Mentally and Financially Recovering From a Failed Business?

[Testament]

About a year ago now, I set off to move halfway across the globe to start a business with a good friend of mine. I fully burned my boats and cut myself off from all other options. I raised about 10k in loans from friends and relatives, and tried my very hardest to make it work. Unfortunately, everything went to hell and I lost it all. I lost my car. I lost all of my money and went into debt. I lost my place to live. I lost my girlfriend and most of my friends. And I was extremely fortunate not to have lost much more than that. I think one of the worst things that I lost though, was my freedom.

I've spent the last...4 months now, working at several soul eroding, barely above minimum wage jobs, ever so slowly chipping away at the debt I've accumulated and trying to get my life back together. I come on here each day and read about the awesome things everyone is doing, and it makes me desperate to cast off these damn shackles I've acquired...but, I find that I've become absolutely terrified of what happens if I take a chance and lose again.

All I can think about before I actually commit to anything is...damn, it took me this long to pull myself not even half-way back from the brink, while also having been extremely fortunate that it wasn't much, much worse. What if it happens again? What if it is worse next time? I feel like I'm paralyzed with this overwhelming fear of the consequences of my actions if I fail again.

I guess more than anything, I was hoping that others who have had this experience would be willing to share it here, and what you did to get yourself back up again...mentally, and financially.

Did you have that feeling of fear that I described? How did you work through it? How did you take action and commit to something uncertain again, while having lived through the consequences of what happens when it doesn't work out? I've read small snippets of some of the stories of the posters here, and I know that my own story is pretty tame compared to a lot of those of you here who've gone through this.

Thanks for the read, and for your story if you've got it to share.

 

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[arcola]

can you go more in-depth into your story

 

[jazb]

Financially it sounds like you will be ok, im sure you can get that money back through jobs.

As for mentally recovering, understand you are not your past, you are the resources and lessons learnt from your past. Life kicks you down so you can learn and grow from it. Mistakes happen, this does not make you a failure or someone who is 'unlucky'.
Whats important is that you learn from your mistakes and ensure things go better next time, put yourself in a position where you cannot lose.

The only thing stopping you is fear, this is something everyone must deal with and there are plenty of things you can do to get rid of this.

If you keep persisting, you will succeed eventually and it will taste all the sweeter because of it!

 

[Get Right]

Remember when your parents threw you in a pool for your first time? Came up choking and half scared to death?

You survived.

What happened next? That's right, you got thrown in again. and again.

You survived...and learned.

...and guess what, you are probably a great swimmer now. You probably cannonball in the pool any chance you get!

Same thing with biz

 

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[niftyg]

See if you can find an unskilled camp job in the middle of nowhere.. The company will often pay to fly you out.. camp cook, labourer, etc. 21 days on 7 days off, 4 - 6k pay after taxes and all of your food is paid for.

That's one of my get-out-of-debt plans just in case.

 

[throttleforward]

I struggled with this too - I quit my job and failed hard. While it didn't sink me financially, it definitely had an impact on my risk tolerance.

One of the things I realized was that if I played out the best-case alternative (high paying slowlane job with commensurate long hours and time away from family...otherwise known as winning the rat race) that I'd 1) be a lot poorer than if I had failed 10 times in entrepreneurship but hit the 11th, and 2) filled with regret, sadness, and likely a huge pile of debt anyway (because who would want to save their money after working for someone else 70-hour/wk...I'd want to enjoy it).

So, in short I realized that I would do this for the rest of my life, regardless of success or failure. After a while, and after talking to successful people, I also realized that if I were successful and hit it big, I'd still keep doing it for the rest of my life. I just can't happily plug away at a day job, being subservient and titrating my creativity and drive to what was acceptable to my boss, when I KNOW that I could build something myself. I also can't help but see problems in the world around me and want to try to find ways to fix them.

 

[Zac Headrick]

Did you have that feeling of fear that I described? How did you work through it? How did you take action and commit to something uncertain again, while having lived through the consequences of what happens when it doesn't work out?

So here you are, licking your wounds....I've been there man, it isn't easy. First, you should be proud, it sucks to fail but at least you took a F*cking shot. And look at you. You are still alive.

