also: I have experience selling and making brackets for personnel use. And you gotta leave more room than you think for the bracelet. The Paracord goes from being a centimeter to a quarter inch! So make sure you keep the knot thickness in mind (and probably get that down to a science).also measurement no exact
And to all who think I’m selling bracelets somewhere behind bc’s back: I’m not. I have sold one because I was asked a while ago (before young entrepreneurs of YYE thread) and that’s it. I’ve made a couple for my own use (and family members). But trust me… I don’t want to encroach on bc’s awesome very soon to be business
Also. Thanks for the site encouragement guys. It took me a while, by the new one is SOOOO much better. And there’s still things that are gonna be tweaked, but it’s a good first try I think
Well, I think it’s time to discuss something else about business…competition. I have not encouraged you guys to compete with each other here. I always thought you had more to gain doing it differently. But, in real life, it happens all the time. Friends compete with other friends. Andre and JD are friends, for example. I don’t want you guys to get the idea that you can’t do it, or it would be “mean” to do it. I think it all depends on the circumstances. When you compete, as friends, you cannot “share” ideas the same as you would when they are your competition. One of the reasons we can discuss things in the open, in the thread, is because everyone is in their own lane. You and I do holders, but they are entirely different in design and material, and have their own market within that.
There are some ethical considerations in business, and it is almost something that cannot be taught, you have to kind of find what works for you on your own. Some would say there are no ethics in business. I would disagree with that, but I think you guys will have to make your own decisions about what’s right.
I have to ask you.
Hypothetical #8 - Competition
When is it okay to compete with your friends, and under what circumstances is that okay?
That is not for a contest or prize, just generally a question.
What a loaded question! But I love your questions.
I think competition is healthy and should be encouraged as I think it builds creativity and helps muster new inventive ideas, but for me what I think is not ok is when you are stepping in to business with I direct plan to take food (proverbially speaking here) off someone else’s table and offer the exact tit for tat things and aren’t able to twist the idea enough to be different just enough to actually improve on or serve an area of the market that is open and screaming to be filled (to me this is the best way to make money in business).
You have to find ways to market a product differently and in a way the people you are trying to capture will enjoy your product and offerings better then what’s already offered. There are obvious exceptions to this idea but those are for another topic. If you play your business with honor and integrity you never have anything to worry about. In some markets there are limits in how many of a certain business can be in a given area and others have no. Compete clauses. Just remember if you are going into business with 1-7 other businesses doing the same thing in your area and it might be a limited market you have to ask yourself how can you be direct competition but be different enough to gather a customer base? Basically if the business type you are dealing with isn’t booming in the area do you want to compete or do the same thing as what’s there and not generating a bunch of sales or do you make to make your own market share and possibly change the game up enough to where you arent even really competing anymore base on how you handle things and are able to be different enough and offer similar things but allow your marketing, customer service, and customer approach be different enough that it puts you in a different class altogether.
I guess I’m saying carve out your own niche and do things above and beyond the standard so you don’t ever have to compete directly with those doing what you’re doing, be the litmus test by with all else in your field of desires business is measured, become that gold standard.
Always a pleasure to see someone really put the kind of thought needed into a question like that. I totally agree with you.
I think it’s okay to compete with your friend, but if will happen, there is certainly a way to go about it. For one thing, find your own lane and twist to put on something, and never do exactly what was done before you. Find a way to make something your own.
Also, if your friend is doing something first, go to him/her and express that you would like to enter that market, and get their sincere thoughts on how they would perceive it. It’s cool to compete, but you don’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth either. You may still be friends at the end of the day, but if you don’t do things right, it will strain the friendship. I have seen that happen many times before.
This is a true story…with a happy ending.
Bryan Williams and Dwayne Carter are like father and son. But, they are in business and Dwayne is signed to Bryan’s record label. But, that contract was about to expire. Sean Carter was friends with Bryan Williams and was invited to his parties and hanging out on his yacht the whole nine yards. Bryan and Sean were friends. When Dwayne’s contract was about to end, Sean stepped in, attempting to sign him to his record label instead. Sean could have done it all behind Bryan’s back too. There were several issues:
The “like father like son” relationship between Bryan and Dwayne.
