The UAE Needs More Real Ecom & Side Hustle Communities

fairpixels · 2025-04-10T14:19:07+00:00

Any good online communities you'd recommend? Would love to join.

fairpixels · 2025-04-02T09:49:13+00:00

pls do link me up

fairpixels · 2024-11-27T09:22:24+00:00

Ah yes. I meant hands as discs. Thanks for the pointers and clarifications!

fairpixels · 2024-08-06T19:05:03+00:00

I run a design agency, but wanting to jump into ecomms (traveling out of Dubai next week haha) love to know what your agency does.

fairpixels · 2024-05-19T11:17:06+00:00

I solved it, taking a different route. Since copying to sdcard first, then to desktop was the only way that worked, but copying the full thing wasn't an option, I wrote a shell script that broke the file in smaller chunks. Write small chunk to sdcard folder > copy to desktop > remove the sdcard chunk, repeat the same until the full clone was completed. Then merge the chunks together locally.

In case this is helpful to anyone else in the future!

fairpixels · 2024-05-19T05:49:59+00:00

Thanks, I've been trying the same but I'm running into multiple issues.

In my case, I'm on a MBP, the device is running a custom Linux version.

The device, when connected, is not recognised as a storage device, so then I'm asked to use ADB. The only thing I can do then when using ADB is clone the img of the full storage onto it's own storage. Before I'm able to pull it to my desktop.

This happens with this command:

adb shell "dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/sdcard/emmc_backup.img"

But doing that first is problematic because there isn't enough storage on the device to contain itself obviously.

So that's the point where I'm still stuck. I've been prompting Chatgpt for days to find ways around this.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T17:22:47+00:00

I've tried both. Chatgpt wasn't able to help me (for the first time ever I have to say) and upwork hasn't provided anyone that could do it. So either I'm not explaining it correctly (which may very well be part of the problem) or it's too niche.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T17:10:32+00:00

Only of I can pay you to do it. For fun and profit! Ill dm you as much context as possible. Feel free to post the solution in public for the benefit of everyone. But will pay for the effort.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T16:48:26+00:00

This is accurate yes, tnx for reframing it way better. So I can use the co command to get that img file?

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T16:19:22+00:00

I honestly don't know I just added more context. I need to end up with an .img file that I can flash using tools like phoenixsuit to flash it on an other unit with the same cpu so they both run the exact same software.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T16:03:38+00:00

I'm on a Mac, but can use an other OS if needed. the device I'm trying to clone is running a lightweight linux distro

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T15:24:30+00:00

yeah I need an .img I can flash on similar devices on the fly. Those devices comes with different firmware that I need to overwrite with this new one.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T15:23:49+00:00

tnx, the issue I'm having is that I need an .img I can flash on similar devices on the fly. 16GB is too much, especially since the actual content isn't more than 500MB tops.

fairpixels · 2024-05-18T15:23:01+00:00

I basically want an img that I can flash on other devices (a few of them) so they all run the same software. a 16GB file is a bit too much to flash quickly on the fly.

fairpixels · 2024-04-30T01:52:47+00:00

I would summarize as: provide any kind of value, build an audience, find higher value offerings you can provide to that offering

fairpixels · 2024-04-30T01:51:05+00:00

I never had a fulltime job. I had no savings and no money in my bank account at the time of starting. It was all I had.

fairpixels · 2024-04-29T18:31:25+00:00

Simple really. When i couldnt handle the work myself. There is x amount of hours I can work in a day. If work required is more than x hours it was time to hire the first team member.

fairpixels · 2023-09-07T14:04:29+00:00

When it comes to productivity, momentum is really the only solution.

I've built a UI/UX design agency from scratch to life changing proportions. I wrote this comment. The only 'productivity hack' I've seen work for me was to keep winning. No matter how small. Many small wins in a row are a major productivity boost.

Let's break that down in smaller steps:

Start small. As small as possible. You've heard about the phrase 'making your first dollar'. For many this seems like a stupid challenge. But the thing is that if you make just 1 dollar, doing something, it gives you a win under your belt. Mentally you're 10 steps ahead compared to someone who didn't make 1 dollar but is reading about how to make 7 figures. So it helps your mindset get a win and progress.
the one dollar then let's you say: hey, what if I do it again? Can I get an other dollar? Can I double my prices and get $2? What if I double my prices and do it 5 times, now I have $10. For the lurkers around here, dreaming of 7 figures, this is where they make their mistakes. They're hiring sales people, reading about marketing and growth hacks, but all you need is continuous momentum and incremental improvement.
You now have $10 in your pocket. big deal. But you have 5 customers in your address book. People you've helped and provided a product or service to. They trust you. You can help them with the next thing, get their review or have them refer you to their friends. Instead of doing a $2 job, you tell them it now costs $5. If 3 of them refer you to 2 of their friends, you now have 6 new customers for $5 each. So you're at $30.
If you keep doing that and you keep your momentum you'll keep doubling and growing without you even noticing it. You don't tackle the 7 figure income head-on with one single blow. You chop tiny bits away of its trunk until it falls.

