Why I'm Dropping Out Of College

[SBS.95]

I was thinking about going on Amazon, but I have dedicated so much time to figuring out eBay that I stubbornly want to make it work. I have to find what I'm doing wrong here. Would you suggest switching over to Amazon before I get too deep into the eBay game?

Nothing wrong with Ebay, I still use it. But Amazon == more traffic == more sales. There's really no reason not to use both.

 

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[Ben S.]

It seems like you could just open your own MMA Studio. You seem to be doing it all already. Why not feel the rewards for your work?

I'd love to, however two main reasons I cant:

1) It'll cost an immense amount of investment on my part. Between lease agreements, equipment purchases, water and power, etc. I simply don't have that kind of money at the moment.
2)It'll absolutely tie me down to the business. I've found that most studios have the owner around ALL THE TIME. They're the image of the studio, so they kind of have to be there. If I start my own place, that's it. Might as well live there.

This job gives me the opportunity to do everything I want to do, without any financial risk on my end. My boss will give me the money I need to make the changes I want. For this I'm extremely lucky. Because truly, I know nothing. I know theory...But I've never put it to use. But that's why I'm studying all I can right? I can't wait to see how it'll play out. My goal with this is to blow up his business, have a glowing testimonial for my portfolio, and an equity arrangement. Then I can carry on my marketing services to other brick and mortar businesses, as well as freelance online.

 

[Ben S.]

I think you have already summarized it. You may want to unlearn this trait. If something's not working for you, maybe you should be evaluating your alternatives?

While I agree, I have a question. How do you know why something isn't working? If it is some error of my own, then I can change it and adapt to make it work. If I look for alternatives too soon, then I'll keep switching instead of overcoming the speed bumps.

 

[Ben S.]

Nothing wrong with Ebay, I still use it. But Amazon == more traffic == more sales. There's really no reason not to use both.

I will definitely start looking into it then. I hear Amazon is a lot less lenient with service. They expect nothing but the best. So when I am confident that I can be a professional seller, I will switch over. I am still learning a lot with eBay. God, the most obvious things I was clueless about. But I'm learning!

 

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[Ben S.]

I think your reading my post out of context, or maybe I just wasn't clear. Where I was heading was "is the MMA job for glory or fun" if so what is he sacrificing for the glory and fun. If hes making all he can make per hour compared to other jobs in his area then by all means keep at it, if he's settling for less pay or hours just to say "I work for an MMA gym" then that is the wrong mindset, at least in my eyes. I wasn't suggesting that he's making pennies for glory but if he is then he needs to change that. Or is this an alternative education for something that he plans on doing? If that's the case learn the business part about it while your there, learn what works and what doesn't and keep chugging at it.

I'm just saying, if he showed up to class one day and was like "boom! F*** this place I'm out" maybe he needs to reevaluate the whole situation.

Maybe I chimed in a little early or didn't ask the right questions. Maybe I assumed too early. However, when a kid living at home that has an Ebay company for less then 3 months and works at a MMA gym doing who knows what as the job that shows up to class one day and is like "F*** it" makes me a little skeptical. I mean he even said "As opposed to spending hours differentiating between types of instrument tones for a Gen Ed music class." meaning 2ish months ago he signed up for this class as a filler. You don't have to sign up for pointless classes like that. You can pick electives that you can actually benefit from, not just look for an easy filler. Just saying...

I wish you the best bud, I truly do. It seems like your figuring you s*** out now which is what matters. Keep us updated, I'd love to see you expand that business of yours!

There's no room for ego here. I won't lie. 100% I feel like a badass when I tell my friends I dropped out of college. 100% I feel like a badass when I tell people I'm an MMA instructor. But I don't want to be a badass. I want to be successful. Then I want to be a badass. Ego only pollutes my decisions.

But yes, I'm sticking with it because of the reasons I mentioned earlier. There's tons I can learn. And I've been given the opportunity to do anything I want business-wise.

As for my retard classes, I was preparing to transfer to UC Berkeley for Business Administration. Those were the last ones I needed, so I had to take them. Yes I could have chosen something more beneficial, but my goal was to spend as little time on school work as possible, so that I had time for the other projects I was working on.This semester, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was on the fence about dropping for a while, but I just decided to finally commit to it.

 

[illmasterj]

While I agree, I have a question. How do you know why something isn't working? If it is some error of my own, then I can change it and adapt to make it work. If I look for alternatives too soon, then I'll keep switching instead of overcoming the speed bumps.

Critical analysis. Be brutally honest with yourself. Have you/are you:

• researched how to make a killer eBay listing
• providing a great product at a price that people value
• using an established eBay account with lots of positive feedback (if not, are you working hard to attain this)
• providing a great service (fast shipping)
• etc

I hear Amazon is a lot less lenient with service. They expect nothing but the best. So when I am confident that I can be a professional seller, I will switch over.

Again, listen to yourself. If you are struggling with eBay it may not be eBay that is the problem. Poor service is poor service no matter where I buy from. Provide an excellent experience to the customer and while some channels will sell better than others, your product and service will for the most part sell itself.

 

[MC Hammer]

I just want to say that if you are not very concerned about your grades, studying part time to get C's should be a cake walk. If it makes your parents happy it may be worth it, and you can keep almost all your focus on what you actually care about. Good luck.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

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[marklov]

I did the same and regret it.....finish college.

