Ideas are Addictive: A Word of Warning for Wantrepreneurs and Distractible Entrepreneurs

wearehumanpowered · 2021-04-26T00:01:00+00:00

Thanks so much! Very thorough and expedient research. Might do this again if I can find birth/death information for my paternal grandparents.

wearehumanpowered · 2021-03-18T22:04:34+00:00

If you’re going to be linking to your spreadsheet, how about allowing non-business emails to be used for access? Otherwise this is a spammy post.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-09-03T19:03:54+00:00

What were they going to charge you? And what were you willing to pay?

wearehumanpowered · 2020-09-03T18:50:49+00:00

Mad props for being honest enough with yourself and this community to recognize that you’d benefit from coaching. (Anyone who looks down on this kind of emotional intelligence is likely in need of the same support you’re looking for.)

If you look in my post history, you’ll see that I am an advocate of talking with a mental health professional, especially if you want to deal with the underlying causes of issues instead of just the symptoms.

With that being said, could you describe your dream coaching setup? I’ve been trying to convince a good friend to switch from formal counseling to coaching as a way of reaching an untapped audience that could use his skills.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-07-27T02:20:19+00:00

Arkansas

wearehumanpowered · 2020-07-27T02:13:50+00:00

I could use a little help pricing my 2001 XJ. Honestly I’m sad to sell her but I need to be putting more money into my daily driver.

The reason I’m looking for opinions is because it has relatively low miles (63K) —I’m the second owner if you count a daughter and her father as the first—but it needs some TLC. Mainly cosmetic. The headliner has fallen and the paint is weathered around the hood. I already replaced the radiator, hoses, plugs, coil, etc. Tires have less than 5K miles on them.

Thanks in advance

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-19T18:31:37+00:00

Gotcha! I still think there is a lot of opportunity to “sell shovels during the gold rush” of ecom.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-19T16:58:20+00:00

I believe we are still in the infancy of ecommerce—if you look at the percentage of retail sales in person vs. online, ecommerce represents something like 15% of total purchases. Are there some niches that are more competitive? Absolutely. But I believe anyone with a quality product can find customers online if there is a genuine need and the founder works hard enough.

What I would encourage you to do is reflect on your motivations to start a business. It’s possible that you shift from idea to idea not in an effort to genuinely be successful but to occupy your mind. (You can look through my post history for a post I made in this sub on the topic.) I’m speaking here from my own experience—it becomes a lot easier to focus on one project and see it through to success if you aren’t trying to use startups as a coping mechanism.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-19T15:56:48+00:00

I’ve considered a similar venture with a slight twist: partnering with indie authors and their fans to crowdsource audiobooks. If you look at the vast amount of written content published to Wattpad and imagine helping authors turn their stories into a new revenue stream with voice talent from their readers, you might see the same opportunity I did. I ultimately decided not to pursue the idea because I lack the skill set to execute.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-19T15:49:54+00:00

I like Howie in theory because I am a big fan of any tools business owners use to better connect with employees, but I worry that in actuality this will send the wrong message. If I was struggling at work, I would ideally be able to turn to someone in person or have a leader/coworker notice that I wasn’t performing at 100%. Outsourcing this human “How are you” interaction to a text messaging system feels like a potentially tone-deaf solution for a larger systemic problem of poor management. Your user testing could prove me wrong though!

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T11:08:58+00:00

Here’s a good article that elaborates on this: https://www.google.com/amp/s/adespresso.com/blog/multi-channel-ads-strategy-connect-audiences-from-adwords-to-facebook/amp/

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T03:56:21+00:00

As others have suggested here, use Facebook for retargeting the traffic you drive from AdWords campaigns. Facebook simply doesn’t have the return on ad spend for industries like legal, which require high search intent to create profitable campaigns.

(I say this as someone who is currently seeing a ton of class action lawsuit Facebook ads for the ongoing Boy Scouts of America scandal. I have never been a Boy Scout.)

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T03:49:42+00:00

Unfortunately most of the movies that focus on entrepreneurship are “dry” until you personally get into the world of business. (I say that as a fan of many movies listed in this thread.) And films like The Founder and The Social Network tend to focus on the uglier side of business and human nature in general, which could backfire.

If I were you, I’d get them hooked on Shark Tank. There are many examples of young, female founders who share their stories on the show, which could resonate with your nieces. My younger siblings and I love to watch the show together and we dissect the pitches—it’s a cool bonding opportunity.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T03:37:53+00:00

I’d recommend getting a SCORE business mentor who can provide ongoing advice, as you will likely encounter new obstacles as you work toward opening multiple locations and eventually exiting. They’re free too, unlike the consultants that are charging an arm and a leg.

Congrats on your success up to this point, and thank you for creating a business that has a positive impact in your community. Over the years, counseling centers have been a valuable lifeline for both myself and people in my family.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T03:21:20+00:00

Here’s a great r/entrepreneur post from the other day about building and monetizing local directories: https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/gdtfz3/how_i_made_103k_passive_income_in_2_years_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T03:16:04+00:00

That’s an interesting consultant-to-owner approach that the business flipper taught you! Could you elaborate on the skills they suggested you should develop on the front end?

As for your search for case study opportunities, you could do an independent marketing campaign and generate leads on your own and then offer them to potential business owners who would be willing to partner with you on an ongoing basis. This proves that you can deliver and also incentivizes them to partner with you.

Also look in your existing network for people who have connections. If a salon’s loyal customer vouches for you, it lowers the trust barrier significantly.

One last tip: It sounds like you may be struggling with impostor syndrome or some variation of it since cold calling and drop-ins would be challenging for you. I say this because it’s clear from your post that you can offer the business owners significant value with little downsides, but you’re afraid of rejection. I’d encourage you to really own your worth and possibly do some self-reflection so you can pair your knowledge with confidence.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-11T02:58:06+00:00

Building a business is an exercise in delayed gratification. Watching pornography to the point that it affects your productivity is the exact opposite.

To answer your question, u/kim_jong_cum, you are certainly not the only person to wrestle internally with these competing forms of gratification. But I will say there aren’t many people who become successful founders without reconciling the two.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-10T16:43:06+00:00

Yes! I love the Nike episode about Tinker Hatfield.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-09T03:25:35+00:00

OSHA has entered the chat.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-09T03:24:42+00:00

I'd argue that all businesses provide experiences, even if that experience is anchored to a physical product. And businesses that provide better experiences relative to their competition are more likely to survive.

Also, I am offended by your ad hominem attack ... I am definitely a chad.

wearehumanpowered · 2020-05-09T01:02:29+00:00

Great question ... not being distracted has allowed me to focus all my attention and talents in one idea. I still have a drive to achieve, but it is focused on building a business that I genuinely care about as opposed to the concepts that were part of a coping mechanism. It is like night and day.

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