Your First Business Should be Profitable From Month 1

[Black_Dragon43]

This is the number one advice most of you need. If your first business isn't profitable from month 1, you have a big problem. It means you're chasing after opportunities that are above your pay grade.

Most of you are doing this because you've been misinterpreting MJ's advice against money-chasing. You've become idealistic. You're enchanted by the dream of providing value. Of building the next Facebook. So enchanted that you're not actually creating any value, because you lack the resources to create the kind of value you're aiming for. I'm reading here about people who started 3-4+ businesses, all failures.

If that's you, you're like a starry-eyed kid when he first hears about a new game he likes. The wave of enthusiasm carries you away, and you end up leaping across a chasm far larger than what you're currently capable to cross... and you fall, break your neck, and you go get a job -- teaching your subconscious mind that it's risky to start a business.

I want you to understand that you can be an entrepreneur starting from today. But you have to give up your idealism. Or better, we have to match your idealism with a nose-to-the-dirt empiric, realistic approach to business. If idealism tells you to provide value, empiricism tells you to make money. Idealism is nice... but without money, in the practical realities of the world, it will be doomed to fail.

So how is empiricism different from money-chasing?

Empiricism asks how can I make money in the next 30 days, regardless of how much I have to work to make it?

Money-chasing asks how can I make money in the next 30 days without doing any work, or very little work?

Empiricism doesn't ask for EASY money... it just asks for FAST money.

If you look at the vast majority of extremely rich people, they all had at least one time early on when a ton of money fell into their hands. From then on, it's been a smooth ride for them. I know that some of you will be like "ughh but it's hard to turn $5 million into $50 million... BD just imagine how hard it is to turn that $5M into $500M!!!"

J. P. Getty the oilman who in 1966 was named by Forbes as the richest man in the world ($1.2 billion dollars) said "the first million is the hardest".

Henry Ford the world's first billionaire said "I am ready to account for any day in my life, but don't ask me how I made my first million."

Brian Tracy said "the first million is hard, but the second million is inevitable"

Do you understand what that means? It means the whole game is getting your hands on that liquid $5 million. Then it's a smooth ride. And I can tell you exactly why. Once you have that kinda money, you have slave after slave coming to you, wanting to work for you. They'll even work for free! It's easy to enslave a bunch of people and put them to work to make your dreams happen. And once you're even bigger, it gets even easier. Imagine having the President on speed-dial. "Yo, Joe you got that deal lined up ole man?!"

Elon Musk's day consists of shouting at and abusing people. That's what they call "management", and it's "very hard" work, some people claim.

So let's go back to you. Forget the $5 million. If you can even have $500K liquid, by the end of 1 year, that will be a gigantic leap forward. For most of you here, your families NEVER at any single moment in their history had that kinda money in disposable cash. Just pause to imagine that.

And you CAN make that money within 1 year.

Let's go back to looking at a few big hitters.

J. Paul Getty whom I've mentioned earlier made his first $1 million at 23. That's like YOU making $10 million in today's money by the time you're 23. Can you imagine that?

Rockefeller started his first business in 1859 and by 1865, merely 6 years later, he bought his partner out for $10,000 - the equivalent of $1 million dollars, CASH. Can you even begin to imagine how profitable the business was in those 6 years? Rockefeller was just 26. Imagine... at 26 he had $1 million in cash to buy his partner out.

That Brazillian playboy and gigachad who used to be the richest Brazillian before they put him in jail... he went into the Amazon rainforest scrambling for gold... and emerged at 22 years old a MILLIONAIRE!! His name is Eike Batista.

You see, these guys, their entire lives have been one long easy holiday. They had the women and the fast cars, and the private jets and whatever you guys dream of from the very beginning. They didn't wait to be 40... Then it was a smooth ride.

Listen to what Eike says:

Trekking through malarial mining camps, Batista says he traded $60 million, kept 10 percent for himself, and made a fortune of $6 million by age 22.

He used the proceeds to buy and mechanize his own mine, an experience he says taught him to find productive assets overlooked by others.

“In the middle of the jungle it’s a military operation. You have to build your own city, people need to eat, you have to produce your own power,” he said. “I only survived it because the mine was so rich that it was totally idiot-proof.”

Special Report: The billionaire from Brazil

Eike Batista sits atop one of the world's most expansive industrial conglomerates, ranging from oil and mining to recreation and beauty care. Already the richest person in Brazil, he wants to be the richest in the world.

www.reuters.com

I don't think that registers for most of you. THE MINE WAS SO RICH IT WAS IDIOT-PROOF! It means that even YOU would make a profit from it. It means he couldn't fail. There were no risks. There were no "odds". It was a straight up slam dunk.

And from there it only gets easier. Imagine yourself. "Ughh, what shall we do now with all these millions, let's find some more of those idiot-proof mines... how about we go to the Ruskies, pay some corrupt general 50% and we go buy the F*cker for 10% of the price". Listen... when you buy for 10% of the price, how can you fail? What ODDS do you have to take into account?

In just a couple of years you'll have a global empire.

And the same is true for all these guys. Apart from in some cases their first million, these guys took NO RISKS. And yet, every business YOU start is a risk. You have to worry about your odds. These guys don't. Every business is a slam dunk. Otherwise they don't do it.

