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Good evening forum,
This is my first post and I thought it would be a great idea to introduce myself, my failures, why I am here, and what I intend to share with the forum. I lurked around the forum as a non member for a while and finally decided that this forum was one of the better ones for entrepreneurship.
First off, I’m 32 years old and I live in New York. I hold a bachelors degree in Business and burned my applications for MBA (big deal right?). I’ve always been an entrepreneur for as far back as I can remember. My first taste of entrepreneurship was when I was 14 years old. I got into selling sunglasses on eBay back when eBay was cool. I managed to connect with a seller on Canal St. that sold me sunglasses for $3 to $5 dollars a pair and I would list them on eBay and sell them for $55. I sold around 40 pairs a month and did this for around 2 years. Not to mention, I dug holes for my fathers fence company on the weekends, which totally sucked. Earning money online was a lot more fun and I didn’t have to destroy my hands. I even learned a few things. I learned to buy low and sell high. I learned how to market my products via eBay listings. At that time, competition was fierce so it was important to sell products that were just a bit different from my competitors but priced just a little bit better. I learned sales copy. I learned customer service. It was perfect for me and I made a killing for a young kid. I stopped because I felt that I wanted something more legit and more business like. Something my parents would be proud of me for.
Fast forward to High School. During High School, I landed a job at UPS. Yep, UPS. I needed money to support my entrepreneurial drive. I started when I was 16 and was promoted to supervisor at 17 (the youngest in the Hub). This was by far the hardest job I ever worked in my life. I thought digging holes was tough; working for UPS was NO JOKE! Anyway, it was my senior year in high school and a friend of mine somehow got into promoting parties for the 18+ 21+ to drink crowed. These guys were doing big things. They made tons of money, had tons of friends and not just Myspace friends lol. Myspace was huge back than. They drove sick cars too. I studied their every move, even worked with them for a few months, than launched my own event marketing and promotions business.
My nightlife business took off and I left UPS. I ran the business for about 7 or 8 years. I had an office with a team that did everything from coordinating and producing events to experiential marketing and creative marketing campaigns to print and branding for restaurants. Some of the guys that originally got me into this business even worked for me. This was my first successful venture. It was a business that required me to be out all night which wasn’t easy. I ended up getting serious with a girl (who is now my wife) and that was the end of that haha. Good times though and made some serious money.
Fast-forward a few years. I went through a lot of grinding. I taught myself some code but mainly learned to build sites with Wordpress on thesis. I learned the importance of building an email list and not to rely solely on Google. I had quite the bit of failures though. These startups ranged from everything such as a tee shirt campaign company called TeePaign (before Teespring was even conceived of) to an entrepreneurial startup course called Startup Rivals where entrepreneurs compete against each other to start their business. They had to meet milestones from idea phase, to starting their business, to acquiring their first customers. All failures. I launched a few blogs and content sites and learned SEO (on/off page). Even got into a startup event business that showcased startups and sold space. I was trying to bring SXSW to every state in the country basically. This one I pulled the plug on too soon. I’ve gained a TON of experience and learned a lot about every aspect of both the online and offline business world. I learned how to FAIL FAST.
Fast forward to 2012. I launched a fitness subscription business in BETA. The idea was to sell duffle bags loaded with fitness and athletic gear, nutritional supplements, and other goodies and deliver them monthly straight to our customer’s door. It took me about 6 months to launch and did about 1400 signups (further developed my list building skills). Ran out of product and felt the liability and insurance was too extreme for the business. I didn’t even know what I was selling – had no idea how harmful these products were. The business really wasn't scalable either. I would have to beg companies to get in on our program and include us in their marketing budget (forking over free product to us). In exchange we would convert those trials into sales for them. Eventually they gave up supplying product. Shipping rates were through the roof and margins were minuscule. Our brand was awesome though and we really connected with our clients. They loved us but again I shut it down.
Took about a year and a half off and here I am. I have my first baby on the way. I have around 6 figures in cash in the bank. I own my own home. I work a full-time job but have a lot of flexibility - home by 2pm. I'm in a very unique position to start a new company/business. I'm a young guy and was fortunate enough to get a "pensionable" gig. My benefits are free too. I'm looking to build something new – preferably online from home but wouldn’t mind getting off the computer also. If I go the ecommerce route, I have an empty garage for product storage. I've always been passionate about business, startups, and building something successful. I guess I just love the hustle! I’ll never give up and this is why I am here – for a little direction. Hopefully, I can turn all my failures and everything Ive learned along the way into something successful.
I’m not just a taker though. I’m equipped with a lot of skills such as web development, list building, seo, marketing both online and offline, advertising, negotiations, project management and more. I can definitely help many entrepreneurs out on the forum and I will.
Glad to meet everyone!
