winfinite8
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- Joined
- Aug 27, 2014
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Hi All,
First, thanks to MJ DeMarco for Fastlane Millionaire - a concise and powerful book. It has been an important work in refine my ambition towards increased future success. I have been following the Fastlane Forum for some time and wish to join to solicit your valuable advice on my first startup.
For a backgrounder on myself, please refer to the bottom of the post.
My Startup Progress
I had ended my employment June 20, 2014 to pursue my entrepreneurial passions. I had not taken much vacation in the past few years so thought, maybe I'll take a month off to recharge. After about 1 week, I got a little restless and ventured into my first startup: Selfiestick.
I noticed enticing trend with selfies and the selfie accessory, monopod or, as I prefer to market it, a selfie stick.
From there, I reached out to several suppliers and validated samples from each. At the same time, I setup placeholder website with company logo to quantify interest in this product by end customers with a pseudo shopping cart/email form. Based off the response, I believe the idea was a valuable one.
Upon this, I selected the most favourable supplier, negotiated unit costs, designed gift box packaging and finalized other last details then placed first bulk order. During this stage, also established necessary social media presence.
Received my first bulk order Aug 15, 2014 and commenced on sales campaigns from there. The product is listed on my company website: www.selfiestick.ca along with AMZN, ebay and etsy.
Fastlane Forum Advice
My current sales are about 0.8/day. My web traffic is steadily increasing (see attached chart).
Any ideas on how to crank the sales volume up?
My Background Prior To Startup
I have never been exceptional at anything, however I work hard(a learned habit that anyone is capable of) and I believe I have effectively learned how to learn. This allows me to understand the fundamentals of most concepts quickly. Many mistake this for intelligence.
In highschool I joined the world's largest company to make money. Started at the bottom, clean toilets, retrieve shopping carts, etc. Continued this in university(English Lang&Lit, mind in Tech Writing). Upon graduation, worked with the world's largest retailer for a few months full time then enjoyed a series of promotions. By age 21, I was effectively managing a store located in Niagara Falls with annual revenue of $50mm(CAD)/year and 250 staff. While it was interesting and challenging and would lead to lucrative finances, it would not be beneficial to my long term personal health - long working hours, on holidays, tough on family/friends, high degree of stress.
After this, I joined a company that develops, manufacturers, markets, distributes and sells consumer electronics. I joined at entry level position - testing products and writing instruction manuals. Within 2 months I was promoted to Assistant Product Manager, then approx. 16 months later, Product Manager. My first year as Product Manager, I rationalized product line up and increased revenues from $10mm/yr to 15mm/yr in CCTV category. The following year I helped the company by developing 6 new video baby monitors (5 ODM/1 OEM) in the span of 12-14 months, a feat I don't believe has been accomplished by any other company. This helped take the company from a relative unknown to 3rd in global sales by volume (surpassing famous brands such as Samsung, Sony, vtech, Newell Rubbermaid).
At age 28, I realized that I would never be able to accomplish my life goals by working for someone else(Nissan GTR, residence in Canada(summer)/Philippines(winter)). I had accumulated some money in my life but was always unsure with where to invest it. I have no confidence in stock market, don't like RE game so concluded I should invest in myself, as I believe I will have success. Rather than pursue education, which I would consider a poor investment at present time, I realized that I could use this money to fund myself while I launch my own enterprises. So, after 6 weeks notice, I left my company June 20, 2014 to pursue my entrepreneurial passions.
First, thanks to MJ DeMarco for Fastlane Millionaire - a concise and powerful book. It has been an important work in refine my ambition towards increased future success. I have been following the Fastlane Forum for some time and wish to join to solicit your valuable advice on my first startup.
For a backgrounder on myself, please refer to the bottom of the post.
My Startup Progress
I had ended my employment June 20, 2014 to pursue my entrepreneurial passions. I had not taken much vacation in the past few years so thought, maybe I'll take a month off to recharge. After about 1 week, I got a little restless and ventured into my first startup: Selfiestick.
I noticed enticing trend with selfies and the selfie accessory, monopod or, as I prefer to market it, a selfie stick.
From there, I reached out to several suppliers and validated samples from each. At the same time, I setup placeholder website with company logo to quantify interest in this product by end customers with a pseudo shopping cart/email form. Based off the response, I believe the idea was a valuable one.
Upon this, I selected the most favourable supplier, negotiated unit costs, designed gift box packaging and finalized other last details then placed first bulk order. During this stage, also established necessary social media presence.
Received my first bulk order Aug 15, 2014 and commenced on sales campaigns from there. The product is listed on my company website: www.selfiestick.ca along with AMZN, ebay and etsy.
Fastlane Forum Advice
My current sales are about 0.8/day. My web traffic is steadily increasing (see attached chart).
Any ideas on how to crank the sales volume up?
My Background Prior To Startup
I have never been exceptional at anything, however I work hard(a learned habit that anyone is capable of) and I believe I have effectively learned how to learn. This allows me to understand the fundamentals of most concepts quickly. Many mistake this for intelligence.
In highschool I joined the world's largest company to make money. Started at the bottom, clean toilets, retrieve shopping carts, etc. Continued this in university(English Lang&Lit, mind in Tech Writing). Upon graduation, worked with the world's largest retailer for a few months full time then enjoyed a series of promotions. By age 21, I was effectively managing a store located in Niagara Falls with annual revenue of $50mm(CAD)/year and 250 staff. While it was interesting and challenging and would lead to lucrative finances, it would not be beneficial to my long term personal health - long working hours, on holidays, tough on family/friends, high degree of stress.
After this, I joined a company that develops, manufacturers, markets, distributes and sells consumer electronics. I joined at entry level position - testing products and writing instruction manuals. Within 2 months I was promoted to Assistant Product Manager, then approx. 16 months later, Product Manager. My first year as Product Manager, I rationalized product line up and increased revenues from $10mm/yr to 15mm/yr in CCTV category. The following year I helped the company by developing 6 new video baby monitors (5 ODM/1 OEM) in the span of 12-14 months, a feat I don't believe has been accomplished by any other company. This helped take the company from a relative unknown to 3rd in global sales by volume (surpassing famous brands such as Samsung, Sony, vtech, Newell Rubbermaid).
At age 28, I realized that I would never be able to accomplish my life goals by working for someone else(Nissan GTR, residence in Canada(summer)/Philippines(winter)). I had accumulated some money in my life but was always unsure with where to invest it. I have no confidence in stock market, don't like RE game so concluded I should invest in myself, as I believe I will have success. Rather than pursue education, which I would consider a poor investment at present time, I realized that I could use this money to fund myself while I launch my own enterprises. So, after 6 weeks notice, I left my company June 20, 2014 to pursue my entrepreneurial passions.
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