New Member... Made 150K Profit Selling TShirts on FB last year...Now at a bit of a crossroads.

[RNoles19]

Hi guys,

Like I said, I just joined the forum. I read MFL for the first time about a month ago and have gone back to re-read my notes on it multiple times since. It's probably one of my favorite books of all time. One of the few books that I've read that really struck a nerve with me.

Bit of a backstory: Graduated from a "good" college in 2009. Much like MJ, I underachieved big time (compared to my peers) til about 2015. It wasn't due to a lack of intelligence or anything. I just could never really find out where I fit in in the Slowlane. The idea of working a 9-5, taking orders from a boss, dealing with coworkers that I would never associate with in my free time, just never really appealed to me.... in fact, it abhors me.

Anyways, about a year ago, on a whim, I just started tinkering with selling shirts on TeeSpring/TeeChip/those type of sites. I focused on making shirts geared to fans of TV shows that I watched. I paid social media accounts to advertise on Twitter and Instagram and I think the first shirt I came up with, made something like $500 dollars. Around Christmas time last year, I made an "ugly Christmas sweatshirt" for a show and BOOM, I made over $4,000 dollars in a couple weeks. This was the eye opening moment for me. That was way more than I had ever made at a job. I KNEW I had something here.... Long story short, I took a course on Facebook marketing and setting up a Shopify store..... quit my job (probably before I should have) and never looked back.... I ended up making up around $150,000 in PROFIT in the last year. Everything was going amazing.

Then suddenly in the last few months... Facebook shut down advertising account due to "copyright" claims. I won't get into details, but I sold a lot of merchandise related to sports fans. The designs were original. There was no copyright/trademark infringement going on. I asked my lawyer if they were OK, he said they were.... but the way Facebook works, they want a "user friendly" experience. If users complain, they will freeze your account, regardless of your advertising budget. I was still a small fish in a Billion dollar sea to Facebook.


Long story short..... Now I don't know what the F to do.... Like MJ points out in the book, I now understand the flaw of being a "hitchhiker". My business and income were completely dependent on Facebook.... Recent events have made me question the long-term viability of running a T-Shirt business, even though I was having weeks where I made 10K+.... I am at a bit of a crossroads and don't know where to head. 1) I bought Ramit Sethi's Zero To Launch course awhile back...do I create an information product, detailing step by step, how I made $150K in 9 months with no experience? There has to be a market/some value in that, right? .... 2) Do I change gears and sell other products on Facebook? The whole importing from China thing rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Maybe I just don't look at it as adding any value. Just picking products and trying to sell them. 3) Or do I take a total left-turn and try to create a Fastlane business like an app? This does appeal to me quite a bit. I have a lot of good ideas about apps (events vs process. I know), but literally no experience creating them/promoting them?


Anyways, I love the forum. Glad to be here. Just wanted to introduce myself. Any feedback you guys have (I'm not asking you to tell me what business to start.This is not one of those posts.) OR any questions you may have. Fire away. I'm all ears.

 

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[Mr.Chaos]

Hi guys,

Like I said, I just joined the forum. I read MFL for the first time about a month ago and have gone back to re-read my notes on it multiple times since. It's probably one of my favorite books of all time. One of the few books that I've read that really struck a nerve with me.

Bit of a backstory: Graduated from a "good" college in 2009. Much like MJ, I underachieved big time (compared to my peers) til about 2015. It wasn't due to a lack of intelligence or anything. I just could never really find out where I fit in in the Slowlane. The idea of working a 9-5, taking orders from a boss, dealing with coworkers that I would never associate with in my free time, just never really appealed to me.... in fact, it abhors me.

Anyways, about a year ago, on a whim, I just started tinkering with selling shirts on TeeSpring/TeeChip/those type of sites. I focused on making shirts geared to fans of TV shows that I watched. I paid social media accounts to advertise on Twitter and Instagram and I think the first shirt I came up with, made something like $500 dollars. Around Christmas time last year, I made an "ugly Christmas sweatshirt" for a show and BOOM, I made over $4,000 dollars in a couple weeks. This was the eye opening moment for me. That was way more than I had ever made at a job. I KNEW I had something here.... Long story short, I took a course on Facebook marketing and setting up a Shopify store..... quit my job (probably before I should have) and never looked back.... I ended up making up around $150,000 in PROFIT in the last year. Everything was going amazing.

