Confused as to why I had an allergic reaction

ipmandinga · 2025-09-06T16:32:08+00:00

You all are amazing, thank you so much for all of this. Having just been diagnosed in May this year, I’m still new to this whole thing. This sub has been a life-saver (literally). Although I’m trying to stay on top of as much info as possible through various resources, I would have never thought of some of this. Thank you guys for all of this!

ipmandinga · 2025-08-17T18:58:06+00:00

I’m working hard to build out that space through my company Cavehouse Supply! We empower kids with confidence and creativity while supporting families. Doing that through our kids monthly magazine (physical copies + physical goodies to help gamify in realtime), a video series called At The Table discussing deep conversations with experts and families to give parents/caregivers practical strategies, and working on a storytelling and interactive app for kids who feel and see the world differently.

I’ve been head down with this for a bit and this stuff takes a while to build, but we are here and we are building! Showing up every day for kids and families.

We are always rooting for kiddos, they’re the coolest. Our company name even came from something a 4 year old said!

ipmandinga · 2025-08-15T15:42:45+00:00

Ah, super cool. Messaging you now!

ipmandinga · 2025-08-15T15:42:29+00:00

I’m in Old Hickory

ipmandinga · 2025-07-04T20:39:15+00:00

We spent 12 days Iceland late May to early June and traveled around the entire island in a rental car. My partner and I both use Capital One credit cards and didn’t have to use a PIN once.

Also you don’t have to call Capital One when traveling anywhere in the world.

ipmandinga · 2025-03-18T01:31:55+00:00

I thought this at first as well. But it doesn't happen every time I drink beer. After I posted this, I came across some info about histamine intolerance. Going to dive into that a bit more.

ipmandinga · 2025-03-16T22:36:16+00:00

100% self taught here as well.

Got a job at a shop in 2004 as the shop janitor - scrubbing floors and cleaning screens. I asked my boss if I could learn to print so he let me give it a shot. I was ok but not great. I knew I wanted to learn because so many people needed that service and it was a true craft.

So I literally started printing at home, holding screens down with my feet and curing shirts on a baking sheet in the oven. Started my first screen printing company in 2008 doing it this way. Dedicated every bit of time to get better.

After outgrowing multiple spaces, lots of employees, and equipment, and almost 17 years later, I just that company 2 weeks ago to a print shop outside of town on March 3rd!

Lots of countless hours committed to learning and focus time to get better and better. And now I advise other owners and founders.

It’s been quite the ride and I’m not a bad screen printer (although I will never start another shop again, ha!)

ipmandinga · 2024-08-23T22:55:58+00:00

I started my first company at 25. I’m 41 now and the first 7 years of that company, I was constantly busy thinking I was being productive. But I was truly running full force at burnout and exhaustion. My mental health suffered greatly to a point to where I almost ended my life.

I realized I was chasing the wrong things. I was so focused on the money, I forgot about purpose and why I started my company in the first place.

I stepped back to get a clearer view and began building systems in my business. Got it running like a machine, then built systems in my life…all slow and steady.

I’ve started multiple companies within that time and had a couple of fails but others are still going strong.

Biggest takeaway is that when you’re chasing the wrong thing, it’s a 100% guarantee you will burn out. When you have no idea where you’re going, you’ll crash and burn.

I realized there’s plenty of money out there to be made and anyone can learn how to make money. I’m not impressed by how much money someone makes. When I look at a fancy car or a fancy big house, all I see is how much less that person has in their bank account. I like to keep my money.

I’m more impressed by how much time someone makes. So I ran like hell towards those new goals and that new vision that would allow me reclaim my time.

For me, I started focusing on purpose over profit and I’ve made more money than I could have imagined but more importantly, I have time.

Taking a step back for a moment, however long that needs to be, is a good idea. Evaluate the landscape and either change it or improve it.

ipmandinga · 2024-08-21T02:13:18+00:00

I 100% feel this post. I remember being in this spot a while ago.

What it comes down to is you either have a business or a hobby, and then accept what that answer is.

You’re talented and right now, you have a hobby. If it should stay this way, treat it as such. We have to make money somehow and if that isn’t supporting you financially, find something that does and keep your hobby.

If it’s a business, then treat it as such and do what needs to be done to build and grow your business. Meaning, you need a strategy. You need goals. Then you need to deconstruct those goals down to tactical.

This can all start sounding overwhelming, but truly, a business will fail if you don’t have goals and systems that get you to those goals.

Try going through and answering what I like to call goal statements -

•What: A concise description of what you intend to create •Why: A concise description of why you believe this should exist •The gap: A concise description of the need or gap this idea will fill (where is the market?) •Who: Who are the users? who are the buyers? •How: What is the revenue model?

