Why my old business failed, how to not be a stupid failure like Louis Rossmann
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
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Louis is the only guy who can make a business lecture interesting
yeah man I can't believe how he does that
i am a student. i have no intention to start a business whatsoever right now. yet i watched this vudeo to the end.
'mI literally writing my mission statement as I'm watching this, I've made similar mistakes to him in the past, and his suggestions are great.
Over 80% of new businesses fail their first year.
Scary stuff.
@@livesimplyandhumbly Because over 80% of those failed businesses don't do enough research and planning before starting, they just jump right in.
I'm a sixty five year old man and I have learned so much from you. You are honest, decent, hard working and should be proud of yourself.
Wow, I'm 55 and was thinking pretty much the same thing about Louis. He ought to write a book (or several)!
meh, you didn't sign your comment with your name, you're not 65
- Georges
I’m a girl in my 20s who’s not even into tech and I’m not usually one to sit and just watch people talk.. but I can listen to Louis talk about literally anything and be fully attentive and content. It’s like 4am on Sunday too. Thank you for your service7
So you like buisness ? Because i cant find many girls who actually like buisness and/or technology
techknowledge try looking lmao
@@devansh3700 It's actually really common
One year later and I agree this is true
Haha I agree, I'd have never believed someone if they'd said I'd watch someone fixing macbooks and enjoy it 🤣
"We're used to Mission Statements that mean NOTHING. ... Because they come from people, from authority figures, that mean NOTHING."
AMEN
lol, my company just did a rebrand and they spent millions on clidhe mission statements and all that other dumb shit that means nothing. Its crazy that they pay people to vomit up that bullshit.
@RectalDiscourse Amen is not a mission statement it litteraly means "so be it"
And awomen
a lot of people rise to level of incompantance.
Mission statements are good. As long as they're yours, they're printed poster size, laminated, and put on a wall where it'll stare at you everyday.
Successful businessmen, athletes, teachers and such, use them regularly.
Your description contrasting real mission statements from useless ones is spot on!
I've been running my own business for 15 years now, my growth rate is exactly ZERO and my main problem is one you described in this video: I do not delegate and I try to do every single thing for myself (accounting, sales, customer care, support, etc). I've been making a lot of the mistakes you described, this video came in an amazing timing as I'm evaluating how to change my business model and perform better.
Thanks for the insight Louis, don't now you in person but I promise somehow I'll make the trip from my country to yours just to shake your hand, buy you a beer and express the huge gratitude I feel.
Read "The E myth revisited." It talks about the problem you bring up that many business owners face.
@@kevinsedwards lmao
So.....did you change?
@Jip Jackson Even more than that, he's not necessarily just barely breaking even. He said he had zero growth. Technically by those words he could have been making huge profits for 15 years straight, just not able to scale up to the even bigger profits that he wants.
Rudy Giuliani enters chat *ZEROOO*
I swear, every time Louis makes a video like this, it's information that you can't buy. Schools aren't going to teach you life lessons and that's why they're a failure. This stuff should become mandatory watching in business classes (and some of his other stuff mandatory PERIOD).
He's honest, that's a rare commodity these days.
Love you Louis.
What is his other videos that has similiar vibe like this one?
Imagine if all schools, for any majors or trades, reserved an entire semester where they just bring in business owners, professionals, and working class people and let them talk about their mistakes, failures, and "I wish I would have known" stories, and let students ask them anything. No assignments, just take notes.
Schools prepare drones, anyone who is anything today mostly flunked and carved their own way in life.
To stake yourself for like 40 dollars to make a profit margin of 48 cents, that's just horrible man, but I feel you. Often times people never really asked the big questions at first, especially if they're just starting, and then when the slippage starts adding up left and right, next thing you know, you're doing well on paper, but you're in the hole cause you didn't account for all the factors. Thanks man this will definitely help me in the long run, especially what you said about having a mission statement.
31:50
"I would rather do things at my own pace." This line stuck with me. Having that specific control goes a long way towards reducing stress on the job, no matter what you're doing. No one likes to be rushed.
Learnt more in 56 minutes then 3 years of business school
For more business lessons watch "The Profit" TV series. Forget school.
In three years of business school the difference between then and than never came up?
@@rich7447 😂
bad school, should have shown up to class? learned this capital investor junk in HS.... granted, I'm privileged by podunk tiny school and a good mentor.
