MTF needs a slumpbuster: Too many swings, no hits.

[rpeck90]

Just based on us working together before you could easily...

- Work with creators and influencers
- Help them write a book based on their skills/story
- Could be sold directly and/or a lead magnet
- Easily could charge $10k-$50k+ per book to do this

And you already have all the personal experience and a case study (my book) to back it up.

Also, you don't have to rely on any algorithm, platform, or outside system. That is all the creators problem.

It is a massive growth industry and people highly recommend people who do good work. Once you landed one big name you could easily get a bunch more.

Maybe not the dream business... but 100% doable and 100% would be profitable.

This works - considering you are able to work with the right influencer.

I would suggest that charging them is going to be problematic. You'd be better suited to doing a JV / royalty arrangement, whereby you put up the capital for the book, printing, illustrator + promotion and they help promote it.

There are two people I follow who've recently had this treatment (although I don't know how the money side of it is handled).

The first is a young woman I met a decade ago who won a young engineering prize in the UK and now makes "invention" type content (particularly for children): -



You can view the pre-order page here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1915569273/?tag=tff07-21

The second is a woman I found about 10 years ago when she won Miss France, Marine Lorphelin. Since that time, she's become a qualified doctor and is doing the rounds on the Parisian media circuit: -



She recently released a book called "In Great Shape". As far as I can tell, it's some of the most basic advice possible but because she's got une belle visage, people buy it. You can see an example of the level of demand it's generated here:


View attachment 6B4EF94067BE3BF709442E041B74DABC_video_dashinit.mp4

You can see the type of promotional work she's done for it here: -

View: https://youtu.be/p1nO9nTHEB0?t=2510

In both cases, the development of the books were handled by a third party. Whilst they provided the content, without the higher level organization writing the cheques, it's unlikely either would have come to fruition.

I would strongly advocate working with someone who has a pedigree in their field. Most don't, and the "books" they create are shit.

I think the position of Rob's suggestion, in this regard, is off; rather than selling a way for some random influencer to promote themselves, why not consider a qualitative product that is based on real industry knowledge. Whilst both of the above are basic products focused on mainstream adoption, working with people who are slightly more advanced would absolutely give you an opportunity to supersede others in the market.

--

Having looked into this sort of thing for my own business, the price for doing a run of books like that will be about £30k for the printing. Illustration would be dependent on how much work is involved.

I got a quote some years back (before inflation) for just over £20k for 1000 premium hard cover books, similar to the following: -





The above were printed by a company called PurePrint in the UK, one of the largest printing companies.

The two primary printers of books, however, are CPI Group or Clays. Clays tends to do monochrome whilst CPI tend to do full colour prints. Pick up any book in the UK and it's highly likely to have been printed by either CPI or Clays.

--

If you have the money for something like the above, it would lead to a CENTS business.

 

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[MTF]

This works - considering you are able to work with the right influencer.

I would suggest that charging them is going to be problematic. You'd be better suited to doing a JV / royalty arrangement, whereby you put up the capital for the book, printing, illustrator + promotion and they help promote it.

There are two people I follow who've recently had this treatment (although I don't know how the money side of it is handled).

The first is a young woman I met a decade ago who won a young engineering prize in the UK and now makes "invention" type content (particularly for children): -

View attachment 54809

You can view the pre-order page here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1915569273/?tag=tff07-21

The second is a woman I found about 10 years ago when she won Miss France, Marine Lorphelin. Since that time, she's become a qualified doctor and is doing the rounds on the Parisian media circuit: -

View attachment 54811

She recently released a book called "In Great Shape". As far as I can tell, it's some of the most basic advice possible but because she's got une belle visage, people buy it. You can see an example of the level of demand it's generated here:


View attachment 54812

You can see the type of promotional work she's done for it here: -

View: https://youtu.be/p1nO9nTHEB0?t=2510

In both cases, the development of the books were handled by a third party. Whilst they provided the content, without the higher level organization writing the cheques, it's unlikely either would have come to fruition.

I would strongly advocate working with someone who has a pedigree in their field. Most don't, and the "books" they create are shit.

