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.

• 
  I built a lead pipeline for my freelance automation biz and went from 2-day response times to 58 seconds. Here's the real story.
  by /u/yasuuooo on November 15, 2025 at 10:41 am

  three months ago i sent the same onboarding email 3x to a client who'd already paid they thought i was phishing i 'am the automation freelancer with zero automation for my self My "pipeline": 6 Chrome tabs 1 buried Calendly notif Pure anxiety Spent $150 enriching fake "CEOs" with gmail addresses while a real $8k project ghosted me after 48hrs. I was a human Zapier with a caffeine addiction. That's when it hit me: if i can't trust my own pipes ,why would anyone pay me to build theirs ? spent a weekend dogfooding & i built a 5layers lead engine for ME Here's the breakdown: LAYER 1: THE BOUNCER Every lead → webhook Validates, dedupes, AI spam filter Blocks 30-40% junk BEFORE Airtable UTMs actually survive No more waking up to 47 fake Fortune 500s LAYER 2: THE DETECTIVE Auto-enrich w/ Clearbit/Apollo But HARD rules, not black-box AI Redis cache = 60% cheaper Enrichment fails? Flagged, not blocked Stopped paying to enrich garbage LAYER 3: THE MIND READER HOT (70+ score) = 4-day blitz (LI/email/SMS) WARM = 10-day value sequence AI reads their posts → personal msgs Reply "pricing"? I get pinged in 58 SECONDS Auto-pause sequence LAYER 4: THE BRIDGE Batch-sync to HubSpot every 15min Round-robin, load-balanced BUT Airtable = source of truth HubSpot fails? My pipeline doesn't stop No more sync anxiety LAYER 5: THE WATCHDOG Daily: qualified rate, time-to-contact, CPL Auto-pause ads if CPL spikes Weekly "Junk Autopsy" IDs trash sources Looker Studio updates itself Sundays are for rest, not spreadsheets REAL RESULTS: 8 fewer hours/week on admin Response time: 2 days → 58 seconds Close same # of clients Actually sleep I stopped looking like a disorganized freelancer Now I build these engines for other freelancers who are great at delivery but their pipeline looks like my inbox used to. Where's YOUR biggest time leak? Bet it's between "lead lands" and "you see it." P.S. Took ~12 hrs to build. hardest part wasnt the code but admitting my own process was broken the spam filter alone paid for itself in week1 What's your biggest pipeline leak? I'm happy to share specifics on any layer if you're building something similar. submitted by /u/yasuuooo [link] [comments]

• 
  Accomplishments and Lessons-Learned Saturday! - November 15, 2025
  by /u/AutoModerator on November 15, 2025 at 10:00 am

  Please use this thread to share any accomplishment you care to gloat about, and some lessons learned. This is a weekly thread to encourage new members to participate, and post their accomplishments, as well as give the veterans an opportunity to inspire the up-and-comers. 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]

• 
  How do you handle endless follow ups without losing motivation?
  by /u/Ok-Philosophy-7095 on November 15, 2025 at 9:32 am

  Following up on applications can take as much effort as applying sometimes I spend hours emailing recruiters only to hear nothing back How do you manage this without getting frustrated Tools like JobHuntr have helped me track follow ups more efficiently does anyone else have tips submitted by /u/Ok-Philosophy-7095 [link] [comments]

• 
  How and where can i get a email list with dealerships?
  by /u/LowDog84 on November 15, 2025 at 9:18 am

  I need/want emails for all dealerships in a certain niche in Germany, Netherlands and Poland. Does anyone know how i can get this without having to search all dealers seperatly and write down/find their emails on their websites? submitted by /u/LowDog84 [link] [comments]

• 
  Unpopular take: Lifetime deals are better than monthly subscriptions
  by /u/devhisaria on November 15, 2025 at 9:11 am

  I get it, people hate lifetime deals. They see them as a gimmick. Some SaaS founder got mad one time when a customer bought a lifetime deal for $99 and actually used it for ten years, and now everyone's convinced they're evil or something. But here's the thing: I've been running businesses for a long time, and after years of burning money on subscriptions that bleed you dry, I'm convinced lifetime deals are actually the smarter move for most entrepreneurs. The math is simple. You're paying for tools monthly, right? That $29 tool. That $49 tool. That $99 tool. It adds up fast. $200-$300 a month easy if you're using more than a handful of SaaS products. That's $2,400 to $3,600 a year. Over five years? You're looking at $12K-$18K on something that might cost $500-$1,000 as a lifetime deal. But it's not even about the savings. It's about the unpredictability going away. I've had tools I relied on increase their prices 3x. I've had them discontinue features I built my workflow around. I've had them just... disappear. When you're bootstrapping, that instability is brutal. With a lifetime deal, you know exactly what you have. No surprises. No creeping costs. No "we're sunsetting this feature" emails that wreck your day. Here's what gets me though, sometimes these lifetime deals are genuinely too good. I bought this design tool for $79 as a lifetime deal years ago. I thought I'd use it for a year, max. It's still my primary tool. Four years in, I've probably paid $15-20 a month if I averaged the lifetime deal across actual use. That tool now costs $20 monthly. I locked in forever at a fraction of that. Look, I'm not saying never pay monthly. Some tools deserve it, the ones that are genuinely moving the needle for your business. But for the 70% of tools you use occasionally or as backups? Lifetime deals remove friction from your business in a way monthly subs never will. The real unpopular take? Paying monthly subscriptions indefinitely while your margins get tighter is the actual losing move. submitted by /u/devhisaria [link] [comments]

