Newbie already being talked down by friends :(

[Jon0]

Hi there, I have just finished reading MJ's book (Millionaire fastlane ) and felt super-charged into diving in and starting a business. I have a number of ideas, which I have evaluated against the 5 commandments and scored appropriately. I was excited about my ideas so I discussed them with my friends at the bar. One of my friends is a senior risk adviser and a pension trustee at a major UK bank, very senior and very knowledgeable. I have always looked up to him and trusted his view. He told me my ideas were sh*t. He ripped them apart like a cheap printer chews up paper. I have limited funds to start a business but lots of passion. When hearing feedback like this I worry my investment will be foolhardy and it puts me off attempting it. Do any of you established fast-laners have any advice for a newbie starting out?

 

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[Dsilvar89]

I would start by not telling your mates about your ideas, unless they are driven, motivated and think outside the box like yourself.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

One of my friends is a senior risk adviser and a pension trustee at a major UK bank, very senior and very knowledgeable.

Sounds like a prison sentence.

Do any of you established fast-laners have any advice for a newbie starting out?

One person's opinion does not make a market.

So what if your idea sucks and it doesn't work out. That's the entrepreneur life.

This is baseball. If you fear foul balls and striking out, you don't have a prayer.

This is not something you TRY -- it is something you LIVE.

 

[jon.a]

You asked a mortician how to make a baby.

 

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[GuitarManDan]

I had the exact same thing happen to me when I first read TMF and joined the forum.

When you say something that ambitious to someone who has drank the kool aid of what's "right ", you attack everything they know to be "true".

I just happened to bring it up to some coworkers (currently working on getting out of my slowlane investment banking job) that one of my friends does web design, makes 6 figures a year, and goes on awesome exotic vacations whenever she wants and I got the following replies:

1. "She's probably lying"
2. "That's bullshit, she got lucky but her luck will run out"
3. (my personal favorite) "She will never be happy because she will never have a good work ethic"

I believe MJ said it in the TMF - you can't expect to get unconventional success if you take conventional actions and listen to conventional wisdom.

 

[ActionMonth]

Just try it out man, when I started the fastlane i didn't know much about it. I read a bit of The Millionaire Fastlane and jumped on this forum. I told my friends and family about my idea and a lot of them laughed and said I was crazy, risky or that it'll never work while some just said "cool".

I went for it anyway and made a good amount of cash and received a lot of positive feedback. Those same people that were dissing me were congratulating me and telling me how proud they were. I lost a few friends that were jealous also.

Just try it out man, like MJ said, it's what the entrepreneur life is about. One advice that I can give you is to make sure you have some sort of stable income. That's what became my downfall.

Sent from my SM-G360T using Tapatalk

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

He told me my ideas were sh*t. He ripped them apart like a cheap printer chews up paper.

So there's two possibilities:

1) You see his point and agree with him. If that's the case then you should start spending more time coming up with new ideas. Keep trying until you get a good one. It'll eventually happy.
2) You think he's wrong. In that case stop talking to him about your business and test it in the market.

 

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[GoodluckChuck]

I can tell by your reaction to your friend that you were hoping for a pat on the back and some motivational validation. Let the markets give you validation because nobody else really can. Your friend's opinion doesn't matter unless your friend is your target market.

Also, discouragement is part of the process. It comes in waves no matter what venture you're pursuing. The ability to push through it is the difference between the ones who make it and the ones who don't.

Next time you bring ideas to your buddies have some proof that theirs a market for it first, that way when they discount it because of their own beliefs you won't be questioning yours.

 

[thehighlander]

Do you think your friend is way off base? It's possible your ideas are shit and he is trying to save you from wasting your time. The only way to find out is to know your target market. Is sounds like you aren't sure your ideas are good which means they probably aren't based on a clear need from your target market. Prove them to yourself and then make a decision.

 

[Jon0]

Sounds like a prison sentence.



One person's opinion does not make a market.

So what if your idea sucks and it doesn't work out. That's the entrepreneur life.

This is baseball. If you fear foul balls and striking out, you don't have a prayer.

This is not something you TRY -- it is something you LIVE.