I think the position of Rob's suggestion, in this regard, is off; rather than selling a way for some random influencer to promote themselves, why not consider a qualitative product that is based on real industry knowledge. Whilst both of the above are basic products focused on mainstream adoption, working with people who are slightly more advanced would absolutely give you an opportunity to supersede others in the market.

--

Having looked into this sort of thing for my own business, the price for doing a run of books like that will be about £30k for the printing. Illustration would be dependent on how much work is involved.

I got a quote some years back (before inflation) for just over £20k for 1000 premium hard cover books, similar to the following: -

View attachment 54813

View attachment 54814

The above were printed by a company called PurePrint in the UK, one of the largest printing companies.

The two primary printers of books, however, are CPI Group or Clays. Clays tends to do monochrome whilst CPI tend to do full colour prints. Pick up any book in the UK and it's highly likely to have been printed by either CPI or Clays.

--

If you have the money for something like the above, it would lead to a CENTS business.

I actually did start working on this years ago (high-quality books like that). But then I got into a depressive spiral and I had to shut everything down.

 

[Fox]

Yes, if I don't come up with anything better this is a good plan assuming I can charge much higher prices. The last time it didn't work because I was charging way too little.

Ya I got you at a steal of a deal ha.

You could up these prices by x10-x20 and it would just take one good project to kick this off massively.

LETS GO!

 

[Black_Dragon43]

If you give me a steal of a deal @MTF, I'll be your first (new) customer.

 

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[StrikingViper69]

This works - considering you are able to work with the right influencer.

I would suggest that charging them is going to be problematic. You'd be better suited to doing a JV / royalty arrangement, whereby you put up the capital for the book, printing, illustrator + promotion and they help promote it.

There are two people I follow who've recently had this treatment (although I don't know how the money side of it is handled).

The first is a young woman I met a decade ago who won a young engineering prize in the UK and now makes "invention" type content (particularly for children): -

View attachment 54809

You can view the pre-order page here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1915569273/?tag=tff07-21

The second is a woman I found about 10 years ago when she won Miss France, Marine Lorphelin. Since that time, she's become a qualified doctor and is doing the rounds on the Parisian media circuit: -

View attachment 54811

She recently released a book called "In Great Shape". As far as I can tell, it's some of the most basic advice possible but because she's got une belle visage, people buy it. You can see an example of the level of demand it's generated here:


View attachment 54812

You can see the type of promotional work she's done for it here: -

View: https://youtu.be/p1nO9nTHEB0?t=2510

In both cases, the development of the books were handled by a third party. Whilst they provided the content, without the higher level organization writing the cheques, it's unlikely either would have come to fruition.

I would strongly advocate working with someone who has a pedigree in their field. Most don't, and the "books" they create are shit.

I think the position of Rob's suggestion, in this regard, is off; rather than selling a way for some random influencer to promote themselves, why not consider a qualitative product that is based on real industry knowledge. Whilst both of the above are basic products focused on mainstream adoption, working with people who are slightly more advanced would absolutely give you an opportunity to supersede others in the market.

--

Having looked into this sort of thing for my own business, the price for doing a run of books like that will be about £30k for the printing. Illustration would be dependent on how much work is involved.

I got a quote some years back (before inflation) for just over £20k for 1000 premium hard cover books, similar to the following: -

View attachment 54813

View attachment 54814

The above were printed by a company called PurePrint in the UK, one of the largest printing companies.

The two primary printers of books, however, are CPI Group or Clays. Clays tends to do monochrome whilst CPI tend to do full colour prints. Pick up any book in the UK and it's highly likely to have been printed by either CPI or Clays.

--

If you have the money for something like the above, it would lead to a CENTS business.

Those prices are mad. I’ve had quotes that are about half that. Are they a POD company or a proper printers dealing with medium run printing?

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Those prices are mad. I’ve had quotes that are about half that. Are they a POD company or a proper printers dealing with medium run printing?

