Sink or Swim Entrepreneurship

[Fox]

I have decided to go full blown 100% in! No more standing around and dipping my foot in the shallow end. No more few hours on the side every week dabbling here and there with half ideas. I have committed to the belief that I can really make this happen and have now taken massive action to make that a reality.

Over the last month:

- Abandoned my original comfy plan of snowboarding all winter in Canada while maybe doing a few hours of work a day online
- Shut down my oil business (really a time dependent job), given my rental notice, selling my truck, sold all my non essential possessions and prepared all the items I will need
- Ended all contracts, paid off all bills and removed all ties to anything that will hold me back
- Removed all debt and saved as much as possible (took a second job and am working as many hours as possible before I leave)
- Bought a one way plane ticket to a cheaper country (South America) where I already have a solid network of like minded entrepreneurs (5+ guys who work online, two of which are self made multimillionaires)
- Booked a basic but yet productive apartment for only $160 a month including bills
- Made sure it is not close to any nightclubs or bars and that it is close to a library, gym and supermarket
- Budgeted an amount to give me one year of focused work without having zero income
- That being made using the SinisterLex threads on freelancing I aim to be cash flow positive within a month
- Committed to a LOT of hard work, patience and focusing on creating VALUE and solving PROBLEMS
- Avoiding quick schemes, selfish needs and 'doing what I love' instead of what the market demands
- Accept I will have to start at the bottom and grind my way through the process of learning without any shortcuts

- Found someone to look after my plant that I have grown quite fond of!

This will be quite the challenge but I can no longer accept anything from myself but continual movement towards what I want in life. To say the FLM book and this forum has been life changing is a huge understatement. There are so many people here who have left both big and small comments all over this forum that have really helped me commit to this plan. Thanks to all of you. I hope someday I can return the favor in someway.


What is left from a full apartment of possessions...

 

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[Fox]

Not rolling in millions just yet but I am learning a LOT about adding value and solving problems. My whole mindset has changed thanks to this forum and MJs book. This post only just went up a few minutes ago and its great to see this reaction from people I have never met. Success is an internal change first and then afterwards comes external results. I don't have the material wealth to show at the moment but I sleep better at night and feel good about what I do and the value I add to peoples lives and businesses. Anyway enough of the feelz! But it is good motivation sometimes to get solid feedback when you are struggling on the early stages of the path.

Thanks to @MJ DeMarco @SinisterLex @Andy Black @IceCreamKid @biophase @Ubermensch @Vigilante and many other who post such life changing content daily.

Also got this great bit of advice from the same client... They are one of the best professionals in their niche with a lot of connections and they are also an active mentor of a large amount of young professionals. I only starting coding at Christmas so very happy with all this!

 

[Fox]

I bet that feels good was all I could think when I saw this picture. Can you post up close photo of your book list? Just curious

It feels amazing. I am not as nervous as I thought I would be. More excited and ready to get going.
I still have another two weeks to prepare but I am nearly ready now if I wanted to go earlier. Only a few small things left to organize.

The books are (and it was tough narrowing down from over a 100) ...

 

[Fox]

I really need to put a full update on here soon but here is a quick version:

- now coding at $50+ an hour

-multiple website projects on the go. Working with some great clients and everyone has been very happy.

-App template about to release soon. Expecting good returns on this

-Setting up a website for a local company that I will take a percentage of every sale that goes through the site. Potential to have up to $1000 a month with very little work required. My web skills are starting to come together and I am really able to help smaller business grow substantially.

-Bigger Fastlane Project in the works. Have isolated a very good niche that is completely under served. Average sale is between $500-3500. Will be moving on this soon once I stabilize my base income.

Lots of challenges and hard days too. I will update in full soon.

 

[Fox]

So you're the guy that never returned the pens in school huh...

Great example of taking a leap. That's something I need in my life. Thanks for inspirational post!

PS: What would you do if you had a girlfriend?

I have a girlfriend. If I didn't though there are plenty of opportunities to have fun here. I am just back from training and the gym I go to has a few dozen models who train there along with lots of really nice regular girls. I have been single for years but I am enjoying switching it up and having a great connection with one girl. Her parents are self made and very successful and she is a great girl who backs me 100% so I am happy out.

One thing I have learned in the last few years is the right girl (or guy for those female entrepreneurs) can make or break you. A bad girlfriend is like a magnet beside a compass that is slowly leading you off your path. "just party tonight", "do it later", "lets go on holidays" etc. My girl gives me the time and space to work hard and stay focused. Shes a keeper.