• 
  Is anyone else experiencing this?
  by /u/bailue on November 15, 2025 at 8:56 am

  It’s been rough out here as an entrepreneur. I have been a wedding photographer since I was 16 - full time at 21. It’s been a beautiful journey. There are days I want to break down and cry, and days where a tiny spark urges me to push just a little harder, hold on a little longer, to see if anything shifts. Some moments I still have the stamina to keep going. And other moments I’m sitting here wondering if it’s me or the economy. If maybe I’m just not understanding the algorithm. If I should have hopped on more trends. If I should be louder, softer, more consistent, more curated. If it’s something I’m doing wrong, or if we’re all quietly feeling the end of an era that once felt authentic and slow paced. Things have felt “off” ever since Covid, but somehow today feels even stranger than those years ever did. This isn’t a doom message. It’s simply an honest reflection and a gentle question: does anyone else feel this too? I’ve been sitting with a big thought lately as I consider the possibility of finding a part-time job. At first, my ego shatters. Not because of what anyone else might think, but because it makes me feel like I failed myself. I know how hard I’m willing to push. I know the corners I’ll cut, the all-nighters I’ll pull, the times I’ve rationed food, slept in my car, and sacrificed comfort just to keep alive something I built with my own hands. My business is me. It’s my creation. It’s the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever brought into the world. Letting it go, even for a moment, feels like grieving a version of myself. It feels like looking in the mirror and seeing the little girl inside me staring back with fear, wondering if I let her down. She dreamed so big. And in so many ways, those dreams did come true. Maybe not with huge houses or fine dining every night, but in all the ways that mattered: grocery trips where I didn’t check prices, clothes that made me feel beautiful, apartments that felt safe and inspiring, trips around the world that shaped me, cultures that softened me, and the privilege of making a life out of art. I built something bigger than myself. I witnessed some of the most meaningful days in people’s lives. I created memories that outlived the moment they were taken. And if there’s any way to sit with all of this and make it feel even a little more bearable, it’s this: I am so proud that I supported myself for eight years with a business I started as a 21-year-old girl while battling depression, chronic illness, mold, PTSD, covid, civil unrest, inflation, housing crashes, LA fires, the loss of a parental figure, zero safety net, and a world changing faster than anyone can comprehend. If I take a job, it doesn’t make me less of an entrepreneur. It means my ego finally stepped aside so I can do what’s right for my nervous system. It means I’m choosing long-term stability over pride. It means I’m rebuilding with intention instead of fear. And the creative in me isn’t going anywhere. Just because this shift in social media, the algorithm, and the rise of AI can feel like it has authority over my life doesn’t mean it gets to define my worth. Art was never meant to fit into an algorithm. Art is what prepares us for the impact of reality. It’s the tangible evidence of being human. No matter what happens next, I know that this is just the beginning. submitted by /u/bailue [link] [comments]

• 
  Side hustle business
  by /u/bhudzallmighty on November 15, 2025 at 8:47 am

  Ok how do I start. I work a full time job, make good enough money and job/life satisfaction is not bad. I like building computers (desktop). I do have a side hustle of buying/selling used computer parts or whole computers of offer up and fb marketplace for about 8 years now. I’m thinking if I could turn this into a legit small business? Not looking to make tons of money but maybe it can help my wife and I with the tax benefits of having a business. We make maybe $280k gross a year. I would want to keep it small and simple, local offer up and fb marketplace focused. Selling my prebuilt pc new/used and also offer pc upgrade and/or troubleshooting. Is this sustainable or too much hassle and not large enough to reap the tax benefits? submitted by /u/bhudzallmighty [link] [comments]