Yeah, agreed, they are rip off prices. I'd never pay that

 

[rpeck90]

Those prices are mad. I’ve had quotes that are about half that. Are they a POD company or a proper printers dealing with medium run printing?

It's a proper printing company and I requested quotes for the equivalent of a coffee table book - the type of quality you'd get from the likes of Taschen. For something less ostentatious, it would be less.

The quote was from PurePrint.

Regarding whether the prices are too high, I would see it as an investment into my company's brand equity, so would be happy to spend the money to make sure it's correct. There's a big difference between selling small commodified products for % margin and building a massive company that can do billions in revenue. The former is why most stay small.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

It's a proper printing company and I requested quotes for the equivalent of a coffee table book - the type of quality you'd get from the likes of Taschen. For something less ostentatious, it would be less.

The quote was from PurePrint.

I could probably get it to you at 30-40% of the price, same quality, locally here

There's a big difference between selling small commodified products for % margin and building a massive company that can do billions in revenue. The former is why most stay small.

Get quality for less, unless you have funding. If you have funding, go for the big names because they are "safe", and if your investor ever questions you, you can always hide behind "But we're working with PwC!"

When I ran my podcast, I built the entire team in a week. $5/hr audio editor did a better job than $40/hr one. So why would I have changed them? $300/month and I could run my podcast without doing anything myself except hit record, with a team of 2 people, audio editor and writer/manager. I never had to speak with anyone, it just got done.

To have an economic advantage, you need to get good pricing. This is essential. In a battle of resources the ones who get the most from the least end up winning in the long run. Do not inflate what you pay more than necessary unless you have some other priority, for example speed of execution.

 

[StrikingViper69]

It's a proper printing company and I requested quotes for the equivalent of a coffee table book - the type of quality you'd get from the likes of Taschen. For something less ostentatious, it would be less.

The quote was from PurePrint.

Regarding whether the prices are too high, I would see it as an investment into my company's brand equity, so would be happy to spend the money to make sure it's correct. There's a big difference between selling small commodified products for % margin and building a massive company that can do billions in revenue. The former is why most stay small.

Aaah something with high quality photographic paper for each page? Yeah that would be pretty pricey

 

[rpeck90]

Aaah something with high quality photographic paper for each page? Yeah that would be pretty pricey

Yes, exactly.

I could probably get it to you at 30-40% of the price, same quality, locally here


Get quality for less, unless you have funding. If you have funding, go for the big names because they are "safe", and if your investor ever questions you, you can always hide behind "But we're working with PwC!"

When I ran my podcast, I built the entire team in a week. $5/hr audio editor did a better job than $40/hr one. So why would I have changed them? $300/month and I could run my podcast without doing anything myself except hit record, with a team of 2 people, audio editor and writer/manager. I never had to speak with anyone, it just got done.

To have an economic advantage, you need to get good pricing. This is essential. In a battle of resources the ones who get the most from the least end up winning in the long run. Do not inflate what you pay more than necessary unless you have some other priority, for example speed of execution.

I fully appreciate the notion of keeping costs low, there is no issue there.

You're conflating the running of a podcast with producing a book. A book is consumed differently and brings with it many qualities that a podcast can't; namely longevity & substance. Coffee table books, as an example, have a quality that can transcend commodity - in many cases, acting as pieces of ornamentation... art even.

The value of that, to a business, has been intimated by yourself on numerous occasions; there is a "depth" which opens the door to branded / premium buyers... people who want to deal with "you" because of the potency of what "you" produce.

Nickel and diming that investment is why most businesses never elevate themselves beyond smaller level work. That's all I was saying... whether you use a $5/hr or $40/hr audio engineer isn't my concern.

Obviously, my suggestions above were not meant to be "spend £1000's on a coffee table book", that's only arisen as my quote has been questioned I have been focused on building a brand. Brands require significant equitable value which can only built through making certain investments - a good book showcasing what you have done being one.

The book I posted a picture of, for example, is being sold for £2,500. I highly doubt anyone has bought it but the position it now holds in my mind is one of premium, equitable, value. If you apply the same logic to the likes of Tiffany's book, you'll see what I'm getting at. Tiffany makes exactly the same products as everyone else... but it's Tiffany.

