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I Failed 2 Businesses. Here's What I Learned!

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

MotiveInMotion

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It's true.

I "failed" (Read: paid for many lessons with time and money)

I started two businesses at the same time, which was silly.

It's very hard to start two at the same time, though you can manage two at the same time.

For your benefit, I aim to help you avoid these pitfalls so you can grow faster. I've created this so you can know what to avoid from a mile ahead, instead of in hindsight.

After all, if we learn from others' mistakes, we can avoid them without the pain and wasted time.

This time was actually invested into learning a craft, and I'm fine with it!

Let me know what thoughts you have about my lessons, and if they helped you out in your journey. I'd love to hear the stories you've had.

1. Nothing is Ever Wasted with the Right Mindset

If you look at each experience as a lesson, and see what you can gain from it, then you haven't failed.

Each time something goes wrong, you can pick the best parts out of it by looking at what skills or experience you can salvage. This way, you never waste any of your time, and you're always on track to improve.

The important thing here is to adapt when you realize you've been on the wrong track.

2. Starting Two Businesses At Once is Insane


Even Elon Musk said it, he would rather rub glass in his eyes than start 3 businesses at once again.

That demonstrates how hard and how much work is involved when going this route.

Just start one at a time! I had a super hustler of a mentor who was on a different level, and that influence rubbed off.

I learned a ton, but I should've just applied that hustle in one direction and it would have been much more simple.

3. Salvage Lessons From Each Failure

If you take something away from each time you get setback, you catapult forward faster.

If you just sit in your mistake and waste time, you learn nothing and might even do the same thing again. Life teaches us many lessons when we mess up, and until we learn the lesson, it comes back again and again.

Don't let past failures keep haunting you. Just learn what they were trying to teach and move forward.

4. It's Much Easier When You're Obsessed

By becoming obsessed with what you're doing, in a positive way, you can make strides past people who are not interested in what they do. By coming alive with .... dare I say it... passion, for what you're working on, not necessarily YOUR passion, you become charged with the outcome and progress.

The process is so worth it for you that you enjoy it most of the time. You won't love it every day all day, because it'll get tough, boring, monotonous at times.

However, by keeping possibilities in front of you and planning your attack, you get excited each day because you're contributing to a big picture game.

5. Each Business Model Has Qualifications

You will have to choose the pros and cons of each because they're not all going to evenly stack up to where you want to be.

Pick a business model that fits the desired lifestyle, and always make your means match your ends of acquiring the goal. Figure out how you can provide valuable things to your market, and build your own life off of your success too!

That's a Pareto efficiency, or a win-win.

Look for the win-wins and the models that have the shallowest downsides/cons. This way, you won't waste time like I did, figuring out what type of ground is safe for your empire.

See the full lessons here: http://www.motiveinmotion.com/failing-drop-shipping/

What about you? Have you drop shipped? Have you failed other types of businesses? Let me know below!
 
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Leo Lex

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Here is some advice. Philosophy tells us that Knowledge is gained from the specific things to the general rule. (If anything general rules just ways to bring to mind how things change.)
For example if a teacher were to walk into class and write F=MA and finish you would be no more knowledgeable then before the class. However if he demonstrates what happens when you push carts and weights and then tells you what is Force and Mass and Acceleration and then tells F=MA, then you have a way of knowing what will the carts and weights do.
If you wish to impart a lesson connect it to experience and the particular thing that happened. (I am aware you linked a detailed account in the end, if anything link it at the starts). If not you are just writing F=MA and expect people to magically understand.
 
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petkovic

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w
Here is some advice. Philosophy tells us that Knowledge is gained from the specific things to the general rule. (If anything general rules just ways to bring to mind how things change.)
For example if a teacher were to walk into class and write F=MA and finish you would be no more knowledgeable then before the class. However if he demonstrates what happens when you push carts and weights and then tells you what is Force and Mass and Acceleration and then tells F=MA, then you have a way of knowing what will the carts and weights do.
If you wish to impart a lesson connect it to experience and the particular thing that happened. (I am aware you linked a detailed account in the end, if anything link it at the starts). If not you are just writing F=MA and expect people to magically understand.

Philosophy actually knows both principles. While you are talking about learning from HIS individual case about a general rule deductively the OP wants you to apply a general rule to YOUR individual case inductively.

Both are valid approaches and thank you to the OP. Especially for the part about finding passion in the thing you do (not necessarily follow your passion)
 

Leo Lex

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Look im not going to get dragged into philosophy here but to put it simply.
If you want your "lessons" to have some effect make sure they are clear and particular (not vague and general) and actually correspond to an example.
Anything else and what you get is a vague wishy-washy aphorism that means nothing in particular and everything in general.
 

petkovic

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Look im not going to get dragged into philosophy here

Hey, you started down that road :p

If you want your "lessons" to have some effect make sure they are clear and particular (not vague and general) and actually correspond to an example.
Anything else and what you get is a vague wishy-washy aphorism that means nothing in particular and everything in general.