The endorphins felt nice for awhile...... until reality hit.

 

[Almantas]

I would finish the college and find a job that is related to business; possibly marketing assistant, supervisor of some kind, administrator etc. By doing so, you would have a solid 'safety net' - to temporarily fall back, every time your hustling goes tits up.

Study, do some part time work and hustle. Simple. When you finish your degree, get a job that will provide you with relevant experience and hustle. This would be my plan, bro

Yes, it sounds cool reading quotes such as "I never have plan B, because it distracts me from plan A", but in reality, most quotes are crafted with a particular attention to audience and what audience wants to hear, instead of what the reality truly is.

 

[relentlessaction]

Congrats on the change.. Do know, there are only a few who will succeed. However, if you are willing to put in the time and have a mouth piece to talk yourself into something. You will most likely succeed. It's definitely easy to outwork/outshine average folks.

I never graduated and probably wasted who knows how many years (5+) half a$$ trying to graduate when I knew, I would never... But you tend to listen to the normal people around you. I simply didn't want to put in the work to graduate because my mind was in trying to build a business.

Your success is accumulated to all those days which you busted your a$$ and you absolutely didn't want to push through or do anything or had major doubt.

I was able to talk my way into a full job in IT. I'm now 3 years in and doing about $70-73k/year. It's decent considering most of all my peers are all college grads and even more so more college grads who make less. But at the same time there are non-college grads just like me in the software engineer spectrum who pull in $100-$140k per year. So I've been working my F/T job + my side business.

Just put in that hard work and always think about how you can catapult any sort of leverage you can. You do have to start somewhere.

After starting my F/T job, within 6 months I ended up starting another business - Ecom. It's been at about $14-$20k/gross sales per month now and within the last year has made a pretty penny which I have saved most of it. Current business is about 25-35 products.

The goal is to build 2-3 more ecom sites which are less products. These will be 2-8 products each and will have a ceiling cap of about $1-$20k/month and barrier to entry should be about $500-1k/mo plus money spent on facebook ads.

I'm most definitely looking into quitting within the next 6 months and/or before summer starts in 2-4 months. I'm hoping to get another business making $2-4k/month before I actually quit.

In the past for the life of me when I had no job. It would be tough to work on the business and/or build something 24/7. Now, perhaps as I'm older it's all I want to do. So I feel now is the best time to quit my job and focus on what I want to do on a daily basis. I will be hustling harder though and trying to make a bigger impact on my monthly income.

Best of luck... Doing the MMA thing should be a great learning experience. I would try and document it and perhaps you can re-create that strategy for other similar companies or any companies for that matter. Charge a flat rate fee, implement the changes and show the owner/marketing staff how to keep it going.

The real key though is to offer massive value - We can't truly become really rich until we can successfully exchange (people's money) for our (value) from thousands if not millions of people. Most of these odd things I see most people do are simply just easier ways to live versus the standard 9 to 5 lifestyle.

To make $1 million, $5 million, $10 million, $50 million requires a much deeper strategy.

Unfortunately, I'm not there yet. I do think that climbing the ladder as well for your own business is part of the process but that's what I think and assume.

My goal is to build that $20-40k/month cash flow to be more then I need to live and then to focus my efforts on building that $20 to $50 million/year business. Would be great if anyone else had more experience in building $50-100 million/year businesses.

 

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[daivey]

Shame. You're not getting invited to my 2020 yacht party bro.

i doubt you'll ever own a yacht.

 

[Vance]

I never went to college. Hell I barely graduated High School with my 2.1 GPA. I was bored to tears in school. I did however embrace "self-education" at the age of 19 and have never stopped. Now three successful businesses later I should finally hit a 7 figure income this year.

It wasn't me not going that led to my success though, as I took job after job and worked my a$$ off from my first job of pumping gas (for you youngsters yes that used to happen. My first customer was none other than Jason Robards. Pretty cool we ended up having great conversations every Saturday morning), which I lied about my age to even get. Then every job thereafter, the great, the good, and the crappy, all led me to who I am today. I made sure I was #1 in every job I ever took and I wouldn't change a thing. Including the several years it took me to get here.

My point is, you have a LONG way to go. The journey is absolutely worth it, but in this day and age I see too many people who think they'll just drop everything, start selling products online and within 5-10 years they'll be rich. It does happen sometimes, but I'm here to echo one of Jim Rohn's most famous sayings....

"It's not what you get, it's who you become along the way." When you finally get there you realize it's not about the money at all, it's about the character you've built up over a very long period of time. To be successful and financially independent, you have to have done many things over a long period of time to deserve to be successful and financially independent. I hope you make it!

 

[Ben S.]

Critical analysis. Be brutally honest with yourself. Have you/are you:

• researched how to make a killer eBay listing
• providing a great product at a price that people value
• using an established eBay account with lots of positive feedback (if not, are you working hard to attain this)
• providing a great service (fast shipping)
• etc

Again, listen to yourself. If you are struggling with eBay it may not be eBay that is the problem. Poor service is poor service no matter where I buy from. Provide an excellent experience to the customer and while some channels will sell better than others, your product and service will for the most part sell itself.

