Is this idea another selfish business plan based on passion?

[SpartanWarrior77]

Hey Fastlaners,

Ive been reading MJ's new book Unscripted and it's starting to become my new favorite business book.

Anyway, in it he talks about passion and how passion doesn't pay the bills. He says the market place is "one selfish rat" and we need to cater to it's desires. And Im starting to understand what he means by that.

I need your advice on the following: Is it just another "bullshit passion" that isn't gonna go anywhere or do I have a chance?

Long story short:

Im very driven and curious in regards to the men's self-improvement/health & fitness industry. Im very interested in things that boost our ability to be "high-performance". Things like bio-hacking, mental toughness, etc all interest me immensely.

My whole life growing up I wanted to be in the special forces but when I was 18 something in me changed and it was the fact that I just didn't trust the government with my life. Nevertheless the desire to be a "warrior" and be high-performance in all I do never left me. Now Im 22 and I train with discipline, do MMA, breathing exercises, meditation, eat paleo 95% of the time, etc.

I was thinking of serving the men's health market by starting a brand that is primarily based on marketing through Youtube. I want to come out with informative videos on what men can do to supercharge their health so that they can perform at high-levels. I also want to cater to individuals who are entrepreneurs, busy professionals, etc. (because they're high-performers themselves and they also have money to spend). By creating badass videos, my plan is to drive traffic to my website.

My brand would be called "High-Performance Warrior". And I would start by providing one-on-one online coaching in terms of health/nutrition for peak-performance. I would eventually start selling products (be it modules, supplements, etc) as well.

I was doing some research and there are already quite a few of these types of blogs/brands such as Anabolic Men, Men's Health & Fitness, and Mark Divine's Sealfit Academy, etc.

I feel like I have a somewhat unique angle and story. And I feel like I can provide entertainment value as well.

My question to you guys would be: Is the men's health and fitness market overly-saturated and am I just being overly-hype about my own selfish desires? Question #2 would be, If this idea has a chance, what are some cold hard questions I need to ask myself in order to truly provide value and solve a problem instead of being another "me-too" brand?

Thanks a million!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I was doing some research and there are already quite a few of these types of blogs/brands such as Anabolic Men, Men's Health & Fitness, and Mark Divine's Sealfit Academy, etc.

I feel like I have a somewhat unique angle and story. And I feel like I can provide entertainment value as well.

My question to you guys would be: Is the men's health and fitness market overly-saturated and am I just being overly-hype about my own selfish desires? Question #2 would be, If this idea has a chance, what are some cold hard questions I need to ask myself in order to truly provide value and solve a problem instead of being another "me-too" brand?

Be different. Examine the value array and skew.

Overall, a saturated market is sign that your message will have an audience. Question is, will they find you a better message? And will they find you first before you give up in the desert of desertion?

While you described this a "passion play", I don't really see it that way. Everyone should be passionate about health, feeling good, and optimizing performance.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

Be different. Examine the value array and skew.

Overall, a saturated market is sign that your message will have an audience. Question is, will they find you a better message? And will they find you first before you give up in the desert of desertion?

While you described this a "passion play", I don't really see it that way. Everyone should be passionate about health, feeling good, and optimizing performance.

Thanks for the response MJ! I've been listening to all of your videos recently and it's crazy to now have a direct response from you!

First off, I started building an Evernote file with info on all of my competitors. I will say that they're pretty formidable. Im not very intimidated though.

Secondly, your passage about the "desert of desertion" is what allowed me to go to bed with peace of mind last night after I read it in Unscripted . It made me realize that there may very well be a period of no positive-feedback for a while. Now I'm ready to go through that more than ever.

And finally, I was thinking the same. Health and fitness for men is not just passion play. But in your book, there are many times where you talk about the "testosterone pumped 21 year old who wants to start his own fitness blog". I guess that kind of hit me in the gut since it's true. There are a million blogs out there about weight-loss, what makes my own so different? But that's why I really wanted to narrow down my niche to men who are busy professionals, entrepreneurs, etc... That already makes me cater to a way more specific niche which differentiates me from a lot of people off the bat.

Im starting to feel more inspiration...

 

[Scot]

I’m pretty active as a consumer in the fitness and supplement space, there’s so much noise. Facebook figured out I’m into fitness and every other ad is for some shady no name supplement now.

I feel like this market is beyond saturated. Think of how many personal trainers there are out there that have already had this idea, started a YouTube channel and blog.

I think if you’re going to succeed in this space you need to either niche so far down that you’re oddly specific. Like, fitness for 35-40 year old entrepreneurs.
Or do something radically different or use a different channel to reach your audience. For example, some of my nurses showed me videos on YouTube if this overly effeminate guy who does some dance type aerobics workout. No different than Zumba, but hes quirky and appeals to women.