Sure, I get where you are coming from. But if you take a look at the linked blog post he actually goes into more detail there.
Not sure though if it's considered clickbaiting on the forum here...
 
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Leo Lex

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When i said that i meant that i am not going to argue because my position is the correct one and entreating a wrong one is a waste of time.

I looked at the description and there is link between what has been written on the blog-post and the lessons he learned.
What is left either to piece it together, which is no convince to me. Or to take the lessons as empty dogma with no concrete content to it.

Overall not the right way to post something like that well.
 

petkovic

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When i said that i meant that i am not going to argue because my position is the correct one and entreating a wrong one is a waste of time.

Well, that's settled then.

Welcome to the forum, by the way! You will have a bit of a rocky start here (trust me) but while you do, have a look at the writings of @IceCreamKid (the astonishing secrets thread) and many others and you will find this place has a lot to offer to you. I'm a very humble fan myself.
 

amp0193

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What about you? Have you drop shipped? Have you failed other types of businesses? Let me know below!

These are the things I tried after joining this forum 3 years ago.

Fix/Repair/Flip Cell phones - Failed when a a bulk phone buy ended being a scam.

Buy and hold ecommerce sites on Flippa - Failed when I realized that Flippa is garbage, and that most sites are a scam. Got scammed.

--After getting scammed that 2nd time... I really felt shitty. In the end, it made me colder, harder, tougher, to trust "but verify", and that the only one looking out for me and my family, is me. I've avoided several bad business decisions since then because of learning these lessons the hard way.

Used appliance fix/flip: Not a bad business, just very difficult to scale, and rife with frustrating customer service problems. I'm never going to sling used stuff again.

Importing and selling B2C and B2B - Fits NCEST better than anything I've done so far, and it hasn't failed yet. Time will tell.


If you're thinking of starting a business that doesn't fit NCEST... don't. It'll save you some time if you just keep working to find something that does.
 
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Leo Lex

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I don't care if it is seen as cocky. Only madman discuss facts. Facts are facts and nothing can be done by "negotiating" them.
If i see someone that talks nonsense I almost always say so. For at the best case he can correct himself and at the worst other people will be weary of his foolishness.
 

MotiveInMotion

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@Leo Lex

Hey bro, as with anything, take what's valuable for you!

If nothing here is valuable to you, that's all good too ;)

No one is forcing you to stay on here, telling everyone what the "right" way to do things are haha.

I put this out here for people to get value from it and learn from what I messed up on so they could avoid these setbacks. If they're interested in learning more about my carts and weights, they can read more on the site!
 

MotiveInMotion

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These are the things I tried after joining this forum 3 years ago.

Fix/Repair/Flip Cell phones - Failed when a a bulk phone buy ended being a scam.

Buy and hold ecommerce sites on Flippa - Failed when I realized that Flippa is garbage, and that most sites are a scam. Got scammed.

--After getting scammed that 2nd time... I really felt shitty. In the end, it made me colder, harder, tougher, to trust "but verify", and that the only one looking out for me and my family, is me. I've avoided several bad business decisions since then because of learning these lessons the hard way.

Used appliance fix/flip: Not a bad business, just very difficult to scale, and rife with frustrating customer service problems. I'm never going to sling used stuff again.

Importing and selling B2C and B2B - Fits NCEST better than anything I've done so far, and it hasn't failed yet. Time will tell.


If you're thinking of starting a business that doesn't fit NCEST... don't. It'll save you some time if you just keep working to find something that does.

Thanks for sharing the background of what you've done! I completely agree, I run my business ideas and potential opportunities through the filter of CENTS also, every time.

Indeed B2C can be a hassle, especially with used goods or electronics. B2B is nice because they have their minds made up on what they want/need, they are less likely to price shop, and you can become the main supplier for them once they're comfortable with you

Keep at it!
 
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tchombo

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even the Fastlane book has its critics who claim it to be utter nonsense whereas some of us really appreciate the content. point being there is always someone who has a different opinion. that's just the law of the universe. light cannot exist without darkness. rich cannot exist with the poor etc.

back to the subject though. thank you for sharing your lesson they are particularly valuable to anyone planning on following a similar path to the one you did. i have a question but if it is a little uncomfortable then you don't have to answer it. Question is... After these failures, where are you now? of course you aren't where you started but i would be very much interested in knowing a little more about your journey itself and how far it has taken you

cheers
 

MotiveInMotion

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@tchombo

Yea that's adjacency, and it all balances out - but I'm glad you got value from it!

