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Guest1413tpa

Guest
Hi all,

I have been debating posting this thread for a few days, but here it goes.

I've been an Ideapreneur/Wantpreneur for a while. I'm 27 and have worked in the Salesforce ecosystem for about 5 years on and off (More about that here). After spending time at Non-Profits & PE owned companies running a single Salesforce organization, I took a leap into Consultancy late last year.

Throughout my time in the ecosystem, I've encountered this massive problem: Users are not trained in the basics of the product and how to use it effectively. Yes, many Salesforce orgs are highly customized, but many users still lack basic training of how the product works. Typically this falls on the administration team, which is swamped with other tasks that take a higher priority.

Some large companies have dedicated training staff and programs, but on the SME/Non-profit side, there is a lack of resources (both humans and money) to train individuals. Adding further complication to this, these smaller companies have often have no administrators, leading to untrained power users stepping in and acting as pseudo-admins.

Salesforce admin trainings are prolerfic across the ecosystem (especially the model in my eyes, FocusOnForce), including Salesforce's own program, Trailhead.

User trainings are a bit more sparse, especially on Salesforce's platform. Or, they have the following issues:
  1. Too Long (Who wants to sit in a boring 3+ hour training?)
  2. Boring (Who wants to sit through a PowerPoint Training?)
  3. Too Brief (Trailhead).
  4. Doesn't teach users how to be efficient (all of them in a way).
  5. Outdated (Trainings in Classic for a system that may be on the newest plaform, Lightning)
Entry into this market is harder, because alot of people in the Salesforce ecosystem struggle to break it down in the right way/create a general training that is fun and engaging. Another issue is the fact that many organizations are customized, which provides an avenue for further growth (by customizing programs for organizations). In my experience the majority of the actions users, power users and pseudo-admins take in Salesforce are the same, so this course should be well executed to focus on these points.

Other than the fact that I am making trainings for someone's elses software (a risk I am willing to take given the growth, size and stability of Salesforce and the ecosystem), I plan to have full control over the product, distribution and marketing.

I'm looking at a self-hosted course for both regular users, power users and pseudo-admins (the three areas not well served by existing programs right now), especially in the SME and Non-profit sectors. The courses will contain a mix of multi-media and hands-on training. It has a lot of potential to scale, because once you make the courses, its minimal updates each release, and it also keeps my time to a minimum after my initial investment :cool:

I've named his TameTheForce right now (bought a domain to put a landing page up to test interest), I'm working on getting a prototype/feedback from a variety of potential and current customers and seeing if there really is potential.

I'm interested in seeing where this goes, as many people over the years have asked me for training or loved it. So, in the end, even if it doesn't go somewhere, I'll learn something and maybe provide value for some people :smile2:
 
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Val Okafor

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Do it! Just know that it is a good job application, if you do a good job, someone in Salesforce will notice you and hire you to join their training team. That is a good best-case scenario.

The reality is that third parties can't create better training than the platform owner. By the time you finish creating a module, they will release an update that changes the screen and workflow rendering your training obsolete

Good luck though and proceed at once if you believe you have the unfair advantage of having first-hand knowledge of the pain points of current trainings.
 

Mutant

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Considering you "hit a wall of depression" in your last post it sounds like you're managing to stay very positive here. Good! No more job burn out. Fastlane focus only. It's show time!
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
8/20/2020 Update:

I just moved into a lovely farmhouse that is a much better environment for recording. I'm taking the rest of August to get setup, deal with some personal issues that have stacked up, and work on thinking and planning the courses (again).

I'm working on re-scoping the courses, the direction with some of them has changed a bit, but they still fall into the following categories:
  • Users
  • Pseudo-admins
  • Admin/Salesforce Professional Soft Skills Training

I feel like a jerk for taking a few weeks to breathe, as it may be perceived as being lazy, but mentally I need it to get my head straight. Hopefully that is ok. I have been burned out for over a year.

I'll be launching this product in tandem with my little PE firm I am building, Trash Panda Capital, as the first product in the portfolio (speaking of that, wonder if I should create a new thread for that project, as its now the main one...)
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
Alright, time to address the elephant in the room. Now that I have time to write a novel... Brace yourselves, its a long one.

I recently changed the name change of this thread to Trash Panda Capital.

Why? Well, I am going headfirst into PE.

First, a bit of a backstory:

I’ve been on the company side of M&A in the past, from another company acquiring a consultancy I worked at, to a port-co owned by a large PE firm in Austin, and another owned by a smaller one in Chicago.

So after working for companies owned by PE firms in the past, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.

I can go on a whole rant about why I have a bad taste, but I’ll save that for another post.

I’ve sat with this bad taste until I encountered someone that built a PE firm through micro acquisitions, to the point where they are able to raise funds/get loans to buy larger businesses. This is the first fast lane model that made sense to me in a while, as I am more of an operations guy that loves to help streamline/grow things over starting them from scratch (even though I do both).

So I took an existing biz I had, changed the name, and right now I am working on a logo and website in preparation for more of an official launch.

