I just found your site last night, and this is already the 2nd thing that has made me take an honest look at myself. You have a knack for blowing the lid off of things most people lie to themselves about. I've been running a small side business since 2008, and that alone should tell you how successful it's been. While its been fun and I've learned a lot, it hasn't really taken off the way I imagined it would. And it definitely hasn't freed me of my day job, which is the real point of it all I suppose... Like I was saying, it's going slowly but it's not growing quickly. Obviously, something is wrong or missing - but honestly I was lying to myself about that until I found this resource. Now, after reading this, I can see that there are some serious problems with my business and how I'm running it. Like you said, when I'm the boss there's nobody to blame but me. I always find some external excuse to pin my lackluster success on, but it's really all up to me in the end. I have the power to change anything. Thank you for forcing me to realize that, even if I hated you for it at first :) There are probably some things you missed or could have gone into deeper detail about, but I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. You've put together a great resource here. By the way, your site looks okay on mobile, but it could be better :)
50 Comments (page 1)
Thanks for the kind words, Verdan! It's huge for us to have people like you joining the community. Will put together a pretty amazing resource, huh!? It's crazy! My big question is: what is your next action step to take full responsibility for the business you're building?
Hey again Verdan, Haha, that's awesome to hear. I'm glad my guides are helping you to improve yourself and your business :) Sorry to hear your side business hasn't taken off yet. Slow growth is more than most new businesses, so at least be thankful for that! I agree though, something must be missing. Realizing that there's nobody to blame but yourself is incredibly liberating (ironically). You're truly in complete control of your situation. Like you said, you have the power to change anything in your life (or even in the world). The trick is realizing that you can, which it sounds like you've already done :) Again, really glad to hear that you liked the article, and hope it can help you to improve your business. By the way, if you think I've missed something - feel free to reply and ask about it! Keep me updated, Will
Another awesome article from the bros! I agree with Verdan - you guys to have a knack for calling people out on their sh*t! But in a way that is both constructive and helpful. I'll be bookmarking this for sure!
Awesome, thanks Ashley! Hope you could get some value out of it :)
I sure wish this article was around 10 years ago, it would have saved me 15 lol I was unfortunate enough to have to learn most of these lessons the hard way, but fortunate enough for my little business I started on the side eventually grew up. It let me leave my day job, and now I'm working to go even further. The sky is the limit for people like you, your readers, and I. Hopefully we can all meet up there! haha You know you could almost call each point here it's own blog post. Or, you could write one based on each one. Whatever you do, stick to the concrete stuff! The conceptual crap has overrun the internet, entrepreneurs are starved to see real world examples and case studies... Carry on... Walter
Hey Walt, Couldn't agree more with everything you've said here! Glad to hear that you got some value out of the article, and hope it helps you grow your business further. Great idea for future posts also, thank you! Thanks for commenting, Will
Great article, as always. One big thing that held me back was the feeling that I had to "Be the Expert," before I could create anything worth paying attention to. This would slow me down a lot and even stop me from starting projects. In spite of the fact that history is filled with examples of entrepreneurs who learned by doing. There was a cool guest post by FinchSells on ProBlogger called, "Behind Every Great Blogger is an Even Greater Voice." That made me realize there is value in being "the average guy," who is learning as well. While we definitely look up to experts, it's also equally attractive to follow a regular person who's going through the same struggles. I can't tell you how freeing it was to have that burden off my shoulders. I didn't have to fake it till I made it. I could just be honest with my audience, and say, "I don't know everything about this topic. But we'll learn this together. I'll just share with you each cool thing as I figure it out." That being said, one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. The act of teaching forces you to really understand the concepts and clarify in your head how things work, so that you can explain it to someone else. Then before you know it, you really have become an expert! :) A great book on this topic is "The War of Art," by Steven Pressfield. While it was meant for writers and artists who want to break through mental blocks, I think it applies to anyone who's had trouble going off on their own path. That could be anyone, like a writer, musician, or even entrepreneur. There was an article, I think on Forbes.com, with statistics about why most businesses fail. Basically backs up your list. The interesting thing is that most of the factors had little to do with competition. The takeaway lesson is that we're quite efficient at sabotaging ourselves. Overcome your own inner barriers, and you're already taken big steps in the right direction.