Yeah that part does kind of matter
45:16 - 45:23 " I'm going to put my effort into promoting my own platform rather than renting success from some body else's platform" - Well said.
Yeah good point.
thanks for pointing out that one
As someone whose wife runs their own business. I can tell you that she has experienced everything that you were talking about today. Thank you for putting this out here.
Your wi-fi runs own business?
I think thats what he meant
Wtf are y'all talking about WiFi for?
@Derek Charette even before I got into Tech I knew who he was because I didn't like Apple (to be clear I don't like apple because I've been screwed by them before)
@@x105w5 i think its a joke for wifey maybe? which needs to stop cuz its disrespectful.
You nailed it .
These are the reasons why people fail at their businesses.
The ability to analyze the reasons why you failed and learn from it is the most important skillset a person can have.
Cheers
As a business owner in medical sales, this was an outstanding analysis which has given me much food for thought. Thank you.
Something I learned in a business class in college that is so simple yet so true:
You can have Cheap, Fast, Good. But you have to pick 2 (can't have all 3)
Yup, Shapiro talks about this... I think he said it was, Friedman? Or Sowell? Who said the original quote.
Louis, you are an absolute treasure. Thanks for sharing.
As someone who is about to begin my own small town Locksmithing business, this was invaluable to me and really made me think. I want to focus on residential homes and antique locks, but I know I can also grab those sweet commercial bank contacts. Having watched this and just finishing your follow up on why you don't expand, I now know I want to start small, grow organically, and most importantly.... I gotta sit my ass down and write up a true mission statement. Your help is greatly appreciated, and I'll do my best to stay in my lane and use my brain as much as possible. Thank you Louis, thank you very much.
Louis Rossmann's school of business for people educated by public schools to have no clue about running their own business. The statement on mission statements alone is worthy of hours of meditation on how to increase your chances at success.
Louis, it sounds like you succeed when you fundamentally align to your core values. Every steps of the way. Thank you for sharing your failures.
He is a likable guy.. Something about him. God has blessed you
This analysis is so spot on that it should be part of MBA. I used to sell on Ebay and Amazon, and I have exactly the same experience!
That's what I was thinking.. Watching this video is probably as useful to a future business owner than any class they'll take in college.
@@SteveJones172pilot if your going to college for that...yikes!
Seriously tho, 1 year of effort n your ahead of louis, by year 3 you should already be running a store! The education is practically secondary to the paid apprenticeship
Textbooks and structured lessons plans crafted by educational committee are a good way to learn but the best lessons which stick with you usually come from teachers getting sidetracked - the anecdotal didactic personal tales of avoidable catastrophe. You can rarely tell if someone truly knows what they are talking about but these are the sorts of lessons which you can really take someones word for, generally speaking
This is pretty basic stuff. I'm shocked anyone going into an MBA doesn't already know these things. That being said, Louis did learn from it, and did give a good video, and it's a good reminder to keep these things in mind.
More videos like this please. It is great to hear you reflect about your former self as a wiser person. Personally, it helps me learn a lot because I feel like I am in many ways like your former self and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone and that a lot of people find the challenges relate-able.
I second this wholly
Hey leo whats up man
Go back to his old videos, he really gets into this stuff..
this man took an hour of his life and job to talk a little to us so we won't make mistakes that make us lose money, you are an absolute wholesome, beautiful (no homo) and very good person, thank you
Ahahaha I love the no homo reference, you’re definitely from my generation…lol
Mr Rossmann very few people are honest to SHARE their failures in public (in an authentic way), you did that ...THANKYOU Sir
Wow, I’m speechless...a yr later in my repair business I have a lot of questions I can’t simply answer. And this video was going to play next from watching another repair video and read the title, omg this video was much needed and it was perfect, it is exactly what I needed to hear. Having a small business is stressful and it just got more stressful with the whole pandemic and pricing and customers not happy with the “price” I’m like wth do you not know what all I have to do and pay but you are right they simply don’t understand and don’t care and do not appreciate. And I always said slow and steady wins the race and don’t let other “business owners” tell you “what is best” for your business your mission. Thank you for this video! Following you from Houston :)
Finally an older style of video when you talk about yourself and evaluate your past miss these types of videos
yes, i liked this piece too, ear ye!
This is what I've caught from the video, feel free to let me know what I've missed.