And thus, Trash Panda Capital was born.

The focus of Trash Panda Capital is simple:

Buying & investing in boring businesses & projects others don’t want, that have a high potential for being fully or mostly Automated (especially through AI and other means).

I’m starting with small projects, primarially digital ones. My long term (5 year) goal is to get into $1-10million dollar businesses, especially what I call the “boomer businesses” -> businesses being sold by people that are retiring. I love businesses with large operational problems over sales and marketing issues.

That‘s what inspired the name, as Raccoons (Trash Panda’s) usually pick trash, sit in the dark, and make everything as easy as possible.

Now, an update about where I am right now.

In-case you are reading this and missed previous posts -> I got fired from my Salesforce Consultant position, in an extremely cowardly way by the founder. I ended up getting a small Golden Parachute out of it, but that’s about it. I took a gamble taking the role as a 1099 worker, and got let go right before a transition to W-2 (this company was not really operating in the scope of the law with employment), so unemployment is not an option, which is ok. Honestly, I am relieved to be out of there, it was a stressful time with some questionable characters.

That leaves me relying on myself to survive and make a living. Scary as heck, but now the cards are falling into place. I am not tied to someone else’s company, I have mental and physically stability, and the means to support myself during this time, and potentially replace some failing computer equipment (yay!)

I have about a year to make this work, based on the amount of runway I saved up over the past two years, and excluding the money I have set aside for acquisitions.

My initial goal is to get $1k MRR across multiple products/revenue streams. This will cover my personal monthly expenses , allowing me make myself cash flow positive, instead of burning $800-900 a month from savings.

So now, here are the following products I have under Trash Panda Capital right now. Future updates will also be broken down by each product, with a brief summary of the main company also:

  • Roviki Solutions - Salesforce & Revenue Operations consulting. This was the previous legal name of the company, and I have one customer at $175 a month or so that has been paying for a while (And will be staying). I’m aiming to use this as a funnel for other freelancing/contracting roles that may pop up. To be honest, this “product” is not a priority, I am burnt out from consulting in general, and the market has been flooded with cheap labor due to the downturn. On top of that, I have put a hard stop on applying to full time roles, as I don’t want to go through that cycle of sucking up to someone again. I still keep an eye out for things, but this is more of a “if something pops up” kind of product.
  • TameTheForce - The product that kicked this thread off. Bascially specific Salesforce/ Revenue Operations training in a bite sized set of courses. Right now, I am focusing on condensing the material down, and recording/editing to launch in two week sprints via Skillshare/my own site. This is my #1 product right now.

There are two other products/revenue streams that I am exploring right now:
  • Waterproof/compartmentalizations Marijuana storage container - My girlfriend’s idea. With this one, its basically testing the market via pre-orders, we already have found a supplier, but want to gauge interest before ordering. Trying to avoid drop shipping as much as I can. She has no time to pursue this due to her budding real estate career, so I am willing to give it a shot and see where it goes.
  • Marketing Support for my Father In Law’s business - Basically, this is getting revenue sharing from sales. Something worth trying as all that needs to be done is to scrape a database, create an email, send it, and measure the results. <2 hrs worth of work.
  • AI Tool for my PE deal flow -> In the idea stages right now.

On top of all of these streams, I’ve also been looking to acquire a internet based product/biz. Right now, its been falling apart during Due Dilligence as I have uncovered some major red flags, but I am confident that an honest person‘s product will appear.

Now, the best for last.

About a week ago, I reached out to a connection about if he had knowledge about PE.

Well, it seems I hit the jackpot. He has sold startups to PE firms in the past, and has been extremely involved in VC.

We have known each other for a bit, we are both a bit squirrely and very similar, and we have hit it off.

So now, we are looking at opening a VC fund and then expanding into a larger PE fund In the future. He is also based out of NYC and has a wide range of contacts.

We are working through some of the legality behind this (as I am not accredited, but he is), and it looks like a recent SEC rule change would make it easier to make it work. Staying on the right side of the law is always a priority in my eyes.

This is most likely going to be something outside of my own business, but since it’s still related, I’ll include updates on it.

Phew. What a novel!

Tl;dr -> I’ve decide to open a PE firm called Trash Panda Capital, to hold my own projects, and also acquire some more. Also working with a partner on a separate finance related project.
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
October 9th to October 22nd.

Yeah, I forgot to write a post last week. My bad.

This week's word(s) are Confidence & Fear. You can read more about that here.

I've spent the past two weeks in interviews and preparing proposals for potential full time and contractor positions. I gotta use my Slowlane skills to get some money in the mean time. What a time suck the proposal was, I had to do a full Salesforce and process audit to calm their nerves and show that I was serious. I hate doing work for free, unless it to help sell myself. I hope to never do this again.

On top of that, I have been working hard to master the intricacies of the FAA sUAS Certification and Regulations in order to pass my Part 107 exam later this month. This is a good primer for getting trained to fly Gliders, Ultralights, Weight Shift aircraft and eventually to get my Sport Pilot Certification. It's also a good thing to have when I hopefully acquire a drone related company in the future (see below).