Regarding @MTF's focus, working with an influencer to produce a book would definitely necessitate costing things correctly. I don't who he is, what his background is etc. I had been meaning to write a reply along the vein I did; @Fox's post spurred me to do so!

 

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[MTF]

The book I posted a picture of, for example, is being sold for £2,500. I highly doubt anyone has bought it but the position it now holds in my mind is one of premium, equitable, value. If you apply the same logic to the likes of Tiffany's book, you'll see what I'm getting at. Tiffany makes exactly the same products as everyone else... but it's Tiffany.

Regarding @MTF's focus, working with an influencer to produce a book would definitely necessitate costing things correctly. I don't who he is, what his background is etc. I had been meaning to write a reply along the vein I did; @Fox's post spurred me to do so!

Like I mentioned above, I was working exactly on this specific idea. I worked with an agency specializing in luxury marketing to give the brand the right feel (in hindsight, that was such an action fake). But then I gave up as my mental health was at its all time low.

The biggest challenge with this is acquiring customers. You can't really do any of the regular channels (since these are mostly super wealthy people) and some kind of networking among the wealthy is needed to get leads.

Meanwhile, working with influencers is way easier as you can more easily find them and pitch your services.

As a practical, aesthetically-challenged person I'd rather sell utility/results than beauty/status as would be the case with producing such expensive, art-like books. You really need to understand very, very well how to sell to people motivated by legacy and/or vanity.

 

[rpeck90]

Like I mentioned above, I was working exactly on this specific idea. I worked with an agency specializing in luxury marketing to give the brand the right feel (in hindsight, that was such an action fake). But then I gave up as my mental health was at its all time low.

The biggest challenge with this is acquiring customers. You can't really do any of the regular channels (since these are mostly super wealthy people) and some kind of networking among the wealthy is needed to get leads.

Meanwhile, working with influencers is way easier as you can more easily find them and pitch your services.

As a practical, aesthetically-challenged person I'd rather sell utility/results than beauty/status as would be the case with producing such expensive, art-like books. You really need to understand very, very well how to sell to people motivated by legacy and/or vanity.

I doubt you could make a living doing luxury books unless you already had something to work with (your grandfather set up the business etc).

My focus with them is to build out a pipeline for my software company. Similar to the likes of Tiffany above - the point isn't so much to make money off the book, more to use it as a point of leverage for the brand.

The number of people who think like that (you can just see from the initial responses to my post) is so small, and the cost so prohibitive, that it's unlikely there would be enough buyers/audience to make it worthwhile.

However... that wasn't my original point.

My point was that there are a ton of influencers who have been getting book deals. The young woman I met isn't special; she won an award in 2006 and runs a YouTube channel with 60k subscribers.

Marine Lorphelin is hot and has a lot of followers on Instagram... but she's no different to the other women who graduated medicine in France. Her big pull is the fact she won Miss France in 2013, meaning her looks garner attention, which filters through to people buying the book.

In either case, those women would not have had the means to fund the production of a book themselves, nor hire an illustrator/typesetter etc. Giving people like that the opportunity to create a book, have them promote it to their audience, and have some sort of royalty scheme set up, could prove fruitful over the long term.

As Tudor mentioned, when you're doing it as a business, costs count and so you would not use the printer(s) I mentioned above unless you can get the unit cost down. It's definitely a viable business, although, as mentioned above, I would not think you'd get many takers trying to sell the idea to the influencers - it would be better having a royalty split with them or something similar.

 

[Kevin88660]

I completely lost any belief in my business skills. I feel like all the success I have I owe just to luck and the right timing. Without it, I'd be nothing.

If you can hit satisfactory financial success once it is already top 0.1 percent of the population.

And out of 0.1 percent, less than five percent can repeat the same feat in another 4-5 year cycle.

So I don’t see why you need to beat yourself.

 

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[Andy Black]

The biggest challenge with this is acquiring customers.

Meanwhile, working with influencers is way easier as you can more easily find them and pitch your services.

