Phase 1 - collect underpants
Phase 2 - ???
Phase 3 - profits
Interesting responses guys thanks. I’m in the planning stage right now so the tax stuff can probably hold off for a bit. It’s a fitness product that I’m trying to sell, primarily online and locally at outdoor markets.
To be honest, it looks like I’m a little out of my depth and should read a business textbook first. Any recommendations for a good text to get me started?
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
Interesting responses guys thanks. I’m in the planning stage right now so the tax stuff can probably hold off for a bit. It’s a fitness product that I’m trying to sell, primarily online and locally at outdoor markets.
To be honest, it looks like I’m a little out of my depth and should read a business textbook first. Any recommendations for a good text to get me started?[/quote]
I would suggest a subscription to Success Magazine (sounds cheesy but golden) and look at various book requirements for universities offering entrepreneurship programs. Buy them. Check eBay and Amazon and stuff for good prices.
[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
Over the past few months some friends and I have been mulling over an idea for a product to sell. I think it’s a solid idea and would like to make it happen, but do not really know where to start.
I know there are some entrepreneurs who post here, so I thought I would ask for some tips about how you got started, what steps were very helpful/vital and what things I should avoid. I’m also looking for recommendations for books or other resources to help guide me through the steps to make this successful. [/quote]
- Move to a business-friendly state with no income tax.[/quote]
Unnecessary, just register the company in that state.[/quote]
This is common in NJ. A lot of people register their business in Dullaware for the tax advantages.[/quote]
Every company I have ever worked for incorporates in Delaware, and it has nothing to do with tax benefits. You have to pay taxes in whatever state you are doing business.
It is cheep to incorporate in Delaware and they have some other favorable laws if you litigate in Delaware, but you don’t receive any tax benefit.
OP I PM me the idea so that I can better help you develop your Business Plan.
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
Interesting responses guys thanks. I’m in the planning stage right now so the tax stuff can probably hold off for a bit. It’s a fitness product that I’m trying to sell, primarily online and locally at outdoor markets.
To be honest, it looks like I’m a little out of my depth and should read a business textbook first. Any recommendations for a good text to get me started?[/quote]
I would say marketing Book is your best bet because it will Cover EVERYTHING about your product. Which is the most important part. If you don’t know EXACTLY What your product is AND who its Marketed Towards, your just wasting your money.
After that then you can go in depth into the financials and shit.
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
Interesting responses guys thanks. I’m in the planning stage right now so the tax stuff can probably hold off for a bit. It’s a fitness product that I’m trying to sell, primarily online and locally at outdoor markets.
To be honest, it looks like I’m a little out of my depth and should read a business textbook first. Any recommendations for a good text to get me started?[/quote]
I make a living selling things online. It is actually not that difficult and there are a lot of options available to you. I am going to assume you have all your local laws and regulations handled.
I would recommend not wasting your time reading business textbooks. Textbooks by default tend to contain some of the driest and least useful information of all time. Books by individual authors on the other hands who do not have to submit to the authority of some nebulous regulatory authority do have some merit… but even then these are outdated quickly in the internet age.
Above all though, remember that the internet moves FAST. The stuff you are reading in a book is already outdated. Instead, I recommend browsing around Facebook ads and Google ads for fitness-related products and check out the people who are advertising. This will give you a good idea of what a nice landing page looks like and most importantly what offers are profitable.
After all, people do not spend money on ads that do not make them money and pay per click (PPC) traffic allows you to make very accurate ROI calculations. If you’ve seen the same ad appear twice in a 1 month span on the same site, you know that ad is making the advertiser money and that their product/website combo is a winning combination. Reverse engineer this and apply what you learn to your own product - there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Take ideas from all the best landing pages to create your own landing page / sales copy around your product. Get a nice looking website made at elance.com for like $500. Go to www.ejunkie.com and get a cheap shopping car to act as your payment processor. There you have it, a custom e-commerce website that processes credit card and paypal payments for only $500 and a few % of each sale.
Once your site is set up to your liking and you have some product to sell, you should start using pay-per-click (PPC). Use a very small budget at first and stick to Facebook in particular. Facebook ads are undervalued and better at promoting to a new audience than google ads.
From here, split test your website, tweaking small bits of sales copy, changing the design, adding video, changing the pricing structure, etc until you can operate profitably. From here, scale up the PPC budget and you now have a successful internet business.
Once you have a really good copy and sales pitch and a proven sales track record, you can look to move into stores. You can also start a youtube channel or blog and start creating free content with the aim of promoting your product (i.e. free workout plans using your equipment).
