What's stopping you?

[Nubiwan]

You should read the book. It will clear up some misconceptions... like people raking in the dough sitting on their asses doing nothing

Well, to be honest, I am one of those people who sits on his a$$, so how can I offend myself. My RE business (slowlane as it is) provides me a steady income. It will also provide me a retirement fund, since I have no regular 9-5 pension contribution. My post was directed at myself as well as anyone else fortunate enough to be able to "sit on their a$$". There was no derogatory intent. I work hard to get to the place I am now, and simply hoping this forum can show me a few, less traditional ways, to expand my income stream. Pretty sure most people are here for similar reasons. I picked up the book tonight. Looking forward to the read.

 

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[Mike Kavanagh]

The #1 reason I'm not doing anything at the moment: Environmental pressures

Mainly, I'm not comfortable where I'm at. I live with a major pain, who is manipulating me into working a "Full-time job" on fear of never talking to this part of my family again.

I got an overnight retail job, where it's pretty fast paced physical labor. My body isn't taking the pain and fatigue to well and I'm crunching on ibuprofen like they're M&M's (1200 mg in 4-5 hours probably wasn't a good idea) Here's to day 4 tomorrow night.

For him real employee fashion, if I don't work for a major company for 40 hours a week, I'm a lazy a**hole. Even if I get rent paid. I had 3 months of rent saved up. Until I spent money on gas going to interviews and clothes for the job and the interviews.
I'm down to one month left. If I'm lucky.

I feel like I just need to get away from people who don't support my dreams, or better yet manipulate me into doing stuff that clearly doesn't benefit me.
It's scary that when someone threatening to taking away a small bit of security it can make a person do things that don't make sense.

Action I'm going to take:
I'm going to buy a cheap MacBook off of eBay at some point this week, when I have a better bank balance. From there it's on to teaching myself (via the internets) iOS development.

Even if I don't make a good app for the market, I still learn a skill I can charge for. I'm still learning Android for that reason too.

Final thoughts:
I'm probably not going to be living here much longer. The manipulation got under my skin this time and I've had more than enough.
I can't stand arguing over senseless drivel.
I can't stand the "we just got back from vacation but we don't have enough to pay these bills".
I can't stand the "put it on the credit card" mentality - that the kids(who are like my siblings) are being taught.

Once there is enough pain, I guess it's time to do something about it eh?

 

[MTF]

I have created a brand name and had a logo made for me, in order to make the business more of an authority on my field of publishing, but I haven't trademarked it or anything. I don't even know if the designer who made the cover for me did a trademark research before creating it. I have no knowledge on law or trademarks and copyrights whatsoever and all of this seems to me so hard.

I want to promote the heck out of my author and books, but I am afraid to use the logo on social media, creating a facebook page, instagram profile etc. I have so many ideas but I am afraid. Afraid I will infringe someone's copyright and afraid I will put it out there and they will steal my idea. It all seems so hard.

Obviously this is not legal advice as I'm not a lawyer, but I wouldn't worry about it unless your designer stole Nike's logo.

To stay on the safe side you can use this database: TESS -- Error

 

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[Sagemoney]

Sorry for bumping this thread.

The business I really want to do, owning my own computer/videogame company, the only thing that is really stopping me is money.

Enough said.

Back in January, I went down to the SBA (Small Business Administration), and spoke with a couple of business counselors.

They said I'd need at least a quarter of a million dollars to get started.

The only advice they could give me is to get a job. And they even suggested getting a job in the industry (which is extremely competitive).

So, I thought about going back for my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, so that I would be more qualified in getting a job in the industry.

But there are other things that arise as well:

- Do I really want to put myself more in debt with student loans?
- Even if I do really good and get my degree, there is no guarantee that I will get a job, just like so many other people out there with degrees.
- I will still have to learn the skills I don't have (which I don't have a problem with, I'd have to learn them anyway), but if I still have to learn a lot on my own, why bother with schooling in the first place?

