So, they're asking for £300 a month to manage the ads. Since the ads were run earlier in the year, I figure I can just unpause them myself and let them run instead of paying someone to manage them. By the sounds of it, he would be adjusting certain setting if the ads weren't performing as they should. I feel like the cost is only justified if this is particularly difficult to do, but plenty of people run FB ads with no issue. The ads themselves are high quality commercial style videos.

I'm now opening up the opportunity for seed investments to scale the platform further. Excited to connect with potential investors who share a vision for developing a healthy digital marketing ecosystem

Feel free to DM for more details or a product demo

Hey everyone,

I recently attended an event which is hosted by a startup at a cafe, the startup collaborated with the cafe and I guess both got profit or some kind of exposure.

This is when I got the idea to list all the cafes that are interested to collaborate in a directory site, if a startup needs one then they can visit my site. I will show 2 to 3 cafes for free and they need to pay for full access of the list.

It's going to be a very long process, I am not sure whether I can find any 5 cafes in a month. Is there a community of cafe founders or managers ?

I hope to not make this too confusing but I’ve always heard you are the average of your friends and a bad apple ruins the bunch but, ever since I was 11 I’ve been in the streets. The people that surround me are in and out of jail, drug dealers, gang bangers, and overall just not the best. This is mostly because of my love for riding dirtbikes in the street because it’s the only thing I’ve ever been able to enjoy in life other than fireworks. I’ve never wavered to any peer pressure and have usually had people follow in my doings and I’ve been able to put the people around me on slightly different paths by educating them on their actions and what they do is completely morally wrong for example smoking, guns, drugs, stealing cars, etc… I’ve been able to influence a few and put them on right paths. Now to me, I’ve never changed for anyone, no matter who’s around me I don’t do what they do and I don’t believe in what they believe in. I’ve always thought about becoming financially free legally and I’ve never picked up any habits from anyone. So I’ve never truly understood the you are the average of your friends because I’ve never been anything like them and will continue to not be. Continuing, connections are hard for me and I know that connections are the biggest role in becoming financially free. I look like a thug physically but that’s ok because I’m very good with my words. I come here to ask what I should do and what I can do as I’ve been starting businesses as a kid but want to find one I can build for the rest of my life and becoming financially free in my 20’s, I don’t need to be extremely rich I just want to have what I want and earn it rightfully. Where should I begin? Sorry for the sparatic questions and it all being all over the place I just don’t have a clue as to what I should do because everything is just the idea, the connections, and the work ethic.

Looking forward to reading your comments.

Woken out of my sleep thinking about how to pay for $167k in inventory so I don’t loose the customers and traction that we have built

Last Monday my supplier decided that he was going to be a dick and stopped offering terms with out notice. For the past 2+ years we have had a working arrangement where we have paid of the balance over 30-60 days , while a new order was being made.

The supplier knows he is fucking us but he doesn’t care.

The lessons learned are many; but not having enough cash or the proper debt stack is mission critical and can / will bankrupt you regardless of the sales you can bring in .

And yes I’m applying to everything from loan shark mca to ar financing etc

Also looking for a new supplier

I know I'm annoying but I need help.

I am going to build the best wedding venue and miniture farm in my County. If I do it right, but without investors or grants, it's going to take 15- 20 years on my current income and I will need to scale down by half, limiting my projects potential earnings and employment opportunities. Im not willing to settle for anything less than what I want and my County has a gap in what I want to create. Everyone thinks I'm delusional, but im not reading these books for nothing and listening to every podcast topic related I can. The thing is I know I'm very ambitious. But also I believe I can create a vision and execute it if I get a really good team together. Which I know I can get people on board. I need to make sure I am interviewing the right people and asking the right questions. I know what I'm looking for, but I don't know EVERYTHING. In fact I'm clueless on grants. I'm bad at current technology, and I need Legal consultation, a financial advisor, USDA Organic Licensing information, Growhouse management, HR, Book Keeping, Land management, Farming Operations, Livestock Operations, Beehive Management, Soap Operations, Sales, Marketing, Customer Support, Shipping. and researching everything by myself and putting pieces together on top of working 60hrs of week. This project is a long term project, but yielding high profit. I can get it Operational in 4 years maybe less once I secure funding. I have to make some phone calls to get more information. But i work 3rd shift.

