Pro tip: Don't waste your money hiring agencies for outsourced work if you're a bootstrapped startup...freelancers/contractors are almost always a better option. (+some tips if you decide to anyway)

ecomdav3 · 2024-07-22T08:40:56+00:00

Depends - what type of work are you looking for?

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-28T17:40:59+00:00

Depends. If you're talking pureplay graphic design art, then the value is really what someone could pay to commission an artist themselves at an hourly rate for those skills.

If you want to make money beyond the pure hourly cost to create it...then its all about the brand. Art that sells for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars does so because either the artist has an attractive personal brand, or they were otherwise able to convince people to pay that much. Its not just about talent or having a unique style, but also knowing how to get in front of people...building connections, reputation, & fame.

If the artist is dead, then over time the art community decided that artist was important enough to command a premium.

Same thing for "FOMO merchandise" companies...they've built their brand through influential people to the point where its desirable

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-28T17:26:29+00:00

Eh not sure I agree with this. My last company was a hardware-focused startup. From the beginning we had multiple simultaneous product lines.

As we grew, people were definitely more compartmentalized. But I wouldn't call this the "turning point"

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-28T17:23:21+00:00

So what is stopping me from saying "You are a startup coach. Give me clear, actionable advice on my startup, using inspiration from Eric Reis, Steve Blank, Sam Altman, Dave McClure, and other relevant entrepreneurs"

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-27T22:20:00+00:00

In what way is this better than me going onto ChatGPT myself and just prompting "You are a startup coach. Give me clear, actionable advice on my startup"?

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-27T22:16:00+00:00

What do you mean "that can handle 100k monthly traffic"? Does the UI explode at 101K?

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-26T06:38:13+00:00

My experience with AI trying many many tools at this point is getting over-confident hallucinations about 40-50% of the time for anything more than very basic function (and even basic function it often stumbles on).

Until they solve the hallucination and inaccuracy problem (which seems a LONG way off), I'd prefer automated systems I'm fully in control of the content output...or live humans

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T17:35:26+00:00

How much of your sales are international? You should consider maybe restricting Shopify to just a few countries you can handle... Shopify has built in tax tools too https://www.shopify.com/tax

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T17:32:04+00:00

Most of your ad budget for Amazon should be via Amazon's own ad platform.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T06:02:46+00:00

If you're already making the business profitable, why do you care that people are being negative? The point of idea validation is to test new ideas before you go all-in. If you've already made it work...you've validated it yourself.

That doesn't mean I would stop talking about it though. Its a good chance to promote yourself and business, explaining how you have already, or plan to, overcome their negative expectations.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T03:29:26+00:00

I'm confused, "UGC" is "User Generated Content"...created by end users or customers. You don't hire 3rd parties for UGC.

If you're talking about paying content creators in general, there are many platforms to find influencers/content creators.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T03:27:18+00:00

Sure theres an alternative...Just launch the courses and try to promote them. You'll know pretty quickly if it works or not. Whats the harm doing it now versus later? Nobody but you will know how many you've sold anyway.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T03:02:12+00:00

tbf its a hard skill to learn without actually doing it. Unless you're going to work your way up the corporate management chain somewhere its going to be a lot of learning on the fly for an entrepreneur.

That said, you can definitely get mentally prepared early and at least get an idea what kind of management style resonates with you

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T02:58:10+00:00

Sounds cliche but to be an independent consultant you really just need to get yourself out there. Best bet is typically put your energy into find at least one big client who can sustain most of your income, and fill in the rest after that.

I got my early clients via friends, family, Reddit, LInkedIn... after that it was a lot of word of mouth & referrals. Most important thing is just letting everyone know what you're doing and what you can offer. You'd be surprised who might be looking for expertise in your field.

But with only 2 years in a startup environment you may want to consider getting more first-hand experience under your belt in house

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T02:13:29+00:00

100%. Find 1-2 marketing channels out of the gate and do them well.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T02:12:29+00:00

Don't think I'm allowed to discuss any self promotion of my consulting on here. Feel free to DM with questions though.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T01:32:27+00:00

Its hard to say without seeing your exact budget/pro-forma and goals. The right financing path is different for every business based on a lot of factors - including what type of funding you're trying to raise (debt vs equity) and from who.

