Weekly Meetup Accountability Call Megathread

[Subsonic]

@NervesOfSteel: not here
@Sumiran: not here
@ElDiablo L: [year goal -> make the first $ as an entrepreneur]
@Subsonic L: perfect the presentation, learn 200 Words in Thai and do 10 Lessons, finish the Geo book, put flyers in 10 more stores in my town [year goal > 13k € this year earned]
@rpeck90 L: "post" [year goal -> pay off the domain]
@The-J: not here
@szalek W: get slug to work, follow up with contacts - 100 invitations to cottages in IN - introduce a new advertising strategy - create a posting calendar [year goal -> 10k PLN]
@lifemaker L: RIP
@The Racing Driver W : get one sale [year goal -> 3k £ a month]
@Lucy Lee W: prepare for the lecture and hold it [year goal ->create one AI product and make one sale]
@Maria 777 W: do backend and full-stack tutorial, code something with everything learned [year goal -> finish a product and begin marketing]
@Inventor001 L : 3 practice tests [year goal -> 80% scores in College, get first sale]

FORMAT (about 5 minutes each)
W or L for the week?
what got done?
what was the obstacle? (NOT what are the excuses....)
how do we clear / overcome / eliminate the obstacle ?
what is the main goal for the year?
what WILL get done this week?


A little less wins than last week but still a nice call.
@rpeck90 asked me an interesting question: What makes me (someone making decent first money) different from the people at level 0 on the call. The only thing I could think of is that I actually offer something to others and help them.

Like @Andy Black would say, "Help people. Get paid. Help more people". If you simply sell something that provides value, money will enter your life. For that money to become something life changing, relative value and CENTS come into play. But first you need to sell something to someone.
Many great things started by simply helping a few people (e.g. the internet was originally made, so universities could exchange information more efficiently)

 

[BizyDad]

Thread created:

NOTABLE! - MEETUPS - [TFLF Call Replay] - For teens & students getting started

Hi all. @Lawtiti (who changed his forum name to @Chet Shen) created a Meetup Thread a few days ago and had a Zoom call with @ZCP who gave advice on getting started etc. I offered to do a Zoom where I'll go through some of the main things I think holds people back when getting started, and how...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

So this thread has made it a bit confusing if this is meant to be an ongoing series...

So who's in charge around here? I was going to tag Lawtiti but that forum handle is gone now. Shame. I actually really liked that name. I don't know the meaning, but it sure was catchy.

@Chet Shen are you the man to talk to now? I'd like to volunteer for the next call.

You've gotten some of the Yin and Yang that is @ZCP and @Andy Black . So far I think what you'all've discussed is motivational, get started stuff, right?

Hopefully some of you are getting started.

I have found that pretty quickly new biz owners get bogged down in the marketing questions. Shiny object syndrome.

I thought a call about the 3 M's of Marketing (see thread here) could help give you newer folks a framework for crafting messages and deciding what marketing mediums to focus your efforts on.

Andy might say I'm helping you solve problems you do not have yet (and he might be right), but it's a common thing I see start ups (and established companies) face, so better to prepare you now.

Of course if you all want a general topic or a different speaker, that's cool. I just like the momentum that has started here with this and want to do my part to keep it going.

(Please don't ask me to discord though. Lol.)

 

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[Subsonic]

Fastlane Call
Saturday, 28 October · 6:00 – 7:00pm
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: Meet

Next call, with timezone and everything.

@MJ DeMarco , here is the Tag, and thanks for supporting this.

 

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[Subsonic]

Is she doing okay? Any update?

Yeah, she's a legend. She will be back home in a few days and German health insurance covered 100% luckily. Said she ain't going nowhere until her 100th Birthday.

 

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[Subsonic]

Hey Guys, how are you all?

Just discovered this accountability group call via the unscripted channel on telegram.

Can I join the call too? I've been procrastinating a lot lately and focusing on things that aren't important. I might get some kick and meet you all.

Yes, feel free to join us.



To all the others, we make it this week. I closed two new customers. Perhaps this is going to be a new record week for me. The presentation was an A- so ten hours of prep time well spent.

Just have to get off the damm video done. Got 2 podcasts done so far.

Everyone else, make the next call a new W record.

