New to the Forum. Thanks for having me!

[teambret]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forum, but have been working towards "un-scription" since 2019. I came across The Millionaire Fastlane on a 2-for-1 sale on audible several months ago and finally read it last month. I have since read Unscripted a couple times and that lead me to this forum! I've attempted several business and in hindsight, all the failures have failed some part of CENTS. Here's my list of business attempts so far:

• Real Estate -- Still ongoing, but capital intensive and slow with a big dependency on financing. With a partner, I own 17 cash-flowing units in another state. Outcome-TBD
• Shopify Store selling products imported from china. -- Failed Entry
• Dropshipping Shopify Store -- Failed Entry
• Etsy/Shopify Store selling POD wall art. -- Failed Control and Entry, but I learned photoshop. The legality of selling artwork of cars is "iffy." I put this on the backburner and it makes about $100/month on Etsy sales.
• Private Label Items selling on Amazon. -- In progress. I've had some sales and have new products coming. As-is, this business fails Control. The goal is to build a brand that can stand on it's own. I've learned a lot and have about $10K tied up in products, trademark fees and other expenses. Outcome TBD.
• Custom Children's Mountain Bike Business: Meeting with a friend and working on an OEM products business for children's mountain bikes. This one has the potential to pass CENTS. We are currently waiting on some parts to ship from China to build some prototypes. Outcome TBD.

After reading MJ's books I have a few realizations about myself:

• I haven't really had a FTE. I still work at a W2 job and I'm having a hard time walking away. None of my businesses have provided enough income to support my Family of 7. Luckily, the company I work for (semiconductor engineering) is up for sale and my workload has dropped to 1-2 hours a day. I will quit when the workload picks back up and my time is gone again.
• I'm not currently good at monogamy . The real estate takes 1-2 hours per week, and the rest of my time is split between the private label amazon business and the new bike business. None of these is bringing in significant revenue.
• In most of my endeavors, I've been focused on chasing money rather than creating value. This is the biggest lesson I learned from MJ in his books.
• After reading Fox's post and reading his new book, I've started learning HTML & CSS. I feel it is a skill that will help in any business venture, and I can do freelancing to pay the bills while building a business.

I will post my progress and failures. I love constructive feedback, so if you see something obvious that I'm blind to, please let me know!

-Bret

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Hello Bret!

Based on your post, you definitely have an issue with focus. Hard to be great at something when you're in to all kinds of different things. You can't get good at tennis on 1 hour per day while the rest of the hours are spent at swimming, golfing, wrestling, and basketball.

Welcome aboard.

 

[teambret]

thanks MJ. I appreciate the feedback. And it's cool you are on your forum interacting with newbies like me.

 

[alexkuzmov]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forum, but have been working towards "un-scription" since 2019. I came across The Millionaire Fastlane on a 2-for-1 sale on audible several months ago and finally read it last month. I have since read Unscripted a couple times and that lead me to this forum! I've attempted several business and in hindsight, all the failures have failed some part of CENTS. Here's my list of business attempts so far:

• Real Estate -- Still ongoing, but capital intensive and slow with a big dependency on financing. With a partner, I own 17 cash-flowing units in another state. Outcome-TBD
• Shopify Store selling products imported from china. -- Failed Entry
• Dropshipping Shopify Store -- Failed Entry
• Etsy/Shopify Store selling POD wall art. -- Failed Control and Entry, but I learned photoshop. The legality of selling artwork of cars is "iffy." I put this on the backburner and it makes about $100/month on Etsy sales.
• Private Label Items selling on Amazon. -- In progress. I've had some sales and have new products coming. As-is, this business fails Control. The goal is to build a brand that can stand on it's own. I've learned a lot and have about $10K tied up in products, trademark fees and other expenses. Outcome TBD.
• Custom Children's Mountain Bike Business: Meeting with a friend and working on an OEM products business for children's mountain bikes. This one has the potential to pass CENTS. We are currently waiting on some parts to ship from China to build some prototypes. Outcome TBD.

After reading MJ's books I have a few realizations about myself:

• I haven't really had a FTE. I still work at a W2 job and I'm having a hard time walking away. None of my businesses have provided enough income to support my Family of 7. Luckily, the company I work for (semiconductor engineering) is up for sale and my workload has dropped to 1-2 hours a day. I will quit when the workload picks back up and my time is gone again.
• I'm not currently good at monogamy . The real estate takes 1-2 hours per week, and the rest of my time is split between the private label amazon business and the new bike business. None of these is bringing in significant revenue.
• In most of my endeavors, I've been focused on chasing money rather than creating value. This is the biggest lesson I learned from MJ in his books.
• After reading Fox's post and reading his new book, I've started learning HTML & CSS. I feel it is a skill that will help in any business venture, and I can do freelancing to pay the bills while building a business.

I will post my progress and failures. I love constructive feedback, so if you see something obvious that I'm blind to, please let me know!

-Bret

Welcome Bret,

you are trying to do too much at the same time.
Book to improve focus: The ONE Thing

I'm also sensing a lack of "why".
What is/are your overall goal/s?

 

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[CruxisKnight]

Welcome and I hope to see more of your progress soon!

 

[teambret]

thanks Alex. I appreciate the book recommendation and the feedback. I’m ok with my why:

• I had a brain tumor a few years back and I can’t get life insurance. If something happens to me, the wife and kids are screwed. I’m building my own insurance.
• My parents are stuck in debt with no retirement savings and bad health . Eventually I will end up supporting them.
• I hate working for the man.. my W2 job has implemented extreme security protocols that drive me nuts. (Stickers on the my phone cameras, airport security to get into the building, etc..). Plus, my last big accomplishment at work made the company 8 figures.. my reward was a $7k bonus and a 10% raise... Forget that! I’m going to sink or swim on my own!

 

[袁新雨123]

If you want to buy from China, I can help you. I'm in China

 

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