1) Whenever you're using other people's money as your business's equity, discuss what their expected rate of return is, and whether it follows your expected rate of return in relation to the quality you want to put out. Everybody loves a handshake deal, but getting it in writing is better.
2) Have a meaningful and specific mission statement for your business to abide by, and not stray from that
3) Have a target demographic, do not try to please everyone. Also, it's unwise to venture to bigger demographic as soon as you get a bigger capital. Having $10,000 to run with competitors valued at $5,000 each and thrive to $50,000 or more isn't an indication to expand to more services; you might have opened yourselves up to competition with those valued at $100,000
4) Accept that while other people can accept the numbers (get required profit margin) in a certain (sub-)industry, you may not be able to do so, and that's alright
Everyone loves a handshake deal but getting it in writing is better.
One tiny thing... 2) Have a meaningful and *specific* mission statement...
Ah, and
5) Mo’ money mo’ problems. Sometimes.
@@wobblysauce Thanks! I'll append that to 1) since it's similar
@@Lazdinger Thanks! Added the first part. I think your 5) is similar 4), but I guess I could expand on that.
Edit: It's more related to 3), so I edited that instead.
@@hermdude Oh was not meaning to append but just that people do seem to like the word is bond... but no days is it more common for in writting/contract as they seem to try one up or double cross to get advantages.
Trust is a funny thing.
It’s the old “Good, Fast, Cheap “ saying.
You can only get 2 of the 3, but, it’s not possible to get all three “Good, Fast and Cheap.”
Good and fast won’t be cheap.
Good and cheap won’t be fast.
Fast and cheap won’t be good.
😀👍
Is it the situation of amd ryzen🤔
@@Deegan_Prashanth kind of
@@ronny9507 👍
Yes, it's a very well known concept: the project management triangle.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle
And then there's Amazon that became a trillion USD company by nailing all three
Words of wisdom par excellance. You can ALWAYS spot veterans who have been in the trenches vs. academics who have merely memorized everything; but learned nothing.
Probably the MOST enlightened portion was that success teaches one NOTHING; REAL sustainable, repeatable; consistent success is ALWAYS derived from the forensics of your failures.
As a professional business coach for over half a century; I can advise your audience that YOU are a man to be listened to; and then listened to again and again. MOST of business survival is just knowing where the land mines are.
Incredibly valuable counseling; however, most will lack the wisdom to recognize it; the rest could never repay you for what you are providing. Well Done, Sir!
The best thing I've done in my web design bussiness is getting rid of cheap customers, usually they don't pay on time, they haggle, they ask for more... and they end up taking more time and work than a good paying customer that values your work. And the key is what you just said, have a clear mission and focus only on your market target. This was an amazing video Louis, thanks!
Wow Louis, I'm glad after all these experiences you didn't become a callous a-hole that only cars about the bottom line. Your business is exactly the kind of businesses we like to support and what we model ours around albeit a very different profession. People going into a new business can learn immensely from this talk.
Louis, I honestly don't know if you will read this, but, you just helped me to see what things are a advantage and which ones are not, I'm starting my own company very soon and this video got me to understand that you need to plan carefully every aspect of your business in order to do fine.
Best Regards from Panama
Louis: "I think the first one that I did for the new business was the LP171WE2TLA2 screens for the A1151A1212 MacBook Pro".
WTF man, that is some memory!!
Lol this is the same for the people who did the MCSE courses they know they install CD keys from memory lol.
@@danfuerthgillis4483 Been over 10 years since I have done an XP install, but still remember the Corporate CD install key. My bootleg Win7 DVD (actually on a write-protected Kanguru bootable USB stick) has the code built in. As for Win10, I just use some weird dos.bat script. Still impressed by his memory though, I can't remember any laptop part numbers.
@@fastsales1328 I tried that and it does not work. Are you off a letter 😉
This video was priceless. You're awesome for making it Louis. Started my own business in February of this year, and I literally wrote down all your mistakes to remind myself not to be such an idiot if I can help it. I have a woman and 2 kids to feed, house, and keep happy, and to be honest, I need all the tools I can get my hands on. Keep doing what you're doing, man. I'll keep watching and recommending others to. Take it easy.
How is it going now?
