The Small Business/Entrepreneur Thread

[Lockout Casualty]

That's dangerous. You know anyone like that who are successful? You would get owned by the programmers and you end up working for them if you are not educated yourself.

The more I know about being an entrepreneur, the more I realize being this 'jack of all trades and master of none' is not necessarily the best advice. It will get you somewhere but it likely won't make you very successful. I'm like that, but after self-employing for 6 years now it's still struggle to get bigger projects and do spectacular things.

You need to know one thing that most people don't know really well for customers / clients to seek you out. This is how one becomes successful - you can do something they can't find anywhere else.

Not directly, no. However, I've known of people who have done as little as purchase code and add some skins to make thousands off a generic mobile game that exists in 7 variations with identical gameplay. I'm not saying it's easy (and maybe a mobile games studio wasn't the best example), I'm just making a point about business in general. One doesn't need to be a professional in any given field, at least for the vast majority of industries.

I disagree with your notion that one needs to know something really well. If you're building a self employed business and market your own skills, then you're absolutely right. If you're looking to build a business that doesn't rely on a person, but on the service/product, then you're absolutely wrong. Of course like any rule there are exceptions, like BabychStash. It would be nigh on impossible to open a business in his industry without knowing the industry in depth. This is because without being in such a unique industry, spotting the opportunity is impossible. For vast majority of businesses though, I it's not necessary.

Take my cleaning business for example. Most people know how to clean and there are tons of businesses out there, big and small that offer the service. I wasn't a specialist in cleaning out gutters and pressure washing, but I know marketing better than the average person, and so when I took over the business my first priority wasn't to be the best cleaner I could be, but to create an image for the company that gave people confidence. I renamed the company, re-branded, got a cargo van and decals, etc., and we went from a "guys with pressure washer" image to "uniformed employees in a large (supposedly), reputable company". Not to say we were an overnight success, we weren't. In fact, I became extremely unmotivated because my partner was more than just dead weight, and our relationship deteriorated after the first year to the point the SOB owes me over 10k and I have given up trying to get anything out of him. However, our number of jobs, as well as revenue per job went up quite a bit after I brought in said changes.

Another example is my product that I intend to bring to market in the future. It's a kitchen product that I'd never use myself, however its popularity has been growing over the last two years. And while I intended to simply private label such a product, my partner re-imagined it and improved on the original designs in functionality, ease of use, ease of storage, etc.. Suddenly we have a unique product that does what neither of us cares for, but millions of others do. Do I need to be a chef or a marketer to sell it effectively? I think it's the latter.

Marketing is the name of the game as a businessman. If you can market, you can sell snow in Winnipeg in January. Just add some food coloring and sugar.

Without knowing a whole lot about you except that we have many similar opinions on a lot of stuff (gong by our posts on CDC), I will hazard a guess and say you've been working on a local business (or one with very limited reach) that you're funding yourself from operating profits. I also saw you're learning programming (I did too, but didn't get very far because I realized I can hire a programmer instead. I did get to Hello World! in Python and C++). If you have an app idea that you want to bring to life, I would suggest finding a programmer and partnering up. It'll save you time, make you money faster, and with the right partner, could provide another perspective that you may not even consider. Also, if it's an app you feel you can create by learning a little programming, that means anyone can do it and with any marginal success you'll drown in clones. If it's an app that requires solid CS skills, you're going to be learning for a long time before you're competent enough to even get off the ground. Obviously take this as advice on a forum from someone who knows next to nothing about your situation, lol. Just my thoughts.

[BabychStache]

I work full time for a charter airline as an aircraft Mechanic, but also have been running my own business doing maintenance on private planes. It's really tough to build eneough clientele to make it my sole source of income. Most advertising is done by word of mouth and me driving to all the tiny airports within 150KMs of Calgary and putting up flyers and business cards. I have a list of regulars but am really having trouble adding clients so that I can get my own hangar and go full time. I've also added small engine repair(mowers, quads, boats, etc) to my business, which helps but I'd really like to focus on aviation.

Can anyone give me advice on how best to seek out financing? I need more info on investors or loans. I have some leads on some contracts to do heavy checks, engine overhauls and engine component overhauls for some small and medium airlines and air survey business. Only problem is I need capital to get a lease on a hangar, and get the specialized tooling required. If anyone can point me in the right direction for finding investors or how to go about convincing a bank to loan me some cash. $100,000 is what I've worked out I need to start out. I've got a really in depth business plan written out that covers every aspect from market research, worst case, break even and best case scenarios, details on contract leads, plans to get my feet on the ground, a 2 year plan to start out, and a 5 year plan, as well as an expansion plan beyond the 5 year mark. I would aim to repay the investment within the first 2-2.5 years.

