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How to deal with the frustration of not moving forward?

Anything related to matters of the mind

seomatic

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Hello Fastlaners,

maybe it's the winter weather or my life just sucks I don't really know, but my mood went just down in the last weeks.

I understand the concepts discussed in the book in theory very well and even build my own models to analyze other businesses, KPIs and so on ... However the real problem for me right now is that I don't move forward and I feel stuck.

While I have taken action and created value for others I have seen very little return for myself so far. I worked for one of the largest Tech companies in Sales and did some good numbers - they even sent me monthly bonuses and I was ranked top 3 but to be honest that makes it even more bitter if you compare the value you created to the actual return. Right now I'm running ad campaigns for clients and some of them are quite happy and doing some decent numbers. However once again my upside is capped and comes down to peanuts compared to what the owners make.

Don't get me wrong life could be far worse as 90% of people in my country would probably change with me in an instant but still I'm far away from fastlane. So my question is how to deal with the frustration of working for others while accumulating capital, skills and knowledge to start my own products? I feel like working all the time for others making them rich while I have very little to show for myself. I've seen MJ's latest video and my goal is to have 100k in the bank before building my fastlane business. This would take another year at least and I'm feeling like losing out on so much.

Another problem is that I just don't have any trust in other people anymore. I have closed a 11k Deal which would be pure profits (it's selling time for money essentially) however I don't even want to celebrate it before the cash is in the bank. Is this reasonable?

What would you do in my situation? I really need a reality check right now.
 
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kestas

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Hello Fastlaners,

maybe it's the winter weather or my life just sucks I don't really know, but my mood went just down in the last weeks.

I understand the concepts discussed in the book in theory very well and even build my own models to analyze other businesses, KPIs and so on ... However the real problem for me right now is that I don't move forward and I feel stuck.

While I have taken action and created value for others I have seen very little return for myself so far. I worked for one of the largest Tech companies in Sales and did some good numbers - they even sent me monthly bonuses and I was ranked top 3 but to be honest that makes it even more bitter if you compare the value you created to the actual return. Right now I'm running ad campaigns for clients and some of them are quite happy and doing some decent numbers. However once again my upside is capped and comes down to peanuts compared to what the owners make.

Don't get me wrong life could be far worse as 90% of people in my country would probably change with me in an instant but still I'm far away from fastlane. So my question is how to deal with the frustration of working for others while accumulating capital, skills and knowledge to start my own products? I feel like working all the time for others making them rich while I have very little to show for myself. I've seen MJ's latest video and my goal is to have 100k in the bank before building my fastlane business. This would take another year at least and I'm feeling like losing out on so much.

Another problem is that I just don't have any trust in other people anymore. I have closed a 11k Deal which would be pure profits (it's selling time for money essentially) however I don't even want to celebrate it before the cash is in the bank. Is this reasonable?

What would you do in my situation? I really need a reality check right now.
Frustration results from exaggerating the importance of desires.

Be ok with where you are at. This doesn't mean you have to give up on your dream ,NO,

never do that. Place one foot in front of the other, and you will get there eventually.

As long as you know where are you going, what is your big goal...
you'll get there.

If you think you are stuck - you are stuck.
 

ZCP

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@Kung Fu Steve told us that when you are the most frustrated, you are the closest to a breakthough.

i still think it is total bullshit, yet it does calm me down and get me refocused. try it!
 

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Hello Fastlaners,

maybe it's the winter weather or my life just sucks I don't really know, but my mood went just down in the last weeks.

I understand the concepts discussed in the book in theory very well and even build my own models to analyze other businesses, KPIs and so on ... However the real problem for me right now is that I don't move forward and I feel stuck.

While I have taken action and created value for others I have seen very little return for myself so far. I worked for one of the largest Tech companies in Sales and did some good numbers - they even sent me monthly bonuses and I was ranked top 3 but to be honest that makes it even more bitter if you compare the value you created to the actual return. Right now I'm running ad campaigns for clients and some of them are quite happy and doing some decent numbers. However once again my upside is capped and comes down to peanuts compared to what the owners make.

