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Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

Kak

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Harmful mental gymnastics. No one should hamstring themselves. At some point you want your business to need resources outside of your brain, hands and computer.

Again, I agree completely with @Antifragile.

I understand where some of you are at with this, but I believe this is support group crap where some would rather be talked out of something hard and rewarding than into something hard and rewarding.

I stand firm that I believe any intelligent entrepreneur can be capable of building something larger than their expectations, if they would just stop overthinking it.

My take. Build something that has such scale there is literally no choice, but to have other humans do some of the work.

I know the argue brigade is on its way. That’s ok. I’m learning being encouraging to others is kind of thankless, when it looks like it could cause discomfort. Hopefully this helps someone that’s too busy to argue with me.
 
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S.Y.

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#100daysofnocode is great for entrepreneurs that have a "tech idea" but don't know how to program, don't want to learn to program and don't want a co-founder.
 

Bones81

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Guest-5ty5s4

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So… where’s your tweeter gurus saying “I’m obsessed about all those who failed solo businesses?”

Still 100% disagree with me? ;)

Yep, I do

Your argument is a bit nonsensical and is faulty comparison logic since you appear to be wanting to cite a fallacy. . .

The parallel is akin to suggesting that the people who succeeded at 1 person business did not fail.

I'm sure they failed. The difference is, they just didn't give up.

You wanting to hear from failed solo-business is kinda like wanting to hear from people who sweated on the treadmill ONCE or TWICE at the gym and resolutely concluded, "SEE! I didn't lose weight!!"

Harmful mental gymnastics. No one should hamstring themselves. At some point you want your business to need resources outside of your brain, hands and computer.

Again, I agree completely with @Antifragile.

I understand where some of you are at with this, but I believe this is support group crap where some would rather be talked out of something hard and rewarding than into something hard and rewarding.

I stand firm that I believe any intelligent entrepreneur can be capable of building something larger than their expectations, if they would just stop overthinking it.

My take. Build something that has such scale there is literally no choice, but to have other humans do some of the work.

I know the argue brigade is on its way. That’s ok. I’m learning being encouraging to others is kind of thankless, when it looks like it could cause discomfort. Hopefully this helps someone that’s too busy to argue with me.


Piggybacking on MJ's weight loss example...

Hiring should be like eating.

You only need what you need, and you don't need what you don't need.

If your business needs 200 employees, you should have 200 employees. If your business can run smoothly with 100 employees, you should run it with 100 employees. If you can run it with 5 employees you should run it with 5 employees.

If you can run it with zero employees and just hire freelancers, subcontractors, and other companies/vendors, you should do that.

Every cost matters... Look what Elon is doing with Twitter. It's magnificent.

Yeah, growth is awesome and you should hire people, but let me tell you, if you don't need 200 employees, it is better not to have 200 employees.

This is why profitable tech companies are so coveted by investors, as opposed to more old fashioned industries that rely more on manpower, which is where I come from.
 
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Antifragile

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Too many people here seem to be against employees. It’s weird to read on a forum that exists to promote fastlane business (fast being the operative word).
Harmful mental gymnastics. No one should hamstring themselves. At some point you want your business to need resources outside of your brain, hands and computer.

Again, I agree completely with @Antifragile.

I understand where some of you are at with this, but I believe this is support group crap where some would rather be talked out of something hard and rewarding than into something hard and rewarding.

I stand firm that I believe any intelligent entrepreneur can be capable of building something larger than their expectations, if they would just stop overthinking it.

My take. Build something that has such scale there is literally no choice, but to have other humans do some of the work.

I know the argue brigade is on its way. That’s ok. I’m learning being encouraging to others is kind of thankless, when it looks like it could cause discomfort. Hopefully this helps someone that’s too busy to argue with me.

We agree because we don’t see employees as some evil, but as a lever to scale your business (just like technology and money!).