I have done a few of those things, however I know that I could be doing some things better. I undoubtedly could be putting more time into it. As of now my feedback is stellar, but I don't have a lot of feedback altogether. I haven't bought or sold enough on eBay. This is why I'm not simply dismissing it as ineffective. There is a lot more that I could be doing.

 

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[Ben S.]

I would finish the college and find a job that is related to business; possibly marketing assistant, supervisor of some kind, administrator etc. By doing so, you would have a solid 'safety net' - to temporarily fall back, every time your hustling goes tits up.

Study, do some part time work and hustle. Simple. When you finish your degree, get a job that will provide you with relevant experience and hustle. This would be my plan, bro

Yes, it sounds cool reading quotes such as "I never have plan B, because it distracts me from plan A", but in reality, most quotes are crafted with a particular attention to audience and what audience wants to hear, instead of what the reality truly is.

I can see that, and I'm sure that's the best route for most. I do have a plan however, which I cannot carry out while I have the responsibilities that college brings.

 

[Bananas]

I was thinking about going on Amazon, but I have dedicated so much time to figuring out eBay that I stubbornly want to make it work. I have to find what I'm doing wrong here. Would you suggest switching over to Amazon before I get too deep into the eBay game?

@Ben S.

I run businesses. One of them is on eBay. I will tell you my biggest regret. The stupidest move I made during the past decade plus...

I didn't set up on Amazon.

Why?

Because I was doing great on eBay.
Because Amazon was somewhat gated in certain categories.
Because I didn't want to learn another platform.
Because I didn't want to deal with UPCs.
Because I didn't like their product descriptions.

What do these things have in common?

Laziness. I was lazy. I was a lazy, stupid, fool.

Now I am on Amazon. I am making a shit ton more money than I was before. I do not even have as many products on Amazon as I do on eBay. Yes, I had to pass some gates. More gates have come down in the past year, too. Yes I had to learn another platform and figure out UPCs for products I invented. Yes, I had to learn how the website worked and how to write my descriptions.

Worth it.

 

[Ben S.]

@Ben S.

I run businesses. One of them is on eBay. I will tell you my biggest regret. The stupidest move I made during the past decade plus...

I didn't set up on Amazon.

Why?

Because I was doing great on eBay.
Because Amazon was somewhat gated in certain categories.
Because I didn't want to learn another platform.
Because I didn't want to deal with UPCs.
Because I didn't like their product descriptions.

What do these things have in common?

Laziness. I was lazy. I was a lazy, stupid, fool.

Now I am on Amazon. I am making a shit ton more money than I was before. I do not even have as many products on Amazon as I do on eBay. Yes, I had to pass some gates. More gates have come down in the past year, too. Yes I had to learn another platform and figure out UPCs for products I invented. Yes, I had to learn how the website worked and how to write my descriptions.

Worth it.

Awesome. Thanks for that different perspective. I guess it is laziness if I"m being honest with myself. I'm going to start listing on amazon as well then. I suppose there are benefits to each platform (eBay and Amazon) that I can use.

Today's goal: List one of my products on Amazon!

 

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[Jeremy Groover]

Awesome. Thanks for that different perspective. I guess it is laziness if I"m being honest with myself. I'm going to start listing on amazon as well then. I suppose there are benefits to each platform (eBay and Amazon) that I can use.

Today's goal: List one of my products on Amazon!

How'd the goal go? Did you accomplish it? Today is almost over. How many products do you have? Are you using professional images or did you snap them yourself? Manufacturer images?

Still skeptical, but I'm cheering you on.

What are your moves that are getting you closer to the 2-3k month in sales goal? Are you marketing your product at all or "posting and praying"?

Have you started any social media pages for your niche/ products? If you work on Instagram, there is a app called "Crowdfire" that I personally like. You can mass follow from higher ranked/ followed same niche pages. That's what I did on a motorcycle page that I created a while back. Once I installed the app, I gained almost 100 followers from 700-78x in a little under 2 hours. I have since put that page on the back burner but the app works well. You can also monitor your page with who follows and unfollows as well as who are you following that doesnt follow back. You add a bunch of people from the similar niche pages and after a few days you delete everyone you followed. Also make sure you are liking every single pic from ever page you can get on.

Thats enough about that. Lets hear from you, its been over a week. What have you done? Hows it going? Are your grinding or sanding?

 

[Sean Marshall]

That's it. I'm done. I can't take sitting in class any longer. It's trash. Classes are trash. The system is trash. All for some useless trash degree.

It just blows my mind guys. We have one life. One huge opportunity. Why? Why the F*ck do we settle?

People settle out of fear. Plain and simple. The people you see living their dream lives are the ones brave enough (or dumb enough - like me) to actually go for it.

For the record, I dropped out of college and I turned out just fine. After I started my own business, I hit 5-figure months just after my first year. Then my wife said she wanted to live on a tropical island. So that's what we did. For 2 1/2 years.

It's real man. You can do it. Don't listen to anyone who says you can't do it (even here on the forum). Just keep yourself accountable. Use the forum. Don't be one of those 19 year olds that gets excited and then fizzles out. Be the dude that buys the lambo. Prove all the naysayers wrong.

That's enough rah-rah for now.

Bottom line - just make it happen. Forget everything else.

 

[Ben S.]