The friendship between Sean and Bryan.
Money, and Dwayne taking the deal that was in his best interest.
Sean says that in the end, he told Bryan what he was intending to do in signing Dwayne to a deal. When Sean did that, he got some sort of cease and desist letter from Bryan, Sean got the hint, and left matters alone. In the end, Sean and Bryan are still friends, Dwayne and Bryan are still are like father and son, and Dwayne probably negotiated a better deal with Bryan the next time around, because Sean was offering him such a good deal. It worked for everyone.
The people in the story are Jay-Z (Sean Carter), Lil’ Wayne (Dwayne Carter) and Baby (Bryan Williams) of Cash Money Records. If you follow music, you caught on early. The point is, Jay-Z was acting as a businessman, but I think he did the right thing in the end. I think they all did. If business is business in the end, and you do things your own way, people will respect that in the end. But, if you have a true friend, it is not worth crossing them to make money. That is my take on it. My only advice would be to communicate, and be open and honest about those intentions.
hypothetical #8- never because that can ruin your friendship which is never fun because then there is that awkward space between each other when you see each other and that you both did some thong wrong. However it’s okay to work with your friends because then you can spread ideas and make even better ideas.
I think working with friends is easier then working with family. Friendships can be patched up but generally family once tainted never goes back to good and then family gatherings become painfully awkward until one of you drop out of them.
Thanks again TotalArtist for the awesome questions!
I think you should compete any time you feel you bring something of your own to the equation.
If you see a market opportunity you can fill, you should feel free to do it. If you have a friend in that market space, you may wish to collaborate with them, but you may not. You may have better ideas how to run the business, and don’t want your friend’s bad practices getting in the way.
This can harm your friendship. It is important to realize that, and make decisions accordingly.
In the mid '90s, I started my first business. I did CD mastering, duplication, art services, etc, for local bands, as well as advertised nationally. We were very good at it, and there was another company in town doing the same thing, but charging much more for lesser quality work. We didn’t want to use thir service, and we saw we could do better and charge less by being more efficient, and doing higher volume. We put them out of business in 9 months. It wasn’t our goal, but it happened. Feelings were hard. We were all part of the same small music community. But in the end, we wanted to do it right. We wanted the kind of business that we would use ourselves.
im stoked i have a potential business venture coming to a head.
who here would be interested in a color changing string? it also glows in the dark? so you go from inside to outside and it goes from clear/white to purple in the sun or uv lighting then back inside and it glows
Interesting stuff. Now that I know you were in the CD duplication business, I’m curious who you ran out of business I always used “Superdups.” I was doing my thing mostly around 1998 - 2002. Superdups moved to NH, but they are still around. Since you were in the business…any opinion of them?
my bro has a shirt from the Caribbean that changes color once it hits sunlight. I imagine it’d work much like that. But as a yoyo string that’s an amazing idea! Better be quick with making it, don’t want anyone to steal the idea and shoot em out before you get the chance! Good luck
Superdups were our wholesaler originally when we got started. I was involved in our business right up until '98. The company we ran out of business was in Northampton, MA. I’m having a hard time remembering their name. One of the partners ran a radio show on 99.3 FM I think that had the same name. It’s all a fog now.
Very interesting. I was pretty good at shopping around, even back then. Sounds like I made a good choice. If I pressed an album today, I would still use them.
I can’t wait to hear more, if he pulls this off, it may be unprecedented.
On a side note, if you think about how this thread started, and where it is today, it has evolved quite nicely I must say. I like having a little “hang out” spot.
If business is business in the end, and you do things your own way, people will respect that in the end. But, if you have a true friend, it is not worth crossing them to make money. That is my take on it. My only advice would be to communicate, and be open and honest about those intentions.