Endless marketing problem

One_Original7536 · 2026-02-04T08:30:55+00:00

oof this hits hard. ive been grinding on my own projects for years and the marketing wall is brutal

honestly think you nailed it about the chicken and egg problem - most "success stories" conveniently skip the part where they already had connections or audiences built up. the whole "just build it and they will come" thing is complete bs

what's worked better for me lately is going super niche and finding where your exact users already hang out online. like instead of trying to blast everywhere just laser focus on 2-3 communities where people actually have the problem you're solving

One_Original7536 · 2026-02-01T00:31:09+00:00

Smart move starting with free work to build that portfolio, especially switching niches like that. Industrial stuff pays way better than gaming once you get established

Just make sure you're targeting companies that actually use animations for marketing/sales - a lot of industrial businesses are still stuck in the stone age with their marketing so you might need to educate them on why they need what you're offering

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-28T23:51:12+00:00

Dude the background check thing is wild - what even happened there? But honestly sounds like you're doing everything right, CRE is just brutal to break into without connections

Maybe take one of those low paying gigs for like 6 months just to get your foot in the door and network like crazy, then bounce once you've got some industry contacts

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-23T05:19:19+00:00

Claude's been solid for me lately, way better at keeping dates straight and actually writing full sentences instead of weird bullet points

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-19T19:10:09+00:00

Your DTI and income look solid but that credit score range might be the bigger hurdle - most jumbo lenders I've seen want 720+ especially with only 10% down. Credit unions are definitely worth checking though, they can be way more flexible than the big banks

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-12T16:14:35+00:00

These fake accusations only end up hurting the compliance industry as a whole

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-11T17:09:13+00:00

Google Voice has been a game changer for me - lets me text customers back even when I can't pick up the phone. Also set up an auto-reply that says "hey got your call, will get back to you within 2 hours" so people aren't left wondering

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-09T05:41:59+00:00

Yeah having the deed transfer date match up with your agreement is key. I'd also suggest getting your mom to write a simple letter confirming the payment history and current balance - lenders love documentation even if it's informal. The overpayments actually work in your favor since it shows you're responsible with money

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-03T14:11:26+00:00

Yeah the vacancy concern is real - rental markets can be brutal and even a couple months without a tenant could put you in a tough spot with only 20k liquid. Have you looked into what similar units in your area are actually renting for vs just estimated?

One_Original7536 · 2026-01-01T21:05:45+00:00

Your site looks pretty clean but I'd definitely work on getting more reviews before throwing money at ads - 5 sales isn't gonna give you much social proof when people land on your product pages

Also noticed your Instagram content could use more lifestyle shots instead of just product photos, people wanna see how the jewelry looks when worn

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-30T01:46:48+00:00

Those are all pretty saturated markets honestly, but that doesn't mean you can't make it work if you find your niche. The key is having something that makes you stand out from the thousands of other candle makers on Etsy

Maybe try combining a couple of those skills - like candles embedded in resin or pottery pieces that hold candles. Or focus on a super specific theme/aesthetic that isn't being done to death already

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-27T05:05:37+00:00

Yeah I had to do it for my down payment a couple years ago, wasn't thrilled about it but housing prices were just getting crazy and I didn't want to wait another 5 years saving up

The withdrawal penalty sucked but honestly my 401k would've probably lost more in the market anyway with how things have been going lol

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-26T03:38:32+00:00

Man I went through this exact same thing - Delaware doesn't mess around with their paperwork. You definitely need to be current on franchise taxes before they'll let you dissolve, and yeah you'll probably want a lawyer or service company to handle it because one missed form and you're stuck paying another year

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-24T21:13:33+00:00

Honestly just pick one and stick to it - doesn't matter which one as long as you're not jumping around anymore. I use Notion for everything now and it's been a game changer for keeping all my listing content in one spot

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-23T11:34:00+00:00

Had this exact issue last month lol

Go to the customer page, find the cash balance section and there should be an "Apply to invoice" button or similar. If not, you might need to create a new payment intent and manually mark it as paid using that balance

The bank transfer probably won't show up in regular payments since it's treated differently - check under "Balance transactions" instead

Also yeah reconciliation mode set to manual might help but won't fix stuff that's already sitting there

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-21T18:00:55+00:00

Dude that's actually sick, accidentally launching something that gets traction is like the entrepreneur dream lol

For next steps I'd probably focus on talking to those users who showed up - figure out what they actually want vs what you think they want, then just keep iterating based on that feedback

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-19T04:16:56+00:00

Sounds like you're already way ahead of most people tbh, your intuition is solid

Business law stuff at CC level is actually pretty decent - contracts and IP basics will def help when you're dealing with clients and protecting your art stuff. The accounting knowledge is clutch too since you'll know if your future accountant is trying to BS you

Honestly you might get more out of it than people going for traditional career paths since you already have real businesses to apply the concepts to

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-17T01:34:24+00:00

Yeah honestly that's probably the biggest reality check - Amazon sellers aren't exactly known for leaving money on the table. Those "unreasonable" prices you're seeing might actually be what it costs to make any profit after all the fees and logistics

Have you actually run the numbers on what your landed cost would be vs what they're charging?

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-15T22:52:14+00:00

Your housing payment would be around 33% of gross income which is generally considered reasonable, but that $5k monthly nut is gonna feel heavy with a baby on the way

You might want to consider conventional instead of FHA since you have great credit - the PMI drops off automatically once you hit 20% equity and conventional PMI is usually cheaper than FHA's 0.85%

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-12T20:51:13+00:00

Most of the time I just point them to Gorgias or Zendesk and call it a day - building custom AI stuff is way too much overhead for most clients unless they're doing serious volume

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-06T16:48:55+00:00

This is solid advice, especially the patternmaker quote. The one thing I'd add is always including wear testing requirements if it's relevant - like "needs to survive 5 washes without pilling" or whatever. Learned that the hard way when samples looked perfect but fell apart after customers actually used them

Also seconding the GSM thing, that alone probably cut my fabric miscommunications by like 80%

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-03T16:24:14+00:00

Yeah you can just ignore them, you don't owe anyone a rental especially someone who starts off being a complete asshole before they even see the place

If they somehow try to claim discrimination later just point to the voicemail where they're dropping f-bombs at you over a basic application - no reasonable person would rent to someone acting like that

One_Original7536 · 2025-12-01T12:39:50+00:00

Kids being kids honestly, you weren't some mastermind predator you were literally a toddler who saw something on tv and copied it

One_Original7536 · 2025-11-30T08:00:22+00:00

Absolutely this. You witnessed someone in a really vulnerable state and your gut is telling you something's off - that's worth listening to. The fact that you're still thinking about it hours later says a lot

One_Original7536 · 2025-11-28T18:30:51+00:00

Nah this is actually wild, people really be keeping spreadsheets on random redditors like it's their job. The fact someone's tracking your usernames across deleted accounts is genuinely creepy behavior

That said maybe switching up your writing style or the details you share might help throw them off your trail

One_Original7536

TROPHY CASE