I am going to build this. I have no help. But i really could use some. Im not scared of failing. But I'm scared of not making it happen. I feel like now that i have my vision and my Why, I would never forgive myself for trying.

Should I go to school or hire a team of Mentors when I have cash? The goal is to be debt free in 18 months, but if I need more school I'd invest 50k into further education.

I plan on replacing my current job into a industry specific job to learn a important skill. My first thought is Greenhouse Management because that's going to be a large part of my Operation and I need to know how they operate.

I am currently seeking advice on my next moves. I am not willing to listen to anyone telling me it's not possible because I know it is and I'm going to do it, I just need help. Where do I get said information and help and how long will it take so I can plan accordingly.

As title suggests: has anybody here successfully turned their job into a scalable business?

For example, I’m a copywriter and have worked in advertising. The last few years I’ve been working for myself and making between 50-70k a year. It’s been good, but I’d probably be better off in a job.

I’m at a point where I’m thinking of “rebranding” my self employment and providing copywriting in a niche area (eg property). That way I can hire other freelancers to take on the workload so I can work on the actual business.

Interested to hear thoughts on this and anybody with similar experience? I’m trying to move away from freelancing as it’s not financially better than a job at this point.

I’m currently developing an iOS game and recently launched a TestFlight beta, which has brought in 60 users in the first week. While I believe crowdfunding could eventually be a viable option, my community is far too small to attempt that right now.

I’ve been considering options like pitching to a game publisher or seeking seed funding to help finance marketing campaigns and additional development… However, I’m also wondering if it just makes more sense to continue developing at my own pace, relying on free methods to grow the community, as I’ve been doing so far??

Has anyone faced a similar situation? How did you approach funding with a small community? Any insights into pitching to publishers, seed funding, or alternative strategies would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Every state in the US is an "at-will" state. You can wake up the next day and be fired for literally any reason, and employers WILL find the pettiest reasons to fire people like me (autism/ADHD). I have done great whenever I've worked for myself, and left a minimum wage job within less than a month; it was so damn unbearable.

Your boss liking you is what determines how much money you make, your promotions, and the constant workplace politics are awful and disorienting, I don't care to ass kiss, I hate the idea of being a leader; I work far better alone where I can focus on deliverables and not social climbing my way to six figures. Nothing about corporate or "regular" jobs feels secure when so much of your success in them is determined on social politics and not on hard work and can be taken away from you like it's nothing so quickly.

When you're meant to be an entrepreneur, you really will just know. Plus, you have full control over your time (to an extent) and can create multiple income streams with your abnormal working schedule. That makes me feel way more secure in my ability to support myself, the fact that my employment is in my own hands, than any job offering unlimited PTO that they're gonna make difficult for you to actually take anyway.

I want to invent a workwear range in Australia. My design is tight elasticated pockets to prevent pens and screwdrivers falling out. I would like it to be arc flash rated initially for electricians and geta a prototype made. I've made some enquires on made in China sites. No reply yet. I think it's a simple yet good idea. Any advice?

What kind of problem do we all entrepreneurs have yet no software or app still exists today?

This year has been like the renaissance of Gen AI. There were so many amazing video and image generation/enhancing models. What industries or models do you think will surge in 2025?

(humanoid robots perhaps?)

Hi, we want to set up a channel where we could manage our Beta users, get feedback etc.

Slack seems a bit expensive at $10 per EVERY user. But one thing I don't fully understand is, "single channel users" that come free.

So does that mean, that I can have unlimited single channels and have my clients in those single channels, and then only pay for my team members (that will be into all the channels) as active users?

Or maybe you know better alternatives?

Thanks a lot

I've been posting alot I get it. But i don't have a mentor or coach. I have come up with the idea of posting on YouTube shorts and Tik Tok for a call to Arms to enlist possible CoFounders for my project. I am so motivated and excited to make this work I want to share my plan with everyone.