Don't get me wrong life could be far worse as 90% of people in my country would probably change with me in an instant but still I'm far away from fastlane. So my question is how to deal with the frustration of working for others while accumulating capital, skills and knowledge to start my own products? I feel like working all the time for others making them rich while I have very little to show for myself. I've seen MJ's latest video and my goal is to have 100k in the bank before building my fastlane business. This would take another year at least and I'm feeling like losing out on so much.

Another problem is that I just don't have any trust in other people anymore. I have closed a 11k Deal which would be pure profits (it's selling time for money essentially) however I don't even want to celebrate it before the cash is in the bank. Is this reasonable?

What would you do in my situation? I really need a reality check right now.
Hmmm... You’re bitter because you got bonuses as a reward for your (sales) performance? Would you have been less bitter if you didn’t get the bonuses?

You’re unhappy because you’re helping your ads clients build their businesses and not yours?

It seems like glass is half empty thinking?

My mindset is neither glass is half empty nor glass is half full. Mine is “Oh wow! I’ve an empty glass! How cool is that?”

“Oh wow. I get paid to get really good at sales. If I do a good job they even give me a bit extra!”

“Oh wow. My clients pay me to run ads and learn how to make a profit for them - using *their* ad spend?!”


Why do you need 100k in the bank to start a (fastlane) business? Can you not just keep getting paid by your clients and figure out how to divorce your earnings from your time? What a cool challenge that is (and one I’m currently knawing at)!

“Oh wow. I get paid by clients to learn super cool stuff that I can also teach other people so I can help the little guy at scale and make sales without having to do any work after I get the Stripe notification? How cool is that!?”

You’re well progressed in the game of business already. You’ve sales skills. You’ve ad skills. Heck, you already have clients on the side and a budding business.

The game is:

Add value. Get paid.

It seems like you can already add value (and get paid) and your bitter because you’re not getting paid what you think you’re worth?

The market is paying you on your ability to get paid. You need that skill too.

Maybe the first step is to figure out how to be grateful and excited at what you already have? And also be happy because you’ve done a good job rather than be bitter because you’ve been rewarded less that you feel you deserve? (Look up internal and external locus of control.)

Then realise you know the next hurdle to overcome - which is to figure how to get paid better by the market? And then figure that out?
 
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seomatic

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Hmmm... You’re bitter because you got bonuses as a reward for your (sales) performance? Would you have been less bitter if you didn’t get the bonuses?

To be honest, yes. Like if you have a job and the business is in trouble you are happy to get paid at all. But if the business ist doing really well and growing and you get paid like 0.00001% of the Sales you make then it's just bitter because it feels like they screwing you over ... and I think there is some truth in it.

In theory I would say okay that's because they can easily replace you. But I don't think it's true. I started in customer service was the best in the team, then went on to sales and was in the top 3 in my first month there. I have language and tech skills which are valuable for a business and still no reward other than a shitty salary and a lousy bonus.

So the missing incentive and this dumb favoritism/nepotism in the corporate world was the reason to just give up on jobs and finally start my own consulting business. Sounds great at first but now I have to deal with clients all day.

You unhappy because you’re helping your ads clients build their businesses and not yours?

Yes, like we all learned time is the most important thing in life and I have the feeling that mine is running out slowly. Why should I waste time on a client ship when I should build my own ship? It's great to acquire skills but the more I work with other people the more I just want to be my own boss. Besides that dealing with clients is a pain in the a$$, because you can't do a lot of things which would work great. They have brand guidelines and procedures and everything - hate all this nonsense.

Why do you need 100k in the bank to start a (fastlane) business? Can you not just keep getting paid by your clients and figure out how to divorce your earnings from your time? What a cool challenge that is (and one I’m currently knawing at)!

I have no time left after all work is done. At least not enough to make quick progress on my projects. That's why I want a pile of cash in the bank to have at least a few years runway.

