2016 Year of the Hustle... $250k/net profit

[relentlessaction]

MAN! 2016....The year of the hustle!

2015 I worked a bit harder than usual for myself that is....Grew an e-commerce business for the past 2-3 years while working a F/T job which has paid off. I did $200k gross for 2015 (all SEO). Many all nighters and typical 1-5 hours sleep per day. Work 8 hours to come home and hustle another 5-8 hours.

For 2016, I don't plan on changing that and want to work on more lucrative businesses. I plan on selling the business for more capital and moving into a business which I can automate order fulfillment.

I plan on focusing on facebook and instagram ads and hope to semi-master it this year. My $250k/net goal will only be successful by focusing on advertisements.

My goals are as followed.

1. Sell my e-commerce site (to free up time) and gain more capital to build up another business quicker.
2. Learn programming and increase my baseline salary at my F/T Day job.
3. Build (2) E-Commerce Websites and Market through Paid Advertising (Facebook, Instagram)
4. Build a few Amazon Niche sites and focus on longtail keywords (this will be pretty much outsourced). I want to provide tremendous value to offering the readers. This is the only option for success. There are still great SEO niches which bank $20k/month with barely no expenses. Will test it.

Keys to success

• Focus on taking action on a daily basis.
• Focus on creating movement within the business daily.
• Breaking up the year over 4 Quarters. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
• Creating deadlines to guarantee success.
• Utilizing and mastering Facebook, Instagram paid advertising.

Will be posting daily posts on what the work that I do.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[sWALK90]

Seem like we are in the same position except i dont have the ecomm site yet and im trying to leave the developer side and go into proj mgmt.

Did you pick a popular item or is it a non crowded niche?

 

[relentlessaction]

Seem like we are in the same position except i dont have the ecomm site yet and im trying to leave the developer side and go into proj mgmt.

Did you pick a popular item or is it a non crowded niche?

My niche is very unique and specific and is a custom made product. It's not too crowded but will be and there will be more customers too.

The reason for selling is for the capital and to free my time to spend working on more lucrative businesses that have a higher ceiling for scaling.

Yeah, I'm definitely interested in the developer aspect and in the future plan to create SaaS apps or websites with more backend functionality compared to simply using WordPress for everything.

 

[relentlessaction]

A bit about myself I'm turning 29 in January and live in the San Francisco, CA area. I work a day job and hustle for another 8 hours at night. I don't have kids and am just focusing on the grind.

My main long-term goals are to save up $250k net + $15k/month net this will allow me to quit my job (if opportunities aren't available) and focus on my internet marketing efforts. I'm looking to move away from the Bay Area and move to an area where I can get a big house for $200-300k.

My goal will be to live below my means, pay off a $200-$250k house and keep stacking my chips. Re-investing into more businesses/assets and saving my money.

I fully believe that it is more then capable to earn over $300k per month with paid advertising and this is what I am looking forward to focusing on. On my spare time, I'll be programming and perhaps may make a SAAS type app which solves a problem later down the line for fun and practice.

Goal #1 :: Sell Website
Update last few days been focusing on finishing up my Financials for Ecom #1.

Almost done.. Need to add in credit card and debit expenses and finally get it submitted.

Hopefully, plan on selling by January 2015. I don't want to count the sale of this site to the $250k net goal but I guess if I hit it with it that would be good too.

Selling the site to increase my free time to make room for newer and more lucrative projects. I feel you shouldn't be working on the daily operations which can be outsourced. Your efforts should be focused on building the business and increasing revenue. This is of course not in the beginning but once you reach to a point that you can do so.

After going through the motions if you don't plan for automation and/or how to get rid of your daily mundane work. You simply just create a job for yourself.

GOAL #2 :: Software Engineer, Full Stack Developer
I'm currently working as a Jr system administrator and looking into learning programming for three reasons. I want to get into AppAcademy or HackReactor here in SF. It's crazy how busy they are .. I fully decided I wanted to learn mid December and tried my best to get in early but can't get into anything for January in which I wanted to fully finish within 3 months so end of Q1. Looks like I won't get into it until Feb or April. I will need to study quite heavily to get in. I will quit my day job if I happen to get into bootcamp.