I’ll tell everyone who wants financial freedom: avoid tweeter gurus promoting shit like “im obsessed with No employees businesses”. They make money on you consuming their content.

@MitchC No, not everyone should have a business let alone employees. But for those who are looking for a fast way to scale, ignoring one of the key ways businesses have been scaled forever before is dumb.

Want to become a millionaire fast? Stop limiting yourself to what you “like” to do. Do what you need to do.
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

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Too many people here seem to be against employees. It’s weird to read on a forum that exists to promote fastlane business (fast being the operative word).


We agree because we don’t see employees as some evil, but as a lever to scale your business (just like technology and money!).

I’ll tell everyone who wants financial freedom: avoid tweeter gurus promoting shit like “im obsessed with No employees businesses”. They make money on you consuming their content.

@MitchC No, not everyone should have a business let alone employees. But for those who are looking for a fast way to scale, ignoring one of the key ways businesses have been scaled forever before is dumb.

Want to become a millionaire fast? Stop limiting yourself to what you “like” to do. Do what you need to do.
I am not against employees whatsoever. I agree with you that your “likes” should not be part of the equation. My point is that employees are an expense, and it is smart (and a sign of a bad a$$ business) to have less employees if your business can do it.

One of the best metrics to see how bad a$$ a company is, in my opinion is revenue per employee, or even better, profit per employee.

Of course *if* you can grow this number linearly by hiring more people, you absolutely should. But that’s not always the case. It is in some businesses, but let’s be real, this is way too broad, there are hundreds if not thousands of types of businesses and then subniches of those businesses so you can’t just hire a hundred receptionists and multiply your profits one hundred times

But for example if you have a service business you can hire more service providers. Or in a direct sales company you can hire more callers
 
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Kak

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Yeah, growth is awesome and you should hire people, but let me tell you, if you don't need 200 employees, it is better not to have 200 employees.

You don’t say. Literally no one is suggesting hiring people you don’t need.

If you can run it with zero employees

It is self employment. A twist on employment.

you can’t just hire a hundred receptionists and multiply your profits one hundred times

No shit.

Dude. This isn’t about technicalities, it’s rampant hypengyophobia where everyone tries as hard as they can skate by without taking any actual responsibilities. Owning a successful company flat out requires a willingness to shoulder an above average level of responsibility. My advice is to get used to it.

As far as I’m concerned the “I never want x, y and z” folks are engaging in the same shit as the “follow your passion” folks.

Seeing people give bad advice bothers me. Seeing people get excited about bad advice really bothers me. I genuinely want people to do well, and I don’t believe that is done by setting stupid limits like “eMploYeEs r hArD.”

The difficulty of employees is a matter of perspective. For the people that think employees are hard, try doing the work of 5 people yourself. How about 10?
 
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Antifragile

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One of the best metrics to see how bad a$$ a company is, in my opinion is revenue per employee, or even better, profit per employee.
Love it. And 100% agree. That’s how I run my company. I have zero interest in having employees to look cool to those who ask “how many staff in your company?”

I am most proud of how we hit above our weight vs our competitors.

You and I always agreed on this topic, I expect nothing has changed.

My comments were directed to all those people seeking to confirm their own opinions through a guru. As opposed to admitting that:

1. Nothing wrong with having a job. You can become millionaire without a business.
2. Nothing wrong with having a solo project business; you can make good money without employees.
3. Nothing wrong with having employees to leverage what you can’t do (like 1,000 hour workweek per @Kak)
4. Nothing wrong with having a partner in business, they can compliment what you lack.
5. Nothing wrong with having investors in business.

Get your head out of your a$$ if you think you don’t like employees, office, investors, partners and the only way you want to get rich is to “solo-huff-it”. Maybe you’ll make it, maybe you won’t. But you are limiting your options if you think this way and seek Tweets to confirm your opinion.
 
