Motivated but lost 18 year old

[Stende]

Hey everyone on the forum and @MJ DeMarco

My name is Magnus, and I am 18 years old from Norway. Currently in my last year of high school. For a long time, I have been motivated and had a thought regarding financial freedom and a business. I have always wanted something more than my parents and friends for example. The time before my 18th birthday was lazy since I thought I couldn’t get started with anything anyways because I needed to be 18 to start investing for example. I have now read the Millionaire Fastlane and watched a lot of videos regarding finance, small businesses etc… I believe I will be really motivated and good at what I do once I get started and gets the hang of things, the only struggle is getting started. I feel lost and understands the principles behind a business and all the fundaments, but I just can’t get a good idea. I’ve investigated drop shipping for example but think this is a horrible way to go. On the other hand, I have started to post a bit on social media to try to get some audience. I am really into fitness and bodybuilding which is my passion. I don’t necessarily need this to be involved into a potential business but thought it would be enjoyable. So, my question is regarding how to get started with ideas or preparation for a business? I have only really gotten one “good” idea which is a already existing product remastered at the gym, but think I need some more “good” ideas and the creativity to flow. What to you guys do?

 

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[MaxT]

Hi Magnus and welcome to the forum,
already know that it is not the age that counts, you are still very young you have a lot of time in front of you.
Now a piece of advice that will be useful to you is to simply duplicate an existing business model, of course doing differently and bringing something new or more successful.
I'm 25 soon to be 26 and I'm in IT development, and to give you an example, my best-performing application uses a concept that already exists. Only, I reviewed the whole concept from start to finish and brought an app with a beautiful design, a customization package, and all at a more than affordable price. Duplication is a good key, you can also innovate and create something that does not exist, but you will take more risks of course without guaranteed return on investment. It is better to have a small part of a cake, than a part of a cake that does not exist. Next, one last piece of advice for you, read as much as you can, business books in general: marketing, sales, value creation ... and books on the themes of your business too. Reading will keep you in a good summer of spirit. If you have other questions, do not hesitate.
Maxim

 

[Zealander]

Hi Magnus, welcome to the forum!

The question that you need to answer is what do people want/need and what can you provide?

Being that you are 18 I will assume that you do not have any specialized skills and/or large sums of capital. So I would recommend for you some freelance work / service based business.

Also ask yourself why do you want the money? Is it to buy some car? Go on some international trips, etc? Since you are so young you should enjoy life as well. Also when reading things here you have to also consider that most of the information is US centric and you may have to account for differences in Norway (namely high taxation).

Here are things you could do to gain experience:
1. Delivering food through bolt / wolt (doordash equivalents in Europe).
2. If you're living in Oslo or other touristy area maybe you could be a guide? Offer experiences through airbnb platform. (take people to scenic places and do photos of them, maybe even use one of those cameras that immediately print the photos? You can look for inspiration on airbnb.
3. Do you drive? Maybe your parents have a larger vehicle, you could offer moving services, etc?
4. Cleaning of apartments / houses.
5. Source product from alibaba and start an ecommerce business?

there are tons of other things you could do it really depends on what are your strengths? Also probably you will need to decide if you want to go university. Most important thing for you at this stage is to gain experience and knowledge, I recommend building a habit of reading, it will serve you well through life.

Good luck, Magnus!

 

[Johnny boy]

I'm almost half Norwegian. Nearly every Christmas Eve the Norwegian side of the family gets together for some Lutefisk, meatballs and lefsa.

Young guys need to start getting comfortable with larger amounts of money. They have a mental framework that thinks too small and needs to expand.

What I mean is that when I was 18, if you told me "Hey John, how would you like to work for $40 an hour" I would've jumped all over it. Now I would laugh if anyone wanted me to do anything for less than $200 for an hour of my time. I hope that number climbs in a year or two. I avoid things that pay based on time anyways out of principle, always try to divorce time from money, but you get the idea.

Most businesses people start when they are new to entrepreneurship are not businesses at all, they are poverty side gigs. So many guys out there are working way too hard for making like 1-3 grand each month and they think that's normal. Well..it is common, but it's not good!

They start with zero experience, zero money, and they do shit like try drop shipping or blogging or other "hot" crap right now. Like I said, those are poverty side gigs for most of the beginners that try it.

