Failing at Entrepreneurship: A Real Journey from Dropshipping Disasters to Six-Figure Success

TL;DR

• Started with Tai Lopez's 67 Steps course while working a 9-to-5 job
• Lost $200 on dystopian art dropshipping with only 6 sales
• Built SMS business with 136 subscribers, but first client went out of business
• Pivoted to social media marketing agency (SMMA) after learning Facebook ads
• Closed first client for $4,000, later scaling to $10K retainer
• Opened ceramic coating shop that grew from $0 to $100K/month in 18 months
• Emphasizes that entrepreneurship is lonely but failures teach valuable lessons

What is entrepreneurial failure? The inevitable setbacks, financial losses, and business closures that serve as crucial learning experiences on the path to business success, teaching skills and resilience that can't be gained any other way. — Ryan Nguyen

The Catalyst: When a Course Changes Everything

Entrepreneurship often begins with a spark—a moment when someone realizes there's more to life than the traditional 9-to-5 grind. For Ryan Nguyen, that spark came from an unlikely source: Tai Lopez's 67 Steps course, which he consumed during lunch breaks at his day job.

"I've always been an entrepreneurial person, but this really triggered it," Nguyen explains. This moment represents a critical phase many aspiring entrepreneurs experience—the transition from dreaming about business ownership to taking concrete action.

What makes this story particularly relatable is the setting. Nguyen wasn't in some Silicon Valley garage or prestigious MBA program. He was sitting in his car during lunch breaks, absorbing entrepreneurial concepts while maintaining the security of steady employment. This approach—learning while earning—demonstrates a practical pathway that many can follow.

The course didn't just provide motivation; it provided a framework for thinking about business opportunities. However, as Nguyen would soon discover, knowledge alone isn't sufficient for entrepreneurial success. The gap between understanding concepts and executing profitable businesses is where most entrepreneurs face their first brutal lessons.

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Key Insight:

Entrepreneurial education without practical application and failure experiences creates overconfidence that can lead to costly mistakes in early ventures.

The Dropshipping Disaster: When Hot Trends Meet Cold Reality

Armed with newfound entrepreneurial enthusiasm, Nguyen dove headfirst into what seemed like a sure thing: dropshipping dystopian art paintings. The year was 2015-2016, and dropshipping was experiencing its first major wave of popularity among aspiring entrepreneurs.

The setup seemed straightforward: source trendy dystopian paintings from AliExpress, create a Shopify store, and drive traffic through Facebook ads. "I really didn't know what I was doing, but I did it anyways," Nguyen admits—a sentiment that captures the bold naivety of first-time entrepreneurs.

The results were sobering. After spending $100-200 on Facebook ads, Nguyen managed to generate only six sales of $30 paintings. The math was brutal: he was losing money on every sale due to advertising costs exceeding profit margins.

Dropshipping Reality Check	Nguyen's Experience
Revenue	6 sales × $30 = $180
Ad Spend	$100-200
Profit Margin	Negative $20-120
Key Learning	Facebook ads require expertise

This failure taught a crucial lesson that many dropshipping courses conveniently omit: success in e-commerce isn't just about finding trendy products—it's about understanding customer acquisition costs, conversion optimization, and sustainable unit economics.

The SMS Business: Learning Local Market Dynamics

After the dropshipping setback, Nguyen partnered with a friend to launch an SMS marketing business targeting college students. The loneliness of entrepreneurship had already begun to set in, and having a partner provided both emotional support and complementary skills.

Their strategy was methodical: attend events at CSU Fort Collins, network with sorority members who had social influence, and build a subscriber list of college students. They successfully recruited 136 subscribers—a significant accomplishment that demonstrated their ability to execute a customer acquisition strategy.

The business model was simple: approach local businesses with their subscriber list and offer to send promotional messages for a fee. After facing multiple rejections, they finally landed their first client—a pizza shop.

"The unfortunate thing was they were going out of business," Nguyen recalls. "So it was kind of like, hey, this is our last $500 and we'll see where it goes." The pizza shop closed within a month, taking their first real client opportunity with it.

While this venture failed, it provided invaluable insights into local business operations, marketing needs, and the challenges small businesses face. These lessons would prove crucial for Nguyen's later success in the agency world.

The Pivot: From SMS to Social Media Marketing Mastery

The SMS business failure could have been devastating, but Nguyen used it as a learning opportunity. While scrolling through Facebook—a common pastime that most people use for entertainment—he discovered courses on local SEO, Facebook advertising, and digital marketing.

