Started a business

[Mr4213]

Wanted to give a update and give some advice (IMHO) to whoever can use it.

Not long ago I asked you guys how you found your industry. Ironically, not long after that my industry found me.

I was working for a business and I noticed some opportunity. I set some stuff up, the night before I was set to execute my employer called and told me I have work. I told them I could not come in. I got fired. The next day I made close to my monthly pay in about 6 hours. The next day I made another $200 in two hours. Later that same day I made another $250 in 3 hours. Its not a ton now, but its all the taste I need.

Turns out I actually possess a natural talent for sales @Ubermensch

Yesterday I closed a deal for $4k and I am going to profit $2k from it. I am hustling to close the $50k jobs at the moment.

Everything was going good and of course my car decided to break down. Unfortunately the deal I closed could take place anywhere from now and Aug 1st. So now I am grinding it to close some deals this week so I can get a new vehicle.

I do not pay myself and I reinvest all the profits back into the business to grow it. I am working to automate the entire system ASAP. I think by the end of the year it will be automated and I will be generating a passive income from it. I will then use that to grow my business and invest in real estate.

I've had fun with it and for the first time in my life I feel alive and I have a wallet fat with cash. My advice to people out there would just be to jump in. Avoid mainstream methodology (IMHO) and come up with creative ways to get things done. Don't look at problems in a linear fashion. For example, for my business I needed a piece of equipment that cost $20k-$50k. I am 19 with no credit, connections or a huge amount of savings and most of my family is addicted to drugs. Instead of saying "Oh shucks, I don't have the money for that! oh well!" I came up with some creative ways to get what I needed without taking on debt or paying $20k-$50k or going to investors. I think most of the time it just comes down to the hustle and how serious you really are. Also keep in mind that all situations are unique and you should do whatever feels best to you given your situation.

I've been making around $1k a day but it has been inconsistent. Honestly it has not been easy for me. I have a lot of moving parts, sometimes it feels like the entire universe is conspiring against me. Other times it feels like the stars are lining up for me. I could not even begin to explain the business and personal problems I have been facing. I never smoke cigarettes, but some nights I will sit there and smoke a entire pack. I have family members whom I love that think I do not care about them because I am always working and hustling. I have missed out on important events. They just do not understand. They are the reason I am always working and hustling. I wish that was the only problem I had. But my advice would be to just keep going regardless of what you are facing. I have faith in myself and the process, you should too.

Partnership really is a marriage. I have gone through three partners already. I got rid of the first two because they did not bring any real value to the table. I could pay a employee to do the same things they did. Which I do now. The third partner gave up after two days because he could not handle the work load "I just don't think this is for me". Do not partner with people who will waste your time. In fact, do not even associate with people who will waste your time. Most people will talk big but they wont hustle when it comes down to it. I give all of my potential partners a trial period. I would heavily encourage this if you are ever thinking about bringing on partners.

Good employees are hard as f*** to find. It is especially hard when you are a start up and do not have the resources to spend on good talent. I am sure you have read or seen that before at one point. It is f*** true. I pray to God you have a good ability at judging people from the start. All I am going to say on this.

Touching on the last subject. It is really hard to replicate yourself. I am extremely effective in all areas of my business, but I only have so much time to do things. Doing one thing means neglecting another. You better find good people that you can trust to handle certain areas of your business so you can focus on other areas.

Sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales....and again sales. I do not give a f*** what you do as a business. If you cannot generate sales your business is useless. Generating sales better be your first priority as a business owner. I spend a good bit of my time generating leads and revenue. My service is a good deal, so I do not have to "pitch" people on it. Good deals sell themselves. PLEASE do yourself a favor and sell a product that sells itself.

All in all I love every bit of it. I now know what it means to hustle. I have had to step out of my comfort zone and do things I never thought I would. s*** some days I feel like I am crazy when I do the things I do. Getting handed a few thousand in cash for one day is a pretty good feeling (I cant wait to see what its like to get more) I enjoy the competition with other local companies. I like to walk into stores and act stupid. You would be surprised what a business owner would tell a 19 year old. I get most of their secrets from that method alone. Get out there and hustle, it really is fun when you are working for yourself.

