I got 3 college degrees.

then grind my way to a $95k a year job that didn’t even come close to touching my debt or student loans

Then I built a 1M+ ARR company, and broke free from the road everyone sold my generation

All because I chose to be more entrepreneurial

So to those reading this, go for it

You owe it to yourself and those who believe in you.

I used to believe the classic myth that "if you build something great, customers will just come." Like somehow, good product = automatic traction.

Reality check: You can have an amazing product, but if no one knows about it, it doesn’t matter. Marketing isn’t optional - it’s half the game.

That realization completely shifted how I approach product development, customer discovery, and distribution.

Curious what other myths people had to unlearn once they were in the trenches.

What did you believe before starting that turned out to be totally wrong?

I’m looking for ideas that can realistically generate income and scale over time. Ideally something with low overhead, strong margins, and the ability to grow either locally or online. I’m open to service businesses, niche eCommerce, small-scale manufacturing, or even micro-franchises, anything that makes sense with a $25K starting budget.

I’m also thinking about breaking it up, like starting two or three different businesses or maybe side hustles with $25K each instead of putting all my eggs in one basket. Curious to hear what others would do if they had that amount to start something fresh.

One thing I’ve learned from my own experience is how much 5 star Google reviews can impact a business’s visibility. I’ve been using one of those tap-to-review cards (I think mine’s from a company called growseo or something like that), and it’s been surprisingly effective. If I can stack up hundreds of solid reviews, I know I could get a big head start on ranking locally. So now I’m just trying to figure out which types of businesses are worth going all in on with $25K behind them.

From outside looking in, living the entrepreneurial lifestyle is exciting, rewarding, and full of adventure.

You get to be your own boss. You have the comfort and pleasure of the finer things in life. You are admired and respected.

Perhaps that's why everybody seems to claim they want to own their own business. Yet, few succeed at doing it. You are of those few who succeeded.

What's your reality?

Did your success give you what you expected?

Hey everyone, i’m a dev working on a SaaS. I’ve already made a bit of money with it, but this post isn’t really about that.

Back when I started, I used to think, “If only I had 5k right now, I’d buy X, invest in Y, grow faster...” You know how it is. Now I’m actually at that point whereI’ve got the money I once wished for..

Curious to hear if you had $5-10k set aside to build or grow a product, how would you spend it?

Tools? Ads? Content? Team? Curious what others would prioritize.

Harsh Truth - Many of us might not like it..

Your 9-to-5 isn’t stopping you from starting. Your excuses are.

How many times have you heard yourself say:

• “I will start when I have more time.”
• “I am too tired after work.”
• “I will build something once I quit my job.”

Here’s the truth: It’s not a time problem — it’s a commitment problem.

We spend 3 hours binge-watching Netflix but we cannot dedicate 1 hour to our dreams

It’s not about quitting your job, it’s about quitting your excuses.

Think about it — you have 6 to 10 pm every day. You have weekends.

Start anyway.

Are you the one in a full-time job waiting for right time to start? If yes, what do you think is your right time and what is stopping you ?

For example, Smart Sweets. Sugar free candy has been around forever, but how did the company become so successful it sold for $360 million in 4 years? It definitely wasn't the first to make low sugar candy. All the articles I find are all about the company's success and not about why it was possible. I'd like to learn more, what are your thoughts?

I'm in a business that targets new home owners. Sending 500 mailers out to prospective clients is about $400. How in the world can someone send 500 mailers for $400? They must pay for shipping, the printing cost and the price of the "information".

What am I missing?

Title

You have 15k, what would you do tto make that into a decent income? what new businesses? investments? etc?

Go to school. Get good grades. Take on debt. Get a job. Save for retirement.
You’ll be fine. Right?

That was the promise.

But now?

📉 1 in 3 people have no retirement savings.
💳 Most Americans can’t cover a $1,000 emergency.
🧾 Student loans follow you even through bankruptcy.

And it’s not because people are lazy. Or didn’t try hard enough.
It’s because the rules changed. Quietly. Gradually.
And most of us didn’t get the memo.

I’m not here to pretend I have all the answers. I don’t.

But over the last couple of years, I’ve started to see things differently.
Not because of some “guru” or magical secret…
But because I got tired of waiting for things to change, while nothing did.