Wow, I've never posted in a forum first time and received so many supportive responses. I listened to the audio book version of fastlane and couldn't turn it off. I've always felt like I had something more to offer but wasn't clear what I needed to do. I guess what the hell if I loose some money along the way. Thank you MJ for changing my perception of life, in particular, the slow lane - which has been indoctrinated into me over many years. You are an inspiration. I look forward to updating the forum on my progress. (PS, I love the humour in the book - a $6 bucket of chicken - LOL, some people really do live like that! Made me laugh)

 

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[Jon0]

I had the exact same thing happen to me when I first read TMF and joined the forum.

When you say something that ambitious to someone who has drank the kool aid of what's "right ", you attack everything they know to be "true".

I just happened to bring it up to some coworkers (currently working on getting out of my slowlane investment banking job) that one of my friends does web design, makes 6 figures a year, and goes on awesome exotic vacations whenever she wants and I got the following replies:

1. "She's probably lying"
2. "That's bullshit, she got lucky but her luck will run out"
3. (my personal favorite) "She will never be happy because she will never have a good work ethic"

I believe MJ said it in the TMF - you can't expect to get unconventional success if you take conventional actions and listen to conventional wisdom.

Thank you for your reply, very true. I got the "My mate built up a web business but it took him 10 years of hard work to make money out of it". I guess for every one of those people, there will be someone else who did it in 2 - 3 years.

 

[Jon0]

So there's two possibilities:

1) You see his point and agree with him. If that's the case then you should start spending more time coming up with new ideas. Keep trying until you get a good one. It'll eventually happy.
2) You think he's wrong. In that case stop talking to him about your business and test it in the market.

Very logical, thank you, market testing is the only empiracle measure I imagine

 

[lewj24]

You can find problems/flaws/disadvantages to any business idea. You just have to try it and fix things as you go or scrap it if its a total failure.

 

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[KSR]

Read my signature.

If you're wrong then you're wrong for a week. When you're right -- you're right for life!

 

[Supa]

My step-dad is a pretty knowledgable man. He has a great job working for the military. Knows a lot about this and that. You know. That common klowledge.

If my goal would be to hit it hard in a career. Military or something else. He would be the first I'd go to for advice.

But I don't want a job career.

Last friday I was at his and my mom's home for our bi-weekly family dinner. I told him and my mom about the book I'm writing on, and the different ways of distributing it through amazon.

His response?

"Well, don't think too hard about it, the only two buyers of it will be me and your mother."

It was meant in a kind of fun way. But still, it shows how serious he takes anything besides his "right" way of living life. A job. A career. Climbing the ladder. Retiring with 55 instead of 65 like he wants to do.

You asked a Slowlaner about the Fastlane.

Ask a cheetah about flying. He'll tell you, F*ck that, life's about running and running as fast as you can.
He's not wrong. It's good advice. For a cheetah.
But what if you want nothing more than to fly? Will you give in to the cheetah's words and start running?
Telling him over and over again how great it would be to fly, just to hear him tell you to shut the F*ck up and keep running.
Maybe it's time to stop and let him run alone. Stop and look for someone else to ask or even just talk about flying. Ask an eagle or a falcon. They won't tell you about running. They don't run. They fly.

I don't know if that metaphor makes any sense to you. But F*ck it. I like cheetahs. And eagles.
And sharks. But that's a topic for another post.

 

[GMSI7D]

You can find problems/flaws/disadvantages to any business idea. You just have to try it and fix things as you go or scrap it if its a total failure.

yes , i was talking with a business owner yesterday and the guy said that he bought a business for a bargain because of the economic cirisis

he has launched 4 businesses while still in his 20's..

he wants to slow down to start a family with his girlfriend

but you get the point

yes his relatives think he is crazy but this is the case for most entrepreneurs : being talked down

 

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[Roli]

Hi there, I have just finished reading MJ's book (Millionaire fastlane ) and felt super-charged into diving in and starting a business. I have a number of ideas, which I have evaluated against the 5 commandments and scored appropriately. I was excited about my ideas so I discussed them with my friends at the bar. One of my friends is a senior risk adviser and a pension trustee at a major UK bank, very senior and very knowledgeable. I have always looked up to him and trusted his view. He told me my ideas were sh*t. He ripped them apart like a cheap printer chews up paper. I have limited funds to start a business but lots of passion. When hearing feedback like this I worry my investment will be foolhardy and it puts me off attempting it. Do any of you established fast-laners have any advice for a newbie starting out?

