Tag: work smart strategies

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.

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  Attention Span Management while working a full time job and starting a company
  by /u/Rana_catcher on January 14, 2026 at 8:45 pm

  Hey everyone, I am wondering if anyone has been in the same boat as I currently find myself and if so, how did you deal with it? I currently work a full time job that I could absolutely not care less about, in fact I actually hate it. I make six figures but I’m absolutely miserable. My dream is to own a company and I don’t care how hard I have to work to make it be successful. However, I see my day job getting in the way of my dream and I’m slowly starting to get into auto pilot mode and not caring about the service I provide. I am so burned out. How can I manage my attention span and burnout if I plan to remain in my current role for another year to save money and pay medical debts while also saving energy to start my company? Please help with any advice or how you handled this situation in your personal experience. Please be kind, I am trying my best to grow professionally and I couldn’t think of a better way to get help other than posting on this thread as it feels no one around me understands. submitted by /u/Rana_catcher [link] [comments]

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  What is the best way to get your first client
  by /u/0picklerick on January 14, 2026 at 8:06 pm

  Hey there, I am 29 M living in France. I have been developing a solution for small to medium consulting companies so they can better control and manage their expenses. The MVP is okay, however, I am completely lost when it comes to selling it. What do you guys think is the best way to kick it off? Should I start by selling it to some pilot client or instead focus on building a team? submitted by /u/0picklerick [link] [comments]

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  Starting an after school program
  by /u/Big-Mixture2823 on January 14, 2026 at 7:42 pm

  Hi everyone, I’ve been recently thinking abt starting an after school program. I’ve been working in corporate and it’s not for me. Can’t be sitting around for 8 hours. Anyways I want it to be based on outdoor activities ie., skate park related activities & then in the winter transition to snow/ice related activities. I used to do lessons to kids in my neighborhood but nothing ever stuck or got traction in terms of scaling the number of clients that I had. A lot of the advertising would be by speaking to parents at the skatepark itself. And also Facebook posts. My main question is if anyone has experience starting or directing a program like this. Or any advice to me as I think through the process of starting one. Also if it helps I have a lot of connections to the schools in my area. submitted by /u/Big-Mixture2823 [link] [comments]

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  Built a tiny offline ad-blocking device for home networks what would you do to market it? “No promotion”
  by /u/someone513 on January 14, 2026 at 7:37 pm

  I’m a programmer and I built a device that blocks ads in people’s homes. You connect it to your router and it blocks around 90% of ads across all devices on the network. I know there are many ad-blocking services that don’t require a physical device. My goal, however, was to build something fully local that does not send any data to external servers. Everything runs directly on the device. I’m also aware that some devices can run software like Pi-hole and do something similar. The problem is that those solutions are relatively expensive and usually require technical knowledge to set up and maintain. They also need much more RAM, which increases their cost. My device uses only about 3 MB of RAM. Because of this, I was able to build a very small and efficient piece of hardware that is extremely cheap to produce. It costs me around $3 per unit, and it can outperform many existing alternatives. I’m planning to price it at $50. Most competing services charge around $50 per year as a subscription, so this feels like a fair price for a one-time purchase device with no subscription. My question is: how should I market this device now? I don’t have a big marketing budget. I spent a lot of time and money on development, testing, and extra hardware, and I’m left with very limited funds for marketing. I’m already selling other devices and running marketing campaigns for them, so I can’t move budget from those projects. Realistically, I’d need to wait about six months before I can invest more money into marketing this one. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. submitted by /u/someone513 [link] [comments]

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  Anydoby redeemed the lovable pro 3 months from stripe atlas perks?
  by /u/ExtensionAlbatross99 on January 14, 2026 at 7:21 pm

  While reviewing the Stripe Atlas perks, I noticed a 3-month subscription to Lovable Pro. Does anyone know if this offer is still valid? submitted by /u/ExtensionAlbatross99 [link] [comments]

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  what do you think about hotel business in Europe ?
  by /u/Remarkable-Sand-5059 on January 14, 2026 at 7:15 pm

  Hi everyone, I’m considering investing part of my savings into the hotel business in Europe, possibly buying a small hotel or boutique property in a tourist area. I’m still in the research phase and would really appreciate hearing from people who have real experience in this industry. Some things I’m curious about: What does hotel profitability realistically look like in Europe today? Which countries or regions are more investor-friendly for foreigners? How difficult is licensing, regulation, and compliance? Is it better to self-manage or hire a management company? What are common mistakes first-time hotel investors make? How seasonal is income in your experience? Any rough numbers on ROI, operating costs, or margins (if you’re comfortable sharing)? submitted by /u/Remarkable-Sand-5059 [link] [comments]

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  Business Monthly Budget
  by /u/regrabneflow on January 14, 2026 at 7:12 pm