That's what Hunter Hammonds discusses when interviewed. Have influencers endorse/sell your product/service.

What if you sent some sort of coffee table book to a B2B influencer and they loved it and shared it? Could that bring in business for you?

What if you did it for free and without their knowledge?

What if they got revenue for every sale they generated?

What if they even partnered with you?

 

[NervesOfSteel]

I completely lost any belief in my business skills. I feel like all the success I have I owe just to luck and the right timing. Without it, I'd be nothing.

These days, I'm just a cynical hypocrite. Friends ask me for business advice but honestly what the F*ck do I know? Just the shit I read online since I've been unable to make any business work for the past 4 years.

I just can't find any energy anymore to keep trying to figure it out. Little things overwhelm me. I've lost that resolve and the entrepreneurial spirit of figuring things out.

Not sure what to do about it other than rant since trying just doesn't work and leads to even more failure and disappointment.

Luck and Timing are only catalysts to execution! Execution and hunger are everything! Get your mindset in order.

You were the core of execution! Know thine worth!

The truth is that starting a business in today’s age isn’t easy, especially not an online business.

There’s many many different problems that you need to solve.

This is the most basic duty of the entrepreneur, to begin with!

But your profit margin is just a measly 10%.

Manufacturers don't work for pennies! LOL

your odds of failure are slim and you will become a multi-millionaire within 20 years.

Perfect business model!

I put it behind me and decided to completely leave this niche as it keeps me stuck in the past.

If you can't talk about it, it's still your secret and you have NOT put it behind!

naked women getting paid 1000x more than my physiotherapist doing a much more important job.

Naked women utilize the "T" of CENTS better than your physiotherapist! Hence the 1000x benefit! LOL



Jokes apart, you need to get your MOJO back!

 

[Black_Dragon43]

View attachment 54832

And someone won the lottery? So?!?!

 

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[NervesOfSteel]

My point is that once you're famous, you can do whatever and it'll still work. But when you're starting out, you can be the greatest and it still won't matter because people value celebrities more than the content.

For example, take a look at Amazon bestsellers. There's always a lot of bestsellers written by celebrities talking about ridiculously basic cliche stuff (often inspirational). Come up with something else, tested through research and hundreds of case studies, and your book won't get anywhere close to that stuff. Your message doesn't matter because what matters is the superficial stuff. But that's just the way the world is so I'm merely pointing the obvious.

2 questions:

1. Do celebs write their books?
2. The price people pay for the book is negligible compared to the "time" readers usually invest in reading it!

That's why another book as good as Harry Potter Universe will make more due to content!

People are done with "Start a million-dollar business on the weekend" funneling Gurus with incomprehensible ads vs acquisition costs ... especially the bald ones (pun included) ...

Content is King!

 

[NervesOfSteel]

And someone won the lottery? So?!?!

She SOLD!

Even Gods can't deny her SALES! LOL!

The pun was intended to put forward the fact that the world is changing at a rate faster than one can imagine ... adapt or dissolve ... just like Nokia!

 

[MTF]

My point was that there are a ton of influencers who have been getting book deals. The young woman I met isn't special; she won an award in 2006 and runs a YouTube channel with 60k subscribers.

Marine Lorphelin is hot and has a lot of followers on Instagram... but she's no different to the other women who graduated medicine in France. Her big pull is the fact she won Miss France in 2013, meaning her looks garner attention, which filters through to people buying the book.

In either case, those women would not have had the means to fund the production of a book themselves, nor hire an illustrator/typesetter etc. Giving people like that the opportunity to create a book, have them promote it to their audience, and have some sort of royalty scheme set up, could prove fruitful over the long term.

That's a very good observation and I like that idea. This could even be extended to offering to do online courses for them or helping them set up their own list so they have something else besides social media presence.

I know there's a ton of micro influencers/semi-famous people in their fields who would do very well selling their professionally published life stories or how-to advice.

But yeah, this could only work with a royalty scheme so that if you score some wins, they make up for the losses.

 

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[MTF]

If you can hit satisfactory financial success once it is already top 0.1 percent of the population.

