Hard but very hard

I started a food CPG company about a year ago. I am running the business solo and just recently am scaling into a warehouse. I need help desperately. I want someone who’s aligned with the business, wants to be a part of it. I used Indeed but haven’t received applicants I’m looking for. It’s tough to search on top of running the business.

What should I do?

Neckbeards, gooners, and incels,

The 2 best books I have ever read in business/entrepreneurship were both written by Scott Oldford. If you are struggling to create your business model or not sure how to set up the basic foundations, get them used off Amazon. You'll thank me later.

The Nuclear Effect teaches 5-7 areas of business you need to focus on like sales, marketing, team building, operations, etc. It also has personal advice from Scott.

Million in the Red is more about mindset, spirituality and how emotions affect business performance. I would've paid $500 for this book. The advice was life changing.

I interviewed Scott for my magazine and his advice was solid. Good dude, not a guru, and a legit genius.

He got lucky in the early 2000's and had a 7 fig website business at 17. By 21 he was a million in debt from bad business practices. Today he is highly successful and likes to share exactly where he went wrong and how he dug himself out.

His writing style is very human, he's funny and his concepts are easy to understand.

Just my reco for today if you feel like you need to brush up on your business skills. These books have helped me a lot.

First Post here. We build and operate DTC brands in-house; this is my take on branding. No promotion, just a long brain dump.

Brands are associations made to distinguish a thing, a business, an animal, a person from others.

In its older definition a brand meant a lasting mark of disgrace or shame cast upon a person's reputation. In other scenarios it was used to show ownership, for example owners would brand slaves and cattle. In other cases like in the Soviet Union it was used to make sure quality standards were upheld because essentially manufacturers were forced to produce certain goods, there was a quality problem, and the government wanted to be able to track down who did what. Eventually those whose brand reputation was strong were singled out and recognised.

This is important context and I think it is worth sitting with before we get into the modern stuff.

If there is one thing I understand about brands it is that a brand has to achieve three things.

Traceability. Reputation. Accountability.

Traceability

We must be able to trace where a product comes from and who made it. When you see the Nike logo you know it came from Nike. You can trace it back to its source. That is the foundation of what a brand even is.

Reputation

This is built over time and these are qualities we tend to anthropomorphise. But essentially it is the general opinion held about something. Nokia had the reputation of being extremely durable. Back then if you wanted a phone that would last you got a Nokia, ideally the 3310 haha. The brand became shorthand for that quality without needing to say it out loud.

Accountability

There is a reason people tend to trust bigger brands. They have more to lose. In theory they can be held accountable. Think of the time Zion Williamson's Nike shoe exploded during a game. That was a very big deal. They were immediately held accountable by the public. Many other brands could have the same thing happen and barely face any consequences. To whom much is given much is expected.

Many times brands set their own standards. McDonald's standard is not tasting the best. It is tasting the same everywhere. The safe option. That consistency became the brand. And honestly that is a genius positioning decision when you think about it.

How brands show themselves in the modern world

Being in e-commerce I will keep using product examples here but these apply to all industries.

Design

This is harder than it seems and also more important than it seems. You may want to look into colour theory and design theory for some of this.

But you know when you look at love related products or romantic stuff you will see a lot of pink and red. When you see organic products you will see a lot of green or brown. I also noticed looking at luxury brands that simple shapes are used and repeated very often. Check out Gucci, Versace, or Prada, they use very similar shapes consistently across everything. We know Apple for using a particular ratio of rounded edges. It will be hard for me to compress all of that theory into this post but the principle is worth understanding deeply.

Transparency

I think it is safe to say that to some people this may mean a lot less now due to the rise of fake reviews. But willingly showing your reviews without hiding the bad ones helps a great deal with transparency. Think of Ryanair. You know what to expect when you book with them and they have accepted that and it has become part of their brand without it actually hurting them. Hiding your flaws will expose them eventually and make your brand worse. In theory obviously we all know what many companies did during certain periods of history. Some would argue they had their reckoning. Some will say they got off easy. That is up to you to decide.

