[Question] What Are You Working Towards Right Now?

[NewsletterScott]

As a member of this community before MJ ever published his first book...

I'm curious...

What are you working towards right now?

Example Answer:
I am working towards deciding on the market I want to serve, and the specific business I want to build to serve that specific market. Right now I need help figuring out what the current needs of that market are, and don't know what to do next!
.
.
.
As a member of this amazing community, I am asking you this question right now because...

I want to know exactly where you are placing your focus, and what you need the most help with (when it comes to implementing everything talked about in MJ's books).

Aside from utilizing this forum to get what I need to help me grow my business effectively...

I want to also do what I can to give back to the community in whatever way that will add the most value to those that are here.

Being an entrepreneur...

I will always be this way no matter how old I get, or how many companies I build and sell.

It is always really fulfilling for me to help fellow entrepreneurs achieve what they want for their life and business.

I look forward to the discussion!

Ok...Go!

 

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[fridge]

Personally, I'm working towards building up sales on my 1st product release on my new business and networking more. For a long time I was on a "lone wolf" grind, and while it got me in a really good place, just got too lonely.

 

[Aidan04]

Lots and lots and lots of testing and prototyping, as well as a lack of sleep hahaha. Currently working on a physical product that uses electronic components, microcontrollers, and wireless transceivers.

 

[NewsletterScott]

Personally, I'm working towards building up sales on my 1st product release on my new business and networking more. For a long time I was on a "lone wolf" grind, and while it got me in a really good place, just got too lonely.

That is cool! What business have you chosen to be in, and what kind of product are you working on?

When you say you were on a "lone wolf" grind, what exactly do you mean by that?

I look forward to your reply!

-Scott

 

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[NewsletterScott]

Lots and lots and lots of testing and prototyping, as well as a lack of sleep hahaha. Currently working on a physical product that uses electronic components, microcontrollers, and wireless transceivers.

What business have you chosen to go in, and what kind of product have you decided to create?

Any way for you to share with us the need(s) you are directly addressing with your product/service?

I look forward to your reply!

-Scott

 

[Trismigistus]

As a member of this community before MJ ever published his first book...

I'm curious...

What are you working towards right now?

Example Answer:
I am working towards deciding on the market I want to serve, and the specific business I want to build to serve that specific market. Right now I need help figuring out what the current needs of that market are, and don't know what to do next!
.
.
.
As a member of this amazing community, I am asking you this question right now because...

I want to know exactly where you are placing your focus, and what you need the most help with (when it comes to implementing everything talked about in MJ's books).

Aside from utilizing this forum to get what I need to help me grow my business effectively...

I want to also do what I can to give back to the community in whatever way that will add the most value to those that are here.

Being an entrepreneur...

I will always be this way no matter how old I get, or how many companies I build and sell.

It is always really fulfilling for me to help fellow entrepreneurs achieve what they want for their life and business.

I look forward to the discussion!

Ok...Go!

I am working toward finishing Unscripted , got about 40% left. On the other hand, ive been learning to program and have been planning my website for my idea. I have been using the oding project to teach myself how to build my own site and app architecture. As I bring myself through the curriculum I am using what I learned and applying it to coding my own sites. Still green in all this but, spending all my spare time to advancing my business and the skills needs to advance it. My top priority right now is to learn coding to be able to control my own website for my company. Thanks for this post!

 

[fridge]

That is cool! What business have you chosen to be in, and what kind of product are you working on?

When you say you were on a "lone wolf" grind, what exactly do you mean by that?

I look forward to your reply!

-Scott

Hey Scott man!

I'm on the e-comm side, and have been involved in martial arts fairly consistently for the past 10 years. Actually just got my jiu jitsu blue belt last year in July. For a long time I was aimlessly wondering from business to business - just starting multiple things at once, all over the place, things weren't panning out.

Then I sat down and took an inventory of my skills and realized that I actually have a very in-depth inside look at the problems martial artists face with the current gear on the market. Thus, I started my company Invictus Fight Gear. Right now we primarily sell striking gear for boxers/kickboxers and plan to release 5 items over the course of 2 years (we already have one out).

You can check us out in Instagram and our hand wraps on Amazon under "Invictus Fight Gear traditional hand wraps".

As far as the "lone wolf" grind - I worked 7 days a week 9-12 hours a day for a long time, doing things I could have been delegating, and just overall keeping to myself. Now I see the power in networking, connections with other humans, and being a leader to a strong team. It's really upped my game a LOT and helped free up my time tremendously.

Thank you,
Nick

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[NewsletterScott]

I am working toward finishing Unscripted , got about 40% left. On the other hand, ive been learning to program and have been planning my website for my idea. I have been using the oding project to teach myself how to build my own site and app architecture. As I bring myself through the curriculum I am using what I learned and applying it to coding my own sites. Still green in all this but, spending all my spare time to advancing my business and the skills needs to advance it. My top priority right now is to learn coding to be able to control my own website for my company. Thanks for this post!

#1 - Your Progress Through The Unscripted Book
That is great news about your progress on the Unscripted book.

Did you read MJ's first book?

MJ's first book was a total game changer for me.

I even have a physical copy with the orange lambo on the front!

I just want to say that I recommend that you also read MJ's 3rd book after you finish Unscripted .

I am currently listening to the 3rd audio book of "The Great Rat Race Escape " again because of what I am currently working on myself with my venture. The value MJ's content has provided me and my life is second to NONE!

#2 - Your Programming Journey (Current Status)
That is great that you are putting the time in on the front end to learn how to code.

Confession: I simply don't have the patience to teach myself how to code beyond knowing how to do simple HTML tweaks in simple HTML editors. The reason? I am the type of person who would rather "paint the picture" for the developer/coder (and front end web designer) to create things for me the way I want them to. I have accepted this fact that I will always have to pay for this skillset in the future with capital and financial resources, and I am OK with that. Frankly, the idea of sitting down to teach myself how to code would just frustrate me to no end because I have more of a marketing/business development brain that adds the most value to everything I am working on. I will always hire out, and build teams around the things that will need to be done, but don't like doing.

With all of that being said...

I have one very important question for you.

That question is...

When is your business going to be pushed into the market (what is your launch day)?

If you don't have a target date, I suggest you create it now and work backwards from that date to the present day.

There is nothing that is more motivating than having a deadline to work towards, and a community of people like we have here in this forum to support you along the way!

#3 - Your Comment about "Still Being Green In All Of This" Etc...

I know you may not like hearing this from me...

But I am going to say it anyway because I am coming from a place of really wanting to help you to get to where you want to go in your life with your business. (Read: I wasn't lying when I posted this to the forum!)

Don't use your "newbie" status as an excuse for why you haven't executed on what you know needs to be built and launched into the marketplace!

MJ talks about this in his 3rd book (and throughout all of his content) about being a Problemologist.

Embrace that "problemologist persona and identity" as an entrepreneur right now...

And have your favorite question that you ask yourself on a daily basis be...

"How can I execute on this, even if right now I don't know how to get it done?"

The more you ask yourself that question on a daily basis, and the more you work towards finding the solutions and executing on them to bring your idea to market, the closer you will get to where you need to be on this journey that you are on in the entrepreneurial world.

Right now what matters is...
WHO do you want to serve?
WHAT do they need?
HOW are you going to create value for them using the CENTS framework that MJ talks about in his books?

Before I found MJ's material...

In my past, I always made the mistake focusing on the question, "What business idea should I start?"

The wisdom I have to share with you in this post here is

START WITH THE "WHO" BEFORE DECIDING ON THE "WHAT" YOU CREATE FOR THEM...THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SCALE TO THE ENTIRE MARKET (THE WHO)!

----
Example WHO/WHAT illustration for you
WHO (avatar #1 in the market) - people who want to start a successful newsletter business
WHO (avatar #2 in the market) - people who have started a newsletter business

WHAT - a content-centric website with a free email newsletter to sign up for that serves these specific avatars in this specific market (in a super high-quality way). The website and newsletter teaches them "where to start" when building a newsletter business, or "how to grow" a newsletter business if they have already started one!

I am not saying to start this business, but rather showing the way to apply the thinking to the business you create.
----

I can't stress these two points enough!

THE "WHO" MATTERS MORE THAN THE WHAT WHEN YOU FIRST START OUT!

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE "WHO" - IT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY THE NEED THAT YOU WILL BUILD YOUR ENTIRE BUSINESS AROUND!

When you understand the "WHO" and where they are at, it is wayyyy easier to create the "scalable value unit" that MJ talks about in his 3rd book that I am listening to right now (again).

#4 - It's Action Taking Time!
By when will you decide on what market you will focus on serving with your new business?

By when will you decide on the need you want to build your business around?

By when will you be ready to start coding the idea that you want to build?

Let's get this done, and get you closer to achieving what you want for your life!

I look forward to your post back!

Best,
Scott

 

[emavery176]

I am personally working towards:
1. creating a better customer experience by decreasing response times and increasing trust with my customer base.
2. decreasing my listing time. I bought a book and tonight I'm implementing the strategies such as
a. changing my title
b. Updating my images
c. Creating listings that are short, concise and encourage customers to message me for details.
3. Better negotiation strategies to get the right price and profit margins
4. Energy management.

