Selling art online can be a great way to start a business but there are also other things you need to consider. First, you should know that if you're selling your art on multiple platforms, your prices should be the same. This is because you don't want buyers finding out that you're selling at cheaper prices on other websites when they already bought it from you at a higher price. It could create disloyalty and you could lose the trust of your customers as they may feel cheated. Selling your art online means you also need management skills. You'll need to manage your own inventory and know which art pieces you'll need to create more. You also need to gain an audience and attract customers. Many people can do this on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Starting an art business means you need to write a business plan and need to know how to market to your customers. You may want to research what type of art is trending such as abstract or modern and you can create your own art with let's say a bit of modernization. You can also look to put your art on merchandise such as putting your art on a t-shirt, hat, tote bags, etc.
Knowing how to create your product and manage it is important, but what is also important to know is how to gather feedback and implement it. One way to gather feedback is by surveys. Surveys actually have many aspects that can make or break how they turn out. To make one most efficient, you should know what questions to ask and be concise. Using number scales is common, but you should know to keep the scale the same. You shouldn't change the definition of 1 to 5 for every question as it could cause misunderstandings. You can also opt for open-ended questions to gain more insight. In the end, you should know to only ask questions that follow up with your end goal.
Another way to gain insight can be by hosting interviews. Good interview questions are crucial to good feedback. Questions you can ask can be if your solution/product is helpful in your customer's everyday life and if they would ever recommend it to anyone. Whenever you receive an answer it is also a good idea to ask a follow-up question such as "why" to receive more insight. It's important to also be a good listener. In doing so, your customers may feel more listened to and are more prone to buying your products. With all the insight you may gather, you should always take action on it. This means to only add things that customers want and not "gold plate" your products.
Other than answering surveys and doing research for immediate income, you can do other various things. You can actually do many interesting things such as create greeting cards! You can submit your creative ideas for occasions such as birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. Companies usually pay you around $20-$50 for your creations, but they have to be reviewed and accepted. To gain ideas of what you should do you can visit sites such as Hallmark for ideas. Don't get too attached to your writing because once companies accept your idea or creation they buy the rights to it as well. Rejection may be common but that shouldn't be a reason you give up! The companies that are open to submissions are RSVP, Blue Mountain Arts, and Oatmeal Studios.
Another interesting thing you can do is become a mock juror. As a mock juror, you assist lawyers in their cases by giving your opinion or choice. Luckily, you don't need prior experience but cases don't tend to be very frequent. You can get paid from $5 - $60 an hour. Online sources that are open to mock jurors are OnlineVerdict and eJury. You can also get paid for being a scribe or transcribing for others. You can get paid to write accurate subtitles, correct subtitles, and just transcribe speech to text in general. However, there are many skills that you need to succeed in this. You need to be good at things such as grammar and accuracy. You should also be able to type fast enough to be able to keep up with a specific speech. A useful skill that you may have is being bilingual and being able to translate different languages. You may find your transcribing job on Rev, Scribie.com, CoTranscript, TranscribeMe, CastingWords, and Quicktate. Your salary may vary depending on how many words or how much time you spent transcribing. Some recruiting sites may also have you pass an examination that is required. Usually, the results of the exam determine your pay and if you even get the job in the first place. You may want to practice using audio of your own and practice typing at a faster and more efficient speed (most of the time there will be free online resources for you to practice).
There is a variety of ways you can earn income immediately. This means you do something such as a task and you get paid right after sort of like chores. Online, you can do many things such as taking surveys, proofreading for others, doing research, etc. The most common way and probably the easiest would be taking surveys. You can sign up for multiple online websites that have you answer surveys based on how old you are and your demographic. Most of the time, however, you need to be 18. You can also do things such as play games and critique them which serves as valuable information for the game developers. However, for every survey and critique you do, you don't earn as much as you would doing a 9-5 job. Think of it as a side hustle a way for you to earn nice gift cards with redeemable credits. Be aware that there are sites out there that try to scam you. You should never sign up for a website that claims that you need to pay a fee first, seems too good to be true, and are magically a member on their website (when you never signed up). Like looking for a job, you should know to do your research. Universities may sometimes offer you to do research or be part of their research. It's a good opportunity not only to gain experience but also you don't have to worry too much about being scammed if it's a well-known university.
