1. Fail Well. You’ve heard it a million times before: ideas are easy; execution is hard. Execution is incredibly hard. And even if something works well for a while, it might not work sustainably forever. I fail a lot. I’d say my ideas are successful maybe 2/10 times, and that’s probably going easy on myself.

2. Keep Going. The difference between overall success and failure, is usually as simple as not quitting. Most people don’t have the stomach for point #1 and give up way too quickly.

3. Saying No. Especially if you didn’t have a particularly good month and it’s coming up on the 1st (bill time), it’s hard to say “No” to new income, but if you know it’s something you’ll hate doing, it could be better in the long-run to not take it or else face getting burnt out.

4. Work Smart (and sometimes hard). I would hazard to guess that most of us do this because we hate the limitations and grind of the traditional 9-5? Most of us are more likely to be accused of being workaholics rather than being allergic to hard work, but it certainly helps if you enjoy what you do. That said, it can’t be cushy all the time. Sometimes you gotta put in a little elbow grease.

5. Start Slow. I’ve helped many clients start their own businesses and I always try to urge them to pace themselves. They want instant results and they put the cart before the horse. Especially for online businesses, you don’t need a business license, LLC, trademark, lawyer, and an accountant before you’ve even made your first dollar! Prove that the thing actually works and is making enough money before worrying about all the red tape.

6. Slow Down Again (when things start to go well). Most company owners get overly excited when things start to go well, start hiring more people, doing whatever they can to pour fuel on the fire, but usually end up suffocating the fire instead. Wait, just wait. Things might plateau or take a dip and suddenly you’re hemorrhaging money.

7. Fancy Titles. At a certain stage of growth, egos shift, money changes people. What was once a customer-centric company that was fun to work at becomes more corporate by the day. Just because “that’s the way they’ve always done it” in terms of the structure of dino corps of old, that’s never a good reason to keep doing it that way.

8. Stay Home. If your employee’s work can be done remotely, why are you wasting all that money on office space just to stress your workers out with commute and being somewhere they resent being, which studies have shown only make them less productive anyway?

9. Keep it Simple. Don’t follow trends and sign you or your team up for every new tool or app that comes along just because they’re popular. Basecamp, Slack, Signal, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Google Workspace, Zoom (I despise Zoom), etc. More apps doesn’t mean more organization. Pick one or two options and use them to their full potential.

10. Keep Doors Open. While you’ll inevitably become too busy to say “Yes” to everything, try to keep doors open for everyone you’ve already established a beneficial working relationship with. Nothing lasts forever, and that might be the lesson I learned the harshest way of all. More on that below…

What I’ve learned in 20+ years of building startups: A personal note that might be helpful to anyone who’s struggling

Some years back (around 2015), we sold the company my partner and I built that was paying our salaries. During those years, I closed a lot of doors, especially with clients because I was cushy with my salary, and didn’t want to spend time on other relationships and hustles I previously built up over the years.

I had a really rough few years after we sold and the money ran out where I almost threw in the towel and went back to a traditional 9-5 job. I could barely scrape rent together and went without groceries for longer than I’m comfortable admitting.

There’s no shame in doing what you’ve gotta do to keep food on the table, but the thought of “going back” was deeply depressing for me. Luckily, I managed to struggle my way through, building up clients again.

What I’ve learned in 20+ years of building startups – Conclusion:

Navigating the world of startups requires a balance of resilience, strategic decision-making, and adaptability. The lessons learned over two decades in the startup ecosystem are not just strategies but guiding principles for sustainable success and growth in the dynamic world of entrepreneurship.

If you’re curious about how I make money, most of it has been made building custom products for WordPress.