Napoleon Hill wrote that one of the great keys to success is the willingness to more work than one is paid for... and that following that principle one would eventually get paid for more than they actually did. A bit of a paradox, to be sure. To me, this principle is found in the "Not Takin Enough Action" problem listed above. They say that more biznesses fail from lack of energy than from lack of capital. I've seen that time and again. Thanks for nailing it again, Bros! Every principle on here is true, this one just speaks most loudly to me. Keep Stepping, Kurt
Hey Kurt, Couldn't agree with you more there. Awesome quote also, I think John D Rockefeller had a similar quote (though I'm sure many do). It seems like a lot of entrepreneurs don't realize that all value depends on human action. If anything of significance ever happens, you can be sure human energy is probably behind it. So it would make sense that businesses live and die based on the actions taken by the humans claiming to run them :) Another principle I love (to complete this rant) - Success in business in dependent on exposure. 5% luck, 15% skill, and 80% exposure. Entrepreneurs chasing "funding" without focusing on customer acquisition simply don't get it! Glad you liked the article and agreed with the information. Hope you can get some value from it, but not too much of course :-P Thanks, Will
Great article guys. I especially enjoyed the section about Niche's and having too small a niche. It seems like the most difficult part though. You find a niche with a great high margin product. You find the competition and how your Unique Selling point could help you capture part of the market. But how do you find if the demand is growing and whether there is space in that pie for you? Google trends and keyword analysis? Good job bros Given me a lot to think about.
Thanks Chris, glad to hear you liked it. You have it completely correct. There are TONS of ways to test your target market to see if it's growing, if it will support you, if they will bite at your product, etc. The trick is knowing which one to use, and when to use it. It's also tough to know which data to pay attention to and which to ignore. Obviously, it's far too much information for one little comment. But Google Trends and competitive analysis are great market research methods. Google Trends is a solid market research tool, awesome for measuring aggregate demand. Another personal favorite of mine is this - 3 Steps to Validate Your Business Idea for FREE... It's definitely an important point, and one that took me a long time to understand. I'm glad it stood out to someone! Thanks, Will
Hey Marcus, Thanks, glad you liked it - I spent forever on this one! Yea, that's definitely important. I think I added it in the article, but I love the "driving a car in the dark" metaphor. You just have to be confident that the patch of road will be visible, and that you'll be able to steer the ship from that. It's a fine line to walk I suppose. You don't want to get caught in analysis paralysis, but you also want to know at least a little bit :) The average guy that's just learning is definitely a niche! That's sort of what were going for, since were not millionaires quite yet :-P It's important to remember to that every expert started off where you are now. You get to see the results of their struggle, and if you're smart it will save you a TON of time. But yea, with building a blogging audience - honesty sells best! I always learn a ton from my blog posts, so makes sense! Whenever I didn't learn anything exciting writing it, I know it will be a flop. I'm sure it's probably the same for you. It's great to solidify and elaborate on your own ideas as well. Writing is a form of meditation I suppose, we get to deconstruct and reconstruct our thoughts. Cool stuff! I'll add that book to my wishlist, thanks for the recommendation! I love applying books meant for other skill sets to entrepreneurship :) You're absolutely right on that. A lot of entrepreneurs are scared of the competition, but that's really their lack of confidence in their own business ability shining through. Nothing wrong with that, it's just important to realize what it is so you can grow from there. By the way - I tried commenting on your blog and it says I'm a spammer! Not sure if that's happening for everybody, but it's not letting me comment :( Thanks for the comment, great thoughts here... Will
Thank you for this really great post! It's so important to stop and take a look at the way you are doing things and really work on fixing what is wrong. I think my main issue is that I am not reaching my target audience. Since I have a service business and not a product business, I'm working on ways to reach people that can use my expertise. That involves a lot of networking and really maximizing my people skills
Hi Angela, No problem, glad you liked it! Reaching the target audience is critical - I just read a great Larry Page quote on that last night. He talked about how much Nikola Tesla's failures influenced him. He realized through Tesla that no matter how good your invention is, you can't change the world unless you can get people to know about it and want it! Like you said, it's all about exposure... Thanks for commenting, Will
Great, great article Will. You guys are putting together a complete "start your own business for dummies" guide with the compendium of great information you keep laying out. I always enjoy and learn from the stuff you and Kyle write. Now if I can make the time to get through the ebooks... :) your bro, wally
Hey Wally, hope all is well! Glad to hear you liked this latest article. Hopefully StartupBros can help a lot of people start their own businesses, even if we tend to attract non-dummies :) I always love hearing your feedback Wally, let me know how you like those eBooks if you get the time to read them! No rush, of course :-D Thanks for stopping by, Will
We love having you here, Wally! You're one of the originals! Send me an email and ill get you a sneak peak of the new self-reliance guide :)
Great article, thanks so much!
