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RyanCook

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Nov 20, 2022
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Hello, all!

I've listened to the audiobooks (many times) including Wealth Exposed. This has helped me realize that my current business efforts are, while a good start, not optimized for creating a real business that can be exited. I have been a freelance mathematics tutor full-time since the end of 2018. My goal is to turn this into a think tank of autodidact, mathematics mercenaries that can solve big problems.

There are two opportunities that I see from where I'm at now: a specialized unit and leveling up my marketing skills. I've realized that my gross profit is not enough to warrant the monstrosity of a human resources organization that would be necessary to treat myself as the specialized unit. What I mean by this is that hiring tutors, teaching them my process, providing the software stack, and handling sells would mean either narrow profits or fears of client poaching. All of this could be managed once the business reaches a certain size or by excellent hiring. I think finding a better specialized unit would be the way to get to that point of revenue more quickly and efficiently. To this end, I'm thinking of some media product that can be geared at young students.

I feel that these students are not treated as if they are serious learners. Mostly, the industry views itself as childcare that transitions suddenly to college feeder schools. Tutoring is mostly an emergency service to course correct students who are falling of the college track. Changing this perception for parents will be a major value skew in my sales/marketing process. One way to capitalize on this opportunity is to create an instructional media product which can be cheaply replicated and aim it at young (3-11 year old) students. I think I may provide a free version of this initially. The power is that students entering our sphere of influence will be better prepared for serious study if I am able to create a good product. Feel free to cheer me on.

My anticipation is that this product or various iterations of it will do double duty as a marketing tool. I'm thinking of valuable, free products that have put me into sales funnels in the past. The two ideas right now are a short film (trailer length) or a book. The short film is the easiest for me to do well and quickly. I think the book is the easiest to remix and enrich into greater and greater value. I've decided to start with the video/audio format for these reasons.

That's probably enough of an introduction. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and sharing knowledge with you all.

Cheers,
Ry
 
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RyanCook

New Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
113%
Nov 20, 2022
15
17
...the software stack, and handling SALES would mean either...

I must not have proofread that last one.

Since the holiday, I have taken some rest. I went on a long road trip by myself to visit family. I put some clothes and hygiene stuff into luggage and started driving. In that time, I listened to a bunch of audio books. I relistened to Unscripted again. Realizing that my time is in my control now, but I am still an employee has sent me into a perpetual design process. Everything I'm doing has been employee work (this is not meant in a derogatory way) or action faking. Something needs to change.

In this whole process, I'm still quite a busy tutor. A change in a client's world caught me by surprise and I didn't notice I stopped tracking a certain metric. I hadn't even noticed the gap in my process. It showed in the client's grade. They were pretty gracious about bringing it to my attention. Also, two clients have asked for edits in invoices recently. The reason is because I am neither communicating nor adhering to my attendance/booking policies. I'm also not noting and tracking these data points as religiously in my records and not invoicing in a timely manner.

All of this needs to be handled in software. How can I have a large gross profit if my cost of labor is so high? Each tutor in my nascent agency would face the same problems I am now: the inadequate tools currently packaged together or inadequate processes. This is the reason I stuck out my shingle in the first place. The biggest company out there right now is dealing with these problems pretty ungracefully and the other competitors aren't even close to them. It's the reason I'm able to do this as an individual freelancer at all.

At the same time, I have identified multiple areas in my business where I am violating the commandment of control. To a degree, we have to violate certain aspects of control in order to play the game at all. I can't print money, for example. I use open source software as much as possible to keep myself nimble, but even that has tradeoffs. Sometimes paying for exactly what I need just puts me out front of the problems. This also means that I am, once again, returning myself to employee status while leaving leverage opportunities everywhere.

So what are my clients telling me? They want outcomes. Nothing new there. They want consistency. This can not lean against my excellent but splintering executive functioning for much longer.

I need a tool. I am a miner. I should check into the pick axe market.

I know where to go now. The thing that I'm most happy about is that the whole thread pulled out when I got client feedback. They tell you exactly what they need! It's a good game.
 

RyanCook

New Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
113%
Nov 20, 2022
15
17
I've been 'learning to code' for a long time. My first java class was in 2004. I got to level 4 of the Google Fubar challenge a year or so ago. Since Monday, I've gotten more work done on my web application than I ever have in any other attempt. Having 'action faking' in my vocabulary helped me recognize when I am not creating CUL or contributing to my bottom line. It's like night and day.

With ChatGPT, I imagine I'll become very productive. I'm already using it interactively to help me deviate from tutorials. At this stage, I won't have it write the code. However, it does give good advice.
 

RyanCook

New Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
113%
Nov 20, 2022
15
17
I've been 'learning to code' for a long time. My first java class was in 2004. I got to level 4 of the Google Fubar challenge a year or so ago. Since Monday, I've gotten more work done on my web application than I ever have in any other attempt. Having 'action faking' in my vocabulary helped me recognize when I am not creating CUL or contributing to my bottom line. It's like night and day.

With ChatGPT, I imagine I'll become very productive. I'm already using it interactively to help me deviate from tutorials. At this stage, I won't have it write the code. However, it does give good advice.
Everything feels like an action fake. I realized I need to add to my technology stack if I want to accomplish my goal. I'm able to put up a web server displaying simple pages in only a few minutes now. Off to learn JS...
 
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