Source: r/Entrepreneur

What I’ve learned in 20+ years of building startups – References:

1. Entrepreneurship Blogs and Websites: Look for blogs from successful entrepreneurs or business coaches. Sites like Entrepreneur (entrepreneur.com), Forbes Entrepreneurs Section (https://forbes.com/entrepreneurs), and Harvard Business Review (hbr.org) often have valuable articles on startup strategies and entrepreneurial journeys.
2. Startup Case Studies: Websites like Inc. Magazine (inc.com) and Fast Company (fastcompany.com) frequently publish case studies and stories about startups and entrepreneurial experiences.
3. Business and Tech News Websites: Platforms like TechCrunch (techcrunch.com), Business Insider (businessinsider.com), and The Wall Street Journal’s Business section (https://wsj.com/news/business) are good for staying updated on the latest in startup trends and business strategies.
4. Remote Work and Productivity Tools Blogs: For insights on remote work and productivity tools, check out blogs from companies like Basecamp (basecamp.com), Slack (https://slack.com/blog), and Zoom (blog.zoom.us).
5. Online Business Forums and Communities: Websites like Reddit’s Entrepreneur subreddit (https://reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur) or startup-focused forums on sites like Quora (quora.com) can provide real-world advice and experiences from various business owners.
6. LinkedIn Articles and Thought Leaders: Following successful entrepreneurs and business thought leaders on LinkedIn can provide you with a plethora of insights and firsthand accounts of business experiences.
7. Business and Entrepreneurship Books: Websites of authors who have written extensively on startups and entrepreneurship, such as Guy Kawasaki or Seth Godin, often have blogs and articles that are invaluable to entrepreneurs.

Examining the Fragmented Data on Black Entrepreneurship in North America

Entrepreneur Our community brings together individuals driven by a shared commitment to problem-solving, professional networking, and collaborative innovation, all with the goal of making a positive impact. We welcome a diverse range of pursuits, from side projects and small businesses to venture-backed startups and solo ventures. However, this is a space for genuine connection and exchange of ideas, not self-promotion. Please refrain from promoting personal blogs, consulting services, books, MLMs, opinions.

• 
  Catch disguised promo comments before they look genuinely helpful -- Open-source!!
  by /u/Outrageous_Guess_962 on March 7, 2026 at 3:20 pm

  Has anyone else noticed an uptick in comments/posts that start like normal advice but slowly turn into a subtle pitch? I keep wasting time reading threads only to realize halfway through that it was basically stealth marketing (or something bot like) disguised as a genuine recommendation. What do u think of a small Chrome extension as a portfolio project that adds a lightweight “promo-likelihood” hint on Reddit posts/comments so you can decide faster whether a thread is worth your attention. Before I put more time into it: would you personally find that useful, or would the false-positives/extra UI make it more annoying than helpful? Issue is: . How do I market it? And test demand? I am doing it as a portfolio project ( 17 year old here) so I dont mind not making money from it. But my marketing avenues are limited and those that exist (like reddit posts for example) am going in the exact opposite direction by giving a solution while causing the problem. Could you give me your take on this? submitted by /u/Outrageous_Guess_962 [link] [comments]

• 
  Agency people how are you not losing your mind over client approvals?
  by /u/ConsciousArachnid636 on March 7, 2026 at 2:34 pm

  I don't come from an agency background so maybe I'm missing something obvious here. But I've been talking to a lot of agency owners over the past few months and one thing keeps coming up the approval process is just completely broken and everyone seems to have just... accepted it. The one that got me was this: a guy spent 3 weeks on a project. Client approved it. They went to production. Client then comes back saying that's not what they wanted turns out they had approved version 2 by mistake. The final was version 7. Three weeks of work. One email thread. Nobody knew which version was which. I genuinely don't understand how this is still the default in 2025. Is it just emails forever? How are you guys actually handling this? submitted by /u/ConsciousArachnid636 [link] [comments]

• 
  Is the Venture Capital and Private Equity markets stuck?
  by /u/AnalyticsDepot--CEO on March 7, 2026 at 12:02 pm