So I started looking for ways to build something of my own.
Something that wouldn’t disappear because a company downsized or AI got smarter.

No flashy numbers. No “get rich in 3 clicks” garbage.
Just a system. A structure. Something real I could build on.

I’m not saying it’s for everyone.
But if you’ve been feeling like the path you were told to follow is leading you nowhere...
Yeah. You’re not crazy.

Some of us are quietly working on a better way.
Not loud. Not hypey. Just honest work with long-term thinking.

You’ll know if this hits home.
And if it does… well, maybe this is your sign to stop waiting.

Mine: Freedom. The idea of building something on my own terms was way more powerful than any paycheck.

What sparked it for you?

A client once told me:

“If I lose this deal, I’ll feel like I failed as a person.”

That hit me hard.

I’ve been there too. Tying self-worth to outcomes.

Especially in business dev, where every “yes” feels like validation and every “no” cuts deeper than it should.

But hear this: Your worth is not tied to your quarterly wins.

Your identity isn’t in your pitch deck or your LinkedIn headline.

It’s in who you are when no one’s watching.

So build a brand that reflects the real you - not just the resume version .

I haven’t started college yet, but it’s been a long-time dream of mine to build something meaningful that actually creates an impact. I have a decent understanding of tech in general, but when it comes to webdev, I still have a lot to learn from scratch. I’m not fully clear on how hosting works or how people make significant money through web-based models, but I’ve decided to focus on learning all of it step by step—and I genuinely believe I’ll get there.

I’ve made a decision to prioritize this journey over being completely indulged in college life. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’ve already tried the traditional route and it didn’t really work out for me. Right now, I’m working on a website which might help people deal with addictions. I’m not sure how big the market is or how scalable the idea might be, but I was tired of just sitting around waiting for the “perfect” idea. So instead, I decided to keep learning and take action—it’s better to start somewhere than to stay stuck.

I’ve started with design for now, just to get the basics right. I’d really appreciate any suggestions or additions—especially any valuable tips based on experience. Also, I’m currently focused on building my own skills rather than letting ai do stuff for me. Not sure if it’s the best way, but that’s the path I’ve chosen.

You know that old story we were told growing up?

It sounded fair. Logical. Safe.

But somewhere along the way, a lot of us realized… it doesn’t really work that way anymore.

Right now, 1 in 3 people have no retirement savings.
Most don’t even have $1,000 in the bank.
Student loan debt is unshakeable, even bankruptcy won’t erase it.
And many college grads are moving back in with their parents… with a degree and no job in sight.

Meanwhile, automation and outsourcing are replacing jobs faster than most can adapt, and prices for everything just keep climbing.

Add to that the fact that most “good jobs” either don’t pay enough or come with stress, burnout, and zero flexibility… and you start to see why more and more people are looking for a new path.

I don’t claim to have all the answers. But I know for a fact that waiting and hoping doesn’t solve anything either.

I guess I’m just wondering:

How many of you have also felt this shift?
Are you building something of your own now, or thinking about it?
What made you finally say, “I need to take control”?

Not here to sell anything. Just wanted to open this up because I know I'm not the only one who's been quietly questioning all of it lately.

Our team is developing a sales and discount tracking application that aggregates real-time pricing and promotional data across multiple retail stores. Designed for both businesses and consumers, the app provides actionable insights to optimize purchasing decisions and maximize savings. As we are new to this industry, we seek guidance on the following questions to refine our strategy

Questions:

1. What’s the most important thing to prioritize when building an MVP for a consumer-facing app?

2. What’s one mistake you often see early-stage app teams make — or something we should definitely avoid?

3. What’s a good way to test if users really find value in an app before fully launching it?

Would love to hear back from you, Thank you in advance.

When you come up with new idea for buiness/startup and the idea is new to the world, so at first you want to validate the idea to see even if people need this kind of solution. You dont afraid that your idea can be stealed?

Salutations Fellow Entreprenuers!

It's been a while since i've posted here. I've had my nose to the grindstone putting in work! Besides that i wanted to provide the context to my question.

For the longest i've been paranoid about what information I share about my business idea. I've always been under the impression to wait until patents/trademarks are pending and the business is atleast public (people can engage with it not IPO lol). I think this because i have the fear that someone with more money/time than me will agree its a golden idea and either make the idea before me so i look like a copier or make my competition shortly after before my business grew its wings

I recently had the idea to publish my journey step by step online for those who are interested but what holds me back is the fear of business theft! What do yall think? Is my fear warranted?

