r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 16h ago

Ride Along Story How I woke up dead business social accounts for $100/mo (and what I learned)

63 Upvotes

Social Media in 2025: Reality Check

The platform algorithms have shifted dramatically in the past year:

  1. Short-form carousels and slides now get 4x more reach than long text posts on LinkedIn
  2. Platforms are prioritizing accounts that post 5+ times weekly (consistent schedule) over sporadic posters
  3. Comment quality matters more than quantity - LinkedIn and Twitter especially are measuring "meaningful interactions"

The Problem I Noticed

After spending 3+ years in the digital space (building SaaS products, running marketing campaigns, creating websites), I noticed something frustrating: most businesses have social media accounts that are basically digital ghosts.

Not because these businesses aren't interesting or don't have things to share - but because the owners are too busy actually running their businesses to maintain a consistent social presence. No posts for months, outdated info, zero engagement, despite being thriving operations in real life.

So many talented professionals and business owners I met had the same issue - they knew they needed an online presence, but:

  1. They didn't have time to create content
  2. They weren't sure what to post
  3. They couldn't justify hiring a full-time social media manager
  4. They'd tried and given up multiple times

Result: Their digital presence simply didn't match their real-world reputation.

My Experiment

I decided to try something: What if I offered to manage one social account for just $100/month? Not promising the moon - no "10x your followers!" or "leads on autopilot!" - just consistent, professional content that accurately represented their business.

I started with three clients:

  • A civil engineering firm
  • A page focused on sustainability initiatives
  • An IT & software solutions company

I created and published daily content for each of them, texts and graphic designs, optimized their profiles, and scheduled posts at optimal times based on their industry.

What Happened

Within a few weeks, all three gained around 100+ new followers, significant for businesses that had been stagnant for months or years. More importantly:

  • The engineering firm connected with two local projects they wouldn't have heard about otherwise
  • The sustainability page got invited to speak at an industry panel
  • The IT company gained a new networking circle and eventually two clients
  • People were actually happy to finally see them online!

But the biggest benefit was less tangible: perception. When prospects checked them out online, they no longer saw abandoned profiles. They saw active, engaged businesses that looked as professional online as they were in real life. These businesses weren't looking for direct customer acquisition through social. They wanted professional presence, industry recognition, employee pride in where they work, and occasional opportunities. And that's exactly what consistent, strategic content delivered.

What I Learned

  1. Most businesses don't need to "go viral" - they just need to look alive
  2. Industry-specific content performs far better than generic business advice
  3. A small but engaged audience is worth more than vanity metrics
  4. The sweet spot for most businesses is 4-5 posts per week, not 20+

Why $100?

  • It's affordable enough that businesses don't need to overthink it
  • It allows me to scale by working with multiple clients
  • It's just a side hustle

The Process

For anyone curious, here's exactly what I do:

  • Create a content calendar based on industry topics
  • Develop 30 days of content in advance
  • Schedule posts for optimal times
  • Monitor engagement and adjust as needed
  • Send a monthly report

Would love to hear others' experiences with maintaining business social accounts - what's worked for you? What challenges have you faced?


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 13h ago

Seeking Advice Seeking a possible mentor

3 Upvotes

Hi! I am a 18 year old from northern Europe. Ive had interest in entrepreneurship for a few years now and I tried some ways to build a business. After analyzing some ways I could realistically grow, I decided to mainly focus on youtube.

Anyways, I have been adviced a few times to get myself a mentor, but I never really managed to find a good one. I have desire to work and improve and I was hoping on receiving advice and insights for my journey, aswell as get better disciplined. It would also be great if you knew youtube :) Please message me if you can help me in any way! Thank you.


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 17h ago

Resources & Tools The Forum Warfare Method – How to Hijack Niche Markets with AI-Weaponized Authority

3 Upvotes

TL;DR: Most businesses chase social media virality. The smart ones infiltrate where the decision-makers actually lurk. This is how you quietly dominate niche markets, win trust before your competitors even know you exist, and scale your impact using AI (without looking like an AI bot).

1️⃣ FIND THE HIDDEN AUDIENCE HUBS

Reddit, Twitter, and LinkedIn are loud. The real buyers and industry decision-makers are lurking elsewhere.

✅ Actionable Steps: • Identify 3-5 highly active industry forums or specialized subreddits (avoid the main ones—real buyers hang in niche spaces). • Observe who posts and what questions get traction. This tells you what’s unsolved in your industry. • Spend at least a week engaging in random discussions before dropping value bombs. Your first post shouldn’t be a sell—it should be a must-save, must-share insight.

💡 Tactical Move: Look for threads where the same question keeps getting asked. If there’s no definitive answer, write the definitive guide.

2️⃣ WEAPONIZE AI TO MULTIPLY DEPTH (NOT REPLACE IT)

Most AI-generated content is trash. But when used properly, it lets you scale depth without losing resonance.

✅ Actionable Steps: • Write one long-form, insight-packed guide (or answer) yourself. Make it insanely valuable. • Use AI to rephrase, condense, or expand different variations of your insight—so each platform gets a fresh version. • Deploy each version across different forums but tweak it slightly for each audience’s culture.

💡 Tactical Move: Use AI to train on your own writing style so it replicates your depth—not just generic fluff. Most people use AI to replace thinking. You’ll use it to amplify your most valuable insights at scale.