You may not even need to come up with an "idea". Let's just start with having open eyes to the already present opportunities around you. Such as... Does your family have a business already? Do you have a connection or a friend or family member who is very successful, or has access to something like some sort of machinery or tools that others don't have? Do you have a unique situation? Do you have any background in anything or have a hobby or skill you've developed or spent a lot of time on? What are you naturally good at or enjoy doing? All of these things will give you an invaluable head start. You need as many things on your side in the beginning because you don't have cash or experience to smooth things over.

If you have nothing except hustle and time, then I suggest going the route of either starting a service business of some sort so you can immediately start stacking real cash and being independent or getting a sales job with commission to learn to take rejection and get used to the idea of only getting paid for what you produce.

Do not fall for the classic 18 year old "I bought a course on _____ and I'll just copy what they did to make a lot of money easily" trap. Fools fall for it every single day.

 

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[Stende]

Hi Magnus and welcome to the forum,
already know that it is not the age that counts, you are still very young you have a lot of time in front of you.
Now a piece of advice that will be useful to you is to simply duplicate an existing business model, of course doing differently and bringing something new or more successful.
I'm 25 soon to be 26 and I'm in IT development, and to give you an example, my best-performing application uses a concept that already exists. Only, I reviewed the whole concept from start to finish and brought an app with a beautiful design, a customization package, and all at a more than affordable price. Duplication is a good key, you can also innovate and create something that does not exist, but you will take more risks of course without guaranteed return on investment. It is better to have a small part of a cake, than a part of a cake that does not exist. Next, one last piece of advice for you, read as much as you can, business books in general: marketing, sales, value creation ... and books on the themes of your business too. Reading will keep you in a good summer of spirit. If you have other questions, do not hesitate.
Maxim

Firstly, thank you so much for the advice! I understand that your plan and the things you have done have been working and that’s so inspiring. I am currently taking an IT course in high school, but haven’t really planned on studying it in collage, even though I believe that IT is the future. I will try to read some more books even though I am doubting that it magically will give me an idea, or somewhere to start. That’s kind of the difficult part and a barrier I am not coming past. Trying to find problems I face, or general problems nowadays, but always find myself finding others that have already done something great regarding it. I just find myself hard stuck in this “start” phase. On the other hand, I do understand that I cannot just get an idea or a business easily from my own head nor from someone else. So, I am a little lost.

-Magnus

 

[MaxT]

Firstly, thank you so much for the advice! I understand that your plan and the things you have done have been working and that’s so inspiring. I am currently taking an IT course in high school, but haven’t really planned on studying it in collage, even though I believe that IT is the future. I will try to read some more books even though I am doubting that it magically will give me an idea, or somewhere to start. That’s kind of the difficult part and a barrier I am not coming past. Trying to find problems I face, or general problems nowadays, but always find myself finding others that have already done something great regarding it. I just find myself hard stuck in this “start” phase. On the other hand, I do understand that I cannot just get an idea or a business easily from my own head nor from someone else. So, I am a little lost.

-Magnus

The idea will come with time. Do not hesitate to watch the news related to your theme, it may seem distant but it may be enough to give you an idea. And of course chat with people in the business too.
You also have this site which is not bad: Entrepreneur - Start, run and grow your business.
I'm sure you will come up with this idea, don't despair and it will come. Believe in yourself above all.

 

[Stende]

Hi Magnus, welcome to the forum!

The question that you need to answer is what do people want/need and what can you provide?

Being that you are 18 I will assume that you do not have any specialized skills and/or large sums of capital. So I would recommend for you some freelance work / service based business.

Also ask yourself why do you want the money? Is it to buy some car? Go on some international trips, etc? Since you are so young you should enjoy life as well. Also when reading things here you have to also consider that most of the information is US centric and you may have to account for differences in Norway (namely high taxation).

Here are things you could do to gain experience:
1. Delivering food through bolt / wolt (doordash equivalents in Europe).
2. If you're living in Oslo or other touristy area maybe you could be a guide? Offer experiences through airbnb platform. (take people to scenic places and do photos of them, maybe even use one of those cameras that immediately print the photos? You can look for inspiration on airbnb.
3. Do you drive? Maybe your parents have a larger vehicle, you could offer moving services, etc?
4. Cleaning of apartments / houses.
5. Source product from alibaba and start an ecommerce business?

there are tons of other things you could do it really depends on what are your strengths? Also probably you will need to decide if you want to go university. Most important thing for you at this stage is to gain experience and knowledge, I recommend building a habit of reading, it will serve you well through life.

Good luck, Magnus!

