Author Topic: My business $0 to 6 figures in 7 months  (Read 9830 times)

oldtoyota

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My business $0 to 6 figures in 7 months
« on: July 11, 2016, 07:27:29 PM »
A year or so ago, I posted that I was sick and stressed out from my job. I left the job and went out on my own. I reached six figures in the past year. My goal was a minimum of $33K.

I can hardly believe I did it. I'd wanted to run my own business for years.

And I have no idea how...but it looks like my original FIRE timeline decreased big time. Now, it's really looking like 2-3 years to reach my money target.

It CAN be done!

ETA: I changed the title of this thread to reflect a correction to the length of time it took me to reach six figs.



« Last Edit: August 19, 2016, 03:29:42 PM by oldtoyota »

mxt0133

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2016, 10:17:26 PM »
Any helpful advice for those of us considering making a similar change?  What were some of your concerns or fears and were they worse or better once you actually made the switch?

swick

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2016, 10:18:49 PM »
Whoo hoo! Extremely happy for you. I remember how unhappy you were in your job before. Great that things turned around so quickly when you struck out on your own. Would live to hear tbe details, if you can share.

+1000!!!! :D :D Way to go!!

Lagom

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2016, 10:38:57 PM »
Nice work! I must have missed your earlier threads. What kind of business?

Secretly Saving

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2016, 10:45:51 PM »
Congratulations and well done!  Enjoy all that you have accomplished!!!

Metric Mouse

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2016, 01:52:00 AM »
Epically awesome. Good work. I hope your next year is even better than this one!

marty998

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2016, 01:53:19 AM »
Very impressive. Well done to you.

Zamboni

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2016, 03:56:29 AM »
Glad to hear it! Congrats.

Fishindude

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2016, 05:13:05 AM »
Congrats !
Six figures of business volume, or income?

Warlord1986

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2016, 08:31:20 AM »
That's very impressive! Good for you.

I'm thinking about doing something similar. I've been taking content marketing courses on Lynda and teaching myself Photoshop. I'm hoping to move to a larger city, find a full or part-time job to bring in some steady income, and build a consultancy/marketing/pr business. Got any tips?

Really though, I'm very impressed!


mtn

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2016, 08:49:27 AM »
What do you do?

And congrats! Inspiration for a lot of us--except I'm pretty happy in my current job.

thd7t

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2016, 09:09:10 AM »
This is an impressive feat! Has it been a lot more work than you expected? Do you enjoy it/has it reduced your stress?

acroy

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2016, 10:08:12 AM »
Badass!! wow, congratulations.
Gonna celebrate with a newtoyota?

Lunasol

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #13 on: July 12, 2016, 12:58:18 PM »
Wow please do share some advice to all the folks here!

aaron3719

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #14 on: July 12, 2016, 03:12:25 PM »
Congrats man!

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #15 on: July 12, 2016, 04:59:26 PM »
Congrats !
Six figures of business volume, or income?

Income.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #16 on: July 12, 2016, 05:00:05 PM »
Badass!! wow, congratulations.
Gonna celebrate with a newtoyota?

Haha. Of course not! That would delay retirement. ;-)

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #17 on: July 12, 2016, 05:19:35 PM »
Whoo hoo! Extremely happy for you. I remember how unhappy you were in your job before. Great that things turned around so quickly when you struck out on your own. Would live to hear tbe details, if you can share.

Thank you!

I will write up some notes and share them here. =-) Give me a few days.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #18 on: July 12, 2016, 05:23:51 PM »
Any helpful advice for those of us considering making a similar change?  What were some of your concerns or fears and were they worse or better once you actually made the switch?

To address the fears question now, I'll say I had ALL of the usual ones.

Would I lose all my money?
Would I get clients?

Would I lose all my money?
I signed up for FreshBooks to track all of my receivables and expenses. As you might imagine, I love the profit and loss report the most! I love seeing how much I have made and how low my expenses are. This is just like having the "business of you" or the "business of FIRE." Track income and expenses. Keep expenses low. Most of us on this forum are very good at this already.
Would I get clients?
I am a marketer by trade so I know how to get clients. I've been working in my industry for about 12-15 years so I have a large network. I started to put the word out before leaving my job and possibilities started coming my way.

I will write up more about how I did it. In the meantime, please--anyone--include specific questions here, and I will aim to address them all.


oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #19 on: July 12, 2016, 05:24:24 PM »
Whoo hoo! Extremely happy for you. I remember how unhappy you were in your job before. Great that things turned around so quickly when you struck out on your own. Would live to hear tbe details, if you can share.

+1000!!!! :D :D Way to go!!

Thanks! I feels good and waaay less scary than a year ago.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #20 on: July 12, 2016, 05:25:22 PM »
Nice work! I must have missed your earlier threads. What kind of business?

I have a marketing consulting business, and I ghostwrite books for experts and entrepreneurs.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #21 on: July 12, 2016, 05:26:26 PM »
That's very impressive! Good for you.

I'm thinking about doing something similar. I've been taking content marketing courses on Lynda and teaching myself Photoshop. I'm hoping to move to a larger city, find a full or part-time job to bring in some steady income, and build a consultancy/marketing/pr business. Got any tips?

Really though, I'm very impressed!

Networking and public speaking have worked very well for me. Referrals have also worked wonders. I find, as you take more steps in the direction you want to go in life, that doors open and the right people show up to help.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #22 on: July 12, 2016, 05:27:17 PM »
This is an impressive feat! Has it been a lot more work than you expected? Do you enjoy it/has it reduced your stress?

Sometimes, it is more work. I was up until 1 am once to finish a presentation. However, I have also taken naps in the middle of the day. I can do what I want when I want, and that is the best thing of all for me.