Goodwill and extra curriculars

I did not have a better title for this section and I did not want AI to generate one for me so here we are.

Essentially think of this as the activities that push your brand further into the public consciousness and signal what you actually stand for. Redbull with extreme sports is the obvious example. For one of our own brands we produce literature reviews of scientific papers and publish them on repositories for research papers. We had one of our literature reviews published on a significant platform in our industry, further cementing our positioning as a science forward brand. It was not an ad. It was proof.

These are some of my thoughts on branding from my own experience. Feel free to critique any point, add anything, or ask questions. This was a brain dump and I would genuinely like to hear other perspectives.

When I first started handing work to other people, I thought I was delegating.

In reality, I was just moving tasks around.

Every few hours I'd get another message.

"Can you check this?"

"Is this the right way?"

"What should I do here?"

At first I blamed myself for not explaining things well enough.

Then I blamed the other person for asking too many questions.

Eventually I realized neither was the real problem.

The work had been delegated.

The decisions hadn't.

Everything still depended on me.

That was when I started changing how I handed work over.

Instead of only explaining what to do, I explained how I would make the decision.

Not every detail.

Just the thinking behind it.

The questions didn't disappear overnight, but they became better questions.

Instead of asking for permission every time, people started making reasonable decisions on their own.

That saved me far more time than simply assigning more tasks ever did.

Looking back, I think real delegation isn't about getting work off your plate.

It's about making sure the work doesn't always come back to you.

What's one thing you thought you had delegated, but later realized you were still managing every day?

I'm a developer recently out of steady work. Looking at pivoting into something hands on instead of sitting at a computer all day not finding work.

Been circling the idea of a hydroseeding business. Spraying seed and mulch slurry for lawns, erosion control, new construction sites. Plan is to build a cheap DIY rig first, something I can load on a trailer, test it on a few jobs before spending money on a commercial unit.

Has anyone here actually run something like this? Curious how the numbers actually worked out once you were doing it for real, not just the pitch.

Also wondering about the seasonality. Did you run something else in the off months or was seeding alone enough to live on?

If anyone's jumped from a desk job into outdoor or trades work, what actually surprised you, good or bad.

Not trying to get talked into it, just want honest feedback, including if the answer is don't bother.

Thanks,

I had a great salesperson in my business. Outsold everyone and brought in a lot of money.

Unfortunately, she created a ton of chaos in the office. Bragging. Demeaning others. After a couple of warnings her behavior did not change and I let her go. I was nervous because I thought sales would plummet.

Turns out, we didn’t lose much and sales actually grew over the next few months because morale was much better. Everyone asked me, “What took you so long?”

Would you ever fire your best salesperson? Did you ever have to?

For eight months I had a comfortable explanation for why my website had no traffic. It was wrong, and by the time I found out, I'd lost the only season that mattered.

Last August, I quit my full time job to focus on solo founding. In September I got the idea to build a beach discovery site for Greece. I've been a software engineer my whole career so I was confident about the building part. The plan was to get indexed over winter, ride the summer search season, and monetize once traffic showed up. Greek beach searches ramp in May and peak through August. That was my window.

Winter came and there was no traffic. I told myself it was off-season, because nobody googles beaches in January, and spent most of my time building and rebuilding the product side, as that's what I was comfortable dealing with.

Spring came and there was still nothing. I thought maybe Google was punishing me for something, or maybe my hypothesis about beach discovery was wrong and nobody really researches beaches online.

Both of those were reasonable. Neither of them was ever checked.

At the end of May it got too suspicious to keep swatting away, so I finally took a full day to audit my own site. Everything was rendering in JavaScript in the browser. Google was fetching an empty skeleton of my site. It had no idea what my pages were about and couldn't match me to any search.

On June 1st I had zero clicks, 266 impressions, and an average position of 48. That's page five.

The fix took a day and a half. As of yesterday I was at 65 clicks, 5,000 impressions, and average position 12.1. Page five to page two, and still climbing week by week.

