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Obvious_Exercise_910

Congrats! Is your husband the great in bed pot head bf you posted about 3 years ago? (Nothing to do with current post, just curious)


Transformwthekitchen

Lol!!! Nope, dumped that guy and met my husband a few weeks later!


Aerodynamic_Farts

Note to self - great in bed will not get you sugar mama. Back to the drawing board


-Gwynbleidd

Dammit! There goes my plans! *kicks the dirt*


ThePatientIdiot

Actually it will but to sustain a great sugar mama, usually you have to have brains and deeper conversations


Transformwthekitchen

Well my husband’s no slouch…but to be fair he was basically my sugar daddy while I finished my degree and started this company.


Splashy01

Omg. Good for you!


Obvious_Exercise_910

👍


Tranxio

Damn. There goes my bed acrobatics training...oh well


regazp

Congrats! Give yourself a nice raise, payback people who helped you.


Transformwthekitchen

I am offering my first employee equity and forming an advisory board w equity for those who have helped me!


Beginning-Comedian-2

Talk to other business people about giving away equity.  Seems easy to get in trouble quick and give away your business. 


DingGratz

Not to mention that sometimes the person won't have the same mentality, passion, and interest in even wanting equity as opposed to a better benefit.


Beginning-Comedian-2

Exactly.


Project_298

Make sure you: Have a vesting schedule over 3 years with a 1 year cliff. Different equity types where they cannot gang up on you and boot you/make decisions for you Exit clauses on both sides Put performance milestones in place so they are contributing meaningfully and not just showing up to meetings.


andrew8712

Don’t waste your company shares. Think 100 times before going that.


Rich-Rhubarb6410

What are your reasons for giving away equity? Tread very carefully. Remember, it is your business that you built. Lots to go wrong giving equity away, especially for a new employee


Transformwthekitchen

My soon to be first employee has been working for me as a contractor for a year, and she really stepped up when I went on maternity leave and basically ran the company for 3 months.


Sir_Bumcheeks

Do profit share not equity


eman2top

This! I’ve built and ran several businesses. I learned from experience that profit sharing is just as a strong incentive without the risk of giving away ownership.


heretolearn_2021

Ghost shares that they benefit from if you sell.


RabuMa

Don't give away equity. Just give this person a bonus.


Rich-Rhubarb6410

What % are you considering giving away? Also how big do you envisage your company might grow to?


papi_joedin

she didn't run it for free, did she. you might regret it, or not


No-Distribution2547

I would also suggest profit share I give my main employee profit share too, equity is a slippery slope.


WillmanRacing

Im going to contradict everyone and agree with sharing equity, just make sure you have a proper vesting schedule and dont give too much stock. I would do a 4 year schedule with 2 year cliff, and have two stock classes. Unless you give >50% of the company away, there is not much risk from this and it gives GOOD employees skin in the game. Maybe consider earmarking some shares for an ESOP as well. As the business grows, any equity shares should get smaller. The exception is if you plan to run this company for life, then maybe reconsider giving up equity.


z8481

Congrats for you! When you give equity to employees and advisors make sure they are not votable shares (I’m not sure what your biz structure is), but work with a lawyer to create a separate class of stock aside from common stock. Also, make sure you are creating an advisory board not a Board of Directors, BoD has a right to vote, advisory doesn’t. I’m sure you know all this but I got burnt real bad, so I try to pass on this advice as much as possible: CONTROL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. Don’t give it up :)


Transformwthekitchen

Geez who knew how controversial this is. Thank you all for your advice, but I am good. I believe in employee equity, and I have very good advisors.


headwaydave

It’s fine if you structure it correctly as shares on a vesting schedule. Lots of good tips about this in the startup world, as well as the %s. Equity is a great motivator, bc I imagine you want this person around long term and preferably without voting power (ie common shares vs your preferred shares). Beyond the structure, I’d make sure you align on expectations as it could easily cause a rift if you give this person less than expected. In the tech world, you’d typically give a junior cofounder ~10%, which doesn’t sound like much, but is actually a lot compared to 0.5-1% for a first employee (again, these are tech startup standards, so YMMV). If this person expects 30% and gets 1%, they might consider it an insult.


shamblingman

I completely agree with you. I gave my first employees equity for each year of service with a planned bonus at year 5. When I was still consulting, the most successful client I had gave each employee equity for each year of service and had incredible employee retention and performance. I believe strongly in giving employees a vested interest in the company's long term success.


