Tag: effective business tools

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 A community of individuals who seek to solve problems, network professionally, collaborate on projects, and make the world a better place. Be professional, humble, and open to new ideas. Our community supports side hustles, small businesses, venture-backed startups, lemonade stands, 1-person-grinds, and most forms of revenue generation! However, no one cares about your blog. Please do not come here to self-promote your consulting, book, podcast, MLM, website, dropshipping guide, or $$$ scheme.

• AI in healthcare
  by /u/Significant-Donut581 on May 9, 2024 at 3:56 am

  I’ve trained several data sets to simplify and identify anomalies in MRI,CT and PET scans. For anyone in this industry or anyone interested. What do I do next? I have a prototype for medical imaging what now? I know this page is full of experienced entrepreneurs so plz share all useful info 🙏 submitted by /u/Significant-Donut581 [link] [comments]

• You aren’t your target market
  by /u/RightTechSoftware on May 9, 2024 at 3:55 am

  After receiving the same message from 3 different business founders last week it got me thinking. 3 things come to mind in terms of a common mistake 1st time founders make. “I’m the target market, so I know what they want”. Even if that’s true: ➡️ Not taking the time to validate your idea will come back to bite you. Validation means in depth conversations: ➡️ Not “a quick survey”, “googling some market research” or “a few emails”. Validation has 1 core goal, it’s: ➡️ Not just about problem solving. It’s about putting a $ figure on what your market will pay to have the solution. I know it feels awkward. But you know what’s more awkward? Building a product you find out no one will pay for. Agree or disagree? —————————— Scale Smarter 💪 submitted by /u/RightTechSoftware [link] [comments]

• Home country ties - NYC
  by /u/haci on May 9, 2024 at 3:49 am

  I recently moved to NYC, currently working 9-5. I am from a country with fairly decent manufacturing (textile, automative etc) and non high tech software development industries with low costs of labor How would you merge me being here and my ties to that country to start a business? I was thinking maybe I can start a outsourcing compan for software development or maybe get into export import for labor incentive goods but I guess I am hesitant to take the first step. Which industries / areas would you eye if you were me? How would you go about finding customers? submitted by /u/haci [link] [comments]

• Need some advice.
  by /u/MisterQuote1997 on May 9, 2024 at 3:44 am

  For some context I’m 26. I’m not married, and I don’t have any kids, although I do want those things. After a battle with cancer I’m returning to the workplace. I currently work a customer service job right now being paid $14 an hour. However my real passion and dream is to have my own financial services firm. I currently hold an active life insurance life and a series 6 investment license. I’m also working on my series 26 principle license and will get my series 63 after that. I’ve worked in the financial services industry on and off for almost a decade now. I started when I was 18, and I know that I can be massively successful at if I just put in the work. I just never fully committed to it because I struggled to believe in myself and it took me a while to build consistency in the right habits. During the time when I was sick, I have worked on my mindset, I become very disciplined and consistent, and I fully believe i can have success in this field. I also have a mentor who is very successful in this industry and can help me. I took this job for security because I know it will take time to build my business from scratch. But there’s a part of me that just wants to go full time in my business even if I may struggle to get momentum in the beginning. Every minute at my job I am thinking of what I could be doing in my business instead. Should I stay at a job I really don’t like for stability or take the risk with my business? What would your advice to me be? I want to be smart and make the best decision I can, but at same time I understand fully how limited my time is and I’d rather not waste it being at a job when I could be doing more. submitted by /u/MisterQuote1997 [link] [comments]

• What industries have operations visibility issues and a decent profit margin?
  by /u/tivelycrea on May 9, 2024 at 3:20 am