Then suddenly in the last few months... Facebook shut down advertising account due to "copyright" claims. I won't get into details, but I sold a lot of merchandise related to sports fans. The designs were original. There was no copyright/trademark infringement going on. I asked my lawyer if they were OK, he said they were.... but the way Facebook works, they want a "user friendly" experience. If users complain, they will freeze your account, regardless of your advertising budget. I was still a small fish in a Billion dollar sea to Facebook.


Long story short..... Now I don't know what the F to do.... Like MJ points out in the book, I now understand the flaw of being a "hitchhiker". My business and income were completely dependent on Facebook.... Recent events have made me question the long-term viability of running a T-Shirt business, even though I was having weeks where I made 10K+.... I am at a bit of a crossroads and don't know where to head. 1) I bought Ramit Sethi's Zero To Launch course awhile back...do I create an information product, detailing step by step, how I made $150K in 9 months with no experience? There has to be a market/some value in that, right? .... 2) Do I change gears and sell other products on Facebook? The whole importing from China thing rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Maybe I just don't look at it as adding any value. Just picking products and trying to sell them. 3) Or do I take a total left-turn and try to create a Fastlane business like an app? This does appeal to me quite a bit. I have a lot of good ideas about apps (events vs process. I know), but literally no experience creating them/promoting them?


Anyways, I love the forum. Glad to be here. Just wanted to introduce myself. Any feedback you guys have (I'm not asking you to tell me what business to start.This is not one of those posts.) OR any questions you may have. Fire away. I'm all ears.

Welcome Aboard!


Yeah the NFL or NBA will takedown anything that remotely relates to their teams trademarks.
Importing products ( with valuable changes ) is a good route it will take some work/trial and error. @biophase 's threads are a good place to start there.

Also another must read thread.
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/the-astonishing-secrets-thread.50097/

 

[Evil_Jester]

With that success, I think it would be worth it to pursue another facebook account. Maybe pay a family member/friend to use their account?
Otherwise, you could put together a Udemy course and find a way to get affiliate marketers to promote your content.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

With that success, I think it would be worth it to pursue another facebook account. Maybe pay a family member/friend to use their account?

If you're not breaking any laws, then this makes sense.

Then set aside 100% of the profit you're making as a fund for your next idea. While you milk that cash machine, start brainstorming and testing/validating on the side.

 

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[PTP]

Welcome, we're glad youre here!

Maybe I just don't look at it as adding any value. Just picking products and trying to sell them.

To most people this is what importing is. However, if youre smart you will do the opposite of most people.

Read this: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-to-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way.64808/

Then read this: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/ask-me-anything-about-ecommerce-2015.62360/

Hopefully it can change your perception of importing. Good luck!

 

[welshmin]

Well, you obviously have had success in one area. And you must have learned a lot from that. The obvious course would be an ebook, course or some kind of info product. But why not rebuild but prepare for that scenario and diversify?

Unless you are sick of the space, it seems like a waste of talent, knowledge and experience.

 

[RNoles19]

Welcome Aboard!


Yeah the NFL or NBA will takedown anything that remotely relates to their teams trademarks.
Importing products ( with valuable changes ) is a good route it will take some work/trial and error. @biophase 's threads are a good place to start there.

Also another must read thread.
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/the-astonishing-secrets-thread.50097/

Ya it's B.S. because, like I said, I didn't infringe any copyright or trademark, but they complain to FB and POOF.... my business is gone just like that.

Loved the article on astonishing secrets....that is the mindset I am trying to cultivate. It's just a matter of finding out HOW I can provide value in another non-T-shirt related venture. I've seen a few of @biophase ' s posts. They're definitely informative, but, for whatever reason, going the "importing stuff from AliBaba" route just rubs me the wrong way.