 

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[Subsonic]

@MaximOntheRoad W: 5 reachouts a day
@Subsonic Study L: Stick with the study timetable, get in all the theory on analytical geometry and Calculus, do all the cleaning Jobs myself to make more profit to save up for the Thailand holiday.
@Lucy Lee L: finish the python basics
@Maria 777 W : focus on my music homework, watch 10 min of the javascript tutorial video everyday since monday
@szalek W: 50 dms, compare ads, carry out first ad campaign, post on insta and fb 4x
@rpeck90 L : MEETUPS - Weekly Meetup Accountability Call Megathread

@ElDiablo L : repeat last weeks goal
@Lucho L : - Create an info deck - Record a video walking through info deck presentation - Set up on Kajabi and post presentation - Run Google Ads and Youtube ads to Kajabi presentation
@lifemaker :
@Geist L : rework landing page, reword emails, do some quick research on outsourcing lead gen
@NervesOfSteel W: take a week off
@piano W : ---
@Sumiran W : 30 reachouts, 2 content post

 

[ZCP]

@MaximOntheRoad W: Do 5 Cold calls a day untill you get a client.
@Subsonic Study L : create 4 creatives for fb ads - 2 before and after videos, find someone to hand out my flyers
4 abi exercies in english and german, 4 Vorschläge in Math
@Lucy Lee W: visit the city and get product feedback
@Maria 777 W : Contiue the process from last week
@szalek W: figuring out how to get clients like in last year (another fb camaping), another 50 dms to new people, 3 posting on ig/fb, set up linkedin?
@rpeck90 W : MEETUPS - Weekly Meetup Accountability Call Megathread
@ElDiablo W : see thread
@lifemaker W : revise
@Geist ? : link broken
@NervesOfSteel W: buy new land for new manufacturing unity: visit 4 new sites; practice english 10 x2 a day
@piano : ---
@Sumiran L : 30 reachouts, 3 content post

more W's! nice. 1000 pushups is a lot. give yourself a stick and a carrot to get things started / build a habit.

now, for those on this call, be CAREFUL to not overcorrect and make things too easy. You want PROGRESS. Do not accept mediocre minimal stuff to 'not have to do pushups'. Get things done. Move yourself along to achieve your goals. Get out of your comfort zone. You got this!

 

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[Subsonic]

@ElDiablo W: 4 reachouts a day
@NervesOfSteel W: focus on sales on existing business, english twice a day
@Subsonic L : 2x 20min thai a day, 180 min math a day and 180 minutes of english a day, do all the job myself, autohaus, video for maxim
@rpeck90 L: See post
@MaximOntheRoad W: Try new ad variation, 5 and 10 reachouts a day,
@The-J W: test 3 more videos on warm traffic, client work,
@szalek L: 100 Email a day, call with Justin, three linkedin posts, two insta posts
@lifemaker LLL: Post
@Lucy Lee L: continue with the draft content
@Maria 777 W: php video, code something simple in Js
@Inventor001 : complete current elecricity chaper, 2 exams


"Consistency is the only trait that makes success inevitable."

See you next week guys.

 

[NervesOfSteel]

@ElDiablo W: 4 reachouts a day
@NervesOfSteel W: focus on sales on existing business, english twice a day
@Subsonic L : 2x 20min thai a day, 180 min math a day and 180 minutes of english a day, do all the job myself, autohaus, video for maxim
@rpeck90 L: See post
@MaximOntheRoad W: Try new ad variation, 5 and 10 reachouts a day,
@The-J W: test 3 more videos on warm traffic, client work,
@szalek L: 100 Email a day, call with Justin, three linkedin posts, two insta posts
@lifemaker LLL: Post
@Lucy Lee L: continue with the draft content
@Maria 777 W: php video, code something simple in Js
@Inventor001 : complete current elecricity chaper, 2 exams


"Consistency is the only trait that makes success inevitable."

See you next week guys.

It is the middle of the week and I am adding a new goal for the remaining week.

Additional Goal: Develop and test a system to automate my main manufacturing business. From receiving an inquiry ... to the point of delivery, I want to develop a whole new automated system that will probably detach me from my most time-consuming business and I will be able to create approx 4 extra hrs every day!

 

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[ZCP]

On a weekly call we did together for years, @LightHouse used to ask us 'are you INTERESTED or are you COMMITTED?'......

I'm going to ask that for the people on this call.
Meeting once a week to talk is cool. Setup a call or two or some whatsapp chats and you guys DO that.

A weekly accountability call is more than that. Commitments completed. Tasks consistently done to move us toward our goals. Not accepting obstacles, especially if WE are the obstacle. Getting things done so you don't let down the other people on the call. So they can see you as inspiration to help them get things done.

Let's up our game here. Post progress in this thread. Follow the format for Saturday's call. Do the work. Get uncomfortable. Schedule it and get it done.

WE got this!!

 

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[ZCP]

My "why" is to get into a good engineering college and start a profitable business this year. Yes, I think it is compelling enough.