Hey, thank you so much for the tips! I actually have gained a fair bit of capital through working a part-time job. I work at a retail store besides school, and in the summer, I am a soccer referee. I have saved as much as possible and put a fair amount in stocks. Therefor I have a bit of cash to try different things with. After school I am going to serve a year in the military so that will probably be a good break, but I still want to continue to try to create financial freedom after the army. I would say fitness is my strongest point, there for the first thing I thought about when wanting to start a business. But I am still quite lost about where to go from here. I guess it is as difficult for you as me to just give an answer, and I guess that therefore not everyone are millionaires. But I think the biggest barrier in my way will be the start since I am very hard working and determined once I get started.

 

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[Zealander]

Hey, thank you so much for the tips! I actually have gained a fair bit of capital through working a part-time job. I work at a retail store besides school, and in the summer, I am a soccer referee. I have saved as much as possible and put a fair amount in stocks. Therefor I have a bit of cash to try different things with. After school I am going to serve a year in the military so that will probably be a good break, but I still want to continue to try to create financial freedom after the army. I would say fitness is my strongest point, there for the first thing I thought about when wanting to start a business. But I am still quite lost about where to go from here. I guess it is as difficult for you as me to just give an answer, and I guess that therefore not everyone are millionaires. But I think the biggest barrier in my way will be the start since I am very hard working and determined once I get started.

If fitness is the case what I would do is become a fitness instructor. Once you have some experience in that I would start posting videos in social media ( make sure they are high quality and that you know what you are talking about!) this way you will start establishing yourself as an expert in the fitness field. Also make sure your videos are in Norwegian this way you will be targeting a specific niche. Besides being a fitness instructor you could rent a studio for a few hours every week and do some weight lifting, cross fit, shadow boxing or whichever class type is popular, this way you could improve your hourly rate since you would be teaching not one person but a whole class. Tons of ways to make money in the fitness niche!

 

[Stende]

If fitness is the case what I would do is become a fitness instructor. Once you have some experience in that I would start posting videos in social media ( make sure they are high quality and that you know what you are talking about!) this way you will start establishing yourself as an expert in the fitness field. Also make sure your videos are in Norwegian this way you will be targeting a specific niche. Besides being a fitness instructor you could rent a studio for a few hours every week and do some weight lifting, cross fit, shadow boxing or whichever class type is popular, this way you could improve your hourly rate since you would be teaching not one person but a whole class. Tons of ways to make money in the fitness niche!

Totally agree on the things you are saying here! The only worries I have regarding this is the amount of people that are trying/doing the exact same. As I just finished the millionaire Fastlane it sticks to me that I need to stick out from the crowd if I want to become successful. The scaling part is also a little worry since I don’t think it is easy to scale it big time and create fully passive income on it if I don’t become one of the best influencers on the topic. Any thoughts on this? Am I worrying for nothing or do I have some solid points? Thank you so much for the conversation btw and all the help! Really appreciate you taking your time and talking to me!

 

[Stende]

I'm almost half Norwegian. Nearly every Christmas Eve the Norwegian side of the family gets together for some Lutefisk, meatballs and lefsa.

Young guys need to start getting comfortable with larger amounts of money. They have a mental framework that thinks too small and needs to expand.

What I mean is that when I was 18, if you told me "Hey John, how would you like to work for $40 an hour" I would've jumped all over it. Now I would laugh if anyone wanted me to do anything for less than $200 for an hour of my time. I hope that number climbs in a year or two. I avoid things that pay based on time anyways out of principle, always try to divorce time from money, but you get the idea.

Most businesses people start when they are new to entrepreneurship are not businesses at all, they are poverty side gigs. So many guys out there are working way too hard for making like 1-3 grand each month and they think that's normal. Well..it is common, but it's not good!

They start with zero experience, zero money, and they do shit like try drop shipping or blogging or other "hot" crap right now. Like I said, those are poverty side gigs for most of the beginners that try it.

You may not even need to come up with an "idea". Let's just start with having open eyes to the already present opportunities around you. Such as... Does your family have a business already? Do you have a connection or a friend or family member who is very successful, or has access to something like some sort of machinery or tools that others don't have? Do you have a unique situation? Do you have any background in anything or have a hobby or skill you've developed or spent a lot of time on? What are you naturally good at or enjoy doing? All of these things will give you an invaluable head start. You need as many things on your side in the beginning because you don't have cash or experience to smooth things over.

