Hello everyone, its been a while since I have been around here, but I decided in my twofold situation I'll at least post here and get some advice maybe (or maybe not).
I am currently starting a business (actually I have been doing it for a few years now, im just making it official now). Basically Im a boating geek and that led me into reselling boats and stuff. I also learned how to fix engines, electrical, and fiberglass along the way while making money. Not a lot, but it doesnt hurt at all either. I also started doing mobile service in my area, and the damn problem is I cant stop undercharging people. For some stupid reason, I cant ever bring myself to charge a single person my hourly rate (which is less than half of other places). Even when undercharging, I still feel extremely bad for taking money
. Whats worse is lets say I pay $120 for a part, and I can't help but undercharge for that too, effectively loosing money! Some customers even pile on hefty tips, understanding that my service is stupid cheap. Others, even when I give them a braindead cheap price still give me the wrinkly face and complain, and I usually end up doing the work essentially for free for those guys. I don't really know what to do here, so I figured I would ask.
The second part of my problem is that this whole boat thing can't be scaled too far. At least, I don't thinks its possible. I can probably get the company value to maybe $2M, if nothing terrible happens, but that is pretty much the limit. To get there, I would either need to sell a boat for $2M (finding a buyer will be hella difficult) or sell 4 for $500k (easier). Looking at this from a CENTS perspective, its kinda shitty:
Control: 8/10. The biggest control issue I have is where I buy stuff to resell. It used to be one source, now I have like 5 or 6, so control isn't too bad.
Entry: 10/10. To get into this you need some years of experience in both repairs, logistics, and capital. Definitely a high scoring category.
Need: 4/10. Sales this year have been mediocre. The high interest rates and cost of living here in Canada has really hit the used boat market, as people aren't as eager to buy expensive toys.
Time: 2/10. If I am not fixing one to sell, then I don't make any money. It has a direct connection to time. Sure, I might make $500 an hour in the end, but it is still fixed to my time.
Scale: 3/10. Sure, getting to $2M isn't too bad, but I don't think I can push it much farther than that.
So what I get is something that can make decent money but takes all of my time and will eventually hit a wall. In MJ's words, I am climbing the wrong mountain. I don't regret getting into this, but it is time to start climbing another mountain. I need something that also ticks the need, scale, and time boxes. Aaaaaand this is where I keep hitting mental roadblocks.
I figured I would start a product based business. Selling widgets that dont cost too much (something that everyone can easily afford), and more importantly, some that solve a problem that A LOT of people have. I came up with some ideas, and then narrowed it down to two. I picked one that I thought I should logically be able to pull off. This is where the problem starts. Even though I logically know that this has a fair chance of working and should definitely at least TRY to give them a go, there is that stupid inner voice inside that keeps telling me that no way in hell will this ever work. I even passed my ideas by one of the main guys in the entrepreneur hub and he said that they seem to be solving an actual problem. Ok, cool, all the more reasons to give it a go. I broke down my startup process into tangible steps that I need to take in order to get to where I need to be:
1. Preliminary research to see if this exists. I did this and I couldn't find something that solves this problem and is marketed as such. There where a couple of remotely similar things out there, but not close enough. I got this done.
2. Make a cheap prototype to see if this works. I also got this done, and yes, it works as intended.
3. I started this step, and got stuck on it. The something telling me that this can't work and that I am wasting my time trying this really put the brakes on. What I should do is create an MVP, or something that looks identical to the finished product, and use it and google ads or similar to test if there is need and if it is a valid business model. I don't know if it really will work, but it is worth a try. Except something keeps telling me to stop wasting time with this silly endeavour and go find a job. I know what I should do. I should fire up the computer, open up my cad program, design the parts, and 3d print them. Then assemble the product. Once assembled, I have a friend that can help me make a website to give things a go.
4. Havent got here but I presume this would be finding funding (not too hard for me) and setting up production and logistics.