I’d question the need for a bunch of friends getting in on the project though right from the start. Starting an online business is a 1-2 person project and without major connects and no track record your product is not going to start appearing on shelves at the local Wal-Mart.
You’re going to sink your ship before it ever floats if you start promising a portion of revenue to a bunch of different parties… plus big groups just take longer to make decisions. New businesses need to move quick as it is far to easy to lose momentum and interest in a fledgling business.
[quote]challer1 wrote:
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
Interesting responses guys thanks. I’m in the planning stage right now so the tax stuff can probably hold off for a bit. It’s a fitness product that I’m trying to sell, primarily online and locally at outdoor markets.
To be honest, it looks like I’m a little out of my depth and should read a business textbook first. Any recommendations for a good text to get me started?[/quote]
I make a living selling things online. It is actually not that difficult and there are a lot of options available to you. I am going to assume you have all your local laws and regulations handled.
I would recommend not wasting your time reading business textbooks. Textbooks by default tend to contain some of the driest and least useful information of all time. Books by individual authors on the other hands who do not have to submit to the authority of some nebulous regulatory authority do have some merit… but even then these are outdated quickly in the internet age.
Above all though, remember that the internet moves FAST. The stuff you are reading in a book is already outdated. Instead, I recommend browsing around Facebook ads and Google ads for fitness-related products and check out the people who are advertising. This will give you a good idea of what a nice landing page looks like and most importantly what offers are profitable.
After all, people do not spend money on ads that do not make them money and pay per click (PPC) traffic allows you to make very accurate ROI calculations. If you’ve seen the same ad appear twice in a 1 month span on the same site, you know that ad is making the advertiser money and that their product/website combo is a winning combination. Reverse engineer this and apply what you learn to your own product - there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Take ideas from all the best landing pages to create your own landing page / sales copy around your product. Get a nice looking website made at elance.com for like $500. Go to www.ejunkie.com and get a cheap shopping car to act as your payment processor. There you have it, a custom e-commerce website that processes credit card and paypal payments for only $500 and a few % of each sale.
Once your site is set up to your liking and you have some product to sell, you should start using pay-per-click (PPC). Use a very small budget at first and stick to Facebook in particular. Facebook ads are undervalued and better at promoting to a new audience than google ads.
From here, split test your website, tweaking small bits of sales copy, changing the design, adding video, changing the pricing structure, etc until you can operate profitably. From here, scale up the PPC budget and you now have a successful internet business.
Once you have a really good copy and sales pitch and a proven sales track record, you can look to move into stores. You can also start a youtube channel or blog and start creating free content with the aim of promoting your product (i.e. free workout plans using your equipment).
I’d question the need for a bunch of friends getting in on the project though right from the start. Starting an online business is a 1-2 person project and without major connects and no track record your product is not going to start appearing on shelves at the local Wal-Mart.
You’re going to sink your ship before it ever floats if you start promising a portion of revenue to a bunch of different parties… plus big groups just take longer to make decisions. New businesses need to move quick as it is far to easy to lose momentum and interest in a fledgling business.[/quote]
Really interesting, thank you very much for posting. At this point it looks like a 1 person project, which I prefer actually.
[quote]Anonymity wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]Anonymity wrote:
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
[quote]Anonymity wrote:
A small piece of advice from being in the entrepreneurial world:
Always always always always always make sure you are protecting your idea/product. People will try to fuck you in any way they can.
ALWAYS.
Other than that, best of luck.[/quote]
O’rly? Explain.[/quote]
It’s too long of a story to get into but
Patents, contracts, proprietary information, licensing, make sure everything is in check if you are courting or entering negotiations with a business partner.
Some would love to steal your tech and run with it.[/quote]
Oh…so you’re the person that makes every person that comes into their office sign a NDA?[/quote]
I would much rather have an NDA or rigid contract than a stolen idea/product that will cripple the business.
[/quote]
NDA’s don’t hold up in court, very well. I say very well, because I suppose if you don’t have a competent lawyer and you break an NDA you might have to go to court.
[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
Per the space Jew’s post above, you really shouldn’t talk about stuff you don’t know about.[/quote]
I should probably pay better attention, but I don’t see that Jewbacca said I was wrong. He made a distinction and clarified. We were talking about two slightly different things and he caught on before we both saw.
I read your post, move to a business-friendly state, with no [corporate] income tax. That makes zero sense without more knowledge on his particular business (what if his company needs to be in Maine or for heaven’s sake California) besides for the benefit of registration I said it was unnecessary to move the business there, just register it in that state.
So, please don’t assume I don’t know what I am talking about when you do not know me. And, maybe some manners all around.
Anyway, regards.
BC.