Does Anybody Else Feel Like When It Rains It Pours? - This might be a really dumb question but after my experiences recently I've come to feel like for some reason when it comes to being an entrepreneur there's almost this crazy domino effect that seems to take place. It ... See More could all just be a coincidence or the effect of setting multiple things into action but take my most recent experience since leaving the company I worked for. I left and started my own SEO company and things were barebone dry. I had spent hours upon hours calling to companies who might be interested, sent out thousands of emails to no reply, and worked through social media groups day and night just to even get a conversation that would go past "Hey my name is...." and for the longest time I had absolutely nothing as nobody was willing to deal with me or even hear me out. Then just like I mentioned in my last post, I landed my first client and it almost seems that the world has begun to turn in my favor. Since landing that client I'm not sure if I'm speaking differently, standing a little taller, or whatever it is but I've been able to book my next 5 meetings with potential clients whereas before I couldn't even get people to hear me out. Now am I saying that all of them are going to sign, But it is a huge step from where I was previously and I'm not sure if this is a similar feeling for anybody else but it almost feels like when it rains it pours because the tides are changing in my favor and hopefully I can continue to ride this wave and make a real living for myself doing something I enjoy. But does anyone else feel similar to this?
Where to make rich friends? - I'm starting to realize that to get rich, one needs to hang out with rich people but I'm not sure where to meet them. The only places I can think of are Silicon Valley and New York (no I don't know where in New ... See More York they are).Why have rich friends?- If they didn't make the money themselves, they at least know people who did can learn from them- They're the ideal customer because they can pay more for the same productEdit: This post generated a very interesting conversation. Thank you all for sharing your insight. Of course, the friendship would come first before that fact they are rich. My apologies if someone found this crude.
I sold 2 micro startups in 2023—here's what I learned - I used to believe a $300 MRR startup was worth nothing. I was so wrong….* In March 2023, I sold my first startup GameWidget: $80 MRR for $4,300.* 3 weeks ago, I sold my second startup Habits Garden: $450 ... See More MRR for $10,000.Your weekend project can change your life. Let’s talk about what it’s worth and how to sell it.​# ValuationStartup valuation can be very complicated. I’m going to assume we’re alike:* You’re a solopreneur or have a co-founder* Building software, AI tools, or mobile apps (no info products)* Shooting for 5/6/7 figures valuation (no unicorn)* Low operating cost (hosting, OpenAI credits, etc.) Here’s the over-simplified formula to calculate your project worth: **Valuation = Annualised Revenue x 3** Let’s take a few examples:* A habits tracker with $300 MRR could be sold for $10,800 (300x12x3)* A logo maker with AI launched 3 months ago and made $4,000 so far could be sold for $12,000 (4,000x3)Note that Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) can be extrapolated to a year for the habit tracker but the one-time payments for the logo maker with AI can’t. You can dive deeper into startup valuation. I don’t. It gets overwhelming and gaining 5% here or there isn’t worth the hustle. I’d rather build more apps. Imagine you grow a weekend project to $1,000 MRR… **You have a 2-year pass to quit your job, move to Bali, and build apps full-time.** Congrats. # Is it time to sell? It’s a tough question. For me, it comes down to 3 criteria: * Can I 10x the revenue in a year?* Do I care about the market?* Do I need money right now? It’s tempting to enjoy a juicy $500 recurring revenue. But keep in mind that every abandoned business goes to 0 quickly. When you sell a startup, you get temporary financial freedom (and less stress) along with more time to focus on a new project. ​# The acquisition process You made up your mind, listed your startup, and got interested buyers. What’s going to happen if someone decides to buy? **1. Paperwork** First, you’ll do boring paperwork like signing a Letter Of Intent (LOI) and an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA). The latter is a summary of what’s going to be bought, like your Intellectual Property (IP), marketing assets (like a Facebook page), etc. You might also sign a non-compete agreement. Just make sure it’s not too broad and allows you to build apps you care about. Platforms like Acquire will do the paperwork for you. You don’t have to read 20 pages of boredness, ask ChatGPT to explain like I’m 5 to make sure you know what you’re signing. If you don’t use Acquire, ChatGPT is also really good at making the paperwork for you. **2. Payment** Second, the buyer will secure a payment through a third party like Escrow. Once the money is secured, you have to send the assets to the buyer. **3. Transfer** Lastly, transfer the domain name, database, credentials, etc (more on that below). The buyer will inspect everything and tell Escrow to move forward with payment. Congrats, you got acquired! # How to transfer the assets Some platforms don’t allow you to transfer assets. For instance, you can’t transfer an AWS S3 bucket, a Mailgun email-sending domain, or a Google Cloud Console project. Should you give your credentials and move on? I wouldn’t. Chances are you use these platforms for other projects and sending your credentials isn’t an option. In that case, explain it to the buyer and ask him/her to create his own account/API keys. # Tips to sell faster​* Ditch buyers asking a million questions. If they’re highly skeptical, they won’t buy and you’re losing your time* It all comes down to trust so build your startups in public: you don’t know it yet but potential buyers are following you and can wire the money to your bank account without asking much (that was the case when I sold Habits Garden). You also save the platforms’ listing fee (4% on Acquire, for instance)* Don’t be afraid to follow up and tell buyers you need an answer within 3 days.* If you’re selling on Acquire, ensure your listing is 100% ready before publishing. All buyers on the platform will be notified within 24 hours when most opportunities land.* If you’re selling on Acquire and no one is interested after a month, lower your price a bit. Acquire tends to lift your listing up when significant edits are made. Selling your side project can give you the mental clarity to work harder on your solopreneurship journey. Dive in!