1. Utilize my 8 hour day job more effectively by learning daily and actually working towards something meaningful. Being a sys admin is a bit basic and they could hire any monkey to do my position.
2. Increase baseline income to $100k+ with company perks.
3. Double down on utilizing the knowledge and experience with creating Web Apps or a SaaS company.

GOAL #3 :: New (2) E-Commerce Sites
I plan on creating a few new e-commerce sites which are much more scalable. They will utilize automatic order fulfillment and I won't be packing/shipping orders like I do currently for Ecom #1. One thing I want to change from my first ecom to my next ecom sites is I want to fully utilize all the ecom techniques. Ex. Upsells, Newsletters, Focusing exclusively on advertising, Outsource customer service, etc. Create more partnerships in social media to promote and earn from my own brand.

GOAL #4 :: Amazon Niche Sites
I plan on creating a few high quality websites which will dominate their respective niches. I still think there are quite a few smart people who have created really really smart niches and it's completely SEO 100% but they dominate for each and every keyword in their industry. Even with duplicate content on many pages but realistically. Even with the duped content it's the most relevant webpage for the search terms which they rank for and it's of course no reason why Google wouldn't rank the most highly relevant webpage. They also only have dupe content with their own content and not from the internet itself.

This I plan on outsourcing and will simply just fund but I think dominating one of these industries will bring home $2-$20k per month without any effort. I wrote a bit more about it here http://relentlessaction.com/make-50000-year-with-amazon-niche-sites-in-2016/. You can also utilize click bait articles and facebook ads with the concept.

GOAL #5 :: Amazon FBA Product
This is on the backburner but not a main priority but perhaps might look more into it. I have a product on Amazon at the moment but it doesn't sell anything. I failed to really put time into it.

GOAL :: Health & Fitness
The past year I've spent quite a bit of time buying food and eating fairly unhealthy. This coming year I plan on eating healthy to lean down and remain more productive. I'm sure, many people can relate to having food comas. I plan on eating simple and cooking my own food. It will be more setup like clockwork and I won't be actually focused on what I eat or when I eat. It's just another task on the list that needs to get done as well as working out. I want to do more calisthenics and yoga stuff such as handstands and gaining my flexibility back.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vigilante]

MAN! 2016....The year of the hustle!

2015 I worked a bit harder than usual for myself that is....Grew an e-commerce business for the past 2-3 years while working a F/T job which has paid off. I did $200k gross for 2015 (all SEO). Many all nighters and typical 1-5 hours sleep per day. Work 8 hours to come home and hustle another 5-8 hours.

For 2016, I don't plan on changing that and want to work on more lucrative businesses. I plan on selling the business for more capital and moving into a business which I can automate order fulfillment.

I plan on focusing on facebook and instagram ads and hope to semi-master it this year. My $250k/net goal will only be successful by focusing on advertisements.

My goals are as followed. Also written on http://relentlessaction.com/my-250k-net-profit-goal-2016/

1. Sell my e-commerce site (to free up time) and gain more capital to build up another business quicker.
2. Learn programming and increase my baseline salary at my F/T Day job.
3. Build (2) E-Commerce Websites and Market through Paid Advertising (Facebook, Instagram)
4. Build a few Amazon Niche sites and focus on longtail keywords (this will be pretty much outsourced). I want to provide tremendous value to offering the readers. This is the only option for success. There are still great SEO niches which bank $20k/month with barely no expenses. Will test it.

Keys to success

• Focus on taking action on a daily basis.
• Focus on creating movement within the business daily.
• Breaking up the year over 4 Quarters. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
• Creating deadlines to guarantee success.
• Utilizing and mastering Facebook, Instagram paid advertising.

Will be posting daily posts on what the work that I do.

Do not post daily posts. Nobody cares that much. Buy yourself a journal, but post your major news and major updates here. If you start posting daily updates like this is your personal journal, more people will put you on ignore than you would want. I am excited for your enthusiasm, but do your daily journaling privately and let us know if you get stuck on anything along your journey.

 

[relentlessaction]

Cool thanks for the notice.

 

[NewJamesBond]

I'm very excited to follow your journey.

I'm going to send you a PM. I'm interested in talking to you; you are ambitious and I like the content you've posted on your website.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[relentlessaction]

@PoemsForHearts - Sure, shoot me a PM. All I do is hope to inspire others into making that move. It's definitely there for everyone's taking but only a select few will actually do the necessary work to succeed. Good luck!

