Hello from California

[BobWhiteballs]

Hi everyone,

I'm a dude living in a small town in California - about two hours north of Los Angeles.
I am currently working full-time as a database programmer. I've been doing this for several years now.

I've been working in an organization for other people for most of my adult life. I don't want to get into how I feel about that, but it drove me to seek entrepreneurship and freedom.

I never cared about buying toys. The only thing I've ever wanted was freedom.

A couple years ago I started a little stock video business with a cheap prosumer camera. I do not own the website where the video footage is sold. I just get a commission when my clips are sold. After reading MJ DeMarco's book, I realize that's a huge negative for a business. At the time I started the business, though, I didn't know any better.

Now, my clips are generating about $500 to $700 a month in revenue and growing.

There are some fixed costs, though. I am renting a photo studio for $800 a month, and I've sunk $7,500 into new camera and equipment, not to mention labor costs for talent and an occasional assistant. As I write this, I realize I must seem like a complete jackass for sustaining these costs.

When I started, I believed that If I could create enough clips, my revenue would eventually surpass my fixed costs. And eventually, I'd get rid of my fixed costs, when I shut down production and just enjoy the revenue stream.

After reading MJ's book, though, I've kind of soured on my stock video business. Now I want to develop my website software idea. It's a better business model than stock video. I realize that I do not have the time and energy to continue both businesses. I guess I'm just working up the courage to close down the stock video business.

I know the stock video business doesn't fit the MJ Demarco criteria for a viable business because the websites can change the commission structure and I'd be shit out of luck. It's just that it's hard to shut down my business when it's growing. And I've also sunk so much time and energy into it, already.

I realize it's my decision alone. But anyway, that's where I'm at at this point in my business career.

Anyway, I didn't mean to get into some long-winded thing.

This forum is an awesome resource and I just wanted to say hello.

 

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