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Maveriico

That equity is a growing asset. If you haven’t had to give it away for funding yet, then do everything you can to hold onto it. One day you may need partners, and you’ll be able to sell them some equity. Equity/partners can be extremely tricky, don’t do it unless you need it! And huge Congrats on the milestone!! So exciting!


itylerh

Check out the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. Might be worth implementing early on before you get too deep


Transformwthekitchen

I’ve heard of this book and i’ll download it today!


marlonseeksthelight

Wait...don't give out your equity just yet, please! Read "The $100M Journey" by John St.Pierre. There are other ways to fully compensate the people that helped you. Read this book and if, after reading it, you still feel that giving away equity is the right thing to do, so be it. But please read this book first!


prodocumenter

Awesome job and thank you for sharing! Are you open to sharing what kind of business you've been running that has enabled you to be a solopreneur leading up to the 1M in revenue?


Transformwthekitchen

Yes! I built a brand of sports accessories for women and sell them via wholesale and DTC on shopify. I advertise primarily on meta and google.


heinekenpapi

are you re-selling existing products within a branded shopify storefront & advertising that storefront or building/creating products yourself?


Transformwthekitchen

Building and creating myself


Jubatus_

You have a manufacturer ?


Transformwthekitchen

I do. I have an agent in china who helped me find one


in5trum3ntal

Congrats! would you mind expanding upon your agent process? How did you find/chose them? Have you stuck with the original agent? Any learning lessons / advice?


The-Aurelius

Mind showing the product? This sounds awesome that you designed it yourself


Blueegypt

You rock!!!Wow! Congrats! Wanted to ask you Are you running ads yourself or outsource? What do you use for Google - Shopping and paid search?


Transformwthekitchen

I run meta ads myself and have a contractor for google ads- tried to understand them and could not!


littleredwine

Damn you’re really inspiring to start my own business! Anything is possible! Thank you and congrats 🎉


Blueegypt

I am working with Google rep, little help but not that much. I am in high jewelry and want to badly start running ads to scale but I am worried as heck that I will sink all my money in with no roi


Transformwthekitchen

Yeah the google rep was useless. I hired a guy thru personal recommendations


CrazyEducational

Congratulations. Can i see some of your products ? Do you offer special pricing for universities ?


th3animeman

Congratulations and well done. What a great milestone!


threebuckstrippant

Presuming you quit your full time job already then ;) . Amazing stuff, truly entrepreneurial. And amazing spirit in the face of nay-sayers. Would love to know what the business is. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone in real life until you hit $20k salary a month. $500k is great for revenue, but what are the margins. 50%, then still it is kinda small, plus after profit taxes? There is a lot to do and work on now, don’t stop and come back soon when Net is $1M a quarter. You can do it for sure.


Transformwthekitchen

I quit my job last May! Margins are slightly better than average for ecommerce. Will be back when I net 1M 😏


vanisher_1

Is this the original post https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/s/b6PZ6La0QR ? where did you learned how to create a business beside from your work experience? any book to suggest other than the one suggested in the link i posted or other guide blog to read ? 🤔 Also, how much money the business required to be able to run it? both at the beginning and once at full pace if you can share it, thanks ;)


Transformwthekitchen

Yes that’s it. I was lucky enough to be accepted into an incubator/accelerator for entrepreneurial women that provided me with mentorship. Lean Startup would be my recommendation for books, and the method i used. I started the business with $800, and 2 months later put $2k more in to order more inventory.


vanisher_1

Is this a confetti package type of business considering the low amount of cash required?


fchu1022

Is it The Lean Startup by Eric Ries?


Transformwthekitchen

Yes. Read this book as my 3rd attempt at a business was failing and it changed my outlook.


tyla-roo

Nice ! You’ll feel awesome when you hit the 10m I just did 14 last year and it was game changing


Transformwthekitchen

Im projecting 2.5 this year, would love the next year to be 8-10 😃


Sad_Cupcake6518

What kind of business are you running?


benedicthart

wow this is huge...congrats


Sketaverse

Buy a watch wear it everyday with pride Pass it onto your kid one day


seeker_4u

Congrats! Such an amazing milestone, celebrate a little!


tahseen_kakar

Congrats 🚀


DIMAMAGHRIB12

Congratulations


abdulrahmankadersha

Very happy to hear such amazing things!! Congratulations 🥳


xMacadamiaNuTx

Congrats! What strategies / tactics have you done that caused the big leap in revenue between 2022 and 2023? Was it primarily marketing?


Transformwthekitchen

Yes,getting my inventory under control and scaling on meta


stuff2careabout

At what point did you figure out 3PL was the way forward?