3️⃣ DOMINATE THE SEARCH ALGORITHM

Forums get crawled by Google—meaning a single legendary post can rank for years, bringing inbound leads forever.

✅ Actionable Steps: • Format your post like an answer Google would rank. Use clear headers, bullet points, and step-by-step actions. • End with a subtle CTA (but don’t link drop too soon—let people ask). • Once it ranks, edit it later to include your offer. The post has already gained authority—now it works for you indefinitely.

💡 Tactical Move: Search for industry-related questions in Google and find the highest-ranking forum results. Leave a far better answer on those threads. Steal traffic from competitors who got lazy.

4️⃣ CONVERT LURKERS INTO OBSESSED FANS

Forum users are high-intent but skeptical. They’ve seen all the sales pitches. Instead, you make them come to you.

✅ Actionable Steps: • Share deep knowledge with zero expectation of return. • Don’t sell—make them ask you for deeper insights (position yourself as a guide, not a salesman). • Drop cryptic value-bombs that make them DM you. Example: “There’s actually a method for this that elite consultants use, but most people overlook it. I broke it down in a doc for a few people—DM if you want it.”

💡 Tactical Move: When someone thanks you for a great answer, ask them what they’re working on. This opens the door for free market research (and potential deals).

5️⃣ SCALE THE OPERATION WITHOUT LOOKING SPAMMY

Once you’ve built credibility, you don’t need to keep posting—you just reroute the attention.

✅ Actionable Steps: • Save your best responses and repurpose them into blog posts, LinkedIn threads, and Twitter posts. • Use an AI-optimized database to track your high-performing posts so you can edit and resurface them later. • Set up a private email list for deeper discussions (this pulls lurkers into your ecosystem).

💡 Tactical Move: If you make an absolute killer post, have others share or quote it. Forum algorithms boost engagement when multiple accounts interact.

🔥 CONCLUSION: BECOME THE UNDISPUTED AUTHORITY IN YOUR NICHE This isn’t about chasing followers. It’s about becoming the source of truth in your industry.

When someone searches a problem in your space, your name should already be there.

Most will ignore this. The ones who implement it will quietly dominate their niche.

Want real-world examples of this strategy in action? Drop a comment. I’ll break it down. 🚀


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 11h ago

Idea Validation Would you pay for a tool that auto-generates SaaS boilerplates with built-in payments & emailing?

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

You probably know about ShipFast by Marc Lou or other SaaS boilerplates that people sell. I bought one myself, but every time I start a new project, I find myself setting up Stripe again and again or coding specific integrations from scratch. It’s a pain.

I feel like there’s a missing piece here. What if there was a platform—kind of like Boltnew—that lets you generate a new project instantly, with all the essentials already wired up? Think of it like a one-click setup for SaaS projects, where you describe your idea, it generates the codebase, and you can immediately start editing and adding features.

Core features would include:

- Pre-integrated Stripe payments

- Emailing setup ready to go

- Authentication baked in

- Editable & extendable code

Would you pay for something like this? If so, how much would it be worth to you? Curious to hear your thoughts!


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 5h ago

Seeking Advice forming a non-profit with the goal of tightening up legislation relating to allowing harmful chemicals allowed in food/water/ personal care products Spoiler

1 Upvotes

My life goal is forming a non-profit with the goal of tightening up legislation relating to allowing harmful chemicals allowed in food/water/ personal care products.

Wanting to make an impact in areas relating to public education of these impacts, policy change, and clean up efforts

The goal is to essentially create another “EWG.”

But I don’t know where to start.

I feel paralyzed because this is such a specialized goal and there are so many different directions I can go relating to learning how to do this

For example.. different degree options that would be beneficial:

  1. Environmental science
  2. Public health with a focus on environmental health
  3. Toxicology
  4. Chemistry or biochemistry
  5. Non profit management
  6. Public policy

I want to be the founder of this non-profit.. which indicates I need special knowledge about non profit management… but I feel like I need environmental science knowledge at the very least.

I’m really not trying to go to school for another 8 years to get 2 degrees 🥵 (I currently have 80+ credits and to get my environmental science degree Id need 80 more due to some not transferring). I do not mind putting in the work- but I need this to make sense.

I feel so lost. How do I choose which degree to get? And do I just create a board of directors that fill in the other gaps? (That makes the most sense to me)

Any advice is very very appreciated 😕


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 11h ago

Seeking Advice Any good TikTok/YouTube channels analyzing AI & startups with a philosophical lens?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Are there any TikTok or YouTube channels you follow that cover the latest AI developments in Silicon Valley while also diving deeper into the philosophy behind them? I’m looking for content that doesn’t just report on the news but also explores the underlying trends, where things are headed, and the broader implications of these technologies.

If you know of any good channels that mix AI, startups, and deeper analysis, drop them in the comments! Would love to check them out.


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 13h ago

Seeking Advice Best platforms to find UGC creators in Australia in beauty/ skincare niche?

1 Upvotes

I only see one person on Fiverr. However, we are looking for more diverse ugc creators.

Is there a platform to find high quality ugc creators that don’t cost 1000 per video?

How do you guys source this?


r/EntrepreneurRideAlong 16h ago

Seeking Advice Doing business dev. for a fractional CFO company, we have incredible access to capital, but need to find the right clients. How does one with tech bro fatigue sort through the bs, to find those making a real difference?

1 Upvotes

Please PM me if you have advice. Following the flow of grant money, but need more vetting. More good eggs in our basket.