EDIT: I'm still in the "specialized skills" phase of my business. I buy fix and resell men's luxury watches.

 

[pixelvendor]

Cool post!

I'm currently in the process of doing sourcing profitable products to flip on Amazon through online arbitrage. I'm dabbling in this part of my business as well as the 2nd part which focuses on buying and reselling CSGO skins. Amazon is supposed to be more scalable but I've been hearing horror stories of people getting their listings shut down, accounts locked etc by Amazon so I'm not 100% convinced to drop everything and put all of my focus on Amazon.
On the other hand my CSGO skin reselling business is very time consuming as I personally have to find, evaluate and eventually sell every skin that I encounter. It is the only consistent entrepreneurial way of making money that I know (even if it's not a lot) so I don't want to drop this either, however time consuming it may be.

Lowkey not sure if my time is well spent in either business but it's all I got for now. Planning on reading Unscripted soon, maybe it'll help. Perhaps a lack of providing value is slowing me down but the thing is that providing real value to the market is a hard and lengthy process which I absolutely want to go through some day but I feel like it'll be too much right now since I've just started my journey as an entreprenuer.

 

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[NewsletterScott]

Hey Scott man!

I'm on the e-comm side, and have been involved in martial arts fairly consistently for the past 10 years. Actually just got my jiu jitsu blue belt last year in July. For a long time I was aimlessly wondering from business to business - just starting multiple things at once, all over the place, things weren't panning out.

Then I sat down and took an inventory of my skills and realized that I actually have a very in-depth inside look at the problems martial artists face with the current gear on the market. Thus, I started my company Invictus Fight Gear. Right now we primarily sell striking gear for boxers/kickboxers and plan to release 5 items over the course of 2 years (we already have one out).

You can check us out in Instagram and our hand wraps on Amazon under "Invictus Fight Gear traditional hand wraps".

As far as the "lone wolf" grind - I worked 7 days a week 9-12 hours a day for a long time, doing things I could have been delegating, and just overall keeping to myself. Now I see the power in networking, connections with other humans, and being a leader to a strong team. It's really upped my game a LOT and helped free up my time tremendously.

Thank you,
Nick

Interesting, especially about the Jiu Jitsu stuff!

I can relate to you when you say, "I was aimlessly wandering from biz to biz.....things weren't panning out."

I have had my fair share of wandering and failure over the years, and still haven't hit the homerun that I know is possible for me.

I think it is really cool that you have received the clarity you need to get clear on the value you can create for a specific market...and have taken action on it!

Overall, how are things going since you launched your business, and your first product?

What challenges are you currently facing right now as you are continuing to grow the business?

I hear you about the "lone wolf" grind, as I have experience that "kind of life" in my past as well in a different way.

 

[NewsletterScott]

I am personally working towards:
1. creating a better customer experience by decreasing response times and increasing trust with my customer base.
2. decreasing my listing time. I bought a book and tonight I'm implementing the strategies such as
a. changing my title
b. Updating my images
c. Creating listings that are short, concise and encourage customers to message me for details.
3. Better negotiation strategies to get the right price and profit margins
4. Energy management.

EDIT: I'm still in the "specialized skills" phase of my business. I buy fix and resell men's luxury watches.

In regards to #1 - how are you doing that, and are you experiencing any challenges that you need help with?

In regards to #2 - "Decreasing my listing time" (I am not sure what you are referring to directly)?

In regards to #3 - What are you specifically negotiating for the business?

In regards to #4 - Are you referring to personal energy management? What challenges are you facing around that, and what solutions have you discovered?

What is the next step for you in your business, and by when do you plan on being there? What specifically is stopping you from getting to the next step?

I look forward to your reply!

Best,
Scott

 

[NewsletterScott]

Cool post!

I'm currently in the process of doing sourcing profitable products to flip on Amazon through online arbitrage. I'm dabbling in this part of my business as well as the 2nd part which focuses on buying and reselling CSGO skins. Amazon is supposed to be more scalable but I've been hearing horror stories of people getting their listings shut down, accounts locked etc by Amazon so I'm not 100% convinced to drop everything and put all of my focus on Amazon.
On the other hand my CSGO skin reselling business is very time consuming as I personally have to find, evaluate and eventually sell every skin that I encounter. It is the only consistent entrepreneurial way of making money that I know (even if it's not a lot) so I don't want to drop this either, however time consuming it may be.

Lowkey not sure if my time is well spent in either business but it's all I got for now. Planning on reading Unscripted soon, maybe it'll help. Perhaps a lack of providing value is slowing me down but the thing is that providing real value to the market is a hard and lengthy process which I absolutely want to go through some day but I feel like it'll be too much right now since I've just started my journey as an entreprenuer.

You are welcome for the cool post!

I'm curious, have you read any of MJ's books before? (If yes, which ones have you read?)

Are you familiar with the CENTS framework that MJ talks about in all of his books?

Are you aware that the entire amazon biz like you are talking about pretty much violates the CENTS commandments?

Also, in regards to your statement:

"Providing real value to the market is a hard and lengthy process which I absolutely want to go through some day, but I feel like it'll be too much right now since I've just started my journey as an entrepreneur."

This statement is really confusing for me...

Do you not believe you can create value for a specific market?

What challenges are you facing right now when it comes to implementing what MJ talks about in his books?

I look forward to your reply back!

Best,
Scott

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[emavery176]

In regards to #1 - how are you doing that, and are you experiencing any challenges that you need help with?

In regards to #2 - "Decreasing my listing time" (I am not sure what you are referring to directly)?

In regards to #3 - What are you specifically negotiating for the business?

In regards to #4 - Are you referring to personal energy management? What challenges are you facing around that, and what solutions have you discovered?

What is the next step for you in your business, and by when do you plan on being there? What specifically is stopping you from getting to the next step?

I look forward to your reply!

Best,
Scott

Hey Scott,

Thank you for the response. I forgot to mention this but my business is a side hustle where I buy, fix and flip men's luxury watches.

1. Right now, I'm re-writing some of the ads I have for my listings on Ebay, Chrono24 etc. I read a book from the library on how to create better listings that sell and I'm implementing their suggestions

2. I forgot to mention this. But I buy, fix and resell men's luxury watches. I list my products on various (over 15) different platforms to sell my refurbished watch. The first watch I sold took 5 weeks to finish the transaction and I want to sell my next one one within 1 week. I've seen other guys in my watch trading support group do it so maybe I can ask them for advice.

3. When I sell my watches, I have to negotiate a final price with my clients. My negotiation skills are not good. I need to find a better way to convert browsers into buyers.

4. Yes. I have a lot on my plate and sometimes I'm too tired to work on my business. I've already changed my eating habits, gotten quality sleep but I'm still exhausted throughout the day. What's stopping me is I don't know how to manage my energy to work full time and do my business full time. I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Joejordan95]

As a member of this community before MJ ever published his first book...

I'm curious...

What are you working towards right now?

Example Answer:
I am working towards deciding on the market I want to serve, and the specific business I want to build to serve that specific market. Right now I need help figuring out what the current needs of that market are, and don't know what to do next!
.
.
.
As a member of this amazing community, I am asking you this question right now because...

I want to know exactly where you are placing your focus, and what you need the most help with (when it comes to implementing everything talked about in MJ's books).

Aside from utilizing this forum to get what I need to help me grow my business effectively...

I want to also do what I can to give back to the community in whatever way that will add the most value to those that are here.

Being an entrepreneur...

I will always be this way no matter how old I get, or how many companies I build and sell.

It is always really fulfilling for me to help fellow entrepreneurs achieve what they want for their life and business.

I look forward to the discussion!

Ok...Go!

I'm working on moving from my foundation job in an office to specialized labour as a plasterer in the UK.

Reason for this is that I don't want to return to foundational jobs if I can avoid it and ill be able to command a better £ years to come.

Just moving myself up the wealth stairway.

 

[Trismigistus]

#1 - Your Progress Through The Unscripted Book
That is great news about your progress on the Unscripted book.

Did you read MJ's first book?

MJ's first book was a total game changer for me.

I even have a physical copy with the orange lambo on the front!

I just want to say that I recommend that you also read MJ's 3rd book after you finish Unscripted .

I am currently listening to the 3rd audio book of "The Great Rat Race Escape " again because of what I am currently working on myself with my venture. The value MJ's content has provided me and my life is second to NONE!

#2 - Your Programming Journey (Current Status)
That is great that you are putting the time in on the front end to learn how to code.

Confession: I simply don't have the patience to teach myself how to code beyond knowing how to do simple HTML tweaks in simple HTML editors. The reason? I am the type of person who would rather "paint the picture" for the developer/coder (and front end web designer) to create things for me the way I want them to. I have accepted this fact that I will always have to pay for this skillset in the future with capital and financial resources, and I am OK with that. Frankly, the idea of sitting down to teach myself how to code would just frustrate me to no end because I have more of a marketing/business development brain that adds the most value to everything I am working on. I will always hire out, and build teams around the things that will need to be done, but don't like doing.

With all of that being said...

I have one very important question for you.

That question is...

When is your business going to be pushed into the market (what is your launch day)?

If you don't have a target date, I suggest you create it now and work backwards from that date to the present day.

There is nothing that is more motivating than having a deadline to work towards, and a community of people like we have here in this forum to support you along the way!