Marketing! This is Queen. IMHO I would advise you to avoid online marketing as a startup, unless you have tons of money. Odds are the competition has tons more money they can throw at it. You will run out of money long before they do I promise. Odds are it will just drain resources you should be allocating to another area of your business. You will also waste tons of time focusing on this most likely. I have 0 online presence. I prefer more intimate means of marketing. For example I cold call. I ONLY cold call hot leads. I have a process I use to identify leads before I call. So far I have a 100% success rate. My local competition relies heavily on online marketing (mainstream methodology) I talk and build rapport with my customers and I provide a better service. Also you probably will not close BIG deals through online marketing. BIG deals take personal interaction and hustling IMHO. I provide good customer service so my customers go and market for me. That is also a big one.

I will post more as I learn more. I hope some of you can benefit from this post.

 

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[David Young]

Don't forget that relationship are important and need nurturing just like your business.
Great to hear you are pushing on and making it happen - just the inspiration I needed this morning.
Thanks

 

[JuliaLV]

Glad to hear you are making a progress! Sounds awesome
This 'hit home' -

Avoid mainstream methodology (IMHO) and come up with creative ways to get things done.

 

[JokerCrazyBeatz]

We all need motivation like this . Keep it pushing and soon your dreams will become a reality !

 

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[OldFaithful]

I came up with some creative ways to get what I needed without taking on debt or paying $20k-$50k or going to investors.

Now you've piqued my curiosity. So how did you manage to gain access to such an expensive piece of equipment without any $$?

 

[Guest34764]

I'll be honest and say I'm finding it hard to believe.

Sounds pretty made up, but whatever if it's true congrats.

EDIT:Read the whole post,bullshit meter off the charts.

 

[csalvato]

I'll be honest and say I'm finding it hard to believe.

Sounds pretty made up, but whatever if it's true congrats.

EDIT:Read the whole post,bullshit meter off the charts.

Two weeks since he was ready to live homeless on the street in CA and he managed to get up to $1k/day with no sales experience as a 19 year old.

Also went through 3 partners in two weeks.

Either he's a prodigy or a bs artist.

 

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[theag]

inb4 rap video

 

[Ecom man]

Wanted to give a update and give some advice (IMHO) to whoever can use it.

Not long ago I asked you guys how you found your industry. Ironically, not long after that my industry found me.

I was working for a business and I noticed some opportunity. I set some stuff up, the night before I was set to execute my employer called and told me I have work. I told them I could not come in. I got fired. The next day I made close to my monthly pay in about 6 hours. The next day I made another $200 in two hours. Later that same day I made another $250 in 3 hours. Its not a ton now, but its all the taste I need.

Turns out I actually possess a natural talent for sales @Ubermensch

Yesterday I closed a deal for $4k and I am going to profit $2k from it. I am hustling to close the $50k jobs at the moment.

Everything was going good and of course my car decided to break down. Unfortunately the deal I closed could take place anywhere from now and Aug 1st. So now I am grinding it to close some deals this week so I can get a new vehicle.

I do not pay myself and I reinvest all the profits back into the business to grow it. I am working to automate the entire system ASAP. I think by the end of the year it will be automated and I will be generating a passive income from it. I will then use that to grow my business and invest in real estate.

I've had fun with it and for the first time in my life I feel alive and I have a wallet fat with cash. My advice to people out there would just be to jump in. Avoid mainstream methodology (IMHO) and come up with creative ways to get things done. Don't look at problems in a linear fashion. For example, for my business I needed a piece of equipment that cost $20k-$50k. I am 19 with no credit, connections or a huge amount of savings and most of my family is addicted to drugs. Instead of saying "Oh shucks, I don't have the money for that! oh well!" I came up with some creative ways to get what I needed without taking on debt or paying $20k-$50k or going to investors. I think most of the time it just comes down to the hustle and how serious you really are. Also keep in mind that all situations are unique and you should do whatever feels best to you given your situation.