Could any knowledgeable entrepreunears here help me out with how to seek investmentors or bank loans? Which is better and why?

DM sent.

[Hugor Hill]

Not directly, no. However, I've known of people who have done as little as purchase code and add some skins to make thousands off a generic mobile game that exists in 7 variations with identical gameplay. I'm not saying it's easy (and maybe a mobile games studio wasn't the best example), I'm just making a point about business in general. One doesn't need to be a professional in any given field, at least for the vast majority of industries.

I disagree with your notion that one needs to know something really well. If you're building a self employed business and market your own skills, then you're absolutely right. If you're looking to build a business that doesn't rely on a person, but on the service/product, then you're absolutely wrong. Of course like any rule there are exceptions, like BabychStash. It would be nigh on impossible to open a business in his industry without knowing the industry in depth. This is because without being in such a unique industry, spotting the opportunity is impossible. For vast majority of businesses though, I it's not necessary.

Take my cleaning business for example. Most people know how to clean and there are tons of businesses out there, big and small that offer the service. I wasn't a specialist in cleaning out gutters and pressure washing, but I know marketing better than the average person, and so when I took over the business my first priority wasn't to be the best cleaner I could be, but to create an image for the company that gave people confidence. I renamed the company, re-branded, got a cargo van and decals, etc., and we went from a "guys with pressure washer" image to "uniformed employees in a large (supposedly), reputable company". Not to say we were an overnight success, we weren't. In fact, I became extremely unmotivated because my partner was more than just dead weight, and our relationship deteriorated after the first year to the point the SOB owes me over 10k and I have given up trying to get anything out of him. However, our number of jobs, as well as revenue per job went up quite a bit after I brought in said changes.

Another example is my product that I intend to bring to market in the future. It's a kitchen product that I'd never use myself, however its popularity has been growing over the last two years. And while I intended to simply private label such a product, my partner re-imagined it and improved on the original designs in functionality, ease of use, ease of storage, etc.. Suddenly we have a unique product that does what neither of us cares for, but millions of others do. Do I need to be a chef or a marketer to sell it effectively? I think it's the latter.

Marketing is the name of the game as a businessman. If you can market, you can sell snow in Winnipeg in January. Just add some food coloring and sugar.

Without knowing a whole lot about you except that we have many similar opinions on a lot of stuff (gong by our posts on CDC), I will hazard a guess and say you've been working on a local business (or one with very limited reach) that you're funding yourself from operating profits. I also saw you're learning programming (I did too, but didn't get very far because I realized I can hire a programmer instead. I did get to Hello World! in Python and C++). If you have an app idea that you want to bring to life, I would suggest finding a programmer and partnering up. It'll save you time, make you money faster, and with the right partner, could provide another perspective that you may not even consider. Also, if it's an app you feel you can create by learning a little programming, that means anyone can do it and with any marginal success you'll drown in clones. If it's an app that requires solid CS skills, you're going to be learning for a long time before you're competent enough to even get off the ground. Obviously take this as advice on a forum from someone who knows next to nothing about your situation, lol. Just my thoughts.

Yes. You are right on all points. Big differences between being a freelancer / solopreneur to building a business.

You made a very good guess at what I do. My market is local. Video production. Technology is slowly squeezing my profits down. Barrier of entry is lower than ever. Guys can spend $1000 on a DSLR, rip an editing software and call themselves videographers.

Specialists in my field gets to be part of bigger projects, like well-funded commercials for larger companies, or the movies. I'm a jack of all trades so I get the 3 to 4 digits corporate work. I managed to do it consistently unlike some of my peers who rely on friends to get them contract work. However, my marketing effort is yielding less and less results than it did in the past. Coupled with lower profit margins, I do not see this as profitable in the long run. It might end up in a place similar to what photography is now. As of the time of this post, I'm being asked to do something for $500 that I would normally charge around $1500 and provide a much better quality.

So I'm starting to learn programming. I have an app idea but I don't expect it to yield me money directly. Instead it should serve as a portfolio of what I can do, and earn myself contract works that way. If I were to partner with a programmer for my app, even if I expect to make money from it, the programmer will quickly realize that I'm not needed. Have you seen The Social Network?