#3 - Your Comment about "Still Being Green In All Of This" Etc...

I know you may not like hearing this from me...

But I am going to say it anyway because I am coming from a place of really wanting to help you to get to where you want to go in your life with your business. (Read: I wasn't lying when I posted this to the forum!)

Don't use your "newbie" status as an excuse for why you haven't executed on what you know needs to be built and launched into the marketplace!

MJ talks about this in his 3rd book (and throughout all of his content) about being a Problemologist.

Embrace that "problemologist persona and identity" as an entrepreneur right now...

And have your favorite question that you ask yourself on a daily basis be...

"How can I execute on this, even if right now I don't know how to get it done?"

The more you ask yourself that question on a daily basis, and the more you work towards finding the solutions and executing on them to bring your idea to market, the closer you will get to where you need to be on this journey that you are on in the entrepreneurial world.

Right now what matters is...
WHO do you want to serve?
WHAT do they need?
HOW are you going to create value for them using the CENTS framework that MJ talks about in his books?

Before I found MJ's material...

In my past, I always made the mistake focusing on the question, "What business idea should I start?"

The wisdom I have to share with you in this post here is

START WITH THE "WHO" BEFORE DECIDING ON THE "WHAT" YOU CREATE FOR THEM...THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SCALE TO THE ENTIRE MARKET (THE WHO)!

----
Example WHO/WHAT illustration for you
WHO (avatar #1 in the market) - people who want to start a successful newsletter business
WHO (avatar #2 in the market) - people who have started a newsletter business

WHAT - a content-centric website with a free email newsletter to sign up for that serves these specific avatars in this specific market (in a super high-quality way). The website and newsletter teaches them "where to start" when building a newsletter business, or "how to grow" a newsletter business if they have already started one!

I am not saying to start this business, but rather showing the way to apply the thinking to the business you create.
----

I can't stress these two points enough!

THE "WHO" MATTERS MORE THAN THE WHAT WHEN YOU FIRST START OUT!

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE "WHO" - IT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY THE NEED THAT YOU WILL BUILD YOUR ENTIRE BUSINESS AROUND!

When you understand the "WHO" and where they are at, it is wayyyy easier to create the "scalable value unit" that MJ talks about in his 3rd book that I am listening to right now (again).

#4 - It's Action Taking Time!
By when will you decide on what market you will focus on serving with your new business?

By when will you decide on the need you want to build your business around?

By when will you be ready to start coding the idea that you want to build?

Let's get this done, and get you closer to achieving what you want for your life!

I look forward to your post back!

Best,
Scott

Havent forgot about you! Been busy as hell, I will get back to you today, thanks for the reply.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[pixelvendor]

You are welcome for the cool post!

I'm curious, have you read any of MJ's books before? (If yes, which ones have you read?)

Are you familiar with the CENTS framework that MJ talks about in all of his books?

Are you aware that the entire amazon biz like you are talking about pretty much violates the CENTS commandments?

Also, in regards to your statement:

"Providing real value to the market is a hard and lengthy process which I absolutely want to go through some day, but I feel like it'll be too much right now since I've just started my journey as an entrepreneur."

This statement is really confusing for me...

Do you not believe you can create value for a specific market?

What challenges are you facing right now when it comes to implementing what MJ talks about in his books?

I look forward to your reply back!

Best,
Scott

Yes I finished the millionaire fastlane about a week ago, it was a very profound read and it has had me contemplating my life direction.

I am fairly familiar with the CENTS framework and when I did my own evaluation of the amazon biz I pretty much came to the conclusion that it lacks control and that barrier to entry is fairly low but it has very good time and scalability. So while it may not be the ideal business model it meets some of the CENTS criteria to begin with and even more so when you consider that you can scale it into creating your own product and brand with time when you eventually start selling outside of Amazon as well, making it basically perfectly match all the CENTS criteria. The argument to this could be, why not just start your own brand and product to begin with? And the answer to this would be that it requires way more up front investments to have a shot at making a half decent product from scratch compared to just flipping already existing products to build a base capital to then slowly move into private labelling and branding your own products. It would be a much more gradual and "safe" way of reaching independency from amazons customers I suppose is what I'm getting at.

Regarding whether or not I can provide value for a specific market right now... I probably can, but maybe due to fear of choosing the wrong business and losing money I don't have, I feel like it's best to get some sort of stable business that can sustain me and my current lifestyle. So that it can eventually give me the freedom to think without the pressure of having to make money every single month, there's also the chance of scaling my already existing "sustainer" business to do more than just sustain me, which was kind of what I was going at with the amazon idea. It starts of half shitty, not perfectly fulfilling the CENTS framework, not making boatloads of money, but gives me enough money to put food on the table and enough breathing room to not have to worry about working a job, while having the potential of becoming a true fastlane business that meets all the CENTS criteria. OR I automate it as far as possible while accepting that it's never going to make me a the money I want it to, and invest the profits into whichever better business system I can think of at that time.

Anyway, sorry for the rant and as you can tell I'm not able to pin point any one challenge for implementing MJs principles - it's all fog.

 

[Trismigistus]

#1 - Your Progress Through The Unscripted Book
That is great news about your progress on the Unscripted book.

Did you read MJ's first book?

MJ's first book was a total game changer for me.

I even have a physical copy with the orange lambo on the front!

I just want to say that I recommend that you also read MJ's 3rd book after you finish Unscripted .

I am currently listening to the 3rd audio book of "The Great Rat Race Escape " again because of what I am currently working on myself with my venture. The value MJ's content has provided me and my life is second to NONE!

#2 - Your Programming Journey (Current Status)
That is great that you are putting the time in on the front end to learn how to code.

Confession: I simply don't have the patience to teach myself how to code beyond knowing how to do simple HTML tweaks in simple HTML editors. The reason? I am the type of person who would rather "paint the picture" for the developer/coder (and front end web designer) to create things for me the way I want them to. I have accepted this fact that I will always have to pay for this skillset in the future with capital and financial resources, and I am OK with that. Frankly, the idea of sitting down to teach myself how to code would just frustrate me to no end because I have more of a marketing/business development brain that adds the most value to everything I am working on. I will always hire out, and build teams around the things that will need to be done, but don't like doing.

With all of that being said...

I have one very important question for you.

That question is...

When is your business going to be pushed into the market (what is your launch day)?

If you don't have a target date, I suggest you create it now and work backwards from that date to the present day.

There is nothing that is more motivating than having a deadline to work towards, and a community of people like we have here in this forum to support you along the way!

#3 - Your Comment about "Still Being Green In All Of This" Etc...

I know you may not like hearing this from me...

But I am going to say it anyway because I am coming from a place of really wanting to help you to get to where you want to go in your life with your business. (Read: I wasn't lying when I posted this to the forum!)

Don't use your "newbie" status as an excuse for why you haven't executed on what you know needs to be built and launched into the marketplace!

MJ talks about this in his 3rd book (and throughout all of his content) about being a Problemologist.

Embrace that "problemologist persona and identity" as an entrepreneur right now...

And have your favorite question that you ask yourself on a daily basis be...

"How can I execute on this, even if right now I don't know how to get it done?"

The more you ask yourself that question on a daily basis, and the more you work towards finding the solutions and executing on them to bring your idea to market, the closer you will get to where you need to be on this journey that you are on in the entrepreneurial world.

Right now what matters is...
WHO do you want to serve?
WHAT do they need?
HOW are you going to create value for them using the CENTS framework that MJ talks about in his books?

Before I found MJ's material...

In my past, I always made the mistake focusing on the question, "What business idea should I start?"

The wisdom I have to share with you in this post here is

START WITH THE "WHO" BEFORE DECIDING ON THE "WHAT" YOU CREATE FOR THEM...THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SCALE TO THE ENTIRE MARKET (THE WHO)!

----
Example WHO/WHAT illustration for you
WHO (avatar #1 in the market) - people who want to start a successful newsletter business
WHO (avatar #2 in the market) - people who have started a newsletter business

WHAT - a content-centric website with a free email newsletter to sign up for that serves these specific avatars in this specific market (in a super high-quality way). The website and newsletter teaches them "where to start" when building a newsletter business, or "how to grow" a newsletter business if they have already started one!

I am not saying to start this business, but rather showing the way to apply the thinking to the business you create.
----

I can't stress these two points enough!

THE "WHO" MATTERS MORE THAN THE WHAT WHEN YOU FIRST START OUT!

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE "WHO" - IT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY THE NEED THAT YOU WILL BUILD YOUR ENTIRE BUSINESS AROUND!

When you understand the "WHO" and where they are at, it is wayyyy easier to create the "scalable value unit" that MJ talks about in his 3rd book that I am listening to right now (again).

#4 - It's Action Taking Time!
By when will you decide on what market you will focus on serving with your new business?

By when will you decide on the need you want to build your business around?

By when will you be ready to start coding the idea that you want to build?

Let's get this done, and get you closer to achieving what you want for your life!

I look forward to your post back!

Best,
Scott

Hey Scott,

My current plans are to finish Unscripted and The great rat race escape . I want to finish taking in as much from MJs book as possible to develop my business mind before I pull the trigger on anything. I finished the Fastlane about a few weeks ago, so I just want to make sure I learn from the books what I am supposed to in-order to execute a good fastlane venture.