You’re well progressed in the game of business already. You’ve sales skills. You’ve ad skills. Heck, you already have clients on the side and a budding business.

I haven't even acquired them actively. It just happened through my network. I'm getting almost daily messages from people who need something which I could provide. So there is no shortage of work, just that I'm not happy with the pay - I know it's not scalable because I'm still selling time for money.

It seems like you can already add value (and get paid) and your bitter because you’re not getting paid what you think you’re worth?

100% that's it. I see myself as someone who can add millions of value to a business. You would think that the marketplace values that. But nada (almost nada) instead I see literally people with NO SKILLS at all being showered in gold. Tell me how modern society is not f*cked up. To me it seems nowadays skills are completely irrelevant, companies just care about image.

Maybe the first step is to figure out how to be grateful and excited at what you already have? And also be happy because you’ve done a good job rather than be bitter because you’ve been rewarded less that you feel you deserve? (Look up internal and external locus of control.)

I have done the locus test and it showed 66% external. Have to work on it.

Then realise you know the next hurdle to overcome - which is to figure how to get paid better by the market? And then figure that out?

Yes I am working on that. My goal is to be more selective with the clients I take. Only 5 figure ad spents and increase my fee to get higher quality clients. Then get rid of the lower paying ones to free up time for my own fast lane business.

Someone said I could be more emphatic. Is that a skill that can be taught?
 

seomatic

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Be ok with where you are at. This doesn't mean you have to give up on your dream ,NO,

I'm not ok with where I am, in fact I hate it. I rather be completely poor than in this damn cosy prison called middle class. If you're poor you have at least all your time for yourself and know that you are broke. The middle is the worst because you have no time and still no money left. You create all the value in the world and pay all the taxes and still you get screwed all-day. It's the worst position to be in.

I got a quick look into the upper class and I want to go back as fast as possible. Either that or go broke, build a shack in the woods and read books all day long. Both would be fine, just not the status quo.
 

Andy Black

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To be honest, yes. Like if you have a job and the business is in trouble you are happy to get paid at all. But if the business ist doing really well and growing and you get paid like 0.00001% of the Sales you make then it's just bitter because it feels like they screwing you over ... and I think there is some truth in it.

In theory I would say okay that's because they can easily replace you. But I don't think it's true. I started in customer service was the best in the team, then went on to sales and was in the top 3 in my first month there. I have language and tech skills which are valuable for a business and still no reward other than a shitty salary and a lousy bonus.

So the missing incentive and this dumb favoritism/nepotism in the corporate world was the reason to just give up on jobs and finally start my own consulting business. Sounds great at first but now I have to deal with clients all day.



Yes, like we all learned time is the most important thing in life and I have the feeling that mine is running out slowly. Why should I waste time on a client ship when I should build my own ship? It's great to acquire skills but the more I work with other people the more I just want to be my own boss. Besides that dealing with clients is a pain in the a$$, because you can't do a lot of things which would work great. They have brand guidelines and procedures and everything - hate all this nonsense.



I have no time left after all work is done. At least not enough to make quick progress on my projects. That's why I want a pile of cash in the bank to have at least a few years runway.



I haven't even acquired them actively. It just happened through my network. I'm getting almost daily messages from people who need something which I could provide. So there is no shortage of work, just that I'm not happy with the pay - I know it's not scalable because I'm still selling time for money.



100% that's it. I see myself as someone who can add millions of value to a business. You would think that the marketplace values that. But nada (almost nada) instead I see literally people with NO SKILLS at all being showered in gold. Tell me how modern society is not f*cked up. To me it seems nowadays skills are completely irrelevant, companies just care about image.



I have done the locus test and it showed 66% external. Have to work on it.



Yes I am working on that. My goal is to be more selective with the clients I take. Only 5 figure ad spents and increase my fee to get higher quality clients. Then get rid of the lower paying ones to free up time for my own fast lane business.

Someone said I could be more emphatic. Is that a skill that can be taught?
The market is the market. We get paid what we deserve. If we’re not paid what we think we deserve then we figure it out and adjust.