If you have nothing except hustle and time, then I suggest going the route of either starting a service business of some sort so you can immediately start stacking real cash and being independent or getting a sales job with commission to learn to take rejection and get used to the idea of only getting paid for what you produce.

Do not fall for the classic 18 year old "I bought a course on _____ and I'll just copy what they did to make a lot of money easily" trap. Fools fall for it every single day.

Yeah, this it exactly why I was thinking something about fitness in the first place. It is like the only thing I feel I master and one of few things I do on my spare time except trying to learn all of this. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t have a business, and no one in my family are really into this way of thinking about life. The same applies to friends and people in my school. Everyone I have contact with follow this 9 to 5 job style education system. Going to collage etc… One of the reasons I joined this forum, to challenge my thoughts and talk to likewise people. I don’t really have any tools or machinery neither, nor would I say that I am in a unique situation. For the next question fitness is probably the thing I have put most time in. I used to game a lot before, and I play chess sometimes, but nothing I am exceptional at. I know I want to build something great, and not fall in the traps most people fall in. I appreciate your time and help! Don’t know if this got you a better view of me and my situation, but maybe?

 

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[Zealander]

Totally agree on the things you are saying here! The only worries I have regarding this is the amount of people that are trying/doing the exact same. As I just finished the millionaire Fastlane it sticks to me that I need to stick out from the crowd if I want to become successful. The scaling part is also a little worry since I don’t think it is easy to scale it big time and create fully passive income on it if I don’t become one of the best influencers on the topic. Any thoughts on this? Am I worrying for nothing or do I have some solid points? Thank you so much for the conversation btw and all the help! Really appreciate you taking your time and talking to me!

I can't say for sure about the competition in Norway, you will have to do your due dilligence there. There are pros and cons to any business. I would not worry too much and just start. Try to do a good job and in terms of scalability, you can always open your own gym chain, record online workouts, do meal/ training plans for people. Also, if a lot of people are doing it that means that there is a market there. I would be more worried if nobody was doing what you are thinking to do.

 

[Jobless]

Nice intro.

I don't think you need a good idea. You need an endevour of some kind, some market or avenue where you can reach customers' feedback and money. When you have this, you need to come up not with one good idea, but a thousand implementable ideas. Small daily improvements to a product or service delivery system, creating value skew over time. Like, how can you automate the invoicing? Improve packaging? Outsource customer service? Create a referral program? etc. It takes years of determination and this process can continue forever because no business is perfect.

 

[Andy Black]

Get a skill people will pay you for, ideally by helping people who’ll pay you.

Then figure out how to sell that skill, consistently and profitably.

Then figure out how to scale.

Oh, and start by finding someone you can help, this week. I suggest looking within your current network (family, friends, etc).

GOLD! - HOT! - From Flat-Broke to Financial Freedom: How to Get Started When You Have No Money

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions. How do I get started when I have no money and no skills? I made a video to answer... Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid! Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

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[DeletedUser84644]

Hey everyone on the forum and @MJ DeMarco

My name is Magnus, and I am 18 years old from Norway. Currently in my last year of high school. For a long time, I have been motivated and had a thought regarding financial freedom and a business. I have always wanted something more than my parents and friends for example. The time before my 18th birthday was lazy since I thought I couldn’t get started with anything anyways because I needed to be 18 to start investing for example. I have now read the Millionaire Fastlane and watched a lot of videos regarding finance, small businesses etc… I believe I will be really motivated and good at what I do once I get started and gets the hang of things, the only struggle is getting started. I feel lost and understands the principles behind a business and all the fundaments, but I just can’t get a good idea. I’ve investigated drop shipping for example but think this is a horrible way to go. On the other hand, I have started to post a bit on social media to try to get some audience. I am really into fitness and bodybuilding which is my passion. I don’t necessarily need this to be involved into a potential business but thought it would be enjoyable. So, my question is regarding how to get started with ideas or preparation for a business? I have only really gotten one “good” idea which is a already existing product remastered at the gym, but think I need some more “good” ideas and the creativity to flow. What to you guys do?

I've made a thread addressing a lot of the most common mental road blocks that people in your situation are going through that I myself have used to be in, for a painful year and a half of my life. Luckily I was persistent enough to have figured out the answers to all of those questions (Almost entirely on my own with a lot of luck). See if it helps: MINDSET - Are you dying in misery on how to figure out how to get started? Then please! Do save yourself from that soul crushing agony with this thread!

