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Thinking about video
So what if we started doing video? On the blog. Just started talking. Just like this.
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Why is being alone scarier than failing?
I set a goal to launch five ideas in 2021. This would atone me for failing to launch past projects and help me get over my fear of launching in public. But somehow this morphed into “launching five of my ideas with other people.”
Before the New Year, I approach someone I worked with on Gvbck to join me on my Sharescrption idea. But after two weeks, it was clear that the partnership was not working. I’ve been here before. Sadly plenty of times. I know what someone who is not committed feels like. There is a simple test…. stop calling.
And that is what I did three weeks ago. I stopped calling. If he calls me we have a different problem. But if he does not call me I’m right. Not committed.
He has not called me in three weeks. In that time I built and launched Sharescrption from scratch. And it’s making sales.
The most important question here is not why didn’t the partnership work. It’s how did “launch five ideas” morph into “launch five ideas with other people.” I’ll need to do a little soul searching to answer that one. This is a generational problem. Like my father before me, Barba’s have more success when they go alone. Yet, they do everything they can to not be alone. Why is being alone scarier than failing for us Barba’s?
Another thing COVID has forced me to accept is that I can do a lot more alone than I thought I could and it’s way faster. Going forward I’m going alone.
Keeping the thumb in the photo #Wabi-sabi. -
Learning to take time off
I worked none stop while my family was away, yet I felt guilty for taking an afternoon off to go sledding with my daughter. I’m sure glad I did. It was one of the best days we had together in a long time. Hell, it was one of the best days I’ve period in a long time. COVID-19 continues to realign my priorities.
The snow was gone 12 hours after this photo was taken. -
150 hours later…we make our first sale.
My 2021 resolution was to only test ideas that people could pay us with a credit card. No complex business models. Test ideas at light speed. Test if people will hand over their credit card for a simple product or service.
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140 hours later
My family left me alone 11 days ago when they went to Grandma’s house. I have spent every waking moment since building two marketplaces. For the first 5 days, I built the foundation for Giveback Coffee from scratch. Then on day 6 I switched gears and cloned the shop code to build Ver. 0.3 of Sharescription. Moments ago I switched off PayPal Sandbox and its live. Let’s see where this little Sharescription experiment takes us.
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Sharescription Rejected by Betalist 😥
I’m surprised and disappointed. I emailed betalist this morning to know what I need to fix to get accepted. Developing…
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Just posted Sharescription on Reddit (or anywhere) for the first time🍾
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Facebook could be my one-stop launch shop
I spent a few hours last Friday updating old Facebook pages. Facebook allowed me to change the name on two. So I converted one page of a product I launched years ago into a page for this blog. I changed the name of another with the hopes to merge it with that Blog Facebook page. I’ll know by the end of the week if I was approved.
I then connected the blog page to personal Instagram so I can get more insights into my Instagram posts. I love the way brands are selling on Instagram. Having a professional Instagram page will allow me to open a store. I need to learn how to sell products for another project. I also connected that page to WhatsApp. I know nothing about what you can do with WhatsApp so I thought I would learn.
There is a lot to learn on the Facebook business portal too. I added a Facebook pixel to this blog to learn how their analytics works. I think you can use this to advertise to people like those who visit your site. Insights should give me an understanding of what our audience looks like.
In the spirit of restrictions and not using new software, I will also use Pages to get user feedback.
I am excited to finally take advantage of Facebook’s power. It’s possible that Facebook could be the one-stop-shop for launching, validating, and scaling an idea.
UPDATE: If I’m learning to make a Facebook Hub, why not add messenger chat to this blog, right?
UPDATE II: Merge was approved!
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Why would that work now test
I hired a developer to help us launch All in the Family, but I’ve not heard from him in 48 hours. The always optimistic Anthony would have given him the benefit of the doubt. I would tell myself, “he’ll be back tomorrow.”
That’s approach never worked for me in the past, why would it work now. Every decision I make going forward must be run through the “Why would that work now” test.
I’ve started talking with his replacement.
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The fear of people calling me out
I wanted to launch all in the family before New Years’ Eve, but I was being crazy insane. You know, like someone, who never followed through with a diet who says they are going to lose 50 pounds in 30 days. I am on track to launch on ProductHunt next week. Three weeks to launch a product is Bizzaro for me, considering I’ve not launched a product after 15 months.
I can speak in front of thousands of people with no problem, but struggle to put my work out there.
It wasn’t me who launched HeyRide, it was my partner Dennis. He got so fed up with me that he said, “Anthony on Product Hunt.” I gave him my usual bullshit excuses of why we shouldn’t do it. It’s not ready. Someone will steal our idea. We’re only in Berlin, let’s not launch worldwide. Pathetic.
This year I’m trying to redeeming myself from past failed launches. I’m learning how to quiet the lizard brain. Learning how to embrace vulnerability. Learning to live with the fear of people calling me out.
Learning how to quiet the lizard brain.
