The Entrepreneur / Business Owner's / Self Employed Lounge
- Thread starter Off The Reservation
- Start date
XXL said:
I agree eventually it would be nice.
Usually topics are given a new section when it is dominate its current home. Take politics, it was flooding the crap out of Everything Else so it was awarded its own section.
I imagine if business and career topics start dominating the Lifestyle forum it will be spun off.
offthereservation said:
Those elevator advertising people harass me all the time. I just don't see how that would work. If yo are alone in the elevator, maybe. If there's other people you just naturally stare at the door.
The company that calls me always wants a big poster on the back wall of the elevator car. The way you get in an elevator just makes that stupid. Do you ever see a group of people standing facing backwards in one? No, you push the button then you face the door.
Those LCD screen ones are in the front, but they are only so big because that's where the sliding elevator door is.
Maybe it would be successful if you put a split down the middle poster on the elevator door, but that's about it.
Aloha!
If you work for yourself, and aren't doing physical work, then the number one tip I'd suggest is that you wear a tie to work everyday.
It is too easy to get up, not bother to shower or shave, throw on a tshirt, deal with a few things whilst you faff about making coffee and reading articles, and just generally have an idle, unproductive, and detrimental start to the day. I guarantee that if you get up early, shower, shave, comb your hair, and put on a shirt and tie that your productivity will increase significantly. This Dan Pena chap is getting a lot of love in the Everything Else section, and one of the things I've not heard him say but that you can see he believes is that if you dress sharply, professionally, then that will affect how you conduct yourself and your business. If you don't take yourself seriously, and present yourself to the world seriously, then that attitude will seep into your day to day business and it will be detrimental.
If you work for yourself, ultimately you are your product. People will buy it based on how you present yourself to them. You're ultimately selling yourself, your integrity and your credibility to people. You are asking them to believe that YOU will deliver what you promise, when you promise. The client is not buying a product, they are buying your ability to honour your word and deliver exactly what you have sold them. If you shag about in jeans and a tshirt, how can you even convince yourself that you really take yourself seriously?
It is too easy to get up, not bother to shower or shave, throw on a tshirt, deal with a few things whilst you faff about making coffee and reading articles, and just generally have an idle, unproductive, and detrimental start to the day. I guarantee that if you get up early, shower, shave, comb your hair, and put on a shirt and tie that your productivity will increase significantly. This Dan Pena chap is getting a lot of love in the Everything Else section, and one of the things I've not heard him say but that you can see he believes is that if you dress sharply, professionally, then that will affect how you conduct yourself and your business. If you don't take yourself seriously, and present yourself to the world seriously, then that attitude will seep into your day to day business and it will be detrimental.
If you work for yourself, ultimately you are your product. People will buy it based on how you present yourself to them. You're ultimately selling yourself, your integrity and your credibility to people. You are asking them to believe that YOU will deliver what you promise, when you promise. The client is not buying a product, they are buying your ability to honour your word and deliver exactly what you have sold them. If you shag about in jeans and a tshirt, how can you even convince yourself that you really take yourself seriously?
storm said:
Re: ties, I think it is far better to take your time with buying them. People really miss a trick when they buy ties. A fine tie collection gives you a great opportunity to discretely show character. It is the height of style and refinement to be able to show flair and imagination within a strict set of rules - much as a poet might show their genius through use of the sonnet form. A classically tailored suit, a white shirt, shiny black shoes, and a fantastic tie with something playful or distinctive as a pattern is far more eye catching and debonair than a gaudy suit, a flash stripe, multicoloured shirt, brown shoes (shudder) or whatever could ever be.
Take your time finding ties, and try to reflect a little of yourself in them.
Anyone here use Kajabi?
Мортен said:
Revenue minus expenses equals profit. If revenue exceeds expenses, you're profitable. The difficulty lies in the assumptions on revenue and expenses. You can guess, or you can create a minimally viable product and take it to market. Pretty obvious which one's the better idea.
H1N1 said:
H1N1 -- I'm a big fan of your posts.
Do you mean public facing work? I'm self-employed in a professional field. I rarely see clients. I convert at least 95 percent of my clients over the phone. I never see these people. There is no way I would wear a tie every day; in fact, I'd get less work done because I'd be uncomfortable. The proof of my professionalism is how I conduct myself. I'm polite, timely, and tell people exactly what to expect. And of course the results I get.
When I do see clients, then naturally I wear a suit. That I agree is a must. But otherwise, I feel like a professional because I am a professional and because I'm held to that standard by my clients.
To avoid loafing around and wasting time, I write down tasks I want to accomplish the night before. I've also figured out when I'm most productive. I do my best work in the morning and I'm somewhat useless in the early afternoon. So I mold my day around that.
eBay Sellers:
How long was it before you found your feet selling on the site? eBay seems a different beast from say 10 years ago.
What's the learning curve like these days?
How long was it before you found your feet selling on the site? eBay seems a different beast from say 10 years ago.
What's the learning curve like these days?
PartManPartMonkey said:
I think the point is not so much to specifically wear a tie, but rather to have some process by which you put on your "work hat" and focus solely on work.
A tie might be the thing for some guys (to remind them that they are in work mode), but if that doesn't work for you, there are other options.
However, if you already have a history of success when working independently as your own boss, you probably don't need to focus on this advice. It's more for guys who are just starting out (like me).
