MarcusAurelius
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Hello to all,
I am here after reading, indeed literally devouring, TMF , Unscripted and The Great Rat Race Escape . I read the first two in Italian and the third in English. So, probably, I’m here with a considerable delay compared to all of you.
I introduce myself: I am a boy (it is nice to feel young again) of 40 years. And I perfectly embody the Slowlane described by MJ on TMF . I have a job, good, with an income of 50k per year.
I try to save as much as possible. And the only money I spend is for sports. Triathlon is an expensive sport, for equipment and competitions. But it’s the only thing that makes me feel alive.
I’ve always been attracted to the idea of creating a business that would have a positive impact on people. And I’ve made every mistake in pursuing this. Everything MJ tells us not to do and not to believe:
- I spent thousands of euros on Neuro Linguistic Programming masters. I’m passionate about psychology and behavior. But I thought that this science (or rather pseudo science) could help me to relate to people.
- I spent 16,000 euros on a mentoring program to help me in the process of creating my first company. Needless to say, they were literally thrown away.
- After realizing that I had failed miserably, amid debts to repay, I attended sales seminars to acquire skills that could be useful in my work as an employee. Once I spent this money, I realized that, in my current company, I am not given the opportunity to apply these skills.
- Then I studied copywriting: John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, Ogilvy and the great masters. I joined AWAI, to try to learn as much as possible. I like to write a lot, and I did some work as a side hustle. I paid 60% tax for my accountant’s mistake.
My work situation, due to some problems in the past months, is far from solid. Yes I have an indefinite contract. Yes, I’m well paid.
But my salary has become a kind of "golden cage": I am paid a lot, too, for the work I actually do. I have no prospects for growth. The company told me that it no longer counts on me. And at the slightest jolt, it could all come crashing down and I could end up fired.
I also thought of graduating, in economics, to strengthen my position, or at least to resell myself. It’s a perspective I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Despite this, my desire to create something that can be useful to people has never gone away.
But I mainly have two situations that I can’t get over:
- I have no idea how to look for, or find, problems to solve in order to think about products and/or services.
- I have a F*cking fear of jumping, because starting a business in Italy, in my situation, implies paying at least 5,000 euros even before cashing a penny. (Yes, I lack self-esteem and courage).
Going around the world of copywriting and content, I see that there are a lot of "red herrings": lately, for example, the Substack newsletter service has been successful.
In my experience, or rather out of mistrust, I have the impression that both this newsletter service is yet another trend, which is reaching its peak.
So were the podcasts a few years ago. A new trend on the rise. Everyone opening their podcast to ride the wave. And now we have hundreds of dead podcasts that nobody knows about.
Opening a blog, is it always a good idea? Although, I guess, it’s no longer the "money machine" that bragged a few years ago. The entry barrier is very low.
The most fascinating idea, and at the same time that scares me the most, is to create an ecommerce dedicated to triathlon. Looking around, there is no "reference shop" for the sale of equipment.
It is a sport where the sale among private used equipment is very high. And exchanges take place mainly through Facebook Marketplace and generic sales sites. There is no dedicated portal.
Or an affiliate website, always dedicated to triathlon itself. But triathlete.com is the reference website for this sport. It is a giant behemoth that can do everything.
Furthermore, going into triathlon business, would be to dedicate myself to my passion. And we know that chasing passion is not always, indeed almost never is, a good idea
But as you must have understood, I have a lot of confusion in my head. And fear of having to spend a lot of money just to "test" my idea.
I hope you can help me clarify.
Thank you
I am here after reading, indeed literally devouring, TMF , Unscripted and The Great Rat Race Escape . I read the first two in Italian and the third in English. So, probably, I’m here with a considerable delay compared to all of you.
I introduce myself: I am a boy (it is nice to feel young again) of 40 years. And I perfectly embody the Slowlane described by MJ on TMF . I have a job, good, with an income of 50k per year.
I try to save as much as possible. And the only money I spend is for sports. Triathlon is an expensive sport, for equipment and competitions. But it’s the only thing that makes me feel alive.
I’ve always been attracted to the idea of creating a business that would have a positive impact on people. And I’ve made every mistake in pursuing this. Everything MJ tells us not to do and not to believe:
- I spent thousands of euros on Neuro Linguistic Programming masters. I’m passionate about psychology and behavior. But I thought that this science (or rather pseudo science) could help me to relate to people.
- I spent 16,000 euros on a mentoring program to help me in the process of creating my first company. Needless to say, they were literally thrown away.
- After realizing that I had failed miserably, amid debts to repay, I attended sales seminars to acquire skills that could be useful in my work as an employee. Once I spent this money, I realized that, in my current company, I am not given the opportunity to apply these skills.
- Then I studied copywriting: John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, Ogilvy and the great masters. I joined AWAI, to try to learn as much as possible. I like to write a lot, and I did some work as a side hustle. I paid 60% tax for my accountant’s mistake.
My work situation, due to some problems in the past months, is far from solid. Yes I have an indefinite contract. Yes, I’m well paid.
But my salary has become a kind of "golden cage": I am paid a lot, too, for the work I actually do. I have no prospects for growth. The company told me that it no longer counts on me. And at the slightest jolt, it could all come crashing down and I could end up fired.
I also thought of graduating, in economics, to strengthen my position, or at least to resell myself. It’s a perspective I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Despite this, my desire to create something that can be useful to people has never gone away.
But I mainly have two situations that I can’t get over:
- I have no idea how to look for, or find, problems to solve in order to think about products and/or services.
- I have a F*cking fear of jumping, because starting a business in Italy, in my situation, implies paying at least 5,000 euros even before cashing a penny. (Yes, I lack self-esteem and courage).
Going around the world of copywriting and content, I see that there are a lot of "red herrings": lately, for example, the Substack newsletter service has been successful.
In my experience, or rather out of mistrust, I have the impression that both this newsletter service is yet another trend, which is reaching its peak.
So were the podcasts a few years ago. A new trend on the rise. Everyone opening their podcast to ride the wave. And now we have hundreds of dead podcasts that nobody knows about.
Opening a blog, is it always a good idea? Although, I guess, it’s no longer the "money machine" that bragged a few years ago. The entry barrier is very low.
The most fascinating idea, and at the same time that scares me the most, is to create an ecommerce dedicated to triathlon. Looking around, there is no "reference shop" for the sale of equipment.
It is a sport where the sale among private used equipment is very high. And exchanges take place mainly through Facebook Marketplace and generic sales sites. There is no dedicated portal.
Or an affiliate website, always dedicated to triathlon itself. But triathlete.com is the reference website for this sport. It is a giant behemoth that can do everything.
Furthermore, going into triathlon business, would be to dedicate myself to my passion. And we know that chasing passion is not always, indeed almost never is, a good idea
But as you must have understood, I have a lot of confusion in my head. And fear of having to spend a lot of money just to "test" my idea.
I hope you can help me clarify.
Thank you
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