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Where to move in the UK for maximum entrepreneurial opportunities? Seeking advice from the experts and beginners like m. I am in MJ's early situation.

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

S. Arno

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Sep 2, 2022
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Hi fastlane entrepreneurs. I hope you all are doing great and rocketing towards your dreams!
I live in the UK, and currently an A-level student (pre-university). This year in a few months I will be applying to universities. As a 17-year-old, I don't really have much knowledge about the cities, universities, etc. Can anyone please help me decide on some locations with more entrepreneurial opportunities? Such as good networking opportunities, high number of jobs, etc.

Thank you very much, everyone! Some responses would greatly help. Below is the context of my situation for anyone interested. I am literally where MJ DeMarco was when he was starting out. I've also given out some lessons I have learned since I joined this world of entrepreneurship.


I'm from the SE of England, and it seems like everyone around here is focused on academics and not entrepreneurship. My parents were the ultimate academic toppers, the kind who studied for 12-16 hours a day to get top grades. But here's the thing, they were trapped in the rat race without even realizing it. All their hard work only led to the bare minimum reward in the form of universal credit (it is government helping us to basically live by the absolute minimum because otherwise, we would be on the streets).
And now they want me to follow in their footsteps, pushing me to be the best of the best. But I know better than that. I worked hard and got good grades, but that's not the way I want to live my life. I don't want to be stuck in a mediocre life, going after grades just for temporary compliments and the ability to show off.
I realized that I needed to break free from this way of thinking and started reading entrepreneurial books like MJ's "The Great Rat Race Escape " and "The Millionaire Fastlane ." I began to focus on gaining skills in video editing, coding, project management, and other business-related areas instead of just studying for grades.
But my parents aren't happy about it. They get mad every time they see me doing something other than academics. It's quite ironic because they're the ones who taught me about success, but we have different definitions of it. They think taking a job and living in the city is success, but for me, entrepreneurship is the way to go.
I'm currently at an academic institution where everyone is focused on exams, grades, and extracurricular activities like tennis, football, and video games. The only time they work hard is for school, and that's it. I don't want to be like them, so I'm spending less time on academics and focusing more on entrepreneurship.
But my parents are constantly on my case about applying to prestigious universities like Oxford, Cambridge, or Harvard, and investing more time in academics. They don't understand that I don't want to go down that route because it takes up too much time. I want to focus on entrepreneurship before I graduate and am forced to take a job.
To be honest, I feel like I was programmed to think this way. All I wanted was to be able to flex and get temporary dopamine from the compliments of my teachers. But now, I want to break free from that mentality and pursue something that's truly fulfilling.
I love my parents, and I know they love me too, but I feel like I need to leave home to escape their constant pressure toward mediocrity. It's affecting my progress, and I can't keep fighting with them every day.

Here are the lessons I've learned:
Lesson #1 - Before entrepreneurship, go into self-improvement. This involves building up growth mindset, discipline, doing meditation, doing workouts, mastering the art of focus, and resisting dopamine and desires.
Lesson #2 - knowledge is only POTENTIAL power - I know we all love reading (at least I do). I would love to read more and more entrepreneurship books because that gives me the feeling of being successful and making progress. However, after repeating the same cycle for 1.5 months, I've finally come to realize it all doesn't matter until I put that knowledge into action.
Lesson #3 - fear, and procrastination is often indication of what you should do. As the author of indistractable said, we are not pleasure-seeking organisms. We are discomfort-avoiding organisms. So anytime you are procrastinating on some things you know you should do, make that thing priority to do it. (Obviously in some cases, you gotta use metrics to determine whether to actually do that thing or not). E.g. in my case, I was avoiding any sort of execution and reaching out to people. I was reading a ton, watching a ton. While those were beneficial, at the end of hte day, I still have nothing to show for. But if I had started earlier, focusing on the things that I was procrastinating on, which is actually executing, I would have been far ahead.
Lesson #4 - I actually have learned this from the Unscripted telegram channel. Don't go bold until proven. That means don't just leave your job or drop out, just because you are motivated. Try it out, execute it, and only when it grows to some level, then take the bold options. I am not going to be dropping out of uni until I find some reasonable success. That's why a reasonable substitute of dropping out (at least what I've concluded) is getting into an uni that have relatively less time-investment requirements. This way I would have more time to invest in entrepreneurship.


Good luck everyone with your journey! We all are gonna make it. Either its going to work, or we are going to make it work!
Thank you for reading. :)
 
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TheGreatAli

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Feb 21, 2023
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Hey man thank you for sharing your story and Welcome to the Forum!