So yeah I'm not trying to 'build' a business like you are with your cleaning business. It takes a lot of startup capital which I don't have and I deem a waste of money for my current industry.

[Lockout Casualty]

Yes. You are right on all points. Big differences between being a freelancer / solopreneur to building a business.

You made a very good guess at what I do. My market is local. Video production. Technology is slowly squeezing my profits down. Barrier of entry is lower than ever. Guys can spend $1000 on a DSLR, rip an editing software and call themselves videographers.

Specialists in my field gets to be part of bigger projects, like well-funded commercials for larger companies, or the movies. I'm a jack of all trades so I get the 3 to 4 digits corporate work. I managed to do it consistently unlike some of my peers who rely on friends to get them contract work. However, my marketing effort is yielding less and less results than it did in the past. Coupled with lower profit margins, I do not see this as profitable in the long run. It might end up in a place similar to what photography is now. As of the time of this post, I'm being asked to do something for $500 that I would normally charge around $1500 and provide a much better quality.

So I'm starting to learn programming. I have an app idea but I don't expect it to yield me money directly. Instead it should serve as a portfolio of what I can do, and earn myself contract works that way. If I were to partner with a programmer for my app, even if I expect to make money from it, the programmer will quickly realize that I'm not needed. Have you seen The Social Network?

So yeah I'm not trying to 'build' a business like you are with your cleaning business. It takes a lot of startup capital which I don't have and I deem a waste of money for my current industry.

Have you thought about writing an e-book on video production to help the amateurs that are cutting into your business? I don't know what the demand is like or anything, but hypothetically could be a way to make money in the industry, and it would be a passive source of income. Just a thought.

My opinion is that ideas are a dime a dozen, and they're all worthless. What counts is the execution. Facebook wasn't the first social network, but they squeezed out MySpace that had millions of users like they were nothing. Why? Because they executed better. Same can be said for just about any industry anywhere. If you're worried about having your idea stolen, protect yourself, consult a lawyer (30 min. free in Canada). I'm just saying don't write off the concept because you're worried about your idea. Your idea is worthless until it's not an idea anymore, and when it's not an idea anymore, you won't be the only one on the market. Whether it's a former partner or a copycat is irrelevant.

By the way, learning programming so you can get contract work sounds like exactly what you're doing now, and looking at the perils you're facing, I must ask why. The future is unpredictable, who knows where AI goes in the next 20 years. There's a real chance you could end up in the same situation you are in now.

Not everyone has a goal of building a multimillion dollar business, but if you'd like to do less scrambling for clients and more enjoying your time, I would say there are better ways to go about it. I'll go out on a limb and suggest reading The Millionaire Fastlane. This book changed my life. Half way through it I already knew I was wasting my time with the cleaning business. Here are a few businesses that were started by people from the Millionaire Fastlane forum (I found this very motivating and inspirational):

http://iwear8.com/ - this gave me an idea for a product that could have ridiculous potential. I haven't pursued it yet, but it's been in the back of my mind for months. Started by a guy in Toronto.

http://stayblcam.com/ - this is the product of my current business coach/mentor. Big reason why I'm going to head to Scottsdale, AZ for a few months in August.

http://www.thepaintbrushcover.com/ - The best of all. This product is now in every Home Depot in the US and Canada. The true example of success. Started by a NY volunteer fire fighter. Also became the first product in history of Shark Tank to be co-branded with them.

All these people have progress threads on the forum where they, in various degrees of depth, describe how they started, what they're doing, etc..

I'm in no way affiliated with the forum or the book by the way. Just giving a little more background about the path I've gone through. Like any book, you can get what you want out of it. It could a waste of time, or it could be revolutionary.

[Hugor Hill]

Have you thought about writing an e-book on video production to help the amateurs that are cutting into your business? I don't know what the demand is like or anything, but hypothetically could be a way to make money in the industry, and it would be a passive source of income. Just a thought.

My opinion is that ideas are a dime a dozen, and they're all worthless. What counts is the execution. Facebook wasn't the first social network, but they squeezed out MySpace that had millions of users like they were nothing. Why? Because they executed better. Same can be said for just about any industry anywhere. If you're worried about having your idea stolen, protect yourself, consult a lawyer (30 min. free in Canada). I'm just saying don't write off the concept because you're worried about your idea. Your idea is worthless until it's not an idea anymore, and when it's not an idea anymore, you won't be the only one on the market. Whether it's a former partner or a copycat is irrelevant.