I had one idea a few weeks ago that would require a website, that is what preempted the coding training. So right now I am working on the coding training while finishing the books. A couple days ago, I discovered a new problem and a solution to go with it. So my plan with that is to use the different frameworks and other metrics in the books to decide ultimately which idea to pour myself into. I will also need a website for the second idea as well, so the coding will be here to stay. The second idea takes me to make a prototype.

For the first idea, I have created a roadmap of all the milestones needed for launch, but I have not attached dates yet. Once I am finished with the books then I will decide which idea I need to execute on and do it. That is when I will fill in the dates. This isn't all that is going on but it is the main part of it. Once I make a decision on which business to run with, which will probably be within the next month, then the ball will start rolling in the direction of that path.

I really appreciate your message and time. I look forward to messaging back and forth, I have learned from your post and look forward to more in the future.

Respectfully,
Tris

 

[NewsletterScott]

Hey Scott,

Thank you for the response. I forgot to mention this but my business is a side hustle where I buy, fix and flip men's luxury watches.

1. Right now, I'm re-writing some of the ads I have for my listings on Ebay, Chrono24 etc. I read a book from the library on how to create better listings that sell and I'm implementing their suggestions

2. I forgot to mention this. But I buy, fix and resell men's luxury watches. I list my products on various (over 15) different platforms to sell my refurbished watch. The first watch I sold took 5 weeks to finish the transaction and I want to sell my next one one within 1 week. I've seen other guys in my watch trading support group do it so maybe I can ask them for advice.

3. When I sell my watches, I have to negotiate a final price with my clients. My negotiation skills are not good. I need to find a better way to convert browsers into buyers.

4. Yes. I have a lot on my plate and sometimes I'm too tired to work on my business. I've already changed my eating habits, gotten quality sleep but I'm still exhausted throughout the day. What's stopping me is I don't know how to manage my energy to work full time and do my business full time. I'm open to suggestions.

You are welcome!

I'm glad to hear that you are hustling like a boss.

That is how it starts!

In regards to point #1 (Re: Copy for the ads on the platforms where you sell your stuff)
Ok cool. Yes...knowing how to write copy, and "sell via print" will always be a skill you will need to implement as an entrepreneur no matter what business you start or build. The better your copywriting skills, the more successful you will be.

>>>DIRECT HELP FOR YOU WITH POINT #1 FROM ME: If you need any help making your ads better, feel free to reach out here in this thread with the ad, and I will help you make them more effective than they already are! We can work together on helping you "beat your control" ad that you normally use so that you can sell your next listing in 3 days or less. The words you use in the ad are SO CRUCIAL for attracting the right buyer that leads to a quick sale. I am happy to help you any way I can, just let me know.

In regards to point #3 (Re: Negotiation)
Here is what I will say about that...

First off you have two choices

#1 - Find a book that you could buy on learning how to negotiate.
#2 - If you want the "faster" solution, I would hire a sales coach that you could consult with before you go into your next negotiation for your next watch. If you need a coach to help you, let me know I have a great referral for that.

In regards to point #4 (Re: Energy management)
Welcome to the club!

I am in the same boat as you in regards to "needing a full time job" while building my business into a massive success.

What that means is that...

Right now I am a casino dealer that is "trading time for money" in a job while I focus on building my business into a success outside of the job.

Going to work is my "break" (even though I deal in the high-limit room, and private salons with players who can bet up to $400,000 per hand), but when I get home...it is all about doing what needs to get done for myself and my future, so that I can make my casino job an option in 10 years or less. The venture I am working on is structured and built to be sold for at least 8 figures in the future, but I accept that it will take time to get there.

With all of that being said...

In regards to your personal schedule and how to manage it to help you stay sharp as you build your business, it all comes down to doing the "trial and error" with your schedule knowing what must be done for your personal and business life. There is no "one size fits all" solution that will help you instantly.

You must slog through the frustration of what you are going through with your schedule to figure out the most optimal time to manage your personal life and business life. Only you can figure that out for yourself.

What are you currently using to manage this aspect of your business (time management and personal care)?

Other Questions I Want To Ask You
-What made you want to get into this kind of business?
-What are your plans for scaling this business up?
-Is this the business that will make you wealthy and free?
-What books have you read from MJ?

I look forward to your reply!

 

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[NewsletterScott]

I'm working on moving from my foundation job in an office to specialized labour as a plasterer in the UK.

Reason for this is that I don't want to return to foundational jobs if I can avoid it and ill be able to command a better £ years to come.

Just moving myself up the wealth stairway.

I am sorry for my ignorance, but I am not sure what you mean when you say "foundation job."

Would you please provide me some clarity about what that term means?

Outside of that...

What is the outcome you are pursuing at the end of the day?

What books have you read from MJ, and how are you applying the info in the books into the business venture you are working on (if you are working on one)?

 

[NewsletterScott]

Yes I finished the millionaire fastlane about a week ago, it was a very profound read and it has had me contemplating my life direction.

I am fairly familiar with the CENTS framework and when I did my own evaluation of the amazon biz I pretty much came to the conclusion that it lacks control and that barrier to entry is fairly low but it has very good time and scalability. So while it may not be the ideal business model it meets some of the CENTS criteria to begin with and even more so when you consider that you can scale it into creating your own product and brand with time when you eventually start selling outside of Amazon as well, making it basically perfectly match all the CENTS criteria. The argument to this could be, why not just start your own brand and product to begin with? And the answer to this would be that it requires way more up front investments to have a shot at making a half decent product from scratch compared to just flipping already existing products to build a base capital to then slowly move into private labelling and branding your own products. It would be a much more gradual and "safe" way of reaching independency from amazons customers I suppose is what I'm getting at.

Regarding whether or not I can provide value for a specific market right now... I probably can, but maybe due to fear of choosing the wrong business and losing money I don't have, I feel like it's best to get some sort of stable business that can sustain me and my current lifestyle. So that it can eventually give me the freedom to think without the pressure of having to make money every single month, there's also the chance of scaling my already existing "sustainer" business to do more than just sustain me, which was kind of what I was going at with the amazon idea. It starts of half shitty, not perfectly fulfilling the CENTS framework, not making boatloads of money, but gives me enough money to put food on the table and enough breathing room to not have to worry about working a job, while having the potential of becoming a true fastlane business that meets all the CENTS criteria. OR I automate it as far as possible while accepting that it's never going to make me a the money I want it to, and invest the profits into whichever better business system I can think of at that time.

Anyway, sorry for the rant and as you can tell I'm not able to pin point any one challenge for implementing MJs principles - it's all fog.

Congrats on finishing the book!

What were the biggest takeaways that you got from the book?

Without sounding like a living, breathing walking advertisement for MJ's stuff...

I would also recommend reading The Great Rat Race Escape .

The way @MJ DeMarco packaged his most recent book (book #3) is absolutely brilliant.

Book #3 takes his first book and takes it to a completely new level in regards to the amount of value it delivers.

When you write a book that teaches the concepts that will help the brand new entrepreneur, and then create a "fictional story" to show how to apply the concepts into a business system/idea...it creates a powerful learning experience for the reader that will impact them for the rest of their life.

I also recommend that you get the audio book for book #3 because it is so well done! I personally enjoy listening to it in the car to stay sharp and keep my mind "turned on" for the business I am currently building.

When I refer people to MJ's work, I always give them book #3 first because it packaged everything he teaches so well to deliver the most amount of value for the brand new person!

Ok...now to your reply.

You are correct in your judgements about the Amazon business.

I totally understand where you are coming from with why you are choosing the Amazon business model and platform, but at the same time I personally would recommend that you find another "first business" to start that doesn't have so much competition and crazy high diminishing returns over time.

I would suggest you focus on figuring out a market of people you want to serve first, and then figure out what they need/want.

Once you are clear on that, then figure out what needs to be created for them to move the business idea forward.

There are plenty of progress threads in this forum that you can learn from as you apply their learning and wisdom to your own journey.

Plus...I am sure that if you come up with something that has "legs" on a very small scale, who knows what is possible while starting and continuing to update your progress thread. You may be able to raise funding and get it off the ground in a more effective way.

I look forward to your reply.

Best,
Scott

 

[NewsletterScott]

Hey Scott,

My current plans are to finish Unscripted and The great rat race escape . I want to finish taking in as much from MJs book as possible to develop my business mind before I pull the trigger on anything. I finished the Fastlane about a few weeks ago, so I just want to make sure I learn from the books what I am supposed to in-order to execute a good fastlane venture.

I had one idea a few weeks ago that would require a website, that is what preempted the coding training. So right now I am working on the coding training while finishing the books. A couple days ago, I discovered a new problem and a solution to go with it. So my plan with that is to use the different frameworks and other metrics in the books to decide ultimately which idea to pour myself into. I will also need a website for the second idea as well, so the coding will be here to stay. The second idea takes me to make a prototype.

For the first idea, I have created a roadmap of all the milestones needed for launch, but I have not attached dates yet. Once I am finished with the books then I will decide which idea I need to execute on and do it. That is when I will fill in the dates. This isn't all that is going on but it is the main part of it. Once I make a decision on which business to run with, which will probably be within the next month, then the ball will start rolling in the direction of that path.

