Paddling Furiously - Recent activity

Answered: Social Media

Fri, 16 May 2025 16:23:43 +0000

Even with software, voice and brand are on you to integrate into your posts. Sure software will help you with automated posting and maybe engaging with others, but the key part is knowing what you want to project onto the market (and knowing it resonates with your target audience).

Until that's sorted, all platforms/offshore agencies/assistants in the world will not help you.

Commented: I've finished my business plan, so how can I find funding

Fri, 16 May 2025 14:08:42 +0000

The only thing I want to add here is that funding is easier with some level of product-market fit or validation of the concept. This makes you a lower investment risk.

Commented: Every year at tax time, I realize I'm way behind. Does anyone have hacks or ideas to make things easier?

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 13:02:07 +0000

Putting money aside through a second account is great and becomes a bit of a 'prize' if your expected tax bill is lower than your actual tax bill.

That said, the above works better for low capital investment businesses like consulting and services and is harder when you sell products.

First and foremost, an accounting system is necessary. There are great free ones out there that will link with your bank accounts and credit cards. Invest a few hours and set this up.

If the year has elapsed and you have a large bill, the best way to legally reduce it is through a corporate 401(k). You can make contributions after the new year for the previous year and the caps are quite high. The downside of the above is you cannot reinvest this money in the business but, as I see it, it's either staying with you or going to Uncle Sam.

Answered: How should I think about hiring my first employee?

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 19:02:29 +0000

When I first hired someone, I tried to find an assistant who could help me with everything. But it was hard to train them and I kept thinking it was easier to do it myself. So then I made a list of the tasks I really didn't like or felt like they were wasting my time and found someone who could do many of those things. Because the tasks were better defined, I was actually able to start with a remote virtual assistant, which wasn't very expensive. It saved me time and took away a lot of the things that were bogging me down, so I felt much more productive

Commented: Are using AI for day-to-day work?

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 18:45:25 +0000

I use it a lot for brainstorming -- help me think of a title for this, hash tags for that. Often, the answers aren't great, but they help me think of something I like better. Because it's so generic, I also use it to get a better sense of what the general thinking is on some subject so that I can take a different tack. Lastly, it's really good for things that would previously have taken multiple google searches. Let's say I want to research providers of a certain service. Instead of googling a list of them & then researching each, I can ask AI to provide a list with a brief description of each.

Answered: Does anyone need help with Marketing?

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 14:08:09 +0000

You're probably going to have better luck over time gaining clients here through providing useful information than straight sales posts like this. There are also no details here as to whether you're experienced/capable/successful.

Not telling you what to do and not discouraging you, and I do love that you're taking a shot, but the immediate downvote by someone here signifies to me you've missed resonating with the audience.

-RP

Answered: How can I market my company better

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 14:02:40 +0000

There's nothing wrong per se with hiring a social media person but it's a long tail play, meaning that sales won't materialize overnight and you'll need to give it 6-12 months before you understand if you're getting a return on investment.

Word of mouth is amazing and will yield better prospects than people who are not familiar with you. The downside is that you need people to talk you up on their own accord. Consider incenting them - offer them a discount on your next consulting project (or retainer, not sure about your business model) if they can connect you with people you know.

Do also consider partnerships with other companies (consulting, software, hardware, etc) that are relevant to your customer base. Again, it's not necessarily an immediate sales generator but investing the time here will pay dividends later.

I'm happy to provide some more concrete things you can do if you can share more details about your consulting work and customer base.