What does this mean.

How the hell do you give a red for that.

I've never seen the US national team play a better half than that.

Don't ask school for the recent matriculation list. Instead ask, if my kids decide not to go to college would your school have equipped them with/ the tools to be an entrepreneur or founder? Then ask for coursework used to teach them. 40K/yr schools can't answer this question.

The biggest problem with modern education is it's based on an outdated system which hasn't adapted to the reality the ability to attain knowledge and learn is more readily available than ever before.

This is a good. Understand why a high % of job openings are ghost postings and why companies do it. They aren't actually looking to hire. AI filters 95% of applicants out. Company builds future pipeline. Investors/public think company is growing due to perception.

If a graduate earned $75K/yr: -They take home about $55K -If they allocate $11K/yr, about 20% of income to loan payoff Payoff timeline = 45 years If earning $100K/yr w/ $70K take home, allocating $20K/yr to loan payoff the payoff timeline is still about 25 yrs. *If employed*

It is the only way to remove dependence on others and take control of your future. Should teach your children how to do the same.

4 questions I wish I answered before starting my first business. 1. What do I actually want out of this? Lifestyle money or scale. $30K a month working alone or a full operation w/ employees. The answer completely changes how you build so figure it out before your start. 2. Who's already doing it? Find them and copy them. They already laid the blueprint. Someone already being there isn't a red flag it's proof of concept and things work. Compete w/ the person a step ahead of you and keep moving up. 3. How much cash does it throw off? First business should have simple economics and immediate cash flow. It can sound boring but that's the point. Low overhead. Beginners often pick something complicated when easier money is right there. 4. Do the economics work? Most people never ask this and it kills them. You can be doing real revenue and still lose money if your customer acquisition cost eats your margin. Know what it costs to get a customer. Know what that customer is worth over time. If the math doesn't work before, it won't work later.

Not surprised by this at all. If you have kids you have likely observed this. AI instruction allows children to learn at their individual pace and absorb per their capacity and learning style. In classrooms you are held to the pace of the collective group.

Doesn't matter if it's lemonade, crayons or candy bars. One of the best things a parent can teach their children when young is the cost of buying something, how much they can sell it for, and what the difference means. You can even just have them buy cupcakes and sell them to family at Thanksgiving. Get creative.

Self storage prints money in any economy. Too bad schools don't teach this. When the economy is good people buy lots of stuff and need storage. When the economy is bad people downsize and need storage. Demand literally never goes away. The product is a concrete box. No inventory. No real customer service. 1-2 employees per facility. Margins run 50-60% which is better than almost any model you can name. Recurring revenue. People buy stuff they don't need with space they don't have and then pay monthly to store it somewhere instead of clean it out. Public storage has a 50B market cap. The guy who invested in concrete boxes is likely doing better than your friend who spent 6 months vibe coding.

Math doesn't lie. Math doesn't care about emotions or how your day is going. It forces clarity. It teaches you to balance complex systems, test, and that every input has an output. Same mindset required to be a founder.

You don't learn to write a symphony by asking. You learn by writing terrible ones until they're not terrible. Same goes for running a business. Doing is the best teacher.

Don't trust someone who keeps pointing to their revenue as success. Company A: -300K/month rev -10% gross margin -30K gross profit Company B: -100K/month rev -38% gross margin -38K gross profit Company B is more profitable and can withstand more stress. Consider just a 5% increase in ad spend. Company A: -Margin drops from 10% to 5% -Gross profit halved -15K left Company B: -Margin drops from 38% to 33% -Still very profitable -33K gross profit One small but common input crushed company A. Always understand your margins.

I would advise an 18 yr old to develop a skill set that can transfer across opportunities, industries, and markets. Backed by an entrepreneurial mindset.

Borrowing $120K for a degree that produces $45K income. And that's if you actually get hired. Either learn a trade or learn the tools of entrepreneurship. Blind borrowing no longer works.

