How to be good at business

[Chumbimba]

Just curious how long does it take to get a good sustainable business going. Im 22 if I start today could I have an online business profitable by 27-30 ? Where can I learn business principles/ which business I want to start ? do I need a degree ? or would a mentor be better 

[Austin Actualizing]

(Coming from someone who grew up watching my dad run multiple businesses, my mom is starting a business soon, and I will as well in the near future)

Is business something that you love or are currently passionate about? Are you willing to work long hours? Are you willing to read tons of books? Are you willing to be very disciplined and stick with a strict schedule?  Be honest with yourself. It's not for everybody and you may end up disliking it. I would get the life purpose course to see what you should do career-wise. The timeline depends on a lot of things. The best resource to learn more about business would be books, courses (not get rich quick schemes), Eben Pagan has very good courses, or get a mentor. A degree is not necessary. 

A lot of people think to start a business they need a good idea. That is a total misconception. You need to find a problem that people or a business is dealing with and solve that. The video below goes into more depth. 

Check these videos out: 

 

 

This video goes over the foundation essential aspects of what creates a very successful entrepreneur. 

 

[Chumbimba]

@Austin Actualizing how else do you escape wage slavery ? I read every single day. My work ethic needs work though. If I am passionate about it I can work long hours. I’m taking the LPC now. 

[Austin Actualizing]

13 hours ago, Chumbimba said:

@Austin Actualizing how else do you escape wage slavery ? I read every single day. My work ethic needs work though. If I am passionate about it I can work long hours. I’m taking the LPC now. 

 

[Chumbimba]

I watched that video and took notes on it. I just want to know more about business

[Consept]

What i would advise is have a look around for whos actually making money online or wherever and try and find out how they made money, what they do etc. Im not talking about these so called 'gurus' i mean people who are not rich by selling others dreams but those that have really started something from scratch and are making a living. 

I sell on amazon atm and do ok its kept me out of wage slavery for a few years (although that can bring its own problems), i started on ebay about 10 years ago and basically found this guys blog online who was making good money and just adapted his method to fit how i wanted to do it and then just kept learning. I think you can do that with anything you just need to get in the game, theres so many ways to make money online just do a bit of research pick one and go for it. Affiliate marketing, shopify, freelancing (find out what skills are in demand on upwork), amazon fba, ebay, online courses, forex trading, there are many options. Its good to get a basic understanding of business but sometimes it can lead to more theory than you need, things move so fast now that any think you learn could get outdated quickly so just get the fundamentals down, buy low, sell high, keep the customer happy, work on your reputation etc etc. Higher level youd want to get a business you enjoy and that really provides benefit to people but for now just find out where the money is and go get it to escape your wage slavery. Also im saying it like its easy to make you see its possible, which it is but it will still be hard work mainly to learn everything you need to. 

If you need any advice just let me know good luck!

Edited February 14, 2020 by Consept

[Average Investor]

Experience is key in my opinion. If you make one thing and it takes off well, then great. But a lot of the time most businesses require a year or so to really become profitable. I think anyone could become an expert in their industry within 5 years of dedication. If they really dive deep into it.

I think one of the biggest mistake I see people make is just leaving the business as an idea and not going further. You have to be willing to put in some risk to get reward out of it. I will say I have learned some of the most valuable lessons and many skills over the years. 

So what if it does not work out in 5 years or 7 years. A lot of businesses fail in the first 5 years and even more of those in 10 years. So it is really important that you love the industry you are in. You will get weeded out fast if you are not passionate about it. 

Following trends is also a waste of your time. You can find some valuable things sometimes in them, but rarely are you ever going to come out successful going into a trend. A lot of them are going to disappear as fast as they sprouted up. Look at the bulk of vape shops coming in and disappearing now depending on your location. It is not sustainable and most people race to the bottom for pricing. Not only that it was not really regulated much, which was a coming sooner or later. 

Now at your age it is going to be tempting to switch stuff around a lot. I know I have done that myself quite a bit. Try to get that out while you are in college with your electives and just sample things. Try to stick to a business for 6-12 months before you decide to change anything. 