An exercise:
What happens if you don't do it? (magnify the pain)
What happens if you do it? (increase the pleasure)

Also, 'why' do you want to get into engineering college?
'why' do you want to start a profitable business?
what is the outcome you are after? be VERY specific

 

[Chet Shen]

I've figured out that since no one wants to start an INSIDERS call or just too busy to start one, I might as well do it. I have limited knowledge on business but I'm willing to start a call to invite people to talk about themselves. My goal is to hear people's progress and to learn from them, not from a thread or text, but from what they say live. What do I need to start one?

I'm 15yrs old in school, started a window cleaning business not long ago and still learning about business then, want to learn more about business and people.

Tell me if I'm not eligible or not smart or experienced enough to start an INSIDERS call?

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

Just a word of advice, I don’t think sticking to one’s own age group ever did anyone much good.

Learning from people who know a lot more than you is a much more powerful strategy.

I know I’m 33 and that makes me an “old man” now according to 29 year old young hotshots like @Black_Dragon43, but in my late teens and 20s, I worked hard to learn from people that had actually done something. As result most of my friends today are older than me, some a lot older than me.

I’m sure to some of you this may come across like us older guys are feeling left out, but I’m legitimately trying to help and have no desire to participate in the call. Age group crap is, however, your mistake to make.

Agreed. Most of the people in my network and amongst my friends are older, and that includes my girlfriend

You need to find a group of people whose goals are aligned with your own. Imo that’s a lot more important than all of you being the same age

 

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[ZCP]

I have not been following this thread. It’s 9 pages… how can I help?

Bunch of young guns do a weekly call. Every now and again one of us old timers pops in and gives them some guidance / answers questions. You around during their call time? If so, pop in and help the young guns!

 

[Subsonic]

@pixelvendor talking to parents and validate idea

@Jrjohnny get a website up and running and go to the gym 5 times

@MGT Create user stories for the application.

@MaximOntheRoad 50 Reachouts

@tactfully Make a decision about the partnership

@Mikkel finish script, voiceover, gmp

@RightyTighty reach out to ten manufacturers, INSIDERS post, ten licensing calls

@shubham___3011 learn facebook ads


Was a good one again and I'll make sure to tag MJ a bit earlier next time.

Thanks to everyone who showed up.

 

[Subsonic]

@MaximOntheRoad W - test the new site funnel and 30 more reach outs.
@ElDiablo - Further improve the landing page; find the best way to get in touch with customers.
@Lucy Lee W - read marketing made simple; visit a local school, one video
@NervesOfSteel W - complete the order at hand and collect reviews
@Subsonic L - Take care of the Google Ads, 10 Stores d2d, get a quote from a flyer handout service, also hand out flyers every day, run a 5k.
@Maxkaz - Finish the animation ad, finish reading the book, go on 3 runs this week.
@lifemaker - read Great rat race escape

Shoutout to @NervesOfSteel for a huge W in getting multiple clients.
It's time for me to get a W for once. It should not be this hard to approach stores and hand out flyers...

 

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[ZCP]

here is the rough method i use to get things done. it is a combo of 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen and the RPM Method by Tony Robbins. i track everything in a big excel file that is in the cloud and accessible from all devices.

each sunday, i sit down and do the following:
1. review and score my wheel of life. for each area i ask, how do i get from a 4 to 5 or a 8 to 8.1 this week (not all the way to 10). then i pick one or two items that i will do this week to help improve that number in that area of life. for health, it might be to walk twice that week. for finances, it might be to revise my allocation in a stock account.
2. i review my big goals. similar to MJ's 1/5/10 Planasy. what are one or two big items i could get done this week to achieve that goal by that date?
3. i dump my brain into a capture list and organize / combine / move those items to lists for each area of my life. i prioritize and pull the most important items to the top
4. i review my upcoming calendar for the week. i use block schedule so i make sure i put in blocks for achieving the things i identified in the first 3 steps. i have meetings, deals, business items, family events. everything is in my calendar. if my kids want me there for their birthday party, they know to make sure it is on my calendar. ..... side note, do NOT fully schedule your day. leave open spaces for transitions, going for a quick walk, etc. ALSO, look for 2 for 1's. can you eat and meet at the same time.

once the plan is in place, just work the plan:
1. i keep a running priority list for the day. sometimes i slide things around. i try to stay in the block of business 1, business 2, health, family. sometimes they overlap. sometimes i can 2 for 1 things to save time. i MAKE SURE i get the big things done each day.
2. add items to the capture list for next week as you come across them. do not disrupt the current plan if possible.
3. use leverage and track it. hand things off. get help from others. AND follow up to make sure they did it. thank them greatly,
4. as major items complete, i move them to a completed list. that way when i face the same issue in the future, i have a link / person / contact / method for doing it more quickly.
5. i end each day asking myself something i am proud of, something i got done that mattered. thankfulness and gratitude.

hope that helps!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

what is the difference?
are there weekly goals easier? more achievable? they are less hard on themselves? have a more clear path?
what are they doing to win?