If it was you instead of Eike, what would you have thought? "Oh F*ck, better go get a project manager job to see how these mines go" Right? He just jumped on the F*cker and bought it. Would you have headed to the jungle to trade gold, like a savage at 20? What would your family have thought about you, just imagine... Six years later, and you still wouldn't be prepared to head over to the jungle!

Do you now understand?

These guys, all they cared about was money. You think they cared about making a difference in the world. That's wrong. They just cared about money. Maybe in their old age, that idea of making a difference grew on them, but at first, it was 100% the money.

And they went after businesses that were idiot-proof. Where they couldn't fail. First they looked for a business that would generate them cash quickly. Then I'm not gonna tell you what they did, because it was a smooth ride. And so long as you're not a retard - meaning no hookers, not too much bling, no alcohol, no drugs, you'll do just fine after you get your first million cash in the bank.

Notice these attributes... idiot-proof businesses, no risk, no odds, make money quickly, do whatever it takes to succeed, and they didn't wait to "get the knowledge" or become experts before taking action. That's the mindset you need.

 

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[Saad Khan]

This is the number one advice most of you need. If your first business isn't profitable from month 1, you have a big problem. It means you're chasing after opportunities that are above your pay grade.

Most of you are doing this because you've been misinterpreting MJ's advice against money-chasing. You've become idealistic. You're enchanted by the dream of providing value. Of building the next Facebook. So enchanted that you're not actually creating any value, because you lack the resources to create the kind of value you're aiming for. I'm reading here about people who started 3-4+ businesses, all failures.

If that's you, you're like a starry-eyed kid when he first hears about a new game he likes. The wave of enthusiasm carries you away, and you end up leaping across a chasm far larger than what you're currently capable to cross... and you fall, break your neck, and you go get a job -- teaching your subconscious mind that it's risky to start a business.

I want you to understand that you can be an entrepreneur starting from today. But you have to give up your idealism. Or better, we have to match your idealism with a nose-to-the-dirt empiric, realistic approach to business. If idealism tells you to provide value, empiricism tells you to make money. Idealism is nice... but without money, in the practical realities of the world, it will be doomed to fail.

So how is empiricism different from money-chasing?

Empiricism asks how can I make money in the next 30 days, regardless of how much I have to work to make it?

Money-chasing asks how can I make money in the next 30 days without doing any work, or very little work?

Empiricism doesn't ask for EASY money... it just asks for FAST money.

If you look at the vast majority of extremely rich people, they all had at least one time early on when a ton of money fell into their hands. From then on, it's been a smooth ride for them. I know that some of you will be like "ughh but it's hard to turn $5 million into $50 million... BD just imagine how hard it is to turn that $5M into $500M!!!"

J. P. Getty the oilman who in 1966 was named by Forbes as the richest man in the world ($1.2 billion dollars) said "the first million is the hardest".

Henry Ford the world's first billionaire said "I am ready to account for any day in my life, but don't ask me how I made my first million."

Brian Tracy said "the first million is hard, but the second million is inevitable"

Do you understand what that means? It means the whole game is getting your hands on that liquid $5 million. Then it's a smooth ride. And I can tell you exactly why. Once you have that kinda money, you have slave after slave coming to you, wanting to work for you. They'll even work for free! It's easy to enslave a bunch of people and put them to work to make your dreams happen. And once you're even bigger, it gets even easier. Imagine having the President on speed-dial. "Yo, Joe you got that deal lined up ole man?!"

Elon Musk's day consists of shouting at and abusing people. That's what they call "management", and it's "very hard" work, some people claim.

So let's go back to you. Forget the $5 million. If you can even have $500K liquid, by the end of 1 year, that will be a gigantic leap forward. For most of you here, your families NEVER at any single moment in their history had that kinda money in disposable cash. Just pause to imagine that.

And you CAN make that money within 1 year.

Let's go back to looking at a few big hitters.

J. Paul Getty whom I've mentioned earlier made his first $1 million at 23. That's like YOU making $10 million in today's money by the time you're 23. Can you imagine that?

Rockefeller started his first business in 1859 and by 1865, merely 6 years later, he bought his partner out for $10,000 - the equivalent of $1 million dollars, CASH. Can you even begin to imagine how profitable the business was in those 6 years? Rockefeller was just 26. Imagine... at 26 he had $1 million in cash to buy his partner out.

That Brazillian playboy and gigachad who used to be the richest Brazillian before they put him in jail... he went into the Amazon rainforest scrambling for gold... and emerged at 22 years old a MILLIONAIRE!! His name is Eike Batista.

You see, these guys, their entire lives have been one long easy holiday. They had the women and the fast cars, and the private jets and whatever you guys dream of from the very beginning. They didn't wait to be 40... Then it was a smooth ride.

Listen to what Eike says:


I don't think that registers for most of you. THE MINE WAS SO RICH IT WAS IDIOT-PROOF! It means that even YOU would make a profit from it. It means he couldn't fail. There were no risks. There were no "odds". It was a straight up slam dunk.

And from there it only gets easier. Imagine yourself. "Ughh, what shall we do now with all these millions, let's find some more of those idiot-proof mines... how about we go to the Ruskies, pay some corrupt general 50% and we go buy the F*cker for 10% of the price". Listen... when you buy for 10% of the price, how can you fail? What ODDS do you have to take into account?

In just a couple of years you'll have a global empire.