Thoughts and ppossible problems?

I’m currently looking to sell a Facebook Buy Sell Trade group and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience doing this? It’s located in Ohio with 19.3k members and I’m curious as to how does one figure out the value of a group?

As the title states, I’m looking for some manufacturers that I can trust with making the product I envision, I will obviously be making my own prototype but after that I want manufacturers to be doing that part of the job for me.

Any recommendations please? preferably ones in the UK.

Thanks.

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well. I am a manufacturer of handmade carpets and rugs based in India. My family and I have been crafting these beautiful pieces for many years, and we take great pride in our work. However, recently, I’ve noticed a decline in the number of custom orders from interior designers, which has been quite concerning.

I’ve tried reaching out via email to various designers, but unfortunately, I haven’t received any responses. I’m really looking for some advice on how to better connect with interior designers and attract more clients who appreciate the craftsmanship of handmade rugs.

If anyone here has experience in this area or can offer any tips, I would greatly appreciate it. Additionally, if there’s anyone who can help me secure larger orders of handmade carpets and rugs, it would be incredibly beneficial for my business.

Thank you so much for your time and support!

Hi everyone, kindly help me out with this. I’m a business owner of a product based business (5yrs now) Iv been bootstrapping it by myself and that has been going on well. No complaints

Issue is that I’m ready to scale it and Iv been considering selling equity to trusted investors but I have zero concrete idea on how it’s done or how to even measure the value of each share .

Please help me out with some information regarding this , please explain to me like I was in grade 6. Thank you 🙏✨✨✨

I'm experimenting with a new traffic channel that I think is underrated: Pinterest.

A little background: I sell a course that teaches people how to illustrate their thoughts and ideas in a simple way, without AI, without complex tools.

As Pinterest is very visual, I've started pinning designs I've created and I'm already starting to generate traffic.

I haven't mastered the codes of this network.

I'm going to test and see if my audience grows slowly, and if Pinterest can be a nugget for generating traffic, especially for creative and educational products like mine.

I think there's real potential for niche content if you can align your visuals with your offering.

Has anyone else tried leveraging Pinterest for their business?

I'm curious about your experience or tips for maximizing traffic on this platform.

Btw,results from the last 24 hours : 235 impressions

I'm experimenting with a new traffic channel that I think is underrated: Pinterest.

A little background: I sell a course that teaches people how to illustrate their thoughts and ideas in a simple way, without AI, without complex tools.

As Pinterest is very visual, I've started pinning designs I've created and I'm already starting to generate traffic.

I haven't mastered the codes of this network.

I'm going to test and see if my audience grows slowly, and if Pinterest can be a nugget for generating traffic, especially for creative and educational products like mine.

I think there's real potential for niche content if you can align your visuals with your offering.

Has anyone else tried leveraging Pinterest for their business?

I'm curious about your experience or tips for maximizing traffic on this platform.

Results the last 24 hours : 285 impressions

I constantly read about how working in the food and beverage industry is such a horrible idea and sort of understand why, poor profit margins, high amounts of labor, long hours. However, me being in NYC always see so many new restaurants popping up and also many old multigenerational restaurants that have run for multiple decades.

If running a food and beverage related business was truly difficult to profit, then how have some of these restaurants continued to run for that many decades?

Just like the title says.

I'm planing to move to the capital of my country, I have zero connections but I do know How to be a Personal Trainer very well and I know I can succeed.

But is there a way to start from scratch without working for a Comercial Gym first ?

Do I build a Landing Page, logo and social and use ads ?

Do I knock on doors and give out cards ?

Both ?

I have a Campervan so I can use the mentality of a startup and cut costs on rent.

Would really appreciate your advice.

