How to spot opportunity (a mindset shift)

One quick promo before we jump in:

People think Support Shepherd is only for hiring virtual assistants from the Philippines. That couldn’t be further from the truth.I have web developers, engineers, customer service reps, project managers, sales reps, operations managers and more from all over the world (Latin America, South Africa, Philippines) – all hired through Support Shepherd.The best part:The median wages in these countries are 70-80% less than US equivalents – $5-12 per hour all-in.Set up a call if your company needs incredible talent.–How to spot opportunity:I have a challenge for you this week that will help you think about business and opportunity in a whole new way.Go for a walk by yourself or with a friend in your local downtown area.Every business you pass by, ask yourself these 6 questions:1) How does this business make money?2) Roughly how much money do they make per day, week and month?3) How many employees do they have and what do these employees cost the business each month?4) How much did it cost to start this business? What’s the minimum amount of $ you would need to make it happen?5) How much rent do they pay for this location or how much was it to buy this building?6) How much profit might this business generate for the owner each year?Observe ALL of the companies around you.Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, retail stores, professional services, banks, hotels, movie theaters, barber shops, etc. If they are in business in your town and they have been there for a while, they are making money and providing value.Then answer the following two questions:1) How would I run this business more efficiently if I were the owner of it?2) How would I create more revenue or reduce costs and how could I operate this business just a little bit better?If you walk around the world with this mindset, you’ll discover an infinite amount of opportunities.You will start to understand which businesses are good businesses (i.e profitable, easy to operate, sustainable, simple) And which businesses are bad businesses (i.e painful, low margin, high-turnover, complex, tons of moving parts, etc)And you will learn a ton about where you want to spend your time and which opportunities you might want to pursue.Go do this and then respond to this email with what you learned or saw this weekend or next week.I do this everywhere I go. I do it with both in-person and internet businesses. I do it with friends and family members and it starts great discussions on business and operations.And its how I find my own opportunities!–The goal for most new entrepreneurs should be:

  • Gain financial freedom
  • and2. Maximize the probability of achieving #1Why don’t more folks think about opportunities with more weight added to #2?Don’t get distracted from the main goal!–Building an audience has been a game changer for me. Here is some really good advice on making it happen:
    I asked Nathan Barry, the founder of ConvertKit (a $250 million business), what his #1 tip is for building an audience and using it to supercharge your career. Here is his response:
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    12:29 PM • Mar 30, 2024
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    ​–
    Your network really is your net worth. If you know people who know how to run companies, you can pay them to run one of your companies. If you know people with money, you can convince them to invest with you when you want to buy a new property, asset or business. If you know… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1773424840227070044 3:0 PM • Mar 28, 2024
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    Reminder: It is very hard to build a bootstrapped business when you are BROKE. You can’t operate at a high level unless you have consistent cashflow coming in the door to support new investments, hiring, and growth. At the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, finding a… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1773377976899420269 11:53 AM • Mar 28, 2024
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    ​–A heat check on the self storage market:
    We rented 579 units in March and had 499 move outs. 80 more units rented than March 2023 and our busiest month in over 8 months.8:35 PM • Apr 1, 2024
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    ​Onward and upward,Nick HuberP.S.When SEO works, it really works.I’m proud of the team at Bold SEO and it’s been awesome to see what we’re doing for small businesses.Selfishly, it’s also been great to see what they are doing for my own businesses.Below is a screenshot of a text that Barrett (my partner at Bold) got from one of Bold’s clients.If customers find you via Google search or Google Maps, a link building strategy can work wonders for you. You don’t need to use Bold, but use somebody to build links for your business!If you’d like to learn more about why Link Building is important, read this. You can check your own domain authority vs your competitors with this tool.

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    About Me

    I started the Sweaty Startup in December of 2018 because I believe the Shark Tank and Tech Crunch culture is ruining the real spirit of low-risk entrepreneurship.