Hi ! I’d love your feedback on a business idea I’m working on. Here's the concept:

I want to start an agency in my contacts that helps local entrepreneurs list and sell products on TikTok Shop in the U.S. Here’s how it would work:

1. Clients in my contry: They would pay me a service fee (e.g., $1,000) to manage their TikTok Shop presence in the U.S.

2. If a client wants to sell a product, I’d purchase it from Amazon (or wholesale suppliers) and send it to a stockist I’ve partnered with in the U.S.

3. Order Fulfillment: The stockist would handle shipping the orders to customers.

4. Marketing: I’d collaborate with U.S.-based TikTok influencers to drive traffic to their TikTok Shops using affiliate marketing.

Why I Think It Could Work:

TikTok Shop is growing fast, especially in the U.S., and many products are going viral.

Many entrepreneurs in my country want to sell internationally but face challenges like logistics, platform restrictions, and marketing expertise.

I’d solve those problems for them by acting as a middleman.

My Questions:

1. Do you think this idea has potential?

2. Are there pitfalls I might be missing?

3. Any tips on working with TikTok influencers or U.S. stockists?

I’m trying to figure out if this is a viable idea before fully committing. Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

What should I know before hiring someone? As my business grows, I realize the need to employ someone. Could you share a tip on what I should consider first?

Elon Musk has made waves in business, tech, and now politics. According to reports, Musk unexpectedly joined a congratulatory call between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and President Trump, raising eyebrows about his role in shaping tech policy under the next administration.

Here’s why this matters:

• Musk’s companies (Tesla, xAI, and others) directly compete with Google in fields like AI, self-driving cars, and even video platforms (X vs. YouTube).
• Musk has been vocal about alleged biases in Google’s search results, echoing Trump’s past critiques of the tech giant.
• Trump, who once threatened to prosecute Google, has softened his rhetoric recently, even praising Google for its treatment of him.

Musk’s presence during these high-stakes discussions hints at his growing influence in tech and government. With senior positions at six companies and a new co-lead role in the “Department of Government Efficiency,” Musk’s plate is full—but his ambitions seem to be growing.

I'm a salesperson here and I have connections with business people in many industries so I come up with this idea that maybe I can connect some business from all around the world to key decision makers in Thailand.

if you're interested, please leave a message.

I received this email from the lawyer( seller):

“ It will be important for us to have evidence that the transaction is real and has closed. One thing we will want is evidence of payment. On Friday, have (me) write you a paper cheque for the $50K (or get a bank draft from his bank if he doesn't have paper cheques), scan a copy of the cheque and send us the scan. (Don't use e-transfer.) Then go to deposit the cheque at the bank or use mobile app cheque deposit, and you will get a receipt. Send us a scan of the deposit receipt. We will get back to you with draft docs to discuss and sign.”

I will be buying 80% of the business and current owner will keep 20% until I paid the balance owing from the financing. These are my questions:

1- Why are they asking for money in advance when I have not seen or signed a contract? 2- Do I have to pay before or after documents are signed? 3- Do I have to signed transfer of shares documentation first?

Any help is appreciated

I’m selling a balm, which is a pain relieving lotion with all natural ingredients, but does contain some menthol. On the labeling I’ve stated it’s not FDA approved, am I okay to sell? Is this illegal?

I live in a saturated city, meaning there are so many people and opportunities are sometimes hard to come by. I'm a highschool student looking to network with other students and people outside of my school and community but I feel like I don't know where to meet people outside of school and the people I meet are so reserved. I am extroverted so I will always make the first move, but I feel like I can never develop the relationship enough to become mutually beneficial or at least find a mentor. Any advice is appreciated!

I'm 18 years old in college and I have a lot of free time. I want to make some extra money and get experience with networking and selling for my future career. Advertising Deal Broker work may be a good option for me but, where do I start? How do I become the middleman? I can make sales I just don't know where to begin.

About to do business with a guy, due to the amount of money he insist on using a cashier check. I know that cashier check is more secure but fake ones does exist that why i came here to ask

Which website would you recommend for renting a retail unit in the USA?

One of the biggest misconceptions that I’ve seen with founders on their pitches is around focusing on the problem vs. the solution.

Especially with the advent of GenAI, I started to notice that 8/10 pitches mentioned a lot more about the solution than the problem. 

I would hear from founders how AI would be used to do these cool things, but there was very little talk about how it was solving the actual problem in depth - it became a bad habit.

Side note: AI fatigue is real.

The best pitches I’ve seen are the ones that can strike a good balance between both, but they’re also the ones that have a higher probability of long-term success. 

Let’s talk about a few reasons why this is so important…

—

Solutions (i.e. the product) change at a faster rate than the problem - you’re building, testing, and iterating much more quickly. This is because of customer feedback and new insights along your product journey. It’s not unnatural to pivot multiple times.

The *problem* however is much more rigid, and less likely to change (but there are exceptions!)

Ideally, the natural path to take is to identify a core problem, and then find a solution around it. What you don’t want to do is the reverse. 