I have had it myself where I get a big fire to do something new and go all into it. Which I show some traits of the "obsessive" if you have read the book mastery. I go all out and learn all about my industry. I teach people eBay stuff all the time just for fun because I know so much about it. I have not even been full time on it for a year, but have experience built up over some years on items. But I realize that this is one of my top strengths is to collect this type of information in my mind and use it when it becomes valuable. I know so much about random items, shipping practices, etc. When I go shopping for items I can see around me I typically have a much superior knowledge of items compared to the people around me. But I like to help them learn if they are willing. So I am starting to really hone in on this skill I have an apply it to other areas. All of my business adventures have added immense knowledge to me about myself and so many various things that help me sustain income in business. So if I had something that failed or work really well it has always been good. 

Think long term and how learning these skills is going to benefit you. I have reached a point in my life where I will never have to work a job again. I would be able to sustain myself just by buying and selling items if I have to. I have experience in buying cars cheap, which is very valuable to me. I can also fix cars pretty well and detail them really well. So I won't ever be short a ride and could make some profit there if I see the opportunity.  I have all sorts of knowledge around making products and customer relations. Keeping long term clients etc. I have worked a lot on my communication skills. Even though I am transition into teaching personal development stuff my life benefits immensely from these things I have learned. My ability to find deals for items and essentials dramatically cuts my expenses and opens me up to new opportunities with business gear. 

Imagine your life at 65 looking back on what route you decided to take. Do you think that a failure into business in your 20s will matter that much? 

Edited February 14, 2020 by Average Investor

[Leo Gura]

There exist hundreds of high quality (and expensive) business trainings and courses.

There are courses for literally any kind of business you might want to start.

Of course a course alone will not result in you having a successful biz. You will have to be creative about building it and go way beyond any course. But the courses are important for getting some theoretical foundation and tips about how business and marketing works.

You cannot start a business without doing massive research and study.

You must learn marketing. There cannot be business without marketing.

[Nahm]

@Chumbimba In addition to what’s already been said.... Do you have a dream board going? It’s amazing how it seems like you’re doing something completely new, but it can be revealed to you this is what’s been culminating the whole time. Very, very inspiring ‘click’...”It all makes sense” sized revelation. It definitely doesn’t seem like it’s all coming from you, until you bring you into it, such as with expressing all that you are wanting on the board unabashedly. The sub-perspectives, insights & reality sized epiphanies if you will, between surviving / escaping and creating / dreaming, are worthwhile imo.

[Sirius Orion]

@Leo Gura "

There exist hundreds of high quality (and expensive) business trainings and courses.

There are courses for literally any kind of business you might want to start."

>>> Is there a recommendation list on this forum for the best of such courses ? Especially when It comes to marketing , closing a medium, building an audience, reaching all kind of people, getting them attracted, "hooked"  and wanting more ... From what I've read on this forum many people would be interested if could make an "update"  video based on what you learned and what have changed since your first one !

Edited February 16, 2020 by Sirius Orion

[ZenBlue]

You don't necessarily need to build a business to be free from wage slavery. Most people aren't even cut out to run a business. Building and running a successful business requires a lot of energy and focus. To do it sustainably and maintain it over a long period of time is where it becomes difficult for most.

There are thousands of different types of businesses you can build. Start with going towards your strengths. What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing?

I think most people would find they prefer to be a craftsman than a businessman. By craftsman I mean finding a craft that you really love and building a career out of that. For example: writing, drawing, graphic design, video editing, etc... You could be independent by being a freelancer.

Find something you enjoy doing and see if you can build a business out of that. Right now it seems you are mainly focused on just building a business for the sake of getting money. That will lead you down the wrong path to the wrong business.

[Emerald]

On 2/12/2020 at 6:41 PM, Chumbimba said:

Just curious how long does it take to get a good sustainable business going. Im 22 if I start today could I have an online business profitable by 27-30 ? Where can I learn business principles/ which business I want to start ? do I need a degree ? or would a mentor be better 

You could probably do it in less than a year if you have a good strategy for getting clients/customers.

 

 

[UDT]

On 13/02/2020 at 1:07 AM, Austin Actualizing said:

A lot of people think to start a business they need a good idea. That is a total misconception. You need to find a problem that people or a business is dealing with and solve that. The video below goes into more depth. 

It just happens that 95% of problems businesses face are that they need better technology, or data and AI driven tools.
And 100% of people need nothing, so marketing implants culture and branding to create a want for a product.

Great theory but we live in 2020

[Johnny Brake]

I made millions in my twenties and give you the only advice you'll need: Try to understand your costumer and learn marketing!