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Attempting to Build A Productocracy [Niche > Problem > Pre-sell > Solution]

Edgar King

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Hey guys! I've been on this forum for ages, but was just silently absorbing the valuable information you all provide and enhancing my mindset to start my entrepreneurial journey. I've learnt to just love everyone from the bottom of my heart which motivates me to desire to solve problems from the right place. I'm starting a 90 day challenge, of going from $0 to $1K a month as a starting point. Wish me luck! And thanks so much to MJ for helping make all this possible :) Please treat me well.
 
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Edgar King

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How To Build A Productocracy, Select A Niche, Build A Solution, And Pre-Sell

I am pleasantly surprised bro, I haven't met people around me who'd normally be interested in how I would want to start a business so this really is a breath of fresh air (This is what I originally wrote to you @CruxisKnight
). After pondering it for about a week now. I'm going the Sam Ovens/ IceCreamKid route/ alexanderkjones. Basically going from Niche Market > Problem > Solution [>Value> Money].

Here is Alex’s thread- How to Choose a Target Industry for the Fastlane for more info.
Here is IceCreamKid’s thread- GOLD! - No network? No money? No idea? No education? NO PROBLEM!.

I’d say this solution is a hybrid of both, leaning more to Alex’s side. Ice also recommended you learn copywriting for marketing and sales. This thread was recommended by people in his thread as the killer guide for it-


But don’t action fake, if you are going to do that, do that as you move with the solution below. Just draft a plan that is well researched. And follow each step in that plan, focus on performing the next step and not worrying about something like step 64. Mario kart anyone? ;) I'm always open to feedback by the way, so don't hold back!

I was going to write what I was going to do in my perspective, but after looking at the entire plan I decided perhaps others would find it useful and if they were to ever implement it, would prefer it says you’s rather than I’s. Might create a new thread based on this to help others like me who have nowhere to start from and need pointers for how they can go. I’m a person who loves plans based on underlying moral values and logic so I hope this helps you as much as it helps me.

Also, one should know there are really are only two ways to provide value. Either you make something that exists distinctly better in some way/more frictionless or you solve a real problem people are having in their industry which I do think this method is the latter. By providing relative value solving needs or wants, you will birth a Productocracy. Finally, I’ll be documenting my 90 day journey on the forum, either on my profile posts or on this thread itself or in a new thread, what would you recommend? I will do my best to update everyday so wish me luck as well. [Date start of challenge for me- 29th May, end- 29th August] Here we go!

If STUCK/FAILING/
Principles of the Journey:
  1. Act, Fail, Assess, Adjust- Each step to a goal will always be in one of these phases, so that’s one certainty. If it fails, you need to do more. KEEP TRUDGING AT THE FAIL PHASE, eventually progress will be made. Make sure your moving to…
2. Focus on value and know your reasons for even attempting the Fastlane. Scale * magnitude. My goal is to help at least 1000 people(In the long run) and see their smiles in total in 5 years by solving their problems and be known for being a kind, loving, awesome, and smart entrepreneur. Why? So I can liberate others and myself in ways of time and frustration. Now this is my personal goal, in addition to never having to need wearing a tie and suit and taking my family to travel in Monaco, as well as relieving their financial stress. These goals help to act as a superhuman motivator, each day revisit them, revisit your grand why.

3. Love everyone like your mom and all the treasures in the world will dance to your doorstep. Help people for real, from a genuine place of love. There is no shortage of treasures for the men and women who help other people in solving their problems.

4. It's not about YOU -- it's about what YOU CAN DO for the market you serve. Be a helper with no needs and wants of your own but theirs. Care about what they care about.

5. Understand you gain regardless of the outcome
If Failure —> Experience, skills and new connections gained.
If Success —> Experience, skills and new connections gained + Monetary benefits.

6. Do your very best to leverage expertise, knowledge, connections and time of others to allow for the maximum productivity with the minimum effort. This is your superpower as an entrepreneur, coupled with your innate strengths, for example speaking. IF IT ALREADY EXISTS, USE IT IF YOU CAN. AVOID STARTING FROM SCRATCH WHERE POSSIBLE TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY. For example, trying to create a search engine for your app -> It must exist, this isn’t where you’ll be adding value though so save yourself the time. Unless, you really do need to build in this search engine as all others just aren’t up to what you have to do, in that case you can even sell that solution too in another market if you go ahead with it.

7. Optimise actions for great goals by operating on a ‘100% this plan will/must work mindset’. This should give you a real chance to succeed.

8. Optimise goals and results by basing it on the top 10% of results and expertise on a subject worldwide (Consult the experts). E.G. building a website. Compare with the top websites on the web, or a ‘great’ website and build towards that. If you want to the results to be known as good by other people, it must be greater than the standard, even if by a little. This also avoids building a bad website due to your own biases.

9. At least 1 hour of work each day, preferably at the same time each day. Start to increase these hours as you go, so you can do do and be more.

10. Do things properly, and if required, at a professional level. Do your best not to compromise for worse quality. No rush work if not needed, it reduces the chances of success.

11. Do things more efficiently where possible.

12. You can not exit this challenge. You must do your part for 90 days. Or give $3-$50 to your friend. You may have 1 rest day a week in the early stages. In case of an extenuating circumstance, you may skip a day. (My accountability would be posting here in this thread)

For the Niche. Select a niche. A niche business usually within a broader industry. I already have a good number of options so that’s settled. This site lists over 2000 of them- Find Profitable Niches: Mega List of 2,531+ Niches & Micro Niches | Nh OR use Linkedin industry selector to find all the official markets and then niche down not those.
  • Your target market is the group of people you serve.
  • Your niche is the service you specialise in offering to your target market.
Narrow it down to the one you like the most and niche down to a specific subset. The subset you choose must be a High value industry where the number of businesses nationwide is 30K-50K (Or more). They have less than 25 employees and $100K - $1 million Revenue/profits a year ( Meaning a market size of around $40 million nationwide in this example)[The Important thing would be that there's enough disposable income so that they are willing and able to spend on improving themselves and the situation they are in] and that sell products in the $1000 price basket. As Alex would say, for most beginners, to make a radical change in your life, all you need are 10 businesses making you $2,000/month. If you're making an additional $500/week that's a significant chunk of change starting out and a great baseline to shoot for. if you're not able to find a $200/month problem for a client move on and look for a more expensive problem. You'll most likely find several problems in any industry, make sure you go for the ones that will bring you cash-flow and momentum. As you'll normally only be able to charge 10-20% of the value of the problem (Based monthly). E.g. 10% * (hours lost to problem * hourly rate), that's why an expensive industry is chosen. Also, this niche should be on the rise not decline. These businesses can even have a $2000/month problem. Launch should be aimed for 3(Software) to 6(Physical product) months max after pre-sales.

For the problem. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. It would be finding problems that people in the field stress over in the night, their 'Biggest Problem’ (A real pain point). Coming up with the actual problem is near impossible because you don't have it, so ask the people in the niche what their biggest problems are (Through text or a meeting) and extract the pattern of problems from asking at least 50 people in the niche using platforms like Linkedin, Quora, Yell or email. By telling them you would like to to know the biggest problem in their profession and that you’re a budding entrepreneur looking to help people. [UPDATE: This route can be taken to find out these problems, from ICK. Right now the approach I'm using to get problems is to use this method and ask them directly. "After getting to this step, I recommend you ask for an interview from these people about their marketing and sales strategies which you will publish on your website.
1. Find the top (50)-100 performers in XYZ niche and contact them through various methods for an interview.

2. Create a website and post one new interview per week discussing their best sales and marketing strategies (Or whatever you wish to be perceived an expert on).

3. Use free marketing strategies to drive traffic to your website. You are not selling anything at this point, only creating credibility and gaining trust.

4. After a good number of interviews, write up a PDF article titled, “The Astonishing Secrets That The Top Performers In XYZ Niche Don’t Want You To Know!”. List out some good info in this article. Generate an e-mail list by offering this article to potential leads on your website. “Enter your e-mail HERE and receive a FREE report!”. The list of e-mail leads is key for later on. THE LEADS ARE THE GOLD.

