In desperate need of guidance

[User333]

Hey there, I read The Millionaire Fastlane a year or two ago and found it highly motivating and inspirational. I'll try to keep my background as concise as possible.
Experience:

• Fire Academy graduate, with EMT training and brief firefighting career
• Bachelor degrees in both Linguistics and Speech Pathology
• Graduate of dental laboratory technology school
• A decade of experience working as a dental lab technician (Owned/operated my own business/dental lab for appx 8 years)
• 3 years experience owning a specialty lure/swimbait company
• recent experience in water well pump work
• age 38

I worked for nearly a decade as an owner/operator of a crown and bridge dental lab, but had to get out of the field due to stress and overall hatred of the field and working with dentists. I started a small business making specialty glidebait fishing lures around 2020 as an escape, and have been relatively successful, with a social media following of appx 4,000. However, I don't see the business as scalable, or even sustainable. I believe the field is much too oversaturated with new companies popping up every day. I could continue fighting to maintain a position near the top, but I don't see growth potential or the point of fighting for scraps.
I've recently taken a job through a family member contact as a side-hand to a guy who owns and operates his own well pump business. The point in taking the position is to eventually own and operate my own business. Unfortunately, the work seems patchy and unreliable. I asked another owner if it was conceivable to eventually produce $250,000-$300k annually as a sole owner and operator and they felt it was definitely possible. The current guy I'm working with claims that his best year produced $150,000.
I'm overall incredibly lost at the moment, and not sure which direction to head. I don't know if I should stay on board with this guy, or head in another direction. The last thing I want to do is waste any more time at my age and end up back at square one 3 years from now.
I've always wanted to follow in my family's footsteps and get into real-estate investment (several family members own 50+ homes and are worth probably well over 8 figures), but that isn't remotely possible with my current position. I've lived off of next to nothing the last three years, and the financial suffering must stop. I've essentially lived off of 10-15k annually for the last few years, and will not do it any longer. I've never accepted government assistance despite being well below poverty, and don't believe in our nation's pathetic welfare state.
I own my own home, and have minimal monthly payments. I have zero credit card debt, but do have student loan debt.
I tried desperately, and overcame hundreds of obstacles in an attempt to make the lure business a success. I gave it everything I could, but have finally come to the realization there is little point to continue, at least with the same amount of effort.
I realize my past experience is all over the place, but I'm hoping to get some valuable insight from successful people out there. I owned my own dental lab because I absolutely had no desire to work with anyone or for anyone. The same was true for the lure business. I'm very independent, and believe I can be successful at most endeavors I set out on. I absolutely dreaded the idea of getting a standard 9-5 job and working for a big company. My biggest fear in life is complacency and settling for average. Ironically, avoiding standard jobs for the last several years as put me in a level of poverty I wouldn't advise for anyone.
It seems as though every day I come across people making large sums of money with minimal effort. My last girlfriend had a goverment job making 90k and she essentially drove around in a car all day doing one or two site inspections... Bitterness has slowly been creeping into my life. A concept I have always found pathetic, because it is.
Do I just take a city job, or some mundane position where I make $17-20/hr and come home exhausted, only to wake up to the same nightmare the following day? I'm fully aware this is the standard, and I'm not claiming to be better than anyone, but I couldn't live with myself in such a position.
My cost of living is minimal, so whatever income I can establish could rapidly go to investments. Does anybody here have experience working from home, or have any entrepreneurial ideas to generate revenue? I realize I can't really ask a more broad question, but times are tough, and I've come to the point where I may just have to pick up a job at walmart or something. Whenever that prospect enters my mind, I think of my multiple college degrees, past experience, and wonder where I've gone wrong. Probably a bit too much pride, but my current vantage point is blinding me to any potential. Any valuable insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

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[Mr. Tycoon]

Hey there, I read The Millionaire Fastlane a year or two ago and found it highly motivating and inspirational. I'll try to keep my background as concise as possible.
Experience:

• Fire Academy graduate, with EMT training and brief firefighting career
• Bachelor degrees in both Linguistics and Speech Pathology
• Graduate of dental laboratory technology school
• A decade of experience working as a dental lab technician (Owned/operated my own business/dental lab for appx 8 years)
• 3 years experience owning a specialty lure/swimbait company
• recent experience in water well pump work
• age 38