 

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[RNoles19]

With that success, I think it would be worth it to pursue another facebook account. Maybe pay a family member/friend to use their account?
Otherwise, you could put together a Udemy course and find a way to get affiliate marketers to promote your content.

Funny you should say that... I'm actually paying my friend to use his FB account now, but weirdly I'm not having a ton of success. I think it is because I am no longer linking to a legitimate, Shopify store.... now it's just a link to TeeChip.com, which I think has developed a questionable reputation.

I think I'm definitely going to try to create an information product after going through Ramit Sethi's "Zero To Launch" course. Whether that info product is on Udemy, we'll see. Again, I'm new to the information product game. Not really sure how that works. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[RNoles19]

If you're not breaking any laws, then this makes sense.

Then set aside 100% of the profit you're making as a fund for your next idea. While you milk that cash machine, start brainstorming and testing/validating on the side.

Yup. Right now, my tentative game plan is to learn Google Ads and drive traffic to my store that way (since I can't really do that via FB). Once that is set up, begin working on other more sustainable ventures....like an info product. Potentially an app down the road.

 

[RNoles19]

Welcome, we're glad youre here!



To most people this is what importing is. However, if youre smart you will do the opposite of most people.

Read this: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-to-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way.64808/

Then read this: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/ask-me-anything-about-ecommerce-2015.62360/

Hopefully it can change your perception of importing. Good luck!

Thanks. Ya I have actually read those posts already. It's definitely a legitimate approach/business and biophase seems to be a respected member around here. Importing just does not appeal to me whatsoever. Not sure why. Some type of mental block.

 

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[RNoles19]

Well, you obviously have had success in one area. And you must have learned a lot from that. The obvious course would be an ebook, course or some kind of info product. But why not rebuild but prepare for that scenario and diversify?

Unless you are sick of the space, it seems like a waste of talent, knowledge and experience.

Ya. I definitely did learn a lot. Particularly about Facebook marketing/selling to sports and TV fans/running a business, in general.

I guess the major reason why I can't "Rebuild' is because I can't really advertise on Facebook anymore, which is how I got 99% of my traffic and sales. I have to learn how to drive traffic to my store without relying on Facebook.... thus the crossroads.... do I learn Google Ads and try to rebuild that way? Do I try to create an info product for people that want to start a T-shirt biz (I'd like to think that a step by step guide on "How I made 150K selling T-shirts with no previous experience" would have value. But who knows? Maybe people would think I was full of crap and be reluctant to purchase).

I'm definitely at a point where I know I have to keep moving forward....but I'm just not sure where to go.... Do I learn Ad Words? Do I create an Info Product? Do I leave the T-shirt business behind me and try something new altogether? I'll be honest. It's a crappy feeling to have as an entrepreneur. I'm driven, but just have no idea what direction to go into.

 

[Hai]

If you're not breaking any laws, then this makes sense.

Then set aside 100% of the profit you're making as a fund for your next idea. While you milk that cash machine, start brainstorming and testing/validating on the side.

Excited to see what you will come up with.

 

[Hai]

Ya. I definitely did learn a lot. Particularly about Facebook marketing/selling to sports and TV fans/running a business, in general.

I guess the major reason why I can't "Rebuild' is because I can't really advertise on Facebook anymore, which is how I got 99% of my traffic and sales. I have to learn how to drive traffic to my store without relying on Facebook.... thus the crossroads.... do I learn Google Ads and try to rebuild that way? Do I try to create an info product for people that want to start a T-shirt biz (I'd like to think that a step by step guide on "How I made 150K selling T-shirts with no previous experience" would have value. But who knows? Maybe people would think I was full of crap and be reluctant to purchase).

I'm definitely at a point where I know I have to keep moving forward....but I'm just not sure where to go.... Do I learn Ad Words? Do I create an Info Product? Do I leave the T-shirt business behind me and try something new altogether? I'll be honest. It's a crappy feeling to have as an entrepreneur. I'm driven, but just have no idea what direction to go into.