And out of 0.1 percent, less than five percent can repeat the same feat in another 4-5 year cycle.

So I don’t see why you need to beat yourself.

Thanks for this observation. I'm generally very hard on myself and always demand more.

 

[MTF]

That's what Hunter Hammonds discusses when interviewed. Have influencers endorse/sell your product/service.

What if you sent some sort of coffee table book to a B2B influencer and they loved it and shared it? Could that bring in business for you?

What if you did it for free and without their knowledge?

What if they got revenue for every sale they generated?

What if they even partnered with you?

I actually turned one chapter of Andy Frisella's book into a professionally designed hardbook (his book was terribly designed) and posted this in a private group of his premium program. Unfortunately he never replied.

But I still 100% love this idea and I know that if I were to do 5 such "demo" products I'd get at least a sale or two. And each sale would probably mean solid 5 figures or more (if doing a revenue share).

Something to consider...

 

[MTF]

Execution and hunger are everything! Get your mindset in order.

That's the whole problem. It's very, very hard to feel that hunger when you no longer need it. Just look at the most successful rappers. Their first albums are always the best and then inevitably get worse and worse.

 

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[Andy Black]

I know that if I were to do 5 such "demo" products I'd get at least a sale or two.

I'd view it as a way of building relationships and finding people to JV with, rather than a way to make a sale or two.

 

[MTF]

I'd view it as a way of building relationships and finding people to JV with, rather than a way to make a sale or two.

That's sort of what I meant, just used a different word.

 

[Bounce Back]

I know I may be going against the grain here but if you don't feel the hunger to do it again I would seriously consider not.

There are some who are persistent entrepreneurs (and many reason why: some are just competitive, some like the chess-like occupation, some like to be leaders, effect change, etc.) and then there are plenty who just want the cash to afford themselves freedom. If you are in the second group and already did it (and don't need to do it again) I don't personally see it such a bad thing to bow out and focus on things you do like to do (even if that means going and finding them).

You may find by intentionally unplugging from the business grind a fire will be relit in a more natural way in the future.

 

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[Andy Black]

That's sort of what I meant, just used a different word.

Ah got it. You meant you'd sign them up to be an influencer to help sell the service.

 

[MitchC]

This sounds like a hard slog of a business and almost like a high paying job.

I can see you not getting a sale for a bit and ending up in a slump again. Or just ending up in a slump again and not making any sales.

I think you should start something that will take on a life of its own.

ecommerce sounds good although I’m bias as it’s what I do and I like it.

The hardest thing with ecommerce, especially high ticket products is cash. You have that problem solved, not many people do.

Lots of competition at the bottom but none at that level.

Also content and seo could be an advantage.

Jason R, can’t find his handle to tag him built a nice ecommerce business for a fairly high ticket product using seo.

A friend of mine just started one too. His first sales were facebook marketplace and I think he already is getting sales from seo with basically no work on seo because there’s just no competition.

You could be in a mental slump for a month or 2 and the business wouldn’t grow, but it would still keep running.

The writing business would be good if you had the right circle and could build connections and get referrals with all the influencers and gurus, but idk if that’s something you’d wanna do. It fits your love of writing but I don’t think that’s the important part of that business.

 

[MTF]

I know I may be going against the grain here but if you don't feel the hunger to do it again I would seriously consider not.

There are some who are persistent entrepreneurs (and many reason why: some are just competitive, some like the chess-like occupation, some like to be leaders, effect change, etc.) and then there are plenty who just want the cash to afford themselves freedom. If you are in the second group and already did it (and don't need to do it again) I don't personally see it such a bad thing to bow out and focus on things you do like to do (even if that means going and finding them).

You may find by intentionally unplugging from the business grind a fire will be relit in a more natural way in the future.

Yes that's what I'm doing now. Just helping my girlfriend with her business, exploring some stuff myself but not committing to anything at the moment.

Ah got it. You meant you'd sign them up to be an influencer to help sell the service.

No I actually meant setting up royalty share deals as discussed before with @rpeck90. Reaching out to people with smaller audiences but still solid and offering them a royalty share book deal.