You can mend relationships, people that really give a shit about you will forgive you.

You can make your money back.

No one died.

Right there shows you this is the worse that can happen (for the most part) and looking you. You're still alive. You survived. You are surviving. It ain't that bad.

-------------------------------
LETS DIG DEEPER
-------------------------------

Shall we...

When I look at my epic failure, if I am being really honest with myself I definitely wasn't an ENTREPRENEUR. I was a wantrepreneur 100%.

Here are some of the huge mistakes I made:

> I didn't get any traction ahead of time. I didn't get people that WANTED, NEEDED, or PAID ME for what I was offering before I launched.

> In my head I was thinking about how I was going to manage all my staff and what my offices where going to look like. No shit I actually keep a book mark that I made with offices I liked. Haha, what I joke. This is wantrepreneur to the core, but you don't know what you don't know.

> I didn't have a mentor. I didn't have someone I trusted that has been there before that could give me feedback and steer me in the right direction. Experience is key, why waste YEARS making the same mistakes as someone else. They have already made those mistakes, let them teach you. I didn't even look for a mentor. Stupid.

> I spent a lot of money upfront. I thought everything had to be PROFESSIONAL! No way was I going to run a half a$$ business without an awesome website, logo, business cards. No way, my "idea" was way to good for that.

> I was spending money in my head. I knew what kind of car I would drive. I knew how I was going to make my first million. I thought I was going to be rich.

This is all embarrassing as hell to admit, and maybe you didn't make these mistakes but if you failed that hard I'm guessing you made at least one, probably more.

-------------------------------
MIND SET
-------------------------------

Mind set is ALWAYS a battle as an entrepreneur. We are all afraid to fail. Everyone of us. In fact I think being afraid to fail is one of the best qualities you can have because it makes you SMARTER and LEANER.

As long as it doesn't freeze you, and right now you are a little frozen. But that is okay, it takes time.

Here are some things you can do:

> Remove all negative self talk. If you catch yourself saying something negative about yourself or thinking it, stop and go back and reverse it.

> Write some daily affirmations. As lame as I used to think it was and as many people still do, I don't care. They work. I'm not ashamed to do them in front of people, I just don't care. I do them in the morning and before bed.

> Learn from your mistakes. Don't making starting a new business such a "risk". I will explain more on this in the next section.


-------------------------------
WHAT'S NEXT?
-------------------------------

Here is the key. What did you learn? What mistakes did you make?

If you can honestly evaluate your mistakes and learn from them for your next business your chance of success will dramatically improve.

I outlined the mistakes I made above, so here is what I did my second/third time around to improve and remove as much chance for failure as possible.

You can follow my steps or create your own, but don't take that same exact approach you did the first time.

PHASE 1: Find The Pain -- Do this while you STILL have a job on mornings, nights, and weekends. I was getting up at 4am to work on this stuff before work and also was doing it all weekend.

1. Study, study, study successful entrepreneurs and businesses models I like. Find the pain, write down ideas, make sure that you really spend a good month or obsessing about a business model or idea. If it doesn't come that is okay, don't start again until it does. But you have to actively be looking, talking, asking questions, lifting up rocks, etc...

2. Find the pain. When you think you have landing on that idea, start doing more research. Talk to as many people as you can about it, don't worry about ANYONE stealing your idea. Find people who you think would use your product/service and ask them questions. Keep asking questions, keep having the hard conversations. Remember an idea doesn't mean anything. This is where you start to mold your idea into a business that people want. Some people will say "well that doesn't work for my business or industry, I need to have the product/service launched first." Bull shit. They are scared. Find a way to make it work, be creative, and get feedback from the RIGHT people. Lots of it.

3. Find a mentor. Now you're idea has evolved. Go find a mentor. Find someone that can see how hard you have hustled over the last 3-4 months and is willing to help you. This is key. Make sure they are experienced and they are where you WANT to be at. A good mentor is a key component. You can proceed without one, but I don't recommend it. Your chance of making mistakes, wasting time, wasting money goes way up. If you have hustled and are on to the start of something good (which you should know from your feedback) then you should be able to find a mentor. In fact this can even be someone you initially asked for feedback, they saw your drive, desire, hustle, and are willing to help you when you asked them.