The iPhone screen story reminded me of a time in the 1980's when our mission was to repair expensive cameras for professional studios. At the same time we used to get many compact 35mm film cameras in for repair and our set price was about £35 GBP per camera. Any more (we thought) and you're getting toward the price of a replacement camera. Nobody wanted to fix them at our place, they could take longer to fix than a simpler mechanical 'pro' camera that we would charge 3x the price to repair. In order to reduce demand, we doubled the prices overnight. To our astonishment the level of compact cameras coming in remained the same. We then used to ship them out to another repairer who specialised in them and charged about £30-£35 per camera. Every Friday, their delivery guy would drop off and pick up new repairs. We just billed the customer and made £35 profit per camera just for doing a bit of paperwork and everyone was happy! Great video!
I am going to send this to my nephew who is in business school. More information in this video than I learned in my own business class. I am a small business owner so can relate to a lot of what you are saying. Great video!
What a gem. This should be taught in every business school. Thanks Louis! You are fabulous.
Louis I have no knowledge of your industry but love the videos and have been binge watching.
Your dry sense of humor is awesome.
I think I now know how to fix a mac book.
This is a lesson I kinda needed. I'm working a software product but this whole thing applies to me as well, you learn a lot more from failure. Thanks Ross
What a wise, wonderful, and generous, person you are Louis. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
When it comes to business: It's better to learn what not to do, than what to do. It allows you more creativity in how you do it while avoiding mistakes.
Sex Frank... Not right now Ed...
Hey Louis, we break electronics all the time. Got any friends/shops in LA that you can recommend?
Rossmann - Everything you need to know | Up to speed
Oh yeah yeah?
Mail them in to Louis.
Genius bar
tcrs circuts is in cali, but not l.a.
he has a yt to check out.
Honestly this is one of the best Rossmann videos especially for those who are in this type of repair business. I've been doing this for over 20 years, and can tell you that all the trials and tribulations he has talked about are dead on.
You could have the biggest/fanciest store, the best soldering iron/tools/parts, yet making the right or wrong decisions can mean staying or going out of business as customer's needs and industry trends are changing over time.
Wish you all the best, hope this video might help some to stay afloat. :)
I almost came to tears when I reached the end of this video; you're sharing your experience, the what not to do, and how much it cost you, relating it to a similar situation I'm going through with a long-considered "good customer" is so eye opening and relatable, it just, I can't even put into words what this video made me feel and how much I needed to watch/hear it. Thank you Louis
Trying and failing is how one acquires "experience." Something quite valuable in itself, provided a lesson is learned in the event. Thanks for sharing with us the benefit of your mistakes.
I love how honest and straightforward you are
Hi Louis. I just want to thank you for always speaking truth from the heart. You seem like a genuine fellow and your business advice also touches slightly on general life advice. It's good stuff.
it's literally why I watch his vids. I first came across some vids on apple products and was curious, but, as I watched, I got the impression that Louis is, well, at least a relatively honest man.
Thank you for providing such a great breakdown that clearly lays out why I absolutely -Hate- buying products from ebay and amazon. The "convenience" year after year proves to be almost entirely false. I've learned a lot from your channel, the biggest thing being: I absolutely do not have the patience that it takes to go into business for myself. The fact that you do, and not just the patience, but the time to explain all these experiences and effects of things to us, is something I really appreciate.
Great advice, Like others noted, this should be the first talk given to students in every business course. FOCUS on what you excell at and leave the rest. Hard to do for the egos but is the best advice for your future success. I had fitness stores 30 years ago and needed warehousing with heavy material handling equipment, delivery and assembly personnel, had to stock and display hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, also designed gyms for schools, condos and corporations, had to learn advanced electronic, mechanical and technical skills, pay high retail rents, and deal with customers who wanted a bargain in a market with slim margins to begin with. It was exhausting for me and my wife to compete with the big guns. Funny thing is that 90% of our profit came from only 10% of our favorite equipment. It took me ten years of long hours and logistical and sales torture to realize that I should just focus on my strengths- my ability to sell what works and not the shit that was just popular. I made so little money when I was just trying to compete with a market that used it's home gyms as coat racks, but then for two years was making a killing when I just sold what was the best. Then the recession hit and 99% of all retail "luxury" items got crushed and never came back. Moral: like Louis said, don't try to compete with what you are not good at. Stick to your own game and you can't lose.
