Poi Pointing the way to important lessons to be learned

Some Harsh Realities of having a business.

Inventing is rarely a glamorous path of sudden wealth and fame; It is defined by massive financial drain, high rates of market failure, grueling legal battles over patent creation, defense and challenges, along with deep personal stress and time away from family and friends. Most independent creators face severe economic and emotional hurdles long before seeing any public or private success.
What would success look like to you?

A Solopreneur’s personal documentary of his ongoing Idea to Millions journey.
This is the best highly detailed and documented Idea to Profit journeys I recommend. It is a solopreneur rollercoaster adventure that is still progressing.
The content comes like a fire hose and you’ll be taking notes on the widest range of topics.
The product is a jaw pain reducing device for TMJ.
The series is one of my top choices for the first videos for novices to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/@noamaiz

I recommend this one to watch first. One of 18+ videos by Noam Aizenberg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0jYwlNZkig  29 min.

The Library 3 article shares more of the retails.

In the videos, Noam shares about some of the expenses below.
You may notice that patents are not one of them.

Unanticipated expenses are just one of the Harsh Realities of having a business.
Even if you want to license a product, realizing why you only get a tiny percent of net wholesale revenue is a function of prorating these expenses to your products. Do you know how many hands will be in your pockets for their share of revenue?
All of these are deducted from gross revenue before you have net revenue to reinvest in the business and then have taxable personal income for your family.
And what are investors expecting in revenue and a say in how the business is run?
How much after tax personal income is enough to continue to spend your resources on the venture? When would you pivot or fold?

Another reality check is the extensive time spent to be in position to have time to devote to the people that are important to you.

How much time and for how long is usual in small and large enterprises for the founders? What have you promised your family?

E-commerce expense list
1. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

• Inventory/Merchandise: Wholesale cost of purchasing products.

• Raw Materials: Supplies used to create handmade or custom products.

• Manufacturing/Labor: Costs paid to factories or assembly workers.

• Import Duties & Tariffs: International shipping and customs fees.

2. Shipping & Fulfillment

• Customer Shipping: Postage, labels, and freight delivery.

• Packaging Materials: Boxes, mailers, bubble wrap, and packing tape.

• Fulfillment Centers: Fees for warehousing and third-party logistics (3PL) providers.
  Vehicle purchase and maintenance costs and insurances

3. E-commerce Platform & Software

• Platform Subscriptions: Monthly hosting fees for storefronts like Etsy, Shopify or WooCommerce, Amazon

• Payment Processing Fees: Transaction fees from Stripe, PayPal, or Amazon/Etsy seller fees.

• Inventory Management: Software to track stock levels across multiple channels.

• Accounting & CRM: Subscriptions to tools like QuickBooks

4. Marketing & Advertising

• Digital Ads: Paid campaigns on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

• Marketplace Promoted Listings: Sponsored ads on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy.

• Email & SMS Marketing: Software subscriptions and campaign costs.

• Social media ad spending: And consulting / training / services / subscriptions

5. Overhead & Operations

• Website Costs: Domain registration, custom themes, and SSL certificates.

• Home Office/Warehouse: Rent or a proportional write-off for dedicated workspace.

• Utilities & Internet: The cost of power, water, and broadband required to run your online business.

• Legal & Professional Fees: Payments made to CPAs, attorneys, or e-commerce consultants.

• Business Insurance: General liability and product liability coverage.

• Licenses & Permits: State filing fees, LLC registration, and local business licenses

• Dealing with Freight Damage Losses and Replacements: Real or fraudulent

• Travel to meet and supervise manufacturing and logistics partners and trade show / conference events for marketing