And the same is true for all these guys. Apart from in some cases their first million, these guys took NO RISKS. And yet, every business YOU start is a risk. You have to worry about your odds. These guys don't. Every business is a slam dunk. Otherwise they don't do it.

If it was you instead of Eike, what would you have thought? "Oh F*ck, better go get a project manager job to see how these mines go" Right? He just jumped on the F*cker and bought it. Would you have headed to the jungle to trade gold, like a savage at 20? What would your family have thought about you, just imagine... Six years later, and you still wouldn't be prepared to head over to the jungle!

Do you now understand?

These guys, all they cared about was money. You think they cared about making a difference in the world. That's wrong. They just cared about money. Maybe in their old age, that idea of making a difference grew on them, but at first, it was 100% the money.

And they went after businesses that were idiot-proof. Where they couldn't fail. First they looked for a business that would generate them cash quickly. Then I'm not gonna tell you what they did, because it was a smooth ride. And so long as you're not a retard - meaning no hookers, not too much bling, no alcohol, no drugs, you'll do just fine after you get your first million cash in the bank.

Notice these attributes... idiot-proof businesses, no risk, no odds, make money quickly, do whatever it takes to succeed, and they didn't wait to "get the knowledge" or become experts before taking action. That's the mindset you need.

What kind of hammer have you been carrying with yourself all this time? Should've used it earlier. Turns out you don't need a purpose, a vision statemement, a mission to make your first month profitable.

Maybe you should bring the same hammer to LinkedIn, @Black_Dragon43?

 

[SeeYouAtTheTop]

This is the number one advice most of you need. If your first business isn't profitable from month 1, you have a big problem. It means you're chasing after opportunities that are above your pay grade.

Most of you are doing this because you've been misinterpreting MJ's advice against money-chasing. You've become idealistic. You're enchanted by the dream of providing value. Of building the next Facebook. So enchanted that you're not actually creating any value, because you lack the resources to create the kind of value you're aiming for. I'm reading here about people who started 3-4+ businesses, all failures.

If that's you, you're like a starry-eyed kid when he first hears about a new game he likes. The wave of enthusiasm carries you away, and you end up leaping across a chasm far larger than what you're currently capable to cross... and you fall, break your neck, and you go get a job -- teaching your subconscious mind that it's risky to start a business.

I want you to understand that you can be an entrepreneur starting from today. But you have to give up your idealism. Or better, we have to match your idealism with a nose-to-the-dirt empiric, realistic approach to business. If idealism tells you to provide value, empiricism tells you to make money. Idealism is nice... but without money, in the practical realities of the world, it will be doomed to fail.

So how is empiricism different from money-chasing?

Empiricism asks how can I make money in the next 30 days, regardless of how much I have to work to make it?

Money-chasing asks how can I make money in the next 30 days without doing any work, or very little work?

Empiricism doesn't ask for EASY money... it just asks for FAST money.

If you look at the vast majority of extremely rich people, they all had at least one time early on when a ton of money fell into their hands. From then on, it's been a smooth ride for them. I know that some of you will be like "ughh but it's hard to turn $5 million into $50 million... BD just imagine how hard it is to turn that $5M into $500M!!!"

J. P. Getty the oilman who in 1966 was named by Forbes as the richest man in the world ($1.2 billion dollars) said "the first million is the hardest".

Henry Ford the world's first billionaire said "I am ready to account for any day in my life, but don't ask me how I made my first million."

Brian Tracy said "the first million is hard, but the second million is inevitable"

Do you understand what that means? It means the whole game is getting your hands on that liquid $5 million. Then it's a smooth ride. And I can tell you exactly why. Once you have that kinda money, you have slave after slave coming to you, wanting to work for you. They'll even work for free! It's easy to enslave a bunch of people and put them to work to make your dreams happen. And once you're even bigger, it gets even easier. Imagine having the President on speed-dial. "Yo, Joe you got that deal lined up ole man?!"

Elon Musk's day consists of shouting at and abusing people. That's what they call "management", and it's "very hard" work, some people claim.

So let's go back to you. Forget the $5 million. If you can even have $500K liquid, by the end of 1 year, that will be a gigantic leap forward. For most of you here, your families NEVER at any single moment in their history had that kinda money in disposable cash. Just pause to imagine that.

And you CAN make that money within 1 year.

Let's go back to looking at a few big hitters.

J. Paul Getty whom I've mentioned earlier made his first $1 million at 23. That's like YOU making $10 million in today's money by the time you're 23. Can you imagine that?

Rockefeller started his first business in 1859 and by 1865, merely 6 years later, he bought his partner out for $10,000 - the equivalent of $1 million dollars, CASH. Can you even begin to imagine how profitable the business was in those 6 years? Rockefeller was just 26. Imagine... at 26 he had $1 million in cash to buy his partner out.

That Brazillian playboy and gigachad who used to be the richest Brazillian before they put him in jail... he went into the Amazon rainforest scrambling for gold... and emerged at 22 years old a MILLIONAIRE!! His name is Eike Batista.

You see, these guys, their entire lives have been one long easy holiday. They had the women and the fast cars, and the private jets and whatever you guys dream of from the very beginning. They didn't wait to be 40... Then it was a smooth ride.

