I've been obsessed with business my whole life. I've always chased different entrepreneurial opportunities, from selling online products to offering physical ones.
I've failed at most of them.
There have been a few mild successes and some epic failures. But that's the good thing in business - your track record doesn't matter.
What matters is that you can keep swinging until you find something that's worth doing long-term.
If you're in it for the long haul, you'll eventually succeed, becoming a successful entrepreneur.
In this article, we will go over the fifteen lessons I've learned from five different business ventures. By the end of it, you'll be well-equipped to start your own business. Without further ado, let's jump right in.
Entrepreneurial Venture #1: Selling Weed (Epic Fail.)
I've been listening to 90s hip hop for as long as I can remember. So it was no surprise that one of the first hustles I started was selling weed in my neighborhood. I did it for only three months, and I barely broke even. But I learned a lot.
Here are the three key lessons:
Lesson #1: Choose the right business model
Selling weed in Bulgaria is not only risky, but it's also illegal and just plain stupid. If you get caught, you pay a fine, risk problems with the cops, and not mention potential encounters with organized crime.
If you want to be a successful business owner, you need to work on something long-term. Otherwise, you won't get the results you want.
Selling illegal drugs is a terrible business both in the short and long term. You risk so much for such a little reward.
Lesson #2: Choose your business partner wisely
One of the main reasons this failed was because of my "business partner" at the time. He took all of our weed (10–15g at the time) and smoked it in 1–2 days.
While he is still a dear friend of mine (I'm writing this article from his kitchen), he can be a hothead and a little bit impulsive. I knew that prior to starting this venture with him but didn't realize that we were not a good partnership fit for the business.
Lesson #3: Work ON the business, not IN the business
We were out there selling the weed by ourselves, which makes this just another job. If we wanted to grow, we would need to find dealers and let them sell our product to the customers. That way, we can focus on building relationships and growing the business.
Entrepreneurial Venture #2: Freelance Copywriting (Business Success)
This is by far the most successful business venture that got me my first taste of entrepreneurial success.
I reached $10k a month in sales, writing content for clients, but it was a long road to get there.
Here are the three vital lessons I've learned:
Lesson #4: To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to master positioning.
In my early freelancing career, I struggled to find clients. I did everything for everybody, from writing emails for fitness influencers to creating landing pages for SaaS companies.
It was too much.
But the moment I focused on providing a specific solution in a clearly defined niche, the world opened up. I was able to reach my goal of hitting $10k a month goal in a few months.
Lesson #5: Work with someone ahead of you
There are some people who are great at what they do and don't need any mentorship.
And there's everyone else.
I'm in the majority here, so working alongside other great writers helped me improve massively, not only in my writing but also in the business.
Lesson #6: Focus on building relationships
Service-based businesses and all successful businesses, in general, are about relationships. Yes, you can do one-off gigs, but you can't depend on them for the long term. That's why building relationships is so important in the freelancing world. You can get referrals, clients, and even exciting job opportunities.
Entrepreneurial Venture #3: Content marketing agency (Fail)
I created my own content marketing agency for crypto content. Quickly, we got a few retainers, but only a few months later, we dissolved.
Here's what I learned from that experience:
Lesson #7: Build an engine that attracts clients
I built almost all of our client base from direct/cold outreach. While this approach is fine to start an agency, it's not enough to grow and scale it. By creating an engine of free content online, you build your online assets like a Twitter or a Medium profile. Once established, these assets can do the work of attracting clients for you.
Lesson #8: Don't offer too many things at once
One of the reasons we failed was that we were offering too many things at once.
We helped clients with their:
- SEO.
- SEO strategy.
- Content.
Offering that many services early on was a mistake because it confused and distracted the prospects.
Lesson #9: Deliver an instant win
The problem with this type of offer is that the client doesn't get an instant win. SEO and content marketing, in general, are long-term games.
But there's a thing called "buyer's remorse."