  Hi , I recently quit my job and started a business. I'm building a crowdfunded venture studio. My background is in building AI applications. I've sourced 21 interns and a few former colleagues to work on concepts. But, I don't have product-market fit. Here's what I want to build: Suppose there's a taco stand sold out every night. At the end of the month though, they're losing money and they don't know why. I want to build a technology that reads their business docs and connects to their software. It will then identify what's happening. We've interviewed clinics too. They have the same problem. Here's our problem: Restaurants don't have enough profit margin to invest in the technology. Clinics have the margin but we have concerns around how much access we'd need to patient data. So we're reworking stuff. I'm trying to get ideas around what other industries would be good to try to question business owners 🤔 Can ya'll suggest some interesting niches? submitted by /u/tivelycrea [link] [comments]

• Starting an LLC
  by /u/Fluffy_Goal_6240 on May 9, 2024 at 3:17 am

  For those of you who own an LLC. What are some of the best tips you can give me? I've been considering getting my own LLC for a while now but I feel...scared? Or taking the step? It's a weird feeling. I'm comfortable with my current job but I feel I need to get my own thing going asap. I feel stuck and I've never been stuck from a professional standpoint. I've always found a way to keep growing and now I find myself not really knowing how to approach this new step in my professional life. I truly appreciate any help on how/where to get started and key elements to keep in mind. Of course I have done research and looked it up myself. But I want to hear from actual people like you guys. Thanks. submitted by /u/Fluffy_Goal_6240 [link] [comments]

• I failed as an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur ruined my life.
  by /u/Dexxxta on May 9, 2024 at 3:04 am

