Business and Marketing Guide

September 24, 2024
  1. Do not hire other people to do everything for you. This is a sure way to go broke and not know why.
  2. You have to know the core skills related to your business industry to be able to hire and scale down the line. If you are building houses and you know nothing about the process, you will never know if you are getting ripped off or if anything is being done right. If you get all services for the cheapest price, your product will be cheap and you will have little repeat business. Learn to provide some of the services yourself.
  3. Never over-brag. Those who talk about how good business is are usually doing poorly, and those that constantly complain are usually doing well. When business is good, there are many hiccups and problems on a daily basis. If there are no problems, it means there is no business.
  4. Assume everything you get offered is a scam unless proven not to be.
  5. Never name your price; ask them for their budget first.
  6. If investing, invest in real estate. Buy the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood if you plan to live in it for a while. If you are planning to fix it up and rent it out, buy a 2/3-bed, one-bathroom house and convert it to a two-bathroom house, as people will pay a lot more to have that extra bathroom, and it will cost you little to install.
  7. Creating freely is a right that is earned. You must create things you may not want to do for a while to one day be able to choose.
  8. Do not be afraid to ask. Reach out to business owners and people in your area who are experts in fields you lack. You'll be surprised how many professionals have no one coming to them to learn from them with immense respect for their work. No CEO will knock you down for just starting your small business, but an employee is more likely to. Anyone who has built a big business has at one point owned a small business, and they understand your position. People who haven't gone through this process don't want you to succeed because it proves their worldview wrong. Those who have built businesses want to help you and see you win, as it helps attract talent to the industry.
  9. Pick a job you are willing to do for free and do it until you are known as the man who does that job. If you are the best at something you will live comfortably, even the best clown in the world is paid.
  10. For example, when I wanted to get into advertising, I made free print ad posters for small brick-and-mortar retail stores near my college. In return for the free ad design and printing, I would ask for a small space at the bottom to put my website. This link at the bottom of the ads gave me credibility and allowed me to pitch to other stores, showing them my work in person. The trust was instantly boosted, and they assumed it was paid work.
  11. Be agile. Once you make a business plan, it is important to stick to the general plan of where you are going, but the "how" may need to change along the way. Be flexible, try new things, and if they don't work, pivot back. Flexibility is key while staying on course toward your ultimate goal.
  12. Write down where you want to be in 20 years, then plot backward how to get there.
  13. Assume you'll never sell your business and will make a solid salary of $5k a month, no matter how big it scales. What business would you like to run under those conditions? If you’d still enjoy it, that’s a good sign. If you're only thinking about the exit, you may not be truly passionate about the business itself.
  14. There are two ways to do things:
    • Find what is in demand and figure out how to supply it.
    • Figure out what you can supply and find a way to make people demand it.
  15. Patience is key. Long-term success is always better than short-term.
  16. Simple works. Start simple and do it well. Avoid overcomplicating designs or techniques when you haven't mastered them.
  17. Business isn’t a skill, it’s a way of life. Turn a skill you already possess into a business. Building businesses involves learning specific skills, but business itself is a lifestyle.
  18. Get a fresh perspective. If you're stuck creatively, ask a friend or potential customer for their honest reaction.
  19. Trust your own style. If your style works for you and resonates with clients, stick with it—even if professionals critique it.
  20. Don’t try to follow what's cool today. You’ll always be playing catch-up. Think 7 years ahead.
  21. Take pieces of things that already work and combine them in new ways. Most innovations build on existing ideas.
  22. Build a brand through human interaction. A strong brand is built through personal connections and community involvement.
  23. Be at the right place all the time. The more you show up, the luckier you get.
  24. A logo should be simple yet unique. Iconic logos like Nike or Apple are memorable without being complicated.
  25. Change your mindset from "need" to "want." In your head, literally change the word need to want when thinking about your workload.
  26. Abuse free tools.
  27. Try to blend in when entering a new industry—copy the best.