I really appreciate your message and time. I look forward to messaging back and forth, I have learned from your post and look forward to more in the future.

Respectfully,
Tris

That is a great plan! How far along are you in both books?

I understand why you want to read all the books first, before you "pull the trigger."

I am the same way as you (I like reading everything before executing).

If you have the time to invest in the books before taking action, make it happen!

Just curious...how old are you?

I have a confession to make....

After I read MJ's first book, I literally said out loud...

"Dammit! I wish this book was available for me to read in high school or college! I would have already achieved what I wanted for my life, and would have saved myself years of wasted time and thousands of dollars on shitty business ideas that I would have never started being armed with this knowledge!"

Oh well...timing is timing...and what happened happened.

Now to your post!

What were the biggest takeaways that you got from MJ's first book that you have already promised yourself that you will apply when you get your first idea up and running?!

In regards to your second and third paragraphs in your post...

Please listen to me...

Only pursue one idea at a time.

Don't try, and serve two masters (businesses) at the same time.

You will regret it in a major way.

You have been warned!

-----

I also feel like I need to tell you...

When it comes to your two ideas...

What market or need are you wanting to serve, and what kind of solution will need to be created?

I am asking you this because...

Depending on what your answer is will directly influence what you implement and execute in the short term.

If you can provide me some more clarity on this, I may be able to point you in the best direction possible to help you start taking the right action sooner rather than later.

After you start your idea, I want you to send me your progress thread that you will create here so I can follow along and help you where I can reach success faster.

Sound good?

The feeling is mutual about connecting here in this thread! I am excited for your journey, and look forward to being a positive influence on what you ultimately choose and what comes from it in the future!

Best,
Scott

 

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[pixelvendor]

Congrats on finishing the book!

What were the biggest takeaways that you got from the book?

Without sounding like a living, breathing walking advertisement for MJ's stuff...

I would also recommend reading The Great Rat Race Escape .

The way @MJ DeMarco packaged his most recent book (book #3) is absolutely brilliant.

Book #3 takes his first book and takes it to a completely new level in regards to the amount of value it delivers.

When you write a book that teaches the concepts that will help the brand new entrepreneur, and then create a "fictional story" to show how to apply the concepts into a business system/idea...it creates a powerful learning experience for the reader that will impact them for the rest of their life.

I also recommend that you get the audio book for book #3 because it is so well done! I personally enjoy listening to it in the car to stay sharp and keep my mind "turned on" for the business I am currently building.

When I refer people to MJ's work, I always give them book #3 first because it packaged everything he teaches so well to deliver the most amount of value for the brand new person!

Ok...now to your reply.

You are correct in your judgements about the Amazon business.

I totally understand where you are coming from with why you are choosing the Amazon business model and platform, but at the same time I personally would recommend that you find another "first business" to start that doesn't have so much competition and crazy high diminishing returns over time.

I would suggest you focus on figuring out a market of people you want to serve first, and then figure out what they need/want.

Once you are clear on that, then figure out what needs to be created for them to move the business idea forward.

There are plenty of progress threads in this forum that you can learn from as you apply their learning and wisdom to your own journey.

Plus...I am sure that if you come up with something that has "legs" on a very small scale, who knows what is possible while starting and continuing to update your progress thread. You may be able to raise funding and get it off the ground in a more effective way.

I look forward to your reply.

Best,
Scott

Firstly, I really appreciate your reply and would like to thank you for all the insights you've provided.

Regarding TFM, my biggest takeaway was definitely the leverage part. How infinitely important it is to focus your time & energy into a system that has potential of generating millions by separating your own time commitment from that of the systems.
Understanding this has made realize that starting a business is insanely more powerful than having any one job could ever be, it's just comically more worth it money wise. Also, I'll never forget the story of Azur and Chuma haha.

I'm definitely going to jump on The great rat escape once I finish Unscripted and now I'm looking forward to it even more! Also getting the audio is probably also a good idea - thanks for the tip!

Although leaving the Amazon business wasn't what I was hoping to hear right now, I'm pretty sure you might be on to something and I'm glad I'm having these realizations now rather than 1 year down the line while being deep in the trenches. I appreciate your honesty.

I actually stumbled upon another idea and would love to hear your thoughts on it if you've got the time,

So it was during my daily walk that I overheard a mom talking on the phone with what was probably another mom that I stumbled upon this business idea....

Their conversation went something like this:
"Yeah our daughter is on the phone a lot even though she doesn’t own her own phone yet she really likes to be on youtube and stuff but when we tell her to get off she gets a little grumpy but at least gets off. Our boy however throws a tantrum and starts breaking shit around the house when we tell him that it's time to do something else, I suppose it’s easier for him to get addicted since he has ADHD. And we also don’t want to take it away from him if that’s the thing he likes to spend time on the most then we don’t want to be telling him off all the time, which one of your kids is the hardest to deal with?”

This made something click for me... people don't know how to deal with social media addiction at ALL, a mom saying that she doesn't want to be overly bothering her young kid because "it's what he likes to do the most" is DANGEROUS. Because the social media pull can't be compared to an interest or hobby or anything like it. The way she was talking about it concerned me, it's like they are accepting that "oh my kid isn't so much into playing with cars, he's more into Tik Tok" - But it's not a question of preferring cars over legos, it's a matter of highly stimulating content on deeply manipulated addiction inducing platforms made by the world's most brilliant minds, funded with billions of dollars - all competing for your 4 year olds attention... Poor guy doesn't stand a chance!

Anyway, maybe in a humble attempt to fight back for the millions of little guys out there who are all being ran over by social media companies just like this kid, The idea was born..

The concept is to help young kids but also teenagers/adults with various internet addictions. Primarily social media addiction which is most common but also video game addictions. To make things a bit easier I will start off with the avatar of a regular Mom who wants to help her young kids to break free from their phone addictions. But the idea is that the program or video course will be a step by step guide to help the customer break free from their addiction while still being able to enjoy life. Maybe by gamifying their day to day lives, like getting rewards for doing boring shit, dopamine detoxing etc. I'm not entirely sure how it will all be done yet but I know that with some research I will be able to provide a prototype just to test it asap and get talking with customers in order to hear which things work and which things don't. Then I'll eventually start recognizing patterns and add more content to the video course based on the inputs I'm getting. I was a video game addict myself during my teenage years so I know how hard it can be to solve this issue, which is a bit intimidating but at the same time reassures me that it's possible to break free.
Question is if it's possible to find a cost & time efficient enough system that can solve the issue without ending up offering straight up therapy sessions... Lol.

The product will be a video course/program that has step by step actionable steps that the person will have to take in order to gradually get rid of the addiction. Along with this we will offer personal weekly calls in order to make sure that everything is on track and to help solve unexpected issues that they might face. We will offer some sort of money back guarantee if the program doesn't work for their kid (either restricted by time or solely by results), meaning that the customer is taking 0 risk by getting into our program. The thing that gives me a feeling of that this might work is that I will go into this with a feeling of that I genuinely want to help these guys, which will help me become good pretty fast (I hope), because I will actually want to hear the issues they are facing. Not sure though, need more opinions and some time to digest for now.

I ran the business in the CENTS framework and got an average of 8.8/10 so there's that, it's all based on and limited by my personal perception of each aspect of the business though.

Anyway, thanks for reading,

Peace!

 

[Trismigistus]

That is a great plan! How far along are you in both books?

I understand why you want to read all the books first, before you "pull the trigger."

I am the same way as you (I like reading everything before executing).

If you have the time to invest in the books before taking action, make it happen!

Just curious...how old are you?

I have a confession to make....

After I read MJ's first book, I literally said out loud...

"Dammit! I wish this book was available for me to read in high school or college! I would have already achieved what I wanted for my life, and would have saved myself years of wasted time and thousands of dollars on shitty business ideas that I would have never started being armed with this knowledge!"

Oh well...timing is timing...and what happened happened.

Now to your post!

What were the biggest takeaways that you got from MJ's first book that you have already promised yourself that you will apply when you get your first idea up and running?!

In regards to your second and third paragraphs in your post...

Please listen to me...

Only pursue one idea at a time.

Don't try, and serve two masters (businesses) at the same time.

You will regret it in a major way.

You have been warned!

-----

I also feel like I need to tell you...

When it comes to your two ideas...

What market or need are you wanting to serve, and what kind of solution will need to be created?

I am asking you this because...

Depending on what your answer is will directly influence what you implement and execute in the short term.

If you can provide me some more clarity on this, I may be able to point you in the best direction possible to help you start taking the right action sooner rather than later.

After you start your idea, I want you to send me your progress thread that you will create here so I can follow along and help you where I can reach success faster.

Sound good?

The feeling is mutual about connecting here in this thread! I am excited for your journey, and look forward to being a positive influence on what you ultimately choose and what comes from it in the future!

Best,
Scott

Hey Scott!

I have finished fastlane and I have about 30 pages left of unscripted left. I am currently 34 years old, I posted an intro thread a bit back if you would like to know more about my background: INTRO - Yet Another Intro.

I am very new to this page and the people on it. Tell me about yourself, who the heck are ya? haha, what kind of business success have you had. I really appreciate this thread you made and taking your time to message me and help me, it is awesome.