Not me, I used my home treadmill so much til it broke . Then I panicked coz I couldn’t run anymore and keep in shape and also couldn’t afford a new treadmill . Hubby was calm, took a look at what broke, promised me that he will buy a new part and fix it. I yelled and said “no I don’t believe u, I’m not gonna be able to work out and I’ll get fat” but he did buy the part and fix it and it worked great .. .
I'm currently running a freelancing business and the advice that you gave on this video was super helpful it really opened my eyes as to what I should be focusing on
Dude this is like Shark Tank on steroids while flailing soldering irons. I love it.
Your tone, its all wrong, you do it again, well.... I'll let you fill in the blank.
My mission statement includes "I will not provide fellatio." This is true in business and life, actually.
Haha! You're hilarious!
But sooo true!
Possibly the coolest music video in YT history = "You're never gonna get ahead giving head to the man" (kids' show version) ruclips.net/video/rm9dzLxLvxc/видео.html
'
*plot twist, Claudia Schiffer knocks on your door! xd
@Jennifer Rissetti This raises an important question: Are you free for dinner tonight?
Other people: How to be successful like me
Me: 👎
Louis Rossmann: How not to be a stupid failure like me
Me: ❤️
Accurate
The difference between those two is simple... honesty and integrity :)
Louis, I dont know exactly how I found your site, but I am so very glad I did. Thank you for taking the time to explain your business to us. Like others, I have a repair business, electronics in general, that is up and down. And I constantly thought I had to change my business to get busy again. Your words have helped me IMMENSELY. Thank you. Dan.
Probably my favourite YT video in years. An absolute masterclass in boiling it down to basically 'quality vs. quantity'. I've dragged my heels over starting my own business for a long time wrestling with issues just like this. I don't care for volume, I'd rather be paid to do a good job every time - anything else will just lead to stress, burnout then bankruptcy.
Thanks Louis, you got me thinking about it again.
At last... I finally understand a true mission statement. Thank you.
12:20 or as King Solomon said: The lender is slave to the borrower. Thanks Louis for sharing your experiences. I'm at college and failed here and there (A LOT) and soon I might start a business. I'm very thankful to you for sharing so that I can learn something about a topic I don't know anything about. I love these videos because you're very insightful yet use simple words
BTW: as others said, you really should be teaching at universities or bussiness schools. The information you're providing is incredibly valuable.
*The borrower is slave to the lender. Once you experience being debt free, you’ll never go back to working and living just to pay the lender.
I don't know you well, Louis. Actually, I don't know you at all. Yet I feel like you're still a little bitter that you did not make it through college chemistry. I think that formed the basis for your superior self reflection and ability to share the good and the bad. You're a total success, dude.
When you told that woman that you weren't going to repair her iPhone screen, what you engaged in was "Firing the Customer." It's counter intuitive and especially for someone who owns their own business, maybe one of the hardest business practices to engage in. I'm glad to see that it worked out for you: you sloughed off a job that had low profit margins, and honestly, almost anyone with an ounce of technical sense can do after watching a RUclips video. Finding your niche and core business strength is wonderfully liberating. Best of luck to you and your business. Oh, excellent video BTW.
Accidentally started my first business at 20 years old in 1989. Sold my latest company in 2018. Absolutely great advice here from Louis. Always good to hear a real business owner talk reality. Being involved in the tech startup scene I see a lot of young companies set themselves up for failure by taking "bad money". Fortunately for me I was able to bootstrap but that didn't stop me from making plenty of other mistakes when I started as well. The conclusion of this video is perfect. Bravo.
Thank you for everything Louis. You deserve all the success you're getting and even more.
Many people have probably (or hopefully) heard of the term "failing upwards." That's exactly what this video is about. Many people who have accomplished great things have failed in the past, sometimes many times over. The difference between a "failure" business owner and a successful business owner is learning and understanding why the failures occurred.
You obviously are smart enough to understand this. You are certainly not a failure (your video title is a bit erroneous in that respect). That said I greatly respect and appreciate the fact that you'd take the time to make a video like this.
I would buy every single part I need from you if I could, and I would pay a premium for that. I realize this is impossible. That's unfortunate.
BTW, why is this video only 360p?
Adam Baldwin It was 360p because you watched it very soon after it was uploaded. Lately, RUclips has been making the lowest resolution available first, then taking its time to make higher resolutions available.
@@netpilot5 Ah, I was thinking it was maybe something like that.