Thatdude
Robin
This shit is no joke, I'm not gonna lie it gets a bit hard to keep your head above water sometimes. Have been starting around 7am the last few weeks and ending closer to 9/10. I enjoy the work but this shit truly is a marathon and not a sprint. Been doing my best to keep my gym/diet regimen in check as if that breaks down so will my body (most likely).
Definitely need someone to help on the back office side of things. The only issue is I'm not at the point where I can pay someone competent to do it. Working on getting some intern help so we'll see how that goes. Sort of at a Catch 22...need help to grow...need to grow to get help.
Tomorrow is another day.
Definitely need someone to help on the back office side of things. The only issue is I'm not at the point where I can pay someone competent to do it. Working on getting some intern help so we'll see how that goes. Sort of at a Catch 22...need help to grow...need to grow to get help.
Tomorrow is another day.
I'm very fortunate. I've invented a niche service that I am uniquely qualified to provide. This is in a field that desperately needs new products, so I'm able to slowly develop and test out products in real conditions as I'm earning money providing a service.
In the next two years, I plan to transition more and more into product development and sales, since that is far more scalable than offering a service.
In the meantime, however, I'm able to work for myself, without the pressure the most new business owners face, since there is strong demand for the service I offer.
In the next two years, I plan to transition more and more into product development and sales, since that is far more scalable than offering a service.
In the meantime, however, I'm able to work for myself, without the pressure the most new business owners face, since there is strong demand for the service I offer.
Thatdude said:
Yeah man, a marathon.
If you count your hours you just might go insane. The trick is to make sure that you give yourself a lot of flexibility. That is the key to happiness, you get to set your own hours and do whatever the fuck you like, when you like, as long as things get done.
If you truly need outside help, you will know it. Its a feeling, one that happens when you know that you have exhausted all avenues and are running as efficiently as possible. You feel almost zen, can see a couple steps ahead and know exactly how to delegate your first hire immediately.
I have seen a lot of guys get overwhelmed, think they need help, hire someone and all they are is a personal assistant to try and help the guy maintain his sanity. A total waste of money.
ElJefe1
Kingfisher
Thatdude said:
Dont waste your time with an intern go on Upwork and find a cheap filipina, or Jamaican its definitely not easy to find that right person but not Impossible I've founda girl that worked for me for three years on Craigslist Manila, and found 10 really quality employees on Upwork over time, at the same time I've found some characters that make my life terrible... With an intern its a temp soltion if you get someone and they will always leave pretty soon so you are back in the same place....
[/quote]Yeah man, a marathon.
If you count your hours you just might go insane. The trick is to make sure that you give yourself a lot of flexibility. That is the key to happiness, you get to set your own hours and do whatever the fuck you like, when you like, as long as things get done.
If you truly need outside help, you will know it. Its a feeling, one that happens when you know that you have exhausted all avenues and are running as efficiently as possible. You feel almost zen, can see a couple steps ahead and know exactly how to delegate your first hire immediately.
I have seen a lot of guys get overwhelmed, think they need help, hire someone and all they are is a personal assistant to try and help the guy maintain his sanity. A total waste of money.[/quote]
I dont totally agree with this I tried to do everything and it just didnt work, my first employee was able to actually do things I didnt have time to do and effectively ie invoicing as a result she found $5k that was owed to me in past invoices and was able to collect. There gets to a point when you simply cannot do it all yourself and ddont panic thinkning you cannot afford to bring someone on as it actuality it maybe you cannot afford to not bring someone on you just dont know it yet. My best experience are people with Kids, wanting kids, or married, they are usually more dependable as they have to work to feed them babies and are more motivated to be at work everyday and doing a great job.
ElJefe1 said:
I dont totally agree with this I tried to do everything and it just didnt work, my first employee was able to actually do things I didnt have time to do and effectively ie invoicing as a result she found $5k that was owed to me in past invoices and was able to collect. There gets to a point when you simply cannot do it all yourself and ddont panic thinkning you cannot afford to bring someone on as it actuality it maybe you cannot afford to not bring someone on you just dont know it yet. My best experience are people with Kids, wanting kids, or married, they are usually more dependable as they have to work to feed them babies and are more motivated to be at work everyday and doing a great job.
[/quote]
Thats what I was getting at. You have to be in the right frame of mind and have the clear head to know its the right time. That is all.
Obviously hiring people to do specific jobs is far more productive than hiring general help. But without a clear head you will be too preoccupied with the latter.
Phoenix said:
It's no secret on the forum that I work in the ESL industry. There's strong demand in China (and elsewhere in Asia) for good ESL instructors, especial for teaching children.
I put a lot of work into developing a skillset to be a good teacher of children, since most people who come to China to teach English want to just show up and take the easy route and teaching adults (because that requires no effort or skills), so there's a constant demand for teachers who are good with and happy to teach kids.
I moved back to China two years ago and I was planning to teach plenty of hours and save up cash to start one of my many business ideas.
In the process of doing that, I realized that there was no good curriculum for ESL. Everything I've ever seen is absolutely garbage and was clearly created by people who had never actually seen the inside of a classroom.
So, I started working on a solution to that problem.
I won't go into more detail, because my solution to the problem is extremely specific and I'm the only person in the world who uses the methods that I do.
Most of my current product development projects are just ideas that I've thought of while teaching that I realized would make my job easier and make learning simpler and more fun.
There's no real science to my approach. But there are no short cuts. I'm making progress because I took the time to learn the ins-and-outs of a particular industry.
My advice would be to get good at something that is in high demand already and get better than everyone else in the field.