I am so Confused! Expecting some advice

[lowtek]

Welcome to the forum.

Honestly, one of the best things you can do is get a job, get in the workforce, and be the best possible employee. Save some money while you look for market needs. Flip some stuff, do some retail arbitrage, anything to get your feet wet. Just don't sweat starting a business yet.

The reason I say this is that because at 16 you (probably) don't really have the life experience to start a successful business. Priority #1 should be gaining life experience and becoming a better man.

 

[ZF Lee]

Welcome.

I understand...

The problem with looking up on social media for 'I hate this' is that folks don't know how to solve their problems, or describe them well enough to solve them. Or they are too lazy to find a solution.

That is why businesses do well. They help filter out the confusion, take the most important insights, and do something about it. Tough work, but that's the opportunity.

If you think everything has been 'solved', you should take a look at business and scientific news materials. Inventions, business models and products are launched every day. Most of them are similar to each other in functionality, but they differ slightly from each other enough to get good sales.

Let's see an example.

Qatar Airways is renowned for its rather luxurious facilities. But a dozen other airlines have luxurious facilities as well, such as Singapore Airlines. But what makes Singapore Airline different? Namely, the menu, uniform of stewardess and a hundred other less-obvious things.

Chances are, you have to go down to the field to talk with the people yourself. You need experience. Life experience. Watch how they do their work and live their lives. See what they lack. But you cannot do that on a computer, more or less with AI.

Here's what you can do:

1. Since you are still in high school, go join clubs and societies. It could be a science club, band club, any club with potential for marketable skills. Go get a leadership position or other hands-on positions such as accounting (school clubs don't run on thin air for activities), logistics, planning, publicity. Train yourself to listen to other people, and to communicate better with them, as well as to handle rejection.

Don't worry about screwing up or having to work with seniors older than you. Just watch how the older boys handle club tasks, and help out as needed. If improvements are needed, provide it.

For example, in high school, I noticed that no one was taking notes or reports for club activities. As a result, no one could remember what happened during the last camp, and the teachers couldn't track students' co-curriculum activities. So I decided to carry my own notebook and record the whole activity from start to finish. Who held this event, how did it run, any improvements needed, any mishaps and whatnot.

Soon teachers started spotting my odd behaviour. I ended up becoming secretary for a uniform group for my last senior years.

That skill of reporting details became handy in my later freelancing (and business?) tasks.

If your school has food fairs, go for it. Help sell something. Help cook something. I helped out at one during high school as well, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

2. You might get a first boost for your CV with club activities, but not cash. If you want to get paid while learning, work a job. Go for fast food, ask your parents for a part-time job, if they have their own small biz, sell newspapers, and whatever you can get your hands on.

Pretty similar to going for school clubs and societies, except that you meet with a more diverse range of people and see tougher, harsher problems in the world.

For instance, I had to help drainage cleaning work at a campsite. It's not for the weak. Once you open the manhole cover, roaches and worms run out.

I couldn't help but think that I should be wearing some kind of hazmat gear, although I wasn't going into the manhole. We just opened it for pressure to dislodge a blocked pipe in the building.

But hazmat gear is heavy and expensive. And hard to put on. So there's a product idea. I could have needed a lighter, cheaper hazmat gear that is easier to put on. I think such things exist, but I would need to buy it online, not locally.

But mind you, jobs can be tiring, and I might not encourage it if you have an important high school certificate exam at the end of your secondary school education. If you want to do part time jobs sparingly, with more attention on your studies, then OK.

3. Join a social organization. For some, it could be a regular meetup.com meeting locally. Or a cell group in church. Or a charity. Meet people on the ground, not just online!

In an earlier meetup.com meeting with entrepreneurs, the folks were talking about what they needed:
Here are some:

a. someone to help market his clip art website (he offered me the job, but he never followed up with the details lol)

b. someone to help translate a Chinese travel website

c. a channel or intermediary to help sell education courses

d. some better materials to make a card game

I'm not making this up. In ONE MEETING, I was looking at a hundred avenues to good businesses.
Gosh, I had better follow up with them.


If you are risk-averse, go for option 1. If you want more direct world interaction, options 2 and 3.

Don't worry about AI. Chances are, the market doesn't understand it enough yet to need it too desperately.

Good luck.

 

[lowtek]

Thanks bro..You mean tue FTE?

I just mean life experience in general.

When I was 16, what I knew about life could be written on an atom sized piece of toilet paper.

 

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[Nullcod3r007]

Hey , I am tahsin , a 16 year boy with a dream to impact the world . I am in High School Now and I am from Bangladesh.

I have read both the books of MJ .But i am stuck in the first phase ... Planning.I can't find people complaining .Seems like Everything has been solved ( I don't believe it ) I have tried methods of mj like searching in social media ...But i find people complaining like "I hate my life "
Sometimes i start leaning AI .After some moments i think I am not solving a problem .... because I dont have a solid Plan..I am so confused ..
Please help me in this matter.

 

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[Nullcod3r007]

Welcome.

I understand...