People always ask how successful brands are built on Amazon. They don't start with the product. They start with the economic model and work backwards. This is the difference between seller and brand. It's not about finding a winning product. It's about building a product which survives real world economics. Start with the financial architecture. 1) Study the category before studying suppliers - What are the price bands - Where does the premium tier sit - What is the quality difference between tiers - Do premium products actually convert, or is low cost dominating You are not looking for low competition. You are looking for pricing room. If top sellers are clustered at $18-22, you are entering a margin compressed zone. If there is stability at $35-49 with demand, that is pricing power. Choose your price position first. 2) Build the full cost stack Most people stop at factory price. That is amateur thinking. You need to build a complete per unit economic model. Revenue Assumptions - Your target retail price/zone - Conservative conversion expectations - Early stage ad spend Amazon Deductions - Referral fee - FBA fulfillment - Storage Logistics - Product cost (EXW or FOB) - Packaging - Inserts - Ocean freight vs Air freight - Duties/tariffs - Freight forwarder fees - Any product customization/molds Compliance & Risk - Required tests/certifications - Inspection - Labeling/tracking There can be other variables, but this is a general good starting point. Only after subtracting everything do you calculate: net contribution per unit From that, determine: your maximum landed cost per unit That is your sourcing ceiling. 3) Landed cost ceiling This is where your discipline matters. If your model says: - You need $15 gross contribution after Amazon fees - You need 30% early ad spend tolerance - You want flexibility for logistics fluctuations which often arise Then you reverse engineer. If landed cost exceeds $X, the product is dead. This isn't a maybe. You stop wasting time and pivot elsewhere. Sourcing becomes controlled engineering. The product must fit the economics. You never stretch the economics to fit the product. 4) Stress Test Before placing a deposit run the worst case scenarios. - 30-35% TACOS early - 10-12% return rate - Freight/tariff spikes - Slower initial ranking/velocity than expected If the model collapses under pressure, it will collapse in reality. 5) First SKU is infrastructure You don't just ask, will this sell? You ask: - Does this anchor a brand - Does this system scale - Does this allow for future SKU aligned expansion - Can this SKU fund SKU #2 without outside capital The first SKU is the engine. If the engine is strong you reinvest into expansion. If it's weak you reinvest into survival. 6) Operate like a brand from day one Factories treat you differently when: - You understand market pricing and comparisons - You ask for required certifications upfront and request PDF copies of testing immediately - You target EXW, production and packing costs from initial outreach - You negotiate reorder cycles and terms of long term volume - You are prepared to walk away (which is common) This changes supplier psychology. If you act like a hobbyist, you will be treated as a hobbyist. 7) Understand why most sellers fail - Choose product first and get emotionally tied to it - Model only factory costs - Don't account for full supply chain - Underestimate ad spend - Get taken advantage of by supplier pricing Then when an issue arises which it always doesn't, they panic. Margin was thin from the beginning. They found out late. The core operating principle is this: You are building a constrained system. - Price is constrained by category - Amazon fees are fixed - Ads are competitive - Logistics are volatile The only variable you truly control is engineering the product and supply chain to fit within a strict economic box. If you can discipline yourself to only launch products which survive full cost modeling and stress test, your chances of success skyrocket. This is how brands are built and flourish.

Every founder started with an idea. So did everyone who never became one. You learn by doing. You figure it out as you go. That’s just how it works. Know your product, your numbers, and start.

Honest take on the 10% tariff situation. It stings but it's fixable. Let's remember it is just a line item. Here's how I'd approach it. Start with your supplier. Have the conversation about sharing the increase. On EXW pricing there's usually room, especially if you're a reliable customer with consistent orders. Ask. Worst they say is no. Tariffs are calculated on EXW value so this is where I'd start. And I'd be insistent. Then look at your packaging, and I mean really look at it. Is it heavier than it needs to be? Bigger than it needs to be? Because that's showing up in your freight cost and your fulfillment fees and most people never connect these back to the box they designed two years ago. Freight is a big one. Get fresh quotes because rates move around a lot and your forwarder isn't always proactively finding you savings. Many freight forwarders will offer more competitive $/CBM in exchange for gaining your business. Also genuinely compare FCL vs LCL at your volume. And if you're not already looking at consolidated shipping, start. Sharing container space is one of those things that sounds small but adds up fast. Have your broker audit your HTS codes. Wrong classifications are surprisingly common and mean you might be overpaying on duties independent of the tariff situation. Worth an hour of someone's time. If you've got a supplier you've worked with for a couple years with no real issues, do you need to inspect every single shipment? Probably not. It's not a risk if the track record is clean. Also ask your inspector for better rates. 3PL fees are one of those things everyone pays and almost nobody renegotiates. Storage, receiving, labeling. Ask. And if you're prepping domestically, price out origin prep. Usually cheaper than people expect. Finally, your price. I know nobody wants to raise prices but a $2-3 increase on a $50 product is honestly not a big ask right now. Costs are up everywhere, customers aren't oblivious, and you shouldn't have to absorb all of this yourself. Run the actual numbers. Panic doesn't help anyone. This is a math problem with a few different solutions.