5. You’ll start noticing common pains that many of these top performers are experiencing. Take note of these pains for later."

So Steps 1-2 build trust. Step 3-4 builds your own authority. Step 5+ identifies and eliminates pains of people in this niche, with which you just created authority.
]

After seeing at least 50 of these performers, a main problem(s) (the pattern) will appear. Next go back. Tell them that you'd love a few minutes of their time to understand what their challenges are to see if you can help (Preferably the ones with the main problem). You would then sit down with them to have them walk you through their day, after introducing ourselves so You can understand the processes to see how things work and what they do to try and rectify their problems. What are their dreams? What's stopping them from reaching that next big goal? What are their biggest challenges? What is their process (Activity and purpose of activity,Tools used and for what purpose)? where does the problem appear in it? Maybe they spend 100 hours a week doing some mundane paperwork task or maybe they have a communications problem that's causing them to lose their sales productivity by 200 hours a month. For the hours lost, you will ask them that as well in the meeting, after asking on average what their price/hour is, for example $50/hour. Whatever it is, let them tell you the value of the assets and do the math, on paper to know much the problem really is worth. Know that you'll be able to charge 10-20[ 20% if it is a really well done job ]% of that problem as a service fee and it will be a no brainer. [Start Block A]

*****Optional route****
Bonus! Finding Problems Another Way

Of course another way to find problems would be to Read Yelp reviews. Read what people are posting about in Facebook Groups. Read what people are commenting on Twitter. See what people are creating boards around on Pinterest (and why). Join LinkedIn groups and see what posts get the most attention in your niche.
All complaints or questions you find online within your target market will translate into your opportunity.
Even realising that competitors are making money with a similar product or service, this will help you validate the idea that your product or service works.

**********
——Optional route—
Email marketing to build an audience after you’ve found a problem
Go Talk to Your Target Market & Build an Audience

After the main pain point is identified, boost your audience.
(Edit template as necessary, this is just a sample)

temp1-e1592503665372.png

Make a spreadsheet list of about 300 websites. Include the name of the person you want to contact and the link to their email or contact form. Kick off your campaign by sending between 10-20 emails per day.

Follow up template
temp21-e1592503728708.png
Keep track of all replies and responses you get. Seek to engage them in a conversation and get answers to the key questions listed above. (Remember)

Since you’re looking to help people solve a problem, chances are you’ll get a high email response rate (Probably 10%). This confirms if , “X is a problem, or is there a more pressing (painful) problem you might solve?” Article link-https://www.autogrow.co/pre-selling-guide/
———
[End Block A]
Each meeting may last for 5-10 minutes. Obviously, through a virtual meeting since we are currently in a pandemic. You would then get to the root of the problem by asking the 5 why's to see what they aren't seeing. After you have collated the data, a main pain point(s) [If multiple, select the top 3 and work with them, or select one big one and focus on it] will be apparent within the people in the field. Look through your list of expensive problems and choose the one that looks the easiest (Or rather, a harder problem as this means a bigger opportunity). That will be the problem you are solving which will motivate you even more since you would be helping people for real! Then You you can onboard these people as investors later through pre-sale.

**** [Bonus Stage!]****
This step would be optional if you don't have any money. But it also furthers the principle of give first before receiving, people would even be more likely to listen to you if you give them value of some kind.

The next step would be to find the top 30-100 performers in the niche and contact them through various methods for an interview probably through Linked in, or other means after creating a website that allows you to post one new interview per week discussing their best sales and marketing strategies. And then use, free marketing strategies to drive traffic to the website.

A good interview ender would be-

"Who in the <NICHE> world is considered a superstar? Someone even the most accomplished <NICHE PROFESSIONALS> look up to?”

This gives you more people to talk to, and an easy referral to start your next email "I was referred to you by another <NICHE PRO> at the end of our interview”

After a good number of interviews [Can be 10 interviews to start off], write up a PDF article titled, “The Astonishing Secrets That The Top Performers In XYZ Niche Don’t Want You To Know!”. List out some good info in this article. Generate an e-mail list by offering this article to potential leads on your website. “Enter your e-mail HERE and receive a FREE report!”. The list of e-mail leads is key for later on. You should also email this to the contacts you’ve touched on before, after telling them it is on your website but for their convenience, you’re emailing it to them as well.


********

And when you’re done engaging (via email or even via phone) with people who replied, it’s time to stand back and read through all the data you collected, all the notes you took, and all the responses to the key survey questions.

Then make an objective decision about whether it’s worth proceeding or not with your product or service idea.

Ask yourself:

Does the data point to the original problem you thought the market has?

Does the data point to a different idea you had? Or a totally new direction?

Look for patterns in the responses.

For the solution.

This is the inverse/opposite of the problem. Just doing this assures you that theoretically, you've already solved the problem, the rest is just breathing life into it. A dancing baby solution is born! The first step would be to organise a Google meet for 10-20 of these performers [If bonus stage was done, also add in the top performers in these groups preferably ] who want the same need solved and organise weekly calls with the group. It is recommended to start with at least 30-100 pre sales before you go do it, but of course this depends on the price of the product as well. During each call, you'll have them describe in EXPLICIT detail what they want the solution to look like. (Ask if people had a magic wand to solve the problem, what that wand would do) Thus, this will build rapport and trust with you over the coming weeks since you genuinely care about solving their problem.

Once they have told you IN VERY DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS(Basically gathering the requirements and give each feature a mark so you can measure your progress to the end goal) of what their solution should look like [In this process, a mockup or dummy prototype can be used to demonstrate what this solution will do e.g. using powerpoint presentation], you will get $2k-3k [Or whatever product development money is appropriate to build the product] in pre-sales from each of them.

You can also
build a landing page to check if people are interested in the service
  • Like a Sign Up to Our newsletter or Subscribe to Our newsletter to Get Notified When Our Product Launches. If people enter their email, it suggests that they are interested in your product/service.

Charge up front, offer a discount, and provide an estimated (but doable) delivery date for the product. Should be a comfortable experience, yay! This is also important, since it would be validating the market and ensure that there are people willing and able to pay for the solution. Next, build the solution.

The easiest way, would be to find the rare people in the Niche who have already obtained the solution (About 50 people, you can then talk to these people in the same way you did previously with the other group). For example, Lawyers who have enough clients (Niche + Problem (Dissolved with solution) + solution). As Sam would say, people do solve their own problems eventually, and the future is already here, it is just unevenly distributed. An entrepreneur’s job would then be to make this solution widely available to the masses. The next step, would be to analyse and study both groups to see what they are doing or have. Then identify the core differences between the two performing groups, this will be provided in my solution. It could be a collection of, tools, strategies, level of skill, characteristics, behaviour etc. Package these differences in service or product form as a solution.

The solution development could also be outsourced to a developer. Which should be easy with the pre sale money. Otherwise, find a way to the solution using your entrepreneurial problem solving skills [Remember leverage if you can].

Afterwards, launch it to the group for testing. After they have tested it out over the next few weeks and used it to their liking, they can then give you testimonials. Now that the product is up and running or nearing the end of when the solution is almost here, you can then ask those people who you did a discussion with in the beginning stages and ask them for pre sales as well. The solution could be 1 day - 3 weeks to launch. During this time, hype up these guys by telling them what the solution can do and how it will solve their problem. This would be an anticipation email.

Now that the product has been tested and proven to work without bugs, You will promote it more. Then do this for pre selling to an even wider audience,

The conversation could go like this…

You: Hey Mr(s) ___! How's your day? How's your daughter Emily doing?

Customer: She's fine, she just entered college, though there might be this boy who's trying to take her away from me!

You: Nah, she will always know who the real big daddy is. XD Btw, do you still face that annoying problem we discussed?

[This is the filter. if they do not have this problem, or have it anymore it is useless to continue since no one is going to buy a product that they have no use for. Then just skip the remaining conversation below, tell them what product you made, and ask if they can refer it to anybody who is facing the problem it solves. Wish them a nice day at the end]

Customer: Ah, Yes! It gives me such a headache!