  I keep hearing from people how the SaaS, commercial real estate, fixed income markets are dead because of AI and because the VC and PE is heavily invested with circular financing (yes the same $ is shared by 100s of funds, shocker) with no salvation on the horizon, they have to invade other countries to seize their resources and get free inventory. Is this true? Is the overleveraged VC and PE markets screwed? Has Humpty Dumpty really taken the proverbial fall? Happy Saturday everyone. submitted by /u/AnalyticsDepot--CEO [link] [comments]

• 
  I'm here to test my Assumption
  by /u/LeiraGotSkills on March 7, 2026 at 8:04 am

  I'm building a quick tool that gives business owners a free diagnosis in 5-8 minutes. It pinpoints what's Stopping you from hitting monthly revenue goals. Exactly what's holding you back and Shows the adjustments needed. You get: -A clear report on the core issue -A simple roadmap to fix it -Ongoing daily guidance until you reach your target No strings attached, no sales pitch. Does anyone in here would be interested to try it? submitted by /u/LeiraGotSkills [link] [comments]

• 
  Took a two-week vacation. Nothing broke. That was more terrifying than if it had.
  by /u/SimonBuildsStuff on March 7, 2026 at 1:11 am

  Just got back from properly unplugging for the first time in three years. No Slack on phone. No "quick check-ins." Fully out. The business ran fine. Revenue came in. Support tickets got handled. Nothing caught fire. My first reaction was relief. My second reaction was something closer to existential dread. If the company runs perfectly without me for two weeks, what exactly am I contributing? Talking to other founders about this and the pattern seems consistent. We spend years trying to build systems that don't depend on us, then feel weirdly displaced when we succeed. The honest answer I landed on: my job isn't to be necessary for daily operations. It's to be necessary for the decisions that haven't happened yet. Strategy. Hiring. Capital. The stuff that doesn't surface in a two-week window. But it took some processing to get there. Anyone else dealt with this? The transition from "if I stop, it stops" to "it runs without me" is harder than I expected psychologically. submitted by /u/SimonBuildsStuff [link] [comments]

• 
  Anyone rely on newsletters to grow their business?
  by /u/bookflow on March 6, 2026 at 11:33 pm

  Yep just looking to find out who uses newsletters to grow their business. submitted by /u/bookflow [link] [comments]

• 
  I tracked which marketing channels actually make money vs just send traffic. The results surprised me.
  by /u/decebaldecebal on March 6, 2026 at 6:55 pm

  I sell a $39 digital product. After a month of marketing across every channel I could find, I finally sat down and looked at where the money actually came from. 387 total visitors. 3 sales. $117 revenue. Here's the breakdown: X/Twitter: 107 visitors (28% of all traffic). Zero sales. Reddit: 32 visitors (8% of traffic). 2 sales. Indie Hackers: 22 visitors (6%). 1 sale. Hacker News: 24 visitors (6%). Zero sales. LinkedIn: 24 visitors (6%). Zero sales. Google: 18 visitors (5%). Zero sales. So X sent me the most traffic by far. And produced nothing. Reddit sent a quarter of what X did and produced two thirds of my revenue. The conversion rate on Reddit traffic was 6.25%. On X it was 0%. Same product. Same landing page. Same price. Completely different results. I think I know why. On X, my followers are mostly developers. They like my content about coding and building stuff. I thought they have the problem my product solves, but that doesn't seem to be the case. On Reddit, I'm finding people in threads where they're actively asking about the exact problem I built a solution for. They show up already wanting help. I also tried cold DMs. 35 sent across platforms. 31% replied, which is way above what I expected. One of those converted into a sale. That's a 2.9% close rate from cold outreach, which honestly surprised me more than anything else. Other things I didn't expect: my top traffic country was the UK (86 visitors), not the US (65). Still not sure why. And my bounce rate is 84%, which means most people land on my page and leave immediately. That's a problem I haven't solved yet. The takeaway for me was simple. I was spending equal time across all channels because I was tracking visitors, not revenue. Once I broke it down by channel, the decision was obvious. Cut the hours on X, double down on Reddit and community stuff, and send more cold DMs. Are you tracking which channels send traffic vs which ones actually bring in money? Because the answer might not be what you think. submitted by /u/decebaldecebal [link] [comments]

