.
 

RHL

The coaching was a joke guys.
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So what are some good terms that I can use to find a good deal on craigslist for some painting supplies? Any airbrush recommendations?

Harbor Freight and Duplicolor. It's what Automobili Lamborghini and Automobiles Ettore Bugatti use.
 
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beelo1989

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You do this out of your garage? I'm an auto body painter by trade and the reason I was/am always hesitant to do side jobs on my own was the lack of a spray booth or my own garage/work space to do it in...I didn't want to spend hours wet sanding and buffing thousands of dust specs out by spraying it outside, you know? Not to mention the cost of consumable materials that are always needing re-ordering. Definitely if there's a will there's a way, but i've always tried to think of how to leverage and scale auto body painting and never seemed to be able to put the pieces together, as it always seems to be a trade time-for-money type of thing. Which is exactly what i'm doing now. Anyways though, that's pretty awesome for you and I hope you stick with it. I've been painting for almost 10 years now and it always seems like theres new tricks to learn.

Also, i'd be a bit weary about having customers do their own prep in exchange for money off...i've had this happen where a buddy or a friend of a friend or whoever "just wants a quick cheap job" and offers to sand and prep to cut down on time and money...and what winds up happening is they do a crappy job all around, and when you do what they request and just give them the paint job, 6 months down the line when the paint starts falling off, they look to you to fix it. Best to charge your full price and do the sanding and prep yourself, that way you can be confident it will hold up over time.
 

BaraQueenbee

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but I swear if anybody PMs me asking what paint equipment I bought or how to find clients for car painting, Imma be waiting under your bed when you turn off the lights tonight.

I giggled, out loud.

Great post OP!
 
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Lex DeVille

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Also, i'd be a bit weary about having customers do their own prep in exchange for money off...i've had this happen where a buddy or a friend of a friend or whoever "just wants a quick cheap job" and offers to sand and prep to cut down on time and money...and what winds up happening is they do a crappy job all around, and when you do what they request and just give them the paint job, 6 months down the line when the paint starts falling off, they look to you to fix it. Best to charge your full price and do the sanding and prep yourself, that way you can be confident it will hold up over time.

I read lots of fear in this post. Fear of what could happen. Always a simple solution. The obvious answer is to make sure they know what they're getting into. Make a contract even. Business is still business. Anyway, the point of this thread clearly isn't about why it is or isn't a good idea to paint cars in a personal garage.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen? You end up on Judge Judy and get mass exposure instantly. ;)
 

db7903915

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Thank you RHL, this is an excellent post. Would you suggest Craigslist for starting off with gigs? And do you think doing free work is an option to get started?
 
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RHL

The coaching was a joke guys.
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You do this out of your garage? I'm an auto body painter by trade and the reason I was/am always hesitant to do side jobs on my own was the lack of a spray booth or my own garage/work space to do it in...I didn't want to spend hours wet sanding and buffing thousands of dust specs out by spraying it outside, you know? Not to mention the cost of consumable materials that are always needing re-ordering. Definitely if there's a will there's a way, but i've always tried to think of how to leverage and scale auto body painting and never seemed to be able to put the pieces together, as it always seems to be a trade time-for-money type of thing. Which is exactly what i'm doing now. Anyways though, that's pretty awesome for you and I hope you stick with it. I've been painting for almost 10 years now and it always seems like theres new tricks to learn.

Lots of concerns. Guys, that's the "entry." I solved all these problems via various means before I took that job, but they're exactly the right kind of questions. Y'all can solve problems in your fields like this too. Make a way, because the fact that you're scratching your head about some things is *literally* where the money is. Potential competition will still be scratching its head or thinking "it's too hard!" when you're cashing your first check.

make sure to wear the best mask/gear you can get.

Also, thanks for being concerned for my safety. I have this one.

And it is awesome.

Would you suggest Craigslist for starting off with gigs? And do you think doing free work is an option to get started?

No, and here's why. CL and similar venues are great once you're expanding what you're doing into a legit business. You have plans to scale and do it for years.

But hustling has always worked best for me when I hit it hard and fast. As I mentioned in my B&P presentation, to have rapid stable growth (like @throttleforward), people have to be really pleased with your product and service. But to have immediate, explosive growth that might not be sustainable, people have to like your product and service...

but love you.