No problem, glad you liked it Rachel! Thanks for reading and commenting :)
An email, huh? You drive a hard bargain, Eschenroeder. Alright, deal ;)
Will, you have done it again It seems that every time I need information or have a problem with getting a side business up and running, I stumble upon one of your posts that lays everything out for me. Thanks again so much for taking time to put guides like this together. Some things are so simple (like having a good plan) but essential to the core of a project. I need to revisit my plans/motivations and plan ahead from there. Btw that website link wont work--still getting the shop up and running on the back end but thanks to you I actually started! Looking forward to your next post Jamie
Thanks a lot for the kind words Jamie, glad to hear my articles could help! I also need to revisit my plans/motivations again. It's so easy to lose sight of the simple stuff, but like you said that's the essential part! Keep me updated on your new website, I'd love to see it when it's done :) Thanks for commenting, Will
Just read your guest blog on Firepole Marketing, found it inspiring, so came over to join up with the Bros.
Hi...I'm new here... Very informative n interesting. My bro n I sort of got our own little store selling cheap clothes. We've been in business for the last 10years. Our problem is we need to figure out what to sell next to make more money. Could you please help us...
I'd like to congratulate you both on achieving so much and encouraging others to do so. I'm in. You sound like nice guys to do business with. I'm looking for help launching my robotics company in the states. I'd appreciate your help. Giggles
Hey Bros, thanks for all the great info here. best, D
dear sar ima busnes man please help thank you please reply
Hi will Great article brilliant super fantastic information and I have just subscribed to you guys Thanks a million H
Bros! Building my OWN "Secret Weapons" list and was surprised... but not MUCH... to see that you had already named yers this. Looks great, I'll edit some out and add some in, seeing as I've success with other things. But I'll definitely grab a buncha those books. Ooh, ooh. Mindset suggestion: The Magic of Thinking Big by Schwartz. Keep Stepping, Kurt
Great Blog Guys!
Hey Guys Very inspired by your site. Thanks for taking the time to reach people like me who are sick of making other people rich. I worked for a company for over twenty years and one day they sold the business to a person who only wanted the clients not the workers so 150 of us were laid off....probably the best thing that happened to me when I think about it because it got me re focussed on where I need to be going. Thanks again. Vin
Will, Thank You for all your information. This is a fantastic info for me to get started into my own business. Les
Awesome, glad you liked that guest blog Stephen – and glad to have you on board! :)
Congrats on your success so far Jerry! Check out some of our importing articles on how to choose a product, maybe those will help - https://startupbros.com/step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-find-a-profitable-product-to-sell/ https://startupbros.com/import-why-you-cant-find-a-product/ Good luck!
Thanks a lot for your kind words Giggles! Good luck on the launch of your robotics company, feel free to email me any time with questions.
No problem Dan, glad I could help!
Feel free to email me if you need help with anything Toslim
Awesome to hear that Harjit, glad to have you on board!
Haha, great minds think alike Kurt! :-P Thanks for the suggestion, I haven't read that one - on the Amazon Wishlist it goes :) Thanks for the comment, and hope all is well...
Thank you Jean!
Damn, terrible to hear that Vin. Glad you can stay optimistic and see the silver lining in it. I bet those 150 of you will be split between those who got depressed and went into a spiral, and those who got hungry and forced their way to the top. I think you'll be on the top! :)
I can't believe I'm just discovering the startupbros.com...but so glad I found you! This post is AMAZING! I need to re-read and let all the brilliance soak in. This is what resonates with me (and made me chuckle): "Make sure you have short and long terms goals, know your business’ finances and how to manage it, your target market and how you’ll capture a share of it." What's so funny about that? Well, first you said "I'm not suggesting you write out a formal business plan..." yet the items you suggested, long/short term goals, knowing your finances, target market, etc...are all part of the formal business plan. I get it though...most entrepreneurs have such an aversion to business plans (understandably!) that the mere thought of it sends them running for the hills. But by not planning you might stumble and fumble and eventually fall flat on your face. Taking the time to PLAN; formal, informal, call it what you want, but take the time to make up a REAL business plan. It won't hurt (well, maybe a little), and will surely help! Thank you Will for this EPIC post. I look forward to checking out the rest of this amazing blog! Sylvia
I'm glad you found us as well Sylvia! :-P Hope you're enjoying the site... You got it exactly right! The point of a business plan is to prove you know your business inside and out, not to prove you can write a business plan. As time goes on people care less about formal business plans, and they care more about how your actions and how well you know how to make your business successful. Instead, many people dread coming up with any plan, because they think it must fall into some pre-established framework called a business plan. But you got that :)
Hi Guys - good stuff! (At the risk of appearing, err, picky - that is not Michael Gerber in the 'Your Business Isn’t Scalable' Testimonial photo)
can I create my own website and sell products of other people. If yes how would be am benefited from this? How to promote our website and create traffic on it?
hey this column is the tits, don't quit your dayjob
I'm so glad I came across this website! It's great to actually find some answers after being stuck for so long. After reading this, the things for me to focus on are: Business Plan Investing in my project Reaching out more to my target audience (teens) I've been getting noticed by adults and teachers though :) Thanks again guys! Tim
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