Should I start with anything doesn't really matter what?

[Bruno Lara]

Hello gladiators,

I had a lot of second thoughts about creating this thread cause I'm trying to learn the most and not spam the community but meh, I'm in need of some advice.

Lots of people say that the best thing that you can do is start. I agree that you learn the most when you're doing but I'm having a hard time on what to start with.
I decided to start an ecommerce following the 5 commandments talked in the book however every niche (dont really like this word, idk why lol) that I search about is too crowded. Tried rollerblades, beds and some others.

That being sad I'd like to have some thoughts about this "just start" statement. Newbies like me should pick a field that's overcrowded but it's known that people makes money (like food industry or something like that) or should I keep searching until I find something that pops my eyes?

I don't really meant to bother any of you guys with it but I'm indeed in need of some thoughts. Appreciate your time fellas, good night!

 

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[amp0193]

Hello gladiators,

I had a lot of second thoughts about creating this thread cause I'm trying to learn the most and not spam the community but meh, I'm in need of some advice.

Lots of people say that the best thing that you can do is start. I agree that you learn the most when you're doing but I'm having a hard time on what to start with.
I decided to start an ecommerce following the 5 commandments talked in the book however every niche (dont really like this word, idk why lol) that I search about is too crowded. Tried rollerblades, beds and some others.

That being sad I'd like to have some thoughts about this "just start" statement. Newbies like me should pick a field that's overcrowded but it's known that people makes money (like food industry or something like that) or should I keep searching until I find something that pops my eyes?

I don't really meant to bother any of you guys with it but I'm indeed in need of some thoughts. Appreciate your time fellas, good night!

Yes and no.

If you pick no path, then you will go no where.

If all you see are shitty paths, and you just pick one... you're still on a shitty path. However, you will learn and observe every detail of that path as you travel it, and will come to know exactly what makes it so shitty, and will know exactly how to avoid such a shitty path the next time.

Option 3 is that if you really feel stuck, take whatever you feel are your top 3 options, and ask for a seasoned traveler's thoughts. Find someone to walk you through each of them and tell you why they are or are not a good idea. The time you spend to gain this insight may set you on a better path, and save you some time, and some hard-knocks learning.

 

[ZCP]

Start buying and selling stuff (see the hustle threads). Helps you with sales / negotiating and most of all seeing pain points and opportunities. Also helps build capital.

 

[Christopher777]

Your post is the exact same reason why you need to start (and keep going until pivoting).

Fear and indecision.

Break out of it.

You'll get smarter by making mistakes, even if you make a mistake in picking what to start with.

It looks like you keep making turns every time you see a warning sign.

There is no surefire route. You don't know the future.

That makes it all the more exciting doesn't it?

 

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[Under-Dog]

Can't fear failure.... Yes, it is commonly said to just START and could leave you wondering "F*ck but where??"

Do anything you can possibly think of literally anything no matter how insignificant it may seem. You'll grow from there that is if you really want it. I found that flipping items gives you a lot of in getting started.

You'll get:

Dough to fund your true startup
Sales experience
Haggling experience
People skills (get to read them)
And more...

Just stop the excuses and get started NOW! Because you don't want to wonder what it would of been like if you started sooner

 

[ZeroTo100]

Hello gladiators,

I had a lot of second thoughts about creating this thread cause I'm trying to learn the most and not spam the community but meh, I'm in need of some advice.

Lots of people say that the best thing that you can do is start. I agree that you learn the most when you're doing but I'm having a hard time on what to start with.
I decided to start an ecommerce following the 5 commandments talked in the book however every niche (dont really like this word, idk why lol) that I search about is too crowded. Tried rollerblades, beds and some others.

That being sad I'd like to have some thoughts about this "just start" statement. Newbies like me should pick a field that's overcrowded but it's known that people makes money (like food industry or something like that) or should I keep searching until I find something that pops my eyes?

I don't really meant to bother any of you guys with it but I'm indeed in need of some thoughts. Appreciate your time fellas, good night!

Hey,

So, I always felt that competition is everywhere. Truthfully, no matter where you are or what you do you will face competition. Why? Because everything is being done. Everything! You'll never discover something that has never been tried. You'll never find an untouched market and if you do you're likely looking at something that doesn't have much money in it. If there is, you'll strike it rich (not likely). These things aren't found by searching though. You just have to put your head down and work. Don't look at the money and don't worry about it. Pick a market that you can add value in or one that you want to get in and find a way to add value. Study your competition and find flaws in their system. Find out what they're doing, how they're doing it, their products, order from them, call their customer service department, literally dig deep.

I've been where you are a few times and I know the feeling but the truth is, if it really is something you want to do and you believe you can pull it off, it all just comes down to commitment. If you can put your money into it without doubts that you'll fail or that you'll lose it, you made the right choice. You push through until you out rank, out perform, and out smart.

Good luck my man.

PS - Remember this...Whether you pick A or B, it won't be your first venture and it sure won't be your last.

 

[sparechange]

keep in mind you only need to capture a small % of the market share (mj talks about this in unscripted ) no idea the chapter sorry, but imagine you acquire a tiny piece of a huge market with millions of people...thats thousands of customers. starting with something you know a bit about is better than doing nothing.