Your destiny is in your own hands. Maybe try to enjoy the journey a bit more?
 
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seomatic

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Your destiny is in your own hands. Maybe try to enjoy the journey a bit more?

The market is the market. We get paid what we deserve. If we’re not paid what we think we deserve then we need to figure it out and adjust.

No idea what's enjoyable here. I just want to travel from point A to point B as fast as possible. It literally blows my mind how most people can be okay with losing all their life. I've seen a report about 14-hour long wait for a new restaurant opening. It's just insane how most people value time at zero.

From an intellectual stand point it's super interesting to see how an overall quite stable society can be built with 95% of people in it losing every day. Distraction and small rewards seem to play an important role. Quite sure this research will yield some interesting marketing angles. The funniest thing are all this fancy job titles being created. People seem to be okay with low pay if the company they working for is known and they have a nice title.

And yes I'm not discounting that society is moving forward as a whole.

I'm all in on efficient market theory. However you can be the best airline pilot and still get fired because of this "situation" we face currently. Then what are your options? Spend 3+ years to learn a different job.
 

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you can be the best airline pilot and still get fired because of this "situation" we face currently. Then what are your options? Spend 3+ years to learn a different job.
Why spend 3+ years learning? Why not go help someone this week, get paid for it, then scale from there?



It literally blows my mind how most people can be okay with losing all their life. I've seen a report about 14-hour long wait for a new restaurant opening. It's just insane how most people value time at zero.
It doesn’t blow my mind. I pay no heed to it.



I just want to travel from point A to point B as fast as possible.
Can you not see anything good about point A and the journey between A and B?

One day we’ll all be at point B and realise the journey *was* the point. I just hope people realise that early enough to appreciate the journey.



No idea what's enjoyable here.
Maybe these videos might help?

I’m not sure. I think there’s something else going on here. You’re maybe comparing yourself to others or to where you want to be instead of appreciating the now and what you have.
While you watch those I’m going for a stroll down the canal with my 12 year old son. He wanted to know what I was doing on the PC last night and was fascinated by the membership site I built last week and how I got the first $15/mth signup. He wants to help and we’re going to have a chat about his takeaways from what I showed him.



I’m also reminded of the thread below. It sounds like you’re saying “I make sales for my company but don’t get paid as much as I’d like.”

Maybe you could swap “but” for “and”?


In case you (or anyone else) takes what I’m saying the wrong way, think I’m lecturing you on what you *must* do, or that I’m being too foo-foo ... just realise I’m treating you as I would one of my sons, nieces or nephews. This is how I’d try to help them.
 

Fid

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It seems growing someone else's business makes you frustrated. Your compensation seems disappointing compared to the value you bring, which makes you feel bitter.

But if the business ist doing really well and growing and you get paid like 0.00001% of the Sales you make then it's just bitter because it feels like they screwing you over
There are commission-based sales jobs. You get paid a % of the profits you make for the company.
But it seems this wouldn't work for you, as it would be still working on someone else's business, not yours?

I just want to travel from point A to point B as fast as possible.
"It takes 20 years to make an overnight success".

A year or two ago I also wanted to succeed ASAP. I burned with ambition (and impatience).
Ended up burned out, depressed but also more experienced about my expectations of progress and success.

Now I enjoy the process way more. Celebrate small wins. Sleep and rest more. Stay humble. Stay patient. I don't care someone made it in 3 years or 1 year or 15 minutes. I take my time.

Turns out I progress as fast (if not faster) as before.

EDIT:
As for the question in the thread title:
"How to deal with the frustration of not moving forward?"
You are moving forward. Your progress is not measured in $$$.

It takes time to learn some lessons. It's not wasted time though, even if it looks like you're making no progress from the outside.
 
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seomatic

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Can you not see anything good about point A and the journey between A and B?