Who here has gotten “rich” off a business while working a 9-5 at the same time? - What was ur schedule?? How long did it take??What was your day to day routine?? How much free time did you have to invest in your business?? If you could go back what ... See More would you have done differently?? Thanks!
Friend Offered to sell me their motel, need advice - Older friend wants to sell me his 28-room motel near a summer resort area for 1.3 mil. He's operated it for 20+ years. 4 bedroom house comes with it.Per Room Cost|His Offer|Motels Nearby|Hotels Nearby||:-|:-|:-||46,428| 41-50,000|55-60,000|His current yearly dedicated income is ... See More his weekly rentals. The other 14 he daily/weekend rents.His costs he ran down were: \- Property tax \- Gas, electric, water, sewer, trash, cable \- Flood, building, and liability insurance \- Linens|Time|Income|Expenses||:-|:-|:-||Weekly (14 rooms)|4,410|1,811||Yearly (14 rooms)|229,320|94,200|​Weekly each room earns $315/week or $16,380/year. If I focus on the weekly model only accounting for increased expenses on items that would increase due to more demand:​|Occupancy Rate|Yearly Income|Expenses||:-|:-|:-||50% (14/28)|229,320|94,200||60% (16/28)|262,080|123,960||70% (19/28)|311,200|128,920||80% (22/28)|360,360|133,880||90% (25/28)|409,500|138,840||100% (28/28)|458,640|143,800|​Example SBA 504 loan calc:|Sale Price|10% Down|Loan|Rate @ 25yrs||:-|:-|:-|:-||1,300,000|130,000|1,170,000|6.808%|​|Monthly payment|Yearly payment||:-|:-||8,127|97,519| Cashflow Model with SBA factored in:|Occupancy Rate |Yearly Income|Expenses + SBA 504|Cash flow on motel only|\+48k/yr for house rental||:-|:-|:-|:-|:-||50% (14/28)|229,320|191,719|37,601|85,601||60% (16/28)|262,080|221,479|40,641|88,641||70% (19/28)|311,200|226,439|84,761|132,761||80% (22/28)|360,360|231,399|128,961|176,961||90% (25/28)|409,500|236,359|173,141|221,141||100% (28/28)|458,640|241,319|217,321|265,321|I have \~200k liquid and \~600k home. No mortgages or outstanding loans. 700 credit, but bankruptcy 2014. My income is around 60k/yr before taxes. I am handy (I've renovated homes before) and I don't mind that this is like buying a job. The cash flow would allow me to purchase other properties. I think this is a good step for me, but I ask you guys.2 simple question: your thoughts and what am I missing? Edit: This is why I love you guys! I saw all the upside but didn’t account for every risk. I’m reading every comment at least a couple of times and weighing the options.SBA originator said that even if the business has been active for over 20 years, me coming in with little to no experience, they treat it as a startup.They did say though I would be qualified initially.Yes, the price is too high for me to risk my money on this thing. I’m waiting for the books and tax returns as well. Right now, it’s a 60% no, 40% yes. If the price drops and I get details, it might sway me.Again, everyone, thanks for your feedback!
My business turns five next month. It's doing 23K MRR. This is how our MRR looked like over the years: - \- 6 months: $900 \- 12 months: 2.7K \- 18 months: 5.5K \- 24 months: 7.2K \- 30 months: 9K \- 36 months: 11K \- 42 months: 11K \- ... See More 48 months: 14K \- 54 months: 18K \- 60 months: 23K Stay in the game! Don't quit This is my business: http://simpleanalytics.com
My coworker sells money to people! - Quick story about having the audacity. My coworker is a career doorman that works on Billionaires Row. Fairly weird guy, he speaks and sings to himself constantly but hey, you need something to pass the time. He recently took up origami specifically for ... See More dollar bills. He would make rings, shirts, ties, just about anything he could find instructions on. People would walk by or in and out of the building and he’d show them. He was soon exchanging a dollar for an origami’d dollar regularly. No profit, right? Eventually he came across the right people because one person liked the shirt so much, they asked him to make 20 of them and he would receive $20 for them. Then when the person came back to pick up the order, he showed her new designs. Some pants and a shirt with a tie. She fell in love. It just so happens she’s a high end fashion designer and thought they would make great gifts for her staff and investors. Now he is on commission to make dozens of them with $20 bills and she will double pay for any order he completes. He’s on the verge of signing a outside contractors agreement to do this for the foreseeable future. Lesson: Just because it seems stupid doesn’t mean someone isn’t willing to pay for it.