When you’re bootstrapped and on your own, spending money on anything is harrowing. Is it going to be worth it? Do I need this to “turn pro?” Don’t I need to spend money to make money?
In this episode we share stories and lessons learned about spending smartly in five categories of small business (plus 2 bonuses):
- Payment Processors
- Advertising
- Contractors
- Training & Coaching
- Employees
- bonus: Negotiating with vendors
- bonus: dopplebangers
It’s better to listen on the go! Subscribe on iTunes
“My favorite quote from this: “Quit asking questions as an excuse to NOT do the work.””
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Show Notes
Gumroad Quick Start — get started selling online — How to get started with this simple, powerful tool. Stop scheming. Start Shipping.
Gumroad — Get your thing up, release it, see what happens, get more ideas, get better.
The Tools We Use at Fizzle — (post coming in a few days. Get on the list and we’ll send it to you).
Squarespace — “A better web starts with your website.” I like these guys… a lot.
MailChimp — “Send better email.” I also like these guys… a lot.
NMX Keynote 2014 — Scott Stratten — Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees, and Drive Your Business Into the Ground – — QR codes kill kittens… swear to doge.
Doge | Know Your Meme — An explanation of the “doge” meme I can’t get enough of. It’s dumb. Don’t waste your time.
Scott Stratten NMX Doge — the doge image I made of Scott’s NMX presentation. His response. And another one I made called Bloge (cuz I’m a total fk’n dork).
Tips To Make The Most of Conferences (FS032) — “Big things happen at conferences — business partners find each other, ideas get born and developed, people find encouragement and insights and sometimes good, ol’ fashioned friendships begin.”
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
After selling someone else’s product on my wife’s site the last few weeks and making some good money (for us) we’ve decided to make our first product. It will launch 4/28 and we will use the “pay what you want” gumroad feature. Hopefully we learn something!
I also have to say that the gumroad quickstart guide was quick and helpful! Good work guys.
CHASE! You better ship your book about fatherhood (I have two boys). I’ve started but not finished about 5 parenting books. I read a ton but I can never get through them. I’m guessing yours would be shorter with more personality.
Save it as a pdf and I’ll buy it today!
I definitely fall into the “playing business” category: thanks for calling me out…again. The dots that connected this time: Optimizing a business before actually putting it out there is a waste of time. Once it’s out there, factors will start to come into play that you could never have accounted for ahead of time: factors that will change everything about your business.
I’m so deeply grateful I have you guys, and the Fizzle community, in my corner at this critical point in my evolution. Onward!
[Note: This is the first time I’ve listened to an episode the day it came out, Going to have to make a point of doing so more often so I get to take advantage of the special “bonus” content when the “bleeps” don’t quite sync up with the words they are intended to bleep. :) ]
Never stop what you do. LOVE how you make these topics so naturally entertaining. P.s. Happy to have one of you now in good ‘ol Portland!
much podcasting. good informations. :)
wow.
Such wow.
so fizzle!
Solid tips guys, keep rocking it.
Y’all hilarious.
Gotta love the “bleeps” that TOTALLY miss all the F bombs. Nice editing Chase…you’re hired to edit my first podcast! Nice info guys!
Thanks again for all that you do. It’s greatly appreciated.
Awesome show as usual. As a new entrepreneur I have gotten a lot out of your Februararary (Chase’s pronunciation) month of money. It looks like I’m on the right track and I feel pretty good about where I am with my business right now, even though I have yet to make $1. I know it’s coming…I can feel it and I’m going to stay the course. Thanks for the tips and motivation guys!
@fizzle-1679091c5a880faf6fb5e6087eb1b2dc:disqus Yes, we come to the show notes?!! Shhhaw!?!
Thanks for all the hard work you put in too! Awsome episode!
Robb
@chase reeves stop teasing us about the Father Apprentice book and just release it already. I’ll buy. :D
So, maybe one of your next best expenses? Hire someone who knows where a bleep goes. You know, an audio editor type. 45 day trial and all, to make sure he doesn’t bleep out words like “family.” Too funny. Missed almost every one. “Put your ass the line!”
p.s. tried Sign in With Fizzle and it just popped a Fizzle window, where I could browse the site in a too small window. Nothing happening on this page in recognition of that.
Ha! Yea, I messed up right at the very end of editing, it shifted the bleep track and I didn’t check before exporting :| Makes for some good times.
It’s all fixed now, though, Will. (Though many podcast apps got the original version…)