My biggest takeaway from MJs first book, beyond the practical knowledge he puts out such as CENTS, etc., is that tremendous amount of work and sacrifice that it will take to become successful. I have been very moved and motivated by MJs words that I have tried to do all that I can to implement and gain momentum in the right direction. So ever since, I have been using all my spare time to work on entrepreneurship. I stopped doing all the activities that do not get me to my goals. Mainly, I switched youtube, video games, and TV, for all business forwarding habits. Switched youtube for the fastlane forum, switched video games and TV for learning and working on coding. I;ve had a life time of leisure, but ever since recently and since my FTE, I refuse to live the life I once did and live the grind to make something more meaningful in my life. I plan to write about my FTE and what led me to go all in on building a business.

As far as the two ideas, I will use the frameworks MJ put in his books to choose the better of the 2 ideas then go all in on that one idea. I've learned too much to split my efforts between two ideas when I am first starting out. What was your first ever business?

As for the market, I came at it from a different approach. When I would go through out my day, I would always make sure my business/producer mind was engaged and I would look for needs and problems. That is how I found my 2 ideas, found 2 needs/problems and thought of my solution as to how I would deal with them. They are both completely different routes, one is a total internet company, the other involved finishing the designs and somehow creating a prototype. I've never invented anything before, but I will certainly try if I go down that route. I have the invention and most of the design concept ironed out, just to see if I could even design or develop it into a viable idea. I was thinking of joining the INSIDERS when I get a little closer to bounce my analysis off people and see what they thought, not sure.

Also, I will definitely start a progress thread, it sounds like a good idea. I joined this forum to learn and to be around like minded people, so I can see the many benefits from starting a public progress thread. I will keep you posted on when I do make the thread. After I finish the last book, then itll be crunch time to select an idea and go for it! I see that happening in no longer than a month; to finish the book, conduct the comparative analysis between the ideas, then pull the trigger on one!

I really appreciate you reaching out Scott, looking forward to hearing back from you!

Respectfully,
Tris

 

[NewsletterScott]

Although leaving the Amazon business wasn't what I was hoping to hear right now, I'm pretty sure you might be on to something and I'm glad I'm having these realizations now rather than 1 year down the line while being deep in the trenches. I appreciate your honesty.

I actually stumbled upon another idea and would love to hear your thoughts on it if you've got the time,

So it was during my daily walk that I overheard a mom talking on the phone with what was probably another mom that I stumbled upon this business idea....

I am glad you are realizing this as well.

The Amazon biz is a "race to the bottom" as MJ talks about in his book "The Great Rat Race Escape ."

I would also recommend that you read MJ's 3rd book (Rat Race) before reading Unscripted .

The audio book for book #3 really drives all the key points home, and the way it was put together with the fictional story he tells throughout the book (that runs in parallel next to the "teaching content") is just incredible.

I know I sound like a living breathing walking advertisement for this book, but the fact of the matter is...

The Great Rat Race Escape is one of the best books I have ever come across for brand new entrepreneurs because it breaks things down in such an easy to understand way. Adding to that...the story MJ tells alongside the teaching of the concepts in the book drives the point home so clearly for the brand new person to really absorb what MJ wants people to understand before they take action on a business.

The book is so good that I recommend people reading that book first before I even talk about MJ's first book.

I actually stumbled upon another idea and would love to hear your thoughts on it if you've got the time,

So it was during my daily walk that I overheard a mom talking on the phone with what was probably another mom that I stumbled upon this business idea....

Their conversation went something like this:
"Yeah our daughter is on the phone a lot even though she doesn’t own her own phone yet she really likes to be on youtube and stuff but when we tell her to get off she gets a little grumpy but at least gets off. Our boy however throws a tantrum and starts breaking shit around the house when we tell him that it's time to do something else, I suppose it’s easier for him to get addicted since he has ADHD. And we also don’t want to take it away from him if that’s the thing he likes to spend time on the most then we don’t want to be telling him off all the time, which one of your kids is the hardest to deal with?”

This made something click for me... people don't know how to deal with social media addiction at ALL, a mom saying that she doesn't want to be overly bothering her young kid because "it's what he likes to do the most" is DANGEROUS. Because the social media pull can't be compared to an interest or hobby or anything like it. The way she was talking about it concerned me, it's like they are accepting that "oh my kid isn't so much into playing with cars, he's more into Tik Tok" - But it's not a question of preferring cars over legos, it's a matter of highly stimulating content on deeply manipulated addiction inducing platforms made by the world's most brilliant minds, funded with billions of dollars - all competing for your 4 year olds attention... Poor guy doesn't stand a chance!

Anyway, maybe in a humble attempt to fight back for the millions of little guys out there who are all being ran over by social media companies just like this kid, The idea was born..

The concept is to help young kids but also teenagers/adults with various internet addictions. Primarily social media addiction which is most common but also video game addictions. To make things a bit easier I will start off with the avatar of a regular Mom who wants to help her young kids to break free from their phone addictions. But the idea is that the program or video course will be a step by step guide to help the customer break free from their addiction while still being able to enjoy life. Maybe by gamifying their day to day lives, like getting rewards for doing boring shit, dopamine detoxing etc. I'm not entirely sure how it will all be done yet but I know that with some research I will be able to provide a prototype just to test it asap and get talking with customers in order to hear which things work and which things don't. Then I'll eventually start recognizing patterns and add more content to the video course based on the inputs I'm getting. I was a video game addict myself during my teenage years so I know how hard it can be to solve this issue, which is a bit intimidating but at the same time reassures me that it's possible to break free.
Question is if it's possible to find a cost & time efficient enough system that can solve the issue without ending up offering straight up therapy sessions... Lol.

The product will be a video course/program that has step by step actionable steps that the person will have to take in order to gradually get rid of the addiction. Along with this we will offer personal weekly calls in order to make sure that everything is on track and to help solve unexpected issues that they might face. We will offer some sort of money back guarantee if the program doesn't work for their kid (either restricted by time or solely by results), meaning that the customer is taking 0 risk by getting into our program. The thing that gives me a feeling of that this might work is that I will go into this with a feeling of that I genuinely want to help these guys, which will help me become good pretty fast (I hope), because I will actually want to hear the issues they are facing. Not sure though, need more opinions and some time to digest for now.

I ran the business in the CENTS framework and got an average of 8.8/10 so there's that, it's all based on and limited by my personal perception of each aspect of the business though.

Anyway, thanks for reading,

Peace!

In regards to this idea.

Here are my thoughts...
1) You have definitely identified a need/problem that could to be solved with a business
2) You have definitely identified a specific market (the mom's who have the kids)

Here are the other thoughts that matter...
-->The target market is the mom
-->The hook you would use for that "mom market" with this business is: "Is Your Child's Social Media Addiction Ruining Your Family?" (Or something to that degree that points out that the kids addiction to social media is really messing things up either in the relationship or with the family as a whole).

Here are the things that you need to also think about...
-->Put yourself in the shoes of the mother in your market who is interested in what you may have to offer. Let's say that she came across your ad online and clicked it. What is on that page? What is your offer?

Now taking it one step further...think about how your offer impacts the market you are targeting.
-->Will your offer be a product that the mom can use that will give them the tools and mechanisms to help their kid not have the "unhealthy addiction" or will the product be for the kid itself to use on their own.

My guess is that the market that would be better to go after would be the mom who wants to solve the problem, and the product you create is catered directly for the mother to use so she can work with her child directly.

Here's why that market is the better choice...

The chance that the "addicted kid" wakes up one day and says, "I have a problem, and I need to find something that helps me not be addicted to social media" is very very slim.

Remember...
-->People don't change unless they really need to change (or have the deep desire to change)...the idea that you would create a product for the mom to first come across, for the kid to then use to help them get rid of their addiction wouldn't work well in my opinion (but I do accept that I may be wrong)...The data will always do all of the talking.

In regards to the deliverable for your offer (that is always easy to figure out, but it should come AFTER speaking with and interacting with the market that you will focus on serving with your business)...which in this case would be the mom.

Right now with this idea...you must do more work by diving deep into the market of mom's with kids who are addicted.

What I would do in this instance is...

Find 10 moms with kids who have unhealthy addictions to social media, and have conversations with them. When you talk with them notice how frustrated they are by the issue, and if they are willing to seek out a solution to solve it.

Here are some questions you can use in those conversations...

Q1 - Tell me about your child's addiction to social media
Q2 - What typically happens when you want them to get off, but they choose not to?
Q3 - If I could give you a magic wand that would give you the power to make things better, what would that look like for you when it came to you effectively managing your child's addiction to social media?
Q4 - What is the outcome you would want to create and work towards with your child and their social media addiction?
Q5 - What ways have you tried to solve this problem before? What did you learn? What other solutions did you consider?

I would also then do this exercise as well...

Put yourself in the shoes of a mom with a kid who has an unhealthy addiction to social media, and search online for a solution as if you were in the specific situation yourself.

This is where you will exercise your "empathy muscle" to better understand what is currently in the market to help mom's solve a problem like this (if they have it).

I would also do keyword research for this niche as well, and again look up the key terms that you believe mom's are searching on the internet when they decide they need to find a solution to help their child's addiction (but they currently don't know what to do).