  Hi all, we have a small family business in a niche category. My Dad turned a passion into his dream business in his mid 50's after gathering expertise for over 40 years. I would equate it to customer service mostly as we are dealing with high net worth individuals. We did around 3 million last year. We live in an extremely LCOL, rural area with 5 office employees, and with our excellent margins we are blessed to live an extremely comfortable life pursuing our hobbies and doing things I never thought we'd get to do with the people we've met. My dad runs mostly everything in his mind budget wise month to month. Obviously we have an accounting firm, a lawyer, etc, and we have everything on paper and on computers but no one is "working" a budget and he and I know we are not being nearly as efficient as we could be with the money. It's not really bordering on irresponsible but most people with a brain would likely be shocked with our lack of attention to some of these core areas of our business. In our defense, the business exploded out of nowhere after about 5 years in and we just now kind of stabilized our work-life balance by hiring some employees to disperse the work load in 2023. Are there any resources, books, or anything you would recommend to help me learn about business budgeting. He is getting up in age and I would prefer to learn this now as it is one of the last areas of the business I am yet to grapple with. I would appreciate any insight or feedback. submitted by /u/regrabneflow [link] [comments]

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  Cheapest way to get EAN codes for my Amazon product?
  by /u/Which-Apartment7124 on January 14, 2026 at 6:50 pm

  Just launched my first Am⁤azon product and need to b⁤uy EAN codes without breaking the bank. I've been researching options and found some services that seem promising for getting certified GTINs quickly. The goal is to have official documentation that wor⁤ks seamlessly with Ama⁤zon's requirements. I want something affordable that provides both the digital barcode graphics and the necessary registration paperwork. What service have other entrepreneurs used that offers a reliable and cost effective solution for obtaining EAN codes? submitted by /u/Which-Apartment7124 [link] [comments]

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  Sanity Check: Selling a niche "Golden Visa" agency (Commissions: $10k+ per client). How do you value a business with ZERO recurring revenue?
  by /u/CrayonGlobal on January 14, 2026 at 6:39 pm

  I’m a solo founder looking to exit my advisory business (Citizenship by Investment / Golden Visas) for a clean break. I need a reality check on my valuation because the business model is weird: It has high margins but zero recurring revenue. The Business Model: It’s a solo operation. I handle the strategy/consulting for clients who want second passports. The actual legal work and filing are 100% outsourced to B2B partners on the ground. The Economics (The Good Part): The revenue comes from commissions paid by developers or licensed agents upon approval. Caribbean (St. Kitts, Grenada, etc.): We net $15k - $20k per file (standard family application). Europe (Portugal/Greece): We earn a referral fee on the investment amount (usually Real Estate), typically 3-5% of the capital invested (e.g., ~€15k on a single Golden Visa deal). The "Catch" (The Bad Part): It is purely transactional. Once a client gets their passport, they never come back. There is no MRR/ARR. It is a "hunt and kill" model. The Plan: I want a clean exit (no earn-outs). I’m willing to stay on for 2 months to train the buyer on the lead sources and sales scripts. The Question: I am looking for a sub-$50k valuation just to move it quickly. Is that leaving money on the table given the commission sizes, or is it fair because there is no recurring revenue? Where does one even list a "Micro-Agency" like this? Flippa seems full of junk sites, and brokers won't touch a deal under $250k. Thanks for the advice. submitted by /u/CrayonGlobal [link] [comments]

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  A question for event management businesses
  by /u/OrganizationOnly8016 on January 14, 2026 at 5:18 pm

  I’m trying to understand the business logic behind hosting events (open mics, stand-up shows, live music, workshops, etc.) from an owner’s perspective. From the outside, events seem like they can serve very different goals: short-term revenue, footfall on slow days, brand building / community creation, customer acquisition, or event differentiation from competitors. But I also hear that they’re time-intensive, risky, and often not directly profitable. For those who’ve hosted events (or decided not to): What goal made it worth trying in the first place? What metric actually mattered to you? (sales that night, repeat visits, social buzz, etc.) At what point did you decide “this is worth repeating” vs “never again”? I’m especially curious how you evaluate HOW an event worked for you, beyond just how busy the venue felt that night. NOTE: i used ChatGPT's help for framing the question... TLDR: For businesses who host events, what makes it worth it at all? submitted by /u/OrganizationOnly8016 [link] [comments]

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  Have you ever used flashcards?
  by /u/biz_booster on January 14, 2026 at 5:08 pm

  For what purpose? submitted by /u/biz_booster [link] [comments]

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  The dark side of Founder’s journey
  by /u/Trick_Stretch_4746 on January 14, 2026 at 4:54 pm