 

[Fox]

So quick update.

I have been working steady on scaling up. I think I can get a steady flow of jobs between 3-8k so the challenge is going to be doing these websites faster without dropping off on quality or service. At the moment I have one guy in sales and a content writer.

I am working towards...
3 sales people
Content writer
Designer (logos, pictures, graphics etc)
Hosting & Wordpress - uploads, wordpress, maintance etc. I kind of already have someone for this.

I am happy with the progress over the last two months. Income was very small for the first few months. Last month was nearly 10k between some sales and web design. This month is not as much (traveling) but I think 10k or more will be possible again for July.

I have been using FB ads with great success. LinkedIn is going to be my next focus for sale leads for web design.

As well as cash jobs I have been getting involved with certain companies with profit sharing off web site sales. I do the design for "free" and then take a certain percentage off any sales that go through the website. Not a huge earner yet but I think by year end it will pay off.
One is already active and in the next month I will have have two more such arrangements with an established event business and also a huge annual conference event that is starting up. These types of jobs are also great for making personal business connections. On going partnerships are great and I love the experience of doing more than just web design.


On the "Fastlane" side my web business is coming along okay. I need more time to just get a basic version up and gauge interest and potential. Its lead generation and on the seller side the interest and need has been huge - they want the site yesterday. I still have to see if it will work on the seller side - which means actually putting something up and start selling. I have an end goal in mind for the end goal but I need to start small and see what the market is really saying. @Andy Black has given me some excellent advice on this and I hope to have a simple version up soon and start testing the Adwords advice he has given.

That's it for now. y daily habits post I have made has really been helping with some huge progress and the second half of this year will be very exciting. Thanks to everyone who has been PMing me advice and feedback also and glad to help people too when I can.

 

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[Fox]

Launched a product yesterday with is having some good success...



Need to just scale this up so I have a full marketing campaign planned for the week. Should be able to get around 5-10k highly targeted views so see if it keeps on a similar ratio. product cost less than 3k to produce so happy with these results so far. Ill update in full after this week with some more details.

 

[Fox]

Think I am about to close my first $10,00+ deal. High end engineering firm. I am moving towards targeting the construction/engineering/oil&gas sector. Huge money and huge inefficiencies. Most have websites that are years outdated and there is massive room for improvement.
@Ubermensch construction all the way!

So I have increased my web design from $100 to $10,000 per job within only a few months. So 100 times increase with maybe a double in skill set.
Hows this possible?

- "fired" all small time clients (those who think and act small, scarcity)
- targeted the biggest baddest companies with problems I can fix who have big pockets
- value based pricing. I don't even mention time or hourly rates. I can solve million dollar problems and it only costs a fraction of that profit
- Slowly increasing my professional image. Still not there yet but looking and acting the part of what I sell.
- Hiring a top notch sales guy who I am happy to help out. For the recent thread on here about is it possible to be an honest successful sales person - this guy walks away with several thousand a month for less than a days work. He knows the network and he just puts people in touch. its funny actually cause it all goes down on the golf course or at a football game. I am happy to fund the cliche sales lifestyle!
- Outsourcing. Still not there yet but I am moving towards only doing 30-40% of the work.
- Pure absorption with great books, people and resources. So much on this forum. If people never posted again its still all here.

I think the ceiling on this could be 30-50k a month if I keep on track for the next 12 months. Just need a solid portfolio to move up a few more levels to the bigger fish.

The biggest hurdles are consistent and higher sales (second sales guy?) and my personal limit on time. I am studying Spanish every day now in University so that takes up a massive chunk of time.

I still have to launch my own web business but its getting very close. Plan is to do a basic MVP (simple landing page in this case), test Adwords results, and then proceed with a full site based on the feedback. I am nearly finished Lean Start Up and I am following that method very closely. First time doing this so its taking longer than expected but I am working on it consistently so it will get there.

 

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[Fox]

@Fox any updates here?

Yes.

Business is well above 6 figures and thriving. I decided to get out and see some more of the world too so I have left Colombia and am traveling Europe for the summer. One country per month for at least a year. Just back from Malta and I go to Georgia Thursday.

I also got into coaching a little too which has been a lot of fun and I am glad to see others getting big results too. My "Making Money with Web Design "Facebook group is at around 2250 people and still growing strong. Lots of people killing it in there and helping each other out.

There are people on this forum with massive achievements but for me just being able to control my income was all I wanted when I started. It was a crazy first year but I hit that goal and much more. Knowing I can reach that initial big goal has given me the confidence to now go for much bigger goals. I stopped updating this thread but I still practice a lot of this stuff daily.