Listen to what Eike says:

Special Report: The billionaire from Brazil

Eike Batista sits atop one of the world's most expansive industrial conglomerates, ranging from oil and mining to recreation and beauty care. Already the richest person in Brazil, he wants to be the richest in the world.

www.reuters.com

I don't think that registers for most of you. THE MINE WAS SO RICH IT WAS IDIOT-PROOF! It means that even YOU would make a profit from it. It means he couldn't fail. There were no risks. There were no "odds". It was a straight up slam dunk.

And from there it only gets easier. Imagine yourself. "Ughh, what shall we do now with all these millions, let's find some more of those idiot-proof mines... how about we go to the Ruskies, pay some corrupt general 50% and we go buy the F*cker for 10% of the price". Listen... when you buy for 10% of the price, how can you fail? What ODDS do you have to take into account?

In just a couple of years you'll have a global empire.

And the same is true for all these guys. Apart from in some cases their first million, these guys took NO RISKS. And yet, every business YOU start is a risk. You have to worry about your odds. These guys don't. Every business is a slam dunk. Otherwise they don't do it.

If it was you instead of Eike, what would you have thought? "Oh F*ck, better go get a project manager job to see how these mines go" Right? He just jumped on the F*cker and bought it. Would you have headed to the jungle to trade gold, like a savage at 20? What would your family have thought about you, just imagine... Six years later, and you still wouldn't be prepared to head over to the jungle!

Do you now understand?

These guys, all they cared about was money. You think they cared about making a difference in the world. That's wrong. They just cared about money. Maybe in their old age, that idea of making a difference grew on them, but at first, it was 100% the money.

And they went after businesses that were idiot-proof. Where they couldn't fail. First they looked for a business that would generate them cash quickly. Then I'm not gonna tell you what they did, because it was a smooth ride. And so long as you're not a retard - meaning no hookers, not too much bling, no alcohol, no drugs, you'll do just fine after you get your first million cash in the bank.

Notice these attributes... idiot-proof businesses, no risk, no odds, make money quickly, do whatever it takes to succeed, and they didn't wait to "get the knowledge" or become experts before taking action. That's the mindset you need.

I’m enjoying these posts. Great kick in the a$$ to keep going.

You’re bringing the heat lately.

 

[BellaPippin]

Something about this doesn't sit right, but I can't pinpoint what it is.

Also I guess I should quit since my business hasn't taken off after a month?

 

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[piano]

This is the number one advice most of you need. If your first business isn't profitable from month 1, you have a big problem. It means you're chasing after opportunities that are above your pay grade.

Most of you are doing this because you've been misinterpreting MJ's advice against money-chasing. You've become idealistic. You're enchanted by the dream of providing value. Of building the next Facebook. So enchanted that you're not actually creating any value, because you lack the resources to create the kind of value you're aiming for. I'm reading here about people who started 3-4+ businesses, all failures.

If that's you, you're like a starry-eyed kid when he first hears about a new game he likes. The wave of enthusiasm carries you away, and you end up leaping across a chasm far larger than what you're currently capable to cross... and you fall, break your neck, and you go get a job -- teaching your subconscious mind that it's risky to start a business.

I want you to understand that you can be an entrepreneur starting from today. But you have to give up your idealism. Or better, we have to match your idealism with a nose-to-the-dirt empiric, realistic approach to business. If idealism tells you to provide value, empiricism tells you to make money. Idealism is nice... but without money, in the practical realities of the world, it will be doomed to fail.

So how is empiricism different from money-chasing?

Empiricism asks how can I make money in the next 30 days, regardless of how much I have to work to make it?

Money-chasing asks how can I make money in the next 30 days without doing any work, or very little work?

Empiricism doesn't ask for EASY money... it just asks for FAST money.

If you look at the vast majority of extremely rich people, they all had at least one time early on when a ton of money fell into their hands. From then on, it's been a smooth ride for them. I know that some of you will be like "ughh but it's hard to turn $5 million into $50 million... BD just imagine how hard it is to turn that $5M into $500M!!!"

J. P. Getty the oilman who in 1966 was named by Forbes as the richest man in the world ($1.2 billion dollars) said "the first million is the hardest".

Henry Ford the world's first billionaire said "I am ready to account for any day in my life, but don't ask me how I made my first million."

Brian Tracy said "the first million is hard, but the second million is inevitable"

Do you understand what that means? It means the whole game is getting your hands on that liquid $5 million. Then it's a smooth ride. And I can tell you exactly why. Once you have that kinda money, you have slave after slave coming to you, wanting to work for you. They'll even work for free! It's easy to enslave a bunch of people and put them to work to make your dreams happen. And once you're even bigger, it gets even easier. Imagine having the President on speed-dial. "Yo, Joe you got that deal lined up ole man?!"

Elon Musk's day consists of shouting at and abusing people. That's what they call "management", and it's "very hard" work, some people claim.

So let's go back to you. Forget the $5 million. If you can even have $500K liquid, by the end of 1 year, that will be a gigantic leap forward. For most of you here, your families NEVER at any single moment in their history had that kinda money in disposable cash. Just pause to imagine that.

And you CAN make that money within 1 year.

Let's go back to looking at a few big hitters.

J. Paul Getty whom I've mentioned earlier made his first $1 million at 23. That's like YOU making $10 million in today's money by the time you're 23. Can you imagine that?