You: Hehe, well through the help of tens of other <Niche person> like you, we've created a solution to that! (Explain solution and delivery date). It's currently being pre sold at a discount of course. And we will use the money to develop the product. Do you want to pay for it?

Customer: Hmmm, let me think about it alright.

*Hours later*

Customer: Alright, I'll pay!

You: Sway! [Time to go build that product or service]….

Send a launch announcement email. Then a how it works email.Then an FAQ email later on the product from customer questions if need be. Send a Scarcity Email. And then a “This Is Your Last Chance” Email. Notify People That the Doors to Your Product or Service Are Closed: This email is to thank those who opened or clicked on your previous emails for the pre-selling. And it’s also a reminder of the benefits your product or service adds to them. And finally, this email will encourage customers who were interested but just didn’t pull the trigger to join your waitlist for when you officially launch the product later on. Send a “Thank you Post-purchase” Email to reduce anxiety.

Create Your Landing Page. Write the copy for your sales page and focus on design second. On this page, you’ll clarify for your site’s visitors any questions they may have about your product or service before buying. (Do this if you haven’t already created the website due to the interviews). Include Deadlines and Delivery Dates of Your Product or Service on Your Landing Page. Create a Thank You Page for each purchase. Build Your Checkout Page eg.g using Sam’s cart. Check out the guide here-https://www.autogrow.co/pre-selling-guide/

For Promotion (Paid).

You can use Adwords, facebook/instagram ads, influencers, paid referrals, affiliate marketing, social media contests, e-mail to some really good sales copy to different people in the niche, etc. if you can't initially sell your idea to a grassroots base of customers, the product goes unused and remains hidden to the marketplace, and the Fastlane is a no go, so get it out there.

****
If an email list is available due to posting the valuable marketing tips and knowledge, promote to that as well.
****

For Scale.

Once you are out of survival mode, it is time to scale and to think bigger. If you're not moving forwards, you're moving backwards. You always need to be making advancements and to do that you need a clear goal of where you are trying to go. This is why a mission statement is so important. To go big and think in terms of perfection. Aiming for something big makes you go much further than if you didn't. Ask clients what the perfect product would be. That if with the wave of a magic wand, what would their wildest dreams be that the product would create -> This is what Perfection looks like. We can start working towards that and using measuring instruments to measure the progress we are making towards that.

The people who add the most value, always win, 100% of the time long term. So spend 80% on product development, 20% on marketing at least. Continue improving or the market will catch up.

The point is to start moving don't pay too much attention to where you're going as long you're moving in the right general direction i.e. anywhere from where you are now! Good luck soldier!
 
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SteveO

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Hey Edgar. Welcome to the forums.

I really like your statement about loving everyone. That is so hard for some of us to do.

You are on target with your desire to help people. I assume that you are implying that this means finding problems and coming up with a solution to them.

It is nice to have goals. But you goal that you stated sounds more like chasing money.
 
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Edgar King

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Hey Edgar. Welcome to the forums.

I really like your statement about loving everyone. That is so hard for some of us to do.

You are on target with your desire to help people. I assume that you are implying that this means finding problems and coming up with a solution to them.

It is nice to have goals. But you goal that you stated sounds more like chasing money.
Honestly I just said 1k/month as a placeholder for a goal I'd like reach (I'm 18 so I don't even really know the value of 1K ). But I also understand that money is a byproduct of applying value where people are hurting. My bad, a $1k goal is cool, but what I'm really aiming for is to help 1000 people by making them smile in the next 3 months by solving their problems. Thanks for pointing that out.
 

SteveO

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But now I am curious. Should one not have monetary goals on this journey (As a measure of success for example)? Should we think of money in terms of value vouchers? What do you think?
@Mathuin @SteveO
I should understand where you are at with respect to your goal before judging. Although I really did not intend to judge you here. The statement you made sounded to me like you made a goal without having an actual plan.

Do you have an idea that you are pursuing?
 

mdot

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Hey Edgar, I'm sure it feels like you are talking into the void right now but I just wanted to let you know we are reading and your energy and attitude is inspiring! Keep up the good work and good luck!
 

Edgar King

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Day 37

(15 minutes) Collect feedback for actions done for future tweaks ✅
(2 hours) Send in 4 Upwork proposals ✅
(2 hours ) Shoot for 10 messages today to CEO’s of the companies.

Due to using processes I was able to streamline the actions and save about 2 hours.

Got a response from one of the clients on Upwork, they say for the future they would like to hire me. There was a 10% response rate from the CEO's from Linkedin Inmail, I should use it they're even offering a free trial but its $30. It's totally worth the cost though.

As I try to do everyday, helped my friend spark some ideas about her clothing brand. Never knew they had one until I told them, "Hey if you need any help with anything I'm available". They literally called me for a face time to talk and showed me all about their business. Talk about a free day tour! She had the problem of getting engagement on their social media page....wait a minute... I smell a PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED.

The CEO that's currently in contact is remarkably the one that wants to the do the meeting the most lol. He wants to have a live meeting where before I was recommending he just record it and send. But he said if it's below 20 minutes it's fine. I was going to decline but I would be mad too and I have a subtle feeling this could be the start of something great if it is live.

Also wrote a commercial script on lucky charms for myself that helped bring out my inner child. Fun.

Log out...
Day 38
HIRED
Guys TODAY I... relaxed. Strategy revision baby!

I've decided to in addition, add actions to do to improve already existing actions results. E.G.

(1 hour) Shoot for 10 messages today to CEO’s of X companies. | Use Inmail or normal mail this time to increase response rates.

I also learnt that stepping into the shoes of your customers is SUPER important. I received my first seemingly random Linkedin connection today (ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED) and was so confused by it that I rejected it, especially because there was no message attached to it and the profile picture looked shady.

But that's almost what I do lol. By connecting with CEOs and owners and sending a message you're asking them to commit to two things which will probably reduce responses by a lot.

If I had reasoned and imagined the interaction from their perspective, I probably would have noticed this. That's why feedback and implementing it is so important. To solve this, I should get their professional emails or use Inmail wherever I can.

I feel that without feedback, action is just not that useful, especially if it is repeated action.

On another note, I got HIRED by a forum member, @BlackSuperman

(He's Mr Cat by the way)
He offered me the chance for a partnership where I can help him write articles for his clients so he can find more clients.

I learn and earn as I gain a portfolio piece while he creates systems for getting more clients. Win-win, such deals are the sweetest.

I was a little hesitant at first though. My goal was and still is to learn direct response copywriting (Specialised skill) to use in future businesses (Like the one I'm currently interviewing others for).

But he cleared all my doubts and I knew I had to work with him. I was even willing to do it for free, because I believe in providing value first above all else, this would be my first official blog post/article after all.

But he rejected that since he understood that free work can almost never be the same quality as paid work. He's been there and done that. At the end of the day, we struck a great deal for the writing. Nice!

And all of this, because he offered to help other forum members with their Upwork applications.

Value is paid back in mysterious ways huh.

Thanks BSuperman! XD

Log out...
 
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Rabby

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Welcome! Participation is step one... now make a bigger and bigger part of world better. We need it :playful:

I think it's god to have both "problem to solve" goals and financial goals. The first type are more motivating to me, I think. And the second type are the dose of realism that every business and creative person needs.

If people don't care enough about safety-engineered pencil sharpeners for you to make a living off of a 10 year delve into that esoteric subject, then perhaps re-evaluating the problem you're solving is a good idea.

Looking forward to seeing what you produce :)
 

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Guys we have a serious future Fastlaner here! Can't say that about everyone, but this man gets sh*t done.

Newbies...pay attention
 
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Edgar King

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Day 50
Promoted As Head Writer

(2:30 hours) Studied LexDeville's Upwork proposal guide here- ✅
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkDT5Raeb9I


This should help too if you're also trying Upwork (Haven't watched it yet)-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdQ3RU-P9OM


(30 minutes) Sent a personalised message to a consultant ✅

For the consultant, when I really decided to really understand her and craft a message she couldn't ignore, she went ahead and viewed my profile. Something, she never did before when I sent her some requests for an interview. But then again, maybe she just went to my profile to cut the connection XD

( That's my fault because I might have bombarded her with too many messages. Lesson learned).

