Issue #9: The N00b's Guide to Not Getting Pwned

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THE DEEP DIVE

The Franchise Part 2: When Numbers Meet Enthusiasm

Missed the first part of our franchising adventure? Check out Issue #7: RIP My New Meta where we explored how Kirsten discovered this opportunity and convinced me that franchising isn't "cheating at entrepreneurship." Like any good sequel, though, this story gets more interesting when the spreadsheets come out...

SCENE: Late evening in Greg and Kirsten's home office. Kirsten is surrounded by spreadsheets and market research reports, while Greg is enthusiastically browsing competitor websites.

KIRSTEN: (frowning at her laptop) Greg, these numbers aren't adding up. I can't find any reliable data on customer retention rates for this type of tech-enabled service.

GREG: (spinning in his chair) Come on, honey! Look at how cool this is. It's like Bird's electric scooters and bikes, but for [redacted]! People are obsessed with these sharing economy solutions!

KIRSTEN: (sighs) That's not exactly concrete market research. Bird has massive venture capital backing and years of usage data. Have you looked at the seasonal patterns in Calgary? What about our weather? And what's the actual utilization rate per unit when it's -30°C outside?

GREG: (waves hand dismissively) The franchise broker said it's crushing it in California and Florida. And look at these app reviews!

KIRSTEN: (pinches bridge of nose) The broker who gets paid when we sign? That broker? And did you just compare California weather to Calgary?

GREG: Hey, I'm the famous 'Entrepreneur in Training' now. Random people are recognizing me in public (← 1 person). Level 1 characters have to trust their gut sometimes!

KIRSTEN: Your newsletter readers aren't going to make our monthly payments. Look at these projections - even with optimistic assumptions, we'd need at least [redacted] active users per location to break even. And that's not accounting for our unique market challenges.

GREG: (enthusiasm deflating slightly) But... but... it's passive income! And we'd be the first in Western Canada!

KIRSTEN: (stands up) Nothing is passive if the numbers don't work. And being first only matters if there's actual demand. I'm going to bed. Please, PLEASE read through these market analysis reports before our call tomorrow.

GREG: (calling after her) Does watching TikTok reviews from California count as market analysis?

(Sound of door slamming)

GREG: (to himself) I should probably write about this for the newsletter...

The Ironic Plot Thickens

Want to hear something hilarious? I've been buying and developing land for THREE DECADES. Your beloved "Entrepreneur in Training" has somehow managed to navigate millions in real estate deals without accidentally buying future oceanfront property in Alberta. (Though with climate change, maybe I should've...)

Due diligence used to be my middle name! In fact, here's a real gem: Peter (← some will know Peter) and I once spent six months meticulously studying a 320-acre site in North Calgary. We did EVERYTHING. We sat there counting herons like traffic engineers count cars. We had spreadsheets upon spreadsheets. Mathematical models. Bird migration patterns. Wind studies. Soil samples. You name it, we analyzed it.

Want to know what we missed? The giant, very visible gas main running through the property with a setback so large it made the site practically undevelopable. You know, that massive piece of infrastructure you can literally see with your eyeballs when you visit the site. But hey, at least we knew exactly how many herons flew overhead on Tuesdays!

But apparently, all that experience (and those bird-watching skills) evaporated faster than my commitment to New Year's resolutions because I've been too busy:

• Taking financial advice from faceless TikTok bros who were in kindergarten when I bought my first property

• Building a marketing funnel that would confuse a rocket scientist

• Explaining to Kirsten why my LinkedIn engagement metrics are totally a valid market research metric

The Plot Twist That Explains Everything

Here's the kicker: At 2 AM, while actively avoiding those market analysis reports, I found something interesting in my Google Drive - my own "Launch a Profitable Side Hustle in 60 Minutes" guide. You know, the one I wrote and keep updating for newsletter subscribers? The one with actual steps for due diligence and market validation?