I'm launching a big project and I need help. It's an organic mini farm and Wedding Venue. I understand this is more than I can do alone and I need outside funding. Im looking to take on at least 10 CoFounders to help with this project. I feel that it's only fair to offer equal equity in the project as I expect everyone to contribute. Im looking close to a 2 million dollar investment. I need Marketing, Sales Lead, Grant Writing and legal, land management, Gardeners and Farmers, HR, Technology Support, etc. Together we are going to write a fool proof business plan to pitch to investors and Apply for Grants. We will also focus on producing our own capital towards the project.

I plan on making it upscale. In my community there is a lack of what I am wanting to offer. I plan on creating jobs, and providing a family friendly environment for the community to visit. I will have a store front, and I plan on Marketing to upscale restaurants, stores, and people in the community. I will have a large online presence. I plan on being to standard for wedding venues in my area.

I feel that i don't deserve more than my CoFounders because I recognize what others can bring to the table. I know I'm not more qualified than anyone else.

Is it reasonable to offer equal shares?

It's been about 1 year of running a software business, and my revenue has been stagnant for the past 8 months. Deep down I know I should be grinding to get my revenue to levels that I am aiming for, whether that may be updating the software, writing content for my blogs, reaching out to potential clients, etc, but for the past few months I really don't know why but I cannot focus. I can't seem to sit down and just 'work'. All I do is binge on some Alex Hormozi-type entrepreneur dopamine content on YouTube and Twitter, infinite scrolling.

But it's not that I don't have a goal or anything. It's more like, when I am writing a new blog, in my head I think about "hmm maybe it's rather better to spend this time programming". And similarly when I code, in my head I think about "why am I wasting so much time for this little feature, why not just reach out to more clients". And the loop goes on and I eventually not achieving anything. The worst part is, after a few weeks I regret not focusing on anything.

Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar place, and if any solutions worked. I really want to get out of this loop and start making progress. Thanks guys.

Hi everyone, I’m sorry if it doesn’t belong here

I’m a 24 year old fresher about to graduate with a degree in Business Management, and I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit lost right now. I have a broad range of interests — investing, real estate, and automobiles which all I don’t know much about but I’m learning something about it everyday — I’m also open to anything that could generate a good income. I’d say I’m a pretty curious and adaptive person, so I’m not limiting myself to just one path. In my uni during my final sem I ended up being very active, socialising, networking, volunteering, being a part of 2 business clubs.

While I do feel a bit unsure about where I’m headed, I’m actually not too stressed. I have goals and dreams, and deep down, I’m optimistic that things will work out in the end. But I’m here because I know that having goals without a structure can sometimes lead to drifting around aimlessly, and I want to make sure I’m building towards something concrete.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d give someone like me? How do I take these passions and adaptability and form a solid structure that will guide me toward achieving my goals?

Any tips on how to get clarity and build a roadmap for the future would be amazing :)

Coming from a business background and having a dad who has had business, I am fascinated to start my own business

Thanks in advance!

Hi entrepreneur community.

I am a bit lost and would appreciate any sort of advice.

In the past 3-4 years I worked on building a tax return saas (US). The product is great but neither me or my partner invested time or energy in sales. We're both not good at it and more importantly we were both fully employed elsewhere. Personally I am self provider with a toddler and was never really able to have the liberty to put in all my time into this business.

While sales are minimal (<$50k a year) the numbers don't tell the whole story.

Specifically I truly believe one of the big dogs in tax return saas (H&R Block, Taxslayer, Taxact etc. , all but intuit) can benefit from it big time thanks to synergies. Cost of self-developing such a product by these companies would be at least $1M and would take about a year, with 1 FE developer, 1BE developer, product manager/designer, and tax specialist to write the logic.

The challenge is I have zero experience selling any sort of business in the U.S. I am an immigrant with no strong connections here either.

What would be the best approach here? I'm happy to take a broker to help in the process but don't know how to select a broker that actually haa access to a network that's related to these type of companies.

Would highly appreciate any sort of advice.

Cheers!

facebook is TRASH. what a waste of all my time. insta-banned. maybe because card i linked was apple pay? if thats an issue, let me fucking change it. NOPE, INSTA BANNED FOREVER! LMAO! FUCK THIS SHIT. i keep taking Ls, want to blow my brains out. might as well be doing drugs im fucking pathetic.

fuck you facebook.