And that's why I think going through a network of friends and friends of friends (I've now had 4 requests to paint all or part of other vehicles which I think I'm going to pass on) works so well and so fast. Because you know they'll talk, and then they have not just a recommendation, but a personal connection. You can get this via craigslist or even your own website, but you have to do it through your narrative, copy, and minimal communication during customer service and initial appointment booking. It is a hell of a lot harder to do this way, and honestly, if you're only doing this for 1-6 months or something, it's simply not worth the effort to build the narrative if you have any network at all that you can work instead.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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GOLD post again regardless on how many people add and/or comment.
(And why there's an unannounced YISA floating around)
 

MJ DeMarco

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To add to the convo...

I'd guess that owning one of these in Phoenix would be a great impetus for a palm tree trimming service, tailored to commercial businesses and land owners. You can shoot for residential, but I always prefer B2B over B2C.

460sj-silo.jpg
 
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Andy Black

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CL and similar venues are great once you're expanding what you're doing into a legit business. You have plans to scale and do it for years.

But hustling has always worked best for me when I hit it hard and fast. As I mentioned in my B&P presentation, to have rapid stable growth (like @throttleforward), people have to be really pleased with your product and service. But to have immediate, explosive growth that might not be sustainable, people have to like your product and service...

but love you.

And that's why I think going through a network of friends and friends of friends (I've now had 4 requests to paint all or part of other vehicles which I think I'm going to pass on) works so well and so fast. Because you know they'll talk, and then they have not just a recommendation, but a personal connection. You can get this via craigslist or even your own website, but you have to do it through your narrative, copy, and minimal communication during customer service and initial appointment booking. It is a hell of a lot harder to do this way, and honestly, if you're only doing this for 1-6 months or something, it's simply not worth the effort to build the narrative if you have any network at all that you can work instead.
+1 on this.

Use your network. They already know, like, and trust you.

People typically need to know, like, and trust you before they do business with you.

I love AdWords paid search. I consider it the purest form of cold traffic (because of the search intent). However, it's the purest form of cold traffic, meaning the visitors to your website don't know you*. Whenever I have to hustle and get more clients super quick, I use my own network of people I've already done business with, NOT visitors to my website who don't know me.


* Unless it's a branded search.


EDIT: If you're a consultant then this post might help.
 
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RHL

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I'd guess that owning one of these in Phoenix would be a great impetus for a palm tree trimming service, tailored to commercial businesses and land owners.

This is what's utterly baffling. If you could spend (or better yet, borrow) $10,000-15,000 to increase your income from $23,000/yr to $50,000/yr WHY THE HELL WOULDN'T YOU? You can see what people need just by living your life. I started painting cars because I saw a place where money was FLYING out the door when flipping cars because I was paying someone else $100-150/hr to do very minor things like touch up the bottom of a bumper or scratched side rockers. Doing it 1-2x is fine, but if it becomes a $300-800 tax on 20% of the cars... oowch. I felt the pain, and once I solved it, others with the same pain came runnin'.
 

db7903915

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No, and here's why. CL and similar venues are great once you're expanding what you're doing into a legit business. You have plans to scale and do it for years.

Thank you! I've built a pretty solid network that I'm going to start utilizing.
 
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Great info. Threads like this reawaken my senses to recognizing needs.

Thought I would share a small opportunity I recognized yesterday to help fund a new purchase I've been l eyeballing for a while.

3 years ago we moved into a new house in a new community. A lot of these communities in my area have 'community' websites where neighbors can share information, events, post things for sale, etc. (our's is hosted on nextdoor.com).

Seems like there's an awful lot of complaining going on in these neighborhood forums, so I am constantly looking for an opportunity.

Since our community surrounds a high school, there are a few issues that are brought up repeatedly. The #1 complaint is the high school kids racing around and doing donuts in the middle of the night at our major intersections. I couldn't seem to recognize anything there I could monetize on, but did spot something on the #2 complaint.

Apparently there's a rash of mail theft in the area. Kids are walking to and from school and since our postal boxes are at the curb, it's an easy target for mail theft (most of the time, the kids are taking mail and throwing it into the sewer grates or tearing it up and throwing it into the street.). A few residents have resorted to installing locking mailbox inserts to reduce the chances of random acts of theft.

At first, I figured that nobody would pay me to install one since they could just as easily do it themselves for free. Then I thought, what if I could get a discount on purchasing a small bulk order of 20-50 inserts and sell them 'installed' at slightly over MSRP. It's about a 5 minute job installing, so the hourly profit could make it worthwhile.