Websites for Surveys
Example of Universities Looking for Research: Harvard, Stanford
Artificial intelligence is a broad term for many amazing things technology can do. Artificial intelligence is the ability of a machine to act out cognitive functions. Although simple, it is actually very complicated and involves absolute accuracy for an entire system of artificial intelligence to work. There are actually many branches of artificial intelligence:
1. Machine learning: demanding field that involves having a machine learn without being programmed
2. Neural work: similar to how our brain functions, neural work involves using a neural network of many algorithms and data to imitate a human brain (think neurology but for robots)
3. Robotics: a fun branch that consists of building a robot and knowing how to program one
4. Expert systems: systems built for highly complex problems that are extremely responsive and reliable
5. Fuzzy logic: a technique that creates reasoning and uncertainty by measuring the degree to which a hypothesis is correct (think of statistics)
6. Natural language processing: is a part of computer science and artificial intelligence that creates the bridge of communication between robots and humans using natural language
Seeing that there are many branches that may fit your interests, you can actually get these kinds of jobs even without a degree! Of course, you would need to know the basic skills such as advanced mathematics, programming, data structures, and algorithms of multiple learning machines. The recommended courses you could take are Andrew Ng's course or MIT 's machine learning with python course. Additionally, you can use Edx to learn advanced mathematics such as linear algebra, statistics, and calculus. As for the computer science-related skills you can use Leetcode. You can also gain experience by participating in machine learning competitions. It's a great way to not only see how you can get better but surround yourself with an environment of learning machines. You can go to networking events, attend boot camps, attend hackathons, etc. It is helpful to gain connections as you'll need an internal referral for your job applications especially if you don't have a degree. Be bold and email recruiters directly but remember to be professional. Although chances are slim, you can still try to apply online through online websites such as Indeed. Of course, if you're on the track of or planning to get a degree in this field, your job search should be easier. Salaries range from $89k annually to $188k annually.
You can sell your products on many different platforms or you can make your own domain. There are many pros and cons to both options. However, it may be easier to start off by selling on other platforms such as eBay, Amazon, and Etsy. This is because these platforms already have a large network of buyers that are willing to buy from their websites as they already gained the trust of the public. In other words, your own website may not have that amount of buyers or have the trust factor that you need to be successful. Although selling on other platforms may seem like the better choice, making your own website is a good choice too. Selling on other websites may cause people to use your product and still be able to send them back for refunds. On your own website, you make your own policies although it may be tedious to manage.
When your product is ordered you need to know the right steps to ship your item out. You should make sure your packaging is secure as well as safe for the item inside. This means that your packaging should have paddings such as styrofoam or bubble wrap especially if your product is fragile. You may even consider packaging your product in multiple boxes. If styrofoam or bubble wrap is too expensive you can use old newspapers to provide padding. Things such as art don't need a whole box, instead, you should use an envelope and maybe cardboard to make sure your art doesn't bend. There are precautions such as never using packaged peanuts for electronic items.
Screen printing is a way to customize your own products, most commonly shirts. You can order yourself a simple kit to start or you could make your own screen! Kits come with all the basic necessities such as a pre-built screen, various inks, a scrapper, and photo emulsion as well as photo emulsion remover. However, if you want to challenge yourself you can make your own screen. You start by obtaining wood pieces and cutting them into four even pieces. It is recommended to use screws or nails rather than glue as glue takes a lot of patience. When using screws or nails you want to make sure that you use two of each for every connection to prevent any turning. You also want to make sure that your spreader fits into the rectangle that you have just made. If it doesn't you can use at home things such as a plastic gift card or a spatula. Next, you want to get a type of fabric that is similar to the material used in wedding veils. They're actually very cheap online for a large quantity. You want to make sure your fabric fits around your frame and it's okay if there are any wrinkles. You can use a staple gun of additional nails to secure the fabric onto the frame. Afterward, you want to cut off any remaining fabric that may be around the frame. Again, it is completely normal if there are any wrinkles as long as the fabric is tight. You can now start creating your design on any software that can type or create your design. You can also search on the internet for cool fonts with a personality to make your design better. An important thing is to make sure your design is in the color black. This is because photo emulsion hardens when in presence of light. In order for your design to transfer onto your screen, your design should be black so that light doesn't go through and the photo emulsion doesn't harden where your design is. By this time, you should spread your emulsion onto your screen spreading it in a thin layer in a dark environment. Then, you want to print your logo onto transparent paper that only prints through a laser printer (make sure you have the right printer) and lay it back onto your frame. Using a slab of glass under light, your photo emulsion will harden and create your logo in places where it isn't hardened. You typically want to leave it to try for 4-6 hours, but not for too long because light can eventually leak through your logo and harden the emulsion in places you don't want. When you wash it under a sink, the emulsion should only be coming off where your logo is supposed to let ink through. If you're not happy with your creation you can use photo emulsion remover to remove the emulsion and try and transfer the design again.
Today I learned that recycling goes beyond just a blue disposable container and more than just water bottles or cans. You can actually recycle old devices such as old computers, old mobile chargers, old phones, old batteries, etc. You can create many practical things and here are my favorites from spiceworks.com:
1. Drink dispenser from an old computer case
2. Cat or dog bed from old computer screen
3. Magazine/ bookshelf from old computer screen
4. Cute message gifts from old computer keys
5. Clipboards from old circuit boards
6. Fridge magnets from old computer keys
7. Guitar picks from an old circuit board
There are plenty of other things you can make from your "junk". You may even create it into a business. I also learned that you can actually restore your things at home. You can restore things such as an antique radio or an old DVD player. However, doing these things are a lot more complicated than they seem. You need to go into the machines and re-wire them which takes a lot of knowledge. Although hard, you can start practicing right now with old machines that may be in your house. Once you get comfortable with it (because practice makes perfect) you may make it a business! For example, you can appeal to people who really enjoy antique, old, or retro things. Just like creating a drink dispenser from old computer parts, you can recycle and restore antique things, possibilities are endless.