• 
  the best advice i have received during starting my first startup
  by /u/New-Bake3742 on November 15, 2025 at 8:40 am

  quit brainrot. unfollow trolls. read essays. go down rabbit holes. have a calendar. maintain a todo list. read old books. watch old movies. turn on dnd. walk with intent. eat without youtube. chew more. train without music. plan for 15 mins. execute. organise your desk. take something seriously. read ancient scripts. act fast. find bread. eat clean. journal. save a life. learn to code. read poetry. create art. stay composed. refine your speech. optimise for efficiency. act sincere. help people. be kind. stop doing things that waste your time. follow your intuition. craft reputation. learn persuasion. systemise your day (or don’t). write. write. write. write more. iterate violently. leave your phone at home. walk to the grocery store. talk to strangers. feed the dogs. visit bookstores. look for 1800s novels. experience art. then love. sit with a monk and offer them lunch. don't talk shit about people. embody virtue. sit alone. do something with your life. what do you want to create? turn off your mind. play. play a sport. combat sports. notice fonts in trees. fall in love. notice patterns on a table. visualise it. talk to people with respect. don't hate. be loving. be real. become yourself. cherrypick your qualities. discard the useless. rejections aren't permanent. invite what aligns. accept what does not. read great people. be different. choose different. do great work. let it consume you. lose your mind. value your time. experience life. submitted by /u/New-Bake3742 [link] [comments]

• 
  (India) Fikernot- Company registered, name and logo trademarked. Dont know what to do with it.
  by /u/No_Minimum_4168 on November 15, 2025 at 8:09 am

  Fikernot is a catchy term that’ll do well in India, MI and SEA. The logo is essentially a person lying down, hand on hand behind their head and legs crossed. People from India should be able to tell. Its something that we registered and trademarked in 2017. Open to ideas, suggestions and guidance! Though I created a Shopify website, it’s more of just something I did for an online presence. My only so called “asset” I have is the name and logo. submitted by /u/No_Minimum_4168 [link] [comments]

• 
  The weirdest part about building a business? You change faster than the business does.
  by /u/Digitalunicon on November 15, 2025 at 7:39 am

  Some days I feel like entrepreneurship is just me outgrowing old versions of myself every 3 months while the business tries to keep up. You fix one problem, suddenly you level up... and the next challenge needs a different you again. the business evolves, but you end up evolving even faster. submitted by /u/Digitalunicon [link] [comments]

• 
  How did you become successful ?
  by /u/BatMechSuit on November 15, 2025 at 7:13 am

  Please tell us about your story of how you started your business and made it successful. What is your business about ? How it became successful ? Was it self made or started with little to no money ? What advice do you have for starters ? submitted by /u/BatMechSuit [link] [comments]

• 
  Successful entrepreneurs , please FLEX your story here.
  by /u/BatMechSuit on November 15, 2025 at 6:59 am

  Please tell us about your story of how you started your business and made it successful. What is your business about ? How it became successful ? Was it self made or started with little to no money ? What advice do you have for starters ? submitted by /u/BatMechSuit [link] [comments]

• 
  Where can I find high quality, technical, direct hires in India? I’m sick of working with middlemen!!!
  by /u/Solarxfuture on November 15, 2025 at 6:09 am

  Title pretty much says it all. Not interested in being pitched to by agencies and companies selling talent. How can I find high quality hires in India? Currently building a SaaS tool and I need a small team of engineers to build some next gen scraping software. submitted by /u/Solarxfuture [link] [comments]

• 
  Why do most first VA hires fail?
  by /u/Sk_Sabbir_Uddin on November 15, 2025 at 5:36 am

  After working with 8+ founders, here's the pattern I see: Founder hires VA → throws random tasks at them → no SOPs, no clear outcomes → gets frustrated → "VAs don't work for me" Here's what I've learned from 14+ years in operations: delegation fails when you hand off a task that still lives entirely in your head. Tasks that actually work for delegation: ✓ Clear outcome defined (what does "done" look like?) ✓ Steps documented, even roughly (doesn't need to be perfect) ✓ Tools/logins ready and accessible ✓ One example of the finished work The best VAs I've seen aren't mind readers. They're process followers. Give them a clear process, and they'll run with it. What's your biggest lesson from hiring your first VA? What worked? What crashed and burned? Genuinely curious what this community's experienced. submitted by /u/Sk_Sabbir_Uddin [link] [comments]

• 
  Averaging 100+ downloads a day is like a dream coming true
  by /u/First-Reference3924 on November 15, 2025 at 3:18 am

  Averaging a 100+ downloads a day is like a dream coming true Ps: I would’ve shown you the dashboard but this subreddit doesn’t allow images. I've always seen it online but never thought it would be possible without a huge budget. My entire strategy? Post everywhere, every day. That’s it. I write about my apps and make videos about them. I kid you not ... my ad-spend so far -> $0 I only recently learned about hooks and how to make engaging videos. I’m definitely not the best yet (still have a lot to learn) but even as a complete beginner, I’m getting results like this Kinda wish I started sooner submitted by /u/First-Reference3924 [link] [comments]