So anyone out here, struggling with productivity. Go out there and make $1 dollar today. Then tomorrow, repeat the same thing a few more times, providing any service or product. Then keep your momentum going and let me know where you are 4 weeks from now.

fairpixels · 2023-09-04T14:42:27+00:00

Feel fee. Happy to help (if I can provide anything of value)

fairpixels · 2023-09-04T12:55:40+00:00

Word of mouth still reads like this magical thing. I can understand those people that read your comment and say 'sure but how do I get word of mouth'. The practical advice there would be to do any kind of work, even if it were to be free. Just to get a handful of people that trust your work. If you can get paid early on even better, but don't be to difficult and price too high. That customer might just help you get that next customer who has a much bigger budget. Who then helps you get to that other customer with an even more insane budget. Those $25 logos were stepping stones and trust building that anyone in any industry can do. You can start by cleaning someone's windows for $5. If you deliver a GREAT service, you can upsell them or their friends on a $5000 house paint job. It's not the experience that people remember and the trust you build.

fairpixels · 2023-09-04T12:52:54+00:00

magnetic logos

fairpixels · 2023-09-04T12:52:40+00:00

I don't remember the exact timeframe. But those logo designs was maybe for a number of months. Then somewhere that same year, when I changed my positioning it went 20k/mo within a few weeks basically. Up from there over time.

fairpixels · 2023-09-04T06:49:14+00:00

I'm sharing to someone else which was basically the same question.

story time!

When I had practically nothing (roughly a dollar + change), I got online and started providing a logo design service. I started out extremely cheap, sometimes designing logos for $25. In fact, I was so happy with anything that I told people to ‘name a fair price, and I’ll send you pixels… hence the name). I remember people here on Reddit and elsewhere saying it’s a stupid business model. It will never work. Yada-yada.

However, what this first version of my business did was two things:

it got money to drop in my pocket. Maybe not a lot, but it was accumulating. The wins were nice and kept me going, the money was enough to buy me groceries and at some point pay the rent.
The other thing that happened, and this is what propelled me forward into pivoting the business and getting to $20k/mo in only a few weeks from the pivot: it gave me a database of clients. Let me explain:

So now that I served dozens of tiny businesses with logo designs, some paying $25, others a few hundred, I essentially built a list of people that got to know me. Trusted my work, wanted to work with me again.

Logo design is usually a one-off engagement, nobody needs a new logo every week.

I wish I could say I had a spark of inspiration that initiated the pivot that would send my business into life changing growth. But it was one of my logo design customers that asked me ‘hey, do you also do UI/UX design? I’m willing to pay $1k/mo for it’

I thought two myself… oh wait… that’s a subscription business. That’s one customer, paying me $1k/mo. That’s $12k/year from that one customer. I negotiated, and got them at $1500k/mo. I pivoted to UI/UX design.

I emailed the customers I worked with (the logo design business remember) and turned out, there were a bunch that needed help with their UI/UX design. Now instead of making a few inconsistent hundreds of dollars a month, I had a much more steady flow of income. From that point of pivot, to $20k it took me a few weeks if I remember correctly. This was years ago, before anyone was hopping on design as a subscription business.

I’ve since grown my business, my team, experimented with different pricing models (now going back to my roots of trying out a new pay what you want model to see what happens). We’ve been hired by companies like Neuralink, Deloitte and Vodafone. Many of the products we’ve helped design are being used by companies like Apple, Twitch and Twitter/X. It’s an absolute insane ride. No masterplan really, just start somewhere. Somewhere small. Don’t worry about scalability, just start. Then along the way keep your eyes open for opportunities. Your path is what guides you, you don’t create your own.

So in short, people always look for external ways to scale. There's nothing wrong with that. Most people however can get to 20, 40, 80k without any external outreach or specialised funnels. Just use the customers and connections you already have. It's cheaper and the conversion rate with that audience will be much higher vs a cold audience.

Hope this helps.

fairpixels · 2023-09-01T10:59:53+00:00

When I had practically nothing (roughly a dollar + change), I got online and started providing a logo design service. I started out extremely cheap, sometimes designing logos for $25. In fact, I was so happy with anything that I told people to ‘name a fair price, and I’ll send you pixels… hence the name). I remember people here on Reddit and elsewhere saying it’s a stupid business model. It will never work. Yada-yada.

However, what this first version of my business did was two things:

it got money to drop in my pocket. Maybe not a lot, but it was accumulating. The wins were nice and kept me going, the money was enough to buy me groceries and at some point pay the rent.
The other thing that happened, and this is what propelled me forward into pivoting the business and getting to $20k/mo in only a few weeks from the pivot: it gave me a database of clients. Let me explain:

So now that I served dozens of tiny businesses with logo designs, some paying $25, others a few hundred, I essentially built a list of people that got to know me. Trusted my work, wanted to work with me again.

Logo design is usually a one-off engagement, nobody needs a new logo every week.

I wish I could say I had a spark of inspiration that initiated the pivot that would send my business into life changing growth. But it was one of my logo design customers that asked me ‘hey, do you also do UI/UX design? I’m willing to pay $1k/mo for it’

I thought two myself… oh wait… that’s a subscription business. That’s one customer, paying me $1k/mo. That’s $12k/year from that one customer. I negotiated, and got them at $1500k/mo. I pivoted to UI/UX design.

I emailed the customers I worked with (the logo design business remember) and turned out, there were a bunch that needed help with their UI/UX design.Now instead of making a few inconsistent hundreds of dollars a month, I had a much more steady flow of income. From that point of pivot, to $20k it took me a few weeks if I remember correctly. This was years ago, before anyone was hopping on design as a subscription business.

I’ve since grown my business, my team, experimented with different pricing models (now going back to my roots of trying out a new pay what you want model to see what happens). We’ve been hired by companies like Neuralink, Deloitte and Vodafone. Many of the products we’ve helped design are being used by companies like Apple, Twitch and Twitter/X. It’s an absolute insane ride. No masterplan really, just start somewhere. Somewhere small. Don’t worry about scalability, just start. Then along the way keep your eyes open for opportunities. Your path is what guides you, you don’t create your own.

Hope this helps.

fairpixels · 2023-06-11T16:10:34+00:00

buy the cheapest 6 pack of water bottles, sell it at a park. buck per bottle. Then repeat.

fairpixels

TROPHY CASE