If you’re all about the warrior image, maybe do something overly branded like “Viking fitness, train like a beserker” and have videos of you training with logs, throwing axes, and doing other badass type stuff in the snow.

 

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[SpartanWarrior77]

I think if you’re going to succeed in this space you need to either niche so far down that you’re oddly specific. Like, fitness for 35-40 year old entrepreneurs.
Or do something radically different or use a different channel to reach your audience. For example, some of my nurses showed me videos on YouTube if this overly effeminate guy who does some dance type aerobics workout. No different than Zumba, but hes quirky and appeals to women.

If you’re all about the warrior image, maybe do something overly branded like “Viking fitness, train like a beserker” and have videos of you training with logs, throwing axes, and doing other badass type stuff in the snow.

Yeah, that's true. Im going to have to be creative. The other thing about my type of content is that I want to come out with a mindset component as well. It will be centered on the warrior ideal and things like that. So that will differentiate me there. But thats good advice.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

I feel like this market is beyond saturated. Think of how many personal trainers there are out there that have already had this idea, started a YouTube channel and blog.

Hey Scot,

How long do you think is a valid amount of time to experiment in this market to see if I have a realistic shot? I dont wanna waste too much time on this. I was thinking do everything I can for like 6 months. In that time frame, I would come out with 100+ videos on Youtube, contact people via social media, get testimonials in exchange for free service, etc. But the point is, I want to get to a point where I go "Ok the market needs this" or "Ok the market does NOT need this".

 

[Ascension]

At some point in his or her life every gym bro thinks about becoming a personal trainer or starting a Youtube channel. As a result there are a ****-ton of these channels out there.
Now, call me biased but the fact that one of your plans is to offer supplements down the line leads me to believe you aren't that different from the crowd.

I might certainly be wrong though.

If you do have something unique to offer that people will benefit from you don't need to fear the crowded market.

 

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[Scot]

Hey Scot,

How long do you think is a valid amount of time to experiment in this market to see if I have a realistic shot? I dont wanna waste too much time on this. I was thinking do everything I can for like 6 months. In that time frame, I would come out with 100+ videos on Youtube, contact people via social media, get testimonials in exchange for free service, etc. But the point is, I want to get to a point where I go "Ok the market needs this" or "Ok the market does NOT need this".

If you’re going to go this route and essentially build a business around yourself, 6 months is minimum. For this kind of stuff, I’d definitely look into the way Gary V does marketing. He’s got a book called Jab Jab Jab right hook (something like that) that’s really big on social media influence marketing and branding.

 

[inputchip]

At my old office we would have a yoga instructor come in every Tuesday, she was mostly appealing to the females in the office...

If you came in and started doing "high performance warrior" type sessions on how to be more productive, breathing techniques, bio-hacking, axe throwing, self defense, etc. I could see that being a really big hit.

This could be a simple way of validating your idea anyways. Not really a great way to scale.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

At some point in his or her life every gym bro thinks about becoming a personal trainer or starting a Youtube channel. As a result there are a ****-ton of these channels out there.
Now, call me biased but the fact that one of your plans is to offer supplements down the line leads me to believe you aren't that different from the crowd.

If you do have something unique to offer that people will benefit from you don't need to fear the crowded market.

Yeah, you're right. Right when I started this new channel, I wasnt thinking of the fact that I was in a saturated market. I was just thinking of what I was somewhat good at and might be fun to serve. Now that I have this new perspective, it's really making my motivation go down. I feel like "Im just another gym bro" even though I do have a unique story and angle, it's probably not all that different.

Im starting to think that I should just call it quits on this gameplan and instead look for a problem that isnt being solved. I feel like I might waste 6 months building up a content base in an industry that's saturated. But Im not sure because I can also just provide better and more valuable content than my competition but then again, I dont know. This is a tough one.

 

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[SpartanWarrior77]

At my old office we would have a yoga instructor come in every Tuesday, she was mostly appealing to the females in the office...

If you came in and started doing "high performance warrior" type sessions on how to be more productive, breathing techniques, bio-hacking, axe throwing, self defense, etc. I could see that being a really big hit.

This could be a simple way of validating your idea anyways. Not really a great way to scale.

I was actually thinking of doing something for the work place instead of the individual, a lot of work-places can use a revamp but how many would be willing to pay for it? Hmmmm......

 

[inputchip]

I was actually thinking of doing something for the work place instead of the individual, a lot of work-places can use a revamp but how many would be willing to pay for it? Hmmmm......

Get the companies to pay for it instead of individuals. You're increasing productivity for the company anyways...

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

If you’re going to go this route and essentially build a business around yourself, 6 months is minimum. For this kind of stuff, I’d definitely look into the way Gary V does marketing. He’s got a book called Jab Jab Jab right hook (something like that) that’s really big on social media influence marketing and branding.