He invested in education from Dave Brogan Motors' Facebook Ad Mastery and Keith Krantz's Dominate Web Media. These courses provided the missing piece from his dropshipping disaster: how to actually run profitable Facebook ads.

"I wish I knew this when I was opening my e-commerce store because that's where it failed, right? I didn't know how to do any Facebook ads," Nguyen reflects. This realization sparked his next business idea: providing social media marketing services to local businesses.

How to Build an SMMA from Zero to $10K Monthly Retainer (5 Steps)

• Identify Your Niche- Nguyen focused on automotive businesses because he and his partner were genuinely passionate about cars
• Develop a Comprehensive Pitch Package- Created SEMRush reports, keyword research, website audits, and mockup landing pages
• Leverage Partner Networks- Used his partner's connections in the hail repair industry to identify prospects
• Deliver Exceptional Results- Generated $400K in new revenue for their first major client
• Scale Through Expertise- Expanded from advertising to full consulting services including offer development and website optimization

The breakthrough came when Nguyen's partner pitched a hail repair company in Italy (while Nguyen was in Colorado). The comprehensive pitch package worked: "He texted me at 4:30 saying, hey, call me... he's like, yo, we closed this client. I'm like, well, how much? He says $4,000. And I'm like, holy shit. Are you serious? Four grand? Like, I couldn't believe this."

Key Insight:

Success in service-based businesses comes from delivering measurable results that exceed client expectations, not just promises or flashy presentations.

This $4,000 client became a $10,000 monthly retainer as they expanded beyond advertising to comprehensive business consulting. More importantly, it validated their ability to deliver real value to businesses.

The Ceramic Coating Success Story: From Zero to $100K Monthly

The SMMA success provided both capital and confidence for Nguyen's next venture: opening a ceramic coating shop. Ceramic coating—which Nguyen describes as "elastin steroids for your car"—was gaining popularity in 2017.

This venture combined everything Nguyen had learned: understanding local markets (from the SMS business), running effective advertising campaigns (from his SMMA experience), and working in an industry he was passionate about (automotive).

The results were remarkable: the shop scaled from $0 to $100,000 monthly revenue within 18 months. This success wasn't luck—it was the culmination of years of failures, learning, and skill development.

Common Entrepreneurship Misconceptions and Mistakes

Nguyen's journey reveals several misconceptions that trap new entrepreneurs:

Overnight Success Myth: "The people you see online whether it's a guru a coach or a famous influencer like Grant Cardone and Gary Vee. They all went through these struggles and they probably have a similar story where out the gate, they started a business."

Knowledge Without Action: Taking courses without immediately applying lessons in real market conditions leads to expensive learning experiences.

Ignoring Unit Economics: Focusing on revenue without understanding customer acquisition costs and profit margins.

Going Solo Too Long: Entrepreneurship is inherently lonely, and finding the right partners can accelerate learning and provide emotional support.

How to Apply These Lessons to Your Entrepreneurial Journey

The key insights from Nguyen's experience can be systematically applied:

• Start Learning While Earning - Don't quit your job immediately; use stable income to fund your education and early experiments

Embrace Failure as Education- Each failed venture teaches skills that contribute to future success

Focus on One Skill at a Time- Master customer acquisition, then operations, then scaling

Choose Industries You Understand- Passion and knowledge create significant competitive advantages

Measure Everything- Track customer acquisition costs, lifetime value, and profit margins from day one

Build Before You Scale- Prove your business model works before investing heavily in growth

Key Insight:

Entrepreneurial success isn't about avoiding failure—it's about failing fast, learning efficiently, and applying those lessons to progressively better business opportunities.

Nguyen's story illustrates that entrepreneurship isn't a glamorous overnight journey to riches. It's a methodical process of learning, failing, adapting, and gradually building the skills necessary for sustainable business success. His progression from losing money on dropshipping to building a six-figure monthly business demonstrates that with persistence and continuous learning, entrepreneurial dreams can become reality.

The most powerful aspect of his story isn't the final success—it's the honest acknowledgment that "I'm a very normal person, live a very normal life. I'm not flashy, whatever, but I have a very comfortable life." This authenticity makes his achievements more relatable and his advice more actionable for aspiring entrepreneurs who are still working their 9-to-5 jobs and dreaming of something bigger.

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This article was created from video content by Ryan Nguyen. The content has been restructured and optimized for readability while preserving the original insights and voice.