 

[relentlessaction]

I think by far the Mindset is one of the most important things in life. I think there are different level of the different caliber of people. Here's a post I wrote elsewhere but I think it's meaningful in how you develop a sense of self and how you decide to live your life.

Life is nothing but perception. The perception of things can change how you look at something as positive/negative and/or beneficial or not beneficial to your future success.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/what-sacrifices-you-have-made.63096/#post-510061

The Career Ladder..
For what you've mentioned.. I suffer this same fate. I'm 28 years old and the past 3 years I've built up a semi decent career to get me about $70-75k/year on the job market. I haven't graduated college and had no plans too. I did try when I was younger but no need. Everyone else whom I work with is a college graduate.

More so, this works if you can do the following:
1. Talk your way into a decent paying job position.
2. Work your a$$ off and learn at the speed of light.
3. Not be to nit picky about everything you don't like in life and you just get the job done. Learn not to take things, people seriously.

I could and might plan on moving into a 100k+ position in which I plan on learning web development to become a full-stack developer. This will also double down and help me create a side business on the internet, possibly making a SAAS company which you collect a residual monthly payment. However, I'm close to making way over this possibly this coming year. However, I still want to learn programming even if it's for myself only.

1. Starting a business with money is always better than without money.
2. You don't need 24 hours in a day when starting your business. Certain things take time and in between that time you can work a full time job. Success is a journey and doesn't happen overnight.
3. You utilize and kill 2-3 birds with one stone.
1. You get job experience. You are worth something in the work force.
2. You work hard for your money and it makes you realize you shouldn't take the time off for granted.
3. You get twice as much done than the average person.
4. You can re-invest your income into your business.
5. You can risks... You have a full time income which helps you earn money.

What helped me realize this...
As for me, if I didn't work my day job. I would spend my time goofing off on the internet and not working. For this reason, I work a full time job and plan on it until I am making a significant amount of money that it is justified for quitting (which is soon).

If you are one of these people. My recommendation is to work your a$$ off 8 hours a day (it's not that long) and learn everything. Do everything. You need to have that go getter mindset and give everything you do in life 150%.

At 26, my health coverage (California) was no longer being covered by my parents. I also decided that I spent too much time (partly wasting time) working on my internet businesses with no real great success (or not enough long lasting success).

What I did then...
To save myself, I got a full time job at 26 and if I wanted my internet business to work. I'd have to do it on the side of my actual job. There was no other choice. 3 years later at 28 turning 29 (on my 4th year), I've built a semi-successful internet business and plan to sell it in January 2016 and move into a more lucrative business/industry. I've had 3 title changes and now can demand $70-75k elsewhere. My ecommerce site made $200k gross for 2015. I'm selling it to kill and smash that goal. My time is better well spent elsewhere for more lucrative businesses.

Where I'm going..
I've saved more then enough money to start focusing my efforts on paid advertising.

My next goal is to save to $250k and $15k/net profit per month and I'll quit my job. I live below my means and save most of my income. I'm shooting for $250k/net for 2016 but have plans to start earning $100-300k/month with 30-40% profit.

Am I for certain that I will succeed? No, I'm not positive.
Will I give it 150%? Yes
Will I work at it and make it work? Yes

Sleep is overrated.
I've also slept 1-5 hours for many days during this year and dead beat tired but it's something you need to decide. Do you take the sleep or do you utilize your year most effectively. Granted, if I'm really tired I'll pass out and sleep for 10 hrs or take a break here and now.. But that is when my body is dead tired. I haven't been sick this year..

If you sleep 8 hours a day and I work 4-5 hours more then you. How will you catch up? You'll be riding someone elses coat tails and you won't be giving it 150%.

If you really believe in your cause and your plan, sleep is the last thing you care about.

You saying, you need 8 hours to sleep. Is that your decision? If you had a choice to make $2,000 to sleep only 4 hours a day for a week.. Would you do it? Who in the world decided 8 hours sleep is recommended or optimal. Is that really the case? IMHO, I think 8 hours day sleep is a bit too much. Granted maybe if your lifting 3-4 days a week and your body needs to repair.

6 hours is adequate and you can stagger. 6 hours on Mon, Weds, Fri or even 8 hrs Mon, Weds, Fri. I utilize my commute time when I take the train that's 45 minutes both ways of a nice power nap a total of 1.5 hrs on top of my 1-6 hrs sleep.