So actually prior to these, I had already built and sold a store successfully, and then when those happened they just ate up a good bit of time. Then, I used some capital I received to learn how to import and brand my own products, and also spent a lot of time building my personal blog.

Basically doing much better, working much smarter, paying attention to my 20 & 80% of effort, and not working this hard, but working smart. I'm still traveling as I work and living where I want, and learning every day with this business model. Also get to create a good amount of content on my own time, so I work on both as needed.

I feel it's more sustainable long term if I can continue creating new value that's different from what's out there, and keep the margins up by doing so. I do my best to be a purple cow in markets I enter, and contribute more than just a new logo to the market
 
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D

Deleted35442

Guest
It's true.

I "failed" (Read: paid for many lessons with time and money)

I started two businesses at the same time, which was silly.

It's very hard to start two at the same time, though you can manage two at the same time.

For your benefit, I aim to help you avoid these pitfalls so you can grow faster. I've created this so you can know what to avoid from a mile ahead, instead of in hindsight.

After all, if we learn from others' mistakes, we can avoid them without the pain and wasted time.

This time was actually invested into learning a craft, and I'm fine with it!

Let me know what thoughts you have about my lessons, and if they helped you out in your journey. I'd love to hear the stories you've had.

1. Nothing is Ever Wasted with the Right Mindset

If you look at each experience as a lesson, and see what you can gain from it, then you haven't failed.

Each time something goes wrong, you can pick the best parts out of it by looking at what skills or experience you can salvage. This way, you never waste any of your time, and you're always on track to improve.

The important thing here is to adapt when you realize you've been on the wrong track.

2. Starting Two Businesses At Once is Insane


Even Elon Musk said it, he would rather rub glass in his eyes than start 3 businesses at once again.

That demonstrates how hard and how much work is involved when going this route.

Just start one at a time! I had a super hustler of a mentor who was on a different level, and that influence rubbed off.

I learned a ton, but I should've just applied that hustle in one direction and it would have been much more simple.

3. Salvage Lessons From Each Failure

If you take something away from each time you get setback, you catapult forward faster.

If you just sit in your mistake and waste time, you learn nothing and might even do the same thing again. Life teaches us many lessons when we mess up, and until we learn the lesson, it comes back again and again.

Don't let past failures keep haunting you. Just learn what they were trying to teach and move forward.

4. It's Much Easier When You're Obsessed

By becoming obsessed with what you're doing, in a positive way, you can make strides past people who are not interested in what they do. By coming alive with .... dare I say it... passion, for what you're working on, not necessarily YOUR passion, you become charged with the outcome and progress.

The process is so worth it for you that you enjoy it most of the time. You won't love it every day all day, because it'll get tough, boring, monotonous at times.

However, by keeping possibilities in front of you and planning your attack, you get excited each day because you're contributing to a big picture game.

5. Each Business Model Has Qualifications

You will have to choose the pros and cons of each because they're not all going to evenly stack up to where you want to be.

Pick a business model that fits the desired lifestyle, and always make your means match your ends of acquiring the goal. Figure out how you can provide valuable things to your market, and build your own life off of your success too!

That's a Pareto efficiency, or a win-win.

Look for the win-wins and the models that have the shallowest downsides/cons. This way, you won't waste time like I did, figuring out what type of ground is safe for your empire.

See the full lessons here: http://www.motiveinmotion.com/failing-drop-shipping/

What about you? Have you drop shipped? Have you failed other types of businesses? Let me know below!
"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it."

I'll add this here for everyone: http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-failure-post-mortem/
 

MotiveInMotion

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D

Deleted35442

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Legit. I've been looking for more sources of where people have messed up so I can avoid the pitfalls - this was helpful, my dude

Just like Buffett says - learn from mistakes; they don't all have to (shouldn't) be your own
Glad it was helpful man. Learn from it the way military strategists would: http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/viewFile/1531/1456

Another highly underutilized resource if we're discussing Buffet is the genius inside his shareholder letters. For supplemental reading I would recommend everybody read all of them. You really get inside his head.

See here: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html
 
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MotiveInMotion

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Glad it was helpful man. Learn from it the way military strategists would: http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/viewFile/1531/1456

Another highly underutilized resource if we're discussing Buffet is the genius inside his shareholder letters. For supplemental reading I would recommend everybody read all of them. You really get inside his head.

See here: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

This stuff is all very insightful.

Is that the same Gary Keller who wrote The One Thing?
 

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