Can anyone please help me decide on some locations with more entrepreneurial opportunities? Such as good networking opportunities, high number of jobs, etc.
"Opportunities" = problems to solve. And guess what... they are EVERYWHERE. It doesn't matter what city or village you end up choosing.

Networking is simply providing value to others. You can provide value to others EVERYWHERE.

As for number of jobs, you already know that jobs are not secure so if you do a better job than someone that's already hired, guess what, you'll get hired. Again... You can do this EVERYWHERE. I'm not saying that you should poach people's jobs but point is jobs are abundant as well.

Most importantly, you need to choose a place that you enjoy the weather/environment in because these things are not in your control. The only control you have over them is choosing the place.

If you want more sun exposure -> move to a sunny city
If you want a warmer weather -> move to a warmer city

currently an A-level student (pre-university)
I also did my A-levels and honestly just do 3 past past papers a day from now till May/June and you'll get through them quickly with A's and A*'s. It's stupid how the questions just repeat themselves in different formats.

But my parents aren't happy about it. They get mad every time they see me doing something other than academics. It's quite ironic because they're the ones who taught me about success, but we have different definitions of it.
I relate to this deeply, I got told that if I don't go their way then I won't succeed. It's alright, just know that it comes from a place of love. You can ignore their advice with a smile on your face.

If you're going to go to university by taking debt, then you need to make sure that what you are going to university for is a skill that you want to continue using 10 years from now. If you don't know the answer to that, take a gap year and work on providing value and helping others. Remember you can literally get into any industry without a degree, granted it's not medicine/law/some engineering disciplines.

I am in university doing engineering without debt and I still wish I didn't start it. Taking a gap year can help you clear your thoughts and explore other routes. Universities will always be happy to accept your money anyway so don't rush it. Just beware that A-level grades expire after 2 years if I remember correctly.


Finally, to help you get started, I recommend reading the following threads if you haven't already and maybe they'll help your entrepreneurial journey.
  1. What If You Already Know Enough?
  2. Save Yourself Years Of Frustration; It Worked For Me!
  3. Getting Started Is This Simple…
  4. Clarity Of Purpose (Get Your Goal Right)
  5. The "Astonishing Secrets" Thread
  6. Quit trying to attract a crowd and just help people
  7. Learnings From 3,000+ PMs With Fellow Forum Members
  8. Third-Worlder And Broke? (How To Start Helping People)

Remember to provide value and solve problems.

Start with the people closest to you. Good luck!
 

S. Arno

New Contributor
User Power
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125%
Sep 2, 2022
4
5
Hey man thank you for sharing your story and Welcome to the Forum!


"Opportunities" = problems to solve. And guess what... they are EVERYWHERE. It doesn't matter what city or village you end up choosing.

Networking is simply providing value to others. You can provide value to others EVERYWHERE.

As for number of jobs, you already know that jobs are not secure so if you do a better job than someone that's already hired, guess what, you'll get hired. Again... You can do this EVERYWHERE. I'm not saying that you should poach people's jobs but point is jobs are abundant as well.

Most importantly, you need to choose a place that you enjoy the weather/environment in because these things are not in your control. The only control you have over them is choosing the place.

If you want more sun exposure -> move to a sunny city
If you want a warmer weather -> move to a warmer city


I also did my A-levels and honestly just do 3 past past papers a day from now till May/June and you'll get through them quickly with A's and A*'s. It's stupid how the questions just repeat themselves in different formats.


I relate to this deeply, I got told that if I don't go their way then I won't succeed. It's alright, just know that it comes from a place of love. You can ignore their advice with a smile on your face.

If you're going to go to university by taking debt, then you need to make sure that what you are going to university for is a skill that you want to continue using 10 years from now. If you don't know the answer to that, take a gap year and work on providing value and helping others. Remember you can literally get into any industry without a degree, granted it's not medicine/law/some engineering disciplines.

I am in university doing engineering without debt and I still wish I didn't start it. Taking a gap year can help you clear your thoughts and explore other routes. Universities will always be happy to accept your money anyway so don't rush it. Just beware that A-level grades expire after 2 years if I remember correctly.


Finally, to help you get started, I recommend reading the following threads if you haven't already and maybe they'll help your entrepreneurial journey.
  1. What If You Already Know Enough?
  2. Save Yourself Years Of Frustration; It Worked For Me!
  3. Getting Started Is This Simple…
  4. Clarity Of Purpose (Get Your Goal Right)
  5. The "Astonishing Secrets" Thread
  6. Quit trying to attract a crowd and just help people
  7. Learnings From 3,000+ PMs With Fellow Forum Members
  8. Third-Worlder And Broke? (How To Start Helping People)

Remember to provide value and solve problems.