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Andy Black

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For the people that think employees are hard, try doing the work of 5 people yourself.
I'm a bit confused. What if I paid 5 subcontractors, freelancers, or another businesses do that work? Are you and @Antifragile saying it's better they're employees, or just that it's better the business owner gets other people helping?
 

monnffffiiiiiii

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Piggybacking on MJ's weight loss example...

Hiring should be like eating.

You only need what you need, and you don't need what you don't need.

If your business needs 200 employees, you should have 200 employees. If your business can run smoothly with 100 employees, you should run it with 100 employees. If you can run it with 5 employees you should run it with 5 employees.

If you can run it with zero employees and just hire freelancers, subcontractors, and other companies/vendors, you should do that.

Every cost matters... Look what Elon is doing with Twitter. It's magnificent.

Yeah, growth is awesome and you should hire people, but let me tell you, if you don't need 200 employees, it is better not to have 200 employees.

This is why profitable tech companies are so coveted by investors, as opposed to more old fashioned industries that rely more on manpower, which is where I come from.
I honestly feel nobody got the right message out of this twitter thread.

It's not about building your company with or without people, or saying "thEy aRe jUsT thE ExcEpTioN"...it's about being inspired that lots of people out there are hustling and successfully exiting the slowlane.

Which is in the end, the main goal!
 

Andy Black

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I honestly feel nobody got the right message out of this twitter thread.

It's not about building your company with or without people, or saying "thEy aRe jUsT thE ExcEpTioN"...it's about being inspired that lots of people out there are hustling and successfully exiting the slowlane.

Which is in the end, the main goal!
I especially like the Carrd.co one. Great product. I also bought one of Justin Welsh's courses. I didn't spot him on the list. I found the list inspiring. I also think there's probably a lot flying under the radar.
 
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Antifragile

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I'm a bit confused. What if I paid 5 subcontractors, freelancers, or another businesses do that work? Are you and @Antifragile saying it's better they're employees, or just that it's better the business owner gets other people helping?

No, not saying that. I’m fact, I’ll always try to outsource to subcontractors and other businesses as much as I can to keep my payroll down. @thechosen1 explained it well above.

What I’m saying is to ignore the glorification of solo-entrepreneur, like the Tweet posted here.

If you want to make millions from nothing it’s easier and faster by removing restrictions on how. Those who force themselves into “I don’t like this or that” will have a harder time making it. Readers here should be warned and corrected that’s a crappy way of looking at business.

Worse yet, it’s not sexy to think about the number of solo folks who tried but failed. Sure, everyone failed some before some success. But there are millions of people who went back to having a regular job because they pushed their luck on solo business and did not make it. But that’s the graveyard no one wants to discuss.

What scales business fast?
1. Technology (Software, etc)
2. Money (investors etc)
3. People (partners, employees, contractors etc)

Why limit yourself by saying “I don’t like employees / investors/ partners etc. because I’m just that kind of person”.

AAF57859-D579-4C0B-978F-05D6D083B8EC.png
 
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Andy Black

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No, not saying that. I’m fact, I’ll always try to outsource to subcontractors and other businesses as much as I can to keep my payroll down. @thechosen1 explained it well above.

What I’m saying is to ignore the glorification of solo-entrepreneur, like the Tweet posted here.

If you want to make millions from nothing it’s easier and faster by removing restrictions on how. Those who force themselves into “I don’t like this or that” will have a harder time marking it. Readers here should be warned and corrected that’s a crappy way of looking at business.

Worse yet, it’s not sexy to think about the number of solo folks who tried but failed. Sure, everyone failed some before some success. But there are millions of people who went back to having a regular job because they pushed their luck on solo business and did not make it. But that’s the graveyard no one wants to discuss.

What scales business fast?
1. Technology (Software, etc)
2. Money (investors etc)
3. People (partners, employees, contractors etc)

Why limit yourself by saying “I don’t like employees / investors/ partners etc. because I’m just that kind of person”.