With several hundred houses in the neighborhood, and hundreds more in surrounding communities, I only need a small percentage to buy in to make enough for my goal.

This weekend I'll be making up a flyer, preying on peoples fear of personal and important information being stolen, to solicit sales.
 

The-J

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People often ask how they should fund their (first) Fastlane business. THIS is bootstrapping.

Don't have the $1900? Fix iPhone screens. Speed up computers (esp. Mac computers). Build computers for people (have them buy the parts, you do the building, charge a small markup). Paint houses (inside and outside). Finish driveways.

Here's what this does for you. First, it puts you at the forefront of potential needs (Paint Brush Cover was invented because one of Sal's side gigs was painting with his brother and cousin). Second, it puts you in front of the customer and teaches you about real business (how to manage expectations, etc). Third, it gives you an extra stream of income, some extra money in the bank, and a hedge against the Slowlane.

That means if you lose your job, you're not as F*cked as most people would be.

Now I'm not saying go full @IceCreamKid and try to scale it (you COULD potentially). I'm saying that with a network of friends that trust you, you could potentially see things that people might NEED... and do them.

Start with mom and dad. Tell them to tell their friends at work or at bingo (lol). Start with your buddies.

If you have a friend or family member that potentially competes with you, learn from them and operate in a different geographical area (or help THEM scale).

Money is everywhere. Go F*ckin get some.
 

Greg R

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I am very glad you posted this. It seems impossible for anyone to get off the ground but taking action is the easiest thing you can do. I wish people would push themselves further.
 
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RHL

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Don't have the $1900? Fix iPhone screens. Speed up computers (esp. Mac computers). Build computers for people (have them buy the parts, you do the building, charge a small markup). Paint houses (inside and outside). Finish driveways.

This is one of the more expensive things I've done. Lawn service is one that everyone does that's kind of expensive (insurance, equipment). You want to balance barrier to entry with total cost so that YOU can jump the barrier to entry. Obviously the highest magnitude hustles that someone just starting out could reasonably get into will be things like car painting, sound editing, etc. as they have the double barrier to entry of being both costly and requiring technical knowledge that takes a long time to master. Something like lawn service is more expensive to start but the knowledge barrier is virtually zero, ditto on something like snow removal. You want to find something that pushes both the required knowledge barrier and the required cost barrier as high as possible while still being attainable to you, and still meeting the broadest possible base of needs. That's why doctors are one of the highest paid slow-lane jobs:

Doctor:

Cost barrier: $300,000+ in undergraduate and graduate fees.
Knowledge barrier: 10+ years of education.
Need level: Everyone with a physical body.

Payoff: Big.

Working at Burger King:

Cost barrier: $0.15 for the piece of paper your resume is on, cost of one outfit and washing yourself that morning to land the job.
Knowledge barrier: A ten year old could do it if the government would let them.
Need Level: People who like food that makes their napkins transparent when they wipe their hands.

Payoff: As little as legally allowed.

Make your hustle as much like being a "doctor" as possible. The more specialized knowledge and skill you have to acquire, the more cash you need to get started, and the more time it takes to iron out all the problems and get going, the more you're going to make once the wheels start turning. Just remember, the setup might take days or months. But the payout, that can last for years.

Of course, "Do things that don't scale" applies to hustling too. The above formula is just for boot-strapping that works like a mini sustainable business. One-time opportunities to make tons of money that violate all sorts of CENTS commandments will periodically pop up too. When they do, you need to act on them, understanding that you can't rely on finding a real Rolex in a storage locker auction every month to pay the bills.
 
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How about installing security camera's in nice neighborhoods?
1. You import them from China (around 120$)
2. Make a flyer. Write about increasing theft, burglary etc. How this will benefit them, like it will make them feel safe, you can check your house from everywhere in the world) Deliver this flyer to 1000 houses.
3. Install security camera's for around 600$ (1 hour of work)
4. Increase your hourly wage from 5$ to 480$
5. Scale to infinity

Thanks for your posts RHL, they make you think in another perspective.
 
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How do you do this?

Same as you would with any computer.

Hardware:
More RAM, SSD Drive, Better Graphics Card, Faster Processor. Generally in that order. All depends on the age of the machine whether it is cost effective or not and what the Motherboard can take. MAC's are like laptops though, you might not have many options when it comes to anything more than RAM & SSD Drives.