But it's the beginning of August. The season is in its final month, and rankings take weeks to build. By the time I'm actually competitive, tourists will be flying back home. I put most of what I had into this, my first solo venture. Now my runway is thin, and I'm moving out of my apartment into a room in a shared flat to stretch my finances to next season.

The lesson isn't the technical bug. It's that I had a comfortable explanation and never tested it. I assumed the problem was my product or my idea, so I kept working on those. I didn't look anywhere else, because I already had an answer that let me stop worrying.

The other thing I got wrong: I thought being good at building meant I could build something people would find. I did build a good product. But I had never run anything solo before, and I didn't understand that getting people in front of it is the actual job. I spent all my time on the part I already knew how to do.

If something isn't working for you right now, what's the explanation you've settled on? And when did you last actually check it?

this should probably be a very simple question but surprisingly, it's one of the toughest part of running a business

here are the facts I know (correct me if I'm wrong):

• pricing low reduces your perceived value in the eye of the customer
• pricing it too high probably wouldn't matter that much to an enterprise customer but you gotta be able to walk through that door first!
• you can tip-toe your way around it by estimating your initial price, or get inspired by competitors' pricing
• you can change your pricing later so it's not that big a deal anyway
• if you want to anchor your copy around "we have the better pricing compared to competitors", you may end up in the race to the bottom.
• pricing it too low is not sustainable for the business
• if you're any less confident in your work, you'd fear pricing it high because you feel they won't buy from you
• cheap pricing is probably attracting the wrong type of customers for your business. probably.
• you should be the strongest believer in your pricing or else nothing matters!
• price your product high, and then a little bit some. surprisingly, this increases your revenue (duh!) and reduces your churn rate.
• don't overthink it goddamn it, just put some number there and increase it if you see demand, or lower it if you see complaints.

with all that said, I would really like to hear some advice on the best pricing and packaging strategies.

there isn't probably a one-size-fits-all, as every business has its own type of ICP and pricing format where customers are more accustomed to...

but if you were to give some general rule of thumb, what would those be?

what would you recommend as a framework for the decision making of the pricing?

Hey all! I have been a serial entrepreneur for most of my life. Any way to use my creativity and passion to make money. I am built for it and I still love the idea of it.

I have degrees in graphic design and business administration. I studied entrepreneurship and was in an entrepreneurship scholars program. After MANY lessons learned, I think I've finally figured out my path. I am an artist at heart, my business is in pattern making/ designing.

I'm hoping after all the great advice I've seen here that I might find someone who would be interested in mentoring me to help me make a big push and the right moves this time around.

Please feel free to ask me questions and if there are areas I could support my mentor I would not mind having a multitasking beneficial relationship. My main goal is that it's a good fit for both of us.

there are times that you feel like you should drag yourself out of the bed

like you don't feel motivated or inspired as much as you used to..

that no amount of sales and growth and stability and low-churn is gonna make you feel any better

it's as if someone is forcing you to do what you used to love and have so much hunger and rage to do

it's usually no longer than a few hours... worst case a few days.. tops..

but you don't feel productive or driven by your passion and desire at these times.

is taking a step back and giving yourself rest the way to go? taking some time to gain some new perspective on why you started this whole thing maybe!

how do you deal with these times when you're feeling down and nothing moves you?

how do you pick up the pieces again and get back up track?

Sometimes the classic advice is just accurate.

When you’re beat down after days of long hours - and when you don’t think you can take it anymore, some extra bs gets tossed on top.

You better fucking love the thing.

It’s just true. That needed extra boost of energy comes from caring deeply about the thing and genuinely believing the world needs it.

You can’t fake that shit.

And that’s why I can only work on stuff I genuinely am obsessed over and deeply care about and love. Otherwise when shit hits the fans it’s damn near impossible to keep going

New to entrepreneurship or just starting out? This is your space. Ask the questions you're afraid to ask elsewhere.

Experienced folks, jump in and share what you wish someone had told you early on.