Rockefeller started his first business in 1859 and by 1865, merely 6 years later, he bought his partner out for $10,000 - the equivalent of $1 million dollars, CASH. Can you even begin to imagine how profitable the business was in those 6 years? Rockefeller was just 26. Imagine... at 26 he had $1 million in cash to buy his partner out.

That Brazillian playboy and gigachad who used to be the richest Brazillian before they put him in jail... he went into the Amazon rainforest scrambling for gold... and emerged at 22 years old a MILLIONAIRE!! His name is Eike Batista.

You see, these guys, their entire lives have been one long easy holiday. They had the women and the fast cars, and the private jets and whatever you guys dream of from the very beginning. They didn't wait to be 40... Then it was a smooth ride.

Listen to what Eike says:

Special Report: The billionaire from Brazil

Eike Batista sits atop one of the world's most expansive industrial conglomerates, ranging from oil and mining to recreation and beauty care. Already the richest person in Brazil, he wants to be the richest in the world.

www.reuters.com

I don't think that registers for most of you. THE MINE WAS SO RICH IT WAS IDIOT-PROOF! It means that even YOU would make a profit from it. It means he couldn't fail. There were no risks. There were no "odds". It was a straight up slam dunk.

And from there it only gets easier. Imagine yourself. "Ughh, what shall we do now with all these millions, let's find some more of those idiot-proof mines... how about we go to the Ruskies, pay some corrupt general 50% and we go buy the F*cker for 10% of the price". Listen... when you buy for 10% of the price, how can you fail? What ODDS do you have to take into account?

In just a couple of years you'll have a global empire.

And the same is true for all these guys. Apart from in some cases their first million, these guys took NO RISKS. And yet, every business YOU start is a risk. You have to worry about your odds. These guys don't. Every business is a slam dunk. Otherwise they don't do it.

If it was you instead of Eike, what would you have thought? "Oh F*ck, better go get a project manager job to see how these mines go" Right? He just jumped on the F*cker and bought it. Would you have headed to the jungle to trade gold, like a savage at 20? What would your family have thought about you, just imagine... Six years later, and you still wouldn't be prepared to head over to the jungle!

Do you now understand?

These guys, all they cared about was money. You think they cared about making a difference in the world. That's wrong. They just cared about money. Maybe in their old age, that idea of making a difference grew on them, but at first, it was 100% the money.

And they went after businesses that were idiot-proof. Where they couldn't fail. First they looked for a business that would generate them cash quickly. Then I'm not gonna tell you what they did, because it was a smooth ride. And so long as you're not a retard - meaning no hookers, not too much bling, no alcohol, no drugs, you'll do just fine after you get your first million cash in the bank.

Notice these attributes... idiot-proof businesses, no risk, no odds, make money quickly, do whatever it takes to succeed, and they didn't wait to "get the knowledge" or become experts before taking action. That's the mindset you need.

Your previous posts have been honestly kinda annoying me. I wouldn't agree, etc.

However this one is pretty good (although the title made me wanna throw up when I first read it lol. You make these provocative on purpose, right?)
I definitely agree with you on this one though. Good post

 

[Kak]

My sales cycle alone can be several months. My delivery times if my sales cycle was an hour are frequently longer than a month. Even if my sales cycle and delivery could be accomplished in an hour, my payment terms with customers is 30-60 days.

I sometimes fly to meet with potential strategic partners and the value from that investment of time and money isn’t realized for six+ months.

Just an FYI. Most of the world’s businesses wouldn’t exist with this “need to profit in a month” model.

The only thing that can take off on a tiny runway is a tiny plane. Put me down for making yourself comfortable enough to pursue something legitimate.

 

[thechosen1]

Something about this doesn't sit right, but I can't pinpoint what it is.

Also I guess I should quit since my business hasn't taken off after a month?

It's the sheer lack of substance in the entire first post.

The complete lack of information and specificity. And the allusion to others' success and anecdotes. None of it has any detail whatsoever and basically says "disregard all knowledge, patience, and understanding."

It's like a really long-winded sales pitch. It's just missing the call to action.

Not to mention stuff like this gem:
"Elon Musk's entire day consists of shouting at and abusing people."

Lol, if that's what your business guru thinks business is, I wouldn't want to do business with them or take business advice from them.

Also, I would want to hear at least one tiny little example of what they did instead of a bunch of really vague (and inaccurate) stories about what other people did. Especially ones that sound pretty anti-business.

 

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[Antifragile]

Something about this doesn't sit right, but I can't pinpoint what it is.

Also I guess I should quit since my business hasn't taken off after a month?

That’s because it’s bad advice.

Be careful who you listen to on the internet. Too many Walking Eagles…

 

[constant]

If I were 18 again, this post + TMF would be my business bible, I’d be a billionaire already.

I'm interested. What would you do if you were 18 again?

 

[BizyDad]

Unfortunately unlike the guys I’ve been talking about, I haven’t made that sort of money yet. And it’s because I haven’t followed this advice. If I were 18 again, this post + TMF would be my business bible, I’d be a billionaire already.

It is within your power to change this.

You've been on this forum almost 6 years. Why aren't you halfway to billionaire status?

I'm interested. What would you do if you were 18 again?

More importantly, what could you do today to get there? Assuming that is your goal...

 

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[Subsonic]

I like this, especially for a FIRST business.
"If you don't invest a lot you can't loose a lot".

