I was tired of spinning wheels trying to validate ideas.
I have experience working in a commodity business.
And I tend to believe most things fall in this category.
You can differentiate yourself based on various factors, but the fact that other solutions exists is a good sign. You don't need to create an entire market to sell your product.
Do your product really well, but don't get hung up on it.
Learn and lean into good client service.
That will create the most opportunity as you expand.
I had sleep issues for 10+ years. I couldn't fall asleep most nights, would wake up tired, couldn't function without severe caffeine, which would lose efficacy over time and cause even more sleep issues and mind-bending headaches.
Sleep issues were just a symptom. It was my life (Activity) that needed fixing.
Look to your life -- if you fix things there, you'll fix your sleep.
If you want to talk further, feel free to reach out on email.
>> fly the drone with no physical effort and no direct exposure to pesticides—some of which have been associated with diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.
Slightly tangential, but what's the thinking here?
We don't want to get it on us while spraying it, but then we'll eat it and it'll be fine?
Here's a way that has worked for generations. It's paying it differently now, given the nature of business today:
1. Buy an asset, using bank leverage.
You need some capital. You need a business that's cash flowing or has fixed assets (so bank can pony up majority of the needed purchase capital).
Find a business that you can exponentially increase (e.g. through using code, marketing or some gap the business isn't fulfilling).
You can do this in the range of 100k, 1M or 10M depending on your risk appetite, ability to persuade and network.
2. Run business for growth (not cash flow) for 3-5 years.
If you had spotted the correct opportunity, with the right gaps, you can 3-5x the business in this timeframe with an intent to sell or leverage for a loan.
3. Sell or leverage the business
At this stage, your multiple for a sale will go up. If you paid, e.g 4x EBITDA, then with the with the higher revenue, you should be able to sell for a 7x. This number can vary wildly.
If you paid 1M for a business doing 250k in profit and you move the revenue to 5M with no change on EBITDA, you can now sell for 8.75M.
You could also use this valuation or LOI to raise money or bank debt to buy your next business in the next range over e.g. 10M.
4. Rinse and repeat.
0. Notes
HN crowd are typically solid programmers and thinkers (although there are a good many business people here). So ignore anyone giving limiting responses. They are only telling you what's true in their experience (career programming).
This type of path is done all the time in the business world to build wealth, especially real estate (slower but more stable). It has more pitfalls than anything and can be a brutal way to live.
This is just a blueprint for someone actually seeking.
I have a very small business so can't say how it compares to running a bigger business on qb