Another way to start testing the market (if you don't have any access to moms with kids in your network) would be to run ads targeted to moms with the hook message similar to what I explained above (About how the addiction is runing the family).

Once you get the mother's info, focus on having one-on-one conversations with them to really figure out and identify the pain points they have, and how they would love to have you help them solve it. After these specific conversations, it will allow you to have a better idea to decide if this is worth pursuing or not.

That's all I have for now.

What are your thoughts?

 

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[Subsonic]

As a member of this community before MJ ever published his first book...

I'm curious...

What are you working towards right now?

Example Answer:
I am working towards deciding on the market I want to serve, and the specific business I want to build to serve that specific market. Right now I need help figuring out what the current needs of that market are, and don't know what to do next!
.
.
.
As a member of this amazing community, I am asking you this question right now because...

I want to know exactly where you are placing your focus, and what you need the most help with (when it comes to implementing everything talked about in MJ's books).

Aside from utilizing this forum to get what I need to help me grow my business effectively...

I want to also do what I can to give back to the community in whatever way that will add the most value to those that are here.

Being an entrepreneur...

I will always be this way no matter how old I get, or how many companies I build and sell.

It is always really fulfilling for me to help fellow entrepreneurs achieve what they want for their life and business.

I look forward to the discussion!

Ok...Go!

I am working on finding a few people I can clean windows for till the end of the year. Also, I want to find out how well my new flyers will do.
Just keeping it simple.

 

[NewsletterScott]

Hey Scott!

I have finished fastlane and I have about 30 pages left of unscripted left. I am currently 34 years old, I posted an intro thread a bit back if you would like to know more about my background: INTRO - Yet Another Intro.

I am very new to this page and the people on it. Tell me about yourself, who the heck are ya? haha, what kind of business success have you had. I really appreciate this thread you made and taking your time to message me and help me, it is awesome.

My biggest takeaway from MJs first book, beyond the practical knowledge he puts out such as CENTS, etc., is that tremendous amount of work and sacrifice that it will take to become successful. I have been very moved and motivated by MJs words that I have tried to do all that I can to implement and gain momentum in the right direction. So ever since, I have been using all my spare time to work on entrepreneurship. I stopped doing all the activities that do not get me to my goals. Mainly, I switched youtube, video games, and TV, for all business forwarding habits. Switched youtube for the fastlane forum, switched video games and TV for learning and working on coding. I;ve had a life time of leisure, but ever since recently and since my FTE, I refuse to live the life I once did and live the grind to make something more meaningful in my life. I plan to write about my FTE and what led me to go all in on building a business.

As far as the two ideas, I will use the frameworks MJ put in his books to choose the better of the 2 ideas then go all in on that one idea. I've learned too much to split my efforts between two ideas when I am first starting out. What was your first ever business?

As for the market, I came at it from a different approach. When I would go through out my day, I would always make sure my business/producer mind was engaged and I would look for needs and problems. That is how I found my 2 ideas, found 2 needs/problems and thought of my solution as to how I would deal with them. They are both completely different routes, one is a total internet company, the other involved finishing the designs and somehow creating a prototype. I've never invented anything before, but I will certainly try if I go down that route. I have the invention and most of the design concept ironed out, just to see if I could even design or develop it into a viable idea. I was thinking of joining the INSIDERS when I get a little closer to bounce my analysis off people and see what they thought, not sure.

Also, I will definitely start a progress thread, it sounds like a good idea. I joined this forum to learn and to be around like minded people, so I can see the many benefits from starting a public progress thread. I will keep you posted on when I do make the thread. After I finish the last book, then itll be crunch time to select an idea and go for it! I see that happening in no longer than a month; to finish the book, conduct the comparative analysis between the ideas, then pull the trigger on one!

I really appreciate you reaching out Scott, looking forward to hearing back from you!

Respectfully,
Tris

Hi Tris,

Fantastic progress on the book! You are well on your way.

Do you have any plans to read MJ's 3rd book as well? It is by far one of my favorites.

After reading your intro post (the other thread) here are my thoughts...
-You are operating from a position of strength! That is awesome!
-Working from home, and earning a great income is amazing!
-It's great that you see how it doesn't matter what you are being paid right now in your job, you are still one "bad economy" or "stupid messed up event" away from "being on the streets" (which obviously has inspired your fastlane pursuit)!
-Very cool about how you went into the military (I have family who went in and out as well)
-I love the line where you say, "Now my heart and mind are in my business" (I am the same way every day too)
-I love reading how MJ's book changed your point of focus outside of your job (So awesome)

Now to your post...

For your "Tell me about yourself" question (and what biz success have you had etc), here is what I will share...

PHASE #1 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
My entrepreneurial journey started with reading Rich Dad Poor Dad my sophomore year in high school (2002).

I played baseball in high school, and came home from practice one day where the book was on the couch. I called my dad up and said, "What is this?" He replied, "It was on the national best sellers list and I think it would contribute to our conversations about business, life and the economy." (Little did he know that this one book would shift me from wanting to be a roller coaster designer to wanting to build an empire that made me wealthy and in control of my time where I could live like I wanted to 24/7/365).

After reading RDPD book, I went on to read EVERYTHING Kiyosaki wrote because I was fully committed to creating the life I wanted to live.

I also read books from other authors like Robert Allen, T. Harv Eker, Napoleon Hill etc.

During this time of my life, I became a student of creating wealth...and spent more time "figuring out what I needed to do to make it happen later" so I could execute it later after college was over.

Before high school ended, I was recruited to pitch and play baseball at Boston College.

Interstingly enough...in the middle of my senior season, I started having back problems (bulging disks) that created a horrible sciatica pain that was sent down my leg. This will matter later in the next phase.

Also...before high school ended, I was exposed to the MLM business model (It was brought up in a book from Robert Allen that I read). This will matter in the next phase as well.

PHASE #2 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
When I got to college, my commitment to "finding a way to not have to 'get a job' after graduation was in full force."

I took this on as a personal challenge, and kept it as a focus on my mind.

With the context I had after reading all of the Rich Dad books, the idea of "Going to school, getting good grades, finding a safe secure job with benefits, and sailing on into the distance and a great future" WAS NOT how I wanted to live my life after graduation.

And then...something totally f*cked up happened to me.

I was hit by a proverbial MACK TRUCK less than 3 months into my freshmen year at college.

The bottom line is...

I lost my father to a silent heart attack right in front of me. His wake was on my 19th birthday, and his funeral was the day before Thanksgiving. This all happened back in Boston during the same week.

Going through the pain of this event in my life at the time was so totally f*cked up, and the timing couldn't have been any worse for me and my future. Everything was now on my shoulders, and I couldn't rely on my father to help me with anything going forward.

PHASE #3 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
After taking the time to grieve my father during my freshmen year, and doing what I could to get back up on my feet in the best way I knew how to, I was hit with another challenge.

The back problems I had in high school started getting worse, and eventually led me to walking away from baseball entirely. My personal health got to the point of either choosing to continue playing Baseball (and risking me being able to walk in the future ever again) or putting my health and wellness first to start creating the life I wanted to create given all the information I was armed with after reading all of the Kiyosaki books.

As I continued going to college here are the other bullet points that make sense to share with you...

Point #1 - I ran the Boston College Entrepreneur Society from 2006-2008
------>This is where I wish I had MJ's books to learn from (but they weren't written yet)
------>During college I spent a lot of time and thousands of dollars in the MLM game (because I didn't know any better)
------>While in the MLM game, I started learning how to use the internet to build businesses
------>The skills I acquired while building MLM's online back then with my sponsors teaching me and guiding me along include, copywriting, email marketing, autoresponder setup, email list building, lead generation, sales-based conversations, lead-based conversations, market research, wire-framing websites etc. etc. etc. (basically all of the key skills any smart business person has and uses when starting, building and growing a company)
------>I still use all of these skills today that I learned from my MLM days (even though I never really created "MLM Success" in my eyes). Back then to me MLM success was building a "residual check" to $10,000/mo or more.

Even though my time in MLM was a total complete shit show with thousands of dollars and thousands and thousands of hours wasted trying to build one successfully, the skills I acquired during that time, and how I have used those skills has generated me thousands of dollars over my life time being in the entrepreneurial game.

Point #2 - Running the Boston College Entrepreneur Society Triggered My Next Step
------>I had a budget and would invite speakers to speak to the club (and they would get an article in the school newspaper)
------>One of the relationships I formed with one of the speakers eventually led to my first gig that I landed after graduation
------>I initially got a job with the Macy's home store (corporate) upon my graduation (to please my mother), but left the job on the graduation day of the training program to help this one speaker launch a brand new book (which kicked off my entrepreneurial path out of college). This guy is relatively well-known today and eventually used what I helped him build at the beginning of his publishing journey to get a book deal with Penguin. If you want to know more details about this, I will happily talk with you over the phone and/or in a private message here on the site.
------>Eventually I parted ways with this author in July of 2009 and then started a marketing consulting company after in August 2009.

POST IS CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[NewsletterScott]

Hey Scott!

I have finished fastlane and I have about 30 pages left of unscripted left. I am currently 34 years old, I posted an intro thread a bit back if you would like to know more about my background: INTRO - Yet Another Intro.