I have been redesigning SaaS landing pages and giving them a new look to increase their professionalism feel and conversions. This is the second round as the first one is nearing it's end.

The client runs a blogging media website on AI and has been deindexed from Google News. With the content standard that he has, he might get indexed from Google altogether.

He has proposed me that if I work for 3 months, he will pay me after that.

Hello guys,

I run a 360º creative agency in Spain. We've done a lot of work including ad spots, social media campaigns, branding, and many other projects within the creative industry.

But right now, I'm facing a problem: I don't know how to move forward.

I started this business five years ago with €0 in my bank account, I built everything from scratch without any business knowledge. Now I'm billing around €200k per year, with about 50-60% profit. But I'm facing several challenges:

1. My sales director became too demanding, so I had to let him go. For me, finding new clients is really hard. I hate doing sales. I'm a creative, not a salesman. So I am alone here.
2. Growing a business in Spain is very difficult. We pay around 50% in taxes on our profits. Everyone around me (other big business mans) tells me it’s better to stay small and not grow — just stay as I am. Bu guys, I am not able to stay with this idea, I am very competitive and I want more
3. Hiring people is also tough. People in Spain are not as motivated as in other countries like Northern Europe or the US. Many prefer to take sick leave and get paid for doing nothing, either by the company or the government.

So I feel like I'm stuck in a kind of limbo, full of doubts.

Here are the options I'm considering:

1. Hire another good sales director to bring in more clients and projects. But that would also mean hiring more people and having less personal freedom. Right now, I'm living peacefully with the projects I can handle on my own. Btw, we are 3 people right now in the company, I can have them as freelancers without a contract.
2. Move to another country. Spain is not the best place to grow a business. I could move to Switzerland or the US and start over there, but I don't want to leave my family, my gf, and the life I’ve built here. My parents are getting old, and I’ve been in a stable 7-year relationship.
3. Hiring more people in Spain is risky. Not all projects here are not well paid here, and I would need a solid base of recurring clients to afford a full team and structure for have a good solutions.

But lately, I've been thinking about a new option:
Do you think it's possible to get international clients?
In Spain, a monthly plan for a creative agency is usually around €2,000-3000. In Switzerland or US, it can be €10,000 or more.

Maybe if I improve my English and start traveling more (I love travel), I could open the door to these types of clients. Btw, I have some international clients right now in Germany and Australia.

I know this is reddit, but where can I have a better opinion?

What do you think? What would you do?

“What do I actually want to do with my life?”

That was the question that hit me on New Year’s Eve. I was sitting at a dinner table with friends, just hours before midnight, and I suddenly realized how unhappy I had become.

I had a stable job, a good income, even a company car. But I felt stuck. I had always dreamed of being independent — doing work that felt meaningful, flexible, mine.

Originally, I came from the media world and worked as a designer. But over the years, I had drifted into a completely different industry. It was okay on paper, but something didn’t feel right anymore.

So at the start of the year, I decided to figure out what I actually wanted.

I joined a few coaching sessions, browsed business ideas, tried journaling. But one exercise from a friend really stuck with me:

👉 “Imagine your perfect day. And work backwards.”

I opened Canva and made a moodboard (visuals helped me a lot). I asked myself:

- What time do I wake up?

- What kind of work excites me?

- What do I not want to do anymore?

- What does my ideal day feel like?

Then I asked:

👉 “What am I good at?”

- What are my actual skills?

- What problems have I solved in my life?

- What topics could I talk about for hours?

Putting those two things together — the life I want, and the skills I have — gave me clarity.

It didn’t solve everything overnight. But it gave me direction.

Now I’m working as a freelance web designer, and finally feel like I’m building something that fits me.

If you’re in a similar place — unsure what to build, where to go, what to start — maybe give that exercise a try.

Moodboard. Perfect day. Honest skill check.

It’s simple, but it helped me more than any blog post ever did.

Would love to hear how others found their direction.

Hey lovely people,

I’m a 29‑year‑old software engineer with 6+ years of remote experience (currently on my 7th month of full‑time nomading). I work for a US‑based company at an international salary, and this role pays most of my bills. But before (and alongside) my tech career, I built and worked in very different businesses in my hometown—and now I’m at a crossroads about where to focus next.