Sometimes I hate Gary V. He always talks about hustling for 10 years straight and sleeping only 4-5 hours a day . Sounds like a good way to mess up your health. Although, I get it. He's just trying to snap us out of our bullshit mindset that we can succeed if we're spending our weekends getting trashed with our friends and playing Halo 3.

But like I told "Ascension", I think Im gonna be just another "gym bro starting the billionth fitness blog for men", unless I do something radically different. Personally, the more I do research in my industry, the more Im starting to think that people are already solving the problem of "men's fitness" just fine. There are a ton of blogs, books, and courses tailored for men to be healthier. The need is already being solved.

Wouldn't it be wise to look in an industry that I can truly provide some unique value in instead or should I just shut the F*ck up and experiment with this for 6 months....?

 

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[SpartanWarrior77]

Get the companies to pay for it instead of individuals. You're increasing productivity for the company anyways...

That might be a very good angle. And I've never heard of a company that revitalizes companies. Maybe I should experiment. Maybe, Ill contact several companies about this and offer them a free session.

 

[NewManRising]

How much would the investment be to get started and test this? I think if you think too much about it you tend to not do anything. I say, just try it. You might not get wealthy on your first try and this is OK. Your first gig should be to learn. Although, you can be very successful this first try too. The point is, you never know. If you believe in this stay with it. Are you OK with losing the initial investment into this? I am risking several thousand dollars to start my business. But I am OK with losing it (and I don't really have much money). If I strike out I can raise money again and give it another shot. But this time I would be more experienced. Move forward, get your feet wet!

 

[NewManRising]

Get the companies to pay for it instead of individuals. You're increasing productivity for the company anyways...

This is a good idea. If you come up with a good training course and can become a good persuader then I can see this working. If you come with facts that show that this can increase productivity (which it does) that would help you too.

 

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[Mr.Brandtastic]

The most important factor of business is whether you're going to stick with it 10 years from now. Hell, maybe the rest of your life. What we say you should take with a grain of salt, we're not you. We are trying to be helpful but we're not you.

No one's going to ever give you permission to start a business and be great.

 

[inputchip]

The most important factor of business is whether you're going to stick with it 10 years from now. Hell, maybe the rest of your life.

I would disagree on that. I don't want to be working 10 years from now, let alone for the rest of my life. That's the whole point of the FASTLANE.

 

[biophase]

In my opinion, If you are going to call yourself high performance warrior you need to have some credentials.

Else you are just another fitness youtube dude. You need to win some very physical races, compete in crossfit games, win some MMA fights. You don't have any credibility at the moment.

 

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[Scot]

In my opinion, If you are going to call yourself high performance warrior you need to have some credentials.

Else you are just another fitness youtube dude. You need to win some very physical races, compete in crossfit games, win some MMA fights. You don't have any credibility at the moment.

I agree with this too. The whole “I thought about joining the military but...” then saying you want to be a warrior style Trainer, it just doesn’t jive.

You’ve got guys like Tim Kennedy (former Green Beret, UFC fighter), John Burk (former Army DS), And so many guys from the GWOT who are legit warriors to compete against.

If you’re going to brand yourself as a warrior mindset fitness coach, in a world with actual warrior fitness coaches, you’re going to get called out.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

How much would the investment be to get started and test this? I think if you think too much about it you tend to not do anything. I say, just try it. You might not get wealthy on your first try and this is OK. Your first gig should be to learn. Although, you can be very successful this first try too. The point is, you never know. If you believe in this stay with it. Are you OK with losing the initial investment into this? I am risking several thousand dollars to start my business. But I am OK with losing it (and I don't really have much money). If I strike out I can raise money again and give it another shot. But this time I would be more experienced. Move forward, get your feet wet!

Yeah, I have no idea how to go about this. What I might do is call up a few companies and see if they'd be willing to have me come in and give them a "free session" where I go around and analyse their environment and see if it could use some "high-performance" tune ups.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

In my opinion, If you are going to call yourself high performance warrior you need to have some credentials.

Else you are just another fitness youtube dude. You need to win some very physical races, compete in crossfit games, win some MMA fights. You don't have any credibility at the moment.

Maybe, I'll change the name to High-Performance Man or something a bit less "warrior-like" for now if this becomes an issue.

 

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[Eisenstein]

Yeah, you're right. Right when I started this new channel, I wasnt thinking of the fact that I was in a saturated market. I was just thinking of what I was somewhat good at and might be fun to serve. Now that I have this new perspective, it's really making my motivation go down. I feel like "Im just another gym bro" even though I do have a unique story and angle, it's probably not all that different.