What did you do with the money? With 200k in funding it should be easier to create a fastlane biz. Info products scream money chasing, but can do it if you feel like it´s worth it. For fastlane with higher risk, I would aim for new or emerging markets. Do AdWords, of you want to stay on the safe side. But it is slower. Then again, you could scale it into an agency.

 

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[RNoles19]

What did you do with the money? With 200k in funding it should be easier to create a fastlane biz. Info products scream money chasing, but can do it if you feel like it´s worth it.

I mean, I'm not sure I agree that "info products scream money chasing". The reason we are all here, The Millionaire Fastlane , is because of an info product. This forum is essentially one big info product.

The whole reason I was able to make 150K in the first place is because I paid for a $300 info product on FaceBook marketing.... My thought process is that if I can make that amount with no experience in online business whatsoever, then I can create a product that can at the very minimum show people how to make a few hundred, if not a few thousand dollars, employing the same principles that I did.

If I literally walk through and trace my steps, showing every shirt I ever sold, and how I advertised it on Facebook, you would think that would be at least be worth a few hundred dollars or so to people looking to start a T-shirt business.

Maybe not. Who knows? But I definitely don't think info products are money chasing. If that was the case, none of us would be here and no one would ever pick up a book.

 

[RNoles19]

Quick side note.... I'm very sold on MJ and the TMF in general.... would you guys recommend becoming an INSIDERS? Lot of valuable information in there that you wouldn't get otherwise?

 

[JJG]

I mean, I'm not sure I agree that "info products scream money chasing". The reason we are all here, The Millionaire Fastlane , is because of an info product. This forum is essentially one big info product.

The whole reason I was able to make 150K in the first place is because I paid for a $300 info product on FaceBook marketing.... My thought process is that if I can make that amount with no experience in online business whatsoever, then I can create a product that can at the very minimum show people how to make a few hundred, if not a few thousand dollars, employing the same principles that I did.

If I literally walk through and trace my steps, showing every shirt I ever sold, and how I advertised it on Facebook, you would think that would be at least be worth a few hundred dollars or so to people looking to start a T-shirt business.

Maybe not. Who knows? But I definitely don't think info products are money chasing. If that was the case, none of us would be here and no one would ever pick up a book.

I Would definitely be interested in how you actually targeted your audiences on FB. At least the name of the $300 product you used on FB marketing. I am new to teespring and FB marketing. I've set up a couple of campaigns and not one sale made yet. It could definitely be that my designs aren't very eye catching. I really want to be sure that my targeting is on point because I believe that's the issue. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

 

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[Michael Raphael]

Have you thought about advertising on other platforms? I find FB is really the least profitable if you know how to use other platforms.

 

[V8Bill]

Even if you were shut down because you flew too close to the (trademark) sun you still pulled off one heck of a feat! You have much to teach. How you set up ads, what sorts of images did you use? How did you set up your shop...are all valuable things. I also started a t-shirt shopify store and paid for some courses around the same time you did (I'm wondering who taught you too) but my shop never made more than just a few sales so the first thing I though when I read your O.P. was "how the hell did he do that?!". I think there's at least a modest stream of income waiting for you by helping others.

I don't believe your success was ONLY due to your using trademarked styles. I get your point about no trademarks were directly used but still, even colours and names or similar logos or emblems can be close enough to land you into a lot of hot water - Facebook may have even done you a favour. But still the fact you were able to convert is a neat trick that others could benefit from.

I also echo your sentiments regarding (quality, genuine and authentic) info products. Teaching people is a valid and honourable way to make money. Thanks for your posts.

 

[RNoles19]

Not sure why this post is suddenly coming back into the fold....but just saw a few email updates about it......

Quick update: still trying to figure out how I can provide value and what the next venture is. Since my last post in December I've tried a few different ventures.....A sports themed hat business (that flopped), a non sports/TV related T-shirt business (that flopped), a wooden flag business (that flopped)..........Now I'm in full on "WTF do I do?" mode.