  My whole life its been my dream to start and own a successful business. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to work a 9-5 or because of any external factor. I just fell in love with the being a business owner. It didn’t matter how hard it was, i noticed i always did the work necessary as a business owner nonetheless. For the most part it was harder than a traditional 9-5 but i still did. This how i knew it was something i wanted to do and be. It all started when i first moved to the United States as a young teenage boy from a third world African country. Coming to America inspired me. Seeing the opportunities, I decided to strive for the “American Dream”. Man only if i knew how much of a lie most of the info I’ll come across on this journey was. At first my version of the American dream was work hard, go to school, become a doctor and get a good job earning 6 figures. This what my father has instructed me to do to be successful in this country. So I listened. I listened so well, I worked very hard at school graduated with a 4.0 and got into a very good college. This where everything started changing. My whole plan was shattered when i realized what it means to be a doctor. The difficulty to become one was never an issue as i was the time to do whatever it takes but i came to a realization when someone told me “ you know, being a doctor is not the only way to be successful” this here completely shattered my pre mental program that my father had instilled me and got me thinking. What is there out there….. The fostered me to try new things and get into other things that will thus ensure my success and my dream of becoming a millionaire. To my greatest surprise, i found most people who were where i wanted to be were business owners. This took me down a rabbit whole of research into what they did etc Realizing i didn’t have to become a doctor to be successful, gave me a breath of fresh air as i was no longer restricted to doing something I didn’t like. So sometime during my 2nd semester of freshman year i decided to do research into how people made it and became successful. Thats when is stumbled upon online business aka ecommerce aka drop shipping, ebay etc. I opened my first ebay account eneded yo seling a few items I owned but i had no clear vision with it, so i did dropshipping. Which this i had to learn alot of things like web design etc. built my first store… pfffft I thought once is in the internet sales will start flooding in. Nope. Store was live and the only store visitors i had were bots. Only for me to realize i had to market. I had limited capital at that time so i decided ill come back to it once I’ve learned what its needed and when i have some more capital on my hand. Back to research. Some people online were preaching about having clients and selling services to people as a marketer, so after learning some social media marketing from a $3000 course online i decided to cold call and email business owners to run and generate leads and sale for them. Pffft tried that for months, that didn’t work out I didn’t essentially like the business model anyways. The only business model that really resonated with me was ecommerce. My second year of college, I decided to use my college refund checks to start a clothing business. Which became my first real business ever. I told my family told my firienfs. To my surprise it wasn’t easy as expected but for some reason i still felt so passionate and inspired regardless of the drawbacks unlike what i ever felt working hard to become a doctor. In my first 2 weeks of starting the business with $700 i sold out on all my inventory giving me a return of $2000. Boy i was so stocked, I started dreaming of the lambo i was going to buy when i sold more. I mean all i have to do is sell more right?! Nope it wasn’t like that. The people online make it sound so simple but it really isn’t. I decided to expand my business and market online but unfortunately, that didn’t pan out after so much spend on online marketing to strangers. I realized that most of my customers i previously had where friends, family and colleagues i knew and it wasn’t really a hit in the real world. Luckily i was able to meet an entrepreneur in my area who had a clothing business doing about $1mill a year at that time. Now he does about $10M annually. This became my first ever real mentor but our conversation was limited although just the connection gave me hope especially seeing someone my color doing it. I went a period not doing my clothing business as it wasn’t moving as expected. I decided to venture into other entrepreneurial opportunities. Thats when my friend introduced me to a lady who had approached him professionally promising a lucrative opportunity as a “network marketer” willing to become our mentor etc. i had to pay $600 to join this group and go for weekly meeting. Sounds like a cult don’t it. But nah overtime i and my friend realized we’ve been hooked into a ponzi scheme. At the time i had no idea and my friend introducing me to it was just me becoming one of his under link that he will make money from when i sell products and recruit people under me. All this he had explained to me ofcos. That i ended up leaving realizing how damaging it could be to my reputation. Now yet another failed venture. I decided to push forward. I was marketed a course that will teach me a skill that will generate me $1000- $10,000 plus a month and all i have to do is pay $3000. Well obviously that was a scam as well as i made not a dime from being i this paid community. At that time getting rich of selling courses was just becoming a thing but so people fell for it. I took my loses and move on. Of course while doing all of these i was still in school trying to become a “doctor”. I read countless books on self development, business as i was told the lesson in books help one to be successful. 4 years down the road and nothing to show for it. “God what am I doing” is this the right path?! Nothing but failed ventures and scams. The bias in this is the people online are the 1% that made it but there are the 99% tried and failed. I was so optimistic i though i could be this 1% not understand how small of a ratio that is. Along the coming years i tried various other things. Stock trading, crypto, social media etc. Made a few bucks from these but nothing significant to call a business or to build off from. Work hard they said, work smart that said, all that i did and nothing. I was engrossed with sad ness and negative self perception , doubt and pity. I mean “i did all they said you should do” “why am i not yet successful?!“ i read the books went for the seminars to initiative and action, was patient and consistent, invested in education… I graduated with a degree in psychology premed. Realising the loans and requirements it will come with to become a doctor after establishing that’s not who i wanted to be, i decide to-end it there. My dad had instructed i go back to school to purse a masters program but i was not motivated in the slightest. My live for having a business was still there. I ended up getting a part time job with the help of a friend based of my degree. Wasn’t earning much but it was something. After a few months i got the energy to start another venture, so i made a deal with my dad. “Give me a year in this venture” “ if i earn up to $100,000, i don’t get to go back to school and if i don’t i’ll do whatever you want me to do” . So i stared on this new venture. It was another online clothing brand but this time i decided to do things different. I sent a message to my mentor at this time he is generating about $2m in sales his was advised at the time was to go back to the drawing board if something isn’t working. We met and talked for an hour or 2. In summary after a year on my clothing store, I generated about $100,000 in sales ironically. Although this was just revenue. Profit was around 20% which was great at that time but i ended up blowing this money and going in depth trying to just reinvest. Its been 6 years since you’ve been on this journey and you have nothing to show for it. Boy did negative self talk eat me alive. I wallowed in depression and had thoughts of suc*ded at this time i was dead broke, with nothing to my name. I prayed, i wished, i cried but nothing. As of now I’ve decided to give up on my dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur as most of the people on social media are just putting up a fasade anyways to market themselves and i will be going back to school to purse a degree in health care for the sake of earning a decent income etc Its though to give up but after all these years I’m tired. Maybe its not meant for me. My love for entrepreneurship will forever still be there nonetheless. I decide write this because the internet is bias in its authenticity, as people only show their good side and good things happens in their life and the ones who succeed are the one who advertise them selves. So it fives a false expectation and perception. submitted by /u/Dexxxta [link] [comments]