I watched Lex's guide and it was brilliant. The man spends a whole hour crafting a proposal that gets the client's attention and provides value!

Value always trumps quantity long term. So instead of now sending 30-infinity proposals with no response, you can put in the work and get a response in like 4 proposals. That teaches me that Effort-Results is exponential. (Tested it yesterday, no response yet but the client hasn't interviewed anyone yet).

HeartBeat. I got hired as the head writer of a writing project from BSuperman!

40 COOKIES PER ARTICLE PER WEEK for a month recurring. God-send. And part of it was due to overdelivering. That's insane! Maybe it's because it's my first time earning like this.

He gets to focus on riding bigger fish in the sea, and I can share with him on the table of value!

Now I can hire someone else later down the line to accomplish the task or use it for training other writers. Who knows.

It's a step nonetheless I am incredibly grateful for.

More cereal! I'm kidding.

Log out...
Day 51
Hired on Upwork- Landing Page Copy

It finally happened!

(40 minutes) Watch Lex Deville’s videos on Upwork proposals ✅

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdQ3RU-P9OM


This is the video I used that got a response.

(40 minutes) Study how to get more interviews from people who’ve done it before. ✅

(1 hour) Send in 2 Upwork proposals ✅

I wanted to treat the proposals like it was a school course in order to succeed. So I wrote down all I could recall from watching Lex's videos to follow the principles....

And it finally paid off.

I applied to two jobs yesterday and received a response from one. I was baffled, it worked!

Panic.

I went into the room trying to display confidence where I was intensely nervous I would loose the client, he had interviewed me and someone else. He was a little cautious, but we finally struck a deal.

I was going to start work on immediately at first. But @BlackSuperman had a bad experience with that before, so I instead requested a contract to begin.

It's a low offer. I charged $20 for it when it was $10, but it's still worth it since he said he has even more work for me (Which I'm definitely going to charge more for). This adds another potential review and to my experience.

This would also be my first official paid copy project so why not celebrate with a huge effort ;)

I got hired for an Amazon course website! Like 4 landing pages, though it was for $20 I need to make sure I overdeliver.

Thanks to @Black_Dragon43, Bsuperman and @Miketing as well! They helped guide me on templating the actual proposal reducing the total time to about 20-30 minutes in writing it. And also writing a You-Focused proposal when I was unintentionally writing a me-focused proposal.


Log out...
 

Edgar King

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Day 90
Woohoo!
We DID IT LET'S GOOOOO

(5 minutes) Blue Oceans Strategy book ✅
(35 minutes) Article writing 2 sections ✅
(1:10 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages ✅

XD

This was an awesome experience! Enduring through the struggles, the confusion, the experience, it was 101% worth it!

I'll write a review, so you guys can hopefully leave with something.

See you then fellow astronauts,
Log out...
Start Your Own 90 Day Challenge
Profit Generated: $400+/$1000 goal
Zooweemama!

How I'd Reach $1k


The me in the first 5,30,50 days of this challenge was such a NOOB. Thanks to all of the awesome members on here who helped me to achieve this!

I ask myself, "Why didn't I think of this earlier??"

You might think you're in a battle to the death right now, but a month from today you're probably going to look back and see yourself as a... NOOB. But that's a great thing!

It means you grew! You gained XP and improved which makes it that more likely you're going to succeed at your goal So don't give up, the challenges really do make you stronger.

Above all else, provide value...

This was where the inspiration for the challenge was born...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrZ7dEL44Qo


In other news...

I failed! NOOOOO XD But I'm a lot more experienced and a lot more inclined to hear needs to generate solutions for solve them.

Though a little late, in the next 3 weeks or so I should have made about $1K so not all is lost. ;) (Of course, all things held constant).

Do take my advice with a grain of salt. My highest paid jobs on Upwork were a result of being scouted on this forum.

So let's cut to the chase...

If I went back in time, this is what I'd advise my past self to do all this faster.

Make (Almost Anyway) $1K/Month With A Specialised Skill (Copywriting) And Start Your Own 90 Day Challenge

START

Read GOLD! - Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting in 15 Days or Less (Do everything).

Read Ca$shvertising.

Cut out interviewing and jump straight to the chase.

0. Find your why. Write down the major reasons you want to do this, it'll help to review and keep you moving in the hard times.

1. Choose a goal for the next 90 days/quarter (It's recommend to 10X this so you'll fail successfully).

2. Write down a plan/outline to achieve said goal. It's 100% recommended to learn from the people who have achieved it.

Why an outline? Because your actions will most likely reveal a whole new set of plans to perform. Just looking at my thread I started off interviewing people, then copywriting, and finally web development. Plans will evolve with time, and it's ok to evolve with them.

Adjust as necessary. The pieces of the puzzle will eventually fall into place with your continued actions.

2.5. Rules. Create rules for the challenge if you need to. For example: Take a break day a week. Or invest at least 1 hour everyday.

3. Do actions daily that directly achieve your goal and act based on favourable maths

[For example, go for that 1 big client, instead of 10 smaller ones that will help you achieve your goals.

Scale X Magnitude is true, except you can't really scale your hours so it's best to increase the magnitude by working with higher paying clients] (Act for at least 1 hour a day, excluding break days).

Preferably write down the actions you did, and the time it took to do them to keep you motivated.

These actions should lead directly to sales. The Goal is to GET THE FIRST PAYING CUSTOMER AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. These actions should lead to results, which will lead to feedback, which will lead to refined processes, which will lead to success.

4. Accountability. Post it on this forum or join a group that will hold you accountable to spending 1 hour a day on the project.

5. Weekly review sessions. At the end of the week or for 5-10 minutes on some days, review your progress for things you can improve and think how you will strategically deal with issues. Make sure you're in line with the bigger picture.

6. Focus. Become a master at ONE thing/method, rather than be a jack of all trades. Trim the fat and double down on that ONE thing that's pushing the needle. Trying to do more than that will split your time and attention.

7. Processes. For actions/processes that repeat often write and update how you do them. It'll make outsourcing the process a whole lot easier. Plus, your efforts a whole lot more successful.

You're only allowed to give up when two conditions have been fulfilled:

A) You've made your first sale
B) When a large enough sample proves you should readjust or stop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go to Upwork and apply to entry jobs to rack up reviews. Gather 3 5 star reviews and apply to higher priced gigs afterwards.

If you're writing long proposals, then stop settling for low-paying gigs. Increase your Upwork rates and only take clients when it is a 1000% perfect fit for your skills and interests. Overdeliver. Trust me, it's worth striving for that perfect client.

As WJK said, as you advance in the freelance world you will become more established. You'll create a network of contacts and clients by having your name out there with a good reputation.

This is when you invent your own productocracy - when you won't need to advertise yourself anymore as people come to you.

Roy Kent once said, "You deserve someone that makes you feel like you've been struck by lightning. Don't settle ever for fine."

Do note...
"An idea with great potential will start out as a small success that then becomes a bigger success.

The fact that you've had small success even from the very beginning, serves as confirmation that it can become a much bigger success.

Very rarely does a project start out as a complete failure and end up being a huge success.

The point is that if your product is any good, you should be able to find a small number of people that are excited about it, even in the beginning. "


Pivot as the market demands.

END

Now, go out there and make a difference!

P.S. Tag me If you decide to start your own challenge, so I can advise if possible. I'll probably come back a week or two to start the second quarter of this, but no promises ;)
 
Last edited:

Edgar King

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Phase II: 150 Day March To Freedom

It took me 4 months or more and I'm back baby! I've baked up some seed money (About $1000 SHADINGDONG) I'm fine with loosing after being in the copywriting niche for a while and I'm ready to put it into a venture that hopefully turns Fastlane. PLEASEEEEEE.