I've internalized the process over event stuff. I'm definitely committed. I'm up at 5:30 every day. Working from 7a-7p. Working weekends. Reading Unscripted right now actually. It's not a matter of effort. It's just a matter of figuring out HOW can I provide value to others. I'm still trying to figure it out. And I really just don't seem to have any any answers at the moment. I'm starting a pet project trying to market other people's highly reviewed products that aren't yet utilizing FB marketing. Just getting rolling on this today actually.

But I'm just really struggling with HOW can I provide value to others. I know everyone hates when people come on the forum and say "what type of business should I start"? And I'm not asking that........... It's just really tough mentally as an entrepreneur when you put in the effort, put in the work, center your whole life around your work, and nothing comes out of it. Like I know that there is no roadmap. You gotta figure it out on your own. But it's just frustrating.

Is it a matter of just trying out every business idea I think could work? That's kind of what MJ did with his first venture, Limos.com, right? I have these daily battles with myself and anxiety about going broke.......but I recognize that that accomplishes nothing. I remind myself almost daily "What good will those tears do. Get back to work" (not actual tears haha).. But like what else can I do besides try every idea that I think will work, commit to the process, and just seeing how it plays out?

If anyone has any suggestions, or personal stories from almost being down and out before their business started to take off I'd love to hear them. Could use a little help from my fellow (aspiring)Fastlaners at the moment. Thanks guys

 

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[HustleHard]

Step 1: Bootstrap

http://recraigslist.com/2013/03/10-best-things-to-buy-and-sell-on-craigslist/

Progress Thread - How I made $690 In Less Than 4 Hours This Weekend

13 months in and making $4K / month flipping books. It's been awesome. • r/Flipping

Step 2: Start a Business

4 years ago I wrote a case study on reddit on my $4k per month local business. I've since built that company into a multi-million dollar company and the redditors that followed are now doing a combined $50 million dollars per year! Updated case study and AMA. • /r/Entrepreneur

GOLD - Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

Step 3: Start a Retirement Account; Roth IRA if Applicable

http://affordanything.com/2016/01/19/how-to-start-investing-in-stocks/

Step 4: Invest in Real Estate

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan: 0639785390763: Amazon.com: Books

Home with Stock Video – Stats | Invest Four More

Real Estate Investing Forums | BiggerPockets

The #1 Source To Learn Mobile Home Park Investing - Mobile Home University

Your Best Retirement Plan: One Good Property

An investor who owns 4,000 apartments explains why multi-family real estate is the best investment he's made

Step 5: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX). Maybe dabble in IPO's in the hope of hitting it big

How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth

 

[V8Bill]

Not sure why this post is suddenly coming back into the fold

Because new member @JJG must have been going through the older threads looking for gold and found your thread and asked...

I Would definitely be interested in how you actually targeted your audiences on FB. At least the name of the $300 product you used on FB marketing. I am new to teespring and FB marketing. I've set up a couple of campaigns and not one sale made yet. It could definitely be that my designs aren't very eye catching. I really want to be sure that my targeting is on point because I believe that's the issue. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

Speaking of new members... great post @HustleHard ! Way to contribute!

 

[snam23]

First of all, congrats on taking action and for the success you achieved. And THANK YOU for sharing it with all of us.

While you are exploring new business opportunities, I would suggest testing if there is a market for a course. Like other people have mentioned, your story raises a lot of questions, and people might pay to hear the answers, especially with a headline like "How I went from 0 to 150K in a year". You could also share your in bits and pieces (or all at once) on a blog post (on your own website or a platform like Medium) and build an audience to sell to. It could make a great email course you could give away for free to build a list of interested people.

Basically, the gist of it is, you can build an audience with your success story that you can sell to, whether that be a course on this specific topic or based on new successes you find.

With any of the above options (course, blog post, email course), you would be providing value by sharing what made you successful and (hopefully) help others be successful as well.