 

[nickalden]

You may not even need to come up with an "idea". Let's just start with having open eyes to the already present opportunities around you. Such as... Does your family have a business already? Do you have a connection or a friend or family member who is very successful, or has access to something like some sort of machinery or tools that others don't have? Do you have a unique situation? Do you have any background in anything or have a hobby or skill you've developed or spent a lot of time on? What are you naturally good at or enjoy doing? All of these things will give you an invaluable head start. You need as many things on your side in the beginning because you don't have cash or experience to smooth things over.

this is the best advice I’d give to anyone starting out.

your parents run a business? grow it (learn FB ads/ Google Ads)

your friends? your neighborhood? get to know people around you and see what problems they have. Most likely, business owners struggle with growing their biz, especially older biz owners.

they need the internet to grow, yet they have no clue on how to use it. here’s where we come in

younger people like us have the advantage of lots free time + being well versed with the internet. You can literally learn a skill (web design/ digital marketing / copywriting) in a matter of months and 10x your family’s biz.

at least thats what I did, im 17. you can do it too

 

[Stende]

I can't say for sure about the competition in Norway, you will have to do your due dilligence there. There are pros and cons to any business. I would not worry too much and just start. Try to do a good job and in terms of scalability, you can always open your own gym chain, record online workouts, do meal/ training plans for people. Also, if a lot of people are doing it that means that there is a market there. I would be more worried if nobody was doing what you are thinking to do.

I understand your points here! Just wanted to be carful and do good research before diving into anything. But I will try to do my best, and fine good solutions to this! Thank you so much for the help!

 

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[Stende]

Nice intro.

I don't think you need a good idea. You need an endevour of some kind, some market or avenue where you can reach customers' feedback and money. When you have this, you need to come up not with one good idea, but a thousand implementable ideas. Small daily improvements to a product or service delivery system, creating value skew over time. Like, how can you automate the invoicing? Improve packaging? Outsource customer service? Create a referral program? etc. It takes years of determination and this process can continue forever because no business is perfect.

You got some nice points here! I will try my best to implement the advice and work from here! Thank you so much for the tips!

 

[Stende]

Get a skill people will pay you for, ideally by helping people who’ll pay you.

Then figure out how to sell that skill, consistently and profitably.

Then figure out how to scale.

Oh, and start by finding someone you can help, this week. I suggest looking within your current network (family, friends, etc).

GOLD! - HOT! - From Flat-Broke to Financial Freedom: How to Get Started When You Have No Money

I see this question a lot here, and posted in a lot of introductions. How do I get started when I have no money and no skills? I made a video to answer... Also there's an update on my next book near the end of the vid! Enjoy, and if you're broke with no skills, I hope it helps you!

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Nice and simple way of thinking of it! I will try to not overcomplicate it and implement this! Thank you for the advice!

 

[Andy Black]

Nice and simple way of thinking of it! I will try to not overcomplicate it and implement this! Thank you for the advice!

You’re welcome.

Maybe have a look at the first couple of rows of links in my signature.

Don’t turn into a consumer though… focus on helping someone - this week.

 

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[Stende]

You’re welcome.

Maybe have a look at the first couple of rows of links in my signature.

Don’t turn into a consumer though… focus on helping someone - this week.

Don’t really have any family members nor friends who need fitness advise, so I was thinking about TikTok as an easy way to get to people and help. Do you think this is a good idea?

 

[mr4ffe]

Don’t really have any family members nor friends who need fitness advise, so I was thinking about TikTok as an easy way to get to people and help. Do you think this is a good idea?

I would try to spot things your competition is lacking in. Maybe they make lots of TikToks explaining exercises, but few regarding nutrition? I know the Swedish company Tyngre publishes lots of podcasts featuring dietitians, IFBB pros, and strongmen, but is there anything similar in Norway? That could be another option. Another idea is to make a MacroFactor alternative for the European market (as it currently mainly seems to feature North American foods). Lastly, look into how Examine analyzes nutrition/supplement research! Honestly, you could probably start a newsletter via Substack that summarizes new health research each week and gain a sizable share of subscribers fairly quick.
Lycka till!

 

[Andy Black]

Don’t really have any family members nor friends who need fitness advise, so I was thinking about TikTok as an easy way to get to people and help. Do you think this is a good idea?

I don’t know much about TikTok, but do hear it’s great for reach at the moment. A benefit of TikTok is your friends and family are unlikely to find you on it so you can focus on who you’re trying to serve.

 

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