Start with the people closest to you. Good luck!
Thank you so much. Would you mind sharing a bit more about how things are going currently? How is life there? How are you able to pursue your entrepreneurship journey? My A-level exams are in 2024. But my 6th form is going to make me apply for uni this summer or September

I will take a gap year - but it is going to be a hard battle to convince my parents. I am just wondering how shall I convince them.
By the way, do you know any university (I will be choosing Physics) that doesn't force you to spend huge time on academics?

Thank you so much for replying. Really means a lot.
Since I have had the mindset shifts, I have gotten really lonely. There are no like-minded people around me I can talk to. Thanks for replying again. Means a lot!
 

TheGreatAli

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
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Feb 21, 2023
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Australia
How is life there?
I'm actually living in Australia, life is great here, lots of sun and spiders :D

How are you able to pursue your entrepreneurship journey?
Honestly, right now I'm looking out for anybody around me that needs help in any way and trying to help them the best I can. I'm helping my housemate start working out and become independent in the fitness field.

6th form is going to make me apply for uni this summer or September
They tell you to apply and make it sound like you have to but it's your choice at the end of the day.
As for convincing your parents, try telling them that you're not sure what you want to study and need a gap year to help you decide.

do you know any university (I will be choosing Physics) that doesn't force you to spend huge time on academics?
Why are you choosing Physics if you don't want to spend time on it?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

Thank you so much for replying. Really means a lot.
Since I have had the mindset shifts, I have gotten really lonely. There are no like-minded people around me I can talk to. Thanks for replying again. Means a lot!
My pleasure man, you've come to the right place, tons of likeminded people here. Hope you stick around :)
 
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Leinad

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Feb 18, 2023
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I'm actually living in Australia, life is great here, lots of sun and spiders :D


Honestly, right now I'm looking out for anybody around me that needs help in any way and trying to help them the best I can. I'm helping my housemate start working out and become independent in the fitness field.


They tell you to apply and make it sound like you have to but it's your choice at the end of the day.
As for convincing your parents, try telling them that you're not sure what you want to study and need a gap year to help you decide.


Why are you choosing Physics if you don't want to spend time on it?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.


My pleasure man, you've come to the right place, tons of likeminded people here. Hope you stick around :)
Hearing (well, reading I guess lol) and seeing replies like these make my day. Keep it up!
 

sdbrownlie

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I wouldn't let you current circle put you off - there's a lot of entrepreneurship in the UK. Perhaps less than the US when everyone who works construction secretly dreams of starting their construction firm and many more end up doing it as a result of dreaming than we see here. But at your age you're inevitably going to be surrounded by adults 'in the system' and young people obsessed by studying something so it'll seem worse than it is.

I'm impressed with the North of England at the moment. Leeds is home to lots of successful SEO, marketing and PR agencies. Manchester has a really good social scene for tech entrepreneurs in various parts of the sector and is hosting a bunch of events later this month as part of the whole digital north thing including some meet ups to discuss the future of AI in business etc which I'll be attending some parts of.

In the South East, Brighton is home to a significant tech hub, and to the Brighton SEO conference where thousands of people come from around the world - from agencies, and freelancers, to big enterprise businesses, and SAAS/tech providers to the industry including billion dollar firms like AHREFS etc.

I've met students at all those events who were coming along to learn/work on their side hustle ideas/discuss them with people who were already 'doing' etc. So if you do end up studying somewhere that has a lot of activity (look for conferences you'd attend in the ideal world to meet the people doing what you want to do - I've just listed things in tech because that's where I 'live') and try to go to some - I know it's hard to come up with the money when you're a student but you'll learn more from those real meetings and experiences than at university.

I used to always say you should also try to work doing what you want to do for someone initially. And that worked for me because I gained huge experience working at a bank as a manager in commercial banking (sales, client entertaining, how dozens of different businesses actually worked including them having to send me all their financials...) then contracting for some small businesses as a freelance advisor initially when I quit at 26/7ish.

But the world is about to undergo some significant change this year so if you idea aligns with industries about to be impacted by that change (which is many) the advantages of moving faster might significantly outweigh waiting and getting more experience. It all depends on your idea/who you can bring with you and what funding you can secure to survive (what early cashflow you could generate). But if I think back to me at 18 vs me at 27 with years of experience in tough target-driven environments I don't think I could have achieved anything even with the best idea so maybe patience even in these crazy times is the way for most of us.
 

S. Arno

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Sep 2, 2022
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I wouldn't let you current circle put you off - there's a lot of entrepreneurship in the UK. Perhaps less than the US when everyone who works construction secretly dreams of starting their construction firm and many more end up doing it as a result of dreaming than we see here. But at your age you're inevitably going to be surrounded by adults 'in the system' and young people obsessed by studying something so it'll seem worse than it is.