I'm guessing they have no system in place, as James Clear said, you don't rise to the level of your goals, you rise to the level of your systems. And the thing is, some of the stated weekly goals are set at a terribly low bar which is actually good, unless you don't achieve them.

1. Set a weekly goal
2. Make that goal the ONLY focus, keeping it front and center.
3. Task (chain) it daily.
4. If it isn't done daily, make sure the task continues to repeat every day until you do the damn work.
5. Repeat next week.
6. At the end of 1 month things start to really take shape.

Maybe I should create a goal setting system to help people who continually struggle to simply win a week...

Oh wait...

 

[Subsonic]

@MaximOntheRoad W: Do 5 Cold calls a day untill you get a client.
@Subsonic Study L : create 4 creatives for fb ads - 2 before and after videos, find someone to hand out my flyers
4 abi exercies in english and german, 4 Vorschläge in Math
@Lucy Lee W: visit the city and get product feedback
@Maria 777 W : Contiue the process from last week
@szalek W: figuring out how to get clients like in last year (another fb camaping), another 50 dms to new people, 3 posting on ig/fb, set up linkedin?
@rpeck90 W : MEETUPS - Weekly Meetup Accountability Call Megathread
@ElDiablo W : see thread
@lifemaker W : revise
@Geist ? : link broken
@NervesOfSteel W: buy new land for new manufacturing unity: visit 4 new sites; practice english 10 x2 a day
@piano : ---
@Sumiran L : 30 reachouts, 3 content post

 

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[ElDiablo]

Hello hello

@NervesOfSteel
@rpeck90
@lifemaker
@szalek
@MaximOntheRoad
@Subsonic
@Lucy Lee
@Maria 777
@The-J
@Sumiran
@Geist

Time flies, doesn't it?

A new week and we’re again in the middle of it. I wanted to touch base with everyone to see how you're doing with your goals. Have you hit any roadblocks, or are you cruising along?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t join the weekly session as it seems that there was a time change. Despite joining at the usual time, I was already one hour late.

That being said, I share with you all that I’ve been applying for more positions and reaching out to people to expand my network. Unfortunately, the latter has been somewhat unsuccessful.

On a positive note, I moved further after an initial interview and finished creating a longer form of content that I expect to do well with my target audience.

For anyone who’s feeling the pressure, just remember that progress is not linear most of the time, but we eventually find a way to our problems. Sometimes, their solutions are closer and simpler than we thought.

Keep pushing forward, and take care.

 

[Richard Peck]

This week (W): -

1. Finish Dennis App (talked with him and continuing to push on it - need to crunch)
2. Corp financial
3. J2UK App Auth + link into Single Cards to make the system function in the front end (about 80% done with this now)
4. Christoph Site import + Kadence

Other things I did:

• Got another domain month paid. I have one final payment to make now, for which I am working hard: -
  
  
• Got Fungwan working on another server & added Stripe functionality.
  
  This was building on some work I did at the start of the year which required setting up MySQL 4.1 for an old game. I worked with my client to create a replicable solution to the following problem: -
  
  
  
  It now seems the forum post that guy made has been deleted, suggesting difficulty in them finding a solution...
  
  
  
  I wrote a document explaining how to get it all working, which my client has been using to sell installation of the game to others.
  
  
  
  
• J2UK Single Cards App Webhooks Database Population
  
  In keeping with the J2UK work I've been doing, I managed to get the database to handle Shopify's data structure as closely as possible. The new system I have created has all the correct foreign keys, works natively with ActiveRecord's relations system and is indexed properly: -
  
  
  
  This means I am able to store product (and soon order) data in as efficient way as possible within Shopify apps (allows for rapid deployment of the former). The Dennis app work will use the product side of this.

---

Next week: -

1. Finish Dennis App
3. J2UK App Auth + single cards functioning in front end
4. Christoph Site flesh out

 

[Inventor001]

View: https://youtu.be/d9IXCLspka0?si=CqFLNQTn7wsfmqs9


Done!

 

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[Richard Peck]

Excellent call once again - great insights from @Subsonic.