Did he give you alternate advice? If not he is a naysayer and should be avoided at all costs. He is also stuck in the slowlane, regardless of how succesful he is, therefore he will only value slowlane ideas. Either that or the ideas are a bit rubbish, did he tell you why they're crap? Again, if no, he's a naysayer.

Remember naysayers love to talk people down, it's their fuel, it keeps them going; pumps them up, as their dreams died a long time ago, and so now the only pleasure is attempting to destroy the dreams of others.

Somebody came to me for advice on a new business venture they were thinking of. I saw how excited he was, however I also new it was a terrible idea. So I constructively showed him the facts and left it to him to come to the conclusion.

We sat down in front of Google, and checked the keyword/trends tool, and found there was a very low search volume. We then started looking at potential competitors' sites for the particular keywords. After doing that we found that anyone doing this business was offering it as a side biz to their main activity. We then used various keyword spy tools to analyse how they used the keywords in question.

All this showed us that there was a tiny audience for the particular service, and it was perhaps a good idea to have it as a side offering, however there was no way it should be a main business.

That is the difference between constructive criticism and naysaying.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Do you think your friend is way off base? It's possible your ideas are shit and he is trying to save you from wasting your time. The only way to find out is to know your target market. Is sounds like you aren't sure your ideas are good which means they probably aren't based on a clear need from your target market. Prove them to yourself and then make a decision.

This ^^^

The market really is the only opinion that matters.

Take this for example (a shit idea in my book):

LICKI Brush - Lick Your Cat. Like a Cat.

Home - PDXPETDESIGN.COM

But now this freakin' thing is everywhere! I have friends that actually bought this stupid thing!

And, since they were there already, they bought other stuff from that website too.

The market seems to like it, and the market's opinion is all that matters.

 

[JAJT]

Other folks gave great advice. I'll also add that your first idea doesn't HAVE to work out.

Some people hit it out of the park on their first shot but that's largely the exception, not the rule. You learn and get better by getting your hands dirty and trying things out.

So what if your first attempt fails? As long as you learn things, get better, and don't give up you can go ahead and try ANYTHING right now and it wouldn't be a failed experience.

 

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[jpanarra]

This ^^^

The market really is the only opinion that matters.

Take this for example (a shit idea in my book):

LICKI Brush - Lick Your Cat. Like a Cat.

Home - PDXPETDESIGN.COM

But now this freakin' thing is everywhere! I have friends that actually bought this stupid thing!

And, since they were there already, they bought other stuff from that website too.

The market seems to like it, and the market's opinion is all that matters.

Oh my god... this made my morning.. Never had a good laugh like that in awhile..

I've read some eCommerce threads on here and I've noticed that things that people never thought would sell are sometimes their best sellers and that is one of the perfect examples of that.

See which idea makes money and then let it roll in!

 

[JAJT]

I've read some eCommerce threads on here and I've noticed that things that people never thought would sell are sometimes their best sellers

My favorites:

- Pet rock (a bloody rock in a box...)
- Snuggie (literally wearing a bathrobe incorrectly)
- Shake Weight (how this sold anything after seeing it in action is amazing)

These all seem like terrible barroom banter ideas at the end of a night of debauchery.

Drunk 1: "I can sell anything" *hiccup*
Drunk 2: "Oh yeah, sell a rock!" *burp*
Drunk 1: "Fine!" *passes out*
(10 weeks later)
Drunk 2: "Welllllllll shit"

 

[jpanarra]

My favorites:

- Pet rock (a bloody rock in a box...)
- Snuggie (literally wearing a bathrobe incorrectly)
- Shake Weight (how this sold anything after seeing it in action is amazing)

These all seem like terrible barroom banter ideas at the end of a night of debauchery.

Drunk 1: "I can sell anything" *hiccup*
Drunk 2: "Oh yeah, sell a rock!" *burp*
Drunk 1: "Fine!" *passes out*
(10 weeks later)
Drunk 2: "Welllllllll shit"

Maybe i should consider my business choices and sell all natural sticks from trees in the mystic area known as the midwest known for their healing properties if you put them under your pillow!!!

 

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[JAJT]

Maybe i should consider my business choices and sell all natural sticks from trees in the mystic area known as the midwest known for their healing properties if you put them under your pillow!!!

Might I suggest a wellness bracelet made of a braid of vines?