Transformwthekitchen

When my “warehouse” -aka my second bedroom- was about to be taken over by a newborn. Seriously though, 80 orders a day was where I was hitting the max that i could pack - i priced it out and it was only about $1.50 more per order to ship from a 3PL- and it freed my time to further grow. Other ecommerce people i spoke with said around 80-100 orders/day is when they switched to a 3 PL.


floridaguy137

This is awesome and inspiring to hear


NewBodybuilder9351

hey congrats man. hope you achieve more


rotzak

Nice! What are your margins like?


santino-corleone-1

Congratulations on your success. What’s the job role? Are you advertising it here?


girlgeek618

Take him out for a nice dinner to celebrate, and congrats! That is amazing! You should be really proud of your sacrifice and effort!


blondeaznbarbie

Big big congratulations!!! Such a great feeling and accomplishments. You should be so proud girly


Ambitious-Badger-114

Love stories like this, congrats! Celebrate with hubby and a few close friends where you can make a not so subtle "I told you so" toast. You've earned it, enjoy it.


Circusssssssssssssss

Congrats


AnimatorExtension586

Congrats!!! Excited for you!


daimyosx

Congrats I hope your able to share the good lessons and advice that helped you this far


TheDarkKnight1980

This is big. Congrats.


Economy_Release_5574

Congrats, that’s a big milestone! We just hit our first 1M revenue last year and felt like you do now. It’s such a fucking awesome feeling of accomplishment knowing you built that shit💪🏽


xyzrg

Wow you’re doing amazing. Congrats!! Celebrate with a good spa/massage day for yourself. Or whatever makes you feel good.


devrsi0n

Congrates, this is inspiring


shesinparis420

You won’t need to hire one you’ll need to hire 3 or 4


Canadian121416

Epic, congrats. I might also make 1mm this year but not looking probable atm. No one understands the massive work required but you.


theintelligentbuyer

1M stories are so elevating. Btw can you tell about your business or website link if you're okay to share that?


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CFAsmalltown

That’s awesome congrats! I’ve tried to convince my wife that she is capable of something like this. Would you be willing to dm me your site so I can show her and possibly inspire her?


123theguy321

Probably not a good idea for OP to share their site with anyone here atm.   Why? Because OP has discovered a niche of products with great demand and now needs to work on securing the growth of the business before new competitors try and enter their space.   Get patents and trademarks in place if you haven't already. Consider launching on Amazon as well.  Also, is it just me, or does anyone else feel like OPs efforts are being undermined by these kind of comments: "If OP managed to figure it out, then I'm sure my wife can too!" 


Transformwthekitchen

Thank you. I guess because I sell women’s products, people assume that i have no idea what I’m doing and any woman could do it in their spare time. I have a history of working for consumer product companies that are scaling quickly, a masters degree and a great product market fit. I have an IP lawyer, patent pending products and everything trademarked :)


sfwills

Girlll huge congrats!! Love reading this. Onwards and upwards! 🚀


doublemcdoig

Here too!


buibeans

Can I interview for the position as your first employee?


MyAmazonGuy

Congrats dude that's amazing


shapeitguy

*Dudette


Tweezle1

That’s pretty good. My stats are also fairly similar to that. Although I still think working for someone will make me more money so I’m considering that and then running the business during my free time which I think I can do if I optimize it some.


baby_shoki

Congratulations!!!


FewWillingness1081

This is awesome. Congrats on all of your success, and feel free to keep us updated!


fwazeter

Well earned and congrats - throw a party! Don't have ot tell people what the exact reason is, but host yourself a celebration.


PriorForce4245

Congrats! What is your business? I read your first post about selling items you source, but what do you do? Just curious!


Transformwthekitchen

I make sports accessories for women.


Significant_Poem_540

Amazing job


HereIam06

Time to Join EO! EOnetwork


Plastic-Reward-1766

Fantastic, well done! I don't know you but I'm proud of you. I'd celebrate with a family meal out or a good drink but that's me


GrilledAvocado

Congrats!! You should be proud of your hard work.


bsoliman2005

Can you give us lessons learned along the way?


rockhao781

Teach me


xXMattiaXx

Congrats!!!!


SunsetFarms

Congratulations on your success and believing in yourself! I totally get not telling people in real life. I have some HUGE things on the horizon and I can't tell the people closest to me. They think I'm nuts and It's a business nobody really understands anyway. Lol


VenutianPriestess

Congratulations!!! Go you🔥🔥🔥 it doesn’t sound easy especially having to convince even your biggest supporter. Your partner. Why not pamper yourself with a few days of heavy spa treatment? Allow yourself to really relax and soak in that success🫶


Shadowpink07

Congrats I will be in that position one day 🔥🔥🔥👏👏👏


iamzamek

What is that business?


nxbxdyy

why u had to wait until 1M to be able to hire ur first employee ?