• 
  Does anyone actually plan their finances monthly?
  by /u/ExactEducator7265 on March 6, 2026 at 4:26 pm

  Almost every budgeting tool I’ve tried assumes people think about money in monthly budgets. Monthly income, monthly expenses, categories for everything. But the way I’ve always handled money never really worked like that. The real question in my head every time I got paid was always simpler: which bills does this paycheck need to cover, and what will be left after that? For years I handled it with a pretty ugly spreadsheet. I would block out pay periods and then drop bills into the week they were due so I could see which paycheck was really covering what. That way I could look ahead and see if things were going to be tight before the next check came in. It worked surprisingly well, but the spreadsheet itself became a pain. Months shift around, some months have more paychecks than others, bills move a little depending on the calendar, and I kept having to manually adjust things. At some point I realized the core problem wasn’t really budgeting. It was just timing. Money shows up on a schedule, bills show up on their own schedules, and the real question is whether those two timelines line up. The spreadsheet did the job, but maintaining it became enough of a chore that I eventually started building a small local app to automate a lot of that flow for myself. Now I’m curious how other people actually think about this. Do you mentally manage things month to month, or more paycheck to paycheck? submitted by /u/ExactEducator7265 [link] [comments]

• 
  Opening a store? Start with your customers, not the lease price
  by /u/LucasMyTraffic on March 6, 2026 at 4:11 pm

  Hey y'all! I wanted to make a small post because I see people struggling with this issue daily. When people look for a store location, it's very easy to just compare leases, pick the best price, and call it a day. But there's one thing that often gets forgotten. Where exactly is it located ? You can have two stores on opposite ends of a street and they'll attract wildly different visitors. When you open a location (store, restaurant, coffee shop, thrift store, ...), start by asking yourself who is actually going to be your clientele. Is it going to be students ? Then look for a lease near a university. Is it going to be stay at home moms ? Then look for a lease near a target or a kindergarten. Location is unfortunately one of those early decisions you can't go back on, yet it's one of the most important factors in how quickly you reach your break-even point and your long-term growth. submitted by /u/LucasMyTraffic [link] [comments]

• 
  Are small businesses using ai agents for their businesses?
  by /u/Able_War1 on March 6, 2026 at 1:48 pm

  so many new products which helps with automations like email responses, content creation, lead gen etc. just curious and looking to integrate ai agents in my own workflow. how solo/small businesses owners using ai agents to automate their workflows? submitted by /u/Able_War1 [link] [comments]

• 
  How Entrepreneurs Are Using AI Automation to Save Time and Scale Faster
  by /u/Pro_Automation__ on March 6, 2026 at 1:09 pm

  Many entrepreneurs spend hours on repetitive work like replying to messages, scheduling calls, and handling basic customer support. AI automation is helping reduce this workload and keep operations running smoothly. ● Answers common customer questions instantly ● Automates appointment booking and follow-ups ● Works 24/7 without extra staff ● Reduces operational costs ● Lets founders focus on growth and strategy Even small automation setups can save many hours every week and improve customer response time. For growing businesses, this can make a real difference. submitted by /u/Pro_Automation__ [link] [comments]

• 
  Anyone else feel like ads look good in the dashboards but the real sales do not match
  by /u/luihgi on March 6, 2026 at 12:29 pm

  Meta Google and GA4 all show different conversion counts, so scaling feels like guessing. Some days spend goes up and orders barely move, and I cannot tell if it is performance or tracking. I tried a server side setup with Metrion and it made things consistent. How are you handling this right now. Do you just treat Shopify as the source of truth and use platform numbers as directional? submitted by /u/luihgi [link] [comments]

