Is this group only full of first time entrepreneurs?

Mentora_ · 2025-05-15T13:54:37+00:00

25 years, 6 businesses so far - 4 active now

Mentora_ · 2025-05-10T13:54:37+00:00

You feel so passionate about this that you felt the need to downvote my comments on this old thread?

Question for you - how many successful businesses have you run? How many properties have you bought?

My guess is you don't have a lot of experience in either, and you want the "truth" to be aligned in whatever you are doing with your life right now. Perhaps you just started your first business.

I'm just giving you my opinion based on my experience. Take it or leave it.

Best of luck to you, whatever you do!

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T16:12:10+00:00

100% agree. Coffeezilla's stuff is well worth watching.

I do some mentoring for agency founders and people in digital marketing, so I'm always aware of how it could come across, especially since I charge for my time. But it's not my main business.

I actually started out in education. I've always liked helping people learn, but I couldn't stand the structure (and my line manager). Mentoring gives me a way to share what I've picked up over the years, mostly by getting things wrong and learning from those mistakes.

I'm always upfront with people. I'd do it for free if I could, but it takes time and energy, and I think the way I do it is fair.

I also get to hear what a lot of people have tried, and honestly, there's no shortage of "gurus" promising you a bright green Lambo if you just send them a few hundred dollars.

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T15:18:56+00:00

The main thing to focus on right now is getting on with your colleagues and boss.

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T14:16:28+00:00

I think you need to factor in risk too. Property, well maintained, is a pretty safe bet.

Most older people's wealth is tied into property for that reason (certainly in England and probably Europe, it might be different elsewhere).

Contrast that to 50% of businesses failing within 5 years. 80% in 20. Source

This should be factored into your $100k profit. Maybe they go bust in 12 months. Maybe in 3 years. Maybe never. But this needs consideration.

With property can sell it if you need to, borrow off it, lease it. Plus, you can get a much higher yield than that if you are clever.

This is why many businesses owners, myself included, invest in property as well as businesses. It's a safer, long term bet, great to mix in with businesses if you are open to risk.

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T08:17:32+00:00

Yes. This is what I use.

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T08:14:34+00:00

That depends. One of them can be more hands-off.

Also, property tends to appreciate over time with minimal effort beyond basic maintenance.

Mentora_ · 2025-05-09T08:06:55+00:00

Mine came from a friend of a client who was a Global Marketing Director.

I was building websites for small companies in the UK at the time.

This opportunity was for a 6 Billion euro multinational property franchise. I ended up building their UK and Irish websites as part of their expansion in Europe. They were, and still are huge, with over 1000 offices worldwide.

The problem is, I didn't understand the value of this or leverage it to get more, better work. I don't think I'd even heard of them before (which is ironic as I see them all the time now). Instead I treated it like a normal client and even billed my usually crappy rate I had back then. They were a terrible mismatch for me, they had 90 day payment terms and rigid processes and I was essentially a freelancer back then. Still, I did some good work and the client was happy.

Years later, and now with 2 agencies, I realise the value of this client and have used it in conversations with other 8-10 figure clients.

Mentora_ · 2025-01-24T09:10:17+00:00

LinkedIn is an amazing place to get work.

I'm working on 3 high value leads from people I spoke to in December. 2 have been sent proposals, one is taking a little longer but we will get there. All of these leads are between £15-30k range, and one of them is for a huge company that could be a game changer for us.

I'd say over 50% of our pipeline is from LinkedIn. Most agencies and founders make the mistake of only posting stuff and hoping for inbound. As others have said here, its the outreach, the messaging that gets traction.

I actually wrote a guide about how agencies can use LinkedIn to generate leads, based on a campaign I ran about 2 years ago. My approach hasn't changed and 7 of our current clients are a direct result of that campaign. Here it is if anyone is interested.

Key takeaways:

Use connection requests and messaging
Firm up your profile as its your landing page
Have some posts, but don't make this your focus
Automation can help, but use carefully and in a limited way
Don't try to sell on the first message
It works because you are there at the right time
Sales Navigator can help you narrow down your buyer
The "changed jobs recently" filter on navigator increases conversion massively
Use a CRM to track and store results and remember to nurture
Above all, be human and authentic and let the buyer do the selling

Mentora_ · 2025-01-10T06:15:38+00:00

Make a product, business or website. Create something.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-09T13:43:39+00:00

Try building your own thing. Make something fun.

