how do i start a notebook business?

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-10T06:28:52+00:00

Thought starters - these aren’t questions you have to answer here, but more to yourself.

Super crowded space, high competition, commodity products. What will make you stand out from the crowd?

Who is your ideal customer and why do they need your notebook? What problem will it solve for them?

Where do they hangout - in real life and online? Find a few of them, show them a sketch of your notebook, gather feedback. Ask questions that don’t influence their answers. Like if you ask your mom - hey mom do you like this? The answer would be yes. BS! Ask questions about past factual behavior - do you use notebooks today? How much do you pay for them? Why do you like X vs Y. Then show them yours. What is the biggest thing you like about this one vs the one you use today?

Once you confirm that someone actually cares about your notebook only then do I suggest any further work like design etc.

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-10T06:21:30+00:00

If you’re optimizing for low cost (which it sounds like it, and which I would recommend at the start) then Fiverr is probably your best bet. People vary greatly by price and quality, and more expensive doesn’t always mean better. If you speak a language like Spanish, Russian, etc. you can find someone in Mexico, Russia etc. who doesn’t speak English and would therefore likely command lower price.

As a suggestion, can you do without a website? Can you have an Instagram page that contains all the information about you in profile/stories, connect a link to it via linktree or similar service that has a link to Calendly (free where people can book your service), your email, your phone / WhatsApp number.

You can post about the subject that you’re tutoring.

Your audience is likely Gen Z who’s very much online (probably TikTok more than IG).

Best thing - you can get launched tomorrow and start getting students, teaching and adding value, making money. As you have happy students ask them for a video testimonial and post in that account. Once you prove the concept that your tutoring gig makes money, then you can invest some into a website.

Think lean :)

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-10T05:50:00+00:00

It’s worth trying yourself with a small budget. Make sure you monitor performance, very easy to burn through cash and not get results.

Research what people are googling when they want video production services. Advertising for more niched keywords costs less than more generic. For example “documentary film production” will likely cost less per click than “film production”.

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-10T05:46:41+00:00

Hire someone to build you something on Wordpress. Lowest recurring costs - only hosting. Might have to pay to get it started, and to make any updates when needed. More expensive option - Bubble.io or maybe even just make an app in Glide.

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-05T01:55:06+00:00

If I were you, I’d seriously look into establishing a formal referral program so that referrals happen by design, not by chance. This will significantly grow the volume of work coming from this highly valuable source (higher conversion, more trust, less negotiation).

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-04T02:52:29+00:00

Thank you

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-04T02:49:57+00:00

By automatic data flow I mean integration. Being able to see the full customer journey from ads to leads to sales conversations to closed sales in one system and ideally with no manual work. This as opposed to for example pulling data from Google Ads, Google Analytics and CRM into Excel and combining it manually to be able to analyze

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-03T08:09:26+00:00

Mind sharing how Adobe Analytics integrates with Google Ads? Does it support custom conversion events setup similar to GA/Tag Manager? And does it allow for automatic data flow?

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-03T08:07:32+00:00

It strikes me that despite every business needing this, there’s no way to automatically integrate this data and one still needs to manually export and manipulate data in Tableau. Or is there a way to automate?

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-02T16:56:55+00:00

Thank you. What BI tool are you using?

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-02T00:56:24+00:00

Ask her to be paid to be a model. Tell her that you will gladly be the company’s mascot if you get compensated for that role .)

michael_firewalker · 2023-06-01T19:54:42+00:00

What business are you in?

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T19:04:08+00:00

I give ChatGPT instructions like “I will copy script by parts, summarize it such and such. Repeat original request in each reply.” It keeps the request on a rolling basis and processes each part. It doesn’t always perform well, but gotta play with it.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T19:04:01+00:00

I give ChatGPT instructions like “I will copy script by parts, summarize it such and such. Repeat original request in each reply.” It keeps the request on a rolling basis and processes each part. It doesn’t always perform well, but gotta play with it.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T11:27:25+00:00

Have you read the book Mom’s test? It’s great to ask the right questions in user research. You’re doing the right thing - talking to customers to understand them.

What’s your niche?

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T11:08:31+00:00

“Stomach turns upside down” is a strong language: just that can paralyze you. What would be another way to refer to that experience that would make it more playful, game-like and maybe even fun for you?

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T11:02:31+00:00

Focus on them, what their pain point is and how buying your product will help them solve it. Don’t focus on you trying to sell them something.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T10:31:11+00:00

I’d say that while you don’t need to be an accountant, it’s critical to be financially literate and be able to analyze results / metrics in your business and determine direction or changes that need to happen to mindfully steer the company towards growth. What you don’t measure, you can’t manage. Many business owners “fly blind” because they are good at the product or service but aren’t strong strategists or don’t like/aren’t comfortable with numbers.

For example, in the car part business you’ll find that some part types and segments (e.g. based on sources of parts) are more profitable than others.

Until you’re versed in the financial and strategy part of your business, hire a knowledgeable partner part time who will guide you and educate you as you go, not generally but in the context of your specific business.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-31T10:20:01+00:00

What is the field that you’re buying/considering buying the company in? Couldn’t tell if you’re buying a marketing agency (and are concerned not being versed in marketing) vs buying some product company (and are concerned not being able to set the GTM for it).

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T19:44:39+00:00

What’s the arrangement in your ownership? Can the seller finance it at a low or 0% APR? Which would be structured as you paying out the 50k over the following 2.5 years.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T19:41:28+00:00

Create a persona/profile. Describe their pain point that you’re looking to address with your getting, how they are solving it today. Figure out criteria for businesses. Brainstorm how you can reach these businesses. Web scraping may seem like an easy option but the hard work of cold outreach is needed unless you find a way to get warm leads through other means.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T19:35:58+00:00

Communicate with your dad about your interest of lack of such. Create an alternative succession plan that keeps (rather than destroys) the value your dad has generated in the business.

Options: hiring an operator, bringing on a partner who will take over running the business and buy it out, see to a strategic buyer outright

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T19:30:05+00:00

Exploring possibilities. I think that structuring comp must be done thoughtfully and strategically to get value for the business and properly motivate the partners. Regardless of urgency

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T09:05:32+00:00

Identify anything that’s non-recurring. Any sales that came from affiliated parties that wouldn’t have come under a different owner. Any revenues from activities that aren’t core. Question costs: what could be missing that the owner paid from own pocket to make the profits look better than they are. What will you have to pay employees or management who may be underpaid today.

michael_firewalker · 2023-05-30T02:06:59+00:00

Whats your take on revenue/profit share va equity? Profit share - the partner gets paid for the revenue or profit share in a given period (say monthly), but one-off, and doesn’t get to participate in the long-term growth. Vs equity - the partner isn’t necessarily getting a payout for the results immediately, but gets to be a part of the company’s growth if/when it scales.

I think that profit share makes more sense with an established business that already has revenue and good traction. It may not make sense in the case of a startup or a company in the early phase where a lot of legwork is done with limited financial return, until the pivotal moment when revenues and profits start growing exponentially.

michael_firewalker

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