I'm a believer that if you really want to learn something, you can. When I want to learn programming (like C++), I just buy a really good book and read it and learn it.

I believe that college is too expensive, and sometimes it is not necessary. But I definitely agree that you still have to continually learn and gain new skills.

- Time. I honestly don't know how much time it would take for me to develop all of the necessary skills needed to be qualified for one of these game industry jobs.

To give you an example of what I'm talking about, here is a list of things that I'd have to know just to be qualified for one of the companies I looked at:

- C/C++ (I already know some C and a lot of C++)
- Character Scripting
- Character Blending
- LUA, Python, QT, or wxWidgets
- DX10/11 rendering architectures and APIs
- Significant Python scripting experience
- Photoshop, Maya, Adobe After Effects and 3D Studio Max (I know a lot about Photoshop)
- Maya, Python, Motion Builder, Motion Capture, 3ds Max
- Experience with physics simulations
- Creating real time effects through proprietary engines
- Experience using Substance Painter/Designer
- Experience using ZBrush
- Texture creation ability (especially tiling textures
- Experience creating 2D assets for UI

And there a few more skills.

Now, I have no objection to learning all of these things, and in all honestly, I want to know (I like being diversified and knowing how to do many things), but the problem is: TIME.

And I know that time is an important element in this whole game of life, but then if that is the case, then the only options I can see is working one or two jobs to pay the bills and save some money, until I have the skills to get a gaming job, or start my own business.

And while I don't object to working for a game company, I could never divulge my own ideas that I have for my own projects.

I have goals, but they are hard to obtain.

I'm not trying to make excuses or alibis, but I'm simply saying that if you have the money, you can start your own business. If you don't, you're screwed. It is as simple as that.

And I looked into Government Grants. They only provide funding for businesses that fall into certain sectors, such as Environmental, Research and Development, and other government-interested sectors.

Now, I'm not one to be held back by excuses, and I'm going to continue to push forward, but let's be honest......

The question was asked: What's stopping you?

And the answer I came up with was: How do you start a business if you don't have the necessary money or the means to obtain the money?

I know you're not trying to create excuses but everything your admitting to sounds like fear. I mean people with no money get Investors, take loans, get money friends and family, hustle till they get the cash by flipping or working.

I doubt you need a degree, just get the coding and then create a portfolio good enough to show them. Or maybe code a smaller game and then build up ya know? You can't start coding triple a games out the gate. Start small and make the best indie game out get attention.

Not trying to diminish your concerns, but the only thing stopping you is fear my friend, rid yourself of it and the gates to success open.

And to answer your question nothing is stopping me, If I have a goal in getting it rain sleet or snow!

 

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[S.Y.]

Mediocre comfort, action faking (reading, listening to audiobooks/podcasts, going to the gym), searching for the right idea (which I know, is code word for 'easy' idea), 'self-improvement', fear/lack of belief, information overload, not knowing where to start and bottom line just too damn lazy to take action in entrepreneurship.

[...]

I've been here nearly 2 years, read/listened to both books 10+ times and yet here I am with nothing to show for it except an ebook I threw up on Amazon that made me ~$100. Bit of a shame...

I won't quit though. I will succeed and achieve freedom. The rat race ain't my kind of race.

I hear you on that one. I put a system in place to limit the number of books I buy and read:

1. Is the book helping in solving an immediate problem I am facing or one that I know with 95% certainty I will be facing within 4 weeks?
   
2. Is there a more effective way to solve the problem than a book? Am I inventing reasons to read books?
   
3. Do I possess in my library a book that has the solution?

It is not perfect but it is working well. So few books have made it through the criteria recently, which forced me to act on stuff. I find myself reading part of books I have and trying stuff.

(Fun fact: Unscripted barely made the cut. And so far I have really read one chapter: the commandment of Needs)

Hope it helps!