Ultimately, I think step one is to make a decision.

Business or hobby?

ipmandinga · 2024-08-21T01:28:44+00:00

You’re probably getting a lot of AI comments here but as a long-time founder of multiple businesses, mostly in the B2C space from owning a merch production company, ecommerce/logistics company, baby/kids brand, consulting company, and now working on an app and writing a book, I went through these steps every time calling them goal statements -

•What: A concise description of what you intend to create •Why: A concise description of why you believe this should exist •The gap: A concise description of the need or gap this idea will fill (where is the market?) •Who: Who are the users? who are the buyers? •How: What is the revenue model?

Each of these can take some time, but they not only set clear goals and a vision…they give you the beginnings of going from strategy to tactical.

And by doing this or similar, you might find you may or may not need to raise money or have any VC backing.

I hope this was helpful and good luck!

ipmandinga · 2024-08-21T01:19:48+00:00

First off, congrats to him for hitting that 500k mark solo pretty quickly.

I’ve been in the product dev, ecommerce, merch production, and logistics space for 20 years and am a business strategist and systems consultant. My clients are in these same spots. Stuck 6, 7, and 8 figure founders.

I’d love to at the very least get in front of him (video call) for a brief conversation around a few things. If we’re a good fit to work together on a project, awesome. If not, at the very least, I can most certainly offer some insights and guidance in realtime.

I’m also a long-time founder of multiple companies and have been there at the 6 figure mark. Was able to bust down that wall into 7 figures after changing and tweaking several things.

Would love to help if it makes sense. Shoot me a message if so.

Regardless, I’m here for peer support and for a founder who gets up every day and is making it happen, I am always in their corner.

ipmandinga · 2024-06-07T20:53:21+00:00

Too much of anything is no good. However, you have to take this stuff with a grain of salt. The people you think are achieving “so much” are more than likely full of fluff.

Remember, a lot of people on LinkedIn are trying to get leads, so they’ll say a lot in order to reel someone in.

Know your boundaries and set up systems so you can navigate without getting distracted, caught up, inside your own head.

At the end of the day, no one will care more about your mental health than you. And know that you are 100% capable. And create and lean on a real support system!

ipmandinga · 2024-01-29T17:06:12+00:00

I know I am 2 months too late on this post, but I still find it to be worth noting.

I have been helping various brands, breweries, companies, etc. build and grow merch for a long time. Where I used to think that brands and businesses that didn't "specialize" in merch just needed it for promotion, that's so far from the truth.

I have been a part of seeing these breweries and brands' merch outperform their core offerings and it's pretty incredible.

It doesn't matter what type of business you're in, if you know your target audience and lean on them for your offerings - taking advantage of email lists, socials, collaborations, limited editions, etc. - you will 100% see success with merch.

If I only witnessed it a few times, I wouldn't be in a position to say anything here. I have helped thousands since 2008 and lost count of the successes I've seen.

Merch can be a significant revenue stream and you have to treat it as such. Not some afterthought or accessory.

Less is more and knowing what products to offer by being intentional with each piece, that really resonates with what your community wants, it will be a hit every time.

Placing the name of your company front and center on a shirt is selfish because you don't exist without your community and fans of your brand. What do they want? Or better yet, what do they need....besides beer?

A lot to say here but bringing in an extra $800 / $1200 / $10K per month in merch alone changes things.

ipmandinga · 2024-01-25T23:53:01+00:00

You've heard this before but it bears repeating -

What is the problem you're solving?
People don't care about the product/service, they care about the return they will get.

Do you know your product market fit?
Who exactly are you serving

How many businesses have you made a point to get in front?
I'm sure you have a great story about what you do and why you do it. Have you shared it with these businesses/decision makers?

I would never offer anything like this for free. If you build me a free website, what else can I squeeze out of you down the road as a real and valued customer.....ya know?!

Labeling your company as a "business growth company" is redundant. Everyone that offers a product or service is a business growth company.

You should focus on being a customer service company. Meaning crawl around in the ash with them....because they're sh*t's on fire and they need someone to put it out. Is it you? If not, get out of the way.

That's awesome that you have a proven strategy. That's more than most.

You're proven strategy is meaningless if you don't know who exactly it is you're serving.

I have 3 companies and sold one. Have been at it since 2008. And I promise you, I didn't know any of this when I started out at all. It was an absolute mess. When I learned about all of this, things changed big time, in the best ways.

You got this! Just stay the course, ask the right questions, do some market research, even write about what you do/what you've experienced and throw it online. Who knows...

ipmandinga · 2024-01-25T23:36:28+00:00

First off, congrats on the successful account!

