What's your biggest mental barrier holding you back?

[startuprob]

I've been thinking about the interactions in how we think and how that impacts us as entrepreneurs. I'm curious to know if any of you have identified psychological patterns that have restricted your progress and if you've been able to overcome them. (and how)

I struggled with confirmation bias which I was able to overcome and I'm better at identifying things now, but I'd like to start developing strategies for people to use.

What's holding you back? Fear? Laziness? Analysis paralysis?

 

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[Fred Siika]

Hi @startuprob

This is a great question and I thought I'd fill you in on some obstacles I faced and still face today.

Similarly to you, I struggled with confirmation bias. My first business venture was an article directory website. This area is already extremely competitive with big names such as Ezine articles, Goarticles etc. I had come up with a slightly different business model that I thought would change the game. But little did I know that my idea was awful. I was 18 years old at the time and it was my first business venture I lacked basic knowledge on testing the market as well entrepreneurship.

Fast forward 3 years later (present day)--I currently run my own piano studio; and while I'm extremely pleased with the progress I've made this year my number one issue that I'd say is holding me back to my full potential would be my level of focus. I know what the long-term goals/milestones are for my business, but where I need more improvement would be staying focused during the day-to-day operations of the business. I start one project and quickly move to the next. I know it may sound kind of stupid, but with all this technology I find myself easily getting distracted from notifications on my phone, to incoming emails etc. In hopes to solve this problem I've basically deleted all forms of social media from my phone lol.

Time management is another big issue that I also face but I won't get into all that.

Sorry, I didn't mean to type up a storm but I hope this helps you out with your project!

 

[startuprob]

@Fred Siika

Absolutely incredible feedback. This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for.

I actually have a bunch of ideas that I want to dump on you that I actually think would really help, but can I ask a couple more questions first?

Have you done anything to try and solve this problem of "starting one project and moving to something else?" If so, what? Has anything been even mildly helpful? Have you tried anything that absolutely didn't work?

Lastly, if you could wave a magic wand and the ideal scenario presented itself - what would it look like?

 

[Pabski]

Polygideamy- "A disease characterized by the inability to marry one idea due to constant interference from other envious entities, usually displaying outward sexual appeal but limited inner potential."

This is quite a formidable opponent of a disease. I suffer as well.

Many-a-profitable ideas were lost to this terrible foe..... but. There is a cure.

Once you have done your due diligence and developed an actionable process. JUST FREAKING DO IT. I have recently somewhat progressed in overcoming this disease as well. I experimented with many cures, and found one that seems to work well.

Idea dumping. I threw down all of my "ideas", found the ONE that I thought would work best and then burned the rest. Not literally, but I cleared my mind of anything else. Much harder than it sounds, no doubt. Begin each day on that ONE idea, as you wake up write down something about it. Get your mind completely focused. Use a rubber-band on your wrist... any time you begin to think of another idea you snap that rubber band which will bring you back to focus.

I will continue to search for better cures, as I am still developing my own. 'Tis a powerful disease that soon will be eradicated!

 

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[csalvato]

After reading MFL, I realized that my biggest mental roadblock was thinking way too small. I wasn't thinking in terms of "impacting millions".

With my first business, I said "If I could just get 20 clients this year, at $3000/client, that would be $60K this year and I would be making as much money as when I worked full time!"

When that was a shit load of work that I hated to do, and I was selling a product no one wanted, I switched focus to another small idea, then another, then another...focusing on making 100K, then working on the big multi-million dollar idea...

This resulted in a few businesses that are now completely passive, but only make a combined total of 15-$25k/year. Even if I would grow my biggest business to 10x its current revenue size, it would only make $10k/month

Now I realize that making 20k, 70k or even 200k/month is possible if I find the right product and market and start thinking BIGGER. Once I started thinking bigger, and reading about how to sell high priced products, I have had much higher value product ideas...and I am hoping now that I am working on a high value venture ($10k/month/client), that I will open the door to wealth more easily.