If you also think about it.. a 30 year old who has had 8 hours sleep per day.. vs a 30 year old who has only slept 6 hrs per day... The 30 yr old who has slept 6 hrs a day has lived life ... more then you by..

30 yrs old * 365 days * 2 hrs
21,900 hours more.. 912 days of 24 hours... / 3 (10 yr periods) = 304 days extra every 10 years.

In the end...
There are no excuses... Nothing really ever matters.. Winners make it happen regardless of your circumstance or position.

The only thing that matters is.... did you get it done? Did you succeed?

How you go about it... the world does not care and you get what you deserve..

Can you have kids and be successful, yes. Can you have a girlfriend and be successful, yes. Etc
Can you have a full time job and be successful, yes. None of it matters and it's all possible.

There's a million ways to make a million dollars.

Pave your own path...How you do it.. doesn't matter. You just need to get it done..
That's the difference between those who have succeeded (past tense) or those who are successful (past tense). They've all put in the work and are reaping the benefits now.. Start now..Work your a$$ off and when you do succeed.. You'll be like god damn... I worked my a$$ off for it.. It's not luck...While everyone slept like a baby.. I was working my a$$ off even though I didn't want too.

How To Beat the Average Person.....It's easier than you think...
The average person puts in 8 hours per day to work.. sometimes they even give it 50-80% effort even less if you work a dead end job that does not teach you anything or you gain no skill from..

The effort you put into everything will transfer over into other areas in your life. Why do you think health and fitness people start applying the same techniques to other areas of their life.. Same goes for a sport which you excel in or what not..

The typical average person - Work 8 hours day... Go home... Watch TV, Play Video Games, Sleep 8-12 hours.. Wake up late and go work the job you don't enjoy. Don't save and spend all your money... What do you have to show for .. nothing..

5 years, 10 years later.. Where are you now... The same place you left yourself at..

Realistically, How do you think you'll improve if you don't focus on making the change in your lifestyle, routine and what you spend your time doing.

 

[bbrrookie]

Awesome read! I look forward to your progress and will try and beat your 2015 numbers by the end of this year

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[nomeus]

At what price are you currently selling your products on Store no.1? And what is your customer acquisition cost, since you use paid advertising to advertise your site.

How will you choose a niche for your new ecommerce sites? If they will be physical products,what might be your margins?

Im thinking of ecommerce store too, but for the european market, since I'm based in europe. The only thing is, I cant get the numbers right. It seems to me, that customer acquisition cost is really high, and you have to be profiting around 40-50$ on a single item to make it work. And thats a lot.

 

[theag]

Im thinking of ecommerce store too, but for the european market, since I'm based in europe. The only thing is, I cant get the numbers right. It seems to me, that customer acquisition cost is really high, and you have to be profiting around 40-50$ on a single item to make it work. And thats a lot.

Where do you get your CAC numbers from? My profit per order is much lower than that and it works pretty well for me with paid advertising.

 

[nomeus]

Where do you get your CAC numbers from? My profit per order is much lower than that and it works pretty well for me with paid advertising.

From my previous experience with facebook ads and google adwords (around 0.12 - 0.25$ per click) and quite low conversion rates. Lets say that from 200 clicks (about 36$) I get 3 sales (12$ per sale). Everything below profiting 15$ per sale I consider grinding. That makes 27$ total. + 20% VAT and product costs + packaging. That Is where I get those numbers.

For testing purposes, Everything that we Import here (europe) as an individual not company and has a value over 25$ (shipping costs included), we have to pay at least 20% VAT. That adds up too. Once you have a company, you can try to reduce the VAT you pay, and pay it only from your proffits.

Do you send traffic to a specific product or a landing page?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[relentlessaction]

@nomeus - I sell 20-40 items that range from $100-$300 per product. Currently, all traffic is from SEO so no cost for any of my sales.

How do I choose my niche? Starting for the first time.

In the past, I choose a niche which I can sell the product for at least 100% mark up and something that had little to no competition. They are physical products.

There are a few downsides with my current Ecom #1 website which is why I'm selling and moving to a more lucrative business.

1. Wide selection of products = more inventory = more time packing orders.
I will switch to a company which has 2-4 products and sell a ton of it.
2. Higher Profit Margins
Certain products have higher profit margins.
3. Automated Order Fufillment
I can ship my orders out to a fufillment house and they can ship my orders for me.