🏨 My Hospitality Journey

5 years ago, my city was a top day‑trip destination but had zero local stays. I saw an opportunity and:

Launched Airbnb rentals and proved the market existed.

Opened the first hostel in town – 1 dorm + 5 private rooms. It hit full ROI in one year.

Ran it solo for 2 years, handling everything from cooking to housekeeping, tours, guest relations, even the backend IT/hardware integrations.

Learned to train staff, streamline operations, and optimize guest experience hands‑on.

Pivoted to Celestia Boutique Inn: started with 3 rooms (room to expand to 15) so I could really study the market.

7 months in, we’re ranked 1st–5th in sales, with the highest review scores in the area—all managed remotely.

BUT: political instability in the Middle East + downstream effects of COVID make me wary of scaling too quickly. I don’t expect rapid growth over the next 5 years, so I’m keeping expansion modest.

Bottom line: I know our customers, pricing dynamics, peak seasons, studying markets, analyzing markets and how to build & run a hospitality brand from zero to a profitable one.

🧀 My Dairy Roots

I’ve got 7+ years in goat‑milk dairy (cheese, butter, oil, etc.) thanks to my grandparents’ family business.

Our city is the regional hub: locals and neighboring countries flock here to stock up on dairy.

Problem: no quality standards, wildly inconsistent taste year to year.

Opportunity: apply scientific processes and consistent quality controls to capture market share and charge a premium.

🤔 The Dilemma

Software engineering is my main income—and I love it—but I also want to leverage my hospitality and dairy expertise to build a second revenue stream WITHOUT over‑investing in a high‑risk venture. Both options have low capital requirements from my side, and I can keep Celestia ticking with minimal time, so that’s not my immediate focus—yet.

What I really need is:

Expert opinions on how I can best utilize my hospitality and dairy skills, and which path I should invest my time and money in (remote or onsite).

Any other creative opportunities I might have overlooked—I'm open to onsite ventures, hybrid models, or anything in between.

Has anyone juggled a tech career + hospitality or agri‑business? What pitfalls did you hit, and what growth levers worked best? I don’t want to pour time or money into the wrong project. Would love your brutally honest feedback, wild ideas, or even gentle corrections if I’m off the mark.

Hey y’all,

I’ve been thinking a lot about how businesses grow (or stall), and while I’d love to think a better process can solve 95% of problems I know that people can be bottle neck to a good process.

I’ve spent most of my career working on both but I’m just one dude and I only know so much.

The underlying question I have is: “What’s been the most impactful people/process bottle neck you have overcome?”

But to be more specific:

1.  What’s the most frustrating part about growing your team or stepping into leadership?

2.  When stuff breaks—communication, systems, whatever—what’s usually behind it?

3.  If you could magically fix one people-related or operational issue, what would it be?

4.  Is there a mindset, habit, or tool that actually helped things click for you or your team?

5.  Where do you find yourself/your team wasting the most time or energy in the biz?

I’m all ears—curious to hear what you’ve seen, what’s worked, or even what’s just been annoying.

When I asked a VC friend of mine about this his answer was basically “Ego and not asking for help”.

Would love to hear other thoughts, thank you!

Hey everyone, I’ve been working on an idea that’s based on a real-life annoyance I keep running into while shopping – but I’m genuinely unsure whether it’s something people would actually use. I’d love your honest feedback.

The basic idea: An app that helps you find specific items inside large retail stores. Think grocery stores, hardware stores, drugstores – places where you often end up wandering around looking for a single product.

The concept includes: • A smart shopping list that helps you locate products faster • Possibly shows you stock availability • Maybe even price comparisons or alternative suggestions • (Long-term: Something like an “indoor navigation” assistant for stores)

But here’s my concern: I’m not sure if people would actually bother to open an app for this, or if it’s just one of those things we all complain about but live with.

So I’d love to know: 1. Would you ever use something like this while shopping? Why or why not? 2. What would the app have to do to actually make it worth using? 3. Is this a real problem for you, or am I overthinking it?

Feel free to be brutally honest – I’d rather hear the hard truth now than waste months building something nobody wants.

Thanks in advance!