Software:
Fresh OS install and latest drivers.

If it's so old the system is hampered by the age of the motherboard then the cheapest alternative is to buy a second hand package off ebay from someone who is doing a full upgrade. That way you get a faster Motherboard, CPU, Graphics and RAM pack all in one.
 

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Thank you for the thread. It made me take some serious action.

I got in touch with a local club promoter (through a friend), and offered to take photos of an event in exchange for a free entrance.

I overdelivered hard. I mean HARD. Blew their heads off.

Yesterday was my first paid gig, one of many to come. The whole team loves me, and wants me to be the frontman for photo/video for a few of their clubs.

The PROBLEM I'm having, is the low rate I started off as. I asked for $150 a night to shoot and deliver the photos. This was on Halloween as well.

Granted they love my work, and my attitude (I always look like I'm working, even if I'm not. Only sitting down for a drink or a snack in the back where no one can see me), how can I move my rates higher, to where working 2 nights a week would give me a sufficient income to work on a fastlane venture?
 
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RHL

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The PROBLEM I'm having, is the low rate I started off as. I asked for $150 a night to shoot and deliver the photos. This was on Halloween as well.

It's easy to dominate the market if you're offering a loss-leader type product, the trick is actually making money. There was a thread on here one time where somebody said that if you were "selling" $20 bills for $18, you'd sell out as fast as you could stock them. The trick is to find a way to hustle that either takes all your time but explodes your income, or leaves you with lots of free time while maintaining the same income. If you were working at Taco Bell, $150 a day is a big jump, and if you're trying to do a race-to-the-bottom type gig for a month or so to get something else going that can be fine (provided the work is regular. If it's once a month that's a no-go), but never make the mistake of under-valuing yourself out of the gate. Customers don't like huge price fluctuations. We've probably all seen those furniture/ebook/jewelry/whatever specials where they're like "Normally $5000, now yours for $80!" That's a huge turnoff, that tells customers that your product is really worthless and you're trying to inflate its value. Note too how the big initial number has the double effect of making the $80 seem small. $80 is quite a respectable price for a watch, and you can buy one that lasts for a decade for that. but plop it next to that huge fake initial number, and it looks like you're cheaping out, which even cheapskates hate to think they're doing.

Probably worse though is the massive price hike. You can raise prices moderately and be fine, but hike them too much (for example, I dunno much about club photography, but your services that night might have been worth, say, $600 with watermarking and sorting/editing), and previous customers feel confused or ripped off, like you're starting a cash grab. I have this problem with dealers all the time. They cannot start cars low then jack the price XXXX if there's a tidal-wave of interest. Every customer is going to feel cheated and demand the original price, or walk just on principle.

This might end your relationship with that club, but you need to think about what you're worth, how you can work it to your advantage time/money wise, re-target, adjust your price, and then find venues where you can shoot at that price.
 

Unfettered

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It's easy to dominate the market if you're offering a loss-leader type product, the trick is actually making money. There was a thread on here one time where somebody said that if you were "selling" $20 bills for $18, you'd sell out as fast as you could stock them. The trick is to find a way to hustle that either takes all your time but explodes your income, or leaves you with lots of free time while maintaining the same income. If you were working at Taco Bell, $150 a day is a big jump, and if you're trying to do a race-to-the-bottom type gig for a month or so to get something else going that can be fine (provided the work is regular. If it's once a month that's a no-go), but never make the mistake of under-valuing yourself out of the gate. Customers don't like huge price fluctuations. We've probably all seen those furniture/ebook/jewelry/whatever specials where they're like "Normally $5000, now yours for $80!" That's a huge turnoff, that tells customers that your product is really worthless and you're trying to inflate its value. Note too how the big initial number has the double effect of making the $80 seem small. $80 is quite a respectable price for a watch, and you can buy one that lasts for a decade for that. but plop it next to that huge fake initial number, and it looks like you're cheaping out, which even cheapskates hate to think they're doing.

Probably worse though is the massive price hike. You can raise prices moderately and be fine, but hike them too much (for example, I dunno much about club photography, but your services that night might have been worth, say, $600 with watermarking and sorting/editing), and previous customers feel confused or ripped off, like you're starting a cash grab. I have this problem with dealers all the time. They cannot start cars low then jack the price XXXX if there's a tidal-wave of interest. Every customer is going to feel cheated and demand the original price, or walk just on principle.