That's not at all what the term 'failing upwards' refers to. Failing upwards is someone who is incompetent inexplicably being placed in charge of more despite performing worse with each promotion. I don't know why you think Failing Upwards has a positive connotation.
Princip Warehouse I believe 'failing upwards' can have either meaning, with the negative connotation being less common (I Googled 'failing upwards' and found 'lucky or inexplicable' was in the top results more often.) I think the negative connotation that you're referring to is more often expressed by the Peter principal - Wikipedia: "The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their 'level of incompetence'." YMMV depending where you're from - I'm in the US, east and west coasts.
@@Channel-gz9hm Yeah, I think you're correct. The point I was trying to make was that very often a high degree of success requires a lot of trying and failing and learning from those failures.
Louis, one thing you said is totally true! My MBA travelled from Portugal to NY to have a damaged LCD repaired by you. Quality matters :)
We're all idiots, essentially. We're human. But you're right. Many people are very afraid to show or talk about their failures. I ran a company once and closed the doors after only one year. I couldn't do it. I sucked as a leader because I had -0 business sense. I worried so much, I couldn't get sleep for months. It was horrible. I came out ok in the end, but when asked if I wanted to keep going, I said no. I can't. I'm much better at what I do now than being a suit. Much happier too. But in retrospect, I'm glad I gave it a shot and gave it my all. I learned a great deal from my failures and apply this hard knowledge to my other endeavors.
Thank you Louis,
I too, have failed at several businesses, I knew I made mistakes, but could never put my finger on reason. Like you, I would provide white glove services to all and any customer who came my way. After listening to you and reflecting on my failures, I now see the importance of a mission statement. Thank you for sharing 👍
Louis Rossman would be an awesome business school teacher. Can listen hours to this guy!
Very valuable information for someone that's starting a new business.
Thank you very much.
Saved, I will rewatch this again and take some notes. I plan on starting my own business and this already has been valuble advice.
Thanks Louis
The only Apple computer I've ever owned was a 2E (yes, 6502-based back in 1983).
But it's all about transparency and "telling it like it is" with Louis and that's why I find his stuff so interesting.
Watch enough of his stuff and you wind up with a "street-MBA" - definitely worth the time.
And if there are lessons to be learned, couldn't ask for a better place than NYC.
Keep it up!
Takes a brave soul to admit where you went wrong, Louis. I appreciate you sharing the lessons you learnt. I have failed in business twice and lost everything I had ... except the valuable lessons I picked up. Am on my 3rd try and it’s looking good so far. Best of luck for your future.
This vid should be a required for all kids going to collage so they can have commend understanding of how it works to be in business! As a retired manager of a major heavy equipment dealership I can tell you that too many people have NO idea of how business works and how much it cost to even post a few % on P&L statement!!
What about all kids going to college though? Collages are nice and all, but this information is useful to more than just art students.
RIP
- Circuit City
- Packard Bell
- Rossman Supply Group
-Radio Shack
- HH Gregg
-Orchard Supply Hardware
-Comp USA/Tiger Direct
-K Mart/Sears
-Sports Authority
Am I missing any others? Add them below
- Thinkpad parts and repair co.
highvoltage12v the sears one really hit me. I was more than happy with getting a certain in store brand of batteries from them mainly because they lasted a good amount of time and I got plenty of them for the price. It was nice.
@@highvoltage12v gamestop/ebgames is going to be on that list within weeks
@@ArtisChronicles i got my first playstation game from sears. i will always remember that place.
"Ross" is an obsolete word for horse in German. So, "Rossmann" is a rider, a man with a horse. Just thought I would share that, if you were curious.
Ross is particularly the female horse.
Female? No, I don‘t think thats right. At least I’m German and never heard of that. A Roß or Ross is a noble horse (edles Pferd) used for riding or is simply just synonymous for horse in some contexts. The word Ross is old but most Germans will understand it. So basically a Rossmann may be a rider or horseman or maybe also someone who cares for the horses or breeds them. Fun fact: One of the biggest German drugstore chains‘ name is Rossmann.
@@cfusername Then again, I'm familiar with Texasdeutsch. That diaspora separated from the High Germans in the 1830s and settled in the central hills. They have a tendency to use archaic terms, particularly concerning pre-modern/standardization terms.