Everyone knows those q-ray barelets are seriously over-processed. They are practically the fast food of wellness! Who wants highly refined man-made nonsense on their wrists when they could unlock the healing power of plants!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

My step-dad is a pretty knowledgable man. He has a great job working for the military. Knows a lot about this and that. You know. That common klowledge.

If my goal would be to hit it hard in a career. Military or something else. He would be the first I'd go to for advice.

But I don't want a job career.

Last friday I was at his and my mom's home for our bi-weekly family dinner. I told him and my mom about the book I'm writing on, and the different ways of distributing it through amazon.

His response?

"Well, don't think too hard about it, the only two buyers of it will be me and your mother."

It was meant in a kind of fun way. But still, it shows how serious he takes anything besides his "right" way of living life. A job. A career. Climbing the ladder. Retiring with 55 instead of 65 like he wants to do.

You asked a Slowlaner about the Fastlane.

Ask a cheetah about flying. He'll tell you, F*ck that, life's about running and running as fast as you can.
He's not wrong. It's good advice. For a cheetah.
But what if you want nothing more than to fly? Will you give in to the cheetah's words and start running?
Telling him over and over again how great it would be to fly, just to hear him tell you to shut the F*ck up and keep running.
Maybe it's time to stop and let him run alone. Stop and look for someone else to ask or even just talk about flying. Ask an eagle or a falcon. They won't tell you about running. They don't run. They fly.

I don't know if that metaphor makes any sense to you. But F*ck it. I like cheetahs. And eagles.
And sharks. But that's a topic for another post.

Featured+

 

[U2ForNow]

The same thing happened to the founder of UPS and many other business. I have had it happen to me. How many times did Henry Ford go broke before he got Ford off the ground?

 

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[Martinv678]

This is not really a business story but should help. When I was 22 and broke I decided to learn to code as a way of making extra money. I told my family, which my stepdad replied, 'why are you wasting time, become something good like a postman?'. This carried on to the point where my stepdad would be screaming from the top of stairs daily, 'You're going to be a failure, you just sit and read all the time! When are you going to get a real job' (as a side note at the time I had a drum teaching business and a side business fixing iPad / iPhone screens which were netting £1,200 p/m, so it wasn't like I was scrounging).

I was reading a lot of coding books, and 2 years later I was earning over 6 figures as a coder. Building huge websites, for large companies. He now says to me... 'It's alright for you, you were lucky' or general hate for making good 'slowlaner' money.

People will always give you their two cents. But, as said by others the market knows what it wants. It is just waiting for to fill that need. In the case above, I may not be a millionaire but if I had listened I would be a broke postman. Most people will say 'don't do that' but call you lucky when you succeed. Either way only you will look back in regret when you still haven't pulled the trigger years later or someone else comes to market with the exact idea you had thought of.

 

[G-Man]

You asked a mortician how to make a baby.

This^^^ I've had the misfortune to deal with a lot of investment bankers. They typically have pretty high opinions of themselves because their decision making always has the advantage of hindsight and big money. Entrepreneurship is the opposite. I've also had the good fortune to be around a lot of people that have started successful companies, and every one of them has a story about a banker/vc/pe person telling them their idea was shit. They've all also failed multiple times.

Like others have said, only the market's opinion matters.

 

[Supa]

Featured+

Thanks MJ

 

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[Red]

It's probably the universal lesson that everyone here has learned: Be selective about the people you choose to share your ideas/dreams with. Most people don't understand but when you find your tribe, it's an amazing experience of encouragement, support & rapport. Welcome.

 

[TonyStark]

Hi there, I have just finished reading MJ's book (Millionaire fastlane ) and felt super-charged into diving in and starting a business. I have a number of ideas, which I have evaluated against the 5 commandments and scored appropriately. I was excited about my ideas so I discussed them with my friends at the bar. One of my friends is a senior risk adviser and a pension trustee at a major UK bank, very senior and very knowledgeable. I have always looked up to him and trusted his view. He told me my ideas were sh*t. He ripped them apart like a cheap printer chews up paper. I have limited funds to start a business but lots of passion. When hearing feedback like this I worry my investment will be foolhardy and it puts me off attempting it. Do any of you established fast-laners have any advice for a newbie starting out?

YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TOUGHER SKIN

I've taken shit from:

• parents
• teachers
• siblings
• significant others
• police officers

But you know what? You keep going, because it's your life and you live it the way you want to.

Also, you might need some better friends.