I've bided my time learning what makes offers valuable and why people buy, a good chunk of copywriting, getting my head mentally clear and writing down this plan. IT BETTER BE WORTH IT! (There's a reason why I'm screaming lol).

It is my hope that within these 5 months I'll be able to create something of substantial value not only to my target market but to you as well.

Worst case, I get good experience, and skills and personal growth (I believe overcoming challenges leads to growth). And a a bit of sass from my younger cousin :D

Best case, I get good experience, and skills, personal growth, help people, awesome connections/friends + the moneys. And I get to spend it on my little cousin. YAYYYY!

Awesome all around!

I'll be running from need (not idea), to proven products, testing, manufacturing (Physically or not), marketing, and scaling. And I'm going to try my very best to achieve it within 5 months (Arbitrary number really) while in University. Maybe it's not realistic, I DON'T KNOW! bUT I don't mind failing and trying to see!

I'm only able to invest 1 hour a day for this in the beginning, Uni zaps a lot out of me at the moment and bad grades is big no for my parents lol. So I guess I could consider this a side hustle, at least in the beginning.

With that said, let's start this adventure. *Spawn*

Lv 0.

Here's an outline of how I believe this journey is going to flow, with principles and rules I ought to follow.

Why-Goal-Plan

The why will keep me going in tough times. GRRRRR.

Why: To work on what I want and when I want [Freedom] to avoid doing what I don't want. [Light Side]. So I DON'T WORK IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY, Anything but clothes shopping *tear*.

Why: To take mom and dad anywhere they want for vacations [Travel]. My mom's always wanted to see Monaco after all. MOMMY I'M COMING! [Dark Side]

Why: Tinker and Make 100 people smile by giving them value. I LOVED BUILDING AS A CHILD, I hope this is a strong enough motivator as well.

Quote of the challenge-
"Watch me get crushed!"

Principles Of The Journey
a. Success comes down to time allocated. Micro slow, macro fast. So an hour a day, goes a long way, at least in the beginning stages.

b. Do things in logical steps to be more successful faster. Don't skip steps and solve the problems of those steps. I mostly do the leap frog on steps, so I need to attempt to move linearly properly I guess.

c. Action makes growth. Action puts the pieces of the puzzle into place.

d. Do actions daily that directly achieve your goal and act based on favourable maths. Focus on actions that move the needle.

e. Weekly review sessions [Optional]. At the end of the week or for 5-10 minutes on some days, review your progress for things you can improve and think how you will strategically deal with issues. Make sure you're in line with the bigger picture.

f. Focus. Become a master at ONE thing/method, rather than be a jack of all trades. Trim the fat and double down on that ONE thing that's pushing the needle. Trying to do more than that will split your time and attention unnecessarily. THIS ONE'S FROM LEX, thanks LEX!

g. Processes. For actions/processes that repeat often write and update how you do them. It'll make outsourcing the process a whole lot easier. Plus, your efforts a whole lot more successful.

h. Become REALLY good at one thing.

*I. Yell "LET'S GOOO" every time I'm about to start this session to keep motivation up.

J. Make thread (attempt) funny (Also helps me lol).

You're only allowed to give up when two conditions have been fulfilled:
A) You've made your first sale
B) When a large enough sample proves you should readjust or stop.

Let the road to countless adventures begin!

Challenge Rules
  • Weekends off (Or 2 days off a week).
  • Invest at least 60 minutes of work each day, preferably at the same time each day. Start to increase these hours as you go, so you can do and be more. Weekly updates for focus.
  • Act, Fail, Assess, Adjust
  • Remember your why when it gets tough.
  • Actions should lead directly to helping more people as quickly as possible while maintaining quality
  • In order to reduce or eliminate action faking, the format is to write the week, list the tasks done, results, and hours (optional).
  • End logs with "Log out..." It's a classic.
Monthly Goal Breakdown
30 day goal:
Find a proven problem with a proven market with proven products to solve the proven problem. (Service [Faster Launch but] or product [Higher scale but higher initial cost]). Preferably, a problem I've already solved to save time in solution creation.

(E.G. Lamborghini are user unfriendly)
Craft a theoretical high value $100 million dollar offer my avatar can't refuse. (Value Skew)

I'll be referencing the thread here- MARKETING - EXECUTION - Dummy Guide To VALUE: Craft Million Dollar Offers And Great Relationships (Alex Hormozi: The 100 Million Dollar Man)

(E.G. This Lamborghini comes with x, y, z feature to eliminate o,p and y problems. Now give me all the money you got Lebowski *cocks gun*)

60 day goal:
Pre Sales (Testing Demand)

(E.G. Running ads to a dummy landing page of my Lamborghini and saving their emails, getting sign ups, rave feedback on the idea in reddit posts, Showing it to those who had this problem to get feedback. Checking for profitability, SCHWING)

90 day goal:
Solving/Construction
Craft a physical $100 million dollar offer my avatar can't refuse.

(E.G. I've finally built my Lamborghini! Vroom Vroom!)
Test Offer a couple of times to confirm it works

120 day goal:
Sell

Get at least 10 sales and raving reviews by solving my customer's problem so well they go tell their friends, and their friends go tell their friends, and so on and so forth.
Productocracy/Stalker Status Achieved

150 day goal:
Scale (To THE MOON. TO THE CHEESE)
Get at least 100 sales+


And they lived happily ever after. At least in theory :D.

See you guys on the flip side!

Log out...
 

Edgar King

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Day 44
Free Client Landed...Kind of.

(10 minutes) Problem solving session ✅

(15 minutes) Optimise plans for practical pro approaches (Use what already exists). ✅

[I often made the mistake of starting from scratch when what I want to do has already been down before, no need to be a Thomas Edison at EVERYTHING and waste time unnecessarily.]

(10 minutes) Send connection requests to 5 CEO’s locally future help in their copy. ✅

(30 minutes ) Create a portfolio with Journo ✅

(10 minutes) Shoot for 10 messages today to consultants/specialists/experts (that post) for strategies, tactics, tips, tools and data and marketing strategies after engaging their content. | Use normal mail and use the template that already worked before, keep it simple ✅

(20 minutes) Read 20 pages of cashvertising and practice it in the real world (Hacking into a foundational desire)

After mining for my personal network, found a business owner who was in the legal sector. In contact with his daughter, we agreed that if it was great she would show the piece to him. For this I need to put a lot into it so he's blown away (They're a family of lawyers so he'd most likely refer me if I blow it out of the water).

A CHANCE.

Just hope I can overdeliver XD (It's a long home page, so I need to write it here to remind me to give it my best shot).

Journo for freelancers. If you're a freelancer and want to showcase your portfolio awesomely I recommend Journo, it took me 30 minutes of setting up but it's a lot better than using google docs alone. Here's how it looks-
View attachment 38827
Now I can add images to it, and clients can browse according to their needs. It might not be Journo, but that's just what I used.

Now, to revise my strategies and relax...

View attachment 38829

Log out...
Day 45
(15 minutes) Collect feedback for actions done (Email, Upwork job post, Linkedin, ask Alex why he was interested) ✅

(1 hour) Edit and post youtube video on an interview

(10 minutes) Post content on Linkedin ✅

(15 minutes) Strategy revision session | Operate everything on a pro level ✅

(20 minutes) Read 20 pages of cashvertising and practice it in the real world (Hacking into a foundational desire) ✅

(1:20 hour) Send in 1 Upwork proposals ✅

(30 minutes) Write blog article ✅

Had an interview with a fortune 5000 CEO today, the guy was rad! Not only was he really eager for the interview, he was the most fun guy I've ever interviewed.

He had a rags to riches story on how he built the company. The guy even had to drink orange juice in his cereal, I love cereal but that's a huge stretch even for me! XD

He talked about problems in the industry like transparency and even scaling the company to over 200 employees.

It made me realise that another great thing about the interviews is the interesting people you get to meet.

Going to start the free copy work for the legal sector first thing tomorrow and strive to finish it soon. Hopefully wow them.

Refining my ideal prospect to target for the interviews as well.
 