• Is there an AI tool to edit (not generate) videos?
  by /u/mattschinesefood on May 9, 2024 at 2:33 am

  I'm looking to put together a promo video for an event. I have a bunch of random footage from past events and while I'm capable of doing basic editing of video, I fucking hate doing it. Is there any online tool (free or paid) that I can upload a bunch of footage to and it will slice/dice it together for me? submitted by /u/mattschinesefood [link] [comments]

• Self employed, W2 sales, back to self employment
  by /u/lalal567 on May 9, 2024 at 1:02 am

  Straight out of highschool I worked for myself making decent money and loving every minute Eventually found myself in software sales because I was convinced that working w2 and learning sales would be helpful in the long run I make more than I’ve ever made, and I couldn’t regret the decision more I’m more stressed than ever, constant corporate BS, micromanaged by my boss, and not having the autonomy I used to is torture Curious who here’s gone from self employed, to w2, and then back? It feels different now. I can’t run the same business I used to for health reasons, and I struggle to figure out what to start submitted by /u/lalal567 [link] [comments]

• I made 2k in days by helping people find niche ideas.
  by /u/yomatt41 on May 9, 2024 at 12:59 am

  As the title says I help people find niche ideas inside a very popular area. Tools. The thing that people don’t understand is that tools help you grow your existing business. Teach people how to make digital products ? Have a tool that lets the user enter in how much it costs and then the profits they would get from each platform. Making something with profile pictures? Let them resize, cut, remove background all for free with simple image tools. One of the biggest examples is ahref. They provide you with a free backlink checker along with tons of other tools. It brings them traffic + backlinks boosting their product higher. What I built is simple. A database of tools you can build that either have no competition(you can rank on google within weeks) or ones that have competition but will help your main product, blog , directory rank better. I also show you how to get backlinks, sites that give them. Next steps is I’ll be building out “boilerplates” which will be included in the lifetime access. These boilerplates will be plug and play code for you to add. Think calculators, word counters, generators and more. I am just getting started with building out niche tools and finally am excited to build a business again. Comment below any questions! submitted by /u/yomatt41 [link] [comments]

• Fuck these fake gurus: Here's the truth
  by /u/Charming_Jelly_2895 on May 9, 2024 at 12:51 am

  Genuinely Fuck these fake gurus trying to cash in their audience which they built with genuine content over a long set of years. These gurus are selling dreams instead of actual advice to help the person. A MASSIVE example of this is Iman Gadzi. This guy started as a nobody and worked his way up while growing his audience. I had a lot of respect for him at the begging but now this fucker is every week talking about how "I'm gonna change the world with this video". He keeps making new shit to take money from his audience. I originally like I said respected him and he inspired me to start my agency. Thanks to him (and some other tools like IgLeadGen which got me my leads), I grew to a pretty big monthly amount. But this new money makes me realize how much I dislike him. Do you guys feel the same way about him? submitted by /u/Charming_Jelly_2895 [link] [comments]

• $120k rev first 2 months of the year. Now freaking out.
  by /u/ambitiousrammy on May 9, 2024 at 12:08 am

  I run a software development agency in NYC focused on MVPs and AI for enterprise. I started the business September 2023 and did not get any clients until January 2024. I've had 3 clients in total through my network. I am worried now because I haven't been able to crack a sales funnel that consistently brings me leads. How do you deal with this as an entrepreneur? You start a business, it gains momentum through your network and then you are losing it. Anyone runs a successful software development agency in the states that could share some insights in their business development process? I appreciate all the support and help. submitted by /u/ambitiousrammy [link] [comments]