Well I took a bit of time off yesterday and went to the christmas market. I had such a good time, listening to folk music, seeing other people and smelling the food and mulled wine - even forgot about work for a while :)

It made me appreciate the freedom I have thanks to the decisions I made 3 years ago: Leaving Germany. Now I can enjoy living in a country without nazi-like laws and dealing with masks and all this stuff. So I concluded that if I make the right decisions now, I will be in the right place in a few years. Amazing how taking time off can clear your thinking. Sometimes you are too close to a specific situation and can't figure it out.

I also reached a new financial milestone today (I'm adding up all my assets daily) and my clients are happy with my work. So it's not all bad and it gives you options to choose the people I want to work for :)
 

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I'm not ok with where I am, in fact I hate it. I rather be completely poor than in this damn cosy prison called middle class. If you're poor you have at least all your time for yourself and know that you are broke. The middle is the worst because you have no time and still no money left. You create all the value in the world and pay all the taxes and still you get screwed all-day. It's the worst position to be in.

I got a quick look into the upper class and I want to go back as fast as possible. Either that or go broke, build a shack in the woods and read books all day long. Both would be fine, just not the status quo.
There is nothing stopping you selling or giving up all that 'stuff' keeping you shackled to the middle class. If you really believe that it's better to be poor then that is an option for you.
 

seomatic

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There is nothing stopping you selling or giving up all that 'stuff' keeping you shackled to the middle class. If you really believe that it's better to be poor then that is an option for you.
I'm not saying being poor is great. It's just better than wasting every waking hour of the day making someone else rich. I prefer to be rich and I'm on the journey. But if it doesn't work out for some reason then I won't go back to corporate slave, rather move to the forest, read books, work out, cook self hunted food all day long. :)

If you can't win the game, change the rules!
 
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seomatic

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Today was a good day because I sent out some invoices. First of the month is always my favorite :D

I realized there is no need to wait for 100k in the bank to start building my fastlane businesses. I'm working on trademarks, branding and sourcing currently. Hopefully seeing some progress soon.
 

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There's a really loud secret in this world.

It's loud because everyone who achieves something screams it at the top of their lungs.

It's a secret because people ignore it and think it can't possibly be true.

Whether you choose to ignore this profound secret is up to you, but here it is:

Achieving the goal is not going to make you happy.

Once you finally achieve the goal, you are going to ask "is this all there is?"

It will bring joy for a day, an hour, or maybe even a minute. And then, if you're smart, you're going to realize it was never the goal but the journey.

If you hate the journey right now, you either need to change journeys or change your attitude.

I get you're frustrated. We've all been there. But if you're really this upset and hate this particular journey this much maybe it's time you look for something else to do? A different business? A different process? Only you know what's right for you.

But this being unhappy thing sucks.

I've tried it.
 
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mishanya911

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Hello Fastlaners,

maybe it's the winter weather or my life just sucks I don't really know, but my mood went just down in the last weeks.

I understand the concepts discussed in the book in theory very well and even build my own models to analyze other businesses, KPIs and so on ... However the real problem for me right now is that I don't move forward and I feel stuck.

While I have taken action and created value for others I have seen very little return for myself so far. I worked for one of the largest Tech companies in Sales and did some good numbers - they even sent me monthly bonuses and I was ranked top 3 but to be honest that makes it even more bitter if you compare the value you created to the actual return. Right now I'm running ad campaigns for clients and some of them are quite happy and doing some decent numbers. However once again my upside is capped and comes down to peanuts compared to what the owners make.

Don't get me wrong life could be far worse as 90% of people in my country would probably change with me in an instant but still I'm far away from fastlane. So my question is how to deal with the frustration of working for others while accumulating capital, skills and knowledge to start my own products? I feel like working all the time for others making them rich while I have very little to show for myself. I've seen MJ's latest video and my goal is to have 100k in the bank before building my fastlane business. This would take another year at least and I'm feeling like losing out on so much.

Another problem is that I just don't have any trust in other people anymore. I have closed a 11k Deal which would be pure profits (it's selling time for money essentially) however I don't even want to celebrate it before the cash is in the bank. Is this reasonable?