Last edited:

Edgar King

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Book update:
Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone - @Miketing @Andy Black @WJK and so many of the amazing forum members for helping forge this journey so far! I really am grateful!

book_on_shelf.jpeg
A customer's shelf by the way, wonder if you can guess which one is mine haha

The book needs some polishing but apart from that it's starting to shape up quite solidly. Looking forward to it!
 
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Edgar King

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Actionable guide to finding Profitable and Proven Problems To Solve

So I've done more research into problem finding and just needed to put this out. You don't need to look to build something from scratch, in fact if there are no competitors in your market then there probably is no market.

Here's the actionable approach I've gathered from some guides on how to do it properly.

Problems are: Negatives of life that others have talked about in some way. On the news, on forums, on google, etc. (I'm using this from the perspective of other people, not you).

When people have problems, they ask questions. Either through a forum or online.

Find the industry

Use Linkedin's Industry selector to find industries that do exist and you want to go for.
Screenshot 2021-06-12 at 6.22.33 PM.png
Or go here for the industries ranked- LinkedIn Industries List, Rankings and Statistics [October 2019]

The niche- You can niche down by industry – by serving business that all offer the same (or very similar) services – like Dentists. I believe this is the best definition for niching down.

Go to a forum like Quora, check the industry or niche or lucrative space you want to go into.


Sort the questions by answer that are recent and you should have questions that people are looking for. Go into problem questions that have many answers on them (About 15 at least).

A). Then use answer the public to find what people are asking about with this question. Then use those questions to find even more topics and see what people are already talking about. This will help you see the different ways the problems are solved, finding out where they are good and where they are bad.

B).Scan the answers for mentions of tools, or products used to rectify the problem. Check them online. Is it niched[The less abstract the better and more niched it is and the better you can serve underserved marktets]? Great then check for as many of the solutions as you can. Check for revenue of these companies, sales, value skew of their products etc of these companies. And just like that you have a proven and profitable problem to solve from the root. Best for budding entrepreneurs like myself who want to reduce risk as much as possible.

Or even:

1. Start by analyzing your environment
2. Start listing all the problems/complaints that you and others encounter day to day-
Need (Solve a problem)-
Make things easier
Eradicate inconveniences
Provide better services
Fill needs
Satisfy wants and cravings

3. Figure out which problem have the necessary skill to fix (Or learn these skills along the way)
4. Proceed to fix them
5. Pay close attention to what it took to fix the problem and if it is scalable
6. How do other people deal with this issue
7. Is your solution better (Or as good as the alternatives)?
8. Valuable service/product found

Just my ideas and hope someone draws inspiration from it.


Great info on building a website by the way- GOLD! - No network? No money? No idea? No education? NO PROBLEM!
 
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Last edited:

Edgar King

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Day 25


(2 hour ) Copywriting guide- GOLD! - Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting in 15 Days or Less Day 6- Including setting payments with a client.
✅


(15 minutes) Asking someone for their problems, got a result there
✅
Day 26

Just landed a $30 recurring revenue job from Upwork in copywriting, nice! It might not be much, but it's an attempt to grow a specialised skill!

It took two attempts, but it was probably a lot easier since there was a focus on providing value to them.

More so, in the process learned how to use Upwork to outsource.

(2 hour ) Copywriting guide- GOLD! - Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting in 15 Days or Less Day 6- Including starting a temporary job
✅


(15 minutes) Asking someone for their problems in niche, got a result there
✅
 

Edgar King

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Day 49
In that blackout yesterday, it made me think of a lot of things.

(30 minutes) Send in 3 Upwork proposals ✅


(20 minutes) Write blog article ✅


(20 minutes) Read 20 pages of cashvertising and practiced it in the real world ✅


I was money chasing. Pain. On my mind was the constant reminder of the $1k challenge I had set for myself at the beginning of this program, and the more my actions led to no results, the more I was chasing the cat.

I didn't even realise it before. So after that day I decided, to forget the 1K goal and replaced it with this...

Make 100 people smile by giving them value.

That's what I want to focus on for the remainder of this challenge.

I've lost all my Upwork connects (No responses).
Had nobody registered for an interview.

But when I made the switch.

I connected a real estate agent who needed a website.

To someone who makes these websites. This is the first time I can say, I've offered value like that, and I'm proud of that.

From this same person who I helped, he told me he reached out to others and they said they were all busy. This tells me I need to make the offer worthwhile to the interviewees.

He also recommended me someone who would be great to interview. I've reached out to that person on his behalf, and will hopefully have someone to interview for next week.

In my last Upwork proposals, I received one response out of three. I haven't received a response in over a week probably.

View attachment 38968
My friend says it's a glitch Upwork even sent something like this. Well, it's a response and I'm glad I got any response so now I know I need to improve my profile and proposal.

This is now a big part of my current vision.View attachment 38969

At least that's what it looks like to me XD

Log out...
Day 50
Promoted As Head Writer

(2:30 hours) Studied LexDeville's Upwork proposal guide here- ✅
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkDT5Raeb9I


This should help too if you're also trying Upwork (Haven't watched it yet)-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdQ3RU-P9OM


(30 minutes) Sent a personalised message to a consultant ✅

For the consultant, when I really decided to really understand her and craft a message she couldn't ignore, she went ahead and viewed my profile. Something, she never did before when I sent her some requests for an interview. But then again, maybe she just went to my profile to cut the connection XD

( That's my fault because I might have bombarded her with too many messages. Lesson learned).

I watched Lex's guide and it was brilliant. The man spends a whole hour crafting a proposal that gets the client's attention and provides value!

Value always trumps quantity long term. So instead of now sending 30-infinity proposals with no response, you can put in the work and get a response in like 4 proposals. That teaches me that Effort-Results is exponential. (Tested it yesterday, no response yet but the client hasn't interviewed anyone yet).

HeartBeat. I got hired as the head writer of a writing project from BSuperman!

40 COOKIES PER ARTICLE PER WEEK for a month recurring. God-send. And part of it was due to overdelivering. That's insane! Maybe it's because it's my first time earning like this.

He gets to focus on riding bigger fish in the sea, and I can share with him on the table of value!

Now I can hire someone else later down the line to accomplish the task or use it for training other writers. Who knows.

It's a step nonetheless I am incredibly grateful for.

More cereal! I'm kidding.

Log out...
 
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Last edited:

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
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View attachment 42116
1-15 day goal:
Find a proven problem with a proven market with proven products to solve the proven problem. (Service [Faster Launch but] or product [Higher scale but higher initial cost]). Preferably, a problem I've already solved to save time in solution creation.

--Adventure--
Day 1
Tasks
Wrote down 30 important activities/problems people do.

Results
I'll be able to use these to find my fastlane idea and execute on it.

Notes
This was much easier than I thought, and really interesting. It feels like i've gone far past what I've ever gone before in this area, I've written down over 30 problems/activities that are all equally fastlane, I just need to filter the list down based on some criteria and make them work. Looking forward to it!

Day 2
Tasks
Planned out a systematic way to find problems using the Hormozi method and what I've gathered from the fastlane forum. We're aiming for a productocracy here.

Results
A spreadsheet of all the important checks of a problem to solve and the manner to go about it.

Notes
Starting is always the hard part. So I just mindlessly move myself to start the timer, works like a charm!

I've got a pretty good checklist that can be used to validate problems I find from the activities.

Day 3
Task
Wrote down in total, 45 tasks and activities people do, and broke them down to important tasks, and tasks that cause pain and the level of this pain.

Results
A list of tasks filtered by pain levels and importance of activity.

Day 4
Task
Separated these 45 tasks and activities people do and checked if they had massive pain and wether they were in growing markets.

Results
A list of tasks filtered by pain levels, importance of activity, wether the activity has scale X magnitude and if the market was growing.

Time spent
2 hours (counting the next day together with this).

Weekly Review
This week was spent on planning the whole trip ahead. Of course, filtering down over 30 items to pick the best one will take some time.

On an overview, I first write down the activity, wether it's important to be done, the level of pain in doing it, ran this through the Hormozi method, checked if I'm passionate about it, if it's niche, if it's a recurring problem, if others have complained about it, to improve on available solutions and gain a USP and a slew of other things to create an offer that stands out and will grow by word of mouth.