I worked for nearly a decade as an owner/operator of a crown and bridge dental lab, but had to get out of the field due to stress and overall hatred of the field and working with dentists. I started a small business making specialty glidebait fishing lures around 2020 as an escape, and have been relatively successful, with a social media following of appx 4,000. However, I don't see the business as scalable, or even sustainable. I believe the field is much too oversaturated with new companies popping up every day. I could continue fighting to maintain a position near the top, but I don't see growth potential or the point of fighting for scraps.
I've recently taken a job through a family member contact as a side-hand to a guy who owns and operates his own well pump business. The point in taking the position is to eventually own and operate my own business. Unfortunately, the work seems patchy and unreliable. I asked another owner if it was conceivable to eventually produce $250,000-$300k annually as a sole owner and operator and they felt it was definitely possible. The current guy I'm working with claims that his best year produced $150,000.
I'm overall incredibly lost at the moment, and not sure which direction to head. I don't know if I should stay on board with this guy, or head in another direction. The last thing I want to do is waste any more time at my age and end up back at square one 3 years from now.
I've always wanted to follow in my family's footsteps and get into real-estate investment (several family members own 50+ homes and are worth probably well over 8 figures), but that isn't remotely possible with my current position. I've lived off of next to nothing the last three years, and the financial suffering must stop. I've essentially lived off of 10-15k annually for the last few years, and will not do it any longer. I've never accepted government assistance despite being well below poverty, and don't believe in our nation's pathetic welfare state.
I own my own home, and have minimal monthly payments. I have zero credit card debt, but do have student loan debt.
I tried desperately, and overcame hundreds of obstacles in an attempt to make the lure business a success. I gave it everything I could, but have finally come to the realization there is little point to continue, at least with the same amount of effort.
I realize my past experience is all over the place, but I'm hoping to get some valuable insight from successful people out there. I owned my own dental lab because I absolutely had no desire to work with anyone or for anyone. The same was true for the lure business. I'm very independent, and believe I can be successful at most endeavors I set out on. I absolutely dreaded the idea of getting a standard 9-5 job and working for a big company. My biggest fear in life is complacency and settling for average. Ironically, avoiding standard jobs for the last several years as put me in a level of poverty I wouldn't advise for anyone.
It seems as though every day I come across people making large sums of money with minimal effort. My last girlfriend had a goverment job making 90k and she essentially drove around in a car all day doing one or two site inspections... Bitterness has slowly been creeping into my life. A concept I have always found pathetic, because it is.
Do I just take a city job, or some mundane position where I make $17-20/hr and come home exhausted, only to wake up to the same nightmare the following day? I'm fully aware this is the standard, and I'm not claiming to be better than anyone, but I couldn't live with myself in such a position.
My cost of living is minimal, so whatever income I can establish could rapidly go to investments. Does anybody here have experience working from home, or have any entrepreneurial ideas to generate revenue? I realize I can't really ask a more broad question, but times are tough, and I've come to the point where I may just have to pick up a job at walmart or something. Whenever that prospect enters my mind, I think of my multiple college degrees, past experience, and wonder where I've gone wrong. Probably a bit too much pride, but my current vantage point is blinding me to any potential. Any valuable insight would be greatly appreciated.

How about moving abroad and do something totally different ?

 

[User333]

How about moving abroad and do something totally different ?

I see you're from London. I've always wanted to visit. Such a beautiful place. I was actually married to a Dutch woman and was privileged to get heavily immersed in their culture and visit Holland. Unfortunately, I learned it isn't advisable to be associated with borderline personality disordered individuals. It was after the relationship ended that I made the life change to end my dental lab and move onto something lighter.
Can I ask why you propose the idea of moving abroad?

 

[amp0193]

Don’t go too far from what you know.

You have some decent E-commerce experience. Wouldn’t be too crazy to try a new e-com venture but in a less saturated category.

A lot of what you have already learned will transfer over into the next venture.

 

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[User333]

Don’t go too far from what you know.

You have some decent E-commerce experience. Wouldn’t be too crazy to try a new e-com venture but in a less saturated category.

A lot of what you have already learned will transfer over into the next venture.

Couldn't agree more, and would absolutely love that scenario. The difficulty comes in finding that less crowded arena. I've been on the lookout for awhile. Thank you.