What kind of business one would start as a complete novice, that takes longer than a month to generate profit has a chance of working out?

To start, taking action is imo the only important thing. And the only real real action is engaging with the market. The first time I learned something about business is when I engaged the market and got feedback. Not when I learned copywriting, or sales.

Guess what? When you engage the market with a simple offer that solves a simple problem, you make money.

"Hey old lady, your 2 story windows are dirty? Let me clean them for you."

"Hey car dealer, how about I clean your floors once a month?"

Making money through business is not that deep lol.

@piano 's progress thread shows this well. Man is too young to register a business yet he is making money by throwing a simple offer out in the market.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

My sales cycle alone can be several months. My delivery times if my sales cycle was an hour are frequently longer than a month. Even if my sales cycle and delivery could be accomplished in an hour, my payment terms with customers is 30-60 days.

I sometimes fly to meet with potential strategic partners and the value from that investment of time and money isn’t realized for six+ months.

Just an FYI. Most of the world’s businesses wouldn’t exist with this “need to profit in a month” model.

The only thing that can take off on a tiny runway is a tiny plane. Put me down for making yourself comfortable enough to pursue something legitimate.

Thank you for at least contributing value, unlike your other two friends.

So let me ask you this: what business are you running, and why are you running this kind of business?

My first agency, because we had very large projects, $30-50K/project, we struggled with the same issues. Longer sales cycles, longer delivery times and f*cked up payment terms.

Now it’s so easy. Sales cycle is 1-hour worth of time per customer. Delivery is monthly, not handled directly by me. And payment terms are instant, before delivery and subscription based which allows me to build a cash flow positive business and never chase anyone for not paying invoices. I don’t even sign contracts anymore, can you believe it?

It’s so much easier this way, profit margins are so much bigger. Why make life hard for yourself unnecessarily and do business like 50-60 years ago?

 

[Kak]

Why make life hard for yourself unnecessarily and do business like 50-60 years ago?

The short answer? Because my company provides material that is integral to the supply chains of multi-billion dollar companies and I’m subject to them. If I tried to bend them to my will, they’d laugh.

Also, don’t take these details as a complaint. It’s not. I totally accept doing business this way. Navigating the hardships this model creates on others is part of the reason my company is what it is.

 

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[Antifragile]

It is within your power to change this.

You've been on this forum almost 6 years. Why aren't you halfway to billionaire status?

 

[Black_Dragon43]

The short answer? Because my company provides material that is integral to the supply chains of multi-billion dollar companies and I’m subject to them. If I tried to bend them to my will, they’d laugh.

Ok, I understand that. You work with giants, you have to work by their rules. That’s almost always the case (one of the reasons why I’d hate that actually, on a personal note).

But… my question was really about why are you choosing to run this kind of business?

You’re a smart guy. You could be running any kind of business you want. So why accept to deal with long sales cycles, draconian payment terms and long delivery cycles, + being in a position where tou can’t really negotiate terms with clients because of the power difference?

 

[Kak]

Ok, I understand that. You work with giants, you have to work by their rules. That’s almost always the case (one of the reasons why I’d hate that actually, on a personal note).

But… my question was really about why are you choosing to run this kind of business?

You’re a smart guy. You could be running any kind of business you want. So why accept to deal with long sales cycles, draconian payment terms and long delivery cycles?

Take a guess dude. I don’t talk about numbers.

 

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[thechosen1]

Ok, I understand that. You work with giants, you have to work by their rules. That’s almost always the case (one of the reasons why I’d hate that actually, on a personal note).

But… my question was really about why are you choosing to run this kind of business?

You’re a smart guy. You could be running any kind of business you want. So why accept to deal with long sales cycles, draconian payment terms and long delivery cycles, + being in a position where tou can’t really negotiate terms with clients because of the power difference?

Because he makes a lot more money than you do.

 

[BizyDad]

More importantly, what could you do today to get there? Assuming that is your goal...

Thank you for at least contributing value, unlike your other two friends.

If this comment is directed at me, I think it is misplaced. I wasn't taking a shot at you, regardless of how it is perceived.

I asked a question Andy Black asks people all the time.

But… my question was really about why are you choosing to run this kind of business?

You’re a smart guy. You could be running any kind of business you want. So why accept to deal with long sales cycles, draconian payment terms and long delivery cycles?

You're asking him the same question I asked you. Why don't you answer mine first?

Why do you do what you do? Agencies are not the most profitable of endeavors. You know this.

You espouse ecommerce, but you have no ecommerce even.

I recently saw you tell someone you wouldn't get involved in selling industrial materials to Asia. If that is within your ability, and you want to be #1 in the world because it is a competition, then why do you choose to spend time the way you do?

These are all recent quotes by you on various threads in the past week and they just don't add up. I'm not taking shots. I'm genuinely curious why the double standard?

 

[Kak]

You’re forgetting the barrier to entry as well. Every chance you get to outperform or outmaneuver the competition gives you an edge. High barriers, particularly in slow moving and stale industries, are the playground of intelligent entrepreneurs.

 

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[thechosen1]

You’re forgetting the barrier to entry as well. Every chance you get to outperform or outmaneuver the competition gives you an edge. High barriers, particularly in slow moving and stale industries, are the playground of intelligent entrepreneurs.