“The world is full of money. Some of it has my name on it. All I have to do is collect it.” Felix Dennis

 

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[Olimac21]

You can start from little more obvious places and then grow to bigger-niche markets in order to build confidence, resilience, skills.

This might also help in terms of mindset: I was talking with a colleague the other day and I was telling him 2 types of failures: those which have little economic/time impact and those which are a terrible burden (i.e losing 6 figures for a business or spending 8 years in a project which has nothing to do with you), if you as a person do not have tolerance even for the small ones you are doomed. And the small ones can teach you a lot if you are open and want to move forward no matter what.

Good luck!

 

[Bruno Lara]

Wow, thanks guys. Wasn't expecting such awesome feedback.

I read twice each of it. It's a relief to know that I'm not the only one struggling picking what to start with. Even though I'm still not sure about what field to pick I'll start doing things. I'll get some knowledge in buying and selling stuff while I keep studying and researching about my fastlane.

Again, thanks. You guys are amazing!

 

[Olimac21]

Wow, thanks guys. Wasn't expecting such awesome feedback.

I read twice each of it. It's a relief to know that I'm not the only one struggling picking what to start with. Even though I'm still not sure about what field to pick I'll start doing things. I'll get some knowledge in buying and selling stuff while I keep studying and researching about my fastlane.

Again, thanks. You guys are amazing!

You are welcome! I just noticed you are from Brazil, one idea that might work (and I am thinking this to myself as well) is to bring a product which is popular outside Brazil/South America and make it known in Brazil. For instance in the body bulding community what is being popular now are the cricket protein bars, you could see if you can produce them from Brazil and introduce it to the market.

This is just an example of places where you could pick up new ideas. Boa sorte!

 

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[ZeroTo100]

Here's another helpful thread that I think is a great place for ANYONE!

I mean @IceCreamKid provides a great way to get into a niche. Whether you have some skills or just an interest in a market, this process is a great way to get started.

Read the thread here but the big picture is building a network around it and learning from the inside out on problems and ways to create value.

GOLD - No network? No money? No idea? No education? NO PROBLEM!

This process isn't just for people who have no idea where to start but I think it's valuable for anyone really looking to take some action.

 

[Bruno Lara]

You are welcome! I just noticed you are from Brazil, one idea that might work (and I am thinking this to myself as well) is to bring a product which is popular outside Brazil/South America and make it known in Brazil. For instance in the body bulding community what is being popular now are the cricket protein bars, you could see if you can produce them from Brazil and introduce it to the market.

This is just an example of places where you could pick up new ideas. Boa sorte!

I think that's something really worthy a try. Never heard about this cricket thing but I'll do some research! I tried something similar last year with a fancy razor company.
Obrigado!

 

[Bruno Lara]

Here's another helpful thread that I think is a great place for ANYONE!

I mean @IceCreamKid provides a great way to get into a niche. Whether you have some skills or just an interest in a market, this process is a great way to get started.

Read the thread here but the big picture is building a network around it and learning from the inside out on problems and ways to create value.

GOLD - No network? No money? No idea? No education? NO PROBLEM!

This process isn't just for people who have no idea where to start but I think it's valuable for anyone really looking to take some action.

Totally agree with you. I've been lurking in @IceCreamKid threads/posts and some other forum members for quite a while now. Learning from inside out is something that I REALLY have to learn and get the concept.

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

To be quite honest, you cannot and should not simply look at every area as being too saturated to get into business. Did Pepsi hold themselves back because of Coca Cola? (or vice versa - which ever came first.) Did Amazon hold themselves back because of Walmart & Ebay? Did Beats by Dre, now Apple Beats hold themselves back because of Bose? Did Alexa hold themselves back because of Siri?

If I learnt nothing else after reading TMF and Unscripted (and trust me, there is SO much profound info in both books), I learnt surely, that no matter how saturated a market is, there is still always something to improve to make customers' happy by purchasing your value.

 

[freelancedev]

Funny you should make this thread as I considered making a similar thread over the past few days.

I must say from my limited experience that I think it does matter that you make good choices about what you do if you're gonna go for it. I took the reigns with my affiliate sites about a year and a bit ago and really plowed lots of time into them and managed to get some cash flowing (but not profitable). I feel like SEO wasn't a great place to start for me though because SEO is a waiting game, and there is too much time between action and tangible progress (backlinks can take 6-12 months to move a site these days). I think in order to build confidence and experience it's good to get some quick wins under your belt. I think it's the fact that I chose a poor/awkward business model in this scenario was my downfall rather than it being a difficult market to break into.

There have been some excellent responses in this thread, I may begin to look into flipping items or just start reaching out to people on upwork who are looking for freelancers and doing freelance work.

IceCreamKid's thread suggests to niche down into a specific industry and build a business around helping people who work in a certain industry which I feel can be a natural progression from freelancing - moving towards building a network and a reputation for helping dentists for example. Anyone have any experience going down this route? I feel like I doubt myself constantly but that is always gonna be the case unless I just commit to a path.

It's very daunting when you're beginning though and easy to put yourself off doing things for sure.