How would I choose a niche now?
I'd pick a product which has higher profit margins.
Broad niche to advertise to a generic traffic audience.

 

[relentlessaction]

Just a post a wrote and I wanted to save...

Stop being so emotional..
That's the problem... Sometimes you never know or find what you need to do. But that shouldn't stop you from taking action.

Do what you want to do at the moment. If you don't want to do it for the long run change it up later on.

The problem is that most people fail to realize IMO. Is that there isn't anything that we can do which you want to do 100%. I would personally stop focusing on being emotional about the issue and just WORK.

Successful people don't think about if they like doing this or like doing that. They work...It's all part of a bigger goal.

Do what you can do.. that will be a success.. If you need to change it up later or do something else later.. You'll end up doing that anyways.

The hard part is starting and forgetting about being emotional for every task in life. How do I feel about doing this? How do I feel about doing this? That's all a waste of time. How do I feel about going to the bathroom? How do I feel when I brush my teeth? Do you care about it? No, you just do it because that's what needs to be done. That's how you should treat daily tasks for your personal life and your business.

Find out what you want to do.
What I do is... OK What's my main goal.. Make money or build a business? Do I want to build a specific business? What am I good at? What can I offer to others which gives them value?

Make a list of everything you come up with.. Write pros and cons and pick the best thing that you want to do that you know of NOW.

Then start on it and work on it until it succeeds. Once it does you can decide if you want to continue or sell the business and start something else.

Opportunities come when you look for it. Once you develop that eye to turn things into money. But doing nothing is a definite way of not getting there. You need to expose yourself to more things to figure out what you can do. Everything you do in life, you think of how you can make it better.

Work Full Time + Run a Side Business
If you can't break the job...Keep the job and hustle..

Build a side business on the side and hustle...

There's no other way.

DON'T BE AVERAGE

Average people... work an 8 hour job.. Go home watch TV, waste time and relax.

Successful people... work an 8 hour job.. GO home and work another 8 hours on their side business.

Do that for a while and you increase your leverage.

If you only put in 8 hours like everyone else does.. How do you expect to get ahead in life?

In The End...
Winners make it happen. So make it happen... Whatever it takes.

There's no such thing as an overnight success.

Who am I?

I'm no one special.. but I work a full time job.. I go home and work my side business which is an e-commerce site.

I did $200k in gross sales for 2015. It was 2.5 years in the making.. 35% is profit.

Granted it's not nothing spectacular.. but it's hard work.. I slept 1-6 hours/day.. but you no what.. who gives a crap.. People kill themselves daily by stuffing their face with food, doing drugs, or not doing any physical activity at all. I feel more alive then ever before because I wake up with a purpose on what I want to do.

I'm selling the business now and I plan on leveraging my money to do $250k/net this year but my goal is to try and do $300-400k/gross per month in a new business. But before I aim for $300-400k. You have to aim for the smaller goals. Hit $1k, $5k, $10k, etc..

Don't make these unrealistic dreams and think that because you have this "fake" confidence that you will succeed. Only thing that matters is results.. Start small and smash that goal.. And make another one.. Before you think about it you realize your goals are too small and keep going.

It's a never ending journey.. You don't stop.

I've figured out what doesn't work and what I should spend my time on...

I don't need to aim to be $500 million rich. I just need enough to do what I want and have my free time. I can survive living regular and make $20k/net profit per month. If I make $100k/net .. I'll still live normal but it's all a game of challenge to me at least.

Good luck! get it done man!

 

[IGP]

Why not work on doubling profits of the first business that is already successful by selling these people more stuff?

It's a lot easier to sell an existing customer something (assuming you did a good job the first time), than it is to get a new customer?

Do you have an email list? Do you have a back end funnel? Are there complimentary products these people will buy?

Are you setting up systems and processes that run while you are working your day job?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ClaytonAlbright]

Great job on the e-commerce website while working full time. I'm currently in the same situation but working as a network engineer. Some people can work well without sleep, I'm not one of them. I can go without 7-8 hrs. occasionally but I can focus much more with sleep. Most people actually lose IQ points if they don't get enough sleep. Some people can do without as much, it's genetics.

The website I'm working with is Wordpress and I'm still learning that.

