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I joined this forum after reading TMF a couple months ago with the intention of being around like-minded people and getting the "kick in the a$$" I needed to get things going. There are some people on this forum that give great advice and there are some people that think they are giving great advice; I might have been one of the latter on occasion, I was only trying to help. I have found a somewhat common occurrence. I may have been guilty of this too as some point, but there are a lot of people saying...
“I have a great idea, but...â€
“I know what I want to do, but...â€
“I thought a new product, but...â€
“I heard of this thing, but...â€
I wanted to distance myself from this group of people. Not because I don't like the people saying these things, but because I don't want to be “that guy†that always has a good idea but never does anything about it. If you have a great idea, but...or you know what to do, but...or you thought of a new product, but...or you heard of something, but...then DO IT! You're going to come across this a hundred times, and you HAVE TO make a decision on how to proceed.
If you have a great idea, then research the market. Research costs. Look up your competition and find their weaknesses. Find out what can set your business apart. Then, once you've determined whether it's actually a good idea, test it out. Have the confidence in yourself and your idea to take the first step and do your homework in order to find out if you even need someone's input. People on this forum will be able to help you with resources for contracting out web work such as oDesk or Elance, but they cannot make decisions about your business for you.
A little over a month ago I started researching a business. I had all the time in the world and less than $200. My business needed a simple website for our target audience, and a decent amount of programming for a web-based application just for me to use. I spent 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 3-4 weeks building the website and setting up the marketing systems. I did what I had to do.
I found a partner that is willing to pay for about half of the marketing costs for a small percentage of the business. I've hired a subcontractor that works 100% on commission. I've built a small marketing capital of $3,000 through selling unwanted crap and doing two small jobs on the side. I've had 40 people contact me about my services, and I've been advertising for 8 days. This is a high number because I am investing in real estate and all of my marketing has been done through direct mail to this point. 40 people for about $300 is cheap, considering ONE successful transaction is worth at least $5k.
Along the way, I have come across some INSANE frustrations. I thought I had a great idea, tried it and it was a 100% disaster. I changed my strategy and it failed miserably. Repeat, repeat, repeat. If I would have had to ask each time, "I have a great idea, but..." I wouldn’t even be half way done with the website.
My point is that you have to make your own decisions. Trust your instinct. If you have an idea you think is great, then you may need to learn it isn’t good idea on your own. I wouldn't throw a significant amount of your money into it without determining whether it's potentially successful, but you may have to get your butt kicked 5 or 10 times in order to find out whether it’s a good idea or not. No problem. You’re ahead of where you would have been had you done nothing.
Quit talking about being successful and go find success.
“I have a great idea, but...â€
“I know what I want to do, but...â€
“I thought a new product, but...â€
“I heard of this thing, but...â€
I wanted to distance myself from this group of people. Not because I don't like the people saying these things, but because I don't want to be “that guy†that always has a good idea but never does anything about it. If you have a great idea, but...or you know what to do, but...or you thought of a new product, but...or you heard of something, but...then DO IT! You're going to come across this a hundred times, and you HAVE TO make a decision on how to proceed.
If you have a great idea, then research the market. Research costs. Look up your competition and find their weaknesses. Find out what can set your business apart. Then, once you've determined whether it's actually a good idea, test it out. Have the confidence in yourself and your idea to take the first step and do your homework in order to find out if you even need someone's input. People on this forum will be able to help you with resources for contracting out web work such as oDesk or Elance, but they cannot make decisions about your business for you.
A little over a month ago I started researching a business. I had all the time in the world and less than $200. My business needed a simple website for our target audience, and a decent amount of programming for a web-based application just for me to use. I spent 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 3-4 weeks building the website and setting up the marketing systems. I did what I had to do.
I found a partner that is willing to pay for about half of the marketing costs for a small percentage of the business. I've hired a subcontractor that works 100% on commission. I've built a small marketing capital of $3,000 through selling unwanted crap and doing two small jobs on the side. I've had 40 people contact me about my services, and I've been advertising for 8 days. This is a high number because I am investing in real estate and all of my marketing has been done through direct mail to this point. 40 people for about $300 is cheap, considering ONE successful transaction is worth at least $5k.
Along the way, I have come across some INSANE frustrations. I thought I had a great idea, tried it and it was a 100% disaster. I changed my strategy and it failed miserably. Repeat, repeat, repeat. If I would have had to ask each time, "I have a great idea, but..." I wouldn’t even be half way done with the website.
My point is that you have to make your own decisions. Trust your instinct. If you have an idea you think is great, then you may need to learn it isn’t good idea on your own. I wouldn't throw a significant amount of your money into it without determining whether it's potentially successful, but you may have to get your butt kicked 5 or 10 times in order to find out whether it’s a good idea or not. No problem. You’re ahead of where you would have been had you done nothing.
Quit talking about being successful and go find success.
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