By the way, learning programming so you can get contract work sounds like exactly what you're doing now, and looking at the perils you're facing, I must ask why. The future is unpredictable, who knows where AI goes in the next 20 years. There's a real chance you could end up in the same situation you are in now.

Not everyone has a goal of building a multimillion dollar business, but if you'd like to do less scrambling for clients and more enjoying your time, I would say there are better ways to go about it. I'll go out on a limb and suggest reading The Millionaire Fastlane. This book changed my life. Half way through it I already knew I was wasting my time with the cleaning business. Here are a few businesses that were started by people from the Millionaire Fastlane forum (I found this very motivating and inspirational):

http://iwear8.com/ - this gave me an idea for a product that could have ridiculous potential. I haven't pursued it yet, but it's been in the back of my mind for months. Started by a guy in Toronto.

http://stayblcam.com/ - this is the product of my current business coach/mentor. Big reason why I'm going to head to Scottsdale, AZ for a few months in August.

http://www.thepaintbrushcover.com/ - The best of all. This product is now in every Home Depot in the US and Canada. The true example of success. Started by a NY volunteer fire fighter. Also became the first product in history of Shark Tank to be co-branded with them.

All these people have progress threads on the forum where they, in various degrees of depth, describe how they started, what they're doing, etc..

I'm in no way affiliated with the forum or the book by the way. Just giving a little more background about the path I've gone through. Like any book, you can get what you want out of it. It could a waste of time, or it could be revolutionary.

The ebook thing is a good idea. A friend of mine has suggested that to me in the past. In the past, I was less confident, but now that I'm more experienced and skilled. It seems like the right time to go ahead and pursue that. Hey, I can make my own website for it!

You are perhaps right about ideas being worthless... the 'idea' I have is already out there on your App Store or Play Store, but the reviews are overwhelmingly negative due to technical problems and IMO bad branding design. The guy who funded this app wronged me, so I have added motivation. But I'm no where near capable of building it yet.

From my brief time in studying programming, it is not likely to have such low barrier of entry any time soon. Though you do get that WYSIWYG web design stuff like Wix and others, this crap in general is hard, especially if you start looking at enterprise level server side functionalities, and predictive analytics. Admittedly this crap is very hard, but that's a good thing. With film production, it is mostly about who's got bigger guns and who's got more friends. And you know what's sad? I get more people cold calling me asking for work than I get from prospects, and no my website doesn't say I'm hiring.

So I bought that book you suggested on Kindle. One click and I got myself an e-book for $6! Yay programming! I will let you know once I have an opinion of it.

[Lockout Casualty]

The ebook thing is a good idea. A friend of mine has suggested that to me in the past. In the past, I was less confident, but now that I'm more experienced and skilled. It seems like the right time to go ahead and pursue that. Hey, I can make my own website for it!

You are perhaps right about ideas being worthless... the 'idea' I have is already out there on your App Store or Play Store, but the reviews are overwhelmingly negative due to technical problems and IMO bad branding design. The guy who funded this app wronged me, so I have added motivation. But I'm no where near capable of building it yet.

From my brief time in studying programming, it is not likely to have such low barrier of entry any time soon. Though you do get that WYSIWYG web design stuff like Wix and others, this crap in general is hard, especially if you start looking at enterprise level server side functionalities, and predictive analytics. Admittedly this crap is very hard, but that's a good thing. With film production, it is mostly about who's got bigger guns and who's got more friends. And you know what's sad? I get more people cold calling me asking for work than I get from prospects, and no my website doesn't say I'm hiring.

So I bought that book you suggested on Kindle. One click and I got myself an e-book for $6! Yay programming! I will let you know once I have an opinion of it.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Another point related to your idea is that majority of businesses improve on what's already out there. I read about a guy who makes six figures selling a Spanish bible app. Ironically, he's an atheist who noticed that all Spanish bibles had low reviews. Seriously, the guy sells the oldest book in the world in a language he doesn't speak, for a religion he doesn't believe in, and makes a hell of a good living. Talk about not being married to what you do. Or how about this guy? He takes badly reviewed products that have a market, improves on the deficiencies, and beats the competition. And generates a hell of a profit (nine figures in sales revenues, heh).

By the way, selling on Amazon is what I'm getting into right now. I've watched and read so much about it since I read the book, and felt like I had it 80% down, but lacked the other 20. Then on the forum I found my current mentor. As a result, over the last two weeks I've gotten further in this than I have over the previous year. Like I said, changed my life, lol.

Anyway, hope you find the book useful. It's definitely no Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I'll tell you that much.