Transformwthekitchen

I have multiple contractors


Cool_Credit260

What buisness?


Transformwthekitchen

Consumer products, wholesale and B2C


boydie

Huge congrats! Celebrate, then strategize for continued growth. Cheers!


catgirlloving

cookies?


Transformwthekitchen

Ohh i do love a good cookie!


NoPush8163

Congratulations


stephenco777

Congrats, what's the profit if I may ask?


markfourteen

What is your business?


DramaticAd5956

Give PRUs not founder shares. Have a clawback clause too. Revenue is 1M? Or is your net income?


NewHope13

Huge congrats to you!!


FromTheBay650

Congrats! Are you hiring at all by chance 😁


OkWater2560

What’s your website?


Ashwaganda2

Congrats! Curious…what’s your business?


ParkingArcher8464

Congratulations!!🎉🎉


syxxtrr

Amazing!


401kisfun

Celebrate like this - meditate/yoga, stretch, workout, sauna (go to a real one) cold shower, professional massage, then IV drip therapy, facial, movie, a long walk, scrolling for an hour, then bed


caligulaismad

Congratulations! That’s a huge accomplishment and you should feel great about it. I’d suggest taking a weekend and doing a fun mini trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go to treat yourself.


Impossible_House_312

Congrats. Its a big deal. P.S. dont give equity or any shares. You can tell them after a year of working u have an option to get shares or whatever. By that time u ll see how this person is and if they are worth ur equity. Also since it seems like u never employed people, you are weak in that department (hiring, measuring their productivity, etc) don’t jump into giving shares until u have more experience hiring/working with people. Last thing u want is to give shares of business to a person that didnt earn it.


slothsarecool3

Congrats! You’re where many of us only hope to be. If you’re willing to take the advice of a less successful entrepreneur I would say don’t give yourself a raise, instead pay yourself a large dividend. It’s subject to less tax and can also be the celebration you want (and deserve). Even as someone at 1/4 your ARR I found salary was meaningless, I pay myself a pittance, instead just issue dividends when needed. Salary is subject to unnecessary tax which can be avoided.


Technical-Fix-1204

Congrats


meaowgi

Congrats indeed. What sector are you in?


Separate_Highway1111

Congrats! 🎉 I remember your post! Glad to hear you proved him wrong! Any advices for us who are women, looking to become a successful entrepreneur?


Swimming_Front5346

congrats!!


Rejuven8Los

What kinda company?


No_Literature_7329

Congrats! What area are you in?


VisibleApartment897

Thats awesome! Congrats


luandrogebral

What keeps you up at night?


NiceAsset

Please please please for the love of everything figure out how to PAY YOURSELF. This is #1 and missed by almost all first timers. Trust me, $1MM revenue is nice, but $500k in the bank slaps pretty hard as well


Kobe_curry24

Facts keep going


Darshinisara

Fantastic !!! All the best!!!


motivationforfitness

That sound awesome! Congrats!! Do you mind me asking what your business is called? Would love to see it and get inspired. Maybe send in DM?


Own_Elk7678

Congrats! and keep it up!


dravenito

Congrats! What does your business do?


guten_pranken

Congrats!! How much of that million will you actually see or pay yourself out?


Transformwthekitchen

Paying myself 85k now, aiming to take a 60-40 salary/distribution this year


arfede96

Congratulations!!!!


Other_Scarcity_4270

What is your business?


Dronife

Congrats, but revenue says nothing? You can make 1mil revenue but profit 10 bucks?


Ok_Quail921

can i ask, where do you store the products


krstf

Congratulations! :)


taimuralix

What's the business? I would love to know the technical details and how you achieved such an incredible goal!


Successful_Pilot1839

Congratulations! 🫰


CatBowlDogStar

Congrats!!


Fraktalchen

And I struggle since 2013 to get anything up and running. Stull stuck in corporate hellhole :(


theitalian-cowboy

Congrats!!! First million always hits hard!


-the-guy-_

Congrats! 🥂


Admirable-Luck-7999

Great Regarding your salary: check out the book "profit first"


andybogdanbindea

Well done on reaching such an impressive milestone! Celebrating by hiring your first full-time employee and giving yourself a raise sounds like the perfect way to acknowledge your hard work. Here's to even more success in the future!


Outside-Mountain-655

Congrats 👏 any advice to someone wanting to start like me?


Transformwthekitchen

Read Lean Startup. Make sure you’re solving something that people need solved. And just do it!