What would you do in my situation? I really need a reality check right now.
You've mentioned your goal of having $100k in the bank before building a fastlane business? Perhaps you've missed the point of Fastlane
 

seomatic

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You've mentioned your goal of having $100k in the bank before building a fastlane business? Perhaps you've missed the point of Fastlane

Well it costs money to create a product right? I need to pay for all the stuff upfront: product, shipping, designs, ad spent, software, taxes, duties and so on. And then let's say I double my money on the product. It's just not worth the hassle to do it with $500 - let's do it with $50.000 worth of product.
 

mishanya911

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Well it costs money to create a product right? I need to pay for all the stuff upfront: product, shipping, designs, ad spent, software, taxes, duties and so on. And then let's say I double my money on the product. It's just not worth the hassle to do it with $500 - let's do it with $50.000 worth of product.
Depends on a product, but I would argue that you don’t need $100k (or even 50)in the bank to start. Do you have a proof of concept ? If so, you could seek funding or get creative in different way. My point , stop with excuses and start doing .
 
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jesseissorude

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My experience as someone who designs products:

Well it costs money to create a product right? I need to pay for all the stuff upfront: product, shipping, designs, ad spent, software, taxes, duties and so on. And then let's say I double my money on the product. It's just not worth the hassle to do it with $500 - let's do it with $50.000 worth of product.

Sounds like either 1) an excuse or 2) an assumption.

If (1), then you are focusing on a "someday" goal so that you feel that you are making progress on your business. (I realize you said you are starting with trademarks and branding and so on from your earlier post, but you catch my drift.)

If (2), then how can you test those assumptions?

Assumption: It costs a lot to design a product.
I can tell you from experience that it doesn't take $50k to design a product. You can retain a designer, feed him/her requirements, and come out with a mockup for a couple thousand.

Assumption: I need to have a ton of inventory before I start selling.
It seems a lot smarter to get a small prototype run and try to sell the first, say, 20 to prove that customers like it. If you're gonna fail, fail FAST and CHEAP.

Shipping: Won't customers pay for that themselves?

Adspend: There are free ways to promote your idea. Focus on earning the first $1000 to prove the idea is sound, then scale that up with ads. Also, if it's Facebook ads, I can tell you that you only need a few hundred dollars to test your idea. Once you know the ads are working, you can scale up the adspend easily!

Doing it all with $500 isn't a hassle. Doing it with $50k and losing it all--because you didn't test your idea on customers--is a HUGE hassle.

If I were in your shoes, I'd define exactly who this product is for, what problem it solves, then find 50 of those people and take each of them out to coffee to pepper them with questions. 50 people * $4 coffee (yes, Starbucks lol) is $200, not $50k.
I wouldn't bother with brands or trademarks etc yet. I've run a small business since 2013 and I've never had to do anything with trademarks.

In short: Sounds like you've assumed that it's true that "It takes a lot of money to start a business." Can you test that assumption? Do you know anyone who has started a business with very little money?
 

seomatic

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Depends on a product, but I would argue that you don’t need $100k (or even 50)in the bank to start. Do you have a proof of concept ? If so, you could seek funding or get creative in different way. My point , stop with excuses and start doing .
You are right, I think the 100k was my excuse to not get started with the process. Like my thinking was ok it takes me at least another 12 months to save the funds, so I don't have to worry about execution, yet. Wow.

The product is definitely proven, it's a very competitive market so that suggest there is a ton of money in it. My edge will be the branding and marketing. I have done competition research and know I can outperform them. Essentially it's an extension of my marketing consulting business, with the difference that I remove the income limits and enable scaling.

My experience as someone who designs products:



Sounds like either 1) an excuse or 2) an assumption.

If (1), then you are focusing on a "someday" goal so that you feel that you are making progress on your business. (I realize you said you are starting with trademarks and branding and so on from your earlier post, but you catch my drift.)

If (2), then how can you test those assumptions?

