Just made my first sucessfull business with your help!

[Eclipse]

Hello fellow Fastlaners!

The reason for my post is because I finally can live off my business. (Online Fitness Coaching)

I tried about 50+ business ideas, and It took me about 5 years to finally crack the code (I needed to provide value duhh)

This is my first post but i've been arround for sometime, the reason for me lurking for this many years was that I was ashamed that I had a terrible work ethic (Due to social media, masturbation, bad foods, music and other bullshit) and was just wasting my potential. I thought that coming here whining or lying was pointless so I kept quiet.

I just want to thank all of you, I feel like I got millions worth of value from this forum.

When read the book The Fastlane Millionaire in 2020, I was still 17 and I knew instantly that the knowledge it has was just absurd.

I don't have as much as I would like to offer, but I leave here the formula I've come up for my first success (Don't take it as advice, it's just what i've done):

I am into bodybuilding since I was 14 and before that I've done martial arts, so now at 20 I have a good physique and knowledge about nutrition and fitness.

I've started this business 3 months ago, and my strategy since I didn't do any content marketing was just to have the best product and offer possible, which I think it is to give imense attention to the clients and offer the entire service until I was good enough to have recommendations.

Long story short, because it was free people started recommending like crazy and it went from 5 clients to 65 in the 3month span, at the end of november I charged for the first time and got finally paid, I made a separate service that remains free for the people that left, so I would give value from the start to the end.

So I guess the give for free thing Alex Hormozi talks about is gold if made on steroids.

Some business I've tried in the 5 years journey:
3x Web Design | Car Washing | Forex DayTrading | Dog Walking | Hacking | Credit Recovery | Jewelry | Fake Clothes (Insta) |
Affiliate Marketing | 2x Dropshipping | House Cleaning | Instagram Niche Profiles | Boxing Gear | Real State | Digital Marketing |
And many others I can't even remember.

I don't expect anyone to read this, and sorry for my bad writing and english (I'm from portugal and dropped out of highschool), I prefer it to be original so it feels like talking to me.

The calling you have telling your are special is right, don't give up until you prove it.

Thanks.
Vasco Machado

 

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[Guest31xr384]

well done on your progress mate, also your English is good too.

 

[mateusz24054]

Hello fellow Fastlaners!

The reason for my post is because I finally can live off my business. (Online Fitness Coaching)

I tried about 50+ business ideas, and It took me about 5 years to finally crack the code (I needed to provide value duhh)

This is my first post but i've been arround for sometime, the reason for me lurking for this many years was that I was ashamed that I had a terrible work ethic (Due to social media, masturbation, bad foods, music and other bullshit) and was just wasting my potential. I thought that coming here whining or lying was pointless so I kept quiet.

I just want to thank all of you, I feel like I got millions worth of value from this forum.

When read the book The Fastlane Millionaire in 2020, I was still 17 and I knew instantly that the knowledge it has was just absurd.

I don't have as much as I would like to offer, but I leave here the formula I've come up for my first success (Don't take it as advice, it's just what i've done):

I am into bodybuilding since I was 14 and before that I've done martial arts, so now at 20 I have a good physique and knowledge about nutrition and fitness.

I've started this business 3 months ago, and my strategy since I didn't do any content marketing was just to have the best product and offer possible, which I think it is to give imense attention to the clients and offer the entire service until I was good enough to have recommendations.

Long story short, because it was free people started recommending like crazy and it went from 5 clients to 65 in the 3month span, at the end of november I charged for the first time and got finally paid, I made a separate service that remains free for the people that left, so I would give value from the start to the end.

So I guess the give for free thing Alex Hormozi talks about is gold if made on steroids.

Some business I've tried in the 5 years journey:
3x Web Design | Car Washing | Forex DayTrading | Dog Walking | Hacking | Credit Recovery | Jewelry | Fake Clothes (Insta) |
Affiliate Marketing | 2x Dropshipping | House Cleaning | Instagram Niche Profiles | Boxing Gear | Real State | Digital Marketing |
And many others I can't even remember.

I don't expect anyone to read this, and sorry for my bad writing and english (I'm from portugal and dropped out of highschool), I prefer it to be original so it feels like talking to me.

The calling you have telling your are special is right, don't give up until you prove it.