Insert sound of head hitting desk repeatedly

Full confession: I still haven't shown it to Kirsten. How exactly do you tell your wife, who's been meticulously running numbers all week, that you wrote a detailed guide about due diligence but were too embarrassed to mention it? "Hey honey, remember how I've been avoiding spreadsheets and watching TikToks instead? Well, funny story..."

I'm pretty sure when I do tell her, the resulting eye-roll will be visible from space. The conversation will probably go something like: "So... I may have written a comprehensive guide about this exact thing." "WHEN?" "Two months ago?" "And you didn't think to mention this while I've been staying up until 2 AM running projections?" Temperature in room drops to match typical February morning

Oh wait... I just remembered something else. Kirsten proofreads and approves every newsletter before it goes out. So... I guess this is how she's finding out. Hi honey! 👋 In my defence, at least I'm being transparent?

Want to avoid pulling a Greg? Grab the guide here:

Unlike my current franchise adventure, it's actually coherent and methodical. And unlike me, it stays focused on the task at hand instead of getting distracted by... oh look, a notification!

Next week: Assuming I'm still alive and have internet access in the doghouse, I'll let you know how this played out. (Spoiler alert: I may be writing the next newsletter from a coffee shop.)

Legal Disclaimer: This article is based on real marital discussions that may or may not have ended with someone sleeping on the couch.

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SMALLER DIVE

Side Hustles School: You don't need 12 hours a week, startup costs, and an MBA to start one.

You need an audience, a product/service to launch and basic marketing.

In this weekly series, we will go from Chucky being a ”side hustle curious” to monetizing his overly specific niche.

SCENE: Two weeks later. Greg's home office features a "My New Meta Community Board" where he tracks reader success stories. A notification pops up - it's Chucky, surrounded by what appears to be a carefully organized collection of bowling balls, each tagged with detailed notes.

(New to Chucky's journey? Catch up on his entrepreneurial adventure in Issue #7: RIP My New Meta and Issue #8: The GOAT JOAT , where he discovered his niche using the Andrew Huang framework and learned the 6 steps to community validation. Trust us, it's worth the read!)

Greg: Chuck! Your background's looking rather... organized. Those community observation techniques paying off?

Chucky: (beaming) Greg, these past two weeks have been WILD! Remember those green flags you mentioned? I've got a whole spreadsheet full of them! But I also noticed something... interesting.

Greg: (leaning forward) Hit me with it, Chuck. What did our bowling ball anthropologist discover?

Chucky: (pulling up his "Community Insights Journal") So, I followed your framework religiously. The good news? There's definitely a market. The surprising part? It's not exactly what I thought it would be.

Greg: (nodding) Ah, the classic pivot moment. Tell me more.

Chucky: Well, turns out the real demand isn't just for the bowling balls themselves. These collectors are OBSESSED with the stories behind them. When someone posts about finding a ball from a specific alley or era, the engagement goes through the roof! And get this - they're struggling with preservation techniques and authentication.

Greg: (grinning) And what does that tell you?

Chucky: (eyes widening) That maybe... just maybe... I should focus on more than just buying and selling? Like, what if I created a preservation guide? Or started documenting the history of different rare balls?

Greg: Now you're thinking like an entrepreneur! But before we dive into product development, let's validate these new insights. Your homework for next week...

[To be continued in next week's issue: "From Insights to Income - Chucky's Product Evolution"]

Stay tuned, fellow side hustlers! Next week, we'll explore how to turn community insights into actual products and services. Plus, Chucky makes a surprising discovery about what his bowling ball community REALLY wants (spoiler: it's not what you think!).

Key Takeaways from Chucky's Journey So Far:

• Issue #7: Finding his niche using the Andrew Huang framework

• Issue #8: Learning the 6 steps to community validation

• This Week: Discovering unexpected market opportunities

Remember: Sometimes the real opportunity isn't what you initially thought. Keep observing, keep learning, and stay open to pivot possibilities!

Homework for Our Readers:

• If you're following along with your own niche, what unexpected patterns have you noticed in your community?

• Are you keeping a Community Insights Journal? What surprising discoveries have you made?

• Hit reply and let us know - your insight might be featured in next week's issue!