Progress Update 3: Getting Very Pissed. Then Getting Slightly Less Pissed. Yet Still Remaining Pissed.

F*ck this.

Staring at disbelief at the check in my hands. My boss at my MMA job underpaid me. He paid me insultingly low. I worked a little under 85 hours last month for his studio. How much was my check for? $900.

Yeah. Thats barely $10.60 per hour. God damn I wanted to quit the instant I saw that check. So I put in tons of extra hours to cover for an employee (who was only supposed to be on vacation for 2 weeks, but ended up gone for the whole month). And I'm rewarded with a deduction of over $5 an hour? Hell no. Luckily I had to wait for Monday after getting my check Saturday. I would have been a lot less rational...if I didn't have the weekend to think about how to handle it.

Today I came in to talk to him before my shift. No accusations. No anger. Just a simple question: "Hey, I got this check and I was wondering if you may have made a mistake?" He felt that he hadn't. So this was intentional? (Steam coming out of ears) To make a long story short, he apologized and agreed to pay the difference. Got a second check for $365. My current hourly? $15. Hence remaining pissed. I know jobs I can take where I get paid $15 to sit in a coffee shop and occasionally deliver food every couple hours.

I would have quit and given him a two weeks notice if it weren't for the main reason I'm working this job: To gain experience to launch a marketing business. And here I have complete control over all aspects of building his business. Including funding. So, briefly, here's what's happening:

My Three Wives​

I'm a cheater. I'll admit it. One simply isn't enough. I need three. I know I know. I'm violating MJ's rule of committing to one thing. But they all seem so necessary and connected. As it is, I have three goals that I am dedicating all of my waking hours to:

1) MMA Studio Expansion
2) eBay business
3) Studying Copy

I'm starting to see how this is ineffective. But I feel like I can manage. Time will tell.

MMA Studio Expansion
​

It's been around a week. So here's what I've done for my first wife:

1) Typed out a 16 page plan for expansion. ( I would post the PDF of it here but I would have to move this to the Inside.) Here are the categories:

• Relocation (includes sketched blueprint of the new location, as well as things to buy)
• Current Customers
• Promotional Video
• Curriculum
• Class Structure
• Extras (Ways to boost monthly revenue with events, trips, movie nights, etc)
• Merchandise
• Projections
• Marketing Plan

2) Established my hourly pay and reduced my hours to 13 per week
3) Scheduled a discussion of this plan with my boss for tomorrow

Here's where I am clueless...obviously this plan will take immense hours out of my day. So I need some sort of compensation arranged tomorrow. Hourly does not seem appropriate because there's no real way of tracking the hours I work at this plan. A retainer does not seem appropriate because I have no qualifications. I may be naive but I truly feel that I can double his business. You know what he said to me today? "One day you'll take this business over." Ha! Very far from my intentions. But it indicates to me that an equity deal may be very possible. So what will I ask for? 10% equity. If I can DOUBLE his business within 6 months, I feel that asking 10% isn't too big an arrangement. (Especially considering everything else on that plan which is unrelated to clients)

Now my long term plan which stems out of this is the following:

Within 6 months I will reach my goal of doubling the MMA Studio's Business. I will have a 10% equity arrangement and a glowing piece for my portfolio. This ideally would amount to around $1,500 of passive monthly income. Perhaps a referral from the owner to other businesses who may be interested. From there, I will make similar arrangements with other brick and mortar businesses. Upon this rock I will build my church. This will give me the money to move out of my parents' house.

eBay Business
​

My second wife hates me. I think she's getting jealous of the attention I've been giving my first one. Here's what I've done:

1) Sold out of my 5 samples of Product 1. Discussed with the factory. Placing my first larger order of 50 units, with a couple OEM sample versions with my logo for the next order.
2) Realized that my other 4 products were poor choices in oversaturated markets. I'm dropping the price to get rid of them.
3) Bought tons of cheap items to build up my eBay feedback score. (Currently sitting at 11 feedback 100% positive. Woohoo.)
4) Ensured Product 1 has an optimal listing. All listings were very well done from the get-go however. I already did keyword research for the title. I used decent copy in the product description. I took professional photos with a homemade light box and GIMP. So not many changes to be made.
5) Learned to ship professionally through screwing up. God.. my first package compared to the ones I send now...I wrote the address in permanent marker on my first ones. Now I'm printing labels. And sending a personal letter with each shipment to build a good customer relationship. It has humorous copy and tips for how to use my product in the best way.
5) Looked into making an Amazon listing @Bananas suggestion. Tomorrow I have no MMA shift and will do this.

My plan as of now is to perfect Product 1. It is in the fitness niche. I am personally into fitness. So? I'm creating an eBook to include for free as well as a physical product add-on. Then I will begin to actively market it. I'm thinking of using direct mail marketing, which I've heard so many great things about in the copy books I'm reading. No idea how this works but I'll figure it out.

Studying Copy
​

As usual, I am reading my copy books. Here's the list and what's done (Blue is completed):

• • Scientific Advertising
  • Cashvertising
  • No B.S. Direct Marketing
  • The Boron Letters
  • How to Write a Good Advertisement
  • Tested Advertsing Methods
  • The Lazy Man's Way to Riches
  • 7 Steps to Freedom
  • The Robert Collier Letter Book

I am half way through with the Robert Collier Letter Book. After I finish all of them, I will return to annotate every single one. At the same time, I am USING what I am learning for my first two wives. I plan to look into freelancing as well.