Unscripted for exa

 

[Sebah]

3.)Moved to Germany 2 and a half years ago and the language barrier is just too damn big, I hate it! Consider that I am not lazy and learn every day (even on my work hiding in a toilet ). This is the worst one, don't get me wrong I can speak well, but that is far away from needed level for doing business.

Should you ever get stuck because of the language barrier PM me. I`ll try to translate and/or explain whatever is stopping you.

 

[The Abundant Man]

"You see the one in the mirror? That's the toughest opponent you're ever going to face. That's true in the ring and that's true in life too."-Rocky

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv554B7YHk4

 

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[StrikingViper69]

What is stopping you, right now, from starting your business?
My new business is teaching guitar online - I've started advertising lessons, but I'm not making any sales (yet).


What is stopping you from making your first sale?
I think its an organic reach problem. I've done keyword research and will be writing a series of blog posts this week that will bring more people onto my website.


What is stopping you from making the leap?
The leap has been made!


If you've already started your business, what's stopping you from quitting your job?
No customers.... yet. I don't need that many to quit my job, move abroad somewhere cheap, and have much more time for studying and writing music and enjoying life more.


What is stopping from doubling your revenues and profits?
Finding people that want help and are willing to pay for it.

 

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[heavy_industry]

What is stopping you, right now, from starting your business?

What is stopping you from making your first sale?

What is stopping you from making the leap?

If you've already started your business, what's stopping you from quitting your job?

What is stopping from doubling your revenues and profits?

It's not the economy, it's not the lack of time, it's not the lack of an idea, it's not any other thing, or any other person in this world.

It's you.

Any other excuse that you come up with is a lie.

You are, paradoxically, the only one that can turn either your dreams or your nightmares into reality. Which one is it going to be, is something that you will have to discuss with yourself.

 

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[Guest34764]

I'm up at 2:30 am fixing up some computer stuff so these questions are a blessing.


What is stopping you, right now, from starting your business?

My low starting funds (20$) and i'm still thinking about many things. Particularly how my age will come into play with starting a business.Or if it won't stop me at all.I have a great mind for ideas but my mind is still in the money chasing stage.Currently trying to over come that.

What is stopping you from making your first sale?

While i'm not in a business i'm working on selling.Nothing is really stopping me,I'm just plowing through all the issues and i feel overall confident i can make sales.

What is stopping you from making the leap?

Getting all the technical stuff ready.I have to run bots with scripts to make what i'm doing work.So i'm currently almost done setting up windows 7 in a virtual box.So i can run 2 accounts for 12 hours at the same time then run another 2 accounts on the other 12.Plus i have to make sure my partner has everything set up because it's rather complicated.Other than that the only thing stopping me is myself and my rather poor work ethic (though i have been working more recently on this).

What is stopping from doubling your revenues and profits?

The only foreseeable thing that will stop me from doubling revenues and profits is actually Human resource.I could tell you what i sell but i'd be easier if you'd check out my thread.Explains most of it in detail.Basically the more people i have working for me i almost double my profit.

 

[Delmania]

You don't need ideas. You need problems. Go out and engage with people and businesses, find out what problems they have and once you know their true problems, you can start thinking of ways to solve those problems through a product/app/software/ebook/video course/membership site/network site etc.

http://mixergy.com/listen-to-dane-m...ar-how-he-extracts-a-profitable-business-idea

http://www.geordiewardman.com/post/59670553151/email-copy-for-idea-extraction

Thanks for the links, I'm familiar with Dane and his idea extraction techniques, but the more I can learn, the better my attempts will be. My main issue is the negative mindset.

 

[Dad2Four]

I need to figure out something to execute on.

I've been trying to pick a direction for eternity.

I build a solo ad auction website about a year ago that failed to attract enough of a following to take off.

I've got a few adsense sites I built a few years ago with a piece of software I built and it's made a steady flow of $100 a year. Yeah powerhouse.

I just took some hourly work but the guy hasnt paid. Trust me, I'm well aware that hourly is not fastlane anyway.

I've done some research on the ecommerce side but have not found a niche that looks promising.