I've been making around $1k a day but it has been inconsistent. Honestly it has not been easy for me. I have a lot of moving parts, sometimes it feels like the entire universe is conspiring against me. Other times it feels like the stars are lining up for me. I could not even begin to explain the business and personal problems I have been facing. I never smoke cigarettes, but some nights I will sit there and smoke a entire pack. I have family members whom I love that think I do not care about them because I am always working and hustling. I have missed out on important events. They just do not understand. They are the reason I am always working and hustling. I wish that was the only problem I had. But my advice would be to just keep going regardless of what you are facing. I have faith in myself and the process, you should too.

Partnership really is a marriage. I have gone through three partners already. I got rid of the first two because they did not bring any real value to the table. I could pay a employee to do the same things they did. Which I do now. The third partner gave up after two days because he could not handle the work load "I just don't think this is for me". Do not partner with people who will waste your time. In fact, do not even associate with people who will waste your time. Most people will talk big but they wont hustle when it comes down to it. I give all of my potential partners a trial period. I would heavily encourage this if you are ever thinking about bringing on partners.

Good employees are hard as f*** to find. It is especially hard when you are a start up and do not have the resources to spend on good talent. I am sure you have read or seen that before at one point. It is f*** true. I pray to God you have a good ability at judging people from the start. All I am going to say on this.

Touching on the last subject. It is really hard to replicate yourself. I am extremely effective in all areas of my business, but I only have so much time to do things. Doing one thing means neglecting another. You better find good people that you can trust to handle certain areas of your business so you can focus on other areas.

Sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales....and again sales. I do not give a f*** what you do as a business. If you cannot generate sales your business is useless. Generating sales better be your first priority as a business owner. I spend a good bit of my time generating leads and revenue. My service is a good deal, so I do not have to "pitch" people on it. Good deals sell themselves. PLEASE do yourself a favor and sell a product that sells itself.

All in all I love every bit of it. I now know what it means to hustle. I have had to step out of my comfort zone and do things I never thought I would. s*** some days I feel like I am crazy when I do the things I do. Getting handed a few thousand in cash for one day is a pretty good feeling (I cant wait to see what its like to get more) I enjoy the competition with other local companies. I like to walk into stores and act stupid. You would be surprised what a business owner would tell a 19 year old. I get most of their secrets from that method alone. Get out there and hustle, it really is fun when you are working for yourself.

Marketing! This is Queen. IMHO I would advise you to avoid online marketing as a startup, unless you have tons of money. Odds are the competition has tons more money they can throw at it. You will run out of money long before they do I promise. Odds are it will just drain resources you should be allocating to another area of your business. You will also waste tons of time focusing on this most likely. I have 0 online presence. I prefer more intimate means of marketing. For example I cold call. I ONLY cold call hot leads. I have a process I use to identify leads before I call. So far I have a 100% success rate. My local competition relies heavily on online marketing (mainstream methodology) I talk and build rapport with my customers and I provide a better service. Also you probably will not close BIG deals through online marketing. BIG deals take personal interaction and hustling IMHO. I provide good customer service so my customers go and market for me. That is also a big one.

I will post more as I learn more. I hope some of you can benefit from this post.

You went from "retiring" on $600 bucks a month to making 1k a day? You went from planning on living in your car to having 3 partners? You went from being in the reserves, to working in a business, to getting fired from that business? You went from working 5 hours a week to "always working and hustling"? All of this happened in 2 weeks? You are either the biggest success story ever or there are some slight exaggerations (untruths) in these stories. I hope it really is true and you really are crushing it.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

You went from "retiring" on $600 bucks a month to making 1k a day? You went from planning on living in your car to having 3 partners? You went from being in the reserves, to working in a business, to getting fired from that business? You went from working 5 hours a week to "always working and hustling"? All of this happened in 2 weeks? You are either the biggest success story ever or there are some slight exaggerations (untruths) in these stories. I hope it really is true and you really are crushing it.

Something fishy... investigating...

 

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[OldFaithful]

So how did you manage to gain access to such an expensive piece of equipment without any $$?

Ok @Mr4213, I'm just gonna guess. You found someone that already had the necessary equipment and you brought him/her in as a partner. Am I right???