Also, while not entirely fastlane, you could promote that facebook ads/ecommerce course you took, if they have an affiliate program, as I'm sure we're all curious as to what course that was.

Hopefully I've given you some ways you can go if you decide to pursue the info product direction.

Side note: while I'm guessing many people will pay for a step-by-step course on how you created your business, I would be careful in the claims you make while promoting/testing such a test as it may not lead to the same results (due to a variety of different possible reasons) or have their fb ads account closed. In other words, I personally think it's necessary to see if you can repeat the success before building the course, as that is what your students will expect to do.

 

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[ZeroToOne]

Step 1: Bootstrap

http://recraigslist.com/2013/03/10-best-things-to-buy-and-sell-on-craigslist/

Progress Thread - How I made $690 In Less Than 4 Hours This Weekend

13 months in and making $4K / month flipping books. It's been awesome. • r/Flipping

Step 2: Start a Business

4 years ago I wrote a case study on reddit on my $4k per month local business. I've since built that company into a multi-million dollar company and the redditors that followed are now doing a combined $50 million dollars per year! Updated case study and AMA. • /r/Entrepreneur

GOLD - Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

Step 3: Start a Retirement Account; Roth IRA if Applicable

http://affordanything.com/2016/01/19/how-to-start-investing-in-stocks/

Step 4: Invest in Real Estate

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan: 0639785390763: Amazon.com: Books

Home with Stock Video – Stats | Invest Four More

Real Estate Investing Forums | BiggerPockets

The #1 Source To Learn Mobile Home Park Investing - Mobile Home University

Your Best Retirement Plan: One Good Property

An investor who owns 4,000 apartments explains why multi-family real estate is the best investment he's made

Step 5: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX). Maybe dabble in IPO's in the hope of hitting it big

How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth

I wish I could like this 10 times. Thank you for posting it.

 

[HustleHard]

I wish I could like this 10 times. Thank you for posting it.

Yea, hopefully it will help some people out. I myself am in the bootstrapping stage flipping mostly washers and dryers now, I'll use that money to start a maid cleaning service and add on carpet cleaning and window cleaning and possibly commercial cleaning. Then start a IRA and VTSAX index fund as well as start investing profits into some kind of rental properties. At least that's the plan.

 

[RNoles19]

Step 1: Bootstrap

http://recraigslist.com/2013/03/10-best-things-to-buy-and-sell-on-craigslist/

Progress Thread - How I made $690 In Less Than 4 Hours This Weekend

13 months in and making $4K / month flipping books. It's been awesome. • r/Flipping

Step 2: Start a Business

4 years ago I wrote a case study on reddit on my $4k per month local business. I've since built that company into a multi-million dollar company and the redditors that followed are now doing a combined $50 million dollars per year! Updated case study and AMA. • /r/Entrepreneur

GOLD - Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

Step 3: Start a Retirement Account; Roth IRA if Applicable

http://affordanything.com/2016/01/19/how-to-start-investing-in-stocks/

Step 4: Invest in Real Estate

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan: 0639785390763: Amazon.com: Books

Home with Stock Video – Stats | Invest Four More

Real Estate Investing Forums | BiggerPockets

The #1 Source To Learn Mobile Home Park Investing - Mobile Home University

Your Best Retirement Plan: One Good Property

An investor who owns 4,000 apartments explains why multi-family real estate is the best investment he's made

Step 5: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX). Maybe dabble in IPO's in the hope of hitting it big

How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth

Cool. Tahnks for the resources. Checking them out

First of all, congrats on taking action and for the success you achieved. And THANK YOU for sharing it with all of us.

While you are exploring new business opportunities, I would suggest testing if there is a market for a course. Like other people have mentioned, your story raises a lot of questions, and people might pay to hear the answers, especially with a headline like "How I went from 0 to 150K in a year". You could also share your in bits and pieces (or all at once) on a blog post (on your own website or a platform like Medium) and build an audience to sell to. It could make a great email course you could give away for free to build a list of interested people.