• 
  I analyzed 12,000 YouTube comments on a business podcast. Here's how skeptical viewers actually are about income claims.
  by /u/recmend on March 6, 2026 at 10:15 am

  I've been building a tool that analyzes YouTube channels data: comments, transcripts, sentiment. ran it on thebrettway (a podcast that interviews young founders making $10K-$2.4M/month) the raw numbers 69 videos analyzed 12,043 total comments 52 comments explicitly questioned whether income claims were real those 52 comments received 3,650 total likes that's 70 likes per skepticism comment vs the channel average the most-liked skepticism comment (306 likes): brett could you start making the guests prove that they make this money? Because to me it just seems like Blake was throwing numbers around especially when his app reviews are dog shit. the second most-liked (237 likes): As an actual programmer who has used the tools you guys speak of I can say you're definitely selling pipe dreams Overall channel sentiment is 62% positive, 23% neutral, 15% negative. skeptics are a minority. Looking at which founder videos had the lowest skepticism: founders who showed their dashboard or Stripe screenshots on camera founders with verifiable products (you can check their app store reviews, website traffic) founders who talked about specific failures, not just wins the ones who got the most pushback: vague revenue claims, no product shown, pivot to selling a course. submitted by /u/recmend [link] [comments]

• 
  Feedback Friday! - March 06, 2026
  by /u/AutoModerator on March 6, 2026 at 10:01 am

  Need help with your website or portfolio? Want advice from other entrepreneurs on what you could improve? Share your stuff here and get feedback from our community. Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

• 
  Anyone who has experience in selling software products to QSR?
  by /u/HurricanAashay on March 6, 2026 at 9:52 am

  About to launch a product, looking for tips and collaboration for this sector. Product itself is sector agnostic, but QSR would be a big industry. The product is a solution for front-line workers training. submitted by /u/HurricanAashay [link] [comments]

• 
  Took a 10-day vacation and nothing broke. That scared me more than if it had.
  by /u/ElDiegod on March 6, 2026 at 9:50 am

  first real vacation in 3 years. left my restaurant with my sous chef in charge. phone on silent. told myself id check in once a day max. didn not need to. everything ran fine. sales were actually up 6% that week compared to the same week last month. no call-outs. no emergencies. one small equipment issue that got handled without me knowing until i got back. i should have felt proud. instead i felt kind of sick. because if the place runs fine without me, what exactly am i doing there every day? was i just getting in the way? is my daily involvement actually net negative? took me a while to reframe it. the years of grinding and fixing and building systems, the vacation working IS the result. the goal was never to be irreplaceable. it was to build something that does not need me hovering. but man, that first realization hit different. anyone else felt that weird emptiness when you realize your business grew past you? submitted by /u/ElDiegod [link] [comments]

• 
  What is a skill you can learn within 30 days that can actually make money?
  by /u/TheSoleAudience on March 6, 2026 at 7:32 am

  If someone had 30 days to learn one skill from the internet and start making money with it, what would you recommend? Not something that takes years to master. Something realistic that a beginner could learn fast and use to get their first paying client or sale. What skill would you choose and how would you start using it to earn? submitted by /u/TheSoleAudience [link] [comments]

• 
  Visa vs. Mastercard: What Every Fintech Founder Learns the Hard Way About the Payments Duopoly
  by /u/Sea-Environment-5938 on March 6, 2026 at 7:29 am