 

[Mr4213]

Some people are not going to believe me regardless of what I say. I'm not going to waste my time arguing with people. Believe me or don't. It does not change my reality either way.

By the way, I still am in the National Guard. That's not something you can just leave lol. Even if I could I wouldn't. I'm a combat medic and I love what I do.

I created this thread to give people tips that I've learned. I will keep updating this for the people who get value from it. I am not acting like I'm living the dream or any s**** like that because I am not. The best I do at this point is $1k a day. But like I've said before this is not every single day. Last week was a good week. This week was much slower.

Here are some random things on my mind in no particular order

All of the profit I make goes back into my business. The business is not automated either (yet). It is a brick and mortar business in a very big industry so it is highly competitive. A few things that helped me to be successful

-Affordability
-Pricing structure
-Customer service
-My management style
-Networking

I did not create anything crazy. I saw some things and improved on them. My company also does the simple things better than the competition. My strategy creating the business was that it be lean as humanly possible while still looking big and professional to the customer. My overhead is so low I can literally copy the competitions price structuring and then knock off a minimum of 25% if I wanted to. And still make a decent profit. I do not do that though because I have a better system in place than them (differentiation) A good product sells itself.

When you are confident and know what you are talking about (with a good product) it is honestly not that difficult to sell it when you get in front of the right people.

I did not take conventional routes forming my business. I tested the idea. Then put all of my savings (which was not a lot) into forming the business. I did not take loans. I have one investor. Which is a good friend I knew from high school. He does not get a percentage of my business. If I ever need money he invest small amounts into the business and he gets a weekly or monthly ROI. Until this point I still have not had to use any of his money though. He is there as a reserve. My biggest piece of advice for people starting a business out there is to try ALL creative methods before even considering loans or investors. I take things one step at a time. If I need something really expensive I focus just on that. I don't think about the other big expensive thing I need right after that. Most of my competitors used business loans (lol) and as a result it took them many years to build the business. I am able to generate profit right out of the gate because I did not do that. The money they would pay to a bank I am using to grow my business. If you do use business loans my advice would be to have a really good business plan. Do the work. Know the industry and know your numbers.

This is really big IMHO. Create a lean business, look big and act small. Some of the things I do could be easily replicated by local competition. But the thing is they cant because of overhead and organization. If they copied me they would go red really fast and it would be a logistical nightmare. My business is highly flexible and adaptable. I am constantly changing and adapting all areas of the business.

Go network. Pretty big one also. Despite my previous 4 partner failures, I have formed a strategic partnership with a individual and it is looking like it will be very profitable. I have learned a good bit from networking around. The first four partners were a result of me wanting to believe in people when I knew I shouldn't have. Don't make that mistake.

Customer service is obviously very big. This and marketing are my highest priorities. For example, once I was with a customer and we were outside. It was very hot. I gave my worker some of my money and sent him to the store to buy her a drink. She loved that s**** and begged to write me a review. The thing is I didn't do it because I wanted that to happen. I did it because I genuinely had the customer in mind. Small things like that can make a big difference. I build rapport and get to know the customers story. I worked with a single mother once. She saved money for 6 months and went to the competition. She still could not afford the price they were asking. She went with me and saved almost 50%. She got a better service at half the price. I enjoy helping people like this and I would encourage you to take the same mindset.

To all the young people out there. When you start meeting with older businessmen you may or may not be nervous. I was pretty nervous when I first started. Not too long ago I was asking people like them to mentor me. I'm 19 so I felt like they would assume things. From my experience if you know what you're talking about you will be fine. At some points people would use certain terminology and I had no f**** clue what they were talking about. But if I was ever asked a question about my industry or local competition I could answer it.

I will update with more later.

 

[Mr4213]

Something fishy... investigating...

Mr. DeMarco,

I would be more than willing and happy to send you my IDs. Both civilian and military. Pictures of me on active duty. Also the name and details of my company so you can verify the existence of it. I have a website being built right now and I can also send you a link to that as soon as it is done. Any other information that you would like I would be happy to send as well. I just do not want any of that information on the public forum. By the way, I loved your book. I was not able to put it down.