 

[Fox]

This sounds pretty serious!

Thanks!

Thats exciting!

I like how you kept so many pens....

Good luck and speed on your journey!

Thank you.
Yes I have a comical amount of pens, those two little white boxes are also filled with pens!

@Fox incredible stuff, man. Inspiring. BTW, which of those books (besides TMF ) do you think had the biggest impact?

- The Millionaire Fastlane
- 177 Mental Secrets of the World Class (has a ridiculous title but this is a great book for reading a page every morning)
- The Alchemist (read a dozen times - very applicable to entrepreneurship and life in general)

Way to burn the ships! Not sure how long before you fly out, but if it's more than a few weeks, spend some time regularly chipping away at what you're looking to build.

Yes I have been studying SinisterLexs threads in fine detail. I plan on using his approach for the first year to have a steady base income. As I gain the skills and have a reliable online income I will start to work on my side projects. Because its a burn bridges approach I have to be careful to always be cash flow positive and not run low on funds.

what is the standard of living like where you plan to move?

Very good, I am moving to Bogota, Colombia and staying in the North of the city. You have to be aware and avoid certain scenarios but in general it is safe. I have been here before and loved the city. Lots of opportunity and ambitious, intelligent people.

Congrats

Did the same thing with getting rid of material crap I don't need as well awhile back so I wasn't tied down anywhere. Laptop, phone, clothes. All you need

Its a great feeling and a powerful lesson. You can't bring any of this stuff with you when it all ends and my dreams are worth a lot more to me then a 48' LCD monitor. I want to try keep my possessions down to two suitcases in the future, it keeps you focused and motivated.

i got most of those books on pdf and audiobooks good job!! it seems like you're preparing for an hurricane lol.

Yes I might have to start using Audiobooks myself. I love having physical books but I don't want to have to leave them all behind everytime I move. Ha yes hurricane planning is in effect - take only what you need!

 

[Fox]

Truck just sold. 100% locked in.

 

[Fox]

I am switching up my game and now aiming for clients with a 2-5 times bigger budget than anything I have currently done. Around the 6k - 15k Euro range. Using the advice from @SinisterLex thread on finding copywriting gigs I spend about 30 - 40 minutes on a highly detailed email with lots of great content, stats, pictures of proven results and links to past jobs. I am trying to x10 everything and know I will be more comfortable completing jobs on this level. Big companies have bigger problems, more potential and the results are more satisfying. I find the bigger jobs I have done so far were a lot easier than small time clients, I am more in line with bigger companies ways of thinking and the results they want (picture picture perspective). I don't want to scrape by with small gigs anymore, time for the big leagues.

 

[Fox]

Which skills would u say are most important to learn to launch your product successfully ?

On the web side my products are usually a huge improvement and what my clients already had so its easy to use the channels they already have to launch a new design.

On the app side I have not done so well. Both of my launches had mixed results. They were good for first attempts but not something to emulate. There would be better guys to learn on from here when it comes to launching from zero.

The one piece of advice I would have is to test any sales method first with a very small amount of capital. I have been caught out "knowing" something will work and dropping a nice portion of my budget and then getting no results. Amateur mistake and skip-the-process style thinking. I have since learned but that was a needed lesson.

 

[Fox]

I will be honest - part of me doesn't know if I am completely insane. The other 99% is very excited to get going.

At this stage I have everything grouped together and I was even weighing things today to plan my bags. I don't want to be over on weight so I will probably have to carry most of the books on the plane with me. Insurance is booked, flights are booked, an apartment with a little bed, kitchen and shower is booked. Can't wait!

If anyone is in the Bogota area over the next while let me know!

 

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[Fox]

This is honestly the type of thing I dream of. Taking everything I own, moving away, and putting all of my effort into a business/idea/project. I think it would super invigorating. You should blog about it! Can I ask what your specific goals you are trying to achieve while your there? What type of business are you going to start? Do you have an income goal?

First year goals are
-have a solid online skill that I can make consistent money from
-build a YouTube channel with great content and a strong following (not for profit)
-design and launch one product that helps solve some major problem from this group or from my work online
-get a pet pig
-mediate daily and gym 4 times a week
-learn conversational Spanish

Income goals would are to get up to $75 an hour as a freelancer and have my product do $250,000 in sales

 

[Fox]

Very nice man. A few questions.
1. What service are you using to sell? Shopify? Amazon?
2. What did you do to get your product noticed? Facebook ads?
3. How's sudamerica and your Spanish coming along?