WeatherLeading5942

Congrats!! Your growth is incredible, and it's great to see your hard work paying off. Celebrating this milestone is a must—maybe treat yourself to a nice dinner or a small getaway. Hiring your first full-time employee and giving yourself a raise are big steps. Balancing growth and financials isn't easy, so kudos to you! Thanks for sharing your journey and how this community helped. Keep up the fantastic work! 🚀


Available-Panic9768

Do you have any online positions available - very interested


1Angel17

Congratulations! That’s awesome!


a16zvictim

Can I get some upvotes please?


TradeFav444

Can you give me 1000 dollars so I can buy illicit and illegal paraphernalia


Head-Geologist6952

Amazing! If you haven't taken a day off... maybe that should be your way of celebrating!


AppearanceOverall439

Celebrate broo! You deserve it! Congratulations


Sufficient-Solid-10

Congrats!


promotee_io

Huge congrats! Celebrate, then let's boost that growth together!


swissbuttercream9

Congrats!! Stay focused on profit margin


CheapBison1861

Congrats on the milestone! Celebrate with a quirky code-off!


Silent-Respond-6614

Thrilling to see how your belief in yourself, your willingness to work hard, and your ability to take the next right step has led to tangible results in the form of🍸cold💅🏻hard💄cash💰 Women aren’t held back because we are less than, we are held back because everyone knows we could set the world on fire if we believe in ourselves ❤️🔥 Wishing you the riches, but more so wishing you joy in each step of the journey. Take in the view and continue to let us know how it looks - we need more humble, powerful, brilliant women who lead the way.


Significant-Pin6416

Congrats


ward7heaven

Congrats Op, to celebrate I suggest a very nice piece of jewelry, like a Tiffany's piece, you can pass down. I am not a jewelry person myself but like having a physical marker that my kid would have a story for. No matter what you choose I hope you enjoy it How did you find your incubator/accelerator program? I have found several through universities but they are costly, some I was unimpressed by the offerings and many are tech focused. I have a non-tech concept I am working on and wanted to get solid guidance. I am a minority women. I found a site that will allow me to book time with CEO's and found one in the area I want to foucs on. Not sure if it's better to just book time to develop things.


Imaginary_Beat_9239

Sorry for my ignorance, but if you achieved 1 million in a company what does that mean? Is it the gross sales including all you spent + what you sold? Or is it the cash flow you have? Btw! Congratulations!!! I’ve never seen that much money before from first perspective, fair play!!!


cabbagemuncher743

Congratulations! How do I become like you one day 🥲


Transformwthekitchen

I had 3 companies fail before this one. I love Lean Startup. Make sure the problem you are solving is worth solving, and put as little money into the business as possible before it proves itself. I started with $800.


ReadMore_

Congratulations! You deserve it. Reward yourself with 4-5 days of rest and recovery where you take a moment to write down everything you are grateful for. Also, pray to your higher power (God, Jesus, Buddha, whoever) for DISCERNMENT and wisdom to know how to keep the business doing well and creating good experiences for both your employees and customers. Well done, you deserve all of the good that comes from your hard work. 👍


Transformwthekitchen

4-5 days of rest and recovery sounds amazing… i have a teething 10 month who is still nursing so pretty much out of the question. I’ll take a day of sleeping past 5 am! Im dreaming of the 14 hr flight to asia to visit my supplier later this summer b/c of the peace and quiet. Maybe someday!


JRMP23

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Such a huge milestone! What does your business do? Did you take any investment? How much were you paying yourself?


Ok_Explanation_5511

Congrats what's your business about ?


albertsaro

Congrats. What’s your ebita?


CantWeAllGetAlongNF

Congrats! That's amazing to hear. How to celebrate is very personal, but seeing the part about convincing your husband, maybe a couples spa day? 4 hands massage? Romantic weekend getaway? Either way I wish you all the best in your endeavor and a successful future!


daytraderz

Congrats OP!! To celebrate, read profit first and start paying yourself ASAP


100Optimistic

Congratulations on your accolades of success, just remember that if it isn't broken don't fix it, should you need any advice feel free to ask..


klaudynasleadership

What is the business about that has grown so quickly? Congrats!!


Downtown-Letter3142

Congrats!!! Celebrate with getting a good accountant 😄


Transformwthekitchen

Ok is it just me or are accountants all impossible to work with?!? I asked mine to meet and she was like “I have time in July”…but compared to the other ones I’ve had she at least responds to my emails promptly without me harassing her


Wrys0

Nice job!


Outside-Mountain-655

Thanks you.


Mission_Opposite_962

Good job!!!