This might end your relationship with that club, but you need to think about what you're worth, how you can work it to your advantage time/money wise, re-target, adjust your price, and then find venues where you can shoot at that price.

Another idea - Have a heart to heart chat with the promoter telling him you feel you underpriced yourself but agree to keep the price THE SAME FOR THEM if they help you contact other promoters on the condition they won't tell the new promoters how cheaply they got your service.
 

Blue1214

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I think I have told this to everyone I know:

In a world where Google exists, not knowing how to do something is a pathetic excuse.

Sometimes they get mad at me when the convo goes something like this:

"I was thinking of starting a ____ business but I don't know how"

"did you google/look for people who have already done it?"

"no..."

"maybe you just don't want to do it that bad then"

Another thing that annoys me is people who are in college and act as if they need to wait for their professor to teach something to learn it.

I had a friend who wanted to start a business... but he insisted hell do it when he gets his degree to have enough knowledge. He looks at me like im stupid when I say google / hands on experience will teach him infinitely more than his professor ever will.

I don't know if its genetics...upbringing, whatever.... but how do people ignore such opportunity and information out there...

When I had a side business designing web sites years ago I googled it to death and learned how to make a great website for a business owner in less than a month through trial and error.. before a lot of these easy website tools existed..

Somewhere out there is a kid whos been in college 2 years trying to learn the same thing and is waiting to graduate to put it to use.
 
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db7903915

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It's easy to dominate the market if you're offering a loss-leader type product, the trick is actually making money. There was a thread on here one time where somebody said that if you were "selling" $20 bills for $18, you'd sell out as fast as you could stock them. The trick is to find a way to hustle that either takes all your time but explodes your income, or leaves you with lots of free time while maintaining the same income. If you were working at Taco Bell, $150 a day is a big jump, and if you're trying to do a race-to-the-bottom type gig for a month or so to get something else going that can be fine (provided the work is regular. If it's once a month that's a no-go), but never make the mistake of under-valuing yourself out of the gate. Customers don't like huge price fluctuations. We've probably all seen those furniture/ebook/jewelry/whatever specials where they're like "Normally $5000, now yours for $80!" That's a huge turnoff, that tells customers that your product is really worthless and you're trying to inflate its value. Note too how the big initial number has the double effect of making the $80 seem small. $80 is quite a respectable price for a watch, and you can buy one that lasts for a decade for that. but plop it next to that huge fake initial number, and it looks like you're cheaping out, which even cheapskates hate to think they're doing.

Probably worse though is the massive price hike. You can raise prices moderately and be fine, but hike them too much (for example, I dunno much about club photography, but your services that night might have been worth, say, $600 with watermarking and sorting/editing), and previous customers feel confused or ripped off, like you're starting a cash grab. I have this problem with dealers all the time. They cannot start cars low then jack the price XXXX if there's a tidal-wave of interest. Every customer is going to feel cheated and demand the original price, or walk just on principle.

This might end your relationship with that club, but you need to think about what you're worth, how you can work it to your advantage time/money wise, re-target, adjust your price, and then find venues where you can shoot at that price.

Thank you @RHL. I completely agree that the customer will start to feel ripped off. The good news is, the only 2 people that know how much I charged, are promoters for a single club. If I took the suggestion from @Unfettered, and had a heart-to-heart with them (because they both seem to have a very positive attitude towards me, probably because of the massive discount), I could get them to agree not to disclose my rate to other promoters, but keep theirs the same. This would give me the huge advantage of being an official photographer of the city's newest club, and allow me to charge the other club promoters what I feel my true rate is.
 

db7903915

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Have a quick update on the situation,

I was unable to secure a higher rate, but I've become a weekly shooter for the venue, meaning I'm out there every Saturday night taking photos.

I've built a framework around the shoot, where I get all the photos I need within a couple hours, go home, and immediately sort through all the photos in 15 minutes. I then apply photo correction presets that I created, which takes another 5 minutes.

Including the hour of transit to the venue and back, this comes out to 3 hours of work for $150. Eh.

The framework I built is really what's worth the time here. Now I can do $500-$1000 shoots in the same timespan with the rep I've built. DJs that play at the venue are always looking for people to take good photos, and that's where my business cards come in :) I'll make my own thread once I have more news.
 

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