Keep it up fox, you're doing amazing.

1) Its a platform in of itself that's sells niche products
2) Nothing except the listing on the platform. My sales copy and USP are top notch though. Tomorrow I start a social media campaign that should see great results for only $100 spent. If it works Ill scale up and continue. The product does have an estimate shelf life of 6-12 months though.
3) Great. Start full time Spanish in a few weeks and I love it here. Lots of local connections forming with great business minded people and enjoying everyday. Today's sales is the equivalent of three months rent so that's not bad either (got a great deal).

 

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[Kingmaker]

I did eight hours at Colombian visa office yesterday and coming up on my seventh hour today. Trying to get my student visa fully approved. I just got the sticker in my passport with my picture taken - it looks like I will murder someone. Frustrating when I have a business to run and 95% of the day is waiting for your number to be called to talk for twenty seconds and then join another line of waiting for 2-3 hours.

Start a expedited Colombian visas business on the side

 

[458]

Now that's what I call "all in"

 

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[Fox]

Started using FreshBooks in the last 48 hours to do professional quotes, payments and some accountancy. I am already very impressed. Really good customer service, I didn't even get a dial tone or hold music when I called- straight to a real person. I am stepping up all the small things to become a more professional service.

 

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[DrunkFish]

This sounds pretty serious!

 

[mws87]

Thats exciting!

I like how you kept so many pens....

Good luck and speed on your journey!

pens = gold!

 

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[John Robert]

Thats awesome man! Colombia is fantastic! I didnt go to bogota, but i did stay in medellin and there was a refreshing expat community there with a lot of internet entrepreneurs. Very cool stuff man! This is how a truly EXCEPTIONAL life starts!

 

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[xavi22]

Before taking your leap of faith, write down your goals "a la Napoleon Hill". I see his book in your book stack. Remember steps 3 through 6 on how accomplish goals and make a tone of money? These things work, even Bruce Lee had his personal manifesto that he recited on a daily basis until he accomplished what he eventually accomplished.

 

[Guest34764]

-get a pet pig

You're my type of guy.

Good luck man.You're taking action and that's the best part.

Move while the adrenaline is pumping.

 

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[mtn_baldy]

First year goals are
-have a solid online skill that I can make consistent money from
-build a YouTube channel with great content and a strong following (not for profit)
-design and launch one product that helps solve some major problem from this group or from my work online
-get a pet pig
-mediate daily and gym 4 times a week
-learn conversational Spanish

Income goals would are to get up to $75 an hour as a freelancer and have my product do $250,000 in sales

Espanol es muy facil aprender.
Immersion is the biggest key to learning a new language- but you also need a strong foundation. Duolingo is really good, and from there just move into spanishdict.com and studyspanish.com
You're definitely going to need those condoms, latinas are ridiculous. Have fun dude.

 

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[Greg R]

- Found someone to look after my plant that I have grown quite fond of!

View attachment 11123

Burning question.

What kind of plant are you talking about here?

Just kidding .Keep on trucking dude.

 

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[Chimp]

@Fox

Congrats with your progress in less than one year. I am really inspired with your action and I'm currently looking to make the same move to SE-Europe (somewhere in the Balkans probably).

Just one question: is your company registrated in Colombia, Ireland or Canada?

His company is registered in Canada

 

[mws87]

I really need to put a full update on here soon but here is a quick version:

- now coding at $50+ an hour

-multiple website projects on the go. Working with some great clients and everyone has been very happy.

-App template about to release soon. Expecting good returns on this

-Setting up a website for a local company that I will take a percentage of every sale that goes through the site. Potential to have up to $1000 a month with very little work required. My web skills are starting to come together and I am really able to help smaller business grow substantially.

-Bigger Fastlane Project in the works. Have isolated a very good niche that is completely under served. Average sale is between $500-3500. Will be moving on this soon once I stabilize my base income.

Lots of challenges and hard days too. I will update in full soon.

Great thread, man. Excited to see your progress.

I've been thinking about (horrible, I know) providing service, too. I'm interested in hearing more about your journey. Did you have prior experience in coding/web design? Are you doing WP design? Etc.

Keep up the amazing work!

 

[Fox]

Update coming very soon...

Meeting tomorrow with my first major client for the Fastlane project.

 

[Fox]

Glad you are doing great! I started reading this thread in 2015 and your progress is awesome.
Keep going man.

Edit: In what south american country are you?

I am in Bogota, Colombia. I love it here.