PHASE 2: Make it UGLY -- Do this while you still have a job

4. Get some type of website or prototype up and running that is so ugly and so dirt cheap you are almost embarrassed by it. Give yourself a deadline, say 7-days to get this finished. Again you are working in the mornings, at night, and on weekends.

For example if it is an online business use Google Docs to mock up the different pages online so people can see the 4-5 main features and pages, even if they can't actually use it online. Make it fast, make it ugly, make it work.

5. Go back to a lot of the same initial people you got feedback from. Contact even more. Ask more questions, ask for feedback, find out if this solves their problem. If it does, great...go to the next step. If it doesn't,

6. Ask for money. If someone likes your idea and it solves their problem, ask them to be your first customer. Have them pay you for it. Tell them when you get 5-10 customers you are going to build it.

If they aren't willing to pay, go back to #5 and get better feedback, ask better question, and make changes to the concept. You aren't solving the right problem or you aren't explaining it properly. You need to keep working and practicing.

PHASE 3: Start Building

Build your first version fast and build it simple. Don't try to make it perfect. Just make sure it does what it has to do and works. Make sure you can collect money.

Now you know have traction, you know the pain, you know the market, you know the positioning, you know how to sell it.

Launch it.

You have GREATLY reduced your risk of failing.

When you quit your job it won't be as a wantrepreneur, it will be as an entrepreneur.

---

Zac

 

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[mosdef]

Zac, in what way do you think Affirmations work? Could you explain more?

Im sorry for hijacking thread

 

[RogueInnovation]

You did what YOU needed to do.
Now its time you do what you can do for others.

That internal strength you are now trying to avoid building will make you a businessman of great character.

Size matters not.
Give more

 

[InMotion]

Thanks for sharing your story.

Could you have gotten started with 2k instead of 10k?

Lots of great advice here.

Steer clear of catastrophic failure if possible; Affordable Loss.

Millions of people get into the similar or worse dilemma's, except the cause of their dilemma was inaction rather than taking action.

 

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[Nadia]

About a year ago now, I set off to move halfway across the globe to start a business with a good friend of mine. I fully burned my boats and cut myself off from all other options. I raised about 10k in loans from friends and relatives, and tried my very hardest to make it work. Unfortunately, everything went to hell and I lost it all. I lost my car. I lost all of my money and went into debt. I lost my place to live. I lost my girlfriend and most of my friends. And I was extremely fortunate not to have lost much more than that. I think one of the worst things that I lost though, was my freedom.

I've spent the last...4 months now, working at several soul eroding, barely above minimum wage jobs, ever so slowly chipping away at the debt I've accumulated and trying to get my life back together. I come on here each day and read about the awesome things everyone is doing, and it makes me desperate to cast off these damn shackles I've acquired...but, I find that I've become absolutely terrified of what happens if I take a chance and lose again.

All I can think about before I actually commit to anything is...damn, it took me this long to pull myself not even half-way back from the brink, while also having been extremely fortunate that it wasn't much, much worse. What if it happens again? What if it is worse next time? I feel like I'm paralyzed with this overwhelming fear of the consequences of my actions if I fail again.

I guess more than anything, I was hoping that others who have had this experience would be willing to share it here, and what you did to get yourself back up again...mentally, and financially.

Did you have that feeling of fear that I described? How did you work through it? How did you take action and commit to something uncertain again, while having lived through the consequences of what happens when it doesn't work out? I've read small snippets of some of the stories of the posters here, and I know that my own story is pretty tame compared to a lot of those of you here who've gone through this.

Thanks for the read, and for your story if you've got it to share.

I have my own story. It may help. I have been to where you are. I lost my first business, a day spa at 21. I was in around $60K debt, worked SOUL ERODING jobs to make ends meet (IF that) and was fired countless times AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN, until I gave up trying to find a job anymore. A job wasn't the answer. I accepted that. You did something. You took action. You didn't just talk the talk, you walked the walk. And you didn't fail. You just learned what doesn't work. And man that effing HURTS when it doesn't. It makes you feel like such a big failure. But this is what separates the REAL entrepreneurs from the wantapreneurs.