For example, instead of calling aircraft 'Flugzeug'. They use the term 'Luftschiff' instead. And since Skunks didn't exist in Germany, they made up the term 'Stinkkatze'.
@@KSmithwick1989 Yes, I've heard of them! There was a documentation I watched recently. It was very interesting to me, that they - when chatting with each other - mostly sounded like "regular" Germans in the same situation would sound like. At least from a few steps away...
@@cfusername Yeah, the Americas are interesting when it comes to linguistics. Who example I'm from Southern Texas, where Meso-Spanish is a secondary language. Usually people occasionally switch over or pepper conversation with it.
What I found interesting is that numerous words for the trees and wildlife are Nahua (Aztec). Despite the Apache being the last indigenous population. So much so it's genetically detectable in the Spanish-speaking. About 30-40% judging from people personally telling me their results.
Thank you for the enlightenment. Most successful businesses have failed at least once. We all can learn from 'failure', sometimes it's life's best teacher. Thomas Edison, failure was never an option, just learning what doesn't work. I think only a business owner/freelancer can truly appreciate the content of this video. Been there, done that. Sometimes though, we get it figured out too late. I had a service-related business. All I ended up doing was pay the bills for 38 years. Nothing to put aside for retirement, no real profit, for the same reasons. I wanted to make everyone happy and I did, many times at my cost or break even. The average person who collects a paycheck every week has little understanding of the risk and overhead costs of a small business. I would hope anyone contemplation going into business watch this real-life video. Thank you again for taking the time to provide your story as well as the 'how it's done' videos. Keep 'em coming! 👍
I graduated from a top undergraduate program in business and you just blew all that out of the water. Thank you so much!
I love when you self-advertise: "Don't delay, buy today" - no 3rd party ads crap
Thank you for helping people.
"You can not try to be all things to everyone or you will just fail" -Louis Rossmann 2019
Unfortunately sometimes running a small business as one-man show, you have to be the boss, the worker, and the janitor all at once. ;D
@@BillAnt Unfortunately you can't just sit on the couch in front of a TV and expect money to make themselves for you :D Besides joking, i find this way of working the most satisfying.
@Emiliyan Yankov < Same here, it only sucks when there are no customers. ;(
Great Job, My favorite person "Louis Rossmann" .... i'm 84 years old, a 3 war USA veteran, Infantry on the frontline if you will a live target for the enemy in each war ... my choice in favor of my Country an ... who has spent my whole life (without exasperation, compulsively beyond my control forever and forever studying and learning every second of each day of my life ... why? ... it way way beyond my understanding and control, even unto this very day. I am more than positive that not one soul will listen to my encouraging and directions after controlling my every thought , purpose, and direction of my every faculties and life's harsh "stop signs" every day of my life.
"BUT" I am able to tell you the simplest way to win the only way for anyone to design their own solid conclusions on how to win the full rewards of a happy, secsessful
winner's way of rewarding life fully enjoying a life that is self designed (to be continued)
Great talk! Forty plus years of business for me, everything you said is right on the money, everything. I needed to hear this.. good timing. When you're in business you can get isolated and not see the forest for the trees, AMazon sucks! Just had to throw that in there.
Agreed. If one’s business is doing well, one sometimes becomes complacent. One must never sit on one’s hands. One must recognize there’s always something to be learned, especially from the younger generation(s). The school of hard knocks can sometimes offer a better education than some universities. There’s no substitute for hard work and experience.
Just the thoughts of a doddering old fart...
The best of luck to you my friend!!
🇺🇸Grandpa🇺🇸
Great story. Thanks for your candor.
1. This is why I could never run my own business.
2. Hats off to you Louise, you may have run your business into the ground but it was all on you, you learned and built something successful... more than most people have done.
Louise? That's his *other* business that's way too good to fail!
Tried playing "drink every time he blinks", still playing on my 3rd reincarnation.
it's a form of tourette's.
it's one of the trade offs of some absolutely brilliant people.
it's like their brains work faster than their bodies want them to.
@@bubosibiricus2204 makes sense, he is pretty unreal
To give SO much information, structure the presentation flow, and articulate so crisply and well without losing viewer interest is an art in itself that Louis has mastered. Great video! 👍
A precious if not priceless lesson learned story for everyone, well told!
Unfortunately it's very hard for people to learn if this is not experienced first hand.