 

[Mr. Tycoon]

Can I ask why you propose the idea of moving abroad?

from your post it seems you're in some kind of a mental blockage\ crises so i suggest to get out from that state by doing something new and be in a new environment. I've changed 3 countries, multiple cities in my past and and that was always helpful to move ahead and get street smart and learn to be a fighter and not get stuck in a pitiful situation. are you willing to do whatever it takes to be a success or just cry about your current situation ? decide...

 

[User333]

from your post it seems you're in some kind of a mental blockage\ crises so i suggest to get out from that state by doing something new and be in a new environment. I've changed 3 countries, multiple cities in my past and and that was always helpful to move ahead and get street smart and learn to be a fighter and not get stuck in a pitiful situation. are you willing to do whatever it takes to be a success or just cry about your current situation ? decide...

I think this is one of the dangers of anonymous online postings and discussions, the lack of context. I could be wrong, but I don't consider myself a victim crying "woe is me" about my current circumstances. More in line with the word in my thread title, desperation is more of the problem. I'm not sitting on a couch collecting welfare saying the world is out to get me. I'm responsible for my plight. I have two jobs at the moment, one that's full time by itself, and the other has more certain earning potential.
I am in full agreement that a resetting on one's environment could do wonders, however, that can be done internally wherever one is at the moment. My logical brain kicks in and I fail to see how a simple relocation would be wise in the end. I think it would be more emotionally driven, and less intelligent. In America, I have opportunity to own properties and land, which are strong, proven generators of wealth, not to mention the sense of freedom they inspire. I would not find that in the UK and many other European countries (which are the only places I'd move), especially as a foreigner. The opportunities in property ownership and rights are much less than in America.
In the end, I believe family, friends, a home, and sense of community are essential to any measurement of quality of life. Moving abroad is very sexy and enticing, and would undoubtedly reframe one's thinking, if receptive, but I equate it to taking a hit of cocaine or some other drug: immediate fix/high/short term pleasure, but the underlying reality remains, and often then becomes more polluted and convoluted causing even greater difficulties. I don't think it's a guaranteed negative outcome, more like a supplement, that if used wisely, could bear fruit. Relocating to a foreign place, one sacrifices their base- their family, friends, home, in order to reestablish new ones. I don't think this is a black and white topic, both have potential benefits and negatives.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

You have a breadth of experience, plus, relatively speaking, you're pretty successful compared to the general populous.

My thinking is you just need to pick something of value, skew it, and stick with it (the 3As) until it turns. With your extensive experience in a variety of industries, surely there is an opportunity somewhere?

 

[AceVentures]

Seems like you're stressed. How's your health? Age is less relevant when you're healthy, which can help you chillout and have less FOMO about which project you should work on next.

I've recently taken a job through a family member contact as a side-hand to a guy who owns and operates his own well pump business. The point in taking the position is to eventually own and operate my own business. Unfortunately, the work seems patchy and unreliable.

That the work seems unreliable despite people making $300k/year should be considered as an opportunity. How can you improve the work? Make it more reliable? More repeatable? Can you standardize quality and deliver on it systematically? What you view as a negative is an opportunity to skew value. Of course it comes at the cost of climbing that barrier to entry and competing.

I asked another owner if it was conceivable to eventually produce $250,000-$300k annually as a sole owner and operator and they felt it was definitely possible. The current guy I'm working with claims that his best year produced $150,000.

Service businesses are fun. I'm building one personally. I would say don't limit yourself to what other people are making and let that businesses' sales define what that opportunity could look like for you. For example in my business I don't waste time thinking about what my competitors are selling. All I think about is the number of people that have the problem I solve and that I have a badass solution to their problem.

In larger markets like where I'm at, expanding metroplexes provide opportunities in all the outskirt cities. We're focused on residential home services, so a city of 25,000 homes that's growing at a 6-8% per year is already a sizeable market size, let alone all of the other cities within the metroplex of several million. If you're good at sales, your only bottleneck is your operational capacity. But if you can keep even one crew scheduled out 5 days a week you could make four times what your ex-girlfriend makes driving around town being bored out of her mind.

Long story short: stay healthy, keep experimenting, and don't be so scared. You can just pick yourself back up and try something new.

 

[amp0193]

The difficulty comes in finding that less crowded arena. I've been on the lookout for awhile. Thank you.

If you feel stuck in a rut with ideas, try putting yourself out of familiar territory.

My first products I found after 40 hours of curiously navigating the depths of Amazon sub-categories. I would just click randomly and go deeper and deeper and ended up in some weird places I never knew existed... which stimulates the creative muscles.