Yeah, I recognize that my current state of indecisiveness is my biggest issue.

I'm a coder by day and an not cut out to sit in this box for the remainder of my days but this seems to be the path I'm currently on.

Fire away, I can take it.

 

[rc08234]

An idea I truly believe in, the rest is easy.

 

[MTF]

Or is it more about the market being too small in terms of scale (volume) and magnitude ($/transaction). From your comments it would seem the latter.

Yes, that's it (especially magnitude - it's like $2-3 per sale).

You can't scale in this market because your model requires your time. No matter how much effort you put in your return will always be capped unless you free your time or increase the effective hourly rate. There's also no exist strategy with this kind of a business. You can never 'cash out' and reap the equity of the business because it's all tied to you and your abilities.

True. I can stop writing and I'll keep making money, but sooner or later it will dwindle. It cannot thrive without my involvement.

I'd rethink how you can automate this. Can you outsource any part of it even if it comes at a cost?

I outsource almost everything but writing and marketing, but these jobs don't take that much time. Outsourcing the writing is not going to work, that's a very bad, low-quality (and ultimately will be short-lived) business model.

With no exit strategy in self publishing and a willingness to try something new, I'd start thinking about that new business. Automate as best you can to sustain your revenue while making the switch.

I guess that makes the most sense, so the answer is "double your revenue/profits by exploring other possibilities rather than doing it to your current, limited business." Thank you.

 

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[E-Sharp]

I suffered from the same thing too. Try thinking what value can you offer a MARKET. Look at a specific market and create a product or service around that market. For example, look at the survival "niche" (it's a huge niche). I can think of dozens of things a particular survival person might want. When I started thinking about markets instead of products my mindset shifted.


Then, just get out there and start testing your ideas in the REAL market. Stop asking friends and family what they think because THEY DON'T KNOW. Only the market has your answers.

Jason, thanks so much for this feedback, this is very helpful! Very cool thread.

 

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[smarty]

Thanks for the links, I'm familiar with Dane and his idea extraction techniques, but the more I can learn, the better my attempts will be. My main issue is the negative mindset.

You need one partner or friend or create a team and work together. This is the best & quickest way I know that wil enable you to overcome personal limits. Last year I got to know one other guy who was so hungry to build software products but he was not a programmer, he was a hustler. I am a programmer so we got together and we are just about to finish our first product/startup and so far from out market feedback, will have high demand. We have to see this though.
Sometimes I can go days dragging things when I work on my own, but when we get working together in a table, we usually make significant progress., such as yesterday - and will continue over this weekend.

The other way to overcome bad mindset and your personal perceived limits, will be to go out and hustle, change your habits etc, but you will need connections anyways so the sooner you team up with someone,the better. Make sure they are highly motivated and won't let you down though.

 

[JaxAttacks]

Wish I could say something other than "me." I don't know what my problem is. I feel like I'm making progress, just slower than molasses. I have a lot of mindset issues to figure out but I can't find most of the "leaks" on my own. Two of the main things are lack of confidence and laziness. Ugh, I hate myself sometimes.

 

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[GuestUser156]

Not enough referrals and repeat business, yet.

But we're only 7 months in, so I'm not worried.

We close new clients almost every week and most of them buy enough for 12 months.

Looking forward to receive reorders in 2016 .

 

[Atticus24]

I'm in the same boat as you @domi99, over 100k a year, in a good position, I'm literally sitting in the control tower barking orders at people haha but, I F*cking hate it. Something inside me is burning to get out but I do not know exactly how to execute it.

I have a patent pending on a safety enhancing item I dreamt up to apply to the industry I work in and many others, but I literally just started aiming at a patent yesterday, so no word back yet clearly as its a weekend.

My main goal is my own business, whether e commerce of a product I am the creator of, or of other goods, something passive so I can drain the ideas out of my head as they come and pursue many different angles of helping others and industries lacking in different areas.

Always dreaming
Always thinking.