The problem with looking up on social media for 'I hate this' is that folks don't know how to solve their problems, or describe them well enough to solve them. Or they are too lazy to find a solution.

That is why businesses do well. They help filter out the confusion, take the most important insights, and do something about it. Tough work, but that's the opportunity.

If you think everything has been 'solved', you should take a look at business and scientific news materials. Inventions, business models and products are launched every day. Most of them are similar to each other in functionality, but they differ slightly from each other enough to get good sales.

Let's see an example.

Qatar Airways is renowned for its rather luxurious facilities. But a dozen other airlines have luxurious facilities as well, such as Singapore Airlines. But what makes Singapore Airline different? Namely, the menu, uniform of stewardess and a hundred other less-obvious things.

Chances are, you have to go down to the field to talk with the people yourself. You need experience. Life experience. Watch how they do their work and live their lives. See what they lack. But you cannot do that on a computer, more or less with AI.

Here's what you can do:

1. Since you are still in high school, go join clubs and societies. It could be a science club, band club, any club with potential for marketable skills. Go get a leadership position or other hands-on positions such as accounting (school clubs don't run on thin air for activities), logistics, planning, publicity. Train yourself to listen to other people, and to communicate better with them, as well as to handle rejection.

Don't worry about screwing up or having to work with seniors older than you. Just watch how the older boys handle club tasks, and help out as needed. If improvements are needed, provide it.

For example, in high school, I noticed that no one was taking notes or reports for club activities. As a result, no one could remember what happened during the last camp, and the teachers couldn't track students' co-curriculum activities. So I decided to carry my own notebook and record the whole activity from start to finish. Who held this event, how did it run, any improvements needed, any mishaps and whatnot.

Soon teachers started spotting my odd behaviour. I ended up becoming secretary for a uniform group for my last senior years.

That skill of reporting details became handy in my later freelancing (and business?) tasks.

If your school has food fairs, go for it. Help sell something. Help cook something. I helped out at one during high school as well, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

2. You might get a first boost for your CV with club activities, but not cash. If you want to get paid while learning, work a job. Go for fast food, ask your parents for a part-time job, if they have their own small biz, sell newspapers, and whatever you can get your hands on.

Pretty similar to going for school clubs and societies, except that you meet with a more diverse range of people and see tougher, harsher problems in the world.

For instance, I had to help drainage cleaning work at a campsite. It's not for the weak. Once you open the manhole cover, roaches and worms run out.

I couldn't help but think that I should be wearing some kind of hazmat gear, although I wasn't going into the manhole. We just opened it for pressure to dislodge a blocked pipe in the building.

But hazmat gear is heavy and expensive. And hard to put on. So there's a product idea. I could have needed a lighter, cheaper hazmat gear that is easier to put on. I think such things exist, but I would need to buy it online, not locally.

But mind you, jobs can be tiring, and I might not encourage it if you have an important high school certificate exam at the end of your secondary school education. If you want to do part time jobs sparingly, with more attention on your studies, then OK.

3. Join a social organization. For some, it could be a regular meetup.com meeting locally. Or a cell group in church. Or a charity. Meet people on the ground, not just online!

In an earlier meetup.com meeting with entrepreneurs, the folks were talking about what they needed:
Here are some:

a. someone to help market his clip art website (he offered me the job, but he never followed up with the details lol)

b. someone to help translate a Chinese travel website

c. a channel or intermediary to help sell education courses

d. some better materials to make a card game

I'm not making this up. In ONE MEETING, I was looking at a hundred avenues to good businesses.
Gosh, I had better follow up with them.


If you are risk-averse, go for option 1. If you want more direct world interaction, options 2 and 3.

Don't worry about AI. Chances are, the market doesn't understand it enough yet to need it too desperately.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot brother for you advice

 

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[Nullcod3r007]

Welcome to the forum.

Honestly, one of the best things you can do is get a job, get in the workforce, and be the best possible employee. Save some money while you look for market needs. Flip some stuff, do some retail arbitrage, anything to get your feet wet. Just don't sweat starting a business yet.

The reason I say this is that because at 16 you (probably) don't really have the life experience to start a successful business. Priority #1 should be gaining life experience and becoming a better man.

Thanks bro..You mean tue FTE?

 

[ZF Lee]

Thanks bro..You mean tue FTE?

I would say the experiences can contribute to an FTE.

My FTE was sparked when I saw that jobs and the regular 9-5 just wouldn't let me provide abundant things for my loved ones.

But to feel the pain of not getting the returns I wanted, I had to understand what hard work,disappointment and unappreciated efforts felt like by doing jobs, favours and dealing with people.

Emotional intelligence.

Also, you build up work ethic, discipline and independence from relying too much on instructions. Too many kids wait until college to learn how to do simple stuff like housework, cooking and study management...which is too late by then. You have to aim to be more than that and at least get a headstart.

 

[YoungPadawan]

I agree with the others about getting a job. It will teach you important life lessons and give you some cash to work with.

After you get some money, you'll have a lot more business opportunities available to you rather than just starting from nothing. Also, keep your ears open during conversations with people or at work and listen for complaints and write them down.