 

[startuprob]

@Pabski

"If you're presented with 2 options that look roughly similar, just pick one. Even if it ends up being wrong, it's often better than gesticulating back and forth without making a decision." - Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla, SpaceX)

I think just about every entrepreneur has suffered from that one as well. It sucks. Now that I've had a bit of success in entrepreneurship (I cofounded makersacademy.com) I can attest to the fact that focus is key. If you find yourself flip-flopping, give yourself a time commitment. For example, say that for the next 30/60/90 days you will NOT focus on any entrepreneurial idea other than the ONE that's currently on the top of your list. Even if on day 5 you realize it's somehow flawed, the fact that you continue down that path will teach you many things that will be useful for the next idea. (or you might subsequently determine that the original idea actually DOES have potential - if you're leaving the door open to the fact that you misjudged how GOOD an idea is, be fair and leave the door open that you'll misjudge how BAD an idea is)

@csalvato

This is a value judgement. If it's important to make 200k/mo, that limits the type of ideas you'll want to pursue. If you're happy making 10k/mo, you have more options. It's fantastically difficult to forecast the performance of any business, that's why I try to take the approach of doing something that excites me.

I personally think that a lot of people that think they want to be startup entrepreneurs actually don't. They read about companies raising vc rounds in Techcrunch and about massive exits. I'll admit that this seemed tantalizing to me too...until I lived it. Some people are suited for it - most are not. It suited me for a while, but I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life that way. If most people who think they want that meteoric startup rise were actually presented with two options: a .01% chance of making $100m or a 50% chance of making $15k/mo, I think that most would probably pick the 2nd. (And the 2nd is absolutely possible)

There's a lot of luck involved with making a company worth $1b, but raw skill can take you to a business that makes you a quarter mil per year.

Unfortunately most don't think about it that way.

 

[csalvato]

I agre with you Startuprob. Just to clarify, I am not talking about being a mega-startup-with-1-billion-users-funded-by-VCS kinda guy.

I used to think I wanted to be in that VC startup world. But it didnt take me a long time to realize that wasn't for me...

I am talking about making money on products that are more valuable, and have higher impact.

For example, one of my products makes about 12k/year and is an eBook and video package that teaches people how to do a handstand. If I scaled that to 10x its size, it would take a LOT of work and doing shit I hate (like writing...a LOT). And after all that, I would be at 120k/year...and it would take a lot of time. It's just too low value, and too niche.

Thinking bigger, I see a product like appointmentreminder.com that is making 60k/month because it solves a high value problem for doctors. All run by 1 guy with no VC funding.

In another example, I were to position myself as a designer of private jets, the cost per transaction (magnitude) goes up to $20k/sale.

If I were to be an advertising manager for Workplace Solutions Designers, they would be making sales in the $100K+ range, and I could be paid 10k/month to represent them.

Then I need only 10 clients to pull in $100k/month, which would be over 1M/year.

Then again, I'm still not making millions, and I am way off my goal...so I can be dead wrong here.

 

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[csalvato]

"If you're presented with 2 options that look roughly similar, just pick one. Even if it ends up being wrong, it's often better than gesticulating back and forth without making a decision." - Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla, SpaceX)

BTW Amazing quote from one of my idols. Thanks for sharing.

 

[HappyFighter]

My biggest mental barrier is thinking I have a mental barrier holding me back. If I acknowledge it, then it exists, if I don't, then it doesn't exist.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I've been thinking about the interactions in how we think and how that impacts us as entrepreneurs. I'm curious to know if any of you have identified psychological patterns that have restricted your progress and if you've been able to overcome them. (and how)
I struggled with confirmation bias which I was able to overcome and I'm better at identifying things now, but I'd like to start developing strategies for people to use.
What's holding you back? Fear? Laziness? Analysis paralysis?

Curious, are you ever going to make a post which doesn't link to your blog? Or is this forum just merely apart of your link/marketing strategy, nothing more, nothing less.

 

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[mosdef]

for me its killing all ideas before even starting

 

[startuprob]

@csalvato

But how do you manage the psychology around the unreliability of that income? For example, a lot of enterprise software sales can charge upwards of $100k or $1m for an annual sale to a company, but the feedback loop and the amount of time that needs to be invested up front is so unreliable that it often leads to an entirely new set of scripts. Have you come across any of these?

@HappyFighter

I think it goes deeper than this. I think that people ARE held back without quite realizing it. What I'm trying to determine is if, by identifying them and becoming aware of them, we can't perhaps build mental work-arounds that empower entrepreneurs.

@MJ DeMarco

I wish I knew how to link build. SEO is building a business on quicksand if you ask me as Google is liable to change their algorithm any day. I linked because I felt the content was relevant and the topic valuable.