Just need to find a way to put a tap on those ideas and dreams and pour them into jars to distribute to the masses and solve many current day issues including my own.

Keep up the insightful work on the forum guys and gals, not a day goes by that I don't check in and read posts now that I've read TMF and signed up here.

Cheers [emoji5]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wrighj03]

Coding. Every time I dig a little deeper I find more to learn which is good and frustrating at the same time. Started with a book about HTML CSS and then JavaScript. But the PHP is a little more difficult to grasp. I'm having trouble getting the server and MySql working on my computer.
I have tons of ideas though from past frustrations in my life.

 

[The-J]

You're right.

I know I could scale it but it would require (1) a lot of time and (2) continuous future time commitments. I'd be working a job for a while, and I know I'd be unable to get proper funding for what amounts to a niche service business. Do I really want to work 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, for several years just to earn $20k/month? I'd rather do $20k/year working much less.

I'll work it for as long as I need to, then get the F*ck out. I've learned enough in this business (which is more of a job than anything)Thanks for the advice. Rep+

 

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[JaxAttacks]

Rep ++ Thanks for your reply and all the value/wisdom you bring to the forum.

 

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[Deceiver]

This isn't necessarily true. Sure, you can sell a crap product with slick marketing, but those sorts of businesses don't last. That being said, I believe marketing as the number one thing you should learn and focus on as a new Entrepreneur. I met a very successful Entreprenur, who's mentor is Jay Abraham. I asked him if he could do it all over again and give his 20-year old self one piece of advise, what would it be? He said: learn and master marketing.

Hi Jason, Thank you for the time and the wisdom you're putting into this thread.
What ways/methods/books/sites/resources would you "use" to learn and master marketing in the most rapid and efficient way?
I'm currently reading the books of the Gary Halbert Copywriting Challenge, do you think this one is OK or there is a better way to learn it?

 

[twdavis]

Dude! Get out. If you're unhappy where you live, them move. Who cares what everyone else says?

Don't beat yourself up man. You've TRIED a lot of things, and been successful with a few, albeit small things. This is where success starts. With trial and error. Don't beat yourself up.

Did you ever think you were putting too much pressure on yourself? As humans, we're wired to think of things as EVENT. Like..getting rich is an EVENT. It's not, it's a process. For most, it takes 5, 10, 15 YEARS of hard work and constant trial and error. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Start delighting in the things you've accomplished

The great thing about the internet - that's changed EVERYTHING -is that you can build business AND have freedom at the same time.

This forum tends to shit on Affiliate marketers, but I know a handful of VERY successful people who started with AM. It's a great gateway drug to online business. It's F*cking hard though, so be prepared.

Whatever you choose to do, focus on ONE thing.

Oh I absolutely plan to get out, dude. I sat a few weeks ago and said to myself "I am literally miserable. If I don't do what I need to do very soon to get the hell out of here, I will end up looking back in 30+ years and being miserable til my grave".

It was with that, that I decided I would save every possible penny between now and the end of January, take my W2 refund, and move across the country.


What's the worst that could happen? I get there and end up living in my car/couchsurfing for a week or 2? I can deal with that.


I think you may recall me asking you through PM a few diff times last year if you could side-license me on your ecommerce solution lol.

Also, as for putting too much pressure on myself, yes I absolutely do, but I can't stop. It's because I've never really been treated well by my family because I'm mixed black/white, made all kinds of comments, etc and I didn't have good high school years. Its as if I'm pressuring myself to be rich as soon as possible to enjoy my money young, but also to prove things to people in my life and have a sense of self-worth/accomplishment that they will likely never have.

The former is the wrong way to look at it, the latter is probably not as bad.

 

[zt90]

Hmm..I sell on Amazon as well and don't find this to be the case. You need to figure out whats happening to your products and the market. The thing with Amazon is that if you introduce a product that has any sort of demand, you will sell. If it's a "dud" product discount the inventory and move it.


