If you're someone who has been spinning their wheels for years and haven't had success in business, then this post is for you.

I dedicate this post to my FLF E'Com buddies (you know who you are)...


Before May, 2018 the stats for my five-year entrepreneurial career went something like this:

1. Read how to be an entrepreneur= 2 years
2. Passive Real Estate Investing= + $50-75k , 5 years
3. Blog on Real Estate Investing= - $2k , 2 Years
4. Failed Construction Business Deal= - $12k , 1 Year
5. Failed Construction Business= - $10k, 6 Months
6. Sports Bra Company (never launched)= - $6-8K , 1 Year

There is overlap in the timeline of events, but needless to say there was a lot of "trying" and failing. It felt as though I was destined to fail, but I kept pushing on. I kept stacking learning points in hopes that it would eventually compound into something greater.

In February 2018, I decided that it would be beneficial for my situation to buy a ticket to the Fastlane Summit to find some much needed clarity and guidance on the matter. To my surprise I found that and much more; real friends, mentors, and unprecedented accountability. Up until that point, I didn't really have any business buddies that were going to help me "kick it in the a$$." It turned out that a kick in the a$$ is all I really needed to make sh*t happen.

During that time, the Desert of Desertion was real with my soon-to-be Sports Bra company. Prototypes were failing and costs (time & money) were starting to rack up with no end in sight.

A now friend and mentor from the Summit suggested that I buy a business.

I think he knew that I was the type of person who needed to be occupied and he pitched his suggestion as a course in learning how to import and sell online while I wait for more prototypes to fail... The last thing that I wanted to do at the time was shop business deals.

This was met with a high-level of resistance (after all, I had gotten burnt badly from the last deal that I tried to do), but here is the turning point where things go from zero to 400 mph.

My online search took me a single day and I only looked at three diffrent businesses when I decided to engage an owner on 04/22/18.

On 05/08/18 (16 DAYS LATER) I had closed on the business with inventory in my storage unit and digital assets in hand.

With a little hand holding from the mentor and excellent communication, I was able to do something in 16 days that took me more than a year to do (unsuccessfully) just a year prior.

Yes this purchase was much smaller, but the amount of work that goes into it is all the same. I think that bad deal taught me; what to look for, how to valuate businesses, and be more confident at the negotiating table.

So it wasn't all for nothing, was it???

***​

Fast forward to today (nine months later), and here are the major successes that I've had. Do not take this as bragging. I say "success" with as much modesty as possible. This is merely to show you what can happen in a very very short amount of time.

1. Imported three containers from China
2. Launched three new products
3. Started an independent distributor network
4. Sold 15,000+ total units
5. Got into retail stores across the country
6. Got into the industry's largest trade show
7. And recently made a six figure wholesale deal
8. Increased the value the business by at least 10X

All of this happened just by buying a business that was on a path to failure, turning it around, and executing my a$$ off. None of this would have happened if I kept going with the Sports Bra company.


To Conclude:
If you've been spinning you're wheels for years without much success, try buying a business.

For a sum of money that most people can afford or take a year to save up and get, you can tap into your true potential and execute your a$$ off.

Let's face it, some people are better at taking existing things a making them better than they are at starting something brand new.

Are YOU one of those people??? Now it's your turn.

 

Thank you @UnrealCreative

It was always in the back of my mind that I am better at adding value rather than creating value from scratch. Real estate and this new venture confirmed that.

That is a very interesting question!

The thing is that a finished product always has to come before the business, but you should always keep in mind how your are going to sell the product and leave your options open to new ways to sell.

The reason why is that your choice of business model could have a high likelyhood of being wrong.

For example:

When I bought the business it was 50% Ecommerce / 50% Local events.

Ecommerce took a dump after a couple unforeseen events and I rarely did any local events after I purchased the company. At one point, there was almost zero income coming in. This led me to completely change the model and method of delivery.

Now it is 75% wholesale / 25% Ecommerce.

A finished product can be turned into a business, but a business without a product is not a business at all.

Create the product and always be looking for new sales channels.

 

^THIS

@ZCP, I wonder if the people in this thread who asked me what site I used to buy the business are still waiting for me to respond before starting their search?

What this thread is about is taking action now. Sometimes you need to let go. Stop thinking and just act. Trust yourself and that everything will be okay in the end.

 

The overarching theme this past year was "pressure makes diamonds." And I take that very seriously. Believe me. The hours I've spent... The amount of work that gets done because of being uncomfortable is huge. The point is, the more uncomfortable you get ,especially when it comes to sales deals, the more you know you are on the right track. I gravitate towards being uncomfortable now. It's validation.

No real progress was ever made when I felt complacent. I maintained status quo and thought about updating my website instead of selling.

Now selling is the onle thing I focus on. I litterally don't have time for anything else. If I did anything else but sell, this business would be over the way things shook out early last year. I proved a lot of things to myself by doing this and I think everyone who is struggling here can do this too.

This stuff is not easy and I've never said everything will be rosy.

With immense focus, doubling down, and then doubling down again this could be anyone here. I don't think that I'm particularly smart or savy but it's like anything else, it takes practice.

 

Key to sell?

Make every hour matter.

If your not sending quotes, putting deals together, and executing a plan on selling 1,000 units at a time instead of 1 unit at a time then you are doing it wrong.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words.

"See what happens" is not an option to me. It is either make it happen or don't.

I can't tell you how many sh*t or get off the pot moments there were these last nine months.

"Seeing what happens" implies that you are a spectator to your business. I know you probably didn't mean it so literally, but there is no way this would have been possible with a spectator mentality.