Basically, the gist of it is, you can build an audience with your success story that you can sell to, whether that be a course on this specific topic or based on new successes you find.

With any of the above options (course, blog post, email course), you would be providing value by sharing what made you successful and (hopefully) help others be successful as well.

Also, while not entirely fastlane, you could promote that facebook ads/ecommerce course you took, if they have an affiliate program, as I'm sure we're all curious as to what course that was.

Hopefully I've given you some ways you can go if you decide to pursue the info product direction.

Side note: while I'm guessing many people will pay for a step-by-step course on how you created your business, I would be careful in the claims you make while promoting/testing such a test as it may not lead to the same results (due to a variety of different possible reasons) or have their fb ads account closed. In other words, I personally think it's necessary to see if you can repeat the success before building the course, as that is what your students will expect to do.

Ya so I've thought about doing a course on how to build a T-Shirt business. I even regrettably bought an expensive af course from Ramit Sethi (chalk that up to inexperience) during the peak of my T-shirt business when the sales were rolling in. The thing is.....I don't think the $300 course I took is all that valuable. It taught me the basics of Facebook marketing. But you can learn that other places for much cheaper. I find DigitalMarketer.com to be very helpful and a way better source than the first course I actually took. The course basically just introduced me to the world of Facebook marketing and I took action and the business kind of took off. I don't credit the course for my success tbh.

Looking back, I think I was just very good at creating shirt ideas that sports fans loved. Not sure if you're familiar with Barstool sports, but they do a lot of sports themed T-Shirts that go viral..... I'd say I was similar in that regard. Not sure if I can teach that. I basically built a T-Shirt productocracy, like MJ talks about in Unscripted . People just Fing liked my shirts. Not to humble brag or anything because it honestly doesn't mean a ton to me now anyways. But one of the first shirts I tried advertising quickly got 20K likes, a couple thousand shares, and started making me $200 a day, then $400, then $800, etc. It really was as simple as I think I just knew my market well and was good at creating shirts that people wanted. Sounds simplistic, but I've always been a huge sports fan. So I was good at creating shirts that I knew sports fans would like. And a lot of the designs were scalable, so they would apply to dozens of fanbases. Creating scalable shirts was massive I'd say.

But that's why I'm not too sure what I did was replicable. I'm probably not doing a great job hyping up my "course". But that's not what I'm trying to do anyways. Just being as honest and transparent as possible. If I could repeat that type of success, I would. But I've already run into problems on Facebook with copyright complaints, so I think the short-term gain of making some money selling shirts on FB isn't worth losing my ability to advertise on Facebook......

I probably could try to sell a course "How I Made 150K selling T-Shirts With No Experience", because I know people are intrigued by my story, and market the shit out of it......But A) I honestly don't how valuable/replicable what I did is......B) It's definitely not a productocracy.... C) It would probably fall more under the "Bro Marketing"/perceived value, instead of real value stuff that MJ talks about in Unscripted .......D) It just doesn't feel right..... Selling a course about making money online selling T-Shirts.....when I myself am no longer to make money online selling T-shirts. Rich Dad, Poor Dad/Suzy whatever her last name is shit.

I'd definitely do AMA if people are interested in my story. I'd love to provide value to the forum any way I can. But I think I'm leaving T-Shirt game in the rearview and focusing on building a sustainable, Fastlane productocracy business. That being said, I do actually think T-shirts are a great "first business" to start for anyone. I learned a ton in the last 1.5 years. There's very limited risk, a lot of experience to be gained just by learning marketing, how to set up a store, how to deal with customers, etc.

So ya, if you guys want me to do an AMA let me know and I'll try to provide some value.

