Hello Fastlane Forum!
I just wanted to drop an introduction in here and start the process of getting to know everyone. I'll try not to wax poetic, but the guidelines suggest that more details make for better posts, so here it goes!
My name is Chris Franklin and I am a 35-year-old Software Engineer. I have been working corporate jobs for nearly 15 years now, the entire time dreaming of starting my own company. I have started 5 different businesses in the past 10 years, that all failed within a year or two. In no particular order I have tried: Affiliate Marketing, Amazon Seller, Ebay flipper, Blogger, and Software as a Service.
Each of my business failed for a different, but no obvious reason. Affiliate Marketing is a crowded space and the topic I chose was not in high demand. Amazon Sellers are a dime a dozen. I was competing by racing my price to the bottom which is a losing battle... Ebay Flipping was similar, just a different website name. Blogging was done with my wife (a story I will tell in a minute) but turned out to be a game we just had no passion for. Finally, my SaaS service was a stupid idea that I should have known better about. I was not solving a need, just building a cool little toy.
The thing that really tied all of those businesses together? My motivation for money. Money is great, but it isn't really a reason that a business does well, now is it? I wasn't solving real needs, and the amount of money coming my way proved it.
Two years ago, everything changed. I was standing on the expo floor of the biggest cloud computing conference in the world when my phone started going off. My wife was calling with the most terrible news possible. The "blocked duct" she had been having trouble with the previous 3 months, was not actually caused by breastfeeding out newborn. Nope, it was late-stage breast cancer. The best news we got was that it hadn't spread very far yet...
The next 18 months were hell. I found myself in a terrible position. I was now responsible for raising our children, nursing my extremely sick wife, and still working full time for the man. It was the hardest 18 months of my life, and it changed me. (FYI, we blogged through the entire endeavor with the hope of educating other women about the process).
Currently, my wife's cancer is in remission and almost everything is back to normal. What has changed? My resolve in life. I don't want to waste another damn minute working for someone else. I want the freedom to take care of my family and spend every minute with them. Because dammit, this life is too short to spend it working 60 hours a week to make someone else rich!
Six months ago, I joined a brand new "Startup Academy" and worked through the initial steps of starting a business. I found a market I know exactly how to serve and started building a solution that solves their biggest problem. As of yesterday, I made my third sale (so I am at $75MRR). I am working every single day toward building this business and the processes that will help it continue to grow and help me achieve the freedom I really need.
What is my market? Aspiring developers.
What is the problem? Bootcamps are great if they didn't cost so much time and money
What is my solution? A virtual bootcamp that is accessible with a monthly subscription instead of a lump tuition and has no time limit
Currently, I have a landing page, a mailing list, and the first set of lessons which I am letting some early adopters in for feedback. I have also started producing free content as a marketing strategy.
I saw a few other posts mentioning links, so I will drop my landing page in here if anyone would like to provide feedback? Get Upgraded (if this is a faux pax, please let me know and I will remove the link!)
I am really excited to be here, and look forward to continuing on this life-changing journey with you all!
I just wanted to drop an introduction in here and start the process of getting to know everyone. I'll try not to wax poetic, but the guidelines suggest that more details make for better posts, so here it goes!
My name is Chris Franklin and I am a 35-year-old Software Engineer. I have been working corporate jobs for nearly 15 years now, the entire time dreaming of starting my own company. I have started 5 different businesses in the past 10 years, that all failed within a year or two. In no particular order I have tried: Affiliate Marketing, Amazon Seller, Ebay flipper, Blogger, and Software as a Service.
Each of my business failed for a different, but no obvious reason. Affiliate Marketing is a crowded space and the topic I chose was not in high demand. Amazon Sellers are a dime a dozen. I was competing by racing my price to the bottom which is a losing battle... Ebay Flipping was similar, just a different website name. Blogging was done with my wife (a story I will tell in a minute) but turned out to be a game we just had no passion for. Finally, my SaaS service was a stupid idea that I should have known better about. I was not solving a need, just building a cool little toy.
The thing that really tied all of those businesses together? My motivation for money. Money is great, but it isn't really a reason that a business does well, now is it? I wasn't solving real needs, and the amount of money coming my way proved it.
Two years ago, everything changed. I was standing on the expo floor of the biggest cloud computing conference in the world when my phone started going off. My wife was calling with the most terrible news possible. The "blocked duct" she had been having trouble with the previous 3 months, was not actually caused by breastfeeding out newborn. Nope, it was late-stage breast cancer. The best news we got was that it hadn't spread very far yet...
The next 18 months were hell. I found myself in a terrible position. I was now responsible for raising our children, nursing my extremely sick wife, and still working full time for the man. It was the hardest 18 months of my life, and it changed me. (FYI, we blogged through the entire endeavor with the hope of educating other women about the process).
Currently, my wife's cancer is in remission and almost everything is back to normal. What has changed? My resolve in life. I don't want to waste another damn minute working for someone else. I want the freedom to take care of my family and spend every minute with them. Because dammit, this life is too short to spend it working 60 hours a week to make someone else rich!
Six months ago, I joined a brand new "Startup Academy" and worked through the initial steps of starting a business. I found a market I know exactly how to serve and started building a solution that solves their biggest problem. As of yesterday, I made my third sale (so I am at $75MRR). I am working every single day toward building this business and the processes that will help it continue to grow and help me achieve the freedom I really need.
What is my market? Aspiring developers.
What is the problem? Bootcamps are great if they didn't cost so much time and money
What is my solution? A virtual bootcamp that is accessible with a monthly subscription instead of a lump tuition and has no time limit
Currently, I have a landing page, a mailing list, and the first set of lessons which I am letting some early adopters in for feedback. I have also started producing free content as a marketing strategy.
I saw a few other posts mentioning links, so I will drop my landing page in here if anyone would like to provide feedback? Get Upgraded (if this is a faux pax, please let me know and I will remove the link!)
I am really excited to be here, and look forward to continuing on this life-changing journey with you all!
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