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #23 on: July 12, 2016, 05:29:01 PM »
This is an impressive feat! Has it been a lot more work than you expected? Do you enjoy it/has it reduced your stress?

In my previous post, I neglected to address stress. Yes. I enjoy having a business. My stress level is a lot lower now than it was when I had my most recent job, which wanted us to work 5 days a week (at least) for 12-14 hours a day. People at that place are getting sick as a result, so I'm glad I left.

Warlord1986

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #24 on: July 13, 2016, 07:40:00 AM »
That's very impressive! Good for you.

I'm thinking about doing something similar. I've been taking content marketing courses on Lynda and teaching myself Photoshop. I'm hoping to move to a larger city, find a full or part-time job to bring in some steady income, and build a consultancy/marketing/pr business. Got any tips?

Really though, I'm very impressed!

Networking and public speaking have worked very well for me. Referrals have also worked wonders. I find, as you take more steps in the direction you want to go in life, that doors open and the right people show up to help.

It's funny, but since I posted that the opportunity to practice some graphic design for a writers group I belong to came along. 

KMMK

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #25 on: July 13, 2016, 07:43:47 AM »
I love hearing about your success. Following for more tips.

Altons Bobs

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #26 on: July 13, 2016, 10:38:32 AM »
That's amazing!!  Congrats!!  :-)

Cassie

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #27 on: July 13, 2016, 05:49:01 PM »
Awesome!

mxt0133

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #28 on: July 14, 2016, 01:22:28 AM »
Any helpful advice for those of us considering making a similar change?  What were some of your concerns or fears and were they worse or better once you actually made the switch?

To address the fears question now, I'll say I had ALL of the usual ones.

Would I lose all my money?
Would I get clients?

Would I lose all my money?
I signed up for FreshBooks to track all of my receivables and expenses. As you might imagine, I love the profit and loss report the most! I love seeing how much I have made and how low my expenses are. This is just like having the "business of you" or the "business of FIRE." Track income and expenses. Keep expenses low. Most of us on this forum are very good at this already.
Would I get clients?
I am a marketer by trade so I know how to get clients. I've been working in my industry for about 12-15 years so I have a large network. I started to put the word out before leaving my job and possibilities started coming my way.

I will write up more about how I did it. In the meantime, please--anyone--include specific questions here, and I will aim to address them all.

Thank you for answering my questions.  Those are some of the things that I fear as well too.  I look forward to your write-up.

Guesl982374

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #29 on: July 14, 2016, 06:27:44 AM »
Outstanding, oldtoyota! I love when people move through their fears to achieve something of substance. Are you now comfortable with the level of the business or are you planning to continue to grow? Any employees now or in the future?


arebelspy

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #30 on: July 17, 2016, 02:42:57 AM »
Wow, love to hear that, OT!  Way to go!  :D
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

lemanfan

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #31 on: July 17, 2016, 09:40:43 AM »
Nice. 

Really creating your own future!  :)

FunkyChopstick

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #32 on: July 20, 2016, 05:28:56 AM »
Cheers mate! LOL, new toyota.

a plan comes together

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #33 on: July 23, 2016, 01:03:50 PM »
What type of marketing consulting are you doing?

Dicey

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #34 on: July 23, 2016, 01:38:08 PM »
Nice time hear from you a little more ot! Your journal was dormant for so long, I thought you had left the building! I see you were putting your time to good use. Kudos!

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #35 on: August 07, 2016, 10:26:19 AM »
Someone asked for details. Here's my bare bones outline of how I did it.

I used my marketing expertise to build a successful-to-me business in just 12 months. I generally like to stay away from the six-figure brag because I know people who are perfectly happy making $70K from their business and that is success for them. I set out to make a minimum of $32K in the first year, and it went better than expected.

First, I'd start out by defining what sets you apart from the other [what you do] out there. When I started a magazine a long time ago, I gave a lot of thought as to how to enter the market and "fill a hole." When I have started a business or submitted a nonfiction book for publication, I always gave thought as to how that business or product filled an existing hole.

Once you do that, create a list of all the methods you could use to market yourself. Do you like speaking? If yes, write that down as a possibility. Do you like networking events? If yes, write that down. Other ideas: Social media marketing, attend business-related workshops, Facebook advertising, hosting a chat on Periscope or Twitter, etc. There are so many ways to build your authority and credibility--and specific strategies for them all.

Next, set a goal as to how many people you need to meet and get into your pipeline per month to get the number of clients you need. When I started out, I chose 12 as the number of NEW people I needed to meet per month to get the business rolling. I could do this through public speaking or via networking events or even by finding people on Twitter and arrange calls to talk (NOT SELL). That is important. Treat your sales like you are making a friend. I hate salesy sales. Yuck. I LOVE developing relationships though and sales come from relationships. Real relationships--not just using people.

If you are just starting out, you'll need to make up the numbers I mentioned above and test. As you do this more, you will have a better idea of how many people you need to introduce your business to in order to get the number of clients you need to meet your income requirement. This is called your sales funnel. Post here or IM me if you have questions.

Balkins

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #36 on: August 18, 2016, 08:42:00 PM »
Congrats.

There was a guy who started a Real Estate Advertising Magazine here in my town. He built it up and sold for a nice LARGE 6 figure profit.

Keep it going....

oldtoyota

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Re: My business $0 to 6 figures in 1 year
« Reply #37 on: August 19, 2016, 03:30:03 PM »
Congrats.

There was a guy who started a Real Estate Advertising Magazine here in my town. He built it up and sold for a nice LARGE 6 figure profit.

Keep it going....

Thank you. =-))