Conclusion
​

So with everything on the table, my time is pretty divided. This isn't mentioning my 3:30 alarm and 5 AM gym seshes. But I consider these part of a good morning routine and essential to stay focused and balanced. I will update after tomorrow's meeting with my boss. Thanks all for the inspiration and help!

​

Let's go!

 

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[Jeremy Groover]

Progress Update 3: Getting Very Pissed. Then Getting Slightly Less Pissed. Yet Still Remaining Pissed.

F*ck this.

Staring at disbelief at the check in my hands. My boss at my MMA job underpaid me. He paid me insultingly low. I worked a little under 85 hours last month for his studio. How much was my check for? $900.

Yeah. Thats barely $10.60 per hour. God damn I wanted to quit the instant I saw that check. So I put in tons of extra hours to cover for an employee (who was only supposed to be on vacation for 2 weeks, but ended up gone for the whole month). And I'm rewarded with a deduction of over $5 an hour? Hell no. Luckily I had to wait for Monday after getting my check Saturday. I would have been a lot less rational...if I didn't have the weekend to think about how to handle it.

Today I came in to talk to him before my shift. No accusations. No anger. Just a simple question: "Hey, I got this check and I was wondering if you may have made a mistake?" He felt that he hadn't. So this was intentional? (Steam coming out of ears) To make a long story short, he apologized and agreed to pay the difference. Got a second check for $365. My current hourly? $15. Hence remaining pissed. I know jobs I can take where I get paid $15 to sit in a coffee shop and occasionally deliver food every couple hours.

I would have quit and given him a two weeks notice if it weren't for the main reason I'm working this job: To gain experience to launch a marketing business. And here I have complete control over all aspects of building his business. Including funding. So, briefly, here's what's happening:

My Three Wives​

I'm a cheater. I'll admit it. One simply isn't enough. I need three. I know I know. I'm violating MJ's rule of committing to one thing. But they all seem so necessary and connected. As it is, I have three goals that I am dedicating all of my waking hours to:

1) MMA Studio Expansion
2) eBay business
3) Studying Copy

I'm starting to see how this is ineffective. But I feel like I can manage. Time will tell.

MMA Studio Expansion
​

It's been around a week. So here's what I've done for my first wife:

1) Typed out a 16 page plan for expansion. ( I would post the PDF of it here but I would have to move this to the Inside.) Here are the categories:

• Relocation (includes sketched blueprint of the new location, as well as things to buy)
• Current Customers
• Promotional Video
• Curriculum
• Class Structure
• Extras (Ways to boost monthly revenue with events, trips, movie nights, etc)
• Merchandise
• Projections
• Marketing Plan

2) Established my hourly pay and reduced my hours to 13 per week
3) Scheduled a discussion of this plan with my boss for tomorrow

Here's where I am clueless...obviously this plan will take immense hours out of my day. So I need some sort of compensation arranged tomorrow. Hourly does not seem appropriate because there's no real way of tracking the hours I work at this plan. A retainer does not seem appropriate because I have no qualifications. I may be naive but I truly feel that I can double his business. You know what he said to me today? "One day you'll take this business over." Ha! Very far from my intentions. But it indicates to me that an equity deal may be very possible. So what will I ask for? 10% equity. If I can DOUBLE his business within 6 months, I feel that asking 10% isn't too big an arrangement. (Especially considering everything else on that plan which is unrelated to clients)

Now my long term plan which stems out of this is the following:

Within 6 months I will reach my goal of doubling the MMA Studio's Business. I will have a 10% equity arrangement and a glowing piece for my portfolio. This ideally would amount to around $1,500 of passive monthly income. Perhaps a referral from the owner to other businesses who may be interested. From there, I will make similar arrangements with other brick and mortar businesses. Upon this rock I will build my church. This will give me the money to move out of my parents' house.

eBay Business
​

My second wife hates me. I think she's getting jealous of the attention I've been giving my first one. Here's what I've done:

1) Sold out of my 5 samples of Product 1. Discussed with the factory. Placing my first larger order of 50 units, with a couple OEM sample versions with my logo for the next order.
2) Realized that my other 4 products were poor choices in oversaturated markets. I'm dropping the price to get rid of them.
3) Bought tons of cheap items to build up my eBay feedback score. (Currently sitting at 11 feedback 100% positive. Woohoo.)
4) Ensured Product 1 has an optimal listing. All listings were very well done from the get-go however. I already did keyword research for the title. I used decent copy in the product description. I took professional photos with a homemade light box and GIMP. So not many changes to be made.
5) Learned to ship professionally through screwing up. God.. my first package compared to the ones I send now...I wrote the address in permanent marker on my first ones. Now I'm printing labels. And sending a personal letter with each shipment to build a good customer relationship. It has humorous copy and tips for how to use my product in the best way.
5) Looked into making an Amazon listing @Bananas suggestion. Tomorrow I have no MMA shift and will do this.