@mosdef

What are the phrases that are killing the ideas? For example, I've killed ideas by saying,"I'm not sure how much I actually care about this problem and I don't see myself wanting to do this 3-5 years from now." Are you using phrases like that? If so, what are they?

 

[csalvato]

But how do you manage the psychology around the unreliability of that income? For example, a lot of enterprise software sales can charge upwards of $100k or $1m for an annual sale to a company, but the feedback loop and the amount of time that needs to be invested up front is so unreliable that it often leads to an entirely new set of scripts. Have you come across any of these?

How is that income any more unreliable than the $35 income from an eBook, or $19/month in hosting costs?

Not all sales for $2k/month, or $1M/year need to be that unreliable with a large turnaround time...though many businesses ARE that way, its not true for all.

 

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[startuprob]

The difference is that I can test (and develop) an information product without going through dozens of enterprise sales meetings and getting buy-in from 10 managers who will never use my product.

I'm definitely not knocking enterprise sales or high-value products, but the elasticity of pricing is pretty straight forward - i takes more (pain, convincing, reliability, trust, etc.) to sell something that costs $10k than it does something that costs $100.

 

[csalvato]

The difference is that I can test (and develop) an information product without going through dozens of enterprise sales meetings and getting buy-in from 10 managers who will never use my product.

I'm definitely not knocking enterprise sales or high-value products, but the elasticity of pricing is pretty straight forward - i takes more (pain, convincing, reliability, trust, etc.) to sell something that costs $10k than it does something that costs $100.

I'm not talking about enterprise sales.

I am talking about small business sales for affluent purchasers.

Things like small medical practices with 1 doctor, and 5 staff members can afford a $10K/month product if it produces $10k/month in value.

You don't always need to sell to enterprises to have a high price tag. If you hit on a need where there is $10k/month value, then its no harder to sell that than a $35 eBook.

At least in my experience selling things that are $30-60k in value for my sales jobs and my preliminary research on my latest niche trying to sell services at $10k/month...

...but I'll let you know if that's complete bullshit once I get the results of my latest marketing push.

 

[startuprob]

I couldn't agree more that selling into smaller professional firms (lawyers, accountants, etc.) can be incredibly lucrative. The appointment reminder thing that you linked to before is a good example and there are tons of others. At my company we pay for quite a few of these monthly subscription products that solve small pains - they usually range from $20-$250/mo. These are cash cow businesses that are absolutely incredible when can you land them. But paying $10k/mo would have to provide MASSIVE value. Higher end PR or marketing firms charge that (and more) but most companies i work with keep that stuff in-house.

Maybe it's just that I'm not familiar enough with the professional services target market to identify a $10k/mo pain that they have.

I'd be curious, what's your process at identifying these pains? And as someone with sales training, what does the process look like to sell into them? (i.e. generate leads from a website then do an in-person sales pitch?)

 

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[csalvato]

I'd be curious, what's your process at identifying these pains?

I had a hard time identifying these pains, really. I'm currently trying to market SEO/PPC services to some of these higher value niches and I can easily find out who is doing good SEO/PPC and who is doing bad SEO/PPC by using SpyFu.com and SEMRush.com.

If I weren't able to get that INSIDERS information from those sites, I would have to probably have to just send out more marketing materials and expect a lower conversion rate.

And as someone with sales training, what does the process look like to sell into them? (i.e. generate leads from a website then do an in-person sales pitch?)

Right now, I am experimenting with sending Shock-and-Awe packages directly to leads I intensely research. I just spent about $700 sending out direct mail packages to 11 leads. Thats $60-$70 per package and about 5-20 hours of research into each lead. I have heard a lot of people having success with such high-touch methods, but the jury is still out as my first round of packages haven't been delivered yet.

In the past, when selling $30-$100k pieces of equipment I was part of a company. Most of our leads came from referrals and website inquiries (generated from SEO/PPC campaigns).

The sales process is higher touch. In many cases, an in-person visit can greatly help things along but isn't always necessary. A phone call is almost always necessary and is a great opportunity to build trust and rapport. If you can convince them on the phone, the sale usually comes through unless they need to physically SEE something in person.

 

[Fred Siika]

@Fred Siika

Absolutely incredible feedback. This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for.

I actually have a bunch of ideas that I want to dump on you that I actually think would really help, but can I ask a couple more questions first?