 

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[Mr4213]

Ok @Mr4213, I'm just gonna guess. You found someone that already had the necessary equipment and you brought him/her in as a partner. Am I right???

You're on the right path, but no partnership. That would put too much control in a partners hands IMO. What would happen if he quit for some reason? That would ruin the whole business.

 

[Mr4213]

Two weeks since he was ready to live homeless on the street in CA and he managed to get up to $1k/day with no sales experience as a 19 year old.

Also went through 3 partners in two weeks.

Either he's a prodigy or a bs artist.

Due to my situation at the time I thought it was a good idea to move. I was also being stupid and trying to justify the decision to myself when I knew deep down it was stupid. I probably dodged a bullet there.

Grow up watching your mom prostitute herself for crack. Watch her do that crack in front of you. Have her tell you she loves crack, but not you. Get abandoned at a crack house when you are a toddler. Your mom leaves the "house" Is she coming back tonight? Its been two weeks now and you haven't seen or heard from her. Its okay though, it happens all the time. Grow up getting bullied and made fun of for being "trailer trash" Your clothes are always disgusting and dirty. You always smell bad. Eat out of trash cans in front of other students because your starving. Go long periods of time without water or electricity. Use a small bed you found in the garbage to sleep on. Ask God every night what the f*** you did wrong. Ask God why he is punishing you. Cry yourself to sleep every night. Go to bed hungry every night. Contemplate ending it all every night. Run away from "home" in high school and support yourself while you go to class. Constantly move. Go to three high schools in one year. Grow up living like a piece of garbage for 17 straight years. Grow up having classmates look at you like trash because of their ignorance. Watch those classmates have the things you never did. Watch them go home to their loving family in their nice warm home. Get diagnosed with depression and anxiety because of all the f*** up s**** you've been through.

I paid a price.

My grandmother saved my life. She is almost 80 and works 40+ hours a week. She is developing Alzheimer's. She took out loans against her house to help my piece of s*** dad. She is $100k+ in debt. She will never retire. Eventually she wont be able to work anymore. She will lose her house. No one is going to help her. I either become successful within a few years or she dies in misery. If that happens I will live my whole life carrying that weight.

To me its about F*cking survival. You better believe I will F*ck someone up before I let them stop me from helping my grandmother. I would rather die. This is what I live for. I love business competition. It pumps me up. I spend every waking second working to kick their a$$. Life beat me down with no mercy. I never had a childhood. I've always been far ahead of my age group in thinking. I had too. I did not have the luxury to sit there and play. I had no mommy and daddy taking care of me. I took care of myself. The thought of someone who hasn't struggled beating me is insulting.

Those are my whys.

 

[Vigilante]

Due to my situation at the time I thought it was a good idea to move. I was also being stupid and trying to justify the decision to myself when I knew deep down it was stupid. I probably dodged a bullet there.

Grow up watching your mom prostitute herself for crack. Watch her do that crack in front of you. Have her tell you she loves crack, but not you. Get abandoned at a crack house when you are a toddler. Your mom leaves the "house" Is she coming back tonight? Its been two weeks now and you haven't seen or heard from her. Its okay though, it happens all the time. Grow up getting bullied and made fun of for being "trailer trash" Your clothes are always disgusting and dirty. You always smell bad. Eat out of trash cans in front of other students because your starving. Go long periods of time without water or electricity. Use a small bed you found in the garbage to sleep on. Ask God every night what the f*** you did wrong. Ask God why he is punishing you. Cry yourself to sleep every night. Go to bed hungry every night. Contemplate ending it all every night. Run away from "home" in high school and support yourself while you go to class. Constantly move. Go to three high schools in one year. Grow up living like a piece of garbage for 17 straight years. Grow up having classmates look at you like trash because of their ignorance. Watch those classmates have the things you never did. Watch them go home to their loving family in their nice warm home. Get diagnosed with depression and anxiety because of all the f*** up s**** you've been through.

I paid a price.

My grandmother saved my life. She is almost 80 and works 40+ hours a week. She is developing Alzheimer's. She took out loans against her house to help my piece of s*** dad. She is $100k+ in debt. She will never retire. Eventually she wont be able to work anymore. She will lose her house. No one is going to help her. I either become successful within a few years or she dies in misery. If that happens I will live my whole carrying that weight.