Thanks.
Vasco Machado

Well done on your success and persistance. If you have a moment to talk on zoom or google talks I'd love to chat with you about your success. Well done again!

 

[MTF]

Good stuff, Vasco. How is the business going now? How many paying customers do you have?

 

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[Eclipse]

Well done on your success and persistance. If you have a moment to talk on zoom or google talks I'd love to chat with you about your success. Well done again!

Thanks, If you find it would be valuable to you sure!

 

[Eclipse]

Good stuff, Vasco. How is the business going now? How many paying customers do you have?

I don't know when or where but I have seen 1000x of your reply's on this forum along my journey for sure!

You have helped me before, thanks.

I've changed a bit in terms of strategy and returned to a free model for all current, previous and future clients on this specific current service.

The purpose to giving all this service for free is to grow my active users the most I can possible manage in the next years. When I charged for the first time I felt like my mission again turned into "Money", instead of "Value Providing", and not because I was paid, but because the price was big enough to turn my service to a "Fair Trade" or "Shitty Deal" to people that didn't use it 100%, instead of a bargain for everyone.

In my head I had 2 choices, try to make content to replace the loss of word of mouth or grow the business by giving an absurd level of value. I made the choice I thought this forum would approve, even if that means making 0 money short term.

What happened after I charged my free costumers was:
1- Customers needed to pay for something they already had.
2- New clients from word of mouth customers dropped from 33 the month before to 2.
3- I didn't provide a service as good as the month before because I saw my clients as money (Sad but truth)

What happened after I now came back to a free model:
1- Made 1 new client a day since new's year (I sent a message informing everyone before the day of the payment)
2- Got some crazy reviews, feedback, help and posts on social media from previous custumers.
3- I am now happy and motivated again for not adding friction to a already difficult thing such as fitness.

My plan now is to get a job at the weekend and grow in users by word of mouth, and already have some ideas on how to monetize with a premium plan only for qualified custumers that can benefit 5x from it.

The answers to your question:
1- the business is doing great in my amateur eyes and perpective.
2- I currently have 42 active clients (I could count more if I added people dipping their toes, but this 42 clients are the people that talk to me everyday and use 100% of the service)

Thanks for the attention!

 

[MTF]

2- I currently have 42 active clients (I could count more if I added people dipping their toes, but this 42 clients are the people that talk to me everyday and use 100% of the service)

I don't think you have clients. They don't pay you anything so they're at best potential leads.

You're playing a very dangerous game giving people your time and experience for free without getting anything in return.

I would much rather get two paying customers a month than 33 freeloaders.

 

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[Kevin88660]

I don't think you have clients. They don't pay you anything so they're at best potential leads.

You're playing a very dangerous game giving people your time and experience for free without getting anything in return.

I would much rather get two paying customers a month than 33 freeloaders.

If it is customized service then I see the pitfall also. Freemium works when additional users has negligible impact in business cost. But OP is providing customized communication.

Pivoting from here is difficult because once you charge everyone is gone. I tried running chess coaching community before working with a pro player while I run community engagement.

But if OP has this interest experience and documenting it on tiktok it will become as asset to be monetisable in the future. The freeloader become willing participants in content creation where interesting stories are shared. It also becomes a lead funnel for future paying customer.

Poops can be recycled into fertilizers done correctly.

 

[onionhanh]

Thanks for sharing. Good info for us to remember the power of never giving up and learn from your previous mistakes/endeavors. Keep at it and update us on your next milestone.

 

[MTF]

If it is customized service then I see the pitfall also. Freemium works when additional users has negligible impact in business cost. But OP is providing customized communication.

Pivoting from here is difficult because once you charge everyone is gone. I tried running chess coaching community before working with a pro player while I run community engagement.

But if OP has this interest experience and documenting it on tiktok it will become as asset to be monetisable in the future. The freeloader become willing participants in content creation where interesting stories are shared. It also becomes a lead funnel for future paying customer.

Poops can be recycled into fertilizers done correctly.

I don't oppose working for free short-term (a few weeks) to build your portfolio and/or case studies. And I don't oppose the freemium model, either.

But in this case it sounds like it's been going for over three months without any long-term strategy. And the "clients" are clearly not interested in paying or helping him if they even stopped referring him to other people once he started charging for his services.