Trash Panda Capital
I'm been struggling, or rather procrasting on due diligence for a Aviation website I REALLY want, that I can afford a downpayment on, and is highly profitable. It really needs some Marketing and streamlining to double sales if not more.

I finally was able to force myself to do this, and it took a matter of hours to figure out this is a good deal. Now all that remains is to question the seller on price. I found it listed somewhere else for €20k ($23k USD) vs the $45k its listed at right now. Will use this as leverage. If I acquire this website (or rather when at this point), I am shifting my niche into the following areas:
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Infrastructure
These niches are areas that I know very well and have a large passion for. So, I feel like its a natural fit, and it helps me buy things that are more manageable.

Scouting, Oh Scouting. I sent over a filled out Scouting Test to a larger Private Equity firm, and blew them away. They literally had nothing to critique me on, and wondered if the business was actually for sale! Sadly it isn't right now, but its a huge confidence booster, as again, I was fearful of sending that over and procrastinated. Now to build the network of Sellers (or sources of them) and buyers.

This is going to sound a bit crazy, but I've been taking a look at Corporate Chapter 7/11 notices and obituaries. Not trying to be morbid, but with the Great Wealth Transfer that is coming, there is a massive opportunity to grow my own firm and the scouting business by helping those who are inheriting businesses (but don't want them) to exit easily. On the flip side, distressed assets are always appealing for business growth (I'm not in the market to do turn around right now). I'm full of devious ideas, like a Trash Panda (raccoon). I love it.

I've also been thinking about branching into business management, but right now that is just an idea. I need to remain focused.

Other Products
Not much progress here. These are so low in the totem pole its not even funny.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
December 3rd to December 18th.

I know I am late with this one. Sorry :) Its been busy between work and

I wrote a long newsletter post about what has been happening with my first acquisition, Aerodrawings. Check it out here.

Trash Panda Capital
AeroDrawings has been taking up most of my time. I finished a large scale redesign of the website, products, and some of the social media pages, and ramped up marketing with extremely positive results. Nearly doubled last year's numbers for this time, and organic traffic driven orders keep piling in. My focus now is to dial up social media, email and forum engagement, along with regular promotions and adding more product. I've been cutting expenses also, like paid advertising, as that is ironically not doing anything for me. What a shock. Its good to know as this reduces my burn rate dramatically.

I need to get scouting going. I know there is a MASSIVE evergreen opportunity scouting not only for buy-side players (PE firms), but also scouting for brokers, as I talked with one recently that offered 10-20% of his 6-10% cut on a deal if I source it. Not chump change by any means. And its easy once I build the network. No more excuses.

Project RE
I've made this officially a part of Trash Panda Capital, focused on real estate development and investment. Felt natural to just add it to what I was doing, as real estate has been a LONG (10+ year) passion of mine. Mainly working on research into investors/fund strategies, trends in a certain area in Western Michigan, and also playing around with some container home designs I have had in my brain for years (a little bit of my secret sauce I am cooking up). I'm actively working my GF to build up hers (our) portfolio as we investigate multi-family properties around here. Perks of dating a realtor. Future updates will be in the Trash Panda Capital category.

Project X
My partner and I are actively working on this one, just struggling with a name. Looks like it will be VC focused.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
6/27 to 6/28/2020.

Well, I tried to record this weekend, but ended up bagging it.

I ultimately decided to pause recording until August 15th atleast.

The reason why? I'm moving to a house in the country that will reduce the amount of background noise and is better lit. I currently live in a apartment complex, and have some rude and loud neighbors that are banging around all day. Outside of my control, the complex doesn't care, and they don't either.

I've also hit a wall of depression and some other personal issues that I need to work through in the next few months.

But not all is lost. I'm going to use the time I dedicate on the weekends to work on laying out the next courses I have planned, so I can record them once I get through this one. Slowing down on the momentum, not giving up.

I'm also working on re-organizing my existing business and pursuing some acquisitions that fell into my lap recently (not opening a thread on this... yet).
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
Ok. Time to provide and update on this.

I got fired from my Salesforce consultant position today.

Good. Now I have time and freedom. Finally. I can finally do what I want and feel happy.

I’ll be restarting this project as soon as I get settled in at my new house. It will be one of the many assets I hope to own under my PE firm.

Sometimes, the world kicks you in the a$$ to get towards the Fastlane.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
I'm subbed for the show & moral support.
You can do it.
Right now, I feel like shit because of what happened, but I know I can do it. I just need to take a few days to collect myself, move and also game plan. My head is not in the right place to take concrete action right now.

My GF has actually beenon my butt about this idea also, saying its one of the best ones I have had.

I worked for one of the fortune 500 companies, which used Salesforce classic. After a few months of getting used to it , I saw a similar challenge that you've addressed. Our so-called pseudo -administrator at the time was assigned to conduct training and guess what, the training was for a day and then you were left on your own.

