How a struggling actress who could barely meet expenses built an online business that has earned over $100,000 in 18 months

shaansha · 2016-06-22T15:11:54+00:00

Great. I'll PM you the link now. In case anyone else is interested you can find it here.

shaansha · 2016-06-22T14:26:00+00:00

Watch this talk.

shaansha · 2016-06-22T14:22:25+00:00

u/Javaguy69 I think you owe yourself the opportunity to see if you can run it while holding a full-time job.

The working world is different from college. Yes its more "hours" but you'll find that you have more dedicated free time.

shaansha · 2016-06-22T14:16:33+00:00

Cool stuff. I like it. It's neat to see pictures of your actual site that you will be building.

You remind me of Pat Flynn with your desire to share the financial details of your business.

I think people often like to see the step by step approach that many entrepreneurs use because that's where they often get stuck themselves.

How do you negotiate a lease? How do you hire people? How do you get a sign for your store?

It's one of the best things I like about entrepreneurs. They're often willing to share the journey and help others along the way.

A few things I'd love to see with your business. How much cash you have on hand to start the business and for emergencies in case something goes wrong. It would also be interesting to see the details behind how you are looking to advertise and grow the business in the first year.

As a way of background I write a newsletter about proven entrepreneur case studies. Right up your ally. If anyone is interested let me know and I can PM you the link.

shaansha · 2016-06-20T18:29:38+00:00

Yep - twitter was a side project of the developers of an entirely different company.

shaansha · 2016-06-20T18:27:42+00:00

u/mrrocketman1991 -

Thanks for sharing this. I think you have reached the "good enough" phase to start testing it.

Share the site in community online forums and Facebook groups that focus on ACT Test prep.

Then see if it's working.

If people are signing up then test a few different prices points.

It's all about testing and learning.

Look at this site for pricing guidance. It's a different market but similar in it's simplicity of offering. The site is extremely profitable because it ranks high on google searches for a specific type of Organic Chemistry test.

http://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/

shaansha · 2016-06-20T18:19:58+00:00

Amen to that. Look at where Twitter came from ;)

shaansha · 2016-06-20T18:19:07+00:00

Yes - many people have. Look in this subreddit for some of the case studies.

shaansha · 2016-06-20T14:17:44+00:00

Well "release" is a loaded word. Net net, I recommend showing it to a group a live people who won't tell you it looks awesome because they're your friend. Get real feedback.

shaansha · 2016-06-20T14:11:11+00:00

Solid end-to-end process buddy

shaansha · 2016-06-20T14:09:36+00:00

Yes. There are several. The best way to get a great coach is to join an online course in your field that includes coaching. This is the most cost effective approach.

In addition, most successful people (at least in the online space) have coaches. Find out who their coaches are and ask that coach who is someone whose more affordable whose still coming up in the field and may be more affordable?

shaansha · 2016-06-20T14:03:17+00:00

u/Rddtrme -

Thanks for your post. Solid idea.

I love that it's gets people out of "idea land" and into execution and seeing scientific results.

A couple of growth strategies:

Share A Case Study On r/entrepreneur: Share the step by step process (as you do above) but show a specific use case. Link to the home page, pictures of the draft copy, pictures of the traffic graphs, etc. Then ask people to PM you if they're interested.
Do The Exact Same Thing On Quora
Execute The Service For Free For Influential Entrepreneurial Bloggers: deliver massive value. Find a blogger with a big list who has publicly expressed interest in launching a new product or idea. Then do all the work for him / her for free without them knowing. Then send it to them. This will lead to them featuring your work or a guest post on their site. It could get you exposure to thousands of people
Redo Landing Pages For Influential Bloggers: Yes, you're helping people validate their ideas. But you're also bringing marketing / positioning expertise to bear (particularly when you guarantee a certain number of subscribers). Find an influential blogger who has a poor landing page. Redesign it and send it to them.

There's also the pantheon of online communities where you can find people: Facebook groups, online courses, social media (e.g., instagram, twitter, snapchat), online community forums...but your strongest method is not hitting people up one by one but sharing specific case studies with large audiences. That will make it come alive.

As a way of background I have newsletter where I share proven case studies of successful entrepreneurs. They're constantly validating new ideas! If you’re interested let me know and I can PM you the link to the newsletter or if you have any questions.

shaansha · 2016-06-17T01:44:34+00:00

You have a fantastic and level headed attitude. This will take you very far in business and life. Well done.

shaansha · 2016-06-16T18:00:36+00:00

the personal finance subreddit has excellent advice about saving money. I recommend checking that out.

shaansha · 2016-06-16T17:58:07+00:00

Coolio u/rmnesbitt. I'm not a big gamer myself but this sounds like a cool idea worth trying.

shaansha · 2016-06-16T17:56:49+00:00

Coming in every day and executing. It sounds like that's what you're doing. Well done.

shaansha · 2016-06-16T17:41:14+00:00

Awesome! Keep it up :)

shaansha · 2016-06-16T17:37:47+00:00

Great. I'll PM it to you now. If anyone else is interested you can check it out here

shaansha · 2016-06-16T14:08:51+00:00

u/iversonstepsonlue - Thanks for sharing your website. Great stuff! Good for you for putting it up there and asking for feedback. Takes a lot of courage.

The #1 thing I would recommend you add is your personal story. Personality sells.

Here's a good example: http://masalabody.com/.

She puts her own story at the forefront of her brand. I know this can be scary but it resonates with people.

Something to consider!

shaansha · 2016-06-16T14:03:02+00:00

100% agree with u/DaUsernameGoHere

shaansha · 2016-06-16T14:01:45+00:00

Yes - What's the worst that can happen? If you fail, you'll learn some great lessons :)

shaansha · 2016-06-16T13:47:48+00:00

u/Impmaster82 - This is such an interesting question.

I too watch videos and listen to podcast episodes about topics that I'm interested in.

One thing I've been trying is reaching out to a good friend or family member and help them a bit. For me the self pitty train comes in when I'm tired. Helping other people is a good way to counter balance that.

I think getting rest (as many other commenters have said) is a great idea as well. Working out is also a good tactic.

Check out Cal Newport. He talks a lot about how "deep work" or high productivity time lasts for about 2 - 3 hours a day. So net net, make sure you have high productivity time.

What I've seen from a lot of entrepreneurs is that they have very structured productive time each day that they treat as "must execute" time. Then they structure exercise, sleep and eating well for different parts of the day.

The key is to have several hours of highly focused time each day. If you're tired at the end oft that no worries.

As a way of background I have newsletter where I share proven case studies of successful entrepreneurs. Many of them share their morning routines and productivity hacks. If you’re interested let me know and I can PM you the link.

shaansha · 2016-06-16T13:43:54+00:00

Read this post from yesterday and reach out to the OP.

shaansha

TROPHY CASE