One such activity written down is

"I generate business idea as a high skill expert to get productocracy".

I've seen some skilled freelancers/consultants who have trouble making the transition from freelancing to business. And not just any business, a real productocracy. How do they take themselves from zero to need to idea to validated idea with word of mouth sales?

Case in point people like this- QUESTION - Coming up with ideas or a niche for a business

I bet they're millions more just like him that have it hard to do this and do it successfully.

But, with the crux of the problem being I haven't done this yet, it would make sense to actually use the method on someone in my target market (get some reviews as well and validate the need) and get some validation from them to show I have a working method for it to help others with.

Another potential activity is

"I achieve a goal without planning"

This inherently has a (Very) low probability of success. Which leads most people to implement a roadmap to get to their goals and increase their chances of success.But even then, these plans might not be the best written and so lead to them being unable to fulfil their goals since they are not SMART goals. Most people also hate physically writing, so there ought to be digital solutions like this out there. My plan could be to spin this for web designers, copywriters or business owners (Just the fields I've been involved with) to incorporate a niche element as well.


"I write and send Upwork proposal for X (e.g. video editor, VA)"

This is an activity that has a (Very) low probability of success. I've seen Upwork proposal courses that go for over a thousand dollars but only for copywriters. I'm also experienced in both markets (Copywriting and video editing) so I might have an inherent advantage in targeting such a market. Perhaps I could also offer Upwork profile services as well to stand out. The point being I'm looking for the possible points of failure

All of these are great opportunities, but they must be tested and validated. Money talks after all.
I do wonder if you could move faster if you were less analytical?

I’m super analytical but what helps me move faster is to throw away the spreadsheets and dive headfirst into communities to engage, support, and help people.

Do it daily and you’ll start seeing what people are stuck on, what they’ll gladly hop on a call to resolve, and what they’ll pay you for.

As per the Mother Theresa quote in my signature.

Does that help or am I wide of the mark?
 

Edgar King

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Day 359-365
Break, Sales, Giveaway



This is a brilliant suggestion! So many authors down the line almost beat the gong about how publishing more than one book basically doubled their revenue. I do think I can/should do that in the future. But for now I think with business being product + advertising, I've seen the product sell, so I think for now I should just focus on improving my sucky advertising haha.


Basically, to gain traction I just posted about everyday a marketing piece that appealed to my target audience. Main Desire + Bridge + Offer (Free chapters in bio) + Trending music.

Technically it works, just not to the degree I wish it would (daily traffic in the single digits rather than the tens or hundreds so growth for now is slow). I'd highly appreciate the guide if you could send it, thank you! Yeah, I shouldn't discount what I've been able to do so far, there are people out there that would leap to make anything close to that in business, I should celebrate these kinds of successes more.

This week I took a break. Not only did the work from school for this week just significantly ramp up out of nowhere, I wanted to use that time to reflect on my strategy when I found time. I still believe Tiktok can work, and I've put so much into learning the ecosystem to turn back now I feel would be a bit premature. So I want to try lives where I just talk with my target audience about their problems and how to solve it and then have the book in the background. I hope to build more trust in the business and even fans of it.

I've also made 2 sales about this week on Amazon. A kindle and print. I was really happy my efforts paid off even a little bit. I was also still able to get some traffic to the site on some days possibly from Tiktok posting. Downloads are over 100. Yay! The coming week I want to continue this...

Because it does work. And then combine it with the Tiktok live strategy where I go into my target audiences pain points, see if that changes anything in the next 3 weeks or so.

Log out...
Day 366-379
Sale, Value-to engage an audience


This week I got my first sale of the month, so yay most likely due to this...

I watched this video from Ryan Moran -
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms9XY824NtQ

Basically it goes into how to build an engaged audience. Summed up-

  • A funnel is a way to give incremental value to the same person (consistently) which has 3 main stages.
  • Stage 1: Traffic (exposure-get in front of target market)
  • Stage 2: conversion (Give them a reason to join the island/keep them around)
  • Stage 3: engagement (bonding with them and each other with value e.g. facebook groups).
  • “It takes about 7 hours of engaging with your content to make a highly engaged prospect.”
  • 1683485366510.png
I believed that was the missing piece in all of this. I had a problem I'd tackled with a solution (book) but I probably haven't properly made content to build an engaged audience that makes people want to buy from you in the grand scheme of things.

How I decided to do this that may have led to the sale was to [outcome] and provide [steps] to it in the past 2 videos.

The process in detail: To engage an audience is to provide value, to make them feel good by solving, relating, validating, or comforting their problems and desires to a grand dream outcome. So the process was to find the target market (Activity’ers) - find (sub) topic outcome (high level) - solve to (sub) topic outcome ([change thinking > behavior > results] with concrete steps - verify value delivered - sell in same video.

I found the target market in the forum I frequently visit. I scrolled by new to find the recurring problems that matched what my book helped overcome. Then I provided concrete and actionable steps that with just those a prospect can solve the problem. I then verified the value by making a post about it in the subreddit and if it got upvotes, it means someone received value from it. In the same video I'd tell the prospect where the value was from (AKA me book).

Sure the 2 videos didn't get many views but it was enough that someone went on to buy it on Amazon. That's what I think anyway, it's also possible they got to my amazon page another way but I've only started posting like this for the past 2 days so the probability of a coincidence seems so low. I've also started a twitter handle and followed some people in my niche, but nothing much going there. We'll see how it goes.

Log out...
 

Edgar King

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Day 667-679
Offer revamp - solve problems, marketing copy, book change, feedback tool


The previous weeks were spent working on more of the problems my target audience was facing in understanding the material in the book to reach the dream outcome. A beta reader came back and mentioned the book surely had presentation issues, yet no functional issues and is very very glad the book was sent to them.

The marketing copy possibly has a refinement requirement. While I've conveyed all the "checkpoints" in understanding a person would have to understand to know the book can get them from point A to B where they want to be at, I believe this is the "baseline". My understanding is that sales isn't binary, it's continuous etc it isn't just that a user believes in the product it's also about how much they believe in it and this often reflects in the user engagement. Lately, the page is getting a lot more downloads than usual, yet rarely is the "buy" button clicked - and with talking to users in reddit dms' I believe the issue can be resolved in increasing the belief of each "checkpoint" of the solution with deeper analogies or stories I think.

I've started developing a feedback tool to allow authors to get better feedback to write better books from their beta readers (this doubles as a portfolio project for a software engineering role). Once built, It will allow me to know where readers might be dropping off as well as what they think about each book excerpt. I'm learning ReactJs and soon to start with NodeJs and Postgres for database. This is the final beta reading editing I'll be doing before moving unto polishing (reading out the material one more time | 500$+ | and laterrrrrr down the line - hiring a copy editor and proof reader) and marketing (hopefully podcasts and the like).

The product development solution sounds simple - increase the numbers of readers and increase the number of worked problems those readers face in achieving the dream outcome - It's definitely a work in progress.

The marketing solution sounds simple - increase website views (daily/consistent/seo) or increase video conversions (branding) - It's definitely a work in progress. We'll see how it goes.

Log out...
Day 673-670
New Dawn


If you ask me, one of an author's first great achievements is writing a book that changes their life, then their second greatest achievement is writing a book that allows others to do the same. I think we're a step there at least.
Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 11.25.24 PM.png

Thank you to the amazing people on this forum and @MJ DeMarco for allowing a change in mine and others lives.

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Mathuin

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Hey guys! I've been on this forum for ages, but was just silently absorbing the valuable information you all provide and enhancing my mindset to start my entrepreneurial journey. I've learnt to just love everyone from the bottom of my heart which motivates me to desire to solve problems from the right place. I'm starting a 90 day challenge, of going from $0 to $1K a month as a starting point. Wish me luck! And thanks so much to MJ for helping make all this possible :) Please treat me well.
Welcome Edgar :smile2:
 

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Hey Edgar. Welcome to the forums.