• 29M looking for mentor.
  by /u/GroundLoose8215 on May 8, 2024 at 11:58 pm

  Hi, I live in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I am looking for a mentor, I am obsess with learning and coming up with business ideas, etc. My problem as you can tell is getting then off and running. I am a family man, with 1 toddler, and a wife. I work full time evenings at a government job and watch my toddler during the day. I max get 5hr of sleep. I run a side business in videography and photography , mainly wedding but with everything going on with the economy I feel a shift in this field and I have gotten the lease amount of gigs since I started offering my services for weddings in 2020. I am going to keep plugging away with this business as I own all my gear. Looking to either work on focusing on business and trying my luck there. I am also interested in starting a painting business, and or contracting business where I find leads for certain trades and I send them to local businesses where I charge 10-15% surcharge for the client. I'm not afraid to do the work, put the little time I have into it aka things will change once my toddler is in school. I am tired of being broke and not getting anywhere and feeling unfulfilled. Clearly I'm the issue and my habits don't promote my dreams. I love learning, reading, lectures, etc. But all the info being absorbed means nothing without putting it to action. I would love to find a mentor, someone who can give me insight, someone I can run ideas, etc to. I'm not trying to get rich fast or get rich, just looking to improve my financial life, family life, quality of life, etc. and pursue my purpose of being an entrepreneur as it's been my dream since I was a little kid. I ran lemonade stands, sold veggies from my garden, etc. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post. submitted by /u/GroundLoose8215 [link] [comments]

• Starting a $70k/yr agency - lessons on getting the first few clients
  by /u/lilbean1s on May 8, 2024 at 9:45 pm

  Hello! First and foremost, I want to say that I am by no means an expert, I’m just here to share my story and what has worked for me thus far. Hopefully I can provide you guys with some value. So, around a year and a half ago I decided to start freelancing with web development. I was self-taught, and at the time I was a barber. I was fed up with using clunky tools for scheduling/managing my appointments, so I decided to code my own. Around the same time, I started to run ads on google directing traffic to my business, and I had great success with it - between 3-5 new clients per day in the first month. I witnessed firsthand the power that an optimized website and marketing could have on a business, so I figured it would be worth a shot to offer this service to local businesses like mine. After walking into similar businesses and pitching my story, I finally got my first client. By word of mouth and more cold approaches, I slowly got more and more clients that liked my work. A key lesson I learned starting out is obvious, but I wanted to emphasize it here: establish confidence with who you’re talking to. This can be done in so many ways, but in my case, it was twofold: I had results. I quite literally showed them my google ads campaign’s results and the amount of website clicks/bookings/calls I was getting. Being honest and having results is perhaps the most useful thing I did. My offer was unique. Starting out, I wasn’t sure how successful I would be, even if I had my results in front of their faces. So I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. I chose to go with performance-based pricing, so that if they didn’t get the results we agreed upon, I wouldn’t get paid. This meant I had to back up my talk. Lastly, I decided to incentivize referrals. If my clients landed me a new project, I would give my clients 10% of whatever I ended up charging them. This also was a huge boost I hope you found some of this info useful! In short, solve a problem you have, optimize, and help others do the same. submitted by /u/lilbean1s [link] [comments]

• How do you deal with the Hedonic Treadmill?
  by /u/firsthandbreaker89 on May 8, 2024 at 9:24 pm

  From Wikipedia: "The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. According to this theory, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness." I can't speak for everyone but I personally definitely got into entrepreneurship to chase money and power. I've gotten some modest level of success, but the corresponding gain in happiness has been very brief. Has anyone found the "key" to permanent happiness? submitted by /u/firsthandbreaker89 [link] [comments]

• Why is everyone a 22 years old millionaire these days ?
  by /u/ecopetroleum on May 8, 2024 at 8:24 pm