Have you done anything to try and solve this problem of "starting one project and moving to something else?" If so, what? Has anything been even mildly helpful? Have you tried anything that absolutely didn't work?

Lastly, if you could wave a magic wand and the ideal scenario presented itself - what would it look like?

Great questions @startuprob

I've tried a number of strategies in trying to solve my issues. One thing that has worked somewhat is hand-writing to-do/checklists on a piece of paper. As rudimentary as this sounds, actually writing it out on a piece of paper and physically crossing it off has helped mildly.

Lastly, my ideal scenario/ultimate goal for my venture is to have 300+ students enrolled in my piano studio in multiple locations across America each equipped with certified instructors. In addition to having an e-commerce music/equipment store.

Hope this helps and please fill me in on some ideas that you may have to help.

Thanks!

 

[mosdef]

[/quote]
@mosdef

What are the phrases that are killing the ideas? For example, I've killed ideas by saying,"I'm not sure how much I actually care about this problem and I don't see myself wanting to do this 3-5 years from now." Are you using phrases like that? If so, what are they?[/quote]

yes my brain goes like this: Someone out there is already doing it, im not good enough, to much competition, cost to much, etc etc. Hopefully these thoughts go away with more experience and more success and failures in my bag

 

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[Tengen]

Fear. Doubt. Disbelief.

 

[csalvato]

@mosdef

What are the phrases that are killing the ideas? For example, I've killed ideas by saying,"I'm not sure how much I actually care about this problem and I don't see myself wanting to do this 3-5 years from now." Are you using phrases like that? If so, what are they?

yes my brain goes like this: Someone out there is already doing it, im not good enough, to much competition, cost to much, etc etc. Hopefully these thoughts go away with more experience and more success and failures in my bag

Dude! The reasons you see NOT to start a business or pursue an idea are very common triggers for newbie entrepreneurs.

In fact, I started my last business because there was no competition, and even though I built it up to $12k/year, it will likely be STUCK THERE FOREVER.

Here's the thing, competition is the greatest thing in the world when it comes to pursuing a business idea. Not being the best or good enough is an amazing reason to pursue an idea. And you need to change the way you think about costs!

Competition 1 - Competition means profits ($$$)
If you have little, weak or no competition, it means no one around has found a way to be profitable from your product or idea. Think about it. Business has been around for 4000+ years. Very few business ideas will be new. My last business was a product to teach people how to do a handstand. It is profitable, but makes a meager sum. Other products are out there, but they aren't run by companies making millions of dollars...more like thousands.

If you aren't facing competition who is making millions from your business idea, then you are basically just wasting your time, because you will never likely make millions from your idea.

Competition 2 - Competition means research, swiping, and inspiration
You identified a market with high competition, the company is making millions. You changed your mindset, so now you know this is now a highly profitable niche.

That means you have someone to research and model. You can find what they are doing that sucks, and improve it. You can look up their marketing. How are they reaching their customers?

Are they using Google AdWords? Are they using SEO? What do their ads look like? What about their landing pages? What does their copy look like? Their headlines? Their images? What benefits do they list out? (ALL OF THIS IS AVAILABLE IF YOU SEARCH THEIR DOMAIN ON SPYFU.COM)

In many cases you can find their customers. Call them on the phone. Ask them what they think about working with that company. Whats the best part about working with them? What's the worst? Why did they decide on that company?

YOU CAN'T DO ANY OF THIS IF YOU HAVE NO COMPETITION!!!

Not Being Good Enough - The inexperienced are the BEST new entries into a space
If you don't think you're good enough, that means one thing -- you have no experience in this space. And really, who cares? The best people to bring new ideas into an area are those with NO PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS of the space itself.

For example, lets say you want to start up a student lead generation company like QuinStreet or CampusExplorer. You don't come in with any preconceived notions about the space. You don't say "Oh QuinStreet does it like this, that's the best way to do it".

Instead you say "What is the end goal for the user? How are they best served? Is this how other people are doing it? If so, why not? Is their way better?"

When you have no experience, you provide fresh eyes. Fresh eyes are a great gateway to innovate. And innovation is the only way to create a USP, differentiate yourself and become profitable.

Cost too Much
Nothing costs too much if you're profitable. You can get your first few clients for free, or recruit them on board to pre-order and fund the whole damn thing. If you identify a need, and show people you can really solve that problem, they will pay you happily even before it exists.