To me its about F*cking survival. You better believe I will F*ck someone up before I let them stop me from helping my grandmother. I would rather die. This is what I live for. I love business competition. It pumps me up. I spend every waking second working to kick their a$$. Life beat me down with no mercy. I never had a childhood. I've always been far ahead of my age group in thinking. I had too. I did not have the luxury to sit there and play. I had no mommy and daddy taking care of me. I took care of myself. The thought of someone who hasn't struggled beating me is insulting.

Those are my whys.

You remind me a LOT of another young kid we had around here. He went from being destitute to a MILLIONAIRE seemingly overnight. You even write like he did! Keep pressing. You might go from "retired" at 19 to an overnight success story, just like he did. His story should have been on the cover of every investing magazine in the world, and you're on the same turnaround pace 2 weeks after living on crackers. I look forward to reading the rest of your story. You also might be one of the youngest lifetime benefit recipients from the reserves, but don't let the naysayers tell you you're not. To be a combat medic at your age is a hell of a feat, like Doogie Howser. You must have rocked your Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Keep pressing.

Question. To get the title of Combat Medic and not just a Medic, don't you have to have literally served in Combat? I thought Medics that were guardsmen that had never served overseas in a combat situation were just called Medics. I could be wrong though. Locally they call them health care specialists or Medics, with the COMBAT designation reserved for those who have combat medic experience. I thought the "combat" portion of the title was an earned and formal title.

 

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[Vigilante]

I worked with a single mother once. She saved money for 6 months and went to the competition. She still could not afford the price they were asking. She went with me and saved almost 50%.

I am TOTALLY LOST. I thought you just started this company, and I must be wrong and confused. This lady came back to you after six months? I literally thought you just started this.

A month ago your income was 350-600/month passively. Where did this customer come from six months ago when she went to the competition?

Props and respect for you to have time to do all this while going to school, and being a Combat Medic for the National Guard! A brick and mortar business, legacy customers, partners, employees, school, and military service! Incredible.

It's a DAMN good thing you didn't leave this all behind three weeks ago and live in your car in California!

 

[Mr4213]

I am TOTALLY LOST. I thought you just started this company, and I must be wrong and confused. This lady came back to you after six months? I literally thought you just started this.

My company was not around when she started saving money.

She saved for six months. When she was ready to spend her money my business was around (6 months later)

She went to the competition and she was looking at around a $1k price. She paid $450 with me.

 

[Andyc2288]

 

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[csalvato]

Due to my situation at the time I thought it was a good idea to move. I was also being stupid and trying to justify the decision to myself when I knew deep down it was stupid. I probably dodged a bullet there.

Grow up watching your mom prostitute herself for crack. Watch her do that crack in front of you. Have her tell you she loves crack, but not you. Get abandoned at a crack house when you are a toddler. Your mom leaves the "house" Is she coming back tonight? Its been two weeks now and you haven't seen or heard from her. Its okay though, it happens all the time. Grow up getting bullied and made fun of for being "trailer trash" Your clothes are always disgusting and dirty. You always smell bad. Eat out of trash cans in front of other students because your starving. Go long periods of time without water or electricity. Use a small bed you found in the garbage to sleep on. Ask God every night what the f*** you did wrong. Ask God why he is punishing you. Cry yourself to sleep every night. Go to bed hungry every night. Contemplate ending it all every night. Run away from "home" in high school and support yourself while you go to class. Constantly move. Go to three high schools in one year. Grow up living like a piece of garbage for 17 straight years. Grow up having classmates look at you like trash because of their ignorance. Watch those classmates have the things you never did. Watch them go home to their loving family in their nice warm home. Get diagnosed with depression and anxiety because of all the f*** up s**** you've been through.

I paid a price.

My grandmother saved my life. She is almost 80 and works 40+ hours a week. She is developing Alzheimer's. She took out loans against her house to help my piece of s*** dad. She is $100k+ in debt. She will never retire. Eventually she wont be able to work anymore. She will lose her house. No one is going to help her. I either become successful within a few years or she dies in misery. If that happens I will live my whole life carrying that weight.