When we made the switch to lightning, everyone in the team was reluctant to adjust to the new update. So I did end up training my entire team and suggested feedback for improvements. Quite oddly, some of the team members did find it difficult to pick up the new system.

In short, to address your point there is a gap but I'm not sure if companies would hire a third person for the same. But if you can convince and provide value , this could be something .

All the best

These are the type of feedback/stories I like to hear. It validates that the need is there, and that current offerings do not satisfy the market. I'm also passionate about using Salesforce effectively and training, that these stories re-stoke the fire in me. Sorry you went through that experience, in this industry its rare to train people properly. Especially with a Classic to Lightning shift.

I'm looking at this from the lense of a service/product rather than a third party doing in-person or virtual training. Hopefully that would bridge the gap to get companies to buy, or individuals to buy via professional development funds.

Trying to avoid selling my time, but may do some high value trainings in the future.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
September 21st to October 1st, 2020.

Note: I'm moving to Thursday updates, as that allows me to share my newsletter here also.


Me
Word of the week? Pivot.

I'm up int he beautiful UP of Michigan, relaxing and on vacation. I was going to do some interviews for full time and contract roles, but I have been canceling them one by one.

Why? I decided to go head first into Trash Panda Capital.


Trash Panda Capital
Branding came back. I need to make a few edits, but here is a preview:
35115

Echoing last week -Still looking for my first acquisition. Its been a doozy. Most deals fail Due Diligence. I am also stuck at a certain price range that is extremely restrictive.

As mentioned in the newsletter for this week, I'm diving head first into this project. Mainly focusing on these areas:
  • Acquisitions and building our portfolio. Admittedly, this is a longer term goal that will come to fruition once larger amounts of capital come in the door.
  • Starting and growing a scouting program, with the aim of connecting all sorts of buyers and sellers, and collecting a fee for our efforts. I expect this to be up and running this month, and our primary focus going forward. The aim is to not be a brokerage though, but rather a finder.
  • Offering business management services for Millenials and Gen X/Z , who are poised to inherit businesses through The Great Wealth Transfer. This is a longer term goal that may or may not happen, depending on how the market reacts.
  • Investing my time in learning Machine Learning and AI, with the focus of automating as much of the scouting, acquisition and management practices as I can. This is an extremely long term undertaking, but something I am extremely excited about. AI and ML is the future, but it is rarely used in the PE sector.

TameTheForce (Salesforce Training Product)
Product is being closed and removed, for now. No more updates going further, unless I decide to revisit it.

Roviki Solutions (Salesforce Consulting)
Product is being closed and removed. I'll continue working for my current clients, but No more updates going further.

Other Products
Waiting for my father-in-law to get me information so we can kickstart his marketing campaigns.
 
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Guest1413tpa

Guest
Ooooo, a Friday Episode! Sweet update.

Stop procrastinating. Bizydad needs to live vicariously! . You're doing many things that I've thought to but for numerous reasons likely won't.

Except flying. I never dreamed that I'd dream to fly. But first @Kak put the thought in my head, now you guys are talking, I've got another buddy chirping in my ear about it... I want to fly. I want to soar above everything.

But not in a glider. That's just crazy talk.
Ugh I am such a procrastinator sometimes! Its a hard habit to break. Its why I try to automate and make things as simple as possible because I am a smart lazy person. LOL.

Why not gliders??? They do have self launching ones ;)
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
October 23rd to October 30th, 2020.

Word of the week is kindness. More about that here.

Trash Panda Capital
I closed a three month (for now) business management deal under Trash Panda Capital, to provide revenue operations & Salesforce services to a client.

While this is a Slowlane thing, it helps cover my personal expenses and provide a good amount of capital to fund the business. I've been thinking about turning it into a productized service also and eventually getting out of the day to day with it, as that could be a major revenue generator. Another idea is to offer it as a free resource on the website, or one I can sell. Right now, its the small part of the Slowlane I am willing to accept to keep my head above water and fund other parts of the company.

I've signed a few more agreements with some more Private Equity firms to be a scout for them. Now I need to build up the network more and begin to connect buyers and sellers.

I'm a bit disappointed that I have not spent too much time in this area so far, as the scout rates are quite lucrative. Some of these private equity firms will pay out anywhere from $25k to $500k, which makes it a no brainer to get this up and going. The problem right now is that everything else in the business is taking time away from this, and it's a very long term game due to the nature of acquisitions. It will grow with time :)

Ok, and now the thing that has been sucking up most of my time, closing the deal on the on the aviation drawings website.

After finishing due diligence, I shot an offer over to the buyer, with a proposed downpayment in Escrow, price, and then the monthly payments. I got quite a response that I did not expect, that the seller refused to go into Escrow!

Why do you ask? Well, long story short, the Seller got scammed by someone via Escrow (seller sold services, delivered them, got paid via Escrow, buyer filed a dispute after money was released, seller is now fighting Escrow to prove he provided services), and wrote all the services off. Similar to what some shitty people do with PayPal. I got him to agree on using the service, but now I have to use a different service all together due to their stupid requirements! SIGH.