My plan as of now is to perfect Product 1. It is in the fitness niche. I am personally into fitness. So? I'm creating an eBook to include for free as well as a physical product add-on. Then I will begin to actively market it. I'm thinking of using direct mail marketing, which I've heard so many great things about in the copy books I'm reading. No idea how this works but I'll figure it out.

Studying Copy
​

As usual, I am reading my copy books. Here's the list and what's done (Blue is completed):

• • Scientific Advertising
  • Cashvertising
  • No B.S. Direct Marketing
  • The Boron Letters
  • How to Write a Good Advertisement
  • Tested Advertsing Methods
  • The Lazy Man's Way to Riches
  • 7 Steps to Freedom
  • The Robert Collier Letter Book

I am half way through with the Robert Collier Letter Book. After I finish all of them, I will return to annotate every single one. At the same time, I am USING what I am learning for my first two wives. I plan to look into freelancing as well.

Conclusion
​

So with everything on the table, my time is pretty divided. This isn't mentioning my 3:30 alarm and 5 AM gym seshes. But I consider these part of a good morning routine and essential to stay focused and balanced. I will update after tomorrow's meeting with my boss. Thanks all for the inspiration and help!

​

Let's go!

What if this owner of the MMA studio says no? Then what? What is the plan then? I love the enthusiasm, but I think you are truly biting off a big piece. I'm not saying this cannot be managed, however you have some hefty tasks before you. Blue prints of expanding the MMA business? Shouldn't that be left to a contractor? Or are you talking about where you want things to go inside the building?

I like your drive with this MMA company/gym but I am afraid you might be learning the wrong things from this gym owner. If I were him, there is no way I would give ANY of my employees that kind of leverage or control of my business. There is no way I would let my employee especially a 19 year old have that kind of access to my business. There is no way I would let any one employee know my "Ins and Outs" of my business because at that point whats stopping them from undercutting me and taking all of my business?

At that point are you really learning the business? I'm a little skeptical about this MMA gym owner.

Just saying....

 

[SweetTooth]

Progress Update 2: Solid Plans
​

I am grinding. I've been waking up between 3:30 and 5 AM for the last couple weeks. Yes, even while I was in school. Now with a good chunk of "free time" it's easy to waste it. I'd consider myself very disciplined, but you can't argue with human nature. You remember Parkinson's Law? The time it takes you to do the things you need to do will expand to fit the time you have to do them. So I have a daily schedule:

• Wake up at 3:30 AM
• Eat and hit the gym while listening to business podcasts
• Meditate
• Begin 4 hours of working on "The absolute ONE THING I can do TODAY to achieve my long term goal." as well as other priorities
• 2.5 hours of Copywriting study (school substitute)
• Work 3:30 PM to 8:30 PM
• Asleep by 9:30 PM

I get a good 6 hours of sleep, which seems to work for now.

MMA Job​

You know how MMA is a "badass" "tough" sport? This studio isn't like that. Our primary students are children aged 3 to 13. What does this mean? I do not market to the kids, I market to the parents. And oh boy is there a huge market! Now, I haven't given the MMA much thought yet, because my priorities are in my eBay business and learning copywriting. Here are some jumbled thoughts:

My job as an MMA instructor pays...eh. $16.50 per hour. Which amounts to a little under $2k monthly. I believe I am providing enough value to ask for $17 an hour. I will do this soon. In fact, for all I do I should be getting paid WAY more. HOWEVER, I am not working it primarily for the hourly pay. I absolutely hate the idea of trading my time for any amount of money. So why? This will be the first business I use my copywriting skills for. Being a small business, I work with the owner (my boss). He has given me full permission to market his business however I like. I am re-designing the website. I am managing the Facebook page. He also offered me a bonus for any new members I bring in. Weather this is a percentage of their monthly payments, or a one-time bonus, I do not know. Essentially, this job is a HUGE project for me to work on. I will blow up his business, and learn TONS in the process.

• We are changing locations very soon. This means everything is NEW. Except for our students and a few pieces of equipment (punching bags, target gloves, etc). I will help source all of our new equipment, and get everything running.
• I will use Direct Marketing to build a better relationship with our current students, as well as pull in new students.
• I currently run a fitness class for the older students. Aged 16 and above. Some have asked me if I can personally train them. I don't have time, but it is a definite option to make extra $$$ on the side. My boss doesn't mind.
• I will create a new promo video, complete with go-pros in a Jiu Jitsu match, and an overhead drone during kids classes
• I will collect testimonials from very happy parents (We really do change their rowdy kids for the better)
• I will create tournament events, with entry fees to up our monthly revenue

I could be asking for more pay, but I want to show my value first. After results start coming in, then I will make better pay arrangements. My boss mentioned a partnership, or that I even take over eventually. I don't want this. It'll tie me down to a brick and mortar business. Ultimately my exit strategy is making a small equity agreement and occasionally assisting in marketing for the studio. If he gets around 100 members at our $200 monthly charge, a 2% revenue agreement should bring me a nice $4,000 monthly.

eBay Business
​

Nothing has changed. Still 5 products up. Still only 3 of one product has sold. I'm doing something wrong. I believe feedback is a huge part of my issue. I have 100% positive feedback but only 11 feedbacks. Today I will dedicate most of my time to finding what I'm missing here.