Reward your early adopters and costs won't be an issue. It's not easy. I don't mean to make it sound that way. But its not a reason not to start.

 

[karolizas]

It's almost always a negative mindset or lack of action that holds people back, few times there is some external factor that cannot be dealt with. From my experience that is.

 

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[RogueInnovation]

Am a bit clouded I think, it makes me a bit slow. Eating better helps speed up that process, and less stress to bring in cash helps me focus clearer. I try to be calm because inspite of the contradiction, being calm helps me not get swept up in dumb thought processes.

 

[Rem]

I have a few problems. My main problem is I end up in positions I can't control. I back myself into corners. This is actually a psychological thing. I fear going it alone... and so I look to bring in "partners" to some degree whether they are equity holders or not, but regardless each time I do that it drives a wedge between me and my goals. I recently partnered having a minority stake in Rumatech, which provided security and managed services but we also were getting into creating bitcoin miners and other cryptocurrency services. I was in control of all that stuff, so I thought. The guy who had a majority stake pulled the plug completely from the crypto market to focus on other areas. The company went in a different direction and there was little I could do about it. But I originally had partnered because of the "comfort" of not having to go it alone.

For the first time ever, I have been experiencing the little voice in my head that tells me I'm not good enough. Since I started writing a book, once i got to about 40k words, even though many people have read it and like it, a little voice in my head is saying that they are only telling me that because they know me and don't want me to feel bad, that I only got B's in English class therefore I am not cut out for writing, nobody will like my book, and so on. I have NEVER experienced the "I am not good enough" issue until now. Usually its the opposite where I think everyone and their brother will buy not just 1 of my products but 10 because it's so wonderful.

So recognizing your barriers I think is the first step to overcoming them.

 

[csalvato]

I have a few problems. My main problem is I end up in positions I can't control. I back myself into corners. This is actually a psychological thing. I fear going it alone... and so I look to bring in "partners" to some degree whether they are equity holders or not, but regardless each time I do that it drives a wedge between me and my goals. I recently partnered having a minority stake in Rumatech, which provided security and managed services but we also were getting into creating bitcoin miners and other cryptocurrency services. I was in control of all that stuff, so I thought. The guy who had a majority stake pulled the plug completely from the crypto market to focus on other areas. The company went in a different direction and there was little I could do about it. But I originally had partnered because of the "comfort" of not having to go it alone.

For the first time ever, I have been experiencing the little voice in my head that tells me I'm not good enough. Since I started writing a book, once i got to about 40k words, even though many people have read it and like it, a little voice in my head is saying that they are only telling me that because they know me and don't want me to feel bad, that I only got B's in English class therefore I am not cut out for writing, nobody will like my book, and so on. I have NEVER experienced the "I am not good enough" issue until now. Usually its the opposite where I think everyone and their brother will buy not just 1 of my products but 10 because it's so wonderful.

So recognizing your barriers I think is the first step to overcoming them.

You wrote 40k words without knowing if strangers wanted to read it first?

That's a huge time commitment. That's like building out enterprise level software without any clue if someone will actually buy it.

Have you considered trying to sell the product first, seeing if people will buy it, then continuing your writing? It doesn't matter how good the writing is, really. If the advertising is good enough for it, people will buy it. If it sucks, they will ask for their money back (rare), and they won't tell other people.

If it's great, they'll share it.

This is how I sold my first book, which was only 26k words. I sell it for $35 on its own and $75 with videos. It makes about 12k/month in a small market. But I didn't write a single word till I tested the sale. I got 10 sales in 30 days without writing a word of content for the book.

That tested sale gave me so much confidence.

Same with my latest venture. I am focusing on PPC/SEO (something I am only OK at) for a niche market. I am not reading books upon books about SEO/PPC to be the best. Not yet. I need to see if I hit a need/interest first.

If I can convince someone of the value of that market, it doesn't even matter if I disappoint my first few customers, because I will know that I can COMPEL people to buy it. If I can do it once, and I F*ck up, I can always compel someone to buy again because I know what this audience finds compelling.

I find that finding these ways of getting validation before the big investment of times mitigates my fears (though they never completely go away).

Right now, why don't you try to sell me on your book. What's it about? Why would I buy it from you?

 

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[Rem]

I am up over 50k words right now, first draft. My editor has edited somewhere around 35k. I think. She is not going full tilt editing until she reads the rest of it. She is only fixing some grammar, typos etc. until it's all done.