 

[relentlessaction]

Why not work on doubling profits of the first business that is already successful by selling these people more stuff?

I could but my ecommerce is a niche product that requires customer support. It's not a simple product that you buy and you don't need support (aka shoes, products). It's also 30-40 products or so and is a bit more work to setup automated fulfillment.

It's a lot easier to sell an existing customer something (assuming you did a good job the first time), than it is to get a new customer?

True, but as I said on question #1 still applies.

Do you have an email list? Do you have a back end funnel? Are there complimentary products these people will buy?

Yes, I have an email list but haven't focused on it. If I don't sell, I will revamp everything.

Are you setting up systems and processes that run while you are working your day job?

I haven't just yet but. If I don't sell.. I will be..

What I've Learned

• Build an e-commerce with less products and/or automate.
• Automate order fulfillment.
• Automate. Automate. Automate.
• Hire/Outsource Customer Support - if needed.
• Focus on Marketing/Sales/Systems.

That's what I want to do and focus on and within the current business. I'm unfortunately too busy with the day to day operations due to it being a more niche product versus a simple product which is a no brainer to understand and customer support isn't as needed.

I also want a newer business without a cap in earnings. This business due to it's niche will have a cap on total earnings. My time is better spent in a new business when I can effectively scale it.

Running my current business won't give me the skills and I want which can be transferable to any other business. 1 or 2 years longer in this business is time wasted for focusing on the bigger picture.

If I don't sell...

• Automate. Automate. Automate.
• Develop/Build a Customer Support Rep.
• Build more materials, resources which will solve many customer support questions.
• Build out a community/forum.
• Build out more systems - email marketing, contests, etc.

That's the gist of it. Hope it helps someone.

My next plan If I sell...

If I do sell, I plan on starting a few new e-commerce sites which will focus on automated order fufillment.

I will focus specifically on marketing and advertising, creating automated systems.

In the end, You want to create a business not a job.

Eventually, I want to make a business that makes 1,000 millionaires versus making myself a millionaire. I just read something on that's what MJ DeMarco has mentioned and it's true.

First off, I want to get my main expenses and life taken care of and make more automated income generators first.

Then I can spend my time doing whatever I feel like doing and not worrying about time is wasting or I'm not making money fast enough.

I plan on keeping expenses minimal and saving more then 50% of income or revenue.

 

[theag]

From my previous experience with facebook ads and google adwords (around 0.12 - 0.25$ per click) and quite low conversion rates. Lets say that from 200 clicks (about 36$) I get 3 sales (12$ per sale). Everything below profiting 15$ per sale I consider grinding. That makes 27$ total. + 20% VAT and product costs + packaging. That Is where I get those numbers.

For testing purposes, Everything that we Import here (europe) as an individual not company and has a value over 25$ (shipping costs included), we have to pay at least 20% VAT. That adds up too. Once you have a company, you can try to reduce the VAT you pay, and pay it only from your proffits.

Do you send traffic to a specific product or a landing page?

I send traffic to a landing page or to content.

You have a point about the less than $15 profit = grinding. But its not that bad if you set up proper systems, automation, fulfillment etc. You can build a massive customer base very fast with low price products and then start making real profits with additional sales of related products to them.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[relentlessaction]

Great job on the e-commerce website while working full time. I'm currently in the same situation but working as a network engineer. Some people can work well without sleep, I'm not one of them. I can go without 7-8 hrs. occasionally but I can focus much more with sleep. Most people actually lose IQ points if they don't get enough sleep. Some people can do without as much, it's genetics.

The website I'm working with is Wordpress and I'm still learning that.

Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep on my computer chair or table. Or how many times I sleep on bart. But in the end... the difference between getting it done and not is simply just having the time. Got to make the time. Granted I spend a lot of time bs'ing still watching TV or browsing the internet.. In the end.. I prefer to go with less sleep.

Sometimes, I'll just pass out when I hit the bed but I got to admit.. My body has had the most efficient sleep ever! lol When I sleep.. I sleep and my body takes advantage of every second of it.

I've been sleeping a lot more lately though but I still prefer not to sleep much.

 

[IGP]

I could but my ecommerce is a niche product that requires customer support. It's not a simple product that you buy and you don't need support (aka shoes, products). It's also 30-40 products or so and is a bit more work to setup automated fulfillment.