Assumption: It costs a lot to design a product.
I can tell you from experience that it doesn't take $50k to design a product. You can retain a designer, feed him/her requirements, and come out with a mockup for a couple thousand.

Assumption: I need to have a ton of inventory before I start selling.
It seems a lot smarter to get a small prototype run and try to sell the first, say, 20 to prove that customers like it. If you're gonna fail, fail FAST and CHEAP.

Shipping: Won't customers pay for that themselves?

Adspend: There are free ways to promote your idea. Focus on earning the first $1000 to prove the idea is sound, then scale that up with ads. Also, if it's Facebook ads, I can tell you that you only need a few hundred dollars to test your idea. Once you know the ads are working, you can scale up the adspend easily!

Doing it all with $500 isn't a hassle. Doing it with $50k and losing it all--because you didn't test your idea on customers--is a HUGE hassle.

If I were in your shoes, I'd define exactly who this product is for, what problem it solves, then find 50 of those people and take each of them out to coffee to pepper them with questions. 50 people * $4 coffee (yes, Starbucks lol) is $200, not $50k.
I wouldn't bother with brands or trademarks etc yet. I've run a small business since 2013 and I've never had to do anything with trademarks.

In short: Sounds like you've assumed that it's true that "It takes a lot of money to start a business." Can you test that assumption? Do you know anyone who has started a business with very little money?
You're right I have enough money to get started. It was just my messed up thinking of completing the 100k milestone before taking any action.
 
D

Deleted50669

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It seems growing someone else's business makes you frustrated. Your compensation seems disappointing compared to the value you bring, which makes you feel bitter.


There are commission-based sales jobs. You get paid a % of the profits you make for the company.
But it seems this wouldn't work for you, as it would be still working on someone else's business, not yours?


"It takes 20 years to make an overnight success".

A year or two ago I also wanted to succeed ASAP. I burned with ambition (and impatience).
Ended up burned out, depressed but also more experienced about my expectations of progress and success.

Now I enjoy the process way more. Celebrate small wins. Sleep and rest more. Stay humble. Stay patient. I don't care someone made it in 3 years or 1 year or 15 minutes. I take my time.

Turns out I progress as fast (if not faster) as before.

EDIT:
As for the question in the thread title:
"How to deal with the frustration of not moving forward?"
You are moving forward. Your progress is not measured in $$$.

It takes time to learn some lessons. It's not wasted time though, even if it looks like you're making no progress from the outside.
This one spoke to me. When I didn't know what I was doing I rushed everything and fell flat on my face. It took a lot of soul searching to pick myself up and admit where I went wrong, and then take a more disciplined approach. Patience often pays off.
 
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TheComebackKid

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Sorry, just have to say that the discussion here is so rich, insightful, and deeply stimulating. I've not found a place on the internet like this, ever. Really smart people here. Thank you guys for freely contributing advice which people would pay thousands for. Unbelievable.
 

seomatic

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I am back in the land of frustrations, it is really not that I don't take action but it barley leads to anything:
  • Have contacted a supplier in China and they said it costs thousands to ship the product due to customs (I think it's just a rip off) how can shipping cost more than the product? doesn't make sense.
  • Daily frustrations with clients
  • Contacted someone who owns me money and probably have to go to court to get it
How to stay positive if the world is such a destructive place?
 

ProcessPro

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Hello Fastlaners,

maybe it's the winter weather or my life just sucks I don't really know, but my mood went just down in the last weeks.

I understand the concepts discussed in the book in theory very well and even build my own models to analyze other businesses, KPIs and so on ... However the real problem for me right now is that I don't move forward and I feel stuck.

While I have taken action and created value for others I have seen very little return for myself so far. I worked for one of the largest Tech companies in Sales and did some good numbers - they even sent me monthly bonuses and I was ranked top 3 but to be honest that makes it even more bitter if you compare the value you created to the actual return. Right now I'm running ad campaigns for clients and some of them are quite happy and doing some decent numbers. However once again my upside is capped and comes down to peanuts compared to what the owners make.