 

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[Kevin88660]

I don't oppose working for free short-term (a few weeks) to build your portfolio and/or case studies. And I don't oppose the freemium model, either.

But in this case it sounds like it's been going for over three months without any long-term strategy. And the "clients" are clearly not interested in paying or helping him if they even stopped referring him to other people once he started charging for his services.

I would say charging a very small notional fee is better than totally free, if the end goal is to get paying customers from the same pool of lead. It will screen out most of the people who are only looking for free stuff.

 

[Kevin88660]

Hello fellow Fastlaners!

The reason for my post is because I finally can live off my business. (Online Fitness Coaching)

I tried about 50+ business ideas, and It took me about 5 years to finally crack the code (I needed to provide value duhh)

This is my first post but i've been arround for sometime, the reason for me lurking for this many years was that I was ashamed that I had a terrible work ethic (Due to social media, masturbation, bad foods, music and other bullshit) and was just wasting my potential. I thought that coming here whining or lying was pointless so I kept quiet.

I just want to thank all of you, I feel like I got millions worth of value from this forum.

When read the book The Fastlane Millionaire in 2020, I was still 17 and I knew instantly that the knowledge it has was just absurd.

I don't have as much as I would like to offer, but I leave here the formula I've come up for my first success (Don't take it as advice, it's just what i've done):

I am into bodybuilding since I was 14 and before that I've done martial arts, so now at 20 I have a good physique and knowledge about nutrition and fitness.

I've started this business 3 months ago, and my strategy since I didn't do any content marketing was just to have the best product and offer possible, which I think it is to give imense attention to the clients and offer the entire service until I was good enough to have recommendations.

Long story short, because it was free people started recommending like crazy and it went from 5 clients to 65 in the 3month span, at the end of november I charged for the first time and got finally paid, I made a separate service that remains free for the people that left, so I would give value from the start to the end.

So I guess the give for free thing Alex Hormozi talks about is gold if made on steroids.

Some business I've tried in the 5 years journey:
3x Web Design | Car Washing | Forex DayTrading | Dog Walking | Hacking | Credit Recovery | Jewelry | Fake Clothes (Insta) |
Affiliate Marketing | 2x Dropshipping | House Cleaning | Instagram Niche Profiles | Boxing Gear | Real State | Digital Marketing |
And many others I can't even remember.

I don't expect anyone to read this, and sorry for my bad writing and english (I'm from portugal and dropped out of highschool), I prefer it to be original so it feels like talking to me.

The calling you have telling your are special is right, don't give up until you prove it.

Thanks.
Vasco Machado

It would be interesting if you don’t mind to share the lessons you have learnt in so many other hustles.

 

[Eclipse]

I don't think you have clients. They don't pay you anything so they're at best potential leads.

You're playing a very dangerous game giving people your time and experience for free without getting anything in return.

I would much rather get two paying customers a month than 33 freeloaders.

I guess you are right from your point of view.

Although I never imagine getting interest in anything close to "philanthropy", I do really see no interest in helping 2 clients and making 33 life's worst in the process.

It might be wrong business wise, but I'm motivated by: Number of people I'm helping x Value I'm giving

I have no problem getting money in exchange of value, I just think I can provide a absurd level of value and capitalize later, facebook, instagram, google, catholic church also didn't charge no one (Not that I'm basing my decisions of that)

My goal is to be the best service in online fitness in my country in 10 years, I won't give that up so I feel safe F*cking up.

 

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[MTF]

Although I never imagine getting interest in anything close to "philanthropy", I do really see no interest in helping 2 clients and making 33 life's worst in the process.

A few things to consider:

• If you aren't making money, you aren't growing. How many more people could you help if you had a big platform and the budget to advertise it? Do you think that a broke kind-hearted fitness trainer really helps more people than a wealthy fitness trainer with proper systems in place, various products, services, and maybe even employees?
• People don't value and don't treat seriously what they get for free. A paying customer is way more engaged and it's way easier to change their life than it is with someone who has no skin in the game. From your point of view you're giving them tremendous value. From theirs, not really. Otherwise they'd happily pay you and keep referring clients even when you charge for your time. I don't know your clients but they seem to be classic leeches. Yes, you do focus on value but give it to the right people.
• Sooner or later you'll burn out if you freely give away your resources without getting anything in return. It may even get worse when people start demanding more free stuff.