When a buyer purchases a product or a service, they see the money going out of their pocket, and they feel regret. They start wondering about the quality of your product and service.
"Was it worth the money?"
That's why delivering an instant win is crucial. It will ensure your clients are happy, combat their buyer's remorse, and set the tone in your business relationship.
Entrepreneurial Venture #4: Drop Shipping (Epic Fail)
One of the first business ideas I started pursuing in high school was drop shipping. I ordered some watches from China, got them delivered to my home, and started promoting them via FB ads. It failed miserably. I broke even a year and a half into the business.
Lesson #10: Having a quality product is the best marketing
The watches I was selling were complete trash. They were cheap, and the customers felt that. People didn't like them at all, which is why they were so hard to sell. If I had a better product, things could have been different.
Lesson #11: Sell products at a premium
I bought cheap watches and was selling them also at a low price. This attracted the wrong kind of customer. The kind of customer that's very demanding but doesn't have a lot of money. If I got higher quality watches and started selling them at a premium, I'd have attracted a higher quality clientele.
Lesson #12: If you want to run or launch an e-commerce business, you need to master online ads
In this business model, the presentation of the product is everything. So you need to learn how to advertise online on Google and Meta. Or hire someone to do it for you.
Entrepreneurial Venture #5: Crypto Player One (Productive Failure)
My most recent venture was a free daily newsletter on web3 gaming. It was short and simple, and I'm honestly very proud of the product I've created. I shut it down after 6 months, though, because my goalpost changed. I consider this the best failure I've ever had because it taught me so much.
Here are the three key lessons:
Lesson #13: Distribution is everything
Things like newsletters and Only Fans accounts have no discoverability on their own. So you need to drive traffic to them to grow them. You need to master distribution. That stands true for any business opportunity you try to pursue.
Creating a valuable product is essential. But putting that product in front of the right audience is even more important.
Lesson #14: Do things that don't scale
To grow the newsletter, I did everything you can imagine:
- Guest posting articles.
- Cold outreach.
- Social media posts.
- YT comments.
- Reaching out to influencers.
This helped me grow the newsletter to a couple of hundred people.
Lesson #15: Work on your product daily
An online newsletter is a media business, and in a media business, your product is your media. So it makes sense to work on your product as long as you can. I started this newsletter as a daily free newsletter which forced me to write it 5–6 days a week.
This practice allowed me to keep tinkering and improve the newsletter little by little until I found a format that got people excited.
5 Businesses and 15 Lessons Later, How Am I Building a Business Now?
As you can see, I've failed a ton of times in pursuit of entrepreneurial success. But over time, I've developed some business acumen and plan to use it in my new business, which is a 3x-a-week free entrepreneur-printed newsletter.
Here's how I'm building it:
1) Use the skills I've already acquired to create a valuable product
As we have already established, an online newsletter is a media business where the product is the content itself. I'll use my writing skills and thrust for business knowledge to create a newsletter people want to read 3x a week.
2) Distribution, distribution, distribution.
I'll be growing this newsletter through all channels initially. I know you're supposed to focus, but so far, I haven't found the right growth channel for the newsletter.
Here are all the ways I'm planning to promote it initially:
- Write 30 articles in 30 days for popular Medium publications.
- 1 post a day on IG reels, YT shorts, Tik Tok.
- 1 post a week on different Facebook and Reddit groups.
Once I find a channel that brings me consistent results, I'll stop everything else and double down on it.
3) Get to 10k subscribers with a 40–50% open rate and start monetizing.
Once I hit 10k subscribers, which I plan to do by September, I'll start offering sponsorship slots to various companies. I'll keep my personal expenses to a minimum and just reinvest my profits into the business.
You can use the same blueprint for launching your own business.
It's simple:
- Brainstorm business ideas to find something you can do for the long term.
- Use your already existing skillset to build a valuable product.
- Show that product in front of the right audience.
- Monetize via ads or sell your own services.
- Reinvest and repeat.
If you liked this post, you'd love my free 3x-a-week newsletter.