I’ve started my first business (fintech) with some other seasoned Entrepreneurs. I have a few questions about what is normal and what isn’t in regard to operations and finance but don’t know anyone personally who has experience.

Looking for recommendations on how or where I could find someone who might be willing to offer guidance.

I was speaking to a director of a marketing agency juat after the ecom crash who hadn't had a holiday in 16 years.

I asked him, why put yourself through all this pain?

He looked at me and said, "You have to be in it to win it."

And that stuck with me.

A year later, his company went on to win a huge contract that changed his life forever.

Sometimes you just have to keep going.

Have you had a moment like that?

I must pick between these 2 soon.

My trademark is in both categories so it’s not an issue.

Do I start with a perfume (or be a perfume brand), or start with skin care (and eventually make a perfume soon).

There’s lots of skin care brands that also offer a perfume, so it wouldn’t totally be random.

I just feel if I pick fragrance, I might regret it and want to do skin care. At least with skin care I could always expand into fragrance.

I know both markets are saturated.

People tend to use different fragrances daily, as opposed to different moisturizers and skin care products.

I’m more passionate about sunscreen and skin care.

To launch an SPF in the US requires a higher MOQ. It’s also a drug, which is a non-issue since the manufacturer would likely help me with registering & all that jazz.

So a first product would likely be a facial moisturizer. While that does sound nice; I don’t feel I’m bringing much to the market. My real differentiation would be probably packaging design and a nice texture. Ingredient wise, probably nothing that you haven’t seen before.

For fragrance, my vision is clean & unisex, mid-range priced. A fragrance that isn’t loud and can be worn daily, such as to the office, etc.

The money isn’t an issue. The MOQs would be the same. (Except for spf). It’s just, do I do something that i’m more passionate about and competitive, or do something I just like and try to create a niche.

I enjoy smelling fragrances, but it’s not something I’d say I’m passionate about. I enjoy how there is something different and unique about a perfume. I do enjoy the smells, just not something I wear every day.

My idea is to work on a fragrance & let it be one that makes me want to wear every day. Maybe I just have not found “the one” and that’s my schtick.

Thoughts?

& before anyone tries to tell me not do either category, unfortunately it’s my only “hobby”, I can turn into a biz at this point. I’d like to do something in health/wellness/food at some point, maybe years later after this biz.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Meditation and journaling have been huge for me. What has helped you grow?

Magic Users, Palladins, and Bards,

As a PR agency owner, I have come across a few interesting things that could help you. Some of these might be obvious, others might be useful. Enjoy:

- On Windows, press Windows key, SHIFT button and "R" and you can take video recordings from your screen. This is extremely useful if you need a snippet on Youtube without sacrificing quality. As a PR agency owner, I use this to make client success stories by showing them on the news. I personally used it to make a collage of my own interviews online.

- Your FB Messenger has a folder called "Message Requests." Its a spam folder for inbound messages from non friends. While you will get odd shit, you can find media requests, customer inquiries, etc as well. Check it once a week.

- You can add a link to an IG story and it will carry over to your FB story with the link intact. You cannot organically make a FB story with a working link. To do this on IG, create a story, click on the smiley face, then "link"

- You can remove the background from photos on a site called removebg

- You can add a link on your FB personal page where a quote or tagline should be. This is extremely useful for people to book calls, visit your website, etc. More people need to take advantage of this.

- Linkedin Carousels still get more views and engagement than regular posts. To create one, just make a PDF and click "upload document" and it will post it.

What tips would you share?

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how many businesses probably have decent websites but aren't getting nearly as many customers as they could be simply because people aren't finding them.

You could have a great product, a solid website, and a good offer, but if your site isn't showing up when potential customers search for what you sell, you're missing out on people who are already looking to buy.

And even if you're getting traffic, there's another question: are the RIGHT people finding your website, or are you getting visitors who were never going to become customers in the first place?

That's what makes SEO interesting to me. It's not just about ranking higher on Google or getting more clicks. It's about getting in front of people who are actually likely to buy.

I'm curious how many of you have actually checked your website's SEO recently, beyond just looking at whether it shows up on Google.