Today I learned about different software you can use for your potential laser cutting business. The one I found that provided the best was Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator offers many unique tools that are both innovative and simple to use. You can use tools that can make being precise pretty easy. You start off by sketching and then contributing lines and shapes with tools. One unique tool that I found interesting was being able to select multiple points of your work and being able to manipulate them from the chosen points. From there, you're also able to use coloring tools and create vibrantly looking products. For making things like logos, there is also a tool in which you can pick from a variety of fonts that will ensure you find the right one. With these tools, you can create many things not just drawing or art. You can also create unique logos for either your own business or make them for other businesses for profits!
Similar to 3D printing, you can use laser cutting to create your own unique products. However, it is different in various ways. First, laser cutting may be a bit easier than 3D printing as you're practically cutting and engraving things rather than having to shape something from practically nothing. There are many materials you can use to create your laser-cut products that vary depending on what you want to make. You can use software such as Ponoko to create what you want to laser cut. Ponoko allows you to stay organized and create unique products using tools such as line engraving, area engraving, and cutting. It can be complicated as you have to keep track of the lines you create as well as how thick or thin they are. Ponoko also offers materials that you can buy off their website. In all, you can make amazing things from laser cutting such as unique clock designs, coasters, etc. to make products that your customers may want. Remember to always ask yourself questions that could help your business grow such as what is trending these days?
There are many platforms on which you can create whatever you want. However, there may be specific platforms for specific things. For example, TinkerCad is a free resource you can use to create things like animals. There are many tools that can help you shape whatever you think of. Additionally, Blender is ideal for "curvy blobby" shapes. You can basically mold what you want using the tools provided. You can also create shapes that aren't even in geometry such as 3D shapes with many jagged short and long edges. Similarly, you can use Autodesk Meshmixer and be your own sculptor. It is easier to use than the other platforms, therefore, you may want to use it as a beginner's tool. In the end, you should use your creativity to create whatever you can imagine but also keep in mind to think of brainstorming questions if you ever want to make a profit off your creations. Also, keep in mind the time it may take to create things as it may be beneficial to simplify what you have in mind.
Creating your own custom crafts is a great way to start a business (if you're creative enough). There is little risk other than the time it may take and the money it takes to buy your own materials. When first trying to come up with ideas you should ask yourself various questions. These are some questions you may ask yourself:
Another thing to consider is the amount of time and resources that you may need. Resources are actually separated into two categories: tooling items and consumable items. Tooling items are items that you buy once such as machinery that you can continuously use. Consumable items are items you'll need to buy over and over again such as the materials used to make your own craft. You also need to know the risk factors. Become your own devil's advocate and find any weak areas that can cause your whole plan to go upside down.
3D Products
Today we have the technology to practically create whatever we want. It could be a 3D dragon, fairy, goblin, etc. You can use a 3D printer and print anything you want in any color. However, the 3D printing machine is expensive and the material it uses to print is expensive as well. This would mean that you should only print things in high command or things that follow today's trends. If you don't know what is trendy these days you can also do custom orders where customers will tell you what they want. Additionally, you can charge an extra fee if they choose to want to customize a product that you're already printing. You also have to note that 3D printers are bound to have technical errors and they may be frequent. You should plan ahead for the worst-case scenario. Thankfully, there are many types of software that are free to use for 3D printing where you can use tools and shapes to create what your heart desires.
Lean operations
Lean operations mean you only provide as many resources as you need for the immediate future. For example, Toyota buys enough parts for 100 cars every day to make 100 cars each day. However, there is a lack of redundancy. If you have too much inventory or you have invested too much time, it’s hard to turn back and change your product or go on a new path with your business. If you need to pivot it’s better to have less invested. This means the less you have invested the easier it is to walk away if something like your business fails. In a business, the biggest spend businesses are employees. This means you can make more money by spending less on employees. For example, you can hire someone from a different country for less salary but the same amount of work. On the topic of employees, you shouldn’t be cheap about resources for your employees, if your employees don’t have a good time at the office they won’t want to work. In the end, you can scale your business easier if your business is lean
You want to make sure people want what you’re adding to your product. When you do this, this is known as gold plating. You shouldn’t add a new function to a car if no one wants it because it could be inconvenient. You should start small as your product is proven as a minimally viable product, not gold plated, and lean operated (those three things are very important). If you start too big, things can go sour and you may actually prevent your business from starting. On the other hand, starting small makes it easier to pivot and provides little risk.