  It's becoming hard to get a grasp of what entrepreneurs are actually making. I remember 5 - 10 years ago when making 10k / month online was considered a massive success. Gurus used to talk about how it took them "decades" to get to that level. Nowadays it seems like every youtuber is a 23 years old agency owner making $ 150 000 / month. Google their name, even on reddit, plenty of people can "Attest" that they "are legit and the real deal". Am I missing something ? submitted by /u/ecopetroleum [link] [comments]

• I launched a trustless ponzi on r/cc 13 days ago and it doesn't show signs of stopping
  by /u/swagamoney on May 8, 2024 at 6:56 pm

  So I soft-launched an Arbitrum app on the crypto sub that lets users host or join trustless ponzi games. You "invest" ETH and earn up to 100% ROI that's being paid by subsequent "investor" deposits. The catch is that your funds are only released when you hit the 1-100% ROI threshold (set by the game host). If the game expires before that - you lose your deposit. What I did differently from similar games in the past is that I made a jackpot function that pools all of these unreleased funds and gives them to the last player to join the game. It incentivizes players to join indefinitely as the jackpot grows exponentially. The catch is that each new deposit resets the 10-hour game timer. And because of that reason this one game is now live ever since launch (over 13 days). It won't me allow to insert an image but it's called "smol profits" on the platform Every time I think it will finally end someone joins and resets the timer. The last player to deposit a min. of 0.003 ETH is looking to cash 0.316 ETH or more than 100x at the moment. Or a 100% return on his deposit if enough people join after him. How do you think this plays out? Can this be a sustainable product? (I'm getting half of the host fees as the platform fee) P.S. the app is called ponzimarket and these are the contracts - https://github.com/swagamoney/ponzi.contracts (app link is there too) submitted by /u/swagamoney [link] [comments]

• Levelsio failed over 60 times, now he's making millions - why you shouldn't expect to triumph on the first attempt
  by /u/polisantiago on May 8, 2024 at 4:58 pm

  We've all seen the amazing success stories of entrepreneurs who struck it big with a new product or startup. But what the headlines often leave out is the long journey of failures and painful lessons that came before that breakthrough success. Take the example of Levelsio, a serial entrepreneur whose current ventures are now generating millions in revenue. But it wasn't an overnight success story. LevelSio revealed that he failed over 60 times with various business ideas and startups before finally hitting it big. Those past failures involved startups running out of cash, partnerships gone sour, poorly timed product launches, you name it. Levelsio experienced every type of entrepreneurial setback in the book. At times, he doubted whether he'd ever make it. But Levelsio kept persisting and learned invaluable lessons from each failed venture. He improved his skills in areas like product-market fit, marketing, etc. His grit and willingness to learn from mistakes ultimately paid off in a big way when the right opportunities and experience finally came together. Today, Levelsio's main ventures include: Levels.io shop ($11K/month revenue) TherapistAI.com ($3K/month) ApplicantAI.com ($1K/month) PhotoAI.com ($58K/month) InteriorAI.com ($45K/month) NomadList.com ($35K/month) RemoteOK.com ($42K/month) Collectively, these businesses are generating well into the millions in annual revenue. Not bad for someone who floundered through 60+ failed startups early on! The key takeaway: Very few entrepreneurs or innovators find stupendous success on their first attempt...keep trying! submitted by /u/polisantiago [link] [comments]

• I've spent the last 3 years studying Apple, Ogilvy, Liquid Death, and other best businesses - here are 10 NON-OBVIOUS psychology principles used by them to make billions of dollars every year
  by /u/Limejhit on May 8, 2024 at 4:02 pm