I have no problem getting money in exchange of value, I just think I can provide a absurd level of value and capitalize later, facebook, instagram, google, catholic church also didn't charge no one (Not that I'm basing my decisions of that)

All the companies you mentioned make a shit ton of money trading your data. It seems free but it's not. You're being monetized.

As for the church, I'll respect the forum's rules and ignore this topic lol.

 

[Eclipse]

If it is customized service then I see the pitfall also. Freemium works when additional users has negligible impact in business cost. But OP is providing customized communication.

Pivoting from here is difficult because once you charge everyone is gone. I tried running chess coaching community before working with a pro player while I run community engagement.

But if OP has this interest experience and documenting it on tiktok it will become as asset to be monetisable in the future. The freeloader become willing participants in content creation where interesting stories are shared. It also becomes a lead funnel for future paying customer.

Poops can be recycled into fertilizers done correctly.

The customized communication can be replaced my any trainer, I have tested it before.

Also thanks for the advice in creating content about the experience, still waiting to get real success before I share it.

I don't oppose working for free short-term (a few weeks) to build your portfolio and/or case studies. And I don't oppose the freemium model, either.

But in this case it sounds like it's been going for over three months without any long-term strategy. And the "clients" are clearly not interested in paying or helping him if they even stopped referring him to other people once he started charging for his services.

I might be too blind in wisdom do understand your point here.

Could it not be a Pricing vs Value problem?
Could it not be that I need to improve my service before I ask for money?
Could it no be that I can indeed charge a premium service on qualified custumers and me profitable?

Thanks for your insights and help!

 

[Eclipse]

A few things to consider:

• If you aren't making money, you aren't growing. How many more people could you help if you had a big platform and the budget to advertise it? Do you think that a broke kind-hearted fitness trainer really helps more people than a wealthy fitness trainer with proper systems in place, various products, services, and maybe even employees?
• People don't value and don't treat seriously what they get for free. A paying customer is way more engaged and it's way easier to change their life than it is with someone who has no skin in the game. From your point of view you're giving them tremendous value. From theirs, not really. Otherwise they'd happily pay you and keep referring clients even when you charge for your time. I don't know your clients but they seem to be classic leeches. Yes, you do focus on value but give it to the right people.
• Sooner or later you'll burn out if you freely give away your resources without getting anything in return. It may even get worse when people start demanding more free stuff.

All the companies you mentioned make a shit ton of money trading your data. It seems free but it's not. You're being monetized.

As for the church, I'll respect the forum's rules and ignore this topic lol.

Understandable.

A temporary broke kind-hearted fitness trainer* ahah

Although all you said is true for a pure philanthropy business, you are ignoring the fact I said I will charge and have paying customers when needed for growth. I will make money.

 

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[Eclipse]

It would be interesting if you don’t mind to share the lessons you have learnt in so many other hustles.

Thank you! Yes I don't mind, if you find that valuable.

 

[Eclipse]

Thanks for sharing. Good info for us to remember the power of never giving up and learn from your previous mistakes/endeavors. Keep at it and update us on your next milestone.

I will for sure!

 

[MTF]

Could it not be that I need to improve my service before I ask for money?

You can improve your service while you're getting paid for it. You'll get much more valuable feedback from paying customers.

Although all you said is true for a pure philanthropy business, you are ignoring the fact I said I will charge and have paying customers when needed for growth. I will make money.

I don't know your way of thinking here. From my perspective it sounds like a limiting belief and an excuse that's quite common around here. Namely, "I'm not ready yet."

@Andy Black surely has some good one-liners on this topic.

 

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[IceCreamKid]

Brother you need to start charging everyone immediately so that you can get feedback from the market in order to find the angle that resonates.

You don't realize it right now, but your product/service will change as you get feedback from paying customers. The feedback from the freeloaders will give you false information.

Even the legends of business had to pivot when the market told them they needed to. The market(in the form of paying customers) will tell you where you need to go.

• Marriott hotels started as a root beer stand.
• Samsung started selling noodles.
• Taco Bell started as a hot dog stand.
• American Express started as a delivery service.

