The Value of a Lost Dollar.

That Michael Iverson.
Nov 1 · 5 min read

I started my first side-hustle around the same time I began working on “The Failed Startup.” The side-hustle was a simple business. I created web pages for professionals, and they paid me for my time.

Then, I was placing a lot of emphasis on my startup and learning important lessons in that space. Yet, there was a critical component of business-strategy that was missing in action: money.

A mentor of mine would make the distinction apparent to me.

“If it doesn’t make money, it’s a hobby. If it makes money, it’s a business.”

This sounded ridiculous to me by modern standards. Everything about incubating a start-up seemed to be the polar opposite to making real sales. Start-ups got funding, but as my mentor would say, businesses got money.

And my mentor was right.

Start-ups included, profitability is the goal of most successful businesses. As many start-ups have found out, it’s not a terrible goal to have.

Therefore, by following the advice of my mentor, my side-hustle became my business and my startup became my hobby.

My First Customer

That same mentor recommended my first customer to me.

I made a call, locked down the deal, and met with the client later in the week to formally begin work on the project. They had already given me a general idea of what they wanted and I had gotten old data from their website to make a prototype.

I arrived with a product and the client was impressed. I subscribe to the idea of surprise and delight, and it works as a competitive edge. I wanted to begin with the product so that we could spend the rest of our time working out the details. Having the site made did just that and made the client happy.

We set out a plan to turn around the website in a week. We agreed to meet again, shook hands, and parted ways.

The Work

I spent the next week finishing the website in my free time, taking it from one iteration to the next. In the end, I settled on a minimalist splash page that took the visitor through all the information.

Quick, simple, and easy. Still painful to make.

Da Vinci is quoted as saying, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

It’s not without reason, and the beautiful results, in the end, were a testament to that.

I was excited to hand the product off to the client and even bought them a gift to celebrate the sale.

Surprise and delight, to the highest degree.

The Lost Dollar

When I met the client for the first time, we agreed on the terms of the build and the cost. The client said they would pay in either cash or check. For the final meeting, they brought cash.

I transferred the product over to the client and we agreed that I would remain manager on the site in case changes needed to be made later.

The client handed me a white envelope and I took it. They looked at me for a second and I put the envelope in my jacket pocket. We went on talking and I gave them a gift.

We parted ways and I went home.

I prepared to celebrate, opening the envelope to my first hard-earned sale. I checked the money.

Now, I cannot fully defend my ignorance. I can only say that people of my generation (The Millennials) are used to doing transactions by Venmo, where there are no questions about payment. You either pay or you don’t.

I say this because the client shorted me. Not drastically, as they could have, but just enough for me to feel the slight. I knew it wasn’t a mistake. A later text from the client would confirm that there were no errors.

But in the end, I wasn’t mad. I was actually kind of impressed.

Learn Early, Learn Often.

There is a lot of good that can come from having a setback early in your career. It will open your eyes to probabilities and make you quicker to assess risk. It will also make you a little more careful about what you agree to and on what terms.

To be honest, I find it hard to be mad at the client because they taught me a valuable lesson at a near-nothing price. I didn’t count the money. Rule #1 in running a business. Follow or perish.

When I had conversations with select individuals about the experience, they regarded the situation as odd, given that I still had managerial rights for the website. They suggested asking for an adjustment.

But I didn’t even feel that was justified. The product was a 1-for-1 sale and I accepted the money the client offered me. The dollar could have been found if I counted the money. But I didn’t. And for that, I bought a lesson for the price of a week’s worth of coffee.


If you liked this post, feel free to follow me on Medium or connect with me on LinkedIn.

You can also check out howtobemillennial.com for more content.

That Michael Iverson.

Written by

I write stories about the things that I see and the things that I think. Sometimes I write about what other people think, if I see something I like.

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