Copywriting​

I ordered 8 books. Currently reading "The Robert Collier Letter Book." The ones in blue I have finished:

• Scientific Advertising
• Cashvertising
• No B.S. Direct Marketing
• How to Write a Good Advertisement
• Tested Advertsing Methods
• The Lazy Man's Way to Riches
• 7 Steps to Freedom
• The Robert Collier Letter Book

Lets go!

Great job man, you're doing what you know you need to do. My advice is that you dramatically lower the amount of time you spend reading the copywriting books. Instead get on a contractor/client site and start actually writing copy. Upwork and Fiverr are the big ones. I say to drop the "studying" because it is a feel-good way your brain stops you from taking real action. It's mental masturbation. Of course you have to continue studying it. But you will get much farther way quicker if you actually start writing copy for people and get paid to do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[relentlessaction]

Yeah, I would have to agree. Take more action and read later. You can always read later when you need more direction or inspiration.

All content is just rehashed.

Build up your empire, business, whatever. Research and learn every small task which you need to get to your "end goal". This is all you really need. IMO, the act and process of this is what made me semi-successful. Become a complete problem solver.

If you are deadset on promoting MMA Studios.. I would personally reach out to the other competitors in your area. Your current MMA owner screwed you and doesn't value your time. Send your services and help elsewhere. If you can't get the trust and interest of any of the owners then I would probably re-construct a new plan for immediate income. It takes two and if none of them are willing to stick their foot out for you then you're better off doing something which is more easily attainable.

IMO, regardless of what it is.. What I would do is focus on building some business, any business which can generate $3-6k/month which you can work your a$$ off to achieve and you can somewhat automate in the future. Once that's done then you can work on a bigger income business but at least your daily/monthly expenses are covered. At least, that's how I'm doing it.

 

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[Jeremy Groover]

Yeah, I would have to agree. Take more action and read later. You can always read later when you need more direction or inspiration.

All content is just rehashed.

Build up your empire, business, whatever. Research and learn every small task which you need to get to your "end goal". This is all you really need. IMO, the act and process of this is what made me semi-successful. Become a complete problem solver.

If you are deadset on promoting MMA Studios.. I would personally reach out to the other competitors in your area. Your current MMA owner screwed you and doesn't value your time. Send your services and help elsewhere. If you can't get the trust and interest of any of the owners then I would probably re-construct a new plan for immediate income. It takes two and if none of them are willing to stick their foot out for you then you're better off doing something which is more easily attainable.

IMO, regardless of what it is.. What I would do is focus on building some business, any business which can generate $3-6k/month which you can work your a$$ off to achieve and you can somewhat automate in the future. Once that's done then you can work on a bigger income business but at least your daily/monthly expenses are covered. At least, that's how I'm doing it.

I couldnt have said that better myself

 

[Jeremy Groover]

Any update on this @Ben S. How did the talk with the gym owner go?

 

[ZMan26]

Most people just go to college because most people just go to college...

Most of society sees people who have a degree as "educated " or what not and its just " the right thing to do "

If you want to be a lawyer, go to college.
If you want to be a doctor, go to college.

If your goal is to start an SEO company, why the F*ck would you go to college?
And dont give me that " oh well you develop as a person and get tones of education in college "

Because
1. you can get educated without getting into a jaw-dropping debt
2. if you study something that isn't relevant to what you'll do with your life, you're wasting your time.

Knoweldge is power when its relevant knowledge, if you spend your time reading about Kim's new boob job...how is that empowering you exactly?

Like Jim Rohn once said "
What a man reads pours massive ingredients into his mental factory. And this builds the fabric of his life."

 

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[Jeremy Groover]

@Ben S. So I guess we have no update? Well that was quick. I thought for sure wed get 2 months of "I read 11 books a day, I get up at 3am, and my Ebay business is flourishing".

 

[Ben S.]

Update 4: Coming Back Down to Earth
​

Today I got my acceptance letter to UCSB. Lol.

Wow. It's been a rough month.

Parents almost kicked me out. My decisions caused huge arguments between one another. And many other personal/family problems. Waaaa, waaaa. Boo hoo. Yeah I know. Excuses. And shitty ones at that.

The point of this progress thread was to hold myself accountable. No matter how successful I was, or how hard I was failing. The point of this progress thread was to chronicle a journey from $0 to $1,000,000. To inspire other young bucks to dream big. To tell college to F*ck off. And to show every step I'm taking along the way. But when things started going downhill, I made a point. I told myself not to come back here until I had done something to fix it.

Today I'm back. And I've done a lot of shit. But nothing has been exactly fixed. "So I was right Ben. You're weak. You just like to talk big and now you realize how stupid you sounded." Right? No.

Well I'm not weak in terms of following up. Emotionally weak? Yes. I feel like a kid who dropped his ice cream cone. Cause I had this idealistic image of where I'd be now. And things simply haven't matched up. But that doesn't mean I'm done taking trips to the ice cream truck.

There's a lot to say for everything. So I am posting 3 separate posts for each project. They will be structured as follows:

• Things that make me sad
• Things that make me happy
• What I've done
• What I plan to do
• Lessons learned
• EXRAS (Extra details)

From now on, I will post weekly updates. Regardless of how depressed I get.

Here's how I destroyed my dreams and got a dose of reality:

 

[Ben S.]