Angel Investors and Venture Capitals
Ways to get money for your start-up is to find an angel investor. Angel investors expect you to be very profitable. They want you to tell them that you’re going to give them back at least 20% more than they offer you. An interesting fact is that angel investors actually expect 8/10 businesses to fail when they invest. That means you have to see who is most likely to invest in you. You want to show that you can return a lot. Things like just sending an executive summary with a cold connection most likely won’t work because it seems like you put in small effort. One thing you want to do is to form a connection first. You can either form mutual connections and ask for an introduction or figure out where they are in a public fashion and meet them. They usually do panels and lectures and meet them as an attendee but do not pitch in just as you see them. Instead, do your research and find common ground to talk about. If they enjoy the conversation with you it’ll most likely work
Another way to obtain money of funding is seed funding given by angel investors. A seed round is around 50k to 1.5 million dollars that angle investors give you to start your business. They will give you more money to access more ownership in different rounds of money. Additionally, you can venture capital which is 2 million dollars and up. Venture capital comes from a company similar to an angel investor but with a group of people who have money. Venture capitalists will invest a large amount of money that they will divide into different companies in the hopes of at least one being successful. Similarly, they still expect a lot from you such as regular reports. Additionally, both investors can help you make connections.
Branding is a multi-stage process in which you get to show off and represent your company in many different ways. First, find a unique brand that doesn’t infringe on any trademarks or copyrights meaning you have to be the first to think of it. In other words, you should be prepared to have a unique available name. Next, you should prepare to go through the process of registering a trademark to make it your own. Similarly, domain names are also names that should be unique as you also don’t want to infringe on someone else’s trademark.
You should also acquire a company email. Your company email can simply be created on the website your company is running on (domain registrar), a 3rd party email provider like Gmail, or a separate hosting company. Also, creating a nice and catchy slogan can actually help your company a lot. If your slogan is perfect, people will remember it and feel inspired to support your company. There are online slogan generators that can help you create an unforgettable slogan. An appealing fun logo can also work the same as a catchy slogan. There are many things to consider such as specific design and correct colors. Correct colors mean colors that make sense in your logo, colors that represent your company the best. For example, if you're running a sophisticated business you may want to use neutral colors instead of neon colors. You can create your brand logo at places like Wix logo maker. You can put your logo on things like t-shirts, bags, and cards for your company merchandise which can result in publicity and income. However, you should be wary of obtaining logos from unreputable sources such as a freelancer on Fiverr to create your logo. These cheap services may get you in trouble as they could rip off other logos to make the logo you paid for making you liable for copyright infringement. In the contrary to cheap services, you can hire a professional designer. Although it may cost you a lot of money, they can create the best logo while incorporating your visions.
A mission statement is crucial to telling people what you represent as a company. It can attract not only customers but also potential employees and investors. Although not commonly used now, you can have something such as a letterhead. A letterhead should consist of your logo, brand name, and slogan on the top and then contact information following it on the bottom. Business cards are essential to a company. It’s important to have business cards to be able to network and create connections. They should have clear and large fonts on them with a person's name, company name and logo, their position/title to the company, company URL, and contact information like an email or phone number. You can also include neat technology such as a QR code. Other things you can include can be an image of you or the company slogan. Lastly, create a beautiful website that helps customers navigate through your business. It should display company information in an appealing matter that makes sense. This means if you’re a sophisticated company your website shouldn’t look like a kids' website. You can create a website on platforms such as Wix. Wix is a great website that simplifies the website building process a little and doesn’t require any coding knowledge to use.
Profit Models
You should generally know how to make money off your start-up before you actually start. Don't start a business based on "if" statements. For example, don't depend on statements such as "if I get this amount of customers I'll make a profit". You need to be concrete and certain about how you're going to make your profits. It's important to know how many customers you need. It is also as equally important to know what your customers want and how much time you have to dedicate to them in order for them to feel satisfied. You can profit in various ways such as creating a community that people would want to pay to have access to. Additionally, you can make money off of advertising for others on your own platform. A common way to sell your product is by first offering the majority of it for free and then having premium content that people would want to pay for (freemium model). However, it is much harder than it sounds as you need to build a community of consumers that want to support your product. Another way is to provide a subscription service which oftentimes people refer to it as the "holy grail". Usually, people continuously pay for your subscription resulting in a semi-consistent source of income.
Revenue Models
There are four things you should focus on when it comes to revenue models. these four things are market, competition, value proposition, product propositioning, and cost structures. Additionally, there are a few things to remember about revenue models. You should remember that you can have multiple revenue streams and models, customers and consumers may be different, and revenue impacts all areas of business.