  Let's start by stating: "People don't buy products. They buy emotions" "95% of our purchasing decisions are emotional" -Harvard Business School The real WHY of WHY PEOPLE BUY is often hidden deep in psychology in the unconscious parts of our brains. Marketing tools are just the tools to influence the human psyche in one way or another, with psychology in its core. I play with behavioral science (psychology in marketing) on a daily basis, so I thought I will share 10 cognitive biases (mental shortcuts) here, so you can implement them in your business today to make a few extra bucks: 1. Risk Compensation Theory People adjust their behavior based on perceived risk. The less “risky” you make doing business with you, the higher your conversions. 🧠 Make it less risky Offer guarantees Outline a clear refund/return policy Give a lot of social proof to reduce perceived risk 2. Labour Illusion People value things more when they see the work behind them. "Effort is the universal currency of respect" 🧠 BUILD IN PUBLIC Constantly showcasing your startup journey, its ups & downs, and the new features you added to your products or services creates the perception there's a lot of work put into your business. Long waiting periods for service are unavoidable? Show your process. Educate your client on the craft performed during that period. Do you use any unusual material in your product? New, creative production process? Educate with a few extra words 3. Life Event Effect People are more likely to change their habits during a major life event In fact, those who have undergone a major life event are 3 times more likely to switch brands 🧠How to use it? Identify the life event most relevant to your category. Then use ads. Facebook lets you target people when they move to a new house, end a relationship, start a new job, or start university. Major life events shake up purchasing behavior. 4. Storytelling Effect People prefer and better remember stories than facts alone Watching, listening, hearing, or reading a story activates the same regions of the brain as those engaged when actually performing these actions in real life. 🧠 Don't show your product. Tell a story "The most powerful person is the storyteller." - Steve Jobs Research - Rob Walker story: In 2009, Rob Walker bought 200 objects from eBay for a total sum of $129. He then asked 200 authors to create a story for each object. Rob then sold those 200 objects with included stories on eBay again. He sold them for $8000. That's a 6202% increase in value. 5. Pratfall Effect A simple blunder or mistake of a person can improve the attractiveness or likability of that person The same goes for a brand. But here's the catch... Your brand needs to be well-perceived in the first place. Admitting to your flaws, when your brand is perceived as not reliable, only makes things worse. 🧠Be vulnerable • Embrace your imperfections VW Beetle campaign in the 1950s and 60s At that time American cars were supposed to be big, and stylish, not small and ugly. Yet the VW Beetle became a massive hit from its brilliant advertising campaigns. The campaign addressed everything typical American consumers didn’t like about the beetle. With headlines like: "Lemon", "One of the nice things about owning it is selling it", "And if you run out of gas, it’s easy to push", "Nobody’s perfect", or "Live below your means". 6. Foot-In-The-Door Technique People are more likely to agree to a large request by agreeing to a small one first Upsell whenever you can, but in a friendly, not pushy manner 🧠The easiest upsells Sell more of what you just offered them Sell something better than what you just offered them Sell something complimentary 7. Inaction Inertia Effect When missing an offer once you are likely to miss an offer twice When people see that you're giving big discounts frivolously every month or week, they tend to ignore them after a while. The perceived value of your product lowers with each discount 🧠Strategize your discounts Short-term gains are cool, but have you ever implemented a long-term pricing strategy? • Every person is different. Create an email sequence that will split your contacts into specific groups. Then customize the discounts for each group 8. Stepping Stones Any task you want your customers to do, needs to be broken down into smaller, attainable steps, otherwise, a person will get discouraged 🧠Viral refferal program When creating a referral program the most important reward is the first one. The first reward has to be both achievable and attractive to motivate people to participate. Harry's referral program collected 100k emails within a week, using this prize scheme: 5 users referred - Shave cream 10 users - Truman Handle Blade - Razor blade 25 users - Winston Shave set - Premium Handle 50 - One year free blades 9. Decoy Effect People change their preference between two options when presented with a third option (the decoy) that is “asymmetrically dominated” 🧠 3-tiered pricing pricing explained • 1 price = 2 choices: to buy or not • 2 prices = 3 choices: buy the cheaper one, the more expensive one, or not buy • By adding the third price, a much more expensive one, now the second price (the previous expensive one) looks like a bargain 10. Default Effect People tend to accept what we are given and stick with what we have When a company or brand makes a particular option the default or standard option, it is more likely that people will choose that option over other options that are presented. When we are not sure what to do and lack expertise in the area we consider the default as a form of advice and we stick to that. 🧠Make the usual no-brainer offer the default option A large national railroad in Europe increased its annual revenue by an estimated $40 million by changing its website to automatically include seat reservations unless customers explicitly opted out. Prior to the change, only 9% of tickets sold included reservations, but after the change, 47% of tickets sold included reservations. That's it If you want more I have a FREE NEWSLETTER where I share over 140+ more biases like these ones, but in a more extended versions submitted by /u/Limejhit [link] [comments]