“Our records indicate that your payments account was disabled because it violates Facebook from Meta's Terms of Service. To protect our users, we can't confidently re-enable your payments account at this time. Please note, we take many factors into account when disabling payments, including spend history, ad characteristics and contradictory account information.”

https://preview.redd.it/5bncmh8i92ud1.png?width=1166&format=png&auto=webp&s=076d1c24667519b9f43b300272b5a4b3cc047ec7

https://preview.redd.it/wn7wsi8i92ud1.jpg?width=1240&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b4062efe41388912f395eb31f83f1bf6c63f8a6

https://preview.redd.it/jav00k8i92ud1.png?width=620&format=png&auto=webp&s=487bd574d32706496db0ad7897bcd444b7c1f52e

Montana Knife Company: Three Years to Eight Figures

This is how you build a business. Make an amazing product. Shake your customers hand. Charge what its worth. Let’s get into it!

Josh Smith started making knives when he was 11 years old. By 12 he joined the American Bladesmith Society.

When Josh was 19 he undertook the test to become a Master Bladesmith (didn’t know that was a thing!). It included crafting a knife that could cut through a one-inch rope, chop through a 2x4, shave hair and bend 90 degrees without breaking (wtf?).

He passed and became the youngest Master Bladesmith in the world.

The next period in Josh’s life was anything but certain. It never seemed time to start the knife making company he dreamed of.

The years passed.

He did custom knives, took a job as a lineman, got divorced and raised four kids as a single dad.

But the dream stayed alive and he took a few prototype knives to an event in South Carolina where he met Brandon Horoho.

At first Brandon just worked on the website and marketing materials, but Josh quickly realized Brandon was an asset and offered him a partnership.

In the fall of 2020 the Montana Knife Company was officially launched. Boom!

Here you have one of approximately 120 master bladesmiths in the entire world leading a knife company. Not a suit with an excel spreadsheet. And what comes out of the factory?

The first knife was the Blackfoot 2.0. A fixed knife that would be a work horse for hunters. They decided to launch them as weekly drops and the first one sold out in 14 minutes.

The business quickly grew and with the pandemic shutting down supply chains they struggled to get enough of the high quality 52-100 ball bearing steel they used to make the knives. But they kept at it and continued to grow.

They didn’t use ads. Instead they travelled to hunting expos and archery events. The thought was that the quality was so high that if someone held it they would buy it. It worked.

Side note: in a world where product companies pride themselves on throwing money at Meta I find this refreshing. If you have an amazing product it can become the marketing (or at least a major part of it).

Within three years they reached over $10 million in sales.

They’ve expanded into 12-13 skus that are sold in the same six colors and recently started making chef’s knives.

This is super interesting. Did Josh just launch his own chef’s knife? I mean he’s a Master Bladesmith… Nope. He worked with Mareko Maumasi, one of the country’s best culinary knife makers.

How’s it going? Based on the website, where every culinary knife is sold out… I’d say it’s going pretty well. Oh and they cost $300-500 each.

Other Interesting notes from the DTC Podcast with Brandon Horoho:

•They drop knives every week now and are scheduled out for 18 months

•The day they launched their “in stock” knives they had the largest increase in customers ever, some customers don’t want to participate in the “drop” model

•“Branding is more about saying no to things than saying yes to things”

•Want to have a knife from first blood to last bite

•They’re seeing less teens hunt

•Collaborations have worked well

•First chef knife drop sold out in three minutes

•Weekly vlog that covers what is going on with the company and in the shop is doing really well

•They’re expanding into folding knives (which account for 90% of sales for other knife companies)

•Look to brands like Rolex that make products to pass down to your kids

•Want to grow to $50-100 million, but not in the next 2-3 years

Want more entrepreneur stories for entrepreneurs? Sign up for the Capital Friday Newsletter!

As a founder, what are the top 2 features you desperately wish existed in the tools or platforms you use for your startup?