Thankfully the seller has been awesome and patient as I have asked questions, done my homework, and we have negotiated and are working towards a deal. The best part was when he dropped the price by $25k due to the sellers wife ;)
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
October 31st to November 5th.

Word of the week is Break Time. More about that here.

Its been quite exhausting getting back to a Slowlane job, but I am working through it. That and the election have put a ton of stress on myself. Biggest problem has been a lack of sleep and adjusting to a set schedule working for other people again. I hate it as I have had a taste of the Fastlane for the past 2.5 months, but I have accepted the fact that I need to get some income to work towards a permanent Fastlane life.

Trash Panda Capital

Officially closed on the Aviation Drawings website on October 31st. I’ll share it next week as I am still working on the asset transfer. Crazy that this deal went through, and at a lower purchase price than what I expected! Now that I have this first acquisition under my belt, I’m pausing on further ones unless something comes up that I need to have. I need to focus on growing this port-co, consulting and finally building up the scouting business.

As mentioned above, I started with my first large scale consulting client this week, and its been a ride dusting off brain cells and doing prep work for action next week. That and the fact that their previous Salesforce admin did stupid things in their system.

Good news on top of that, I signed a second consulting client (third really, as I had one before these two, but it is tiny. ) This one is 5-15 hours a week for three months. Its good to have this money coming in, but I want to replace it with port-co and scouting income. With time...

Speaking of scouting, no updates on that front, but I am beginning to take a step back and plan next steps. I really want to automate the outreach as much as possible, to save time that can be used to build up relationships with sellers and buyers. Thats going to involve me learning how to actually code most likely, which is scary.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
November 6th to November 12th

I finally unveiled the first acquisition this week, more about that here.

Trash Panda Capital

Finally closed out the acquisition and I am beginning to unpack everything. It needs a bit more work than I thought, which stinks, but it is still a good deal. It did put me in a bad mood for the first part of the week, but I am over it now.

Other than that, not much else is going on. I've been working 26 hours a week for a consulting client, with another one starting next week, and I have done some other brainstorming here and there for scouting, but to be quite honest, I've sat in a depressive state. I'll get through it though. Hopefully.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
Ello.

An update. A big one.

  • DFaaS (Deal Flow as a Service): I've signed papers with a business partner to get this off the ground and make it a true entity. I'll have more about this when I re-launch, but I'm extremely excited about this. My hope is that this is my exit plan out of Consulting full time. Name is Acquisition Curators.
  • Trash Panda Adventure Club: Our focus is now into campgrounds & other vacation rentals. This is our love, and nobody is doing any investment on a massive scale in these markets. Still far out from getting large loans but we are working on it.
  • Nameless Salesforce Project: Paused as partner is in a legal fight with my former (their current) employer.
  • VC Project w/ Best Friend: Paused as life has gotten the best of us.
  • Consulting: Very busy time, but my company loves me. Its also morphing into a large idea (see below). Hoping to exit this as my full time gig by 2023.
  • AeroDrawings: Sales still suck, but I found a REALLY good supplier of drawings that are low cost and high quality. This combined with outsourcing marketing should help bring sales back up. I had to re-enable our public discount code to grease the wheels too. Still focusing on looking at other places to market and get traffic.
  • Future Port-Cos: Still paused. haven't found anything I like.
 

BizyDad

Keep going. Keep growing.
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I love this thread. Keep going you Furry Denizen Of Waste Receptacles. I'm cheering you on.
 

Antifragile

Progress not perfection
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@BizyDad I won’t read that far back because the name sucks ;)

Just kidding.

Fair enough. I did ask first… based on the answer I didn‘t see the value of the name. You are the marketing expert @BizyDad - if I missed something, kindly educate me.
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
6/9 to 6/11/2020

I’ll try to keep these simple. But the past three days have been extremely productivr after my day job for once. This is the key to success, the time I have that is free.

Key items
  1. Surveys continued to roll in, helping provide valuable insight into additional course needs in specialized administrative and management areas.
  2. Ordered some equipment on Amazon to help with lighting and background -two key areas where my video quality stinks.
  3. Laid out 10 courses. Yes, 10. Across a variety of highly specialized subjects in user,admin and management subjects .
  4. Research across the forum , internet into platforms, best practices, etc
  5. And the best for last: Testing my formatting, speaking, training skills and tactics on my target market via work. Not teaching the same subjects I will be teaching but great to keep me motivated.
For next week, the following will happen:
  1. First courses will have a formal writeup/guide. May even start making quizzes, assignments, etc.
  2. Video recording will have to wait until I get my equipment on Tuesday.
  3. Research into video, recording practices.
Overall. This is the most progress I have made on something in the shortest amount of time. Must be the ADHD in me :)
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
Considering you "hit a wall of depression" in your last post it sounds like you're managing to stay very positive here. Good! No more job burn out. Fastlane focus only. It's show time!