Im starting to think that I should just call it quits on this gameplan and instead look for a problem that isnt being solved. I feel like I might waste 6 months building up a content base in an industry that's saturated. But Im not sure because I can also just provide better and more valuable content than my competition but then again, I dont know. This is a tough one.

I do think that it's possible and has good chances with an unique story! It reminds me of a success story made years ago: Vegan Chef Attila Hildmann – Official Website Attila Hildmann. He combined his work-outs with vegan food and an emotional story (why he has started to care for his health, etc.).

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

I do think that it's possible and has good chances with an unique story! It reminds me of a success story made years ago: Vegan Chef Attila Hildmann – Official Website Attila Hildmann. He combined his work-outs with vegan food and an emotional story (why he has started to care for his health, etc.).

Yeah but my problem is that the product I am offering "online personal training" is the exact same thing everyone else is offering. The entry barrier to get into this industry is very easy and therefore Im not solving a hard problem. I think my best bet is studying the industry and figuring out what truly needs to be solved and solving that problem instead of attacking the easy problem.

 

[biophase]

Maybe, I'll change the name to High-Performance Man or something a bit less "warrior-like" for now if this becomes an issue.

But you still need to prove that you are high performance. How do you show that you are in shape? It’s not about how cut you are. You are talking about performance, so can you do 100 pull ups? Run a mile in 5 minutes? It’s stuff like that that will differentiate you.

For example, my trainer is an ex Ranger. He has trained pro and Olympic athletes. He is also a good golfer and golfs with his pro golfer clients.

So he has a lot of credentials when it comes to training. He has a waitlist of people wanting him to train him.

 

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[SpartanWarrior77]

But you still need to prove that you are high performance. How do you show that you are in shape? It’s not about how cut you are. You are talking about performance, so can you do 100 pull ups? Run a mile in 5 minutes? It’s stuff like that that will differentiate you.

For example, my trainer is an ex Ranger. He has trained pro and Olympic athletes. He is also a good golfer and golfs with his pro golfer clients.

So he has a lot of credentials when it comes to training. He has a waitlist of people wanting him to train him.

The more I communicate with you guys, the more I realize that this idea I have is too selfish. Im not gonna add any unique value to the world with my current state. The only innovative idea on this thread has been providing performance enhancement services to corporations. I think Im going to stop thinking about what I find interesting so much as to start thinking about what the market actually needs and go provide that instead! I wanna be a problem solver, not another gym bro offering average services.

 

[Xeon]

That might be a very good angle. And I've never heard of a company that revitalizes companies. Maybe I should experiment. Maybe, Ill contact several companies about this and offer them a free session.

@inputchip has a very brilliant point which you can work on.

At the studio that I go to, they also conduct corporate sessions, whereby the fitness/ dance instructors would visit organisations and companies and conduct zumba for their employees. All the companies that don't mind paying for these are the big ones, and I'm pretty sure the instructors make quite a lot for each session (which is only 1 hour long). It helps to facilitate "team building" (lots of companies are into that theme now) and everyone from middle-management to low rank workers have fun, take pics. The class they do range anywhere from 8 people to 150 and above.
They do a set of choreography and re-use that for months and months.

On a very conservative level, let's say one 1-hr session gets you US$500 (although I believe the number is way higher than that).
Conducting 5 of these per month is already US$2500 for 5 hours work......

Also, it helps that these sort of classes are light-hearted and fun to appeal to the mainstream and average joe.
If the difficulty of the classes are like those BBoy extremely technical type of dance, it wouldn't appeal to the companies.

One more thing....they sell their training session under a registered brand (similar to Zumba), and their program is nicely planned out and all. So if you're going into this route, you need to look into similar stuff.

 

[SpartanWarrior77]

@inputchip has a very brilliant point which you can work on.

At the studio that I go to, they also conduct corporate sessions, whereby the fitness/ dance instructors would visit organisations and companies and conduct zumba for their employees. All the companies that don't mind paying for these are the big ones, and I'm pretty sure the instructors make quite a lot for each session (which is only 1 hour long). It helps to facilitate "team building" (lots of companies are into that theme now) and everyone from middle-management to low rank workers have fun, take pics. The class they do range anywhere from 8 people to 150 and above.
They do a set of choreography and re-use that for months and months.

On a very conservative level, let's say one 1-hr session gets you US$500 (although I believe the number is way higher than that).
Conducting 5 of these per month is already US$2500 for 5 hours work......

Also, it helps that these sort of classes are light-hearted and fun to appeal to the mainstream and average joe.
If the difficulty of the classes are like those BBoy extremely technical type of dance, it wouldn't appeal to the companies.

One more thing....they sell their training session under a registered brand (similar to Zumba), and their program is nicely planned out and all. So if you're going into this route, you need to look into similar stuff.

Thats not a bad idea at all! Thanks!

 

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