I'm impressed with the North of England at the moment. Leeds is home to lots of successful SEO, marketing and PR agencies. Manchester has a really good social scene for tech entrepreneurs in various parts of the sector and is hosting a bunch of events later this month as part of the whole digital north thing including some meet ups to discuss the future of AI in business etc which I'll be attending some parts of.

In the South East, Brighton is home to a significant tech hub, and to the Brighton SEO conference where thousands of people come from around the world - from agencies, and freelancers, to big enterprise businesses, and SAAS/tech providers to the industry including billion dollar firms like AHREFS etc.

I've met students at all those events who were coming along to learn/work on their side hustle ideas/discuss them with people who were already 'doing' etc. So if you do end up studying somewhere that has a lot of activity (look for conferences you'd attend in the ideal world to meet the people doing what you want to do - I've just listed things in tech because that's where I 'live') and try to go to some - I know it's hard to come up with the money when you're a student but you'll learn more from those real meetings and experiences than at university.

I used to always say you should also try to work doing what you want to do for someone initially. And that worked for me because I gained huge experience working at a bank as a manager in commercial banking (sales, client entertaining, how dozens of different businesses actually worked including them having to send me all their financials...) then contracting for some small businesses as a freelance advisor initially when I quit at 26/7ish.

But the world is about to undergo some significant change this year so if you idea aligns with industries about to be impacted by that change (which is many) the advantages of moving faster might significantly outweigh waiting and getting more experience. It all depends on your idea/who you can bring with you and what funding you can secure to survive (what early cashflow you could generate). But if I think back to me at 18 vs me at 27 with years of experience in tough target-driven environments I don't think I could have achieved anything even with the best idea so maybe patience even in these crazy times is the way for most of us.
Thank you so much!
I really needed some advice from people who understand my goal and ambition.
I am actually a tech enthusiast and was always interested in tech. I am currently learning Tenserflow and have plans to learn advanced AI, ML. I have a dream of launching a tech startup once I get some more experience.

Can I ask you for one more favor, please? From your experience, do you have any advice for forming networks? By reading books, I have understood the importance of networks. I tried reaching out to some people but they just ghost me and never replies back (my messages never contain any pitch or ask them to give me something immediately, it's just a simple polite connection request).

Thank you really for helping out. I can't express what this means to me!
Oh yeah, I know I haven't got much experiences yet, but would absolutely love if I can be of any use to you.
Take care. And thanks again!
 
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sdbrownlie

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Thank you so much!
I really needed some advice from people who understand my goal and ambition.
I am actually a tech enthusiast and was always interested in tech. I am currently learning Tenserflow and have plans to learn advanced AI, ML. I have a dream of launching a tech startup once I get some more experience.

Can I ask you for one more favor, please? From your experience, do you have any advice for forming networks? By reading books, I have understood the importance of networks. I tried reaching out to some people but they just ghost me and never replies back (my messages never contain any pitch or ask them to give me something immediately, it's just a simple polite connection request).

Thank you really for helping out. I can't express what this means to me!
Oh yeah, I know I haven't got much experiences yet, but would absolutely love if I can be of any use to you.
Take care. And thanks again!
When you know nobody and have no reputation/online social impact networks are built in real life. So like I said you'll have to get out and about and meet people. Everyone is busy - and I know I'm disproving that by replying here, but despite not posting here much the books and this forum have had a positive impact on my life so I don't mind spending a moment replying here to someone genuinely looking for help - but if you just hit me up on LinkedIn cold I'd ignore it because like everyone I'm busy...

There's exceptions of course, some young people burst onto YouTube like Jake Tran, and despite their... interesting ethical stances and behaviour... have charisma that makes them an instant hit or whatever. But for most of us you have to make some social and life capital first before people will connect with you/give you time because they have their own goals to meet etc. But in real life in a social setting after an event etc etc only the most rude people won't give you a moment to say hi and introduce yourself. It's just a lot easier to make connections that way.

The other thing to remember is that the 19 year old junior at some technical SEO agency etc is basically in your spot - at some event, feeling unsure, trying to build their own network etc, but their boss is sat at their table so if you're chatting to them it does give you a chance to make 'harder to get' connections by proxy even if you only network with other people at your level the first few times you go/are getting comfortable with networking in real life.
 

PureA

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Whilst where you live can be important, I would be careful in viewing it as a prerequisite for success.

Many millions were made in a basement in the middle of nowhere. No 'networking' distractions. Just you and a mission.
 

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