Types of Revenue Models:
How to Persuade People
In the world of business, you have to influence people to buy your product or service. In order to do that you have to figure out what people want. With that information, you should either give it to them or at least teach them how to get what they want. Sometimes, some people are satisfied with mediocrity and not high-end things, but everyone wants to feel like they have a purpose and want to feel important. If you can target the fact that people need to feel important, you have the power to persuade them. However, understanding others is a hard task if you don't even understand yourself. Therefore, you should understand yourself and your needs before attempting to do the same for others.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
Hard skills are skills that are required for a job. For example, if you're a chef a hard skill you have to know is how to cook and if you're a programmer a hard skill you have to know is how to code. On the other hand, soft skills are interpersonal skills such as teamwork and communication. Hard skills are easy to develop as they are taught in places such as school. However, soft skills are harder to develop (ironically) as some people may have a harder time developing good communication than others, it is not necessarily taught but something that is adapted. Lastly, hard skills can be displayed on resumes as something like a diploma shows your hard skills. On the contrast, employers may need to interview you or evaluate your work to see your soft skills as they can't really be displayed on a piece of paper.
CEO Lifestyle
Being a CEO or a manager can be stressful as your job has many demanding tasks. Many people with that responsibility need to stay organized. Every day, you'll receive calls and have to go to meetings. In order to attend all of those meetings, it is advised to keep an organized calendar and schedule. You can also keep a journal to jot down ideas or feelings, Outside of work, it is recommended to journal or meditate to separate yourself from all the stress. Additionally, both physical and mental health is important. You can try and cram your work for an extra hour to go to the gym and when you leave work you can spend time with your co-workers doing something fun like going out to dinner. It is important to keep a good relationship with your co-workers since they impact the work that is being done. As the CEO, you should always debrief with them and maybe have meetings weekly. For example, you can organize something called an executive committee every Monday where you catch up with the executives on your team to make sure your business is up to date.
Starting Up a Business
A common misconception when starting a business is to try and build your product right away. You shouldn't do that because it's similar to diving into unknown waters. What you should do first is gather a team. You should be more than a one-person business and your teammates should work well with you. This means your team combined should fill in all the cracks of your product. As an example, you should know how to make the product while your teammate should know how to sell it. Next, you want to create an executive summary. What an executive summary does is it shows who you are as a business, what your business does or sells, and how you're going to sell it. In this summary, you should display your strongest points first and then your weakest. You will also need to discuss who your team is in no more than a paragraph where you should try and display their strengths. It is important to know the network that your product is related to. That way, you can easily find investors that can potentially fund your business. However, if for whatever reason they don't want to invest in your business and they tell you why you should listen. It is better to have your business fail early so that your net idea is better and you have a head start because you learned from previous mistakes.
Working remotely as a job can seem easy on the outside, but is more complicated than you think. When working at home, you're working in your own space. It is important to have a proper working space with no distractions. In your own home, distractions can be like a dog or a family member and it is important to set boundaries. Working remotely can oftentimes feel lonely. You can create a portable workplace at local places such as coffee shops to surround yourself in an environment where you don't feel isolated. You can create a portable workplace with a laptop, good headphones, and a charger.
Aside from an efficient workplace of your own, you should also communicate well with your co-workers and your boss. Working at home basically means you're in charge of your own work. You should be transparent with those working with you and keep in contact with them. It is important to know how to communicate through phone, email, and online messaging platforms. On the topic of ways to communicate, you should also let others know what the best way to reach you is. You should also set boundaries and let them know what times you won't reply to things such as emails unless it is urgent. You should always keep in contact with your boss on how they want things done in so that your work is up to par. You should also know to communicate with co-workers so that you're all on the same page and in what form to communicate (never assume). You wouldn't want time-sensitive tasks to be done late causing a whole project to be late. When there are meetings know to be a good listener and observer. Additionally, you should plan phone calls and meetings because sometimes random phone calls from people can be a waste of your productivity.
Lastly, know that everything is your responsibility. It is important to organize what your day will look like. If you don't organize well, you may forget important things or time-sensitive things. Make sure to create connections early on to build trust. Trust is important for collaborative work to ensure you don't micromanage your co-workers. You want to trust them so that you don't have to contact them or remind them every second to specifically do something. It can be annoying to both you and a co-worker. Whenever there is conflict, try and embrace it. You should always confront the issue in a positive light to find a solution. Be an active listener to find out what's wrong and mutually come up with a solution. Working remotely, means you have to work with others who aren't always there like they would be in person. Know the difference between synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous just means in real time which is best for time-sensitive things and asynchronous for less timely things.
Your resume is an important part of your job search. A good resume with a good cover letter can score you an interview opportunity. However, what makes a good resume and cover letter? First off, your cover letter should be short and concise. You should be able to express how badly you want the job opening while not telling the employer or company too much about yourself. You want to express that you're qualified while also making them want to know more about you. On your resume, you want to be as detailed as possible as well as unique. You shouldn't list generic things about yourself such as "hardworking" because it makes you look like everybody else's resume. Be unique, come up with unique traits that are strong enough to make the company want to hire you. If you end up scoring an interview you should know to look professional and be prepared. One of the many ways you can be prepared is to do good research on the company you're applying for. Although simple, you should be prepared to answer generic questions such as "why do you want to work here", "what are your hobbies", etc. You should know their values and align with them. Additionally, be an active listener, you never want to be caught off guard and be asked something about the conversation. Also, note that in an interview you can ask questions too. Make yourself sound dedicated to the company. One last tip is to ask for opportunities. Even Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, agrees that you never get opportunities unless you ask.