Yup, this is literally the E in CENTS. OP should consult TMF …

 

[Shono]

Not to mention stuff like this gem:
"Elon Musk's entire day consists of shouting at and abusing people."

Exactly. It's like he doesn't even know who Elon Musk is. Elon Miusk is basically the modern day Nikola Tesla, a savant who is a polymath and genius who's head can't even hold all the creative ideas in it. He basically invented from scratch all by himself: online transactions, electric cars, solar panels, reinvented space travel etc etc. of course he needs help from people to just do the things he comes up with! He is a genius in every sense of the word and a max level innovator.

 

[thechosen1]

? Why work from a position of inferiority where I can’t negotiate terms with my clients because they’re a giant and I’m an ant compared to them?

because you CAN negotiate with big companies, they order by the MILLIONS instead of hundreds or thousands, and magnitude scales very quickly.

Net 30 or even net 60 isn’t a big deal if you’re getting a $2,000,000 contract

 

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[thechosen1]

Hopefully you don’t really think I’m this dumb.

I really don’t know. You seem to be on both sides of everything you say.

 

[BizyDad]

Hopefully you don’t really think I’m this dumb. I was actually asking why should someone like ME consider this? It sounds like I’m much better off continuing what I have and growing it…

Every business is sort of like a combination lock. Once you figure the combination, you can just press the pedal!

Yeah, but you and I are still driving metaphorical corvettes with our agencies. It's better than a sedan, but there's a cap to the income/ top speed. Isn't a Bugatti better? You do want a Bugatti, right?

Now I know why I do what I do, but you saying "I won't do it because 60 day terms. Down with the slave masters, I won't play their game" just sounds like another fancier sounding action fake to stay in your comfort zone and not truly enter the grand competition you say you want to play in.

 

[Antifragile]

The advice is bad. And here is why:

- Like anything else in life, learning takes time.
- Iterating, inventing new solutions to ones that didn't work - that's the name of the game.

The problem with the post like this is that not all is wrong. Parts of what you say are "reasonable" and even right. So it is easy to get sucked into the fancy headline of someone who's admittedly a "marketing expert". If you believed him? You got hoodwinked and props to @Black_Dragon43 for being good enough to fool so many. Marketing 301? lol

In my experience... for what little that is worth because I am not a genius, not a mega success, not some self-proclaimed expert in this or that. I am your average guy, like most people you meet. The thing that makes me do well in business is that I don't quit.

Grit. You must have it.

Leave the bravado and self pacifying "look at how great I am" at the door when you start a business. Accept that you are a nothing, unless you provide value to someone else. If you aren't useful, you are useless - there is nothing in between. To become useful, you must solve some problems or inconveniences. But that's harder done than said. And it can take a few iterations before you get it right.

So if you heed the headline advice of this thread and quit because you didn't get your immediate profit... too bad for you.

I know @MTF isn't active, but his profile pic comes to mind here.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

I know I don't have any room to give advice here as I am probably nowhere near where you guys are at. But I assume the premise of this post is giving advice for fellow entrepreneur's to not money chase, to understand that their is a process to any venture, and that you need to keep swinging at the plate even after if you tried 3 to 4 businesses.

I will put myself out here and be honest with what's going on with me that I have learned the hardway and that was my lack of action, lack of consistency, basically doing a lot of macro-events before macro-processes.

I also made a huge assumption with the newsletter Aggregator business, my mind got scared of the all of the negative possibilities of what could go wrong just because of a past event that occurred to. My brain was coming up with ways to back out of the idea for an future that has yet to even exist or happen yet. *Smh* I learned this from the book I just finished called "The Mountain of You". We can't predict the future and the worst-outcomes, only to react to them if and when they occur.

Even if the business failed and didn't not make a profit for the first month, I would still act, assess, and adjust if the idea was soft proven or if their was a small sample of a payment validation from a single user or person.

I took the liberty to contact Steven VanCauwenbergh, surprisingly he was very friendly and we had like a 5-10 minute conversation. Dudes definitely a go getter and he recently did a episode on how he would start a business. Maybe it would valuable, here it is:

#725 My take on starting a business

Listen to this episode from Savvy Radio Show on Spotify. 1-Write the concepts 2-Why 3-Market 4-Demographics 5-Research. Will it work? 6-Competition 7-R&D 8-Proof 9-Make a sale. A-Belief B-Concerns C-Ask. Do you have any ideas/questions? Share some feedback go to www.savvypodcast.com

open.spotify.com

He basically told me I should do Arbritage to help get out/finish the debt and to not be afraid of private lending. His point about how he would build a business was to take action immediately and see if your friends and family would buy into the business you're wanting to start. Exchanging value in this case.

But in short, I've learned that from several people that I was a very smart dude, I just lacked consistency and action.

MJ mentions a book called "The One Thng", which surprisingly is interesting I read this book before reading Unscripted a second time (I definitely needed to read it a second-time). This could help someone create a direction to achieve your goal maybe even help creating a plan of action and a series of tasks to complete for each business you try. The book is well worth a read. I bet GoalSumo.com is also probably basis on the premise of this book as well automatic habits combined.

 

[Kak]

I know I don't have any room to give advice here as I am probably nowhere near where you guys are at. But I assume the premise of this post is giving advice for fellow entrepreneur's to not money chase, to understand that their is a process to any venture, and that you need to keep swinging at the plate even after if you tried 3 to 4 businesses.