To me its about F*cking survival. You better believe I will F*ck someone up before I let them stop me from helping my grandmother. I would rather die. This is what I live for. I love business competition. It pumps me up. I spend every waking second working to kick their a$$. Life beat me down with no mercy. I never had a childhood. I've always been far ahead of my age group in thinking. I had too. I did not have the luxury to sit there and play. I had no mommy and daddy taking care of me. I took care of myself. The thought of someone who hasn't struggled beating me is insulting.

Those are my whys.

Great. Thanks.

Still doesn't explain how in two weeks you started a business, went through 3 partners, went from living in a van down by the river to making more money in a day than most people make in a week.

I've been a salesperson for over 10 years now, in one way or another, and it took me 9 months to hit my stride selling to very highly qualified leads -- because sales is a skill.

Are there people who just get it? Sure.

You seem to "just get" a whole lot of things though.

So, like I said, unless I have more detail, this whole thing seems like a load of BS. But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe you *are* a prodigy. They do exist. But even entrepreneur prodigy Elon had a path that was 100x longer and harder than what you put in this post.

 

[csalvato]

My company was not around when she started saving money.

She saved for six months. When she was ready to spend her money my business was around (6 months later)

She went to the competition and she was looking at around a $1k price. She paid $450 with me.

How did she find you? Why did she trust you? What did you sell her?

 

[Mr4213]

How did she find you? Why did she trust you? What did you sell her?

Keep in mind this was when I was testing the idea.

She actually got lucky. I used to work for one of my competitors (this is where I came up with the idea)

Ironically enough this employer was the competition she went to.

I was doing a job for my employer and she was in the area. I was in uniform. She came up to me asking about the service and told me what she was going to be charged. She told me she couldn't afford even half of the price. I told her I could get it done for her. I was not trying to steal customers before any of you get that idea. She was not going to use them anyway because she couldn't afford it.

Why did she trust me?

She found me while I was in uniform doing the service she needed. So she knew I was a professional and I had training.

I looked professional and presentable

I was confident and knew what I was talking about. I put her needs first and took the time to listen to her story.

I wont tell you what services I provide. All I am going to say is it is not a tangible item. It is a service. The industry is very big and has a ton of competition.

 

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[OldFaithful]

You're on the right path, but no partnership. That would put too much control in a partners hands IMO. What would happen if he quit for some reason? That would ruin the whole business.

I understand that you want to keep the identity of your business and what service you provide, under wraps. I don't blame you a bit. I haven't revealed my product or business name either.

If you can't tell us how you got access to that $20k-$50k equipment, and can't give us any tips on how to do it too, then I'll just have to keep guessing. Leasing or renting! I'm guessing that you're leasing/renting the equipment from someone that already owns it. Perhaps your previous employer, perhaps a competitor. Perhaps this guys is getting a monthly ROI like the shadow investor???

 

[Mr4213]

Great. Thanks.

Still doesn't explain how in two weeks you started a business, went through 3 partners, went from living in a van down by the river to making more money in a day than most people make in a week.

I've been a salesperson for over 10 years now, in one way or another, and it took me 9 months to hit my stride selling to very highly qualified leads -- because sales is a skill.

Are there people who just get it? Sure.

You seem to "just get" a whole lot of things though.

So, like I said, unless I have more detail, this whole thing seems like a load of BS. But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe you *are* a prodigy. They do exist. But even entrepreneur prodigy Elon had a path that was 100x longer and harder than what you put in this post.

Not sure I ever lived in a van?

I've explained it several times. The product sells itself. If you have a confident person that understands what they are talking about it is very easy to sell a great and affordable product. Not sure what you do not understand?

Like I have said, the industry I am in is VERY big. It is not hard for me to find people needing my service. Just comes down to the hustle. My customer service is better. I offer the exact same services as the competition. My product is far more affordable. The pricing structure I use is very easy for customers to understand.

I'm not living the dream. I make fast cash but not easy cash. Like I said I am not clearing $1k a day every single day straight. Like this week has been very slow for me. I still face a ton of obstacles and issues with my business.