Interesting to observe what influences success; Henry actively wishing not to get customers due to workload whilst others struggling. Moral of story = get offers out the door, do work (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), get paid.

Thank you all once again, inspiring and highly valuable!

-

Goals after domain: -

1. Hire Justine for shoot + Eve Ventrue or Chase Stone for art
2. Get static developed + out door
3. Start looking at hiring & get business set up to handle better work to support world class team
4. Repeat 1+2 with other products (VPS etc) + pre-release evenings at Crazy Horse or similar
5. Get brand listed on Walpole - Promoting, Protecting & Developing British Luxury Worldwide
6. Other secret things

 

[Chet Shen]

Well if you want to make a call, record it and then post it, idt anyone will stop you.
Ya just need to have people come in.

For the call, you just need a zoom account.
You could make it more of a young dudes call where you have the active teens on here speak about their progress and lessons.

You wanna come and join? I have a zoom account and I'm planning to set it up this in Sunday 10am AEST. What time/day do you think I should put it?

I was hoping someone like @Andy Black or @MJ DeMarco could hop on but idk what I could say. It's a great idea to have young people on a zoom call, maybe I should put public as teenagers won't have INSIDERS subscription? What do you think?

It'll be nice to talk about lessons and experiences and maybe the older guys could maybe educate us?

 

[Andy Black]

Oops. I only just saw this thread, and I was tagged in it.

Well done @ZCP for hopping on.

My advice is to not have a separate Discord group as you're pulling conversations off the forum.

Maybe interview a few members and put the recordings on a YouTube channel and/or a podcast @Lawtiti?
@mikecarlooch started doing this a few months ago. You could check out how he did it.

You could get questions from other teenagers in the forum and ask them of your guests, and/or make it a group Zoom call with a Q&A where you get the questions in the chat and ask them at the end.

Maybe you create a thread to announce who your upcoming guest will be and get people to ask questions in the thread?

My guess is a lot of business owners would happily give their time and advice to teenagers who are getting started in business.

Are there similar YouTube channels or podcasts already? Maybe check those out and see what they're doing and asking.

 

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[The-J]

That sounds weird

There's a lot more to the story. I won't tell the story (don't PM me either) but I will tell the biggest lessons:

• Just because someone is well-respected on the Internet doesn't mean they deserve that respect (trust, but verify)
• Just because someone has a high-revenue business doesn't mean that they're selling something of actual value, they could simply be selling perceived value
• What they use to lure people in (in this case, making a lot of money) will be the thing they use to defend immoral actions, and their defense will seem quite strong
• You CAN learn something from charlatans, but those lessons are best learned with as little risk as possible

 

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[theag]

Not just for sickos, but also for charlatans. I remember some time ago there was a guy here that hired several teenage/20s members of the forum for his scam business. He gave them the Kool-Aid and they drank it. He took advantage of their inexperience and hunger.

Personally, I'm much less concerned about the sickos than I am about the charlatans, considering the demographic of this forum.

 

[Andy Black]

If anyone wants to hop on a Zoom this evening at 10pm Dublin time then just reply and I'll PM you the link nearer the time.

You don't have to be a teenager. I figure we can go through common things people starting out are stuck on and how to overcome them.

I'll be online anyway mucking about trying to edit a video.

EDIT: I'll create a thread for this.

 

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[ZCP]

teenagers / young guns .... JOIN THE CALL. get accountability. get advice. get brothers and sisters to battle with and support and support you. MAKE the time.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Here is my list (for now):

1. Find a job to keep me afloat.
-Status: 2 Offers, Accepted one for $32 dollars an hour for 3 months (not a permanent fix), I might receive another offer this coming Monday for a remote job.

2. Find a way to come up with $2,216 dollars for a 50% lump sum payment for the small claims lawsuit that's against me.
-Status: For the month of November after reading my bank statements and getting my personal finance back on track, I just might make it if we can get 50 cents to the dollar. If I stay at the contract for the period of 3-months I just might win the lawsuit and get it closed before the judge.



3. Start back up my web design business to help increase cash flow to pay off the rest of the remaining debts I have.
-Status: I will be working on this.

The problem though is that this contract can end at any time and not be renewed by any means. But they stated that there is the possibility of extensions.

The solution above is for 3 paychecks for the month of November. The secondary offer was to low enough to leave me room with $400 in cashflow a month.

This is what I came up with for now to keep the lights on until January of 2024.

Since the layoff of July 14, 2023. And non-stop interviews, calls, and offers. I will not reach the level I was at. I don't want to start over from the bottom. $40,000 is okay, but a huge pay cut and I would have had to sell my vehicle. A luxury in the state of Texas you need to have.