 

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[MTF]

This sounds like a hard slog of a business and almost like a high paying job.

I can see you not getting a sale for a bit and ending up in a slump again. Or just ending up in a slump again and not making any sales.

I think you should start something that will take on a life of its own.

Thank you for offering this perspective. Now that I think of it, I agree with that. A business where each month you sort of start from zero, always looking for the next deal, can be indeed a terrible emotional roller coaster. It would be better to have recurring revenue or systems that drive sales consistently.

ecommerce sounds good although I’m bias as it’s what I do and I like it.

The hardest thing with ecommerce, especially high ticket products is cash. You have that problem solved, not many people do.

Lots of competition at the bottom but none at that level.

I have some questions about this:

1. Can I realistically run this business for any other location than Poland and/or Europe? My question is how to set it up in a way that my location is irrelevant, not just logistics-wise but also tax-wise, etc. I'm fine having to be somewhere for a few months to set it up but later I'd like to be able to control it from anywhere.

2. How do you have it set up so that you can go to Europe in the summer for three months? Do you sell in Australia only? Is everything delegated to some kind of a fulfillment company? How about taxes and stuff?

3. Any resources you could recommend so I can explore this further and have a better idea of how this all works? At this moment I'm not even sure what you mean by e-commerce. Is it selling your own product you created yourself or having a regular store with various existing products you get from manufacturers or distributors?

The writing business would be good if you had the right circle and could build connections and get referrals with all the influencers and gurus, but idk if that’s something you’d wanna do. It fits your love of writing but I don’t think that’s the important part of that business.

I never had any good connections and I'd say it's my weakness. I could address it (I would say I'm doing better in this aspect in certain areas of my life) but it's possible I'm better suited for businesses where this isn't an important aspect.

 

[MitchC]

Thank you for offering this perspective. Now that I think of it, I agree with that. A business where each month you sort of start from zero, always looking for the next deal, can be indeed a terrible emotional roller coaster. It would be better to have recurring revenue or systems that drive sales consistently.



I have some questions about this:

1. Can I realistically run this business for any other location than Poland and/or Europe? My question is how to set it up in a way that my location is irrelevant, not just logistics-wise but also tax-wise, etc. I'm fine having to be somewhere for a few months to set it up but later I'd like to be able to control it from anywhere.

2. How do you have it set up so that you can go to Europe in the summer for three months? Do you sell in Australia only? Is everything delegated to some kind of a fulfillment company? How about taxes and stuff?

3. Any resources you could recommend so I can explore this further and have a better idea of how this all works? At this moment I'm not even sure what you mean by e-commerce. Is it selling your own product you created yourself or having a regular store with various existing products you get from manufacturers or distributors?



I never had any good connections and I'd say it's my weakness. I could address it (I would say I'm doing better in this aspect in certain areas of my life) but it's possible I'm better suited for businesses where this isn't an important aspect.

1. Not qualified to give tax advice but I know forum members have used Global wealth to set things up so you pay no taxes, it can be done

2. Yes I outsource fulfilment, you can outsource it to china and do dropshipping style or have a fulfilment centre in the country you are selling to, or a hybrid. China to test and then local once working. I have an agency run my ads. When I ran them myself it was fairly hands off too. Once they work you just keep an eye and they keep working. Some people run their own warehouse I think this is absolutely insane. Having it outsourced means you can scale as big or small as you want and don’t have to have employees rent and all that headache.

3. I started out dropshipping and have since built a brand with my own products, nothing crazy unique, just logos and a little customisation. My friend imported 3 of his product as samples, sold them on Facebook marketplace, set a Shopify store up, imported 20, (his products are like $1000 each), and is now running google and facebook ads. Just start small so you don’t lose much if it doesn’t work. Pick something that if it works it’ll work big and work long term. That way you can afford to move slow and sensibly.

You can do Amazon, TikTok, google ads, seo etc, whatever suits you and your product. My advice is pick 1 of them and stick with it, it’s all you need, don’t go try and learn all of them there’s no need.