My second business I found the products after spending 2 months in another country (and they were 1 of a dozen business ideas I got from that trip).


When your day to day becomes routine... it's hard for your ideas not to be as well.

 

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[User333]

You have a breadth of experience, plus, relatively speaking, you're pretty successful compared to the general populous.

My thinking is you just need to pick something of value, skew it, and stick with it (the 3As) until it turns. With your extensive experience in a variety of industries, surely there is an opportunity somewhere?

Whoa! Wasn't expecting a response from the author himself. Truly appreciated.
I'm not even really much into fishing, but one day when I was working in my dental lab one of my brothers stopped by (the one playing in the 8-figure realm) and asked me if I would airbrush some knock-off swimbaits he had purchased. I agreed to paint them and learned how much quality glidebait companies were selling their products for... $200-$300 per lure, and sometimes more! I looked at the ones he asked me to paint and thought they looked childish and was 100% positive I could do better. I asked him to send me links to the top glidebait companies out there, and I was off to the races. I made it my mission to make a better product than the top companies (top companies being very subjective). With my experience hand carving teeth out of wax for nearly a decade with tenth of a millimeter precision, I thought my skills would transfer nicely to wood carving a master model, and sure enough they did. I got a pretty quick following and recognition.
I hated the price point of these top companies and felt it was ridiculous and essentially highway robbery, so I wanted to provide a superior product at a lower price. I believe I've succeeded in doing so. I would say there are only a couple companies that might provide better paint jobs, but that's subjective, and in some instances apples and oranges based on my bait style. I have built a catalog of like 10 unique products all from original hand carvings (I then make resin replicas), but I think I should've probably stuck with maybe 3 main ones. I'm probably creating customer confusion.
The bottom line: I've tested several of the "top" company baits that sell for double the price of mine and I was not impressed whatsoever. I saw the appeal, but still, I believe my products are superior, and cheaper. What I've learned is that human psychology is often very dumb. People see a ridiculous price point and automatically associate value, even when it is not there. I believe when they see my lower price point, they associate less value.
I will always have business and very dedicated customers who love my product, but with new companies popping up every day, sales become so watered down, it doesn't seem worth the pursuit. The only way I see it being worth it is if I had an innovative product that nobody else has. Unfortunately, the idea would be stolen within a week of release though. I've already had dozens of companies steal little bits of my manufacturing process, it's just the nature of the game.

Aside from the lure business, I'm in full agreement with you. There is opportunity everywhere, and countless treasures to be unearthed in the entrepreneurial realm. The trick is digging them up. Every technological advance is a mish mash of already established ideas. Advancements are analogous to chemistry: one element by itself might not be helpful, but combined into other compounds can create tremendous value. With my experience, I'm certain there's something of value I can create, I simply have close to zero confidence at the moment I will find that unique thing/service of value.

I am truly grateful for the response though! Thanks MJ. I will have to spend more time on these forums and I'm sure I'll be inspired by all the great thinkers. There's never a silver bullet, it's always a chemistry I believe.

 

[User333]

Seems like you're stressed. How's your health? Age is less relevant when you're healthy, which can help you chillout and have less FOMO about which project you should work on next.



That the work seems unreliable despite people making $300k/year should be considered as an opportunity. How can you improve the work? Make it more reliable? More repeatable? Can you standardize quality and deliver on it systematically? What you view as a negative is an opportunity to skew value. Of course it comes at the cost of climbing that barrier to entry and competing.




Service businesses are fun. I'm building one personally. I would say don't limit yourself to what other people are making and let that businesses' sales define what that opportunity could look like for you. For example in my business I don't waste time thinking about what my competitors are selling. All I think about is the number of people that have the problem I solve and that I have a badass solution to their problem.

In larger markets like where I'm at, expanding metroplexes provide opportunities in all the outskirt cities. We're focused on residential home services, so a city of 25,000 homes that's growing at a 6-8% per year is already a sizeable market size, let alone all of the other cities within the metroplex of several million. If you're good at sales, your only bottleneck is your operational capacity. But if you can keep even one crew scheduled out 5 days a week you could make four times what your ex-girlfriend makes driving around town being bored out of her mind.

Long story short: stay healthy, keep experimenting, and don't be so scared. You can just pick yourself back up and try something new.

