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

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 83
(5 minutes) Strategy session ✅
(30 minutes) Landing page - Refine landing page ✅
(1:20 hours) Shopify Construction - Requirements ✅

Today, I earned more in a day than I've ever earned in my life.

45 COOKIES! LOL! Now to some people on here, that might be chicken change, but to me it means that my actions have finally been validated.

How limited your vision can be. I've learned that what you think is not possible, might just be an excuse for inaction.

You can do it! So start today!

If your imagination captureth, so can your reality.

Log out...
Day 84
(5 minutes) Strategy session ✅
(20 minutes) Article writing ✅
(5 minutes) Amazon Landing page - Refine landing page ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction ✅

If you're ever looking to design a website for a client you need to create a prototype first the both of you can agree on. it can even be a wireframe.

For that I recommend (And a lot of people online also recommend) Mockplus, Sketch, and Adobe XD in that order.

Log out...
 
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Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 84
(5 minutes) Strategy session ✅
(20 minutes) Article writing ✅
(5 minutes) Amazon Landing page - Refine landing page ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction ✅

If you're ever looking to design a website for a client you need to create a prototype first the both of you can agree on. it can even be a wireframe.

For that I recommend (And a lot of people online also recommend) Mockplus, Sketch, and Adobe XD in that order.

Log out...
Day 85

(5 minutes) Coaching questions book ✅
(35 minutes) Wedding Article writing ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction ✅

The Secret Upwork Sauce - A Winning Proposal Guide

Just wanted to post this guide here that helped me secure a job on Upwork ...

This is for the personalised writing job that I previously got hired for.

When I asked the client why he hired my out of about 10 other people with the guidelines I'll list below, he said it was because I researched on his job post the best out of anyone else (Logic), and that he was sold the moment I showed genuine interest to help him out in his business (Emotion).

It's ok if it doesn't work 100% of the time, what matters is that you're in the top 1% of those who submit a proposal (Assuming you can do the job). And the guide isn't the end all be all, so use it and improve on it as you see fit.

P.S. If you can't download it, you're a guest user and you need to sign up to the forum and introduce yourself ;)

P.S.S. This was the same way I got my start on here, so just sign up already, introduce yourself and tell us your plans to achieve your dreams XD
 

Attachments

  • Submitting Proposals Upwork V3.pdf
    46.7 KB · Views: 18

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 85

(5 minutes) Coaching questions book ✅
(35 minutes) Wedding Article writing ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction ✅

The Secret Upwork Sauce - A Winning Proposal Guide

Just wanted to post this guide here that helped me secure a job on Upwork ...

This is for the personalised writing job that I previously got hired for.

When I asked the client why he hired my out of about 10 other people with the guidelines I'll list below, he said it was because I researched on his job post the best out of anyone else (Logic), and that he was sold the moment I showed genuine interest to help him out in his business (Emotion).

It's ok if it doesn't work 100% of the time, what matters is that you're in the top 1% of those who submit a proposal (Assuming you can do the job). And the guide isn't the end all be all, so use it and improve on it as you see fit.

P.S. If you can't download it, you're a guest user and you need to sign up to the forum and introduce yourself ;)

P.S.S. This was the same way I got my start on here, so just sign up already, introduce yourself and tell us your plans to achieve your dreams XD
Day 86
(35 minutes) Article writing 2 sections ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction - Constructing wireframes ✅

It's pretty fun working to create something you're proud off. Maybe I should do a career switch to web development armed with knowledge of copy XD

One strategy I recommend to make sure you satisfy your clients that has worked for me is the green light strategy.

This involves doing a little bit of the work and sending it for review to get feedback.

For example, say you're writing a couple of articles. It's advised to