Don't get me wrong life could be far worse as 90% of people in my country would probably change with me in an instant but still I'm far away from fastlane. So my question is how to deal with the frustration of working for others while accumulating capital, skills and knowledge to start my own products? I feel like working all the time for others making them rich while I have very little to show for myself. I've seen MJ's latest video and my goal is to have 100k in the bank before building my fastlane business. This would take another year at least and I'm feeling like losing out on so much.

Another problem is that I just don't have any trust in other people anymore. I have closed a 11k Deal which would be pure profits (it's selling time for money essentially) however I don't even want to celebrate it before the cash is in the bank. Is this reasonable?

What would you do in my situation? I really need a reality check right now.
Well to be honest, you work in a business that was built by someone else, and their sweat - don't they deserve the profits that they're making, just like you'll deserve your fastlane profits in the future?

So what are your best hopes from the advice you're seeking here? If those hopes were realized, what would be different for you tomorrow?
 
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ProcessPro

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Sorry, just have to say that the discussion here is so rich, insightful, and deeply stimulating. I've not found a place on the internet like this, ever. Really smart people here. Thank you guys for freely contributing advice which people would pay thousands for. Unbelievable.
Tell me about it! Just don't be the person that posts 9 times then disappears, lol.
 

seomatic

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Well to be honest, you work in a business that was built by someone else, and their sweat - don't they deserve the profits that they're making, just like you'll deserve your fastlane profits in the future?

So what are your best hopes from the advice you're seeking here? If those hopes were realized, what would be different for you tomorrow?
Surely they deserve every cent of profits. It's just that I want to get a share of the cake. Obviously marketing is essential aspect and I am just realizing that I will never get paid fairly if I'm not in control of the product myself. I started to source from china, but quite disappointing so far. Seems like this whole supply chain thing is in distress currently. Next year will probably be really bad for most companies. So glad to work in the digital space.

I think the best approach is to reframe myself from being frustrated to joining the fastlane asap. Since I can't get my hands on physical stuff would you recommend to start with a digital product? That's my area of expertise anyway.
 

seomatic

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or is it better to persist and work around the road block. So many options, so less time.
 
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ProcessPro

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Surely they deserve every cent of profits. It's just that I want to get a share of the cake. Obviously marketing is essential aspect and I am just realizing that I will never get paid fairly if I'm not in control of the product myself. I started to source from china, but quite disappointing so far. Seems like this whole supply chain thing is in distress currently. Next year will probably be really bad for most companies. So glad to work in the digital space.

I think the best approach is to reframe myself from being frustrated to joining the fastlane asap. Since I can't get my hands on physical stuff would you recommend to start with a digital product? That's my area of expertise anyway.
You should start with whatever is at the intersection of what the market needs and your current skill/knowledge base. If there's a legitimate market need in the digital space, and that's already your skillset, then go for it.
 

GatsbyMag

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If you hate the journey right now, you either need to change journeys or change your attitude.

I get you're frustrated. We've all been there. But if you're really this upset and hate this particular journey this much maybe it's time you look for something else to do? A different business? A different process? Only you know what's right for you.

But this being unhappy thing sucks.

I've tried it.
Is this an absolute truth in business & entrepreneurship? Or does it apply only in certain cases?

Do you need to love the journey? Or are you saying that as long as you don't completely hate it, you're on the right track?

I'm working towards something, but the journey is not fun and I dislike every aspect of it.

The only way it would be fun is if I'm somehow doing something I'm passionate about (which means something that utilizes my strengths), however my strengths aren't really relevant to my market.

My intuition tells me that it's okay to do things you hate so that you can get to a point where you don't have to do them anymore. If you're talented (high IQ, entertaining, athletic) then I supposed the journey is more enjoyable.

But if you're spending your days sifting through industry reports, burning cash, emailing 100s of people etc. in order to build a viable business, that process is just not going to be enjoyable. But you have to do it anyway.

Never been an advocate of "the journey matters", but open to having my mind changed as I'm still a rookie entrepreneur/businessperson.
 

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