Notes from January: Side Business Edition

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

I don't know why, but I had this urge to write about my recent journey. I don't even know if anyone cares to read it. Feels like text blogs are not popular anymore — I should probably do a series of shorts instead. But I wanted to do it, and here you go. Let me know if you read it and if this is something you would want to read more about.

This post is about a journey I have been on recently. A journey of trying to figure out how to grow this business. I learned some things along the way, hit some walls, and I am still figuring it out.

I used to think ads don't work

I never bought anything because of an ad. When I need something, I research it, ask around, and then buy. And it is rare when an ad shows you something you actually need at that moment. So I assumed — why would anyone else buy from ads? I didn't really believe in sales and marketing.

Then we started doing sales and marketing automation for clients. And I saw it work in real life.

Here is an example of what we set up for one client. Ads run on Facebook and Marketplace. Leads land in Salesforce. Workflows trigger calls for call center workers. Automations send text messages. AI agents call for retargeting. AI agents schedule appointments. Multiple systems sync to keep everything up to date.

And it works. The client gets customers.

That was my first realization — just because I don't buy things from ads doesn't mean other people don't. It works for a lot of people.

The clients who come to us already believe in technology

I started noticing a pattern. The people who reach out to us are usually people who already know a bit about technology. They research it, they believe in it, and they can afford to pay someone to handle it for them.

But then I thought about all the businesses I know personally. A lot of them are not coming to us. Why? Because they don't even know what modern technology can do. They don't know you can automate lead generation, have AI agents make calls, or sync everything together. They simply don't know this exists.

So I decided to go to them

I know technology. I know what businesses need — they need clients. So what stops me from going to businesses and saying: "I know technology, and I know you need clients. Let me handle that for you."

I started talking to businesses. Realtors. Car mechanics. Construction guys.

Some of them were not ready to spend money on ads and automation. I get it. It is hard to spend money when you don't know the outcome. Some had tried this before and got bad leads. They were burned.

So I came up with an idea. What if they just pay for the ads, and I don't charge them anything upfront? Instead, I get a percentage of the profits from the clients I bring them.

I went back to some people with this idea. A lot of them said yes.

Then I tried to do the math

I sat down to calculate potential profits. Used AI. Talked to friends who run ads. And I couldn't make the numbers work. In some cases, if the client pays for ads and I work for free in exchange for a profit share, I end up making something like $20 per hour. That is not what I am looking for.

So I thought — what if I focus on jobs where the profit margins are high? Bathroom remodeling, for example. Labor alone can be around $10K. If I get 15-20% of that, the numbers start to make sense.

I went back to construction guys with this idea. They were interested again.

But then I discovered a bigger problem

As I dug deeper, I started asking about how they sell. Let's say we run ads, we have a call center, we answer calls, we schedule estimate appointments. Great. But now the construction guy has to go meet the customer and sell himself.

Talking to some of these guys — they are not salespeople. Some of them laughed when I asked if they make small talk with clients, chat about life, hobbies, whatever. Some of them don't have strong English skills.

So here is the problem. I spend time. They spend money on ads. And then they fail to close the deal. What do I do?

I thought about having my own salesperson

What if I have one salesperson who is really good? Someone I know and trust.

I actually know a guy. He is young, speaks great English, and I have seen how good he is at selling. He shows up for a $400 job and walks out with a contract for a whole house painting.

I met with him. He was open to the idea. There are challenges — he would need to learn areas he doesn't know, like bathroom remodels. But it is not impossible.

A lesson from OnPoint Fencing

While I was going through all of this — thinking, researching, dreaming, talking to people — I met with some folks from OnPoint Fencing. They taught me something valuable.

They run very narrow targeted campaigns. Instead of general ads, they target specific audiences. For example: moms in a certain area, with kids 3 to 10 years old. The message says something like — "Old fence is a hazard. Maybe it is time for a replacement?" Or: "No fence? It is not secure, and it is not cozy."

When someone responds to a narrow campaign like that, they are usually serious. It resonates with them. By the way, OnPoint runs over 200 targeted campaigns.

I also noticed their Instagram and TikTok are full of videos. They have a full-time person making shorts. That helps them be known and recognizable locally.

That got me thinking. If I am advertising for ten different construction companies, there is no way I can make quality social media content for all of them.

Maybe I should focus on just one company

What if I find one construction company and focus everything on them? One company means:

• One person can make content for them
• One call center handles their leads
• One salesperson closes their deals
• If we get too many leads, we resell them to others

This feels more manageable.

Where I am at right now

I am in talks with multiple construction companies. I don't know exactly where this will go. But I am figuring it out step by step.

If you are running a side business or thinking about starting one, maybe something in my journey will be useful. Or at least it shows that it is okay to not have everything figured out from the start. You learn as you go.