 

[Mr4213]

I understand that you want to keep the identity of your business and what service you provide, under wraps. I don't blame you a bit. I haven't revealed my product or business name either.

If you can't tell us how you got access to that $20k-$50k equipment, and can't give us any tips on how to do it too, then I'll just have to keep guessing. Leasing or renting! I'm guessing that you're leasing/renting the equipment from someone that already owns it. Perhaps your previous employer, perhaps a competitor. Perhaps this guys is getting a monthly ROI like the shadow investor???

I considered leasing and renting. Here is the problem with that.

If I leased or rented what I needed than I would add significant overhead. One huge thing that sets me apart is my affordability. I am more affordable because my overhead is very, very low.

I do not have the consistent cash flow to justify a lease or rent. Leasing or renting would run me into the red really fast.

Lastly, I am a 19 year old owner of a company that is brand new. Most companies that do leasing are going to want to see a business track record of at least a year.

I would never go to a competitor for equipment. Just my personal preference. Down the road I plan to expand and start leasing/renting out equipment to my competitors though.

You are pretty much in the right thinking. Find someone with what you need and deal it out. I wont say how I do my deals. That aspect is entirely unique to what you are doing anyways though. But yes to clarify, finding someone with nice shiny equipment I need and dealing it out is one of the tactics I like to use.

 

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[Mr4213]

I am TOTALLY LOST. I thought you just started this company, and I must be wrong and confused. This lady came back to you after six months? I literally thought you just started this.

A month ago your income was 350-600/month passively. Where did this customer come from six months ago when she went to the competition?

Props and respect for you to have time to do all this while going to school, and being a Combat Medic for the National Guard! A brick and mortar business, legacy customers, partners, employees, school, and military service! Incredible.

It's a DAMN good thing you didn't leave this all behind three weeks ago and live in your car in California!

Sorry I did not see the rest of your post.

I have school in the fall. But I am most likely not going to go. Just depends on how the business does the next few months.

The passive income was assuming I started school (due to military educational benefits)

I usually only train one weekend a month for the Guard and my personal bills are so low that the paycheck pays everything.

My time is pretty much 90% free to focus on my business.

Employees and partners are what I hate dealing with more than anything. I am now on my 5th partner. I have a lot of faith in this individual though. The individual is a business owner so this is a strategic partnership. I value what the individual is able to do so much that I offered a substantial percentage of my business once we see how successful it is. Assuming it is successful I want to buy the individuals business down the road to get another advantage.

Right now I am just starting small and lean. I am trying to grow as aggressively as possible. Far down the road I have a big vision for the business though. I want to internally vertically integrate the business as much as possible and expand it all over the country. I would love to disrupt and innovate the industry as much as I possibly can. Right now I have no ideas to do this though. But I hope as I keep doing this I will find some opportunities to do so.

I genuinely appreciate your kind words. Thank you.

 

[Mr4213]

Here is a update

Remember when I said at some points it feels like the universe is conspiring against me?

Finally got time to work on my car. Thought it was a starter issue. Actually it's a F*cking seized engine with a blown head gasket.

I dont have enough money for a new vehicle because it's all in the business. So are my savings.

I have to be able to get around to keep my business going.

The employee I would rely on for transportation happened to text me a few minutes after I found out about the engine. He wants to leave to another job offer because he wants more hours.

Thats the shit I'm talking about.

I'm looking at some solutions.

For now I'm going on a long a$$ walk and smoking a cigarette.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Mr. DeMarco,

I would be more than willing and happy to send you my IDs. Both civilian and military. Pictures of me on active duty. Also the name and details of my company so you can verify the existence of it. I have a website being built right now and I can also send you a link to that as soon as it is done. Any other information that you would like I would be happy to send as well. I just do not want any of that information on the public forum. By the way, I loved your book. I was not able to put it down.

My apologies for being skeptical. I wish you well and good wishes sir.

 

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[AgainstAllOdds]

[HASHTAG]#landfill[/HASHTAG]

 

[Mr4213]

My apologies for being skeptical. I wish you well and good wishes sir.

No need to apologize. I consider it a honor to have you even post on a thread of mine.