Don't be afraid to charge money. You have all of the answers inside of you.

1. Find the angle that resonates with paying customers.
2. Figure out service delivery. Create systems for that.
3. Determine all parts of your funnel. Upsells, downsells, cross-sells, everything.
4. After you start generating some profits, begin buying customers via advertising. This will accelerate your speed of growth.

 

[Andy Black]

I skimmed the thread fast.

@Eclipse ... I agree with @MTF. I wouldn't call them clients, or I'd at least call them free clients.

It sounds like you're trying to build a large audience with the goal to earn money later? Some folks do that, but think how they earn money. James Jani (@Valier) has millions viewing his YouTube videos. He gets a share of the ad revenue. The ads are clicked on by members of his audience who might buy what they see. Meaning a proportion of his free audience will spend money at some point.

As @MTF and @IceCreamKid have already mentioned or hinted at, I'd suggest focusing on the people who'd pay.

I like to think of our market as the people already paying (to solve the problem we can solve). They're often very different from those who have no intention of paying, and they often want something very different.

If you're not making sales or revenue then I'd argue you have a hobby, not a business.

 

[Eclipse]

Thank's @Andy Black @MTF and @IceCreamKid.

I think I did this because the word of mouth was something I never experienced before and when it stopped I couldn't find a way to market my service anymore.

I will do my best to come back with results and not waste your time until I do.

Talking to you guys feels like talking to celebrities after all this years reading your posts, thanks for the value once again!

 

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[dydy943]

Congratulation ! I'm also on the verge of starting my own business so your story is really inspiring !

 

[seriousleisure]

Hello fellow Fastlaners!

The reason for my post is because I finally can live off my business. (Online Fitness Coaching)

I tried about 50+ business ideas, and It took me about 5 years to finally crack the code (I needed to provide value duhh)

This is my first post but i've been arround for sometime, the reason for me lurking for this many years was that I was ashamed that I had a terrible work ethic (Due to social media, masturbation, bad foods, music and other bullshit) and was just wasting my potential. I thought that coming here whining or lying was pointless so I kept quiet.

I just want to thank all of you, I feel like I got millions worth of value from this forum.

When read the book The Fastlane Millionaire in 2020, I was still 17 and I knew instantly that the knowledge it has was just absurd.

I don't have as much as I would like to offer, but I leave here the formula I've come up for my first success (Don't take it as advice, it's just what i've done):

I am into bodybuilding since I was 14 and before that I've done martial arts, so now at 20 I have a good physique and knowledge about nutrition and fitness.

I've started this business 3 months ago, and my strategy since I didn't do any content marketing was just to have the best product and offer possible, which I think it is to give imense attention to the clients and offer the entire service until I was good enough to have recommendations.

Long story short, because it was free people started recommending like crazy and it went from 5 clients to 65 in the 3month span, at the end of november I charged for the first time and got finally paid, I made a separate service that remains free for the people that left, so I would give value from the start to the end.

So I guess the give for free thing Alex Hormozi talks about is gold if made on steroids.

Some business I've tried in the 5 years journey:
3x Web Design | Car Washing | Forex DayTrading | Dog Walking | Hacking | Credit Recovery | Jewelry | Fake Clothes (Insta) |
Affiliate Marketing | 2x Dropshipping | House Cleaning | Instagram Niche Profiles | Boxing Gear | Real State | Digital Marketing |
And many others I can't even remember.

I don't expect anyone to read this, and sorry for my bad writing and english (I'm from portugal and dropped out of highschool), I prefer it to be original so it feels like talking to me.

The calling you have telling your are special is right, don't give up until you prove it.

Thanks.
Vasco Machado

I would suggest looking up Alex Hormozi for free advice on marketing fitness to an audience. He gives tons of free advice.
People like Caroline Girvan and Maggie Binkley publish workout videos on YouTube and Amazon with simple production and are making money.
There are other fitness content creators that create online courses and apps that they sell with either a monthly membership or buy selling a specific package and building an audience/email list so they can add more products to the pipeline later. Ex. Yogabody and Tapp brothers.
Whatever path you choose, you need to monetize. It’s great to give something quality away for free to generate leads, but you need to convert a certain amount into paid followers or you are just a hobbyist.
Best of luck.