The #1 Reason People Fail to Earn Money Online
[Note: I’m thinking about giving away something away. For free. It’s going to take some significant time to put together. But if I’m going to bust my ass, then I want to make sure you actually want it (so I don't feel like an idiot). More details at the bottom of the article.]
So my second to last post, I said I’d write about . . .
The #1 Reason Why Internet Businesses Fail
Ok. This is going to be really profound. You better sit down. Ready?
Here goes . . .
The #1 reason why internet businesses fail is that they’re not selling the enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices.
I know. I’m a genius.
But bear with me here because the stuff that follows is really important. It’s . . .
Stuff That 99% of Internet Marketing Courses Aren’t Teaching
Businesses fail because business owners don’t ensure – BEFORE THEY START THEIR BUSINESSES – that they can sell enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices. In fact, most of them don’t know what “enough stuff” is.
And because they don’t ensure – BEFORE they start their businesses – that they can sell enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices, they make poor decisions about what products to sell and which markets to pursue.
The Tragedy of Internet Business Failure
Most aspiring internet business owners start off really excited and enthusiastic.
And the first thing most online business owners do is spend lots time & money creating a product (or e-commerce store or whatever), thousands of dollars on marketing, and endless resources trying to make their business viable.
Sometimes the business idea works to the tune of $200 or $300 per month, but most of the time (the vast majority of the time), energy and interest is quickly lost and the entrepreneur loses between $2k and $5k and (even worse) lots of hours.
In some cases, someone will spend thousands of hours building up a blog audience before they spend thousands of hours creating a product (and before they spend thousands of dollars marketing a product). And they do this . . .
. . . only to find out that people really don’t want to buy their stuff.
Then the reality sets in that they have mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay, a long commute, a family they’d like to spend more time with, and insurance needs they can’t meet.
So they stop.
They stop because they realize that their internet business will likely will never provide for their family like it should.
And they stop because they’re paralyzed by fear that their idea will never work. Or they decide that internet marketing’s a scam… and only the "lucky" ever make any money with it.
But it didn’t have to be this way.
What a Taoist With a Whack Mustache Can Teach You About Business
A really long time ago there was dude named Sun Tzu who wrote a really old book called The Art of War. At one point, the Art of War says this:
“In war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
-Sun Tzu
As much as anything else, this statement applies to online business. For our purposes, Sun Tzu might well have said . . .
“When creating an online business, the successful person starts his company after adequate success is certain, whereas he who is destined for bankruptcy first creates a product and then looks to see if it will be profitable.”
-Clay (paraphrasing Sun Tzu)
You see, most internet entrepreneurs are destined for defeat because they “fight” first (i.e. start a business first), and afterwards look for victory.
They first create a business or develop a product, and then look to see if it will be profitable.
The reason why most internet entrepreneurs fail is because they don’t set themselves up for dominance BEFORE starting their business. They have no cold hard data that their business will likely work before starting out. Nothing.
The Next Sentence is Long. But Please Read It All. It’s Really, Really Important.
There’s No Reason At All, AT ALL, At All that you Should Have to Sacrifice Your Free Time, Your Children’s Quality of Life, And Your Hard Earned Money In Order to Create a Product that Won’t Sell or a Market that Won’t Make You Money
Here’s why . . .
The information you need to thoroughly and exhaustively research your market — and MUCH more importantly test your market — are almost entirely free. And quick. And easy to use. And accessible.
But Here’s the Big-Ass Catch (There’s Always a Big-Ass Catch)
I just said that the information needed to thoroughly research and test your market (often in less than 24 hours) is often free, easy to access, and quick.
The catch is that it can take years of trial and error, research, and testing to know where to look (i.e. what resources to use) and much more importantly, what to look for.
Which is why I’m thinking about giving you . . .
My Business Idea Litmus Test or The Factors I Look At When Evaluating And Testing a Market
I can’t believe how naive I am.
I sat down last night with the intention of writing down my business idea litmus test (i.e. the system I personally use to decide whether to enter a market or create a product) and giving it to you in this post. Gratis.
Several hours later, at 3 AM, I was shaking my head.
I thought that the business ideas litmus test was only going to take a few hours to write.
But now I’m thinking it’ll take about 2 whole days to write.
So here’s what I want to know: do you even want this thing (i.e. the business ideas litmus test)??
Because I Don’t Want to Feel Like a Dumbass
I’d feel like a total dumbass if I spent 2-3 days non-stop working on this thing and no one downloaded it or wanted it.
So . . .
This is What I’m Going to Do
If you want the business ideas litmus test, enter you email address below BEFORE Monday. (If I end up making it I’ll send it to you at the email address you list below).
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If you and enough other people get on the “interest” list (I’m thinking around 500), then we’re good to go. I’ll use the interest list to send it to you.
If not, then no worries. (I’ll just use the 2-3 days to do visit San Diego or something).