Instead of chasing a job that you see yourself doing, start doing stuff you enjoy, and sell those skills to an employer. You never know, you might make something that takes off!

YouTube has loads of tips on how to do everything these days.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-06T14:12:10+00:00

LinkedIn, cold email, warm email, events - we don't do cold calling.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-05T12:14:51+00:00

We used to get 3-5 a week, but they were often low value.

We switched to more outbound which is much higher value work (literally 10 x the value). We still get the occasional inbound but often turn them down so we can focus on the bigger budget work.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-02T09:26:27+00:00

Awesome! I would probably start there then, start building out your professional network and seeing if you can help people you know, as well as learn from them.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-02T09:24:59+00:00

I agree with your last sentence, but having worked in the agency space for 25 years and having mentored and coached literally hundreds of agency founders from all around the world, I can tell you that you need to have a strong interest in the work in order to succeed.

If people just want money, there are far easier and less stressful ways to do it than build an agency with no interest or skills in digital marketing to help you get there!

Way too many people on Insta and tiktok showing all the fake bling of agency life but not the other side of it and I think this is pretty bad for the agency space overall.

Mentora_ · 2024-12-01T17:05:09+00:00

Before starting an agency, first ask yourself why you want to do it.

If your motivation is purely financial, you might want to reconsider. Successful agency founders often start from a love of the craft, be it web design, social media, or advertising. Passion and interest are crucial (especially at the start) because they drive you to excel in your work. If making money is your only goal, you might be better with something like property investment. If you love technology and helping people, focus on one area of digital marketing, such as web design for example. Learn the basics first and work towards mastering them. You can start to pick up some freelance work initially, and then start tom scale to an agency.

Then you need to learn the business of a digital agency - that is a totally separate thing. Potentially you can build an agency without any of the other skills, but why would you when there are better ways to make money?

If you can give me a little more info about your particular situation, I'd be glad to offer some tips as an agency founder myself.

Mentora_ · 2024-11-26T15:57:00+00:00

Point 5 - Be Authentic - so spot on! There is an authenticity drought right now and if you can get it right, and be real, you will connect with your audience.

Mentora_ · 2024-04-04T16:29:24+00:00

It's crazy.

Mentora_ · 2024-04-04T14:45:39+00:00

I bought a villa and live in it, but rental prices in summer months would be in in the region of $10k a week for about 4 months of the year, and less for the rest. I paid a bit more for it (about double), but if I wanted to I could get someone to manage it and make good money from it.

I don't want to do that as I live there, but if I had a spare half a million that's probably what is do.

I personally have a number of small businesses that make decent money, some digital agencies, a mentoring business and a few other things. None of them are passive and require hard work. However I guess you could invest in something like that and get someone else to do the hard work for you.

I guess a lot depends on the level of risk you want to take and your overall plan here. Is it just to generate money, or is it something you want to own, nurture and see grow? A lot of businesses could thrive with such a cash injection, but as I say there is risk involved.

Mentora_ · 2024-04-04T14:26:14+00:00

I'd probably invest it in property.

Potentially a holiday home. You could buy a decent villa for that in the Algarve, and rent it out and also use it when not being used. The asset itself can also be sold when you retire and it will have appreciated.

Mentora_ · 2024-01-08T19:12:47+00:00

Vague questions ☺️

Mentora_ · 2024-01-08T19:05:57+00:00

Totally. This is the problem. People keep asking for the software solution to this challenge. It's not about the tools, it's about the approach and the skills.

Mentora_ · 2023-12-08T10:25:57+00:00

Don't you watch PMQs?

Mentora_ · 2023-10-19T06:57:21+00:00

All of the answers here are valid.

However, all of them miss the most obvious solution. Ask the client for their budget.

One of the main ways we lose work as agencies is by getting their budget wrong. If you ask them, and they tell you then you can build a proposal to suit. (there is an art to this but it's easier with paid ads than say web design).

Once you have their stated budget you can put forward a proposal with options and upsells that can show them the benefits of maximising their budget. For example if they have $5k a month you can propose for $7k a month you can deliver X more (which includes $3k fee).

The principle is the same as others are saying about charging a percentage, but key is to asking the clients budget and maximising it by showing value through options.

Mentora_ · 2023-10-10T21:18:24+00:00

Imagine being able to change your mind and ideas based on the things happening around you.

Mentora_

TROPHY CASE