I will put myself out here and be honest with what's going on with me that I have learned the hardway and that was my lack of action, lack of consistency, basically doing a lot of macro-events before macro-processes.

I also made a huge assumption with the newsletter Aggregator business, my mind got scared of the all of the negative possibilities of what could go wrong just because of a past event that occurred to. My brain was coming up with ways to back out of the idea for an future that has yet to even exist or happen yet. *Smh* I learned this from the book I just finished called "The Mountain of You". We can't predict the future and the worst-outcomes, only to react to them if and when they occur.

Even if the business failed and didn't not make a profit for the first month, I would still act, assess, and adjust if the idea was soft proven or if their was a small sample of a payment validation from a single user or person.

I took the liberty to contact Steven VanCauwenbergh, surprisingly he was very friendly and we had like a 5-10 minute conversation. Dudes definitely a go getter and he recently did a episode on how he would start a business. Maybe it would valuable, here it is:

#725 My take on starting a business

Listen to this episode from Savvy Radio Show on Spotify. 1-Write the concepts 2-Why 3-Market 4-Demographics 5-Research. Will it work? 6-Competition 7-R&D 8-Proof 9-Make a sale. A-Belief B-Concerns C-Ask. Do you have any ideas/questions? Share some feedback go to www.savvypodcast.com

open.spotify.com

He basically told me I should do Arbritage to help get out/finish the debt and to not be afraid of private lending. His point about how he would build a business was to take action immediately and see if your friends and family would buy into the business you're wanting to start. Exchanging value in this case.

But in short, I've learned that from several people that I was a very smart dude, I just lacked consistency and action.

MJ mentions a book called "The One Thng", which surprisingly is interesting I read this book before reading Unscripted a second time (I definitely needed to read it a second-time). This could help someone create a direction to achieve your goal maybe even help creating a plan of action and a series of tasks to complete for each business you try. The book is well worth a read. I bet GoalSumo.com is also probably basis on the premise of this book as well automatic habits combined.

I love Steven. That guy is awesome.

@Boom

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Yeah, but you and I are still driving metaphorical corvettes with our agencies.

I don’t get it Bizy, why do you say that? I shared the math and the numbers above. 1000 clients = $1M/mo at a 70% margin. Cut 20% off from that to account for ads and things that aren’t in place atm… still it’s 50%.

1000 clients still means a tiny percentage of the available market. Around 1% to be exact. 10x that and you get to $10M/mo with 10% of the available market. Run that for 1-year and you put what, $60 million profit in your pocket . Every year.

How is that NOT a Bugatti?

Idk why some of the guys here disrespect online business. But ask yourself this question: why do you think the gurus, who are experts in their field, go and start into coaching/courses/training?

I will give you an example of a business whose numbers I was privy to. I will not tell the name of the business openly, but if you’re curious DM me and I’ll let you know.

These guys were selling trading education & info products. They had 25 products, and every month they’d move from marketing one product to marketing the other. Over 12 months, they were bringing in $100M in revenue. Can you imagine? $100M in revenue from selling info products… Now I don’t know their margin, but I imagine it was 30%+ at least…

How is that NOT the most profitable business model? What other business do you know that can create that kind of money in CASH, apart from drug-dealing, crime, or owning the Facebooks/Microsofts of this world? Hopefully now you understand why the gurus are doing it. There’s nothing like it when it comes to profit potential, so quickly, so fast.

Grit. You must have it.

Yes dude… of course you must have it. I’ve been in the agency world for 12+ years to be able to own the kinda business I do today. So I’m not sure why you’re telling me that, or why you think I don’t value process, etc etc.

I’m simply saying that for people who want to make their money FAST, much faster than me, being smart about it is even more important than grit.

Grit by itself is the LONG road to success. Even MTF himself, he doesn’t have a profitable business atm, he’s still trying to find one. He used to be bringing in $500K+/yr in profits, but not anymore. I have no doubt he will ultimately be successful, but it’s a long road.

Also, as a note to everyone — this is a MINDSET thread. It’s not a “give me the details of what business to start and the exact steps” as @thechosen1 seems to think in his prior criticsm. Let’s please try to stick to the topic.

The mindset I talk about will be very useful to people who want to get rich in their 20s. That’s who it is for. If you’re a 40-60 yo grandpa, probably not so useful for you, no disrespect.

 

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[Timmy C]

Cheers man.
1 week left until I quit.
Don't wanna waste any time.

 

[MitchC]

I have to wholeheartedly agree with the first half and the premise of this post.

There should almost be an instant validation to a good business.

I don’t think that necessarily means it’s profitable in the first month, but certainly people should be interested, signing up, etc.

There should be a good spark of validation.

Too many new people waste time on ideas that nobody really wants, trying to make them work. Oh if I just finish this, or add that, maybe people will want it.

I think this quote is relevant to what I’m saying, but it also highlights another good point you made in the OP.

“I want execution risk, not market fit risk”

Meaning that the question should not be “does the market want this?” but “can I execute on this?”

Now the problem this highlights is that a first time entrepreneur may not be the person who can actually execute on this.

So I guess the point about the idea being such a gold mine any retard could run it applies here.

Good post, but man your writing style is abrasive. I guess you got a lot of engagement?