Some valid points here and without knowing your products, I will have to defer to your best judgement. Are you selling this on flippa or did u hire a broker?

Just know that you can outsource customer service or hire a rep really cheap.

Also, one thing to think about... If you did everything in your "If I Dont Sell" section, 2 things would happen.

1. Your business would become more valuable.
2. You would gain valuable experience and know what to do and what not to do the next time around.

Good luck!

 

[relentlessaction]

@IGP - Looking at Flippa. Not sure just yet..

Yeah, I'm planning on it if I don't sell.. New business, I want to automate and focus on those key points specifically.

I would outsource and develop a customer support staff to handle every and all questions for the entire business most likely from overseas and just pay them well for their area/market eventually.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ClaytonAlbright]

Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep on my computer chair or table. Or how many times I sleep on bart. But in the end... the difference between getting it done and not is simply just having the time. Got to make the time. Granted I spend a lot of time bs'ing still watching TV or browsing the internet.. In the end.. I prefer to go with less sleep.

Sometimes, I'll just pass out when I hit the bed but I got to admit.. My body has had the most efficient sleep ever! lol When I sleep.. I sleep and my body takes advantage of every second of it.

I've been sleeping a lot more lately though but I still prefer not to sleep much.

Genetics do come into play but for most people, even if you think your gaining more hours by skipping out on sleeping your doing it at great cost.

Lack of sleep leads to less cognitive ability while your awake. So even if you have a few more hours awake, your brain is operating on a lower level of thinking.

According to Coren, scores on intelligence tests decline cumulatively on each successive day that you sleep less than you normally sleep. The daily decline is approximately one IQ point for the first hour of sleep loss, two for the next, and four for the next. After five successive days of sleeping less than you need, your IQ can be lowered by up to 15 points. This means that a person of normal intelligence could have an effective IQ of only 85, the level at which you would need special education in order to learn. Even a very 'bright' person (IQ of 120 plus) can be reduced to robotic thinking, as though on automatic pilot.

Research has also revealed an association between sleep deprivation and poorer grades. In a 1998 survey of more than 3,000 high-school students, for example, psychologists Amy R. Wolfson, PhD, of the College of the Holy Cross, and Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, of Brown University Medical School, found that students who reported that they were getting C's, D's and F's in school obtained about 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed about 40 minutes later than students who reported they were getting A's and B's.

Sleep deprivation is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents, and it can impair the human brain as much as alcohol can. Coren tested drivers after they had been awake for one hour beyond their 'normal' bedtime. Their thinking processes and reaction times were worse than a control group who had drunk more than the UK drink/drive limit for alcohol consumption.

So even though you have more hours awake your less creative and not able to think as well as getting a full nights rest. Which can lead to inferior results if you did get a full nights sleep.

http://www.edublox.com/sleep-deprivation.htm

Although again, genetics come into play and how much sleep you 'need' to operate at your best level is only determined by you. Personally I need 7-8 hours to be at my best thinking level which is the average that most people my age need (older people 50+ usually only need 4-6).

The amount of sleep that people need varies greatly from one person to another. It ranges from four to ten hours. For adults, quality sleep seems to be more important than quantity, say Horne and Wootton in their book Training Your Brain.

There's also greater risk of diseases.

Beyond leaving people bleary-eyed, clutching a Starbucks cup and dozing off at afternoon meetings, failing to get enough sleep heightens the risk for a variety of major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, recent studies indicate.

 

[relentlessaction]

@ClaytonAlbright - As much as I'd like to believe you.. My actual results speak otherwise. I also think, you don't need much higher thinking for most of anything which you do often. If your learning or need to think.. of course get more sleep but 1+1 = 2. 1 hour or sleep or 8 hours of sleep. It's common sense.

Granted... you can't catch up on sleep.. But you can be well rested one day and work more effectively the next.

I do agree though... after a few days of sleeping only a few hours.. you will experience that and what you say does take into account.

But eventually I average 4-6 hours sleep and it's perfectly fine for me and I'll do an occasionally day where I sleep 8 hours. 5-6 hours everyday for me is perfect. At 8 hours/day I'm a bit more tired than 5-6 hrs. But that's what I've found to work for me.. Occasionally, if there's a lot to do... I'll work 1-3 hrs sleep for 2-3 days a week. But not often do I go 1 entire week with 1 hr/day rest if even.