The fact that we will be thrown into hell, REPEATEDLY and win. And live. And not only survive, but thrive. I have had that fear. But you know what REALLY scared me?

Working for someone else. Because THAT was the alternative. That's one SCARY alternative. I lost it all, including my sanity. Here is what I did. I went and started a second (my current) business, on very little money. All I needed was a website and I was in Business. Even till today, my company isn't registered or anything UNTIL I KNOW I am turning over a profit where I am going to pay legal tax on it. I did enough for my first business. I am a consultant/coach. I charge for my knowledge and expertise. And I GOT my first client, after an immense amount of persistence. I built a list (still building all day!) from social media. FREE stuff like LinkedIn, FB and Twitter. I used my skill set as an Author to sell books, and to write my blog. I interacted with people. I work from home still because I prefer it that way.

Alright. Let's put this into perspective. One of my most successful friends is a man worth $450M. Has 26 Businesses that net him $3B per year. This man failed NINE TIMES in his businesses before he made his first million on the 10th one. When I hear him speak at events, he blows my MIND. LITERALLY. The sheer tenacity to get up and fight the fight over and over, is something such few people have. But that is the hunger of a person so determined to succeed, HE DOES. I can't imagine if he gave up, the world would have been robbed of a man so generous in both time, expertise and money to give to others.

You commit to it by this. "If, (insert your name here) do NOT commit to getting up and doing this again, I will become the least of men. I will have willingly enslaved myself. I will have given up on the chance of TRUE freedom of a LIFETIME. Am I comfortable being someone else's slave? Am I ALRIGHT with a chain around my feet, hands and neck? AM I ?"

So the eff what if it happens again. Champions stand up when they can't

 

[SteveO]

The fear is all in your head. Who got hurt? Maybe a few feelings and a bit of money. Nothing else though.

Let it go and start again.

 

[Zac Headrick]

The fear is all in your head. Who got hurt? Maybe a few feelings and a bit of money. Nothing else though.

Let it go and start again.

I agree some of it is mental but that is easier said then done. I think some strategy and tactics are helpful.

How do you recommend people "let it go". Have you had a business that failed? How did you bounce back?

Also, it comes down to learning from your mistakes vs. just jumping in head first to fail again.

 

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[ZCP]

See it as paid tuition in the school of business. If you think about it that way, you probably came out with lower student loan debt than many do.

Spend your energy moving forward using what you learned on your next business. Get to work!!

 

[Zac Headrick]

Zac, in what way do you think Affirmations work? Could you explain more?

Im sorry for hijacking thread

It just reinforces your positive mindset. To many times we let negative thoughts and fear of failure slip into our minds without even realizing it.

Affirmations have helped me become more aware of that and PROGRAMMING my mind to function in a way that I feel sets me up for success instead of failure.

It is just one of the mental tactics I use. I also meditate for 30min a day and a few other things to help me with my mindset.

This is crucial especially if you have failed. The first business you feel invincible. For some people that first business works but for others it doesn't and you have to face reality. That can F with your head.

Does that answer your question? Let me know if you have others.

-Zac

 

[Zac Headrick]

Alright. Let's put this into perspective. One of my most successful friends is a man worth $450M. Has 26 Businesses that net him $3B per year. This man failed NINE TIMES in his businesses before he made his first million on the 10th one.

Some good stuff here. It is obviously also about learning each time you fail so you don't make the same mistakes. Which obviously you did in your business and so did your friend.

What industry is your friend in? What a great success story.

No doubt people at that level have another gear when it comes to hustle, risk, and mindset. I love it.

-Zac

 

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[Nadia]

Some good stuff here. It is obviously also about learning each time you fail so you don't make the same mistakes. Which obviously you did in your business and so did your friend.

What industry is your friend in? What a great success story.

No doubt people at that level have another gear when it comes to hustle, risk, and mindset. I love it.

-Zac

You can check him out at Com Mirza. He is a serial entrepreneur, investor and VC. Amazing guy

 

[Nadia]

I agree some of it is mental but that is easier said then done. I think some strategy and tactics are helpful.

How do you recommend people "let it go". Have you had a business that failed? How did you bounce back?

Also, it comes down to learning from your mistakes vs. just jumping in head first to fail again.