Steve
This is my first post and I thought it would be a great idea to introduce myself, my failures, why I am here, and what I intend to share with the forum. I lurked around the forum as a non member for a while and finally decided that this forum was one of the better ones for entrepreneurship.
First off, I’m 32 years old and I live in New York. I hold a bachelors degree in Business and burned my applications for MBA (big deal right?). I’ve always been an entrepreneur for as far back as I can remember. My first taste of entrepreneurship was when I was 14 years old. I got into selling sunglasses on eBay back when eBay was cool. I managed to connect with a seller on Canal St. that sold me sunglasses for $3 to $5 dollars a pair and I would list them on eBay and sell them for $55. I sold around 40 pairs a month and did this for around 2 years. Not to mention, I dug holes for my fathers fence company on the weekends, which totally sucked. Earning money online was a lot more fun and I didn’t have to destroy my hands. I even learned a few things. I learned to buy low and sell high. I learned how to market my products via eBay listings. At that time, competition was fierce so it was important to sell products that were just a bit different from my competitors but priced just a little bit better. I learned sales copy. I learned customer service. It was perfect for me and I made a killing for a young kid. I stopped because I felt that I wanted something more legit and more business like. Something my parents would be proud of me for.
Fast forward to High School. During High School, I landed a job at UPS. Yep, UPS. I needed money to support my entrepreneurial drive. I started when I was 16 and was promoted to supervisor at 17 (the youngest in the Hub). This was by far the hardest job I ever worked in my life. I thought digging holes was tough; working for UPS was NO JOKE! Anyway, it was my senior year in high school and a friend of mine somehow got into promoting parties for the 18+ 21+ to drink crowed. These guys were doing big things. They made tons of money, had tons of friends and not just Myspace friends lol. Myspace was huge back than. They drove sick cars too. I studied their every move, even worked with them for a few months, than launched my own event marketing and promotions business.
My nightlife business took off and I left UPS. I ran the business for about 7 or 8 years. I had an office with a team that did everything from coordinating and producing events to experiential marketing and creative marketing campaigns to print and branding for restaurants. Some of the guys that originally got me into this business even worked for me. This was my first successful venture. It was a business that required me to be out all night which wasn’t easy. I ended up getting serious with a girl (who is now my wife) and that was the end of that haha. Good times though and made some serious money.
Fast-forward a few years. I went through a lot of grinding. I taught myself some code but mainly learned to build sites with Wordpress on thesis. I learned the importance of building an email list and not to rely solely on Google. I had quite the bit of failures though. These startups ranged from everything such as a tee shirt campaign company called TeePaign (before Teespring was even conceived of) to an entrepreneurial startup course called Startup Rivals where entrepreneurs compete against each other to start their business. They had to meet milestones from idea phase, to starting their business, to acquiring their first customers. All failures. I launched a few blogs and content sites and learned SEO (on/off page). Even got into a startup event business that showcased startups and sold space. I was trying to bring SXSW to every state in the country basically. This one I pulled the plug on too soon. I’ve gained a TON of experience and learned a lot about every aspect of both the online and offline business world. I learned how to FAIL FAST.
Fast forward to 2012. I launched a fitness subscription business in BETA. The idea was to sell duffle bags loaded with fitness and athletic gear, nutritional supplements, and other goodies and deliver them monthly straight to our customer’s door. It took me about 6 months to launch and did about 1400 signups (further developed my list building skills). Ran out of product and felt the liability and insurance was too extreme for the business. I didn’t even know what I was selling – had no idea how harmful these products were. The business really wasn't scalable either. I would have to beg companies to get in on our program and include us in their marketing budget (forking over free product to us). In exchange we would convert those trials into sales for them. Eventually they gave up supplying product. Shipping rates were through the roof and margins were minuscule. Our brand was awesome though and we really connected with our clients. They loved us but again I shut it down.
Took about a year and a half off and here I am. I have my first baby on the way. I have around 6 figures in cash in the bank. I own my own home. I work a full-time job but have a lot of flexibility - home by 2pm. I'm in a very unique position to start a new company/business. I'm a young guy and was fortunate enough to get a "pensionable" gig. My benefits are free too. I'm looking to build something new – preferably online from home but wouldn’t mind getting off the computer also. If I go the ecommerce route, I have an empty garage for product storage. I've always been passionate about business, startups, and building something successful. I guess I just love the hustle! I’ll never give up and this is why I am here – for a little direction. Hopefully, I can turn all my failures and everything Ive learned along the way into something successful.
I’m not just a taker though. I’m equipped with a lot of skills such as web development, list building, seo, marketing both online and offline, advertising, negotiations, project management and more. I can definitely help many entrepreneurs out on the forum and I will.
Glad to meet everyone!
Steve
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