Fail=First Attempt In Learning
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In addition to people only displaying the positive aspect of their life including their successes, so many times, the details of success are completely glossed over.
"I had an idea, and two years later my company made $14 million in revenue...". EVERY TIME I read an article about a new successful company, the real path is completely skipped over. Where did they get capital? How did they prototype, how did they finance the cost of filing for a patient? Etc., etc. They paint an image of a regular guy with a good idea growing a business out of nothing, with nothing, but that's very rarely the case.
If they don't tell you, it's usually because they can't tell you, or really don't want people to know the full story.
Louis is the only man I have ever seen who doesn't talk with his hands but by blinking.
I keep checking in case its S-O-S in Morse Code, but luckily, nada so far.
Thank you Mr. Rossmann for such a noble and truthful video on your successes and failures. I'm sure a lot of people here will take your business lessons to heart, including myself.
Louis, great of you to share your business experiences. Having tried a few of my own startups, it is encouraging to hear your honest retelling of your "war stories" and the lessons that you learned from each experience. KUDOS to you. Thanks for sharing the knowledge with ALL !!
The secret is knowing when to step of the treadmill.. I sold my property portfolio and chose life.
Nice lesson, thanks for sharing this experience!
I started a online shop one year with around 28,000 items and was able to cut at lest a buck of competitors prices and the first day made some good sales, traffic was nuts as I paid for it. then I never had a sale again. for weeks I could not figure it out. I was selling on the first day and not a single friend made a purchase. I was selling band T-shirts and merch and was undercutting everyone with still room for profit or so I though. I walked into wallmart one day and for the first time they are now selling band merch, I check it out and its the same stuff from the same manufacture and worse from the same supplier. I paid $16 on average price from the same supplier and wallmart was able to sell them at 10 fucking bucks after what ever deal "rockthenfuintheass" gave them.
Thank you Louis,
The best 50 plus minutes I’ve spent on RUclips.
Thank you for being honest and sharing, not easy to do, but well received from so many our here.
It will save a lot of people a lot of grief.
This was incredible to listen to. I don't run a business but I came away understanding a lot more about how businesses work in general, and with a lot of respect for you Louis. If I ever needed a board repaired I'd probably send it to you, even if it costs more, purely because you talked about such a painful experience just to teach people and pass on knowledge.
In reference to "I don't offer virus removals because people want it to be for $25 dollars" mentioned in 53:02 Yes I agree with you but you would have to carefully select your customer, you stick with the price you see you are worth and the bad customers will go elsewhere while you will get the good customers that actually value your work. I do virus removals and computer repairs in general along with other stuff but I will never charge less than $60 for virus removal, sometimes I have been successfully able to charge $120 for a virus removal because it took much longer and it was a really nasty virus, so yeah I do have customer that pays me those values to perform virus removals, I have had customers tell me why are they going to pay me $60 when a high school teenager can do it for $35, to them I tell them my speech of me having the many years of experience, of me knowing what I am doing, and all that and that the high school teen would barely know how to format a reload windows risking erasing all of your data and sometimes my speech does work well in winning over those customers that wanted me to compete with the lowest denominator in the industry. I vigorously defend my prices and absolutely refuse to do any service for the price of what would cost to purchase a pizza pie.
So in conclusion, I think you could have easily added "virus removals" to your list of services, you just only had to have defended your prices and turn away all those customers expecting a $25 price" eventually you would get those that would be willing to pay you $80+ for a virus removal and plus referral? it would have been sweet. When I first began I was printing flyers and handing them at the end of a mass in a church and at the streets, now I don't do marketing at all, what I get is strictly referral business, if my phone rings because its a new customer requesting a virus removal service, is because someone referred it to me.
Good video Louis, you are one of the good guys.
Came for the Apple slams.
Got life advice instead.
Oh my god. Louis, I wish I had found you sooner.
I get to 42:32 and realized you've been exactly where I am right now -- overwhelmed, unable to delegate due to slim margins, minus $15k because of PayPal holds... all of it. Ebay has been a personal hell for me for the past year since a customer managed to give me a transaction defect for an item they didn't even pay for. Homeless at this point, but ay, I do have a cozy little warehouse.
You are incredibly aware of your business environment. I think some of what you have to say not just translates into the business world (e.g. middle manager at a fortune 500) but would make some great content for entrepreneurs as all levels. They each have to make the decisions that are right for them but so much food for thought here.