You let go by understand you fail and fail again to succeed. My first business was the hardest to let go of. I loved it with all my heart. It's a fond memory now.

 

[SteveO]

Have you had a business that failed? How did you bounce back?

Everyone is going to be different and will have their own unique way of bouncing back. I personally felt a need to work on fear in general.

I have failed in two businesses. The first was only about 2K in the hole. I did not feel bad about that one. It did not bother me other than the fact that I had very little money to claw my way out with.

The second on the other hand.... I lost about $10M which sent me into depression. I was in a big hole with what appeared to be an endless cycle of lawsuits and foreclosures. I had to go "inside" of myself to get out.

That is all history now. I am back over 1M in net worth and climbing.

The key to getting out was in my head. It was "me". We have a very definite method to building our lives. All of it is learning. The pain you are going through is unnecessary. I made my mess and you made yours. It is never the fault of anyone else. Accept that it is not a bad thing that happened to you and move on.

We can all be victims if we choose to be. But, we don't have to be.

 

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[Testament]

Hey guys! Got home a bit late from the 'ol soul crusher tonight, so I've gotta get some sleep and will have to post a more detailed response when I get a chance. I just wanted to quickly say thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, to everyone who took the time to give their kind words, stories and advice to me. I feel as though I've been sweetly kissed by an angel to have been fortunate enough to find such a positive and supportive community.

More to come (hopefully tomorrow)!

 

[Bowden]

When I got out of the Marines I went back to playing poker at the casino. I would consistently come ahead and built up a nice bankroll from my original investment. Long story short I would get bored sitting at the tables for 10+ hours so I would start drinking. Drinking leads to peeing. Having to pee leads to walking to the bathroom. My bathroom of choice was in the high limit area. I always had the mentality of go big or go home. So I would play $25 & $100 slots. One day I went and played nothing but slots. Lost every single dollar I had to my name. Over $25k lost in 1 day. Not even a full 24 hr day. This was like a 5 hour day. Luckily I lived with my parents at the time and was able to bounce back. I guess what I'm getting at is that money is just money. You will always make more money. Now the best part is you can control if you make money off the money you make. Everything will always get better, you can only fall so far down.

 

[tafy]

Amazing post Zac, loved every word of it.

 

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[Runum]

Read Altucher. http://www.jamesaltucher.com/

 

[Zac Headrick]

Amazing post Zac, loved every word of it.

I appreciate that.

 

[bboyu]

PHASE 1: Find The Pain -- Do this while you STILL have a job on mornings, nights, and weekends. I was getting up at 4am to work on this stuff before work and also was doing it all weekend.

1. Study, study, study successful entrepreneurs and businesses models I like. Find the pain, write down ideas, make sure that you really spend a good month or obsessing about a business model or idea. If it doesn't come that is okay, don't start again until it does. But you have to actively be looking, talking, asking questions, lifting up rocks, etc...

2. Find the pain. When you think you have landing on that idea, start doing more research. Talk to as many people as you can about it, don't worry about ANYONE stealing your idea. Find people who you think would use your product/service and ask them questions. Keep asking questions, keep having the hard conversations. Remember an idea doesn't mean anything. This is where you start to mold your idea into a business that people want.

Hey Zac, What do you look for in a business model? DO you look for the CENTS commandments in a model? Do you look at your own resources first and then say which business model can I create or replicate using what I have? What's your process for scouring business models? Do you look at a business model first that is making lots of money then see whether you can take that business model into a different industry and work it? Is this possible?

When people like J F Straw and Jon Karbo say Mail order is the best business ever in the world it makes me think and all I want to do is pursue that business model...regardless of the industry. What do you think of this? Do you feel the same way as ecommerce is an offshoot of Mail Order in the 21st century...how can one create such a revolutionizing business model?

I am really interested in such business model creation...what should be your focus when creating one?

Please shed some light on these questions. Loving your posts and waiting for the thread on your ecom biz. To be honest what you posted as a screenshot in another thread is exactly what I want for myself...to the T.

What made you choose ecommerce and why?

 

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[D11FYY]

So here you are, licking your wounds....I've been there man, it isn't easy. First, you should be proud, it sucks to fail but at least you took a F*cking shot. And look at you. You are still alive.