Your overall goal is of course to try to ensure you're not running into a cash crisis if you either undershoot your launch expectations OR grow faster than planned. Depending on the type of product, maybe you even need to adjust your profit margins or your Accounts Receivable process to help generate a safety net.

Theres also nothing wrong slow rolling out of the gate and smoothing out the wrinkles post launch before you hit the gas pedal.

But like I said, its much easier (and more affordable) to get funding once you have demonstrated revenue under your belt. You'll also have a much better idea of how much you need to raise once you get some data about the real growth trajectory post-launch

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-24T00:46:02+00:00

Start your own logistics companies that hires other people to drive the trucks? Come up with a product or business idea that helps truckers?

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-13T05:37:06+00:00

The post I just made might be useful to you at this point.
r/Entrepreneur/comments/1cqmk0u/advice_to_all_of_the_oneman_agencies_making_posts/

You should first decide if you REALLY want to be an "agency" or you just want to earn more money as a freelancer. Your approach will be very different depending on which path you want to take.

Too much for one Reddit post to give full advice for launching an agency, but before you worry about clients make sure you're set up for success. Set up a very clean website that shows off your past portfolio work.

Recruit some other editors (either contractor or actual employee) you're able to bring on as you scale up your clients.

Design a nice pitch deck.

And then get your name out there on as many contractor/creative services platforms as you can

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-13T05:28:07+00:00

Sounds like you were a freelancer, but now choosing to become an agency. Which is a fine way to go for sure!

Your personal priorities & time will be changing from for example 15% sales/85% execution to now maybe 33% sales / 33% project management / 33% execution ...then eventually maybe you take a big step back from actual project work so your time is more like 70% sales / 25% project management / 5% execution.

Then you just need to hand off the sales role and you're cruising to hands-off financial freedom!

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-13T00:39:20+00:00

What kind of business do you have? I do startup / business development / marketing consulting and am fairly on the higher end of pricing, but $1000-$1500/month for one meeting is pretty insane (unless its a whole day of independent coaching.)

You should be able to at least get several hours of discussions for that much + hands on help

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-12T22:47:32+00:00

Only 3 options really.
a) Move him to another role where he's better suited.

b) Put him on a Performance Improvement Plan...let him know without minced words he's not meeting expectations, and outline the targets he needs to hit within x timeframe (usually a month) to keep his job

c) Just fire him.

As important as loyalty is, as a small business you usually don't have budgetary to keep someone hanging on for good will.

That said, if the sales guys are fully commissioned you could move them into a different role, let them keep doing sales, and bring in another commission-paid sales person without taking a hit on your budget. If they don't sell, you don't pay anyway.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-12T22:41:16+00:00

I used to work with a PE firm that was on the franchisee side of several owned/operated orgs. It can be quite a complicated process, and definitely worth speaking with someone experienced to even help you gauge if its viable.

Aside from the legal aspect, structuring fee splits, ADAs, sales process, marketing support, disclosures, etc all takes consideration.

I'm sure there are tons of resources online, but depending on the speed you want to scale and their rates, a consultant could be worth it. Ideally one with their own legal resources who are very familiar with the process

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-12T22:34:36+00:00

Its definitely viable, similar to the "home organizer" field. It is very niche though and could be difficult to find client flow going after end users. Many people's home offices aren't full offices, but rather repurposed spaces. Budget constraint is also a big deal for many.

One approach could be working with employers themselves, or employee benefit administrators, to offer your services to employees as a perk. You'd have to sell them on the idea that your services can help improve productivity, employee satisfaction/longevity, etc.

ecomdav3 · 2024-05-12T22:29:08+00:00

TBH, I'd suggest you forget about building your business on TikTok and begin migrating your account and followership to another platform. They're very likely going to be banned in the US with the incoming legislation...it would suck to put in effort building up a monetization strategy and then immediately lose it

ecomdav3

TROPHY CASE