• 
  Life of an Entrepreneur
  by /u/Separate-Carrot-2 on November 15, 2025 at 12:28 am

  This shit will humble you. You’ll cry stress doubt yourself quit start back up quit again start up again (this time with a different mindset) cry a little more reach what you think is peak euphoria lose it all cry more stress again Then one day it clicks, and your life changes forever. Keep going. submitted by /u/Separate-Carrot-2 [link] [comments]

• 
  Would something like this be feasible?
  by /u/3madu on November 15, 2025 at 12:09 am

  I've have over 15 years of payroll experience under my belt and I want to strike out on my own. Fractional payroll for small to mid-size business is my target but I'm not sure if that's something companies are even looking for. For business owners on here, would you every be interested in having an outside professional process your payroll and year end tax filings? How would you want to be approached on this topic? submitted by /u/3madu [link] [comments]

• 
  Smallest team to scale a content app to 100k concurrent users?
  by /u/NoEdge8020 on November 14, 2025 at 11:09 pm

  Hey everyone, I'm in the early stages of building a content heavy app (comparable with Pinterest and Rednote), and I want to be very cautious with my costs. My goal is to handle at least 100,000 users online at the same time but with the smallest possible team so I can extend the runway and keep the burn rate as low as possible. Right now, l'm thinking of hiring 1 Lead Developer, 1 Backend Developer, and maybe 1 Full Stack Developer but I'm unsure if this setup is realistic for that scale, especially as the app will be heavily content driven and require solid performance. Have you built or scaled something similar? What kind of team did you have at the start versus when you hit 100k+ concurrent users? Any advice on how to structure a lean but effective team for this kind of load? Thanks in advance! I really appreciate any experience or tips! submitted by /u/NoEdge8020 [link] [comments]

• 
  I’m 22 and stuck between two completely different ideas.
  by /u/frankozeans on November 14, 2025 at 9:41 pm

  Hello everyone, As the title says, I recently turned 22 after finishing my undergraduate degree earlier in the year. I feel like I’m really passionate about the IDEA of owning my own business but I’m not fully prepared to take on the responsibilities or understand the level of research or where I should even start. I have two ideas, one which I have no idea if it is logically possible. My first idea is to somehow host a trading platform that supports online voice chat. I know it sounds insane and please tell me if it’s impossible so I can squash the idea immediately but I thought of it while I was playing Fortnite. I had a trade open on my laptop while I was playing Fortnite on voice chat and just randomly thought of the too together. Would something like this be possible and if so where should I even start? My other idea is opening a yoghurt bowl shop. It would be like Subway but with customisable toppings and fruits (with the yoghurt as the base). I live in the UK (a small town an hour from Birmingham) and I can’t find any shops / cafes that offer such level of customisation that I aspire to have, but there are acai bowl cafes in Birmingham. Then that leads me to my next problem - I live in a small town where I’m not even sure would be a good idea to start out (or am I just thinking of my end goal far too quickly?). I would prefer to try and open in Birmingham as it’s busier and I believe it would be more popular there but without thorough research I cannot say for sure that this is true. My other (and big issue) is that I have absolutely no money to start with. I quit my job earlier in the year to go travelling but now I’m ready to settle down and build something. I’m prepared to go back to my job to work full time to save some money but I will most likely need a loan. Then my other irrational idea was to try to start the yoghurt bowl business in a different country like Australia or Bali, where I’ve notably seen that there are lots of healthy cafes and restaurants. This is probably several steps too far for someone with absolutely no experience right? I apologise if this post seems really scattered and maybe I just need some grounding and a reality check before I go spewing my ideas to the internet. submitted by /u/frankozeans [link] [comments]

• 
  How are you all making 10k+ a month and how much free time do you have
  by /u/Strawhat-Evxn on November 14, 2025 at 8:38 pm

  I’ve turned 20 this year and I’m a little lost on how I want to go about my life I know I don’t want to be stuck trying to climb the corporate ladder just to work my life away there. I know comparing is the thief of joy but I see all these people my age making more money then I would know what to do with but I’m at a loss to how they do it. I’ve researched all these gurus business models like ecom, day trading, high ticket sales, etc. Some of them seem doable like learning to run ads for people or using AI to help automate things for companies that don’t have it or ecom or real estate but I feel like a lot of these markets are over saturated. I sometimes feel like it might just be easier to go find a good job and try to work your way to the top. Thoughts? Ideas? Anything would be appreciated. submitted by /u/Strawhat-Evxn [link] [comments]