My main point is if you need to get work done and you are pressed for time... You need to do the work, regardless of the sleep (to a certain extent).

Sleep is good though but it's also easy to over-do it. Just like eating.

It's definitely only sustainable for a certain amount of time. I don't plan on keeping it like that for years to come.

 

[Traveling Morgue]

How do you go about finding ideas?

Just curious...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Lexauton]

I know it's been a bit since you've posted, and I'm sure you're on that grind. I just want to say that as a 25 year old who isn't using his time nor energies as wisely as he could your posts have inspired me greatly.

My belief system has always been: "if I get a job then I'll have less time for me and what I want to do, plus I'll have no energy when I get back home..."

I freelance, but I take everything so leisurely. I don't really work my a$$ off and I sleep a lot more than I probably should.

The industry for which I'm equipped isn't in the state that I find myself-- I'd have to move to the west coast to obtain a position that would enable me to kill 2-3 birds with 1 stone (Build my skills, grow the authority/celebrity I have in my niche, and get those honey-moneys.)

I don't like being serious, as I feel is causes too much stress-- however, sincerity of purpose and sacrificing loaf-time + sleep will truly make a huge difference...As your mathematics and subjective results have asserted.

So henceforth, I just want to thank you. As someone who's only a few years older than me, your hustle has given me a lot to think about-- and subsequently implement.

Keep it up! Looking forward to your next post.

 

[relentlessaction]

How do you go about finding ideas?

Just curious...

Usually, the only ideas which I find are ideas that I resonate with and/or I can relate too. Otherwise, I wouldn't really know they exist or understand the market.

I think anything that can make $3-6k/month is a great starting point. The goal is to first create a low maintenance business which takes care of your daily or monthly expenses. If you can make this $4-5k/month with barely any effort. You then have the free time to focus on what you truly care about and/or want to spend your time doing.

 

[relentlessaction]

I know it's been a bit since you've posted, and I'm sure you're on that grind. I just want to say that as a 25 year old who isn't using his time nor energies as wisely as he could your posts have inspired me greatly.

My belief system has always been: "if I get a job then I'll have less time for me and what I want to do, plus I'll have no energy when I get back home..."

I freelance, but I take everything so leisurely. I don't really work my a$$ off and I sleep a lot more than I probably should.

The industry for which I'm equipped isn't in the state that I find myself-- I'd have to move to the west coast to obtain a position that would enable me to kill 2-3 birds with 1 stone (Build my skills, grow the authority/celebrity I have in my niche, and get those honey-moneys.)

I don't like being serious, as I feel is causes too much stress-- however, sincerity of purpose and sacrificing loaf-time + sleep will truly make a huge difference...As your mathematics and subjective results have asserted.

So henceforth, I just want to thank you. As someone who's only a few years older than me, your hustle has given me a lot to think about-- and subsequently implement.

Keep it up! Looking forward to your next post.

@Lexauton
I wholeheartedly agree but you have to start somewhere. Starting a business with money definitely helps you make moves quicker. Everyone posting who has $1-5k saved and tries to start a business the growth is most definitely much slower unless you are creative with your marketing efforts. It's doable but you have to be pretty creative.

Stress comes with the territory. But you are either stressing not having enough money to pay your bills, stressing over not being able to enjoy life since you are broke and/or a ton of reasons why you are stressing because you can't afford anything.

IMO, I'd rather stress how I can make more money and how to save more then I spend. In the end, stress is guaranteed on either side of the spectrum.

Learn how to deal with the stress better and not let it affect you as much. At least, that's helped me.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Traveling Morgue]

Usually, the only ideas which I find are ideas that I resonate with and/or I can relate too. Otherwise, I wouldn't really know they exist or understand the market.

I think anything that can make $3-6k/month is a great starting point. The goal is to first create a low maintenance business which takes care of your daily or monthly expenses. If you can make this $4-5k/month with barely any effort. You then have the free time to focus on what you truly care about and/or want to spend your time doing.

Okay, I like that.

Are these products that you design/improve yourself or are you getting stuff sent from China?

 

[relentlessaction]

@Traveling Morgue - Yeah, my main product is a custom made product which is multiple pieces. Most of all of it is bought from China but they are multiple pieces put together for an end product. So they are custom to a certain extent.

I'll be posting more income reports soon and also have been working on Ecom #2, Ecom #3.