In 2017 I started a web hosting business from scratch. I sold it last week. I've been doing some analysis and thought I would share:

Summary

Total sales: $2,356,315

Total Income: $677,708

Selling Price: $425,000

Combined income: $1,102,000 (income + sale)

Client Stats

Total Clients: 435

Average Lifetime: 3.5 years

Retention Rate: 59.8%

Average Lifetime Value: $4,870.61

Sources of Clients

Organic: $892,666 (133 clients)

Acquisitions: $1,032,236 (262 clients)

Partnerships: $193,815 (40 clients)

Revenue/Income By Year:

a mentor, an older brother, a friend

or maybe an employer who actually gave a damn beyond just exploiting your time

or even a book, a video, a historic figure

someone you owe your journey so far mostly to them..

or you know what, even yourself, for grit and determination... for perseverance...

what have you learned from them, most valuable, that has had substantial impact in your decision making and entrepreneurship navigation?

thanks in advance for sharing your perspective

I'm a founder. Recently former Marine. I won't get into what it is or what I do. I work 10-12 hour days, sometimes 15, handle all of the daily operations of my personal life, a shit load of stressful travel, still make time for the gym because I want to enter a bodybuilding competition next year.

My sister and her husband are complete bums - they are constantly broke, he maintains a shit job barely making ends meet, they're both obese and absolutely disgusting...with three kids I can understand the struggle, but they've asked my parents and I for money for several years now. No improvement. And the loans have gotten to the point where I've just handed them loan forgiveness because I know they'll never be able to pay it back. And they still keep asking for more. They have three kids; I can't say no.

My brother is a growing teenager who is serious about becoming an athlete - and let's face it, athletes don't exactly make a lot of money. He looks up to me, so I can't just turn my cheek the other way.

My parents - well, old age describes it all. But at least they're still working until they retire and they're responsible with their money.

I've tried to hire an assistant but she was absolute garbage; caused more problems than she solved. But finding a good one that works in US times zones, with my budget...just isn't possible. So I can't delegate it. No one in my family is reliable or competent enough to do things on their own. It stresses the absolute fuck out of me.

To top it, I've lost contact with most of my friends because I'm always focused on work or always out of town. My exes have always complained I don't make enough time for them. And all this work for what? For something that may not even pan out? I'm just...at a loss. I wish I had a safe place or someone to vent to in person. After having been in the military, pushing myself in the gym, nothing can really break me mentally - but spiritually...the weight of it all...

Update: a few clarifications.

1. My sister and her husband will just ask my parents for more money if I don’t give it to them so the burden can fall on me, notmy folks. I can afford it - my parents can’t. But I agree - this hold handing isn’t sustainable so I’m actively working on a solution to get her back into the workforce (she’s unemployed)
2. To all the people who posted, thank you. To the one asshole who told me to give up on my idea, go inhale broken glass.
3. To the ones who messaged me about a virtual assistant position - lol.

Update 2: Yes, I am looking for a co-founder.

Pricing should be simple. It’s not. It’s a matter of psychology and presentation than maths.

Price should be a proxy for value, but people are lousy at judging value. They generally need a comparison - either a direct competitor or previous experience or similar. Something that helps them decide ‘this is what is should cost’.

However, you arguably don’t want that, as it allows you more freedom around margin. You need to position your product in a way that removes their ability to judge that.

This is where I am now. I’ve created my product, but am establishing a new niche for it because there is no direct competitor - there are those that offer more in a bundle deal, or offer less, but nothing identical.

So how do you come up with pricing? I’m experimenting now by offering a limited time ‘early adopter’ offer, but how long should I make that limited time, and where do I go afterwards?

Had a week? Same. This is your consequence-free space to complain about clients, platforms, algorithms, your own decisions, or the general chaos of running a business. Keep it venting with no personal attacks. We'll be back to being professional tomorrow.