View attachment 46376
The tweet talks about people who've grown businesses with 0 employees. I don't see that as meaning they didn't get outside help. I assume they use freelancers and other outside agencies as and when they need to. I expect they have accountants, book-keepers, and tax/pension advisors. They maybe hired someone to do their graphic design, web design/implementation etc.

I like that there's business models that don't *need* employees to scale.
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

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The tweet talks about people who've grown businesses with 0 employees. I don't see that as meaning they didn't get outside help. I assume they use freelancers and other outside agencies as and when they need to. I expect they have accountants, book-keepers, and tax/pension advisors. They maybe hired someone to do their graphic design, web design/implementation etc.

I like that there's business models that don't *need* employees to scale.
Yup. I actually read it; it was a pretty cool list.

The first entry was the creator of Stardew Valley - very impressive, obviously a lean operation. Businesses come in all shapes and sizes and every success is inspiring! That list was awesome!!

(I think everyone needs to be open-minded both ways)
 
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Bones81

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So last night I microwaved some clam chowder and of course it exploded all over the place. While I was cleaning it up, I thought, surely there's a product out there to prevent this. Hopped on Amazon and found this:


It's nothing more than a molded piece of polypropylene that sells for $16 and they've sold over 18,000 of them. What do you think the per unit margin on something like this is?
 
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Two Dog

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Antifragile

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Fox

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world. He ceded that title to LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault at the close on Monday, according to Forbes.


Kinda like how Trump was worth a lot, until they didn't like him and then he wasn't.

He is only the second richest guy in the world now folks, you can stop paying attention to him.
 
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Antifragile

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So that’s it folks… time for a market rally? Inflation is under control? :)

(Bloomberg) -- A key gauge of US consumer prices posted the smallest monthly advance in more than a year, indicating the worst of inflation has likely passed and validating an anticipated slowing in the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.
 

msufan

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GPM

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Lol Musk. my brother sends me reddit links and I end up on their homepage from time to time. It is like 50% covered in Musk, and they all talk about how much they hate him and whatever else. I guess because he got rich for changing the world now he is a bad person that needs to be stopped.

It is funny how they all want him to go away, and yet literally half of the front page on that cesspool is talking about him. Haha!

If anything the world needs more Musk, I want to see where this goes.
 
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Guest-5ty5s4

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If you had the choice of $150,000 now or holding an asset with that much equity but at a 2.7% 30 yr interest rate, would you hold it or take the gains right now?

The Fastlaner in me says that holding on to a low interest rate is like choosing pennies over Benjamins.
 

GPM

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If you had the choice of $150,000 now or holding an asset with that much equity but at a 2.7% 30 yr interest rate, would you hold it or take the gains right now?

The Fastlaner in me says that holding on to a low interest rate is like choosing pennies over Benjamins.
Isn't that a big fat negative interest rate in real terms?
 

Ing

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If you had the choice of $150,000 now or holding an asset with that much equity but at a 2.7% 30 yr interest rate, would you hold it or take the gains right now?

The Fastlaner in me says that holding on to a low interest rate is like choosing pennies over Benjamins.
well, 337,50 per month is a fortune for some. maybe in 20 years its worth 126,6 . When I put that into ETFs, it could be a fine funeral for me. My friends would like it!
 
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msufan

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If you had the choice of $150,000 now or holding an asset with that much equity but at a 2.7% 30 yr interest rate, would you hold it or take the gains right now?

The Fastlaner in me says that holding on to a low interest rate is like choosing pennies over Benjamins.
Ultra-safe bonds and CDs are almost 6% now, so obv take the $150K and do better with it.
 

SteveO

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If you had the choice of $150,000 now or holding an asset with that much equity but at a 2.7% 30 yr interest rate, would you hold it or take the gains right now?

The Fastlaner in me says that holding on to a low interest rate is like choosing pennies over Benjamins.
What return are you getting from this investment?
 

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