Everyone wants to become rich and successful, but many don't realize what they have to do. A lot of people want to rush to achieve their goals and only focus on their goals. However, you should focus on the journey and realize that success does not happen overnight. You need to crave the long journey it will take and work hard. You shouldn't focus on multiple things but focus on one main thing. Never compare yourself to others, you should only worry about yourself. The time you spend wasting your time comparing yourself to others is time wasted on your success. In order to achieve your goal, you'll most likely have to sacrifice many things. Things such as buying yourself new trendy things or things you want. You should also never buy things that are impractical like continuously buying a new car. The key is to buy smart and buy value to resell. Remember to "work smarter not always harder" but you still have to work hard. One way you can be smart is to always ask for things you want such as a job. People are more prone to hire you if you express that you want the job. You'll never get the things you want until you ask for them. Therefore, look at things in the long term, in order to become successful, you have to focus on the journey in innovative ways.
Elon Musk's Tips
Three Ways to Start a Company
1. Technology Push: having a solution for a problem
2. Market Pull: having an idea of a solution for a known problem in a known market
3. Passion: although having passion is not enough to start a business, it is important to have passion for what you're striving for (in order for passion to turn into a business it needs to join hands with either technology push or market pull)
Six Myths About Entrepreneurs
1. Smartest and highest achieving people (they actually only dedicate themselves to one subject rather than multiple, they may be the smartest at one thing but not all)
2. Entrepreneurs are individuals (they need teams, data shows that people work better in teams)
3. Born not made (there is no data that proves entrepreneurs come from parents who are also entrepreneurs)
4. Risks (you can de-risk and take advantage of that)
5. Charisma (it has nothing to do with charisma)
6. Entrepreneurs are undisciplined (it's actually essential for them to be disciplined)
There are many ways to save money when travelling or not use money at all. One of these ways is using the platform called couch traveller. Couch traveller allows you to reside in other people's homes when travelling and you in return can also host travellers. You can also do some work in exchange for a place to stay. Another way to find places to stay when travelling is camping. When travelling, you'll need a way to transport. One way to transport without spending money (other than walking) is hitchhiking. There are many things to consider when hitchhiking, this includes:
1. Use common sense
2. Get out of the city and get ready to put up your thumb
3. You should look decent (ex. shaved) to prevent looking suspicious
4. Don't hitchhike during the night
5. Never hitchhike alone
6. Don't be emotional, be prepared for people to not stop for you
7. Make eye contact with drivers and make conversation
Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is someone who helps another person do whatever they want in exchange for a salary. These things include answering phone calls, finding the best flights, organizing meetings, etc. This career requires you to be comfortable with working under someone rather than being a boss or CEO of a company. There are many skills you should adopt or improve to become a good virtual assistant. You should have good self-management. Without good self-management how are you going to manage another person's tasks? You should be good at organizing and bookkeeping. Oftentimes, the person you're working for may ask you to revise or make a schedule for them to follow. You should know how to content manage and know almost all the ins and outs of social media as they are crucial to campaigning to gain popularity for whatever it may be. It is also important to have good writing and proofreading skills to assist the person you're working for. Most of the time there may be documentation you are asked to look over or a social media post. Lastly, you should know how to input and organize data. There are many sites that could help you find a job as a virtual assistant. Recommended sites are belaysolutions.com, fancyhands.com, upwork.com, freelancer.com, and honeyhandbook.com. Lastly, there are even websites that offer free resources and training to be a virtual assistant.
Trademarks are a great way to make sure your content doesn't get stolen. Without a registered trademark, you may go through many troubles if your content gets stolen. A lawsuit without the presence of a trademark and trying to prove the content was originally from you would take a lot of time. Not to mention all the fees you would have to pay for a lawyer. There are many steps to making sure that your own creations don't get stolen and how ironically getting them stolen earns you a ton of money. First, you should make sure you register a trademark with the Library of Congress. when you register your work you can receive something called a willful infringement of up to $30,000. It is good to do that as quantifying your work is often a hard task. With a trademark from the Library of Congress, your creation may also receive trademark rights internationally under Circular 38a. You can either register batches of your work ($55) or a single piece ($33). If you ever have a large file of work that you want to register, you can make your images smaller, yet still clearly visible. You can also get a watermark, but a watermark may look unprofessional and isn't for everyone. If your trademarked work ever gets stolen, no need to fear! Since you have an official certificate that proves that the work is yours, it is actually really easy to defend yourself in court. In fact, lawyers love that you have a trademark, and make the case a million times easier. You can pay your lawyers on contingency (50%) or pay them on retainer (hourly). Having a trademark can help you take a strong stand. You know that you have the upper hand with a trademark, therefore, you can ask for a price that you want. Using that money that you should've calculated with lawyer fees you can make a profit of thousands of dollars. There are many great tools that can also help you identify when your work is stolen such as Digimark and Google Images.