I really like your statement about loving everyone. That is so hard for some of us to do.

You are on target with your desire to help people. I assume that you are implying that this means finding problems and coming up with a solution to them.

It is nice to have goals. But you goal that you stated sounds more like chasing money.
But now I am curious. Should one not have monetary goals on this journey (As a measure of success for example)? Should we think of money in terms of value vouchers? What do you think?
@Mathuin @SteveO
 

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I should understand where you are at with respect to your goal before judging. Although I really did not intend to judge you here. The statement you made sounded to me like you made a goal without having an actual plan.

Do you have an idea that you are pursuing?
Yo bro! It's ok! I am so glad you did because I just finished drafting a real plan. So thank you! Yes, I will post the idea below, I feel it will be helpful to many people :)
 
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Edgar King

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Hey Edgar! Just like you, I'm silently going through the forum too!

Just wondering if you managed to try out something or executed anything during this 1 year of reading the forums? Maybe just to test things out a bit before deciding to start this 90 day challenge?
I've previously ran a bookmark business so I'm plenty successful I'm kidding, it only did $47 in sales. Oh yeah! This isn't going to be a 90 day challenge anymore I think XD This is going to probably be a 6 month things challenge.
 

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Day 10

Wow! We are already 11% there?! I have to step up my game! Emailed 5 more marketers today and downloaded mail track so I can measure responses. Also, spent time learning copywriting - 3 hours
Day 9-10 Results

Yay! I got 1 connection on Linkedin accepted, the CEO and founder! Unfortunately, mail strategies seem to be ineffective. Linkedin allows the bypassing of barriers to them. Optimising strategy. Although some Linkedin accounts, can't be connected by an outside individual. There's a way, I just need to find it.

Possible Answer (From a Quora post)
Get them to know me first.
  • How to get someone to know me:
  • Engage on their content on LinkedIn and be sure they engage back
  • Engage with them in a LinkedIn Group
  • Get a mutual connection to send them an email, copy me on the message and introduce me to them.
  • Meet them someone where IRL (In Real Life)
  • Engage with them on another social media platform
I don't need to reinvent the wheel and fail unnecessarily, so one should leverage already existing resources instead of starting from scratch.
 

Edgar King

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Really happy for you to have gotten a first interview!! :somber: Hope it would be/was fruitful (not sure what time will/did the interview happen when you see this message).



I totally agree with you that everybody wants more exposure. Were you worried that it would be hard to get someone to agree to do an interview with you though? Especially like for example, if I do not have an existing audience to provide the exposure for the marketers/businesses, how should I build the confidence to make someone want to be interviewed by me?
Yooo, thanks! And I'm so glad it's helping you too men! I've actually just done my first interview today and I think it went awesome! If I do go back to him to discuss his problems, he'll be much more likely to tell me all about it. I gave him value: We had a good time, I'm giving him free exposure and helping his company in the little way I can. He'll want to give me value back now as I'm not a total stranger, so I can ask him for his problem in depth as well if I ever need too.

"Were you worried that it would be hard to get someone to agree to do an interview with you though?"

Not specifically, but there were a whole lot other things I was afraid off. Messing up the interview, messing up the messages, messing up, messing up etc Fear. But you know, you've got to use fear as your compass here. Sure I was scared in the moment, but I knew as I've always known and seen, those things which make us afraid to do (That lead to a better future) always expands the boundaries of what we can do, what we can be. It leads to growth. And then, I just leaped for it.

It's ok to just jump in and be like a dying fish in the first few moments, that's ok. Once you keep flopping and breathing for air in your new environment, you'll evolve and grow legs. You'll stand, but your legs could be too weak, you may fall. You'll grow stronger legs, but the air you breathe may be too little, so you evolve. You fail, you evolve, you fail, you evolve. Act > Fail > Assess > Adjust.

A motivator I use is that I've made a nice little checklist of what I have to do for the day.
Screenshot 2021-06-11 at 5.50.10 PM.png
I personally cannot easily stand seeing things incomplete if I have to complete them, and every tick feels so satisfying it moves me unto the next tick, and the next tick regardless of my fears. Keep moving, or walking, or crawling, to the light and I promise you will find it.

I also didn't have an existing audience. I'm also literally starting from zero. But they're out there, you just need to go out and find them! On Linkedin, online (google search your niche), etc etc. Now, just go there and give them value.

Here's a sample template I used-
Dear NAME,

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. My name is Edgar King and I was wondering if you'd be interested in an interview to discuss your best sales and marketing strategies for others to hear about. You'd be my first interviewee ever! Let me know if you're interested!

Thanks,
Edgar King

And bingo! The person asked for details of the interview and I gave them. I'm mostly winging it though as I like to focus only on what I really need to do.

You don't have to show them you personally are confident. You just have to give them confidence in the value you give them.

Focus on step 2 and then 3. Don't start looking at step 64 in detail. Observe the bigger picture and just know where it's going, and if it's taking you to where you want to be. Then adjust the plan as necessary.

Hope this helps bud!
 
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Edgar King

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Day 15

Editing the videos and did another interview - 4 hours
Day 16

Editing the interviews and shooting other interview asks, this time with SEO as a focus- 3 hours

There was a guy who wanted us to do the interview right then and there. I was like, 'Now?' and he was like, 'YES NOW!'. Needless to say, I've learned not to underestimate anyone and just say yes to opportunities and learn along the way. I also want to combine this strategy with this thread GOLD! - CHECKLIST: How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency & Hit $5K in Less than 90 Days

Because I just feel the runway to add that in has already been set, and I'm starting to get a lot of useful connections in the field. SO would be wise lol, just hope I don't laze out on it XD

Good luck on whatever you guys are working on, and thanks for cheering me on as well, it helps a lot.

p.s. Has it only been 16 days? *mindblown*
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Edgar King

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Day 16

Editing the interviews and shooting other interview asks, this time with SEO as a focus- 3 hours

There was a guy who wanted us to do the interview right then and there. I was like, 'Now?' and he was like, 'YES NOW!'. Needless to say, I've learned not to underestimate anyone and just say yes to opportunities and learn along the way. I also want to combine this strategy with this thread GOLD! - CHECKLIST: How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency & Hit $5K in Less than 90 Days

Because I just feel the runway to add that in has already been set, and I'm starting to get a lot of useful connections in the field. SO would be wise lol, just hope I don't laze out on it XD

Good luck on whatever you guys are working on, and thanks for cheering me on as well, it helps a lot.

Log out
Day 16

Editing the interviews and shooting other interview asks, this time with SEO as a focus- 3 hours

There was a guy who wanted us to do the interview right then and there. I was like, 'Now?' and he was like, 'YES NOW!'. Needless to say, I've learned not to underestimate anyone and just say yes to opportunities and learn along the way. I also want to combine this strategy with this thread GOLD! - CHECKLIST: How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency & Hit $5K in Less than 90 Days

Because I just feel the runway to add that in has already been set, and I'm starting to get a lot of useful connections in the field. SO would be wise lol, just hope I don't laze out on it XD

Good luck on whatever you guys are working on, and thanks for cheering me on as well, it helps a lot.

p.s. Has it only been 16 days? *mindblown*
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Day 17

Almost 20% there! Full cowling! I performed two interviews today and you guys... I cannot begin to explain the kind of free education I'm getting! I already feel like an expert in the field, and as I do more interviews they become more fun and I less stiff.

On that note, I think I will start interviewing PPC specialists as well. Just like Raja said, they handle results a lot quicker than SEO Specialists, which can take months of efforts. But in any case, all about value. Even if it's 6 months, or two weeks, what matters is I make it easier for them.

I also started learning about digital marketing fundamentals from here-https://www.linkedin.com/learning/digital-marketing-foundations/budgeting-for-paid-marketing

This is to follow this checklist- GOLD! - CHECKLIST: How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency & Hit $5K in Less than 90 Days

Two birds with one stone. So my goal still remains to earn $1K at the end of this, and weekly that translates to about $105.

This cost- 4 hours

Looking forward to tomorrow.

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