Imports​

Things that make me sad:

• Over $1,000 spent. Barely scraped back $350
• Tested 6 products, basically all sucked
• Closet full of useless trash Apple Watch holders (Anyone want one? Just pay shipping. Ha

Things that make me happy:

• I learned more in the process for $600, than a couple full semesters of college would teach me
• Of my 6 sucky products, 1 has the potential to be successful
• I get more material to put in my autobiography when I eventually reach my goals

I almost threw in the towel. I HATE giving up on something. But I wanted to dedicate more time to marketing the MMA Studio. That was my pussy justification.

I put days of research my sourcing of JUST 3 products. I took Udemy courses on importing. I read all the big import threads in the forum. I subscribed and listened to eCommerce podcasts every day. I applied copy techniques from books I'm reading. I bought a pro light box for fantastic photography. I used paid services to make killer listings. I offered stellar customer service. Still...nothing. Crap results.

The thing is, there's simply so many factors that it's extremely difficult to tell where you're missing something. Regardless, I decided to put more work into it. I will not give up. I will make this work.

What I've done:

Well, I invested more money of course!

1. I placed my first large order from my Chinese supplier for a total of $580 (takes me about a month to make this at my job) 50 units unbranded. 2 sample units with my private labeling. I sourced my logo from fiverr.
2. Created an Instagram page in that particular niche and took a Udemy course on Instagram marketing. Currently have 280 followers. This is growing daily.
3. Purchased a domain name and created my Shopify website.
4. Created a killer landing page to direct buyers from eBay to my website
5. Ran a profits projection. If marketed and branded correctly, I can sell each unit for $30. After all expenses, my profit per unit will be around $15. Solely on eBay, I expect to sell around 2-4 per day. I plan to expand to Amazon as well as make sales from my Shopify store. Ideally around 10 units per day total, within the first 2 months of launch. This should put me around $4,500 in PROFITS monthly. Set high goals so you get rekt later right? Right.

What I plan to do (by this Sunday):

1. Create 2 weeks worth of Instagram content in advance
2. Get to 1,000 followers
3. Create another landing page for Instagram followers
4. Polish up my website
5. Source 5 new products in my niche and add "Coming soon" to the products on my site
6. Write a short eBook, specifically relating to the purchased product. To direct eBay buyers of this product to my landing page and collect their emails.

Lessons learned:

• eBay pricing strategy: You cannot sell your samples of the item at target price. Since you aren't on the best match of results, you have to be competitively priced in order to get any views. This makes it hard to get an accurate idea how well your item will sell at the target price. With due diligence, make an order. I plan to dump tons of my item on eBay at cost, or even at a loss. Once my ranking is boosted, I will up the price and hopefully break even. Then sell my whole next order at target price and start making profits.

Next week I will explain my sales funnel. Hopefully I give you guys some ideas. And I hope some of the more experienced members can offer suggestions.

 

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[Ben S.]

MMA Marketing​

Things that make me sad:

• The job itself. Getting kneed in the balls by sweaty kids for $15 an hour isn't doing it for me
• The way the owner runs the business. Very disorganized. Poor employee management. If I can get him new students, can he retain them?
• I don't really know enough to teach. Every day I come in, I feel like a fraud.

Things that make me happy:

• He agreed to equity! I haven't talked percentages and I don't want to until I show him some results. Asking 10% without any tangible changes would be stupid. I will OFFER VALUE first. Then I will ask for 10% when he simply NEEDS me to continue what I am doing.
• I have full reigns of everything. My marketing expenses are going to be covered by him.
• Found a potential partner. He made 60k marketing for a gym. But he got paid an hourly with a little commission. That's life. Make money for your boss right? But he knows what he's doing. I gave him a list of all the copy books I am reading. He ordered them all immediately and started reading. The plan is to each market for a business of our own. (Me the MMA busines, him something else) Then we merge and form a partnership, and work on the next one together. We'll see.

What I've done:

1. Collected almost all current parent/ student emails. We didn't have any. Can you believe that?
2. Created a survey to ask about our current classes and what students like/dislike. I want all of our students to be happy before we look for new ones.
3. Scheduled a shoot for next Saturday for the studios new promo video. There will be 2 versions. One will play on a TV facing outside, so that we can get the attention of passerby's. This will just be the highlight reel. The other one will be complete with testimonials, class footage, voice overs, etc. This one will go on our social media and potential student email lists.
4. Training 10 of our best students for a charity event demonstration. This makes for good publicity and hopefully potential signups at the event.

What I plan to do (by this Sunday):

1. Finish getting ALL emails
2. Send out the email survey
3. Write the promotional video script ( Writer/Director Ben is what they call me)
4. Visit 5-10 studios to check on what other studios do. Also to verify our unique value proposition (UVP) for honest marketing .
5. Arrange charity event demonstration with the parents of our students

The studio relocates in June. This is when I will ask for the 10% Lets gooooo!

 

[Ben S.]

Copywriting​

I ordered 8 books. Currently reading "The 7 Steps to Freedom." The ones in blue I have finished

Scientific Advertising
Cashvertising
No B.S. Direct Marketing
The Boron Letters
How to Write a Good Advertisement
Tested Advertsing Methods
The Lazy Man's Way to Riches
7 Steps to Freedom
The Robert Collier Letter Book

Lets go!