P.S. I have some other big upcoming news. I’ll fill you in sometime in the next two weeks. At some point. Can’t wait to break the news. (HINT: It’s not a product launch. It’s something bigger).
View Comments
Clay, I really hope you do this. Count me in.
Looking forward to it.
Why hello there…
You've piqued my interest.
Nice. And is that sailing terminology?
Looks like you're on the list. Done.
I am too. Potentially. Thanks for the note.
glad.
I hadn't opened my RSS reader for weeks… until minutes after you wrote this post.
Must be fate.
Or luck.
Or randomness.
Either way, bring it on!
I hadn't opened my RSS reader for several weeks until right after you wrote this post.
Must be fate.
Or luck.
Or randomness.
Either way, bring it on!
Probably all three
Nice to see you around here. It's been a while.
Definitely count me in for this
I'm psyched that you are writing again as well.
Clay, I continue to be intrigued by your methods. Bring it on bro.
Sounds great. Hope you don't go to San Diego.
This sounds awesome.
That's really generous from you! I'm in
Hi Clay,
This is really hard to read due to the overuse of italics, underline, and bold. (BTW, on the Web, please don't underline things unless they are links. Oldschool rule.)
-Erica
Sounds great Clay!
BTW, the email signup form at the bottom of the post isn't showing up for me in Firefox (v3.0.6). It's working fine in IE and Chrome, though. I've noticed users having this problem with Firefox at other sites too, but I don't know the cause. Just wanted you to know.
I'm looking forward to to this.
sounds very worthwhile, looking forward to it… should you decide to make it that is
I have a sneaking suspicion you just DID give it away and are wondering how many people will notice…
But what the heck, count me in!
Add me to the list!
Add me to your list, please.
Clay, I love your mad cliffhanger skillz. I'm specifically interested in your litmus test as I have an upcoming decision of whether to extend the output from a consulting project to a public facing app. I'll do the project either way, but I need to decide whether to make the public facing aspect or the consulting client aspect of the product my primary focus as I go through the development effort.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. I often focus on the idea or product first, instead of doing the research beforehand, and so I learn the hard way.
Add me to your list, please. I'm definetly interested.
Historically I've always found something tasty to chew on in yer writins so I'm fairly confident I won't be disappointed with what yer fixin' to serve up this time. Be sure to sprinkle cuss words in too please.
I'm interested as well!
Yeah count me in as well
OK, you have piqued my curiosity
Count me in
Definitely count me in here, I'm always looking forward to seeing what you've got in the pipeline.
I have no idea what it is but … your excitement and enthusiasm are contagious.
Im eagier to discover your “business ideas litmus test”.
This whole process reminds me the 4hww, and what Tim has wrote about this subject.
You are both right, first find the market, and second find the product.
I avoided to loose time joining a team of sales guy who were hiring for selling a bloated product.
In fact i just stated that the developper team were just paid to masturbate about a super all feature inside software. And that after 2 years of dev, the manager was thinking hard on how to sell it.
In fact he was in the quest of the fith legged ship, who will be able to find a market to his product.
I told them to go in hell, and next time to first think about market and after spend money in product.
People are silly
interested
goddamnit! You are freakin awsome! inspired by gary vaynerchuck maybe? dunno..
I want this litmus test for sure. you've got now my email.
ps: its the freakiest way to get emails – i like you, you are genius, man.
Dude, you peaked my interest because I'm ready for the next step so bring it on.
I'm developing a new series of Drum kit method books and this would be a FANTASTIC tool so I can know if it's a worthwhile idea or if I'm wasting my time. Thanks Clay!!
I have to confess, I'm curious
interesting…
Heh, is this on your idea test list? Ask your blog readers, if enough say “they want it” then it's a go?
Yes please!
I hope this materializes.
PS I love the straightforward way you write. Absolutely love it.
Looking forward to know what's in the house. Thank you.
it isn't too late, is it??? i couldn't get the page to load outside of my RSS when it came out. i want in!
Clay, you are a genius. Thank you for the litmus test. I got it. I hope everyone else does too. *wink wink*
Hi Clay
I share can share your feelings. Yes, better to test the water first, then work or work on something else. Great grasp of the best of the 4HWW has to offer
I am in
Greetings from Au at 1am … I got your return email – but now I'm too scared to listen to the audio 'cause your test might suggest my idea sucks – and then I will have wasted the midnight oil I've burned so far … oh yeah, that's the POINT, d'oh! I've been looking at internet articles since 9pm trying to find something that would give me concrete pointers as to how I could check that I'm not wasting my time (finally it dawned on me that I need to do things the other way around!) when I (luckily) stumbled onto your youtube post – what a corker! Thanks so much for your efforts and I'm off now to make a coffee, gather my dutch courage and do this thing! Looking forward to your future posts. It looks like you've found your market
Carolyn
Absolutely, Clay! I’m sold. Count me in.
i hope that I am not late.. you can count me in as well..
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Hey Clay – I'm liking the cut of your jib here and I'm brave enough to put my current plans to your test! Count me in!