I’ve seen examples of founders trying to mold a problem to fit their solution. 

You can end up building something irrelevant consuming huge amounts of time, money, and resources into solving a particular problem that should have never existed. 

But how do you know when a problem needs fixing? 

That’s when it becomes unique to the founder. Those who are obsessed with the problem are usually the ones who can go the furthest. 

The problem needs to bother you A LOT. 

It’s when obsession takes over.

It needs to get under your skin and create discomfort for you to the point where you can’t get it off your mind. 

The great thing about this approach is that this type of relentlessness will take you down a rabbit hole you actually want to go down. 

If the problem matters to you enough, eventually you become fully immersed and relentless in understanding *why* the problem exists and matters to you.

It means that the best problems to solve are also the ones worth solving but hidden in plain sight.

The plus side is that those who stay problem-focused unlock insights that their competitors miss.

But problems that could be solved don’t exist in a vacuum - it needs a solution. 

So going back to the pitches:

As mentioned previously, the most memorable pitches are the ones that can do the balancing act between problem and solution, but they also tell a great story about the problem and why it needs addressing.

They then use the problem as a segue into their solution.

But in many cases, the solution itself can convey a ‘set-in-stone’ perspective of what the company is (or will be) doing. 

However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The solution presented in the deck could change a number of times. 

The reality is that it’s not about having THE solution, but it’s having A solution, especially at such an early stage.

Any thoughtful solution to a worthwhile problem is worth building. 

The goal is to get your initial solution in the hands of your ideal customer as quickly as possible and iterate from there.

It’s about finding what works and if the solution is truly addressing the problem you’re trying to solve.

You’re not going to get it right the first time, so it’s best to build early and deploy fast.

Over time, you’ll refine the solution and have a much better understanding of the problem. This will then feed back into the investment deck, and all the branding and marketing materials that come with it.

Ultimately, the companies and brands that have longevity are the ones who are completely locked into the problem they want to solve. They understand the problem intimately, better than anyone else, and also have the capabilities to solve it.

Hey 👋

I recently went through the process of selecting a prospecting platform for my team, and it turned into quite the learning journey. If you've ever faced similar challenges, you know it’s not as simple as picking a big-name tool and calling it a day—especially when you want something that aligns perfectly with your team’s needs and genuinely improves workflow efficiency. Here’s a high-level look at my approach:

• Understand your organization's needs I started by interviewing our team members involved in prospecting to get a clear picture of how things currently work. These short, 20-30 minute chats with stakeholders gave me valuable insights. I also created a process map to visually pinpoint friction points—an invaluable step that set the stage for what we needed in a tool.

• Structure your insights Next, I broke down everything from these discussions into a "need-to-haves" and "nice-to-haves" list, which helped prioritize what features mattered most. This approach gave us a clear, focused way to evaluate platforms.

• Researching the market After the groundwork, I jumped into researching the available tools. Using my decision matrix and the process map, I scored providers based on what they offered, visualized it all in a cluster chart, and found that Apollo, Clay, Cognism, and Amplemarket came out on top for us.

• Finding the best fit Finally, we scheduled demos with the top providers. Including stakeholders in these sessions not only ensured the tool would meet our needs but also built buy-in across the team.

Read my full process with more details here https://the-revops-learner.beehiiv.com/p/prospecting-platforms

If you've ever been tasked with a similar project, I'd love to hear how you structured your process.

Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, etc. all of these are dominating companies, but are there any reasons as to why their origin is Seattle?

I'm looking for advice or criticism on my current business plan.

I'll start off by saying I'm 26 years old male, engaged and have my first born on the way and looking to make a change from the extreme time consuming job I have that makes me roughly only 50k a year meanwhile, my Fiancee is a Dentist. Our household income is about 250k a year.

Plan:

I've got an approved medical business loan for up to 500k (can take 100k, 250k, etc. etc.) thats on an 8 year note at 12% annually. My plan was to only take 100k making my payment (if my math is correct) about $1500 a month

I'm wanting to open a Powder Coating Business (Deals in custom durable coating on anything metal, mainly metal fabrications shops and automobile parts) and the reason I chose this is because I've always been into painting and customizing things my entire life so there is a passion AND there is only one shop in the area where I live BUT, with the line of business I am in (automotive) everyone goes to a shop in a different state. Meaning there is good potential, if I plan to bring good quality work to the area. I've already contacted my connections (other dealerships, custom truck and car shops, as well as a metal fabrication business's who have said they would love to use me for this service and need me ASAP)(which I might add all of the business are on the same street as the shop I will be leasing for the business)

Costs:

With the products and equipment I've searched, startup costs are for easy numbers. Roughly 40k

MAIN QUESTION:

What do I do with the rest of the funds? That is my main question. Lets say I take the 100k and have 40k in start up. Should I invest or stash in a savings? I was thinking about purchasing an AirBNB investment property under the LLC?.... I received numbers on it and it shows to gross profit 80k a year. As a fail safe or a way to profit more, would this be smart? Or, should I stash the remaining funds in a high % savings account or high dividend stock?