 

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[RNoles19]

Step 1: Bootstrap

http://recraigslist.com/2013/03/10-best-things-to-buy-and-sell-on-craigslist/

Progress Thread - How I made $690 In Less Than 4 Hours This Weekend

13 months in and making $4K / month flipping books. It's been awesome. • r/Flipping

Step 2: Start a Business

4 years ago I wrote a case study on reddit on my $4k per month local business. I've since built that company into a multi-million dollar company and the redditors that followed are now doing a combined $50 million dollars per year! Updated case study and AMA. • /r/Entrepreneur

GOLD - Making Money For Dummies (And In a Crowded Market)

Step 3: Start a Retirement Account; Roth IRA if Applicable

http://affordanything.com/2016/01/19/how-to-start-investing-in-stocks/

Step 4: Invest in Real Estate

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan: 0639785390763: Amazon.com: Books

Home with Stock Video – Stats | Invest Four More

Real Estate Investing Forums | BiggerPockets

The #1 Source To Learn Mobile Home Park Investing - Mobile Home University

Your Best Retirement Plan: One Good Property

An investor who owns 4,000 apartments explains why multi-family real estate is the best investment he's made

Step 5: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX). Maybe dabble in IPO's in the hope of hitting it big

How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth

Appreciate it. Checking these links out now. Do you currently do, or have you done any of these ventures in the past? How'd that work out?

 

[RNoles19]

I Would definitely be interested in how you actually targeted your audiences on FB. At least the name of the $300 product you used on FB marketing. I am new to teespring and FB marketing. I've set up a couple of campaigns and not one sale made yet. It could definitely be that my designs aren't very eye catching. I really want to be sure that my targeting is on point because I believe that's the issue. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

I may do an AMA if there's enough interest. We'll see

 

[RNoles19]

Have you thought about advertising on other platforms? I find FB is really the least profitable if you know how to use other platforms.

You've found that FB is the least valuable for T-Shirts or other products? I've tried Twitter, Google, IG, and FB. Directly paying IG accounts to advertise as well. FB was light years ahead of everything else. Twitter was the worst.

 

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[RNoles19]

Even if you were shut down because you flew too close to the (trademark) sun you still pulled off one heck of a feat! You have much to teach. How you set up ads, what sorts of images did you use? How did you set up your shop...are all valuable things. I also started a t-shirt shopify store and paid for some courses around the same time you did (I'm wondering who taught you too) but my shop never made more than just a few sales so the first thing I though when I read your O.P. was "how the hell did he do that?!". I think there's at least a modest stream of income waiting for you by helping others.

I don't believe your success was ONLY due to your using trademarked styles. I get your point about no trademarks were directly used but still, even colours and names or similar logos or emblems can be close enough to land you into a lot of hot water - Facebook may have even done you a favour. But still the fact you were able to convert is a neat trick that others could benefit from.

I also echo your sentiments regarding (quality, genuine and authentic) info products. Teaching people is a valid and honourable way to make money. Thanks for your posts.

Thanks man....... Ya I am definitely proud of the success of the business.....but ironically, I don't really care much about that now. It was definitely a "Holy Shit. I didn't know this was possible experience". Gave me a glimpse of the Fastlane, as there were a few Fastlane Commandments at play.... Particularly making money while you sleep and Scaling/Automation......... But now, I'm more confused and trying to figure out what the hell I am going to do now.

Like I said in another post, I honestly don't think the course I took was all that great. It's certainly not some roadmap that will enable you to build a successful business overnight. People just liked my products. The shirts I was coming up with. They probably did fly too close to the sun, and I actually agree that Facebook probably did me a favor....but the shirts weren't outright copyright or trademark infringement. I had a lawyer. He basically said they were fine. But Facebook will side with an NFL or NBA team over a dude selling T-Shirts any day of the week. But I think it was as simple as...I created products that people wanted and got them out in front of thousands and thousands of people every day.

If you have any questions though, fire away and I'll try to do an AMA here......... Might come back in a few hours. Trying to get some work in.

 

[V8Bill]

Sounds like you had your own "near wealth experience"...lol I know how that feels. Something will come to you. This has been a pretty fantastic lesson (about success) for you and us. I spent a few hours following those links that @HustleHard posted today - interesting stuff. Gave me a few ideas. One thing I've learned is that when I'm not sure what to do next, I just do stuff and something will happen to divert my aims and give me new ideas.