Advertisments (Facebook)
When making advertisements there are many things to consider and should be done right. Specifically, on Facebook, you want to make sure that your page looks professional and credible. Your personal page is separate from the actual advertisement page. On the advertisement page, you should make sure to add pictures and information representing your brand or cause clearly. On Facebook, you can actually target your audience using age, gender, time, and location. For example, if you were to do an ad about Yosemite Park tours you can target all genders around the summertime (when people take more vacations or go to parks), an older age group instead of teenagers (maybe teenagers can't afford it), and people that are around the park. In other words, be logical and smart. You can also make the ad only appear only with people using wifi because maybe people using LTE may not have a fast connection and may skip over your ad. Another thing to consider when specifically advertising an app is phone compatibility, you wouldn't want your app advertisement to appear on an iPhone if it isn't compatible with the iPhone. Facebook offers many unique tools that you can use to put your advertisements to their full potential.
There are many ways to make money online. One of those ways is trading! You can trade many things from online trading cards to cryptocurrency to stocks. Trading cards, specifically in-game trading cards, require knowledge of the specific game. You should know which cards are more valuable than others and which trades are worth it. Cryptocurrency and stocks, on the other hand, are more complicated than games. Both are similar but have differences such as different risk factors. Cryptocurrencies are currencies online such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. Owning stocks means you own a percentage of a company such as Apple or Amazon, but never over 50%. Cryptocurrency is actually more dangerous than stocks as they're unpredictable, unlike stocks. However, with the right precautions and knowledge, you're bound to make a profit from trading and even a career. Lastly, remember to NEVER INVEST MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD!
How to protect yourself in the world of trading cryptocurrency
1. Make sure the URL is correct with "HTTPS"
2. Paper is the best form of keeping information
3. Remember to be organized, you are your own bank there isn't a cryptocurrency bank held accountable if you lose your profits
4. Make sure your passwords are long, unpredictable, and unique
5. Never use things such as common movie lines for passwords
6. Never use an online site to generate a password
7. Make sure your computer is secure with its own secure password
8. Use two-factor authentication
9. You can use software that helps protect your computer and information like Malwarebytes
Warren Buffet's 7 Principles to Investing
1. Your managers have to have integrity and talent
2. Invest by facts not by feelings (don't test your luck)
3. Buy wonderful/ known businesses not "cigar butts" (unknown businesses that you take chances with)
4. Only buy stocks that you understand (there are many different types)
5. When you see an opportunity, take it! (don't waste good opportunities, you'll regret it)
6. Don't sell unless the business is fundamentally changing (making bad changes that you know will lose profit, be smart and logical)
7. Buy at price below intrinsic value (get yourself a good deal, never invest more than you can afford)
There are many platforms in which you can advertise your products. Facebook is a platform you can advertise on which also has tools that you can use to make sure your advertisement is efficient. On Facebook, you can see your audience as well as be able to target your audience. Another thing that you can do is turn off your ad and then upscale it. When doing so, you can reach more potential buyers and profit more. Click funnels is another tool that uses sale funnels. There are many things to consider when using tools like these that help you display your service or product. For example, you should always display an image of what you're offering. there are templates that are easy to use. You have to put yourself in the shoes of a buyer and ask yourself what can make you purchase the product. Therefore, marketing can be done on many platforms with a variety of tools.
Business Models
1. Access model: premium content such as lessons and videos that are worth paying for
2. Service model: great if you have the ability to have consistently new and restocked items
3. Membership website model: help build a community with monetization
4. Subscription box model: highly customizable boxes that people pay for to receive every customized interval
5. Netflix model: become the "Netflix" to your paying subscribers (entertainment, e-learning, etc.)
6. Mastermind model: best if you offer transformation as a service
7. "Keep them engaged" model: best for limited seasonal contact
8. Subscribers-only model: offer the majority of your content for free, but you put your best work/ content behind a pay wall for the most loyal customers
Building a website is actually a very complicated process that requires knowledge of things such as computer language and science. There are complicated functions that you have to know how to input properly. If these functions aren't input properly, your files can clash and your website may not display what you intended it to display. There are also custom functions that allow you to make your website unique to your product or whatever you intend your website to display. Investing time into making a proper website can help your business thrive with a proper platform. You can use services such as Word Press.
Efficient Advertisement (specifically emailing)
When emailing about your product you should know what to do and what not to do. You should first think about the strong points of your business/ product. When focusing on those strong points, you're able to present what you have to offer more efficiently. You shouldn't write an email that is multiple paragraphs long. At most, it should be 2-3 paragraphs because if it is too long no one will want to read it. Additionally, if an email is too long it is hard to pinpoint the main idea of what you're trying to advertise.