  Everyone talks about the bright side of being a founder, the money, meetings, titles, connections and the willpower to make things happen. This is a pretty common positive side for almost everyone. But no has really talked about the negative and dark side of the journey. Let me start with mine. I started working at different startups to learn more about the industry and ecosystem. After a good years of experience, I started working on my own startup. It’s been two years, I’ve gone through depression, anxiety, not having enough runway, running out of money, almost becoming homeless, suicidal thoughts, no personal life, investor rejections, tons of refining my idea, solution based on problem space. Even at the initial stage, my customers insulted me and told me to shut down the project because it was a waste of time, money and resources. Later, I did self validations, improved myself, my idea, solution and learned more about my customers. Please share your dark experience of being as a founder. submitted by /u/Trick_Stretch_4746 [link] [comments]

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  what is the smartest outbound setup when you're just starting out?
  by /u/Visible-As-Living on January 14, 2026 at 4:27 pm

  I’m setting up outbound email for my business for the first time, and honestly, I feel like I’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole. The plan is simple: New domain, very low volume (30-40 emails/day), one inbox and nothing fancy. But once I started researching how to actually set this up, everything got confusing fast. Some people swear by Google Workspace or Outlook and say anything else is risky. Others say they’re expensive, restrictive, and not worth it anymore. Then there are cheaper options like Zoho, and people running custom SMTP setups, which sound powerful but also like something you’d do much later, not on day one. So now I’m stuck wondering if I'm overpaying if I go with Google/Outlook. Also, am I risking deliverability if I go cheaper? Warm-up is another thing I can’t get a straight answer on. For this volume, can it be done PROPERLY without paid tools? I’m not trying to blast emails or do anything shady. I just want a setup that works, doesn’t cause problems later, and doesn’t force me to spend money where I don’t need to. If you’ve been through this already: What did you start with, and what would you choose if you were starting again today? TL;DR: Starting outbound email for the first time. Low volume, one inbox. Torn between Google/Outlook, cheaper providers, and SMTP and unsure if I have to invest money in warming up submitted by /u/Visible-As-Living [link] [comments]

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  Founders, how did you actually make events work for you?
  by /u/Mammoth-Power-3028 on January 14, 2026 at 3:57 pm

  When you’re really early, no strong brand yet, no big traction story, nothing flashy to talk about, how do you make networking events genuinely useful? I’ve been to a few tech events and most conversations are friendly but short, and then they just fade away. I’m trying to understand how people who are good at this actually approach it. Do you go in with some kind of plan or is it more about showing up consistently and letting things compound over time? Also, how are people actually keeping a track of which events to attend, is there a structure to it? Would love to hear real experiences on what worked for you, especially early on. Not looking for generic networking advice, more how it actually played out in practice. submitted by /u/Mammoth-Power-3028 [link] [comments]

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  Anyone else shocked by how expensive customer chat tools have become?
  by /u/LobsterFuture8399 on January 14, 2026 at 3:20 pm

  I’ve been running a small e-commerce business for 2 years now, and I swear the pricing for customer chat tools has gone completely insane. For a small business getting 500 customer inquiries a month, that adds up FAST. All I need is: A simple chat widget that doesn’t slow down my site Basic contact form functionality Maybe some social media quick links That’s it. I don’t need AI assistants, complex automation flows, or enterprise-grade analytics. What is everyone else using? Is there anything simple and affordable (or even free) out there? submitted by /u/LobsterFuture8399 [link] [comments]

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  Premature launches kill products faster than bad ideas
  by /u/Karn2407 on January 14, 2026 at 3:05 pm

  Seen this way too many times. Founder gets anxious. Ships before it's ready. App is buggy. First users bounce. Reviews tank. Word spreads. Product's basically dead. What actually goes wrong: Users don't care about your roadmap. They see buggy, they leave. Forever. Those early 1-star reviews? They're permanent. New users see them first. "We'll fix it next sprint" lol no you won't. You'll be firefighting forever. The people who believed in you early? Now they're telling everyone to avoid you. Your competitors are literally taking notes while you fumble publicly. Minimum viable doesn't mean minimum effort. Cut features if you have to. But what ships needs to actually work. Anyone here come back from a bad launch? Genuinely curious what that took. submitted by /u/Karn2407 [link] [comments]

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  No Idea, No Inspiration: How do I start a business?
  by /u/Kaya3_3 on January 14, 2026 at 2:11 pm

