The most important metric for building a profit machine...

Customer acquisition cost.

The lowest CAC will win in the long run. Every time. Every industry.
Earned attention and repeat customers are the two biggest drivers of low CAC.

3 Sure fire ways to lower CAC:
SEO: Organic traffic CONVERTS (as much as 10X paid traffic). My company, OnDemand Storage gets 85% of our jobs through SEO. In an industry with 18% profit margins, we maintain over 40%!

You will not outspend the biggest players, be agile and commit to building website equity.
AUDIENCE: Build a loyal following by consistently putting in work to earn goodwill. This can be done by building a social media following or consistently contributing to your community in a positive manner to earn good press.
REPEAT CUSTOMERS/REFERRALS: Turn one customer into many by delivering a wonderful customer experience. Treat customers well, do what you say, and own your mistakes.
Lowering CAC requires investment of time and money. Rather than renting attention through paid acquisition, focus on earning every customer and watch profits soar.

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More from @barrettjoneill

29 Apr
165.5 months of cash flow for FREE?

Here's how I got into the container storage business with $0 and owning 76% of the company with my business partners.

In 2016 we started "OnDemand Storage" with the purpose of providing storage with pickup and student storage...
We've done well and continued to grow.

Recently, an investor approached the team about the red hot container storage business.

He felt "OnDemand Storage" IP is a competitive advantage - everyone knows exactly what it means.
We set up a separate company where he retains 24% of the ownership. The investor put 100% of the money into the company and financed the containers at $4K/each.

The purpose of the company is to:

1. Fill containers locally in metro Boston.

2. Sell "dealerships" nationally.
Read 6 tweets
15 Mar
We waste so much time decision making.

Create a decision-making framework to consistently make fast choices that are in line with your long-term goals and principles.

I call mine “The Person I Want to Be Framework”

It’s very simple, here’s how it works:
I wrote an extremely detailed document outlining the entire life of the type of person I’d like to be.

-Exercise routine
-Meal prep
-Relationships with wife, parents, siblings
-Avoiding unnecessary stress
-Wardrobe
-Views on risk
-Business principles
-Morals
The document is very detailed and accounts for his thoughts and actions in a wide variety of scenarios ranging from business to family and more.

Each day, I'm faced with 100s of decisions. These decisions add up to the sum of who I am and will become.
Read 4 tweets
31 Jan
Risk and entrepreneurship:

Starting a (low risk/ low cost) business is LESS risky than working for a company.

Side note: all entrepreneurs should first start a low cost/low risk service business to generate cash flow and learn about selling and delivering service.
Once the basics are mastered, then it may be time to lever up, raise capital go for something "bigger".

Back to risk and entrepreneurship.

Imagine a sales job offer of $40K + commission.

That sounds much safer than starting a business with no immediate income, but is it?
No, because Company X is not going to keep a salesman that cannot sell employed longer than 3 or 4 months.

(see Frank Slootman discussing A, B, and C players).

If the salesman decided to start his service business, he must sell or he will not earn any money.
Read 10 tweets
25 Jan
Early-stage companies are in a constant battle between growth and staying alive.

I’ve made (and make) several mistakes, here are 6 to avoid:
1. Wasting time on raising capital too early.

Win customers, prove your business model, print profit and maybe you’ll be lucky enough to never need outside capital. Many early-stage hours wasted here.

Investors do not want to invest in pre-revenue startups.
2. Credit cards

Financing marketing campaigns rarely works out well – they need time to optimize. Also, the SaaS recurring fees add up (and most products aren't as good as advertised).

Bankruptcy starts with "we'll pay it later".
Read 7 tweets
9 Sep 20
The formula for a great beginner business model in 2020 (and beyond):

Low Expenses + Recurring Payments + Big Market

This took me 4+ years of running businesses to figure this out. Hopefully this saves you time - your most valuable asset...
Investing a lot of (or any) money into a new company is not realistic for most beginners in 2020. The good news for you is that you need about $500 to get started.

Pro tip: do not waste 6 months asking banks for loans you will not get and certainly don't need.
Low expenses: gives you two very important things.

1.The ability to get started
2.The ability to keep going

Without these two freedoms it's not possible to win in business. Winning takes consistent action over long periods of time.
Read 8 tweets

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