Yes! Thats the hope. I am sure it will be rocky at times but I haven’t been happy in this role for months. So trading my health for stability is never good.
 

Theunscripted

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Chandigarh
Hi all,

I have been debating posting this thread for a few days, but here it goes.

I've been an Ideapreneur/Wantpreneur for a while. I'm 27 and have worked in the Salesforce ecosystem for about 5 years on and off (More about that here). After spending time at Non-Profits & PE owned companies running a single Salesforce organization, I took a leap into Consultancy late last year.

Throughout my time in the ecosystem, I've encountered this massive problem: Users are not trained in the basics of the product and how to use it effectively. Yes, many Salesforce orgs are highly customized, but many users still lack basic training of how the product works. Typically this falls on the administration team, which is swamped with other tasks that take a higher priority.

Some large companies have dedicated training staff and programs, but on the SME/Non-profit side, there is a lack of resources (both humans and money) to train individuals. Adding further complication to this, these smaller companies have often have no administrators, leading to untrained power users stepping in and acting as pseudo-admins.

Salesforce admin trainings are prolerfic across the ecosystem (especially the model in my eyes, FocusOnForce), including Salesforce's own program, Trailhead.

User trainings are a bit more sparse, especially on Salesforce's platform. Or, they have the following issues:
  1. Too Long (Who wants to sit in a boring 3+ hour training?)
  2. Boring (Who wants to sit through a PowerPoint Training?)
  3. Too Brief (Trailhead).
  4. Doesn't teach users how to be efficient (all of them in a way).
  5. Outdated (Trainings in Classic for a system that may be on the newest plaform, Lightning)
Entry into this market is harder, because alot of people in the Salesforce ecosystem struggle to break it down in the right way/create a general training that is fun and engaging. Another issue is the fact that many organizations are customized, which provides an avenue for further growth (by customizing programs for organizations). In my experience the majority of the actions users, power users and pseudo-admins take in Salesforce are the same, so this course should be well executed to focus on these points.

Other than the fact that I am making trainings for someone's elses software (a risk I am willing to take given the growth, size and stability of Salesforce and the ecosystem), I plan to have full control over the product, distribution and marketing.

I'm looking at a self-hosted course for both regular users, power users and pseudo-admins (the three areas not well served by existing programs right now), especially in the SME and Non-profit sectors. The courses will contain a mix of multi-media and hands-on training. It has a lot of potential to scale, because once you make the courses, its minimal updates each release, and it also keeps my time to a minimum after my initial investment :cool:

I've named his TameTheForce right now (bought a domain to put a landing page up to test interest), I'm working on getting a prototype/feedback from a variety of potential and current customers and seeing if there really is potential.

I'm interested in seeing where this goes, as many people over the years have asked me for training or loved it. So, in the end, even if it doesn't go somewhere, I'll learn something and maybe provide value for some people :smile2:
I worked for one of the fortune 500 companies, which used Salesforce classic. After a few months of getting used to it , I saw a similar challenge that you've addressed. Our so-called pseudo -administrator at the time was assigned to conduct training and guess what, the training was for a day and then you were left on your own.

When we made the switch to lightning, everyone in the team was reluctant to adjust to the new update. So I did end up training my entire team and suggested feedback for improvements. Quite oddly, some of the team members did find it difficult to pick up the new system.

In short, to address your point there is a gap but I'm not sure if companies would hire a third person for the same. But if you can convince and provide value , this could be something .

All the best
 
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G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
8/30/2020 to 9/5/2020 update.

Figured I would post weekly updates. It helps me to recap what has happened over the week, and I like keeping a diary.

Me
Spent most of the week in a pissed off and depressed state. Got through it finally over the Labor Day weekend, and I have put some processes in place to help avoid/deal with depression.

Trash Panda Capital
Majority of my time has been spent with administrative work, to keep myself as organized as possible. I hate doing this work as I feel like its slow and boring, but it will set me up for success. Waiting on my designer to send branding back so I can do a more formal launch of the website and brand. Spent some time pursuing deals that have lead to dead ends due to reflags in the due diligence stages.

TameTheForce (Salesforce Training Product)
Spent the week laying out the user & pseudo admin courses, starting with the course project first, then putting details in. Tabling admin courses for now. Had to order equipment also, so launch date will be pushed to the end of the month.

Roviki Solutions (Consulting)
Most of the week was spent applying to freelancing posts/contract roles. Finally heard back from a prospect, scheduled a meeting for next week.

Other Products
Nothing to report.

Potential Fund Partner
This is still in progress, but on the back burner. Potential partner and I have not had contact since last week. Since there isn't anything in writing/set in stone, I'm just letting it sit for now.