QUESTION: How the heck do I push through step 3? Anyone had the constant self doubt, what the heck did you end up doing?
I am currently starting a business (actually I have been doing it for a few years now, im just making it official now). Basically Im a boating geek and that led me into reselling boats and stuff. I also learned how to fix engines, electrical, and fiberglass along the way while making money. Not a lot, but it doesnt hurt at all either. I also started doing mobile service in my area, and the damn problem is I cant stop undercharging people. For some stupid reason, I cant ever bring myself to charge a single person my hourly rate (which is less than half of other places). Even when undercharging, I still feel extremely bad for taking money
. Whats worse is lets say I pay $120 for a part, and I can't help but undercharge for that too, effectively loosing money! Some customers even pile on hefty tips, understanding that my service is stupid cheap. Others, even when I give them a braindead cheap price still give me the wrinkly face and complain, and I usually end up doing the work essentially for free for those guys. I don't really know what to do here, so I figured I would ask.The second part of my problem is that this whole boat thing can't be scaled too far. At least, I don't thinks its possible. I can probably get the company value to maybe $2M, if nothing terrible happens, but that is pretty much the limit. To get there, I would either need to sell a boat for $2M (finding a buyer will be hella difficult) or sell 4 for $500k (easier). Looking at this from a CENTS perspective, its kinda shitty:
Control: 8/10. The biggest control issue I have is where I buy stuff to resell. It used to be one source, now I have like 5 or 6, so control isn't too bad.
Entry: 10/10. To get into this you need some years of experience in both repairs, logistics, and capital. Definitely a high scoring category.
Need: 4/10. Sales this year have been mediocre. The high interest rates and cost of living here in Canada has really hit the used boat market, as people aren't as eager to buy expensive toys.
Time: 2/10. If I am not fixing one to sell, then I don't make any money. It has a direct connection to time. Sure, I might make $500 an hour in the end, but it is still fixed to my time.
Scale: 3/10. Sure, getting to $2M isn't too bad, but I don't think I can push it much farther than that.
So what I get is something that can make decent money but takes all of my time and will eventually hit a wall. In MJ's words, I am climbing the wrong mountain. I don't regret getting into this, but it is time to start climbing another mountain. I need something that also ticks the need, scale, and time boxes. Aaaaaand this is where I keep hitting mental roadblocks.
I figured I would start a product based business. Selling widgets that dont cost too much (something that everyone can easily afford), and more importantly, some that solve a problem that A LOT of people have. I came up with some ideas, and then narrowed it down to two. I picked one that I thought I should logically be able to pull off. This is where the problem starts. Even though I logically know that this has a fair chance of working and should definitely at least TRY to give them a go, there is that stupid inner voice inside that keeps telling me that no way in hell will this ever work. I even passed my ideas by one of the main guys in the entrepreneur hub and he said that they seem to be solving an actual problem. Ok, cool, all the more reasons to give it a go. I broke down my startup process into tangible steps that I need to take in order to get to where I need to be:
1. Preliminary research to see if this exists. I did this and I couldn't find something that solves this problem and is marketed as such. There where a couple of remotely similar things out there, but not close enough. I got this done.
2. Make a cheap prototype to see if this works. I also got this done, and yes, it works as intended.
3. I started this step, and got stuck on it. The something telling me that this can't work and that I am wasting my time trying this really put the brakes on. What I should do is create an MVP, or something that looks identical to the finished product, and use it and google ads or similar to test if there is need and if it is a valid business model. I don't know if it really will work, but it is worth a try. Except something keeps telling me to stop wasting time with this silly endeavour and go find a job. I know what I should do. I should fire up the computer, open up my cad program, design the parts, and 3d print them. Then assemble the product. Once assembled, I have a friend that can help me make a website to give things a go.
4. Havent got here but I presume this would be finding funding (not too hard for me) and setting up production and logistics.
QUESTION: How the heck do I push through step 3? Anyone had the constant self doubt, what the heck did you end up doing?
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