• An idiot admires complexity. A genius admires simplicity.
  by /u/johnrushx on May 8, 2024 at 2:44 pm

  I'm 35 years old, married with kids, and working from home in a small Turkish village while having a little home farm with veggies and rabbits. I run 24 products with no employees. I'm obsessed with productivity and simplicity. ​ Complexity isn't an asset; it's your liability. All my simplicity hacks: 1. Solo teams. One person - one task. No meetings, no discussions, no arguments, no drama. 2. Google Sheets. The simplest & most powerful human invention. I use it for accounting, planning, documentation, backend, and database. It's easy to use, share, edit, clone, automate. 3. Less features. I don't copy an existing tool & add more features on top of it. Most products are difficult to use because they have too many features for too many audiences. I pick one audience and remove everything that is irrelevant. Often, that's 90% of the stuff gone. 4. Multi-functional people. I don't have people doing just one job. My DevOps guy does support, accounting, paperwork, finances, and more. His output is, in fact, better than what I had back in VC-funded startups with dedicated employees per job. 5. I adapt for simplicity. For example, I use Mercury Bank because it's simple to use. Other banks have more financial instruments, but I'd have to spend more time setting them up and operating them. 6. My org setup is flat & simple. I have no system. It's me, and everyone else reports to me directly. There are no more managers. Everything is done via Discord chat. Every "job" has a channel in Discord where we discuss it. There are no emails or PM software. There are only chats and Google Sheets for structured data. 7. I have zero employees. Only contractors. So that I don't have to bother with all the paperwork, their holiday pay, and other stuff. 8. I work from home. No office to rent and maintain. 9. Simple websites. All my websites have very simple landing pages made using my own simple website builder. I spent less than an hour making them. I've never made an advanced website with fancy animations and flashy elements. It's the #1 procrastination trap 90% of founders fall into. My simple websites bring hundreds of thousands in sales, while those fancy sites sit on zeros. 10. Simple products. I never spend time making custom designs. Design isn't how the product looks! Design is how the product works, so I put a lot of effort into UX but never into UI. I copy the existing patterns and use random popular UI libraries and default colors. 11. I only hire when it hurts. More people = More liabilities. Find them, screen them, onboard them, and ensure they're happy and know what to do, among other things. I either do new tasks myself or throw them onto existing team members until it really hurts and I have to add one more person. I don't think there is a more effective organization on earth today than my org. 12. I buy my time back. I don't waste my time doing things I can pay for. So many founders spend days doing things they could pay $ for. Time is your key asset. Save it at all costs. 13. NoCode vs High Code. I'm a coder; I know Assembler, C++, Delphi, PHP, ASP, C#, JS, TS, Python, NextJS, and more. But I still go for NoCode SaaS for most of my MVPs. Because I'm not falling for "I can code this one on a weekend..". The key advantage of NoCode comes after release when I have to iterate fast. 14. Avoid obstacles. I avoid everything that may turn into a never-ending mess. Despite the common belief that founders must be brave at taking challenges, I actually avoid challenges. My goal is to be like a river that finds the easiest possible path forward towards the sea. I do take my battles, but I choose them wisely. That's it. What's your productivity or simplicity hack? submitted by /u/johnrushx [link] [comments]