I'm naturally a high stress person through nature and nurture. I lost my mom to cancer recently, as well as two other family members, and a significant relationship (wife) ended with a borderline personality individual, so I did have reasons that increased that natural stress level. I'm leagues better in the last year though and the last piece of the stress puzzle is financial security which I'm obviously working on at the moment. I'm a fitness fiend, so you don't have to stress the importance of good health, I am fully aware. You're absolutely right on the age thing.
Thank you for posing the questions of work reliability, repeatability, etc. In terms of the pump business, I jumped at the opportunity because I do see the potential of making a decent living (not fastlane, but decent). The two separate business owners I'm learning from are extremely unreliable and disorganized people. I love working with them, it's just that I would conduct business completely different. Things they don't do which I would: create an organized work schedule and try to remain booked, have a clean hub/business location, have a clean pump rig/vehicle, have professional attire, advertise (they don't), keep an inventory. These are all basic business practices that, I believe, would increase the $125-$150k guy's output by at the very least 50%, and probably double.
Barriers to entry, of course something to take into account. Not a lot of people are doing this work and most are near retirement. It's a blue-collar world right now with endless opportunities. The main issue I run into is certification/contractor's license, which is a depressing topic, but hopefully I'll find an opportunity to be grandfathered in, but I'll have to be attached to one of the owners for the next 4-5 years.
Awesome, and congrats on your service business. Mind sharing what it is? I am in line with your thinking on not letting other businesses influence your product and overall thinking. With my lure business I didn't want to be influenced by other companies, positively or negatively, so after my initial research I didn't look at any competition at all for the first year and a half.
I'm learning piano at the moment (my mom was a professional) and I read of this classic story where this naturally gifted woman was learning the instrument and given a piece of music to learn from a mentor. She learned it within a couple days and performed it near flawlessly. It was a notoriously difficult piece that took highly trained musicians months to learn. When asked how in the world she was able to play through it in a couple days, she didn't have much of an explanation. The message is that nobody had put any preconceived notions of difficulty in her head, i.e. "nobody said I couldn't... so I did." I think in business this story can be of value. Same as the Roger Bannister story.
"You can just pick yourself back up and try something new." Beautiful. Thank you for your response!

 

[User333]

If you feel stuck in a rut with ideas, try putting yourself out of familiar territory.

My first products I found after 40 hours of curiously navigating the depths of Amazon sub-categories. I would just click randomly and go deeper and deeper and ended up in some weird places I never knew existed... which stimulates the creative muscles.

My second business I found the products after spending 2 months in another country (and they were 1 of a dozen business ideas I got from that trip).


When your day to day becomes routine... it's hard for your ideas not to be as well.

In full agreement. Thanks for your thoughts. It's human nature and the brain's job to simplify everything and make whatever possible a routine to cut down on precious energy expenditure.

If you feel stuck in a rut with ideas, try putting yourself out of familiar territory.

My first products I found after 40 hours of curiously navigating the depths of Amazon sub-categories. I would just click randomly and go deeper and deeper and ended up in some weird places I never knew existed... which stimulates the creative muscles.

My second business I found the products after spending 2 months in another country (and they were 1 of a dozen business ideas I got from that trip).


When your day to day becomes routine... it's hard for your ideas not to be as well.

If you feel stuck in a rut with ideas, try putting yourself out of familiar territory.

My first products I found after 40 hours of curiously navigating the depths of Amazon sub-categories. I would just click randomly and go deeper and deeper and ended up in some weird places I never knew existed... which stimulates the creative muscles.

My second business I found the products after spending 2 months in another country (and they were 1 of a dozen business ideas I got from that trip).


When your day to day becomes routine... it's hard for your ideas not to be as well.

Agreed. It's the brain's nature to be as efficient as possible and organize things in familiar patterns. A changeup every once in awhile can help us access new concepts and ideas. Ruts and complacency are dangerous things. Working on the well pump job over the last month has provided a new vantage point and disrupted the day to day routine.

 

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[User333]

In full agreement. Thanks for your thoughts. It's human nature and the brain's job to simplify everything and make whatever possible a routine to cut down on precious energy expenditure.



Agreed. It's the brain's nature to be as efficient as possible and organize things in familiar patterns. A changeup every once in awhile can help us access new concepts and ideas. Ruts and complacency are dangerous things. Working on the well pump job over the last month has provided a new vantage point and disrupted the day to day routine.

oops, sorry for responding twice, have been having browser issues.