Any advice would be greatly helpful to better fine tune a plan B or source of "passive" income while focusing on the business.

Thank You!

How can i start a cafe (bakery + eatery + tap station [after 6 months]) without any income source. I have a degree of computer science engineering. And want to start a business in my city (tier 2).

The business i want to start i already have two competition in my city.

Background: I’m 23 years old, middle class. I don’t have capital to invest at all and after discussing with my parents they don’t have either (seriously they don’t).

My thoughts : i want to start this business on the basis of bank loans, at the moment of writing this i don’t have idea if bank provides loans for this kinds of projects or not. Plus i think after taking rough estimates it will overall cost me around 30L, and the big problem is if i decide to use my home for that it is too small for this business and in crowded area and i don’t have owned place on road side nor a nearby farm. I live in middle of city so can’t go outside just to start a business, plus i will have to find a place where people are willing to come.

Big question: what i should do as of now to build this business? All i can think of is bank but is it possible to get 30 to 40L from them ?

My thoughts on big question: there’s one way i thought but it will take lot of time, I’m planning to do ms in finance in usa (spring 2025) it will take like 2 years then i will get job there. Then if i saved every month like 300k then only i can put my funds but that won’t be enough. And second way is if i grow my network and connections in VC’s then i can think of that business but then i will have to think of bigger one instead of this small one.

What the fuck i should do I’m going crazy. Thank you for reading and responding i appreciate you guys support.

Hey, everyone!

I’m engineer of the AI-powered marketing platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and we launched on Product Hunt this November 19th at 10:00 AM.

Actually, I can’t believe that it’s almost a year since establishment and here we are.

What’s this post about?

Mainly, to share that my team and I have made it to that stage. We worked hard the whole year and successfully completed all planned roadmap stages.

Secondly, I’d love to hear your motivational stories about product launches or demotivational ones about the general meaninglessness of that idea.

And finally, I’d be grateful to get your support if you like what we’ve built. I could share it in DM or you could check exactly in my profile.

I am looking for the people who are living in Sudan currently. I have work for them. Let me know, if you interested

18M I dont like to drink alcohol or smoke. Yesterday i went to a party where everyone was drinking . I dont want to be like that . It is just not my thing , i dont have an issue if a person sitting with me is drinking but i dont want to share a drink( they would have a problem with someone not drinking with them perhaps ). So how to give valid excuses or what to say so that they stop insisting . They call me names due to this like i wont be able to enjoy etc etc ( i can dance to enjoy) . Also , for a businessman is it important to drink. What if i value my integrity and choice over money

TLDR - *how to conduct business and business meetings while being a teetotaller and not hurt the other party *

TLDR- how to not get into FOMO and still be social without drinking.

So I’ve been scouted to run a business for an entrepreneur while managing my own family’s business; while I don’t mind running them both at the same time the problem is they’re both in the same field and I’d like to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes and ruin their trust towards me, would it be possible to run both?

For context: the entrepreneur’s business is a good opportunity for me to grow as a professional not to mention his network is really great and could be really valuable in the long run on the other hand my family’s business is my father’s legacy which I’d like to help him grow too, the problem is there might come a time where if I favor one or the other there might be some misunderstanding on either side, while it might be possible to collaborate on multiple occasions I’d like to know if this setup would be feasible if at all or I should just turn down one and focus on the other.

I’d like to get somebody’s input here and if they have their own experiences or thoughts to share so that I may learn from them.

I’m just wondering what’s the best way to keep up with what’s required for paperwork in the state where your business is located. Is there a newsletter or something that I can subscribe to? For example we recently found out that we need to fill out the FINCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit) before the end of this year. I just want to make sure I keep up on that kind of stuff. This business is located in Michigan. We do industrial installation in case that matters. Thanks!

Interesting read on ad memory: it’s not the length of the ad, but whether it can hold attention for 2.5 seconds or more that makes the difference. For businesses, this could shift strategies toward more meaningful, engaging content. Has anyone here tested this approach?

Hi, I have worked for some clients before and I do have 2 clients at the time. The thing is, these clients are temporary and I want to find demand especially from businesses. I'm not too sure where I can find these demands, so ideally I'm dreaming of a platform sort of thing that has serious software demands from companies that can be taken as projects with 6-12+ months timelines.

I know platforms like Upwork and Freelancer exist but they do not really have quality demands in them. They are mostly small projects and not really paid well. Any idea where I can find software demands from companies?

Hi! I am a 17 year old from northern Europe. Ive had interest in entrepreneurship for a few years now, and I tried some ways to build a business. After analyzing some ways I could realistically grow, I decided to mainly focus on youtube.

Anyways, I have been adviced a few times to get myself a mentor, but I never really managed to find a good one. I have desire to work and improve and I was hoping on receiving advice and insights for my journey! It would be great if you knew youtube :)

If you think you could mentor me, then please, message me!