I am very new to this page and the people on it. Tell me about yourself, who the heck are ya? haha, what kind of business success have you had. I really appreciate this thread you made and taking your time to message me and help me, it is awesome.

My biggest takeaway from MJs first book, beyond the practical knowledge he puts out such as CENTS, etc., is that tremendous amount of work and sacrifice that it will take to become successful. I have been very moved and motivated by MJs words that I have tried to do all that I can to implement and gain momentum in the right direction. So ever since, I have been using all my spare time to work on entrepreneurship. I stopped doing all the activities that do not get me to my goals. Mainly, I switched youtube, video games, and TV, for all business forwarding habits. Switched youtube for the fastlane forum, switched video games and TV for learning and working on coding. I;ve had a life time of leisure, but ever since recently and since my FTE, I refuse to live the life I once did and live the grind to make something more meaningful in my life. I plan to write about my FTE and what led me to go all in on building a business.

As far as the two ideas, I will use the frameworks MJ put in his books to choose the better of the 2 ideas then go all in on that one idea. I've learned too much to split my efforts between two ideas when I am first starting out. What was your first ever business?

As for the market, I came at it from a different approach. When I would go through out my day, I would always make sure my business/producer mind was engaged and I would look for needs and problems. That is how I found my 2 ideas, found 2 needs/problems and thought of my solution as to how I would deal with them. They are both completely different routes, one is a total internet company, the other involved finishing the designs and somehow creating a prototype. I've never invented anything before, but I will certainly try if I go down that route. I have the invention and most of the design concept ironed out, just to see if I could even design or develop it into a viable idea. I was thinking of joining the INSIDERS when I get a little closer to bounce my analysis off people and see what they thought, not sure.

Also, I will definitely start a progress thread, it sounds like a good idea. I joined this forum to learn and to be around like minded people, so I can see the many benefits from starting a public progress thread. I will keep you posted on when I do make the thread. After I finish the last book, then itll be crunch time to select an idea and go for it! I see that happening in no longer than a month; to finish the book, conduct the comparative analysis between the ideas, then pull the trigger on one!

I really appreciate you reaching out Scott, looking forward to hearing back from you!

Respectfully,
Tris

Hi Tris...I chose to continue this post in a new reply because before publishing the first part, I wasn't sure how many characters it would allow for each reply.

Thanks for your understanding...

Let's continue...

PHASE #4 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
During my time as a consultant during 2009/2010 was when I started hearing about the Fastlane Forum through my network of contacts in the entrepreneurial world.

As you can see from the forum posts, I signed up exactly on April 4, 2009 (This was shortly before I parted ways with Author #1 that I worked with out of college).

Here are the key points I want to make clear for you in this phase:
------>During this time of my life it was very humbling.
------>Life was humbling because my mom would ride my a$$ all the time about not having a "normal job" and I was back in southern CA (where I am from) living with her while figuring out the next steps of my life.
------>After parting ways with the author I was working with, and starting up an "Independent Consulting Company" in August 2009 (A One Man Band with Me Being The Leader) I had this mindset of..."Ok, now I need to make money in my consulting business, while building something else on the side that helps me set myself free from the consulting business."
------>BOTTOM LINE: Building a consulting business SUCKS when YOU DO ALL THE WORK. You are beholden to clients, and you are earning crumbs while they take what you give them and earn millions. (I didn't know how to structure deals at this time of my life, and paid dearly for it). It is very hard to get something else up and running with the clients you are serving being the first priority.
------>I worked on/in my consulting gig between August 2009 until early 2014.
------>I read The Millionaire Fastlane when it first came out, and even interviewed MJ on my website
------>In November 2013 my mom officially kicked me out of the house (I was still living with her at the time)
------>Mom kicked me out of the house because she thought I was being "lazy" working out of the house in my consulting business (even though I was making $5500/mo in monthly fees and working with multi-million dollar companies on projects while still paying her rent) - Let's just say it got really bad and was very toxic...this was the worst time I have ever had with my mom up to that point in my life.
------>Everything got "settled" by the end of December 2014, and that is when life really started to suck for me...more in the next phase.

PHASE #5 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
After I removed myself from the toxic situation with my mother, and after finding a crazy expensive place to live somewhere Orange County CA, I was in a really messed up spot (personal + business).

I had a very weak cash position, and no real reliable income to rely on (even though I could still do consulting work).

I was in the spot where even if I went to go get a normal job, the monthly amount I could earn from the job wouldn't cover my monthly bills (which would be totally counter-productive).

Without providing any other details (we can talk offline about it if you like)...

Let's just say that...

The time between January 2014 all the way until the end of August 2016 was one of the hardest times I have ever experienced in my life, and it was only the "first phase" of the struggle. The second phase of my struggle happened after August 2016

During January 2014 - August 2016
-Accepted a consulting client that buried me financially because of what I agreed to with them
-Had crazy high expenses and made some really stupid financial choices with everything I had
-Drove for Uber from March 2015 - end of December 2015 - did 2000+ trips and put over 55,000 miles on my car
-Started another business from a successful youtube channel I built (While driving for Uber)
-Moved to Las Vegas in December 2015
-Went all in on my new business in 2016 (burned the boats and everything)
-The business totally failed, and by the end of August 2016 I had to dissolve the company because NOTHING was working. I ran out of cash, and credit, and put myself in a position where I needed to "dig" my way out.

WHAT LESSONS DID I LEARN BETWEEN THIS REALLY HARD PERIOD?
-It boils down to ONE THING, and that is, "Don't start a business from a position of weakness."
-What does that mean? --> Take care of things personally first for your life, and get yourself into a position of strength before starting a business (because it will take everything you have to make it succeed).
-The hardest thing I have always had to deal with up to this point in my personal and business life was that I always knew what needed to be done, but because I was operating from a "position of weakness" I wasn't able to execute things in the way they needed to be executed on so the results and feedback could come quickly (that would allow me to iterate off the feedback).
-Up to this point I helped multiple businesses through my consulting efforts earn hundreds of thousands of dollars (and even millions) with the big corporations I would work with.
-Going through this time of my life was extremely humbling and totally kicked me in the balls.

PHASE #6 of My "Tell Me About Yourself" Answer.
What happened after August 2016 (where I had to dissolve my business and "dig" myself out of the hole I was in)?

LOL

I decided to go into the casino business here in Las Vegas, and became a casino dealer to trade "time for money" while cleaning up the mess I created from August 2009 to August 2016.

So...

From September 9, 2016 (The day I walked into dealer school), all the way to present day here in October 2023, I have been a casino dealer in Las Vegas. I have seen the craziest shit you wouldn't even believe, and have gotten to points in my career where I have either paid out or taken over $1,000,000 in a single dealing session (less than 1 hour dealing on the table).

I am working at one of the best places on the strip (where people can bet up to $400,000 per hand on baccarat), and have finally done what needed to be done to clean up the personal mess from my past.

I am (and have always been) armed with the knowledge I need to execute whatever needs to be executed on a business (Thanks to MJ and his material).

There is obviously more to this story to share between August 2016 to present day, but we can connect offline further and talk about it in more detail over time.

What am I currently working on, and working towards right now?

I am currently building a newsletter business (the clickable link is in my signature below) if you are interested in learning more about that.

To help drive traffic into my newsletter business website I am also building a facebook page in the "Digital Creator" niche that will be a massive traffic driver in the future into my newsletter business website platform. If you want that link to see how I am executing on it, please feel free to message me.

I want to do what Morning Brew did, but execute on it in a different niche.

SO WITH ALL OF THAT BEING SAID (Sorry for the long story)...Let's get to your post...
First off...you are welcome for me showing up with you like this. I enjoy helping others and seeing them succeed!

I have to say that I am envious of your spot, but we all travel our own independent path (As you have seen in my most recent story I told you).

In regards to your thoughts on MJ's books:
-yes - it takes sacrifice to succeed. Just look at the path I have traveled up to now (life kicked me in the balls multiple times, but I continue getting back on the horse and moving forward towards what I want)

Care to share the idea you feel like you are going to go "all in" with? (Feel free to PM me)

I can't wait to see and follow your progress thread (and connect offline if you choose).

As you can see from my story, I bring a wealth of knowledge and have "done a lot" even though I have not achieved my "version of success" yet in the entrepreneurial world yet. I know that with what I am currently working on (while still having to go back and forth to my casino dealer job) has the potential to create my first big homerun...I will just have to stick with it and keep pushing things forward no matter what stands in my way!

I really look forward to your reply and/or personal message to talk about details that we don't want to make public here on this thread!

Talk Soon,
Scott

 

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[NewsletterScott]

I am working on finding a few people I can clean windows for till the end of the year. Also, I want to find out how well my new flyers will do.
Just keeping it simple.

Do you have any intention on building a fastlane business, or is your business already a fastlane business, and you are working on improving this one element of your business (your flyers)?

I look forward to your reply!

Best,
Scott

 

[Subsonic]

Do you have any intention on building a fastlane business, or is your business already a fastlane business, and you are working on improving this one element of your business (your flyers)?

I look forward to your reply!

Best,
Scott

Currently my main thing is getting good grades in my final year of school.
However I could see myself eventually making this into a fastlane business. For now it is just a way for me to collect some experience and money.