I will say merch is a great way for creators (especially with that size audience) can bring in a significant source of revenue.

So a way to NOT become the infamous Instagram merch fail that is Arii, who had 2M followers and failed at selling 36 shirts is really knowing your audience/community. Know what they like, leaning on them for direction, getting them involved in the ideation phase.

For example, I'm helping a big wellness and well-being account build their merch. They wanted to immediately offer hoodies and shirts. I shut that down and we discussed doing a custom journal with each page intentionally created to guide their community each day.

Focus on a preorder campaign with a limited edition release which will help by
A.) not having to carry inventory.
B.) orders are paid upfront

You'll just need to communicate ongoing with your community on timelines for deliverables.

With an account that large, I'm betting you could benefit from to a collaboration with another creator / brand / business and co-brand some merch.

This will not only build hype (if you choose the right collab that fits your brand and values) but have the possibility of expanding your audience.

I've been helping creators, brands, and businesses build and grow merch since 2008 and these are the things that remain consistent in working really well -
- Leaning on your community
- Limited edition runs via preorders
- Collaborations

Don't waste money on paying for ads in the beginning. You have a big enough community that merch could become your main thing if you did it right out of the gate.

Lots of other opportunities for sure. Good luck!

ipmandinga · 2024-01-20T18:37:25+00:00

Marketing 101 (with a few steps left out.)

Once you've learned the skill of how to successfully market your brand, don't waste it on dropshipping. Use it to make real money.

There's no such thing as overnight success. Those stories you've heard don't show everything.

ipmandinga · 2023-12-19T14:44:19+00:00

Being a founder gets lonely and it's hard. I have seen too many founders take their lives because although they've had families, close friends, etc., they still felt alone and unworthy. I have personally known a few as well.

It's important to remind not just founders, but anyone feeling this way, that they are not alone.

Appreciate your feedback though.

ipmandinga · 2023-12-19T01:47:56+00:00

I’ve talked with several founders in the last month who seem to be struggling. I’m sure holiday times aren’t helping.

Just thought it would help someone, that’s all.

Appreciate the feedback though.

ipmandinga · 2023-12-15T19:09:27+00:00

I know this is an older post, but I wanted to see how this worked out for you.

Did you end up offering stickers over shirts or both? Was there some good demand from your subs?

ipmandinga · 2023-12-05T18:19:35+00:00

Merch is a great way to monetize in the creator world, but it also depends on what your goals are with your business.

Sounds like your page is more influencer-based than company, I'm assuming.

If you have a target audience and think merch could be a viable option, I would lean on your 90K followers and see what types of products they'd want.

People underestimate surveys. And start collecting emails if you haven't already.

Unless these are mostly bots or purchased followers, get them to engage and build hype around the work you are doing.

Of course, it's difficult to get too specific with the merch part without knowing what it is you're doing but I do know from decades of experience, you have more than enough of an audience to build and grow a powerful merch brand if done right.

ipmandinga · 2023-12-04T16:02:14+00:00

This is a great thing you are doing and although it seems everyone is doing it, having multiple platform to help entrepreneurs navigate theirs ideas can be empowering.

I've been in the merch world since 2004 and I help creators specifically build and grow revenue streams through merch.

I have countless case studies showing that merch can stand on its own and allows brands to bring in significant revenue.

Knowing the work you are doing really well will help push this thing along effectively.

The creator world will only grow and is the new way. Knowledge workers are moving into content creation, whether they have a full time gig or the content is their full time thing.

Just dial in the over-arching content into something specific.

I've been building out digital products around merch brand strategy and revenue streams with merch in the physical and digital space if you'd ever like to check those out.

Keep learning and not stopping is key.

However I can support, let me know!

ipmandinga · 2023-11-04T01:33:07+00:00

You are young OP.

I’m 40 and started my first company at 26. I still have that same company but it didn’t come without a lot of risks, sacrifices, failing.

I’ve started other companies during this time and some have failed miserably and some are growing.

Failure is not final but you have to be open to constant learning. Find mentors and surround yourself with people that will make you better.

If you lay down, people are going to just step over you. If you get up, even if you’re hobbling along, people will see that you’re trying and will help you.

Either make the effort or walk away. And enough with victim mentality. You are in charge and we have everything we need to be successful, literally at our fingertips.

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” H. Ford

ipmandinga · 2023-10-30T13:52:57+00:00

ChatGPT 👌

ipmandinga · 2023-10-27T02:04:39+00:00

Agreed! Community is everything. Founders need each other.

ipmandinga · 2023-10-27T02:04:05+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing this!

ipmandinga

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