You absolutely can quit your job with an "Amazon" business - and I know many people who have done. However, there is risk of being JUST on Amazon. As I said before, focus on a MARKET and bring those products on Amazon - then transition to your own website sales so you can start building a business that's not dependent on Amazon.


Scaling on Amazon is generally not hard (although time consuming and cash intensive). A model many people follow is 10 sales a day per product, and at LEAST $20/SALE, then scale that until you hit your revenue goals.


If your products are tanking due to bad reviews - you need to fix that first. Hard to say without looking at your products/business but your problem IS fixable.

Hey Jason, Appreciate the response.

All my products have excellent reviews. I don't expect to sell on Amazon forever and I am gradually in the works of expanding onto my own website(slowly collecting emails), but I'm sure you know that it is extremely difficult to run profitable paid ads for your own ecommerce website. Figuring out how to bootstrap and be profitable with my own hosted store is still a challenge for me. I am pretty technical and experienced with outsourcing as well, but the challenge lies in being profitable from the get go (paying for all the inventory, paying for a fulfillment service, paying for a good shopping cart, paying for paid ads and being PROFITABLE after all the overhead).

I think the main reason some of my products stop selling well is that there are more competitors with more MONEY (folks that are going all in with lots of reviews all at once and one-upping my products). When this happens, it's very unfortunate as a seller because you are stuck with a bunch of inventory that isn't moving which messes up the cash flow to expand as an ecommerce guy.

From my experience, hot selling Amazon products have a "shelf life" if you will. If you hop on a trending product, you will sell well for up to several months and then things start to slow down due to an influx of competitors and what not. From there, you gotta troubleshoot and find a way to convert better than the competitors that are taking your market share. I would say this is ultimately what's keeping me from making a break through. I've launched over several products and have done upwards of $20000 in sales for just one product and this has been my experience. Sales really doesn't mean anything as an Amazon seller because of all the overhead, especially for the PPC.

When I release a new product and it does well, I'm not really excited because I know there's a chance it's going to slow down soon and I'll have to keep managing/watching it, which I hate to do because I want to "set it and forget it" and move on to the next opportunity you know?

Anyway, I'm happy to talk more about struggles in ecomm

 

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[piesandak47]

Believing that if I scale up to a certain point, that I won't be able to maintain that level of growth.

For example, right now I am selling info products and doing about $7k/month.

My fear is that if I scale up to something like $30k/month using FB ads, that the following month I won't be able to maintain the same amount due to FB ad changes or whatever.

 

[NickS]

Lack of funds. I have about 50 bucks lol.

Lack of time. I'm currently 3/4ths through my college education, it'd be silly to stop now.

I'd get a job to get some capital going, but that means even less time. Ah, the catch-22.

 

[Dami-B]

2 things, lack of focus and doubt. its like i'm jumping from one idea to another. I just need to settle down with one, but coming from a two year period of a failed business, my confidence has certainly diminished on my ability to execute properly. I get bored to quick, I try not to be event wired and to focus on the process, but i'm not doing a very good job as of late. I used to be a lot adventurous starting out but now i'm a lot more laid back, undaring and too cautious. If there is a reason why i'm not successful yet, it has to be somewhere in this text.

 

[samuraijack]

Hey Jason thanks for taking your time to do this.

I came across idea extraction here on the forum and gave very little effort into it. I basically did a lot of busy work (emails, gathering resources, etc) but ended up only cold calling one business and I had a good conversation but I was super nervous and it got nothing from it in terms of a problem to solve. Dropped this "idea extraction" plan.

After a couple months passed I came across this product my ex-gf bought and thought I could execute it better. Bought some samples from China. Turned out to be shitty samples. Gave up on this idea.

All of this took a long time for me to do, as in I take action very slowly.

I know my problem is that overthink things way too much.

If I personally don't have a problem/need that needs a solution or know anyone that has one, should I just pick one thing and execute on it no matter how much my brain tells me it won't work?

 

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[domi99]

Thanks @JasonR for your answer. Appreciate your help.