You can mend relationships, people that really give a shit about you will forgive you.

You can make your money back.

No one died.

Right there shows you this is the worse that can happen (for the most part) and looking you. You're still alive. You survived. You are surviving. It ain't that bad.

-------------------------------
LETS DIG DEEPER
-------------------------------

Shall we...

When I look at my epic failure, if I am being really honest with myself I definitely wasn't an ENTREPRENEUR. I was a wantrepreneur 100%.

Here are some of the huge mistakes I made:

> I didn't get any traction ahead of time. I didn't get people that WANTED, NEEDED, or PAID ME for what I was offering before I launched.

> In my head I was thinking about how I was going to manage all my staff and what my offices where going to look like. No shit I actually keep a book mark that I made with offices I liked. Haha, what I joke. This is wantrepreneur to the core, but you don't know what you don't know.

> I didn't have a mentor. I didn't have someone I trusted that has been there before that could give me feedback and steer me in the right direction. Experience is key, why waste YEARS making the same mistakes as someone else. They have already made those mistakes, let them teach you. I didn't even look for a mentor. Stupid.

> I spent a lot of money upfront. I thought everything had to be PROFESSIONAL! No way was I going to run a half a$$ business without an awesome website, logo, business cards. No way, my "idea" was way to good for that.

> I was spending money in my head. I knew what kind of car I would drive. I knew how I was going to make my first million. I thought I was going to be rich.

This is all embarrassing as hell to admit, and maybe you didn't make these mistakes but if you failed that hard I'm guessing you made at least one, probably more.

-------------------------------
MIND SET
-------------------------------

Mind set is ALWAYS a battle as an entrepreneur. We are all afraid to fail. Everyone of us. In fact I think being afraid to fail is one of the best qualities you can have because it makes you SMARTER and LEANER.

As long as it doesn't freeze you, and right now you are a little frozen. But that is okay, it takes time.

Here are some things you can do:

> Remove all negative self talk. If you catch yourself saying something negative about yourself or thinking it, stop and go back and reverse it.

> Write some daily affirmations. As lame as I used to think it was and as many people still do, I don't care. They work. I'm not ashamed to do them in front of people, I just don't care. I do them in the morning and before bed.

> Learn from your mistakes. Don't making starting a new business such a "risk". I will explain more on this in the next section.


-------------------------------
WHAT'S NEXT?
-------------------------------

Here is the key. What did you learn? What mistakes did you make?

If you can honestly evaluate your mistakes and learn from them for your next business your chance of success will dramatically improve.

I outlined the mistakes I made above, so here is what I did my second/third time around to improve and remove as much chance for failure as possible.

You can follow my steps or create your own, but don't take that same exact approach you did the first time.

PHASE 1: Find The Pain -- Do this while you STILL have a job on mornings, nights, and weekends. I was getting up at 4am to work on this stuff before work and also was doing it all weekend.

1. Study, study, study successful entrepreneurs and businesses models I like. Find the pain, write down ideas, make sure that you really spend a good month or obsessing about a business model or idea. If it doesn't come that is okay, don't start again until it does. But you have to actively be looking, talking, asking questions, lifting up rocks, etc...

2. Find the pain. When you think you have landing on that idea, start doing more research. Talk to as many people as you can about it, don't worry about ANYONE stealing your idea. Find people who you think would use your product/service and ask them questions. Keep asking questions, keep having the hard conversations. Remember an idea doesn't mean anything. This is where you start to mold your idea into a business that people want. Some people will say "well that doesn't work for my business or industry, I need to have the product/service launched first." Bull shit. They are scared. Find a way to make it work, be creative, and get feedback from the RIGHT people. Lots of it.

3. Find a mentor. Now you're idea has evolved. Go find a mentor. Find someone that can see how hard you have hustled over the last 3-4 months and is willing to help you. This is key. Make sure they are experienced and they are where you WANT to be at. A good mentor is a key component. You can proceed without one, but I don't recommend it. Your chance of making mistakes, wasting time, wasting money goes way up. If you have hustled and are on to the start of something good (which you should know from your feedback) then you should be able to find a mentor. In fact this can even be someone you initially asked for feedback, they saw your drive, desire, hustle, and are willing to help you when you asked them.