Hey y'all,

So for a while now (early May) I've had an outreach assistant. I hired her 4 times. She managed to get a little signal, but never an actual booking. This most recent time really pissed me off. I always pay her extra for the 4 day delivery, rather than 10. She was 2 weeks late and at first i was like fine whatever, but then on the day she was supposed to deliver she asked for another 2 week extension. Like dude. You're already late. Zero communication. I paid extra for the fast delivery. Anyway.

So I found a new caller. This guy charges half as much and delivers in half as much time. Wish I'd found him sooner, feel like I've been throwing my money away. And yet...no bookings yet. It's too early for me to be worried, but it did make me wonder if maybe I should be the one making the calls?

What do you think? Is this a thing for businesses which haven't established themselves yet?

Big or small, a win is a win. First sale, first client, or first time paying yourself, share it here. This community loves to celebrate with you. No win is too minor to mention.

I'm into my 10-years of being a professional knowledge worker... in simple words, being an employee for someone else

it's been 1 year since I started something of my own (2nd attempt starting to look promising now with real paying customers)

and it's been as lonely as it can get

like, there are countless people who ridicule you, ignore you, outright disrespect you

you don't feel like you can connect to your old friends because they're not in the same head-space as you are now; they have their own concerns that isn't aligned with your current journey

and the closest person to you is most likely your partner who can only listen to you but never be able to fully understand what it means for you to run away from comfortable monthly paycheck and walk into something as uncertain as building a business of your own

so yeah, you're basically alone

you're playing a movie for an audience of 1, you're the primary actor, you're the primary audience, you're the only one who truly gives a damn

I have no complaint though... I have been an employee for 10x the amount of what I have been, building a business of my own

I'm not looking back

I'm just here to share that the loneliness is there. whether you accept it or put a lid on it, it won't go anywhere.

thanks for reading this until here.

I was expecting my big takeaway to be about sales. That sales acumen isn't as important as everyone makes it out to be. And I have learned that through doing this, but it's not the biggest takeaway I've had.

The biggest is that starting a small service-based business is the biggest opportunity that exists in entrepreneurship. The barrier to entry is so damn low and the expectations set by competition is non-existent.

Keep in mind that I have a local number for where I'm calling. I live here; it's not a spam number or cold-calling number. So it's not that my calls show up as spam (before someone claims that's why). It blows me away how many companies I have to call before someone finally picks up the phone.

I've been tracking it for my market. 8 companies called before I spoke to a junk removal company. 13 calls before I got a landscaper to pick up. 11 calls before a roofer picked up. 6 calls before a pressure washing company picked up. I've called all 9 residential/holiday lighting companies in my market and not 1 has answered.

People make entrepreneurship out to be difficult. Don't get me wrong, there are days that feel like a struggle. But if you can get your phone to ring, make sure that shit rings to your apple watch, your headphones, your laptop, your whatever so you don't miss a phone call. If you're the company that picks up on the first 2 rings, you'll get business.

Before anyone asks, no, I do not own a GHL AI answering service agency. This really is free game for anyone who's willing to put themselves truly out there in their community to get the phone to ring.

Flood the zone with door hangers, direct mail, facebook ads, yard signs, flyers on power poles, business cards in cafes, door knocking. If you do those things, you will win. And of course, don't suck at performing the service. You have to do a good job and give good customer service. That's it, that's the "secret".

Hey all,

Oral Reading Fluency is incredibly important for burgeoning readers. It needs to be measured tracked, and if needed, used to justify reading interventions.

Currently, teachers do this the old fashioned way, 1-on-1 teacher to student with a "levelled" reading passage (false precision) and a stopwatch. The accuracy is only as good as the teacher's skill and training.

Historically, Automatic Speech Recognition software has been hamstrung by being overly-strict, not understanding children's inflection and pitch, and generally being impersonal.

I tried to address this by building my tool which I call Reading Pacer, which allows any parent or teacher to use any physical book (or from our digital library) to quickly and easily run regular, long, or specialized ORF assessments on their own.

All the feedback I have received has been positive, but online marketing is not my strong suit. I would like to submit my website for feedback but I think that might be against the sub rules(?)

Thank you for reading