Today I learned about what it takes to travel as a job. Being a travel influencer requires many sacrifices and require you to work smarter and harder. As a travel influencer, you should look to lower your cost. You can do so by asking companies for free resources such as a free stay at a hotel or free food. However, you have to be prepared to be rejected and to keep asking for free resources. As an influencer online, you have to find a platform that is the best fit for you. Maybe Facebook isn’t where you can reach your audience but on Instagram, you can. You can also use skills such as photography to freelance now and then for money, although this method is not consistent. Additionally, you have to show viewers why you’re unique and irreplaceable. It could be a unique story or lifestyle that others may find interesting. Lastly, you need to be adaptable. When traveling, you’re always put in an unfamiliar situation. This is where you have to adapt to maybe eating street food for all your meals and traveling unfamiliar streets. With this advice, anyone can work hard and become a travel influencer.
Digital Assets
You can earn money online by creating digital assets. Digital assets are products that can only be obtained online and aren't tangible. You can create things such as ebooks, digital art, music, video games, etc. There are many resources that you can use to sell your product online (listed below). However, it isn't as simple as just creating something and then putting a price on it. When creating something such as a game, you have to make connections as well as go through the steps of game development. Additionally, you have to know what price to set your product at. Moreover, it shouldn't be too expensive, but not too cheap that you don't make a profit off it. Digital assets are complicated, but with the right steps, you can be heading towards a profitable future.
List of resources for digital assets:
1. Adobe Stocks
2. Udemy
3. Itch.io
4. GameDev Market
5. Word Press (Continuation tomorrow)
We have to know that mental and physical health are important in various ways. Physical health is more important than we perceive it to be. If we made the effort to exercise to improve our physical health we would feel better overall. Better physical health has also been linked to preventing health issues especially mental issues such as depression. With better physical and mental health we could be more efficient and better motivated to work toward our goals. Speaking of working toward our goals, we should know when to cut toxicity from our lives. If there is a person in your life that slows you down or hurts your progress you should cut those people from your life.
You define your own happiness!
You shouldn't let others tell you how to feel. You can choose to feel negative thoughts or positive thoughts. You should maintain self-composure which helps during times of pressure and stress. With this skill, we can become better at handling bad situations. Especially if you're a business owner, you have to learn to work well under pressure since there are gonna be tasks thrown at you. Therefore, we should know how to control our emotions and realize with that skill we can work more efficiently.
Today I learned how to use time efficiently as well as invest money efficiently. With time, you have to see how valuable it is. You shouldn’t be wasting your time on television unless it benefits your career in some way. You should spend your time doing something efficient that can build towards your future. Sleep is also something that should be tracked. We should sleep enough to be productive but not too much so that our time is wasted. As for money efficiency, it is not always the best to always try and save money and settle for low-quality things. For example, investing in an apartment with better quality amenities is much better than saving money on an apartment with the same amount of space but no amenities. This is because, in the long run, you would have to spend money on the things that the cheaper apartment doesn’t have. As a result, you’re losing more money by ironically trying to save money. The same goes for clothes. It is much better to invest in new durable clothes than old clothes that are about to fall apart. In all, time should be used for productivity because you won’t be able to get that time back. Saving money isn’t always something you should look to do. Instead, you should look to make smart investments to better your quality of life.
Bonus topic: Managing workload efficiently
I also learned how to manage workload and projects. You shouldn’t always take on tasks that take too much time or are unnecessary. For example, you don’t need to file your own taxes if you don’t exactly know how to or enjoy it because there are people who can do it for you. Knowing how to delegate your tasks with your time is important. If a task isn’t time-sensitive it should be at the bottom of your to-do list. When specifically running a business, you shouldn’t invest your time into things that don’t matter. For example, you shouldn’t bring sports into a workplace because it doesn’t matter what team wins (unless you’re betting on it). In all, invest your time and interest in things that matter and things that affect you the most.
Today I learned how to use my money in a responsible way. I could do things like have a budget plan and evaluate my living expenses. I learned that there many things that are considered essential and others that are not. I should look to spend my money on essential things such as food and bills. The most interesting thing I learned, however, would have to be how to negotiate prices in my favor. I learned that I need to know when people are "hungry" and know when to walk away. For example, if you know the seller is desperate and you know that you're their only chance at selling their product you have to make note of that and use it to your advantage. Using this information, you can "walk away" to "bait" the seller into lowering the price. Lastly, I learned about ways I could save money with the thing I buy. As an example, instead of buying shoes made of fabric and cloth, I can buy shoes made out of leather that last me longer. Additionally, instead of buying paper towels to clean things, I could use a reusable towel or sponge. Overall, I learned how to be responsible with my money and how to be smart with my purchases.