PHASE 2: Make it UGLY -- Do this while you still have a job

4. Get some type of website or prototype up and running that is so ugly and so dirt cheap you are almost embarrassed by it. Give yourself a deadline, say 7-days to get this finished. Again you are working in the mornings, at night, and on weekends.

For example if it is an online business use Google Docs to mock up the different pages online so people can see the 4-5 main features and pages, even if they can't actually use it online. Make it fast, make it ugly, make it work.

5. Go back to a lot of the same initial people you got feedback from. Contact even more. Ask more questions, ask for feedback, find out if this solves their problem. If it does, great...go to the next step. If it doesn't,

6. Ask for money. If someone likes your idea and it solves their problem, ask them to be your first customer. Have them pay you for it. Tell them when you get 5-10 customers you are going to build it.

If they aren't willing to pay, go back to #5 and get better feedback, ask better question, and make changes to the concept. You aren't solving the right problem or you aren't explaining it properly. You need to keep working and practicing.

PHASE 3: Start Building

Build your first version fast and build it simple. Don't try to make it perfect. Just make sure it does what it has to do and works. Make sure you can collect money.

Now you know have traction, you know the pain, you know the market, you know the positioning, you know how to sell it.

Launch it.

You have GREATLY reduced your risk of failing.

When you quit your job it won't be as a wantrepreneur, it will be as an entrepreneur.

---

Zac

Absolute GOLD Zac

 

[Zac Headrick]

Hey Zac, What do you look for in a business model?

Hey @bboyu good questions.

There is no "RIGHT" business model necessarily. What has worked for me is to find entrepreneurs that I have looked up to and see if they are in a business model that I like.

Just learn as much as you can be listening to interviews with successful entrepreneurs then start looking at companies in that similar business.

Also, I look for something that has low startup costs. I want to keep my startup costs less than $1000 to get paying customers. That is a key for me and I think most first time entrepreneurs without a lot of startup capital. But again, there is no right way to do it. I know entrepreneurs that have gotten loans and still been very successful, so it is just what fits

The best advice I can give you is don't just chase the cash. Go after something that you REALLY want to do and sounds fun. Something that you can see yourself doing for 10 years and still being happy.

Balance all of these things.

----

In my business I sell online education programs. It is something I am passionate about and good at. I love the business model and it fits me really well. But it took a few trys with other businesses for me to find out what I wanted to do. Something that really helped me was listening to interviews on Mixergy.com.

Also, I really like going after small niche's initially. Before I thought it was smart to have a huge idea and the ideas wasn't good unless I could make $10 million + from it. Well that just is not true. It is great to start out in a tiny market and have a very defined service or product that is directed at people who need it. This helps with your marketing and your messaging and you can always scale out or iterate into a larger market when necessary. You can make a lot of money in small niche's

A great example is the guy who runs HearandPlay.com - he teaches people how to play music by ear, mostly piano. A tiny niche. His revenue is in the millions each year and he has an amazing lifestyle.

-Zac

 

[Zac Headrick]

Absolute GOLD Zac

I appreciate that sir.

 

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[RogueInnovation]

The best thing for the pain is due diligence and action. If you keep doing both, you will always roll forward.
Secondly, fear of getting torn apart by vultures only applies when you feel ashamed of yourself, so if you do your best and better than others around you, it will be clear, and you won't fear others attacking you, you'll just see right through it.
Banking and logistics wise, it takes TIME to solve some of those hurdles, because people are lazy, so if you can bridge the time for them and be insistent you can get through that.

As for working minimum wage, there is a job market out there and you can also start flipping off ebay and craigslist etc. Just keep searching for HIGHER PAY and climb some rungs.
There are also possible freelance jobs and specialty jobs for any skills you might have. Sales etc can be something you can work your way up through.

If you sort your mind, and keep your guts intact whilst doing the dirty, you'll grind outta it, you just gotta find your reason.
Ten k debt isn't the worst thing in the world, just don't let it intimidate you and stare through your goals until you reach them.

 

[Get Right]

Go after something that you REALLY want to do and sounds fun

That can be dangerous. Go after a MARKET.