  I read a lot of posts on this sub and I realized people often start a business because they have an idea or because they want to have side money or they want to break out of a financial situation. quite funny. or ironically I have none of these. I'm just a regular person who wants to create a business. I have a regular job which gives me regular income which is good enough to sustain and save. I just like the idea of having a business and doing or creating something of my own. currently, whenever I go to expose and talk to people, I often feel that the ideas they have are either already existing or or feel very superficial. for example, we do not need another clothing brand that claims to be organic or another repackaging of the same food that you can buy anywhere from a local market to a grocery store. I'm not into building anything out of tech as my current job is already dealing with it. so not really my cup of tea. I sometimes do think about doing something related to social service, but I have zero idea on how that can scale up given that I do not want to do charity work and I want profits to be involved. but then my conscience does not allow me to bring profits into social service and how that kind of organization will build up given the political resistance that I would definitely face. I don't know if I'm just a pessimistic person but I would give myself the credit that I am thinking in this direction. submitted by /u/Kaya3_3 [link] [comments]

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  What I learned about customer acquisition after wasting $5k on ads that didn't convert
  by /u/Delecch on January 14, 2026 at 2:06 pm

  Before anyone asks - no, this isn't a pitch. Just sharing what actually moved the needle after burning money on Facebook/Instagram ads. **The mistake:** I thought throwing money at ads = customers. Classic. I was targeting "entrepreneurs" and "small business owners" with generic messaging. CPM looked fine, but conversion? Near zero. **What actually worked:** **1. Organic audience building BEFORE paid** I spent 30 days just doing outbound engagement: - 10+ meaningful comments daily under bigger accounts in my niche - Answering questions in relevant communities - Actually helping people with no ask Result: when I finally ran ads, I had warm audiences to retarget and social proof on my profile. CTR went from 0.8% to 3.2%. **2. Content that pre-qualifies** Instead of ads saying "Buy my thing", I created content that filtered people: - "5 signs you're NOT ready for X" (counterintuitive but works) - Case studies with specific numbers - Frameworks people could use immediately People who clicked were already 80% convinced. **3. The 3-bucket system** I now rotate content between: - Awareness (tips, myths, mistakes) - Depth (tutorials, frameworks) - Proof (results, testimonials, lessons) Most people only post bucket A and wonder why no one trusts them enough to buy. **4. Tracking what matters** I stopped looking at likes. Now I track: - Saves and shares (actual interest) - Profile visits to follow ratio - DM conversations started **The result:** $5k wasted taught me that paid acquisition without organic foundation is just expensive vanity metrics. --- Happy to answer questions. What's your current biggest bottleneck - traffic, conversion, or retention? submitted by /u/Delecch [link] [comments]

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  how many social media channels is too many for a startup?
  by /u/levichambers_1 on January 14, 2026 at 12:09 pm

  hello founders, distribution is everything right now, especially since users are increasingly making decisions off-website. but social media is crowded and chaotic. if you’re just starting to get serious about your presence in 2026, here is what i recommend: start with one platform. pick the one where your gut tells you to go. ideally, it’s a place where your audience hangs out and where you actually understand the culture. at the start, you don't need crazy automation or fancy designs. your only priority is planning authentic content that provides real value. repurpose once you have a system. once you are consistent on that first platform, pick 3 more where you can repurpose that same content. for example, if you lead with linkedin, those posts can be customized for x/twitter, threads, or facebook. you don't have to do this manually. use a scheduling tool that fits your budget. (full disclosure: i’m with the content studio team, so i'm biased, but there are plenty of options out there like buffer, planable etc). don't add channels just because you can. see how you handle those first 4. if you’re uploading consistently and engaging with users, you’re already ahead of most businesses. unlock the next level. once you’re comfortable, start adding new formats like infographics or short-form videos. if you start doing visuals, add instagram and pinterest. if you start doing video, add youtube shorts and tiktok. the goal is to start easy, do it right, and scale when you're ready. growth should feel like progress, not a burden. submitted by /u/levichambers_1 [link] [comments]

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  I wonder if you can be successful at this without being a hypocrite bullshit teller.
  by /u/Vymir_IT on January 14, 2026 at 11:35 am

  I noticed in the community there is strong sense for such (almost meaningless) words like "value extraction", "product market fit", "early adopters" etc - which are mostly elaborate dances around finding the ways to hack and milk the system for money. Bullshit people, sell air, make a product that doesn't solve anything, find someone you can persuade it's actually valuable - voila, you're good. If users pay, then the problem is real. Right? Right? No one ever pays for bullshit pft. The way I see most businesses and business personas - it's almost like an elaborate scam rather than sth about value. Your stupendous "AI interview system with bluh bluh whatever methodology it doesn't follow it anyway" raises $10 mil. Success. Write a Linkeding post about what you've learned from this journey. Makes me question: is it possible to be a successful founder without all that sales pitch bullshit,.being a clown on the Internet and scamming people? Or is it something that comes with a job title? Can you be bold, raw and straightforward and still be successful at it? You know, like an artist rather than a salesman. Whatcha think? submitted by /u/Vymir_IT [link] [comments]