  Hey everyone, I've been building a payments platform focused on cross-border remittances for small businesses in emerging markets (mainly SEA and LATAM). While researching the landscape, I ended up digging through Visa and Mastercard’s latest numbers and it was a pretty humbling reminder of just how dominant these two networks are. Here’s a quick snapshot from their FY2023 reports: Metric Visa Mastercard Revenue $35.93B $28.17B Net Profit $19.74B $12.87B Cards in Use 4.48B 3.16B Employees 34,100 35,300 Accepted Countries 200+ 210+ Net Profit Margin 54.9% 45.7% Revenue per Employee $1.05M $799K Revenue per Card $8.02 $8.92 A few things jumped out immediately: Visa dominates scale and efficiency. Their margins are wild, over 50% profit margin on payment rails.. Mastercard squeezes more value per card, likely through premium partnerships and data-driven services. Together they control an almost unavoidable infrastructure layer of global commerce. For founders trying to build anything in payments or fintech, this creates some very real challenges. 2. The Network Effect is Brutal: Between them, Visa and Mastercard have over 7.6 billion cards in circulation. Merchants expect them. Consumers trust them. So when a startup shows up with a new payment rail, even if it’s cheaper or faster, the response is usually: "Sounds interesting but will my customers actually use it?" We’ve spent months convincing pilot partners that a 1% fee improvement isn’t worth the perceived risk of leaving the standard networks. 2. Regulation Is a Moat in Itself: Payment infrastructure is deeply regulated, and the rules change constantly. Whether it’s PSD2/PSD3 in Europe, RBI rules in India, or licensing in Brazil, the legal and compliance costs pile up quickly. One regulatory mistake can burn hundreds of thousands before you even launch. Meanwhile, the incumbents have entire teams dedicated to regulatory strategy and lobbying. 3. Building The Team Is Harder Than the Tech: Scaling a payments company isn’t just about writing code. It’s fraud systems, compliance workflows, partner integrations, settlement infrastructure, and more. You’re competing for talent with Big Tech and large fintech companies that offer more stability. And when something breaks, it’s usually the founders debugging it at 2AM. 4. Innovation Often Happens Around the Edges: Visa and Mastercard do innovate, tokenization, real-time push payments, blockchain pilots, but they still control the core rails. That means most startups end up building around the network, not replacing it. The real opportunities seem to be in areas like: Embedded finance Cross-border B2B payments Stablecoin rails and Web3 wallets Serving underbanked markets Verticalized payment platforms But even then, many solutions eventually plug back into the traditional networks somewhere. My question for other founders here: If you're building in fintech or payments, where have you found the real opportunity? Have you managed to build something independent of the Visa/Mastercard ecosystem, or is the smarter strategy to work alongside it? Would love to hear the war stories. submitted by /u/Sea-Environment-5938 [link] [comments]

• 
  What did your growth curve actually look like? The grind vs the explosion?
  by /u/GmailsAreCute on March 6, 2026 at 3:06 am

  I'm in that phase right now where getting each individual client feels like pulling teeth. Closing client 1, then 2, then 3, just fighting for every single one. But I keep hearing from people who've scaled past that point that at some point it just... flips. Like you go from begging for clients to suddenly having 5, then 10, then 15, then you can barely keep up with demand. For those of you who've been through it, what did that actually look like? How long were you grinding at 1 to 3 clients before things started compounding? Was there a specific moment or milestone where the growth curve bent and suddenly you were adding clients way faster than before? Curious what industry you're in, what you sell (product or service), and what you think actually caused the shift. Was it just volume? Referrals kicking in? A reputation thing? Something you changed in your process? Not looking for the highlight reel, genuinely want to know what that transition felt like and how long the slow part lasted before it stopped being slow. submitted by /u/GmailsAreCute [link] [comments]

• 
  Best prompts for evaluating an acquisition opportunity?
  by /u/dabusinessbro on March 6, 2026 at 1:55 am

  I’ve been reviewing CIMs and getting opinions from the AI gods on what to ask, identifying blind spots, validating with market research, etc. Pretty helpful. Still working on a refining my prompt though. Anybody that looks at businesses often care to share the prompt they use to help evaluate a business acquisition opportunity? Would be cool to crowd source the prompt to prompt all prompts. submitted by /u/dabusinessbro [link] [comments]