The book is "hopefully" book one of a series. First book is called The Shadow King. It's a Sci-Fi Adventure novel. Probably will squeak out 70k-80k words when its done. Here is a little blurb about it but I will be expanding on this to make it longer to place on the back of the book:

It is the summer of 1958 and David is about to enter high school. He and his friend, Johnny, set out on a day adventure along the old railroad tracks not knowing that their lives are about to change forever. The stranger they encounter holds a deep, dark secret and the key to the future. Racing against time, will David be able to change destiny and save his own life, the country, and all of mankind?

 

[csalvato]

I am up over 50k words right now, first draft. My editor has edited somewhere around 35k. I think. She is not going full tilt editing until she reads the rest of it. She is only fixing some grammar, typos etc. until it's all done.

The book is "hopefully" book one of a series. First book is called The Shadow King. It's a Sci-Fi Adventure novel. Probably will squeak out 70k-80k words when its done. Here is a little blurb about it but I will be expanding on this to make it longer to place on the back of the book:
It is the summer of 1958 and David is about to enter high school. He and his friend, Johnny, set out on a day adventure along the old railroad tracks not knowing that their lives are about to change forever. The stranger they encounter holds a deep, dark secret and the key to the future. Racing against time, will David be able to change destiny and save his own life, the country, and all of mankind?

Ohhhh you have an editor. It's fiction. I misunderstood.

The fact that you even have an editor and a publisher should be validation to some extent!

It sounds like something I'd like.

Have you spoken to any sci-fi authors who have had best sellers?

 

[Rem]

The fact that you even have an editor and a publisher should be validation to some extent!

I am self publishing but I have an editor right now who is connected to the English department here at the University of Maine. She is an English major and TA's for one of the English Professors. My wife also is going to edit. She'll mostly do grammar stuff as she is a grammar nazi.

Have you spoken to any sci-fi authors who have had best sellers?

I have not. I wouldn't know how to contact them. I live half mile down the street from Stephen King. I thought about attempting to talk to him but it scares me. lol

 

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[csalvato]

I am self publishing but I have an editor right now who is connected to the English department here at the University of Maine. She is an English major and TA's for one of the English Professors. My wife also is going to edit. She'll mostly do grammar stuff as she is a grammar nazi.


I have not. I wouldn't know how to contact them. I live half mile down the street from Stephen King. I thought about attempting to talk to him but it scares me. lol

There are many ways you can validate this since you're self publishing (like I was)

One immediate way that comes to mind is set up a landing page with leadpages.com, tell people on forums, Reddit, etc. that you are writing a sci-fi book. The landing page will have a download to the first 3 chapters of your book (preferably with a cliff hanger) ONLY AFTER they provide an email address.

See if you can even get signups based on that alone. If you get signups, engage with people. See who is giving you honest feedback. Give them a free copy of your book for feedback. See what they like and don't like.

After a few weeks, if you have a decent amount of signups, set up a sales page where people can pre-order it for an introductory price.

Strangers with credit cards are going to be way more honest than friends and family.

All of this should take no longer than a collective of 4 hours to setup. Leadpages makes shit really easy.

If you get sales, you win. And that validates all of your hard work.

And yea, I would say to knock on Mr. King's door or write him a letter

 

[Maxjohan]

There's a lot of luck involved with making a company worth $1b, but raw skill can take you to a business that makes you a quarter mil per year.

If all you did was to find the right investment or path to making that $1 billion. Then, I don't think there is much luck to it. Luck is not a big factor when you have the knowledge to make it big.

The thing with this, going from idea to idea is that it probably saves you from some failures. I actually believe that. Because the "idea" is not the biggest obstacle. Or what will strike you rich or whatever. It is the execution of the business, that is equal or even more important. And that is what most people lack, in my opinion.

How many blogs are there on the Internet?
How many gets more than 20,000 visitors a day?

Is that luck? Or is it promotion and lack of promotion!?

See the point? Sure, there are a lot of small markets out there who will never see even 2,000 visitors a day, even if they tried really hard. But the real deal Holyfield is that you should focus on marketing, PR and advertising.

Just look at Wow.com.

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wow.com

Look at that graph and ask yourself how did they get these spikes in traffic?

They spend $2,000,000 or so a month on Google ads.

The key to a big business. You decide. It's not luck.

Just my opinion.