For the next week (9/6 to 9/12):
  • Me -> Avoid the burn out, take care of my health, and be as productive as possible.
  • Trash Panda Capital -> Finish up work on internal processes/software optimization, begin to ramp up scouting and deal sourcing operations. Speaking with a potential lead on Thursday. Fingers crossed branding comes to me this week.
  • Roviki Solutions -> Speaking with a potential client this week. Responding to freelancing posts daily.
  • TameTheForce -> Aiming to have the full User Reports & Dashboards course laid out and ready for recording the next week. Fingers crossed branding & equipment comes to me this week.
  • Other Projects -> Working with my GF (owner of the projects) to get the ball rolling
  • Potential Fund Partner -> On the back burner. No idea what is going on with the partner, hope he is ok.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
9/6 to 9/13/2020 Update.

Going to keep these as short as possible from now on, so I spend more time executing. I’ll just provide updates from now on, instead of laying out a list of things to do this week, as it usually ends up getting trashed by Tuesday anyway.

Me
The word of the week? Distraction.

One of the hardest parts of getting thrust into the Fastlane from the Slowlane is the realization that you don’t need to fill 8 hours a day with meaningless crap, just to keep your job and make the boss happy.

Now the tables have turned, and I am my own boss. A large amount of control I have frankly never had.

Distraction has been the name of the game, mainly due to a ton of administrative and job/contract search related tasks that have sucked up my time and distracted me from working on the two projects that are the path to the Fastlane.

This, combined with the fact I crave quick dopamine hits via multitasking with Youtube or the TV in the background, or deciding to spend a few hours playing a video game, really made it so my productivity has taken a hit.

Nobody can truly multitask. It’s easier to break things into chunks and take it step by step. I know this isn’t ground breaking knowledge, but for someone that has been spinning their wheels trying to do multiple things at the same time, with many dopamine distractions in each, its a big step to break that finally.

Louis Rossmann (MacBook repairshop owner), has two videos that go into great detail about this, linked below:

Negotiating with yourself to get things done

Motivation to rebuild from rock bottom depression.

Trash Panda Capital
Still waiting on my designer to send branding back, he wants to send it with the TameTheForce branding, so I just need to wait a little longer.

I started work on laying out a Web Scraper to speed up the prospecting for deals, this plays into a larger idea around using AI/Machine Learning to help with deals. First I need to relearn Python and some math before I get that far!

I spoke with a long-term prospect this week, he is extremely interested in selling, I just need to find some capital to bridge the gap between what I have and what he wants.

I also started working on building some connections for the scouting side I am working on, with other PE firms, so I can start sending them potential deals I come across and potentially get a nice kickback If they close them.

TameTheForce (Salesforce Training Product)
Spent the week laying out the user courses in detail. Still working on this, and waiting for my branding. Recording should start this upcoming week now that equipment has arrived.

I’ve been a bit burnt out about this project to be honest, but the past week has really put some wind back in my sails as I take a more positive outlook and have realized how easy it is to get these recorded.

It’s a good source of revenue, the market is there, I’m just over thinking it.

Roviki Solutions (Consulting)
I had a few calls with potential clients, one went terrible (and I’m glad it did, I don’t want to do Salesforce consulting anymore), and other one went great and will most likely morph into a part time (atleast) engagement. Nothing is official until the contact is signed though.

I’ve also had to put my foot down about the amount of time this side of the business takes up, between vetting postings, reaching out, etc.

Its not something I want to make as a priority, because I am still trading my time for money. I’m ok with that to a certain point as I need to pay bills as I get things ramped up, but it can also turn into a full time job search easily, which I am trying to avoid.

Mainly trying to avoid getting sucked into the job search trap as that takes time away from finally launching, marketing and growing TameTheForce, along with TrashPandaCapital. Its time to finally stop getting sucked into the Slowlane and start building up for the fast lane.

Other Products
Nothing to report.

Potential Fund Partner
This is DOA. No idea where he went. Honestly, I am glad it’s quiet as this was a distraction that sucked some time away from me.
 
G

Guest1413tpa

Guest
9/14 to 9/20 Update

Me

Word of the week? Time Management & Distractibility.

It seems that the Slowlane keeps wanting to suck me back into its trap. I spent the week going from phone interview to phone interview. I suck at interviewing so its a mental and emotional drain to move on from these to more productive things.

I've had to really limit myself from going down this rabbit hole.

However, it's lead to me breaking some habits around video games and general distraction. Finally getting to the point where I love my work and get a "high" off it, so I crave more of that productivity. Haven't been this way in five years.

Trash Panda Capital
Branding is coming back on Monday, 9/21. Finally. I can officially launch the website and start getting the word out once that happens.

Still looking for my first acquisition. Its been a doozy. Most deals fail Due Diligence. I am also stuck at a certain price range that is extremely restrictive.

I also stumbled upon this thread last week: Jay Abraham - Try This Incredible Mindset Shift! , and I found a copy of Mediorcity to Millions. I'll be honest, I skimmed the book but got an Aha moment out of it.

I've been kicking around the idea of creating a "scouting" program, basically sending other PE firms potential deals and then taking a cut out of it. Now that I connected the dots together, I'm going to get the ball rolling on this, especially as the "boomer businesses" are going to be sold or transferred to family in the next 3-5 years. Right now, I'm working with one PE firm to become part of their network. Feeling like this is the best path forward for me right now, to get some dollars in the door. Jay's book helped with some mindset around this idea, which was the missing piece.

I also started diving into learning AI/Machine Learning. Its going to be a long process, but I have a massive idea around how to automate a lot of the scouting/due diligence process to free up time and also help with a lot of the analytics.

TameTheForce (Salesforce Training Product)
Branding is coming back to me on Monday. Major roadblock with some things.

Still working on materials. I have set a hard deadline of Wednesday to have them completed. Recording will begin Thursday/Friday, and stretch into Saturday. My aim is get everything recorded so I can edit when I venture up to the UP of MI between 9/28 and 10/2. I also aim to spend that week laying out the next course, as I have planned out two week sprints from here all the way to May.

Frankly, the amount of phone interviews & discussions around contracts for the Roviki Solutions side of the business has been draining time and mental capacity away from this. More about that below.

Roviki Solutions (Salesforce Consulting)
Got a verbal on a deal for some project based Salesforce consulting (3-6+ months). I'm happy about it, because it won't suck all my time away, but will pay the bills.

I have had to dial down the amount of time I spend in this area considerably, the amount of time spent viewing contracts, talking with people, and getting sucked back into the Slowlane mentality of "I lost my job, time to apply for work and be a wage slave for someone else" is a major distraction.

You can literally make applying for jobs/contracts a full time job.

I honestly cannot wait to get the Trash Panda Capital scouting & acquisition programs up so I can use that as a major revenue driver, and hopefully wind this side down. But baby steps first, right?

Other Products
Working with my Father-In-Law to get some marketing going for him. I get 50% off of any deals closed through this method. Basically using this as a test for acquiring his biz in 3-5 years when he wants to retire.
 
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BizyDad

Keep going. Keep growing.
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Huh. I take a hiatus from the forum and a sneaky nocturnal dumpster diver shows up and launches an interesting thread with audacious goals. Sweet!

Wait, so I've binged the content, now I have to wait for new episodes? Crap. This is like the new season of the boys all over again.
 
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BizyDad

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October 9th to October 22nd.

Yeah, I forgot to write a post last week. My bad.

This week's word(s) are Confidence & Fear. You can read more about that here.

I've spent the past two weeks in interviews and preparing proposals for potential full time and contractor positions. I gotta use my Slowlane skills to get some money in the mean time. What a time suck the proposal was, I had to do a full Salesforce and process audit to calm their nerves and show that I was serious. I hate doing work for free, unless it to help sell myself. I hope to never do this again.

On top of that, I have been working hard to master the intricacies of the FAA sUAS Certification and Regulations in order to pass my Part 107 exam later this month. This is a good primer for getting trained to fly Gliders, Ultralights, Weight Shift aircraft and eventually to get my Sport Pilot Certification. It's also a good thing to have when I hopefully acquire a drone related company in the future (see below).

Trash Panda Capital
I'm been struggling, or rather procrasting on due diligence for a Aviation website I REALLY want, that I can afford a downpayment on, and is highly profitable. It really needs some Marketing and streamlining to double sales if not more.

I finally was able to force myself to do this, and it took a matter of hours to figure out this is a good deal. Now all that remains is to question the seller on price. I found it listed somewhere else for €20k ($23k USD) vs the $45k its listed at right now. Will use this as leverage. If I acquire this website (or rather when at this point), I am shifting my niche into the following areas:
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Infrastructure
These niches are areas that I know very well and have a large passion for. So, I feel like its a natural fit, and it helps me buy things that are more manageable.

Scouting, Oh Scouting. I sent over a filled out Scouting Test to a larger Private Equity firm, and blew them away. They literally had nothing to critique me on, and wondered if the business was actually for sale! Sadly it isn't right now, but its a huge confidence booster, as again, I was fearful of sending that over and procrastinated. Now to build the network of Sellers (or sources of them) and buyers.

This is going to sound a bit crazy, but I've been taking a look at Corporate Chapter 7/11 notices and obituaries. Not trying to be morbid, but with the Great Wealth Transfer that is coming, there is a massive opportunity to grow my own firm and the scouting business by helping those who are inheriting businesses (but don't want them) to exit easily. On the flip side, distressed assets are always appealing for business growth (I'm not in the market to do turn around right now). I'm full of devious ideas, like a Trash Panda (raccoon). I love it.

I've also been thinking about branching into business management, but right now that is just an idea. I need to remain focused.

Other Products
Not much progress here. These are so low in the totem pole its not even funny.
Ooooo, a Friday Episode! Sweet update.

Stop procrastinating. Bizydad needs to live vicariously! . You're doing many things that I've thought to but for numerous reasons likely won't.

Except flying. I never dreamed that I'd dream to fly. But first @Kak put the thought in my head, now you guys are talking, I've got another buddy chirping in my ear about it... I want to fly. I want to soar above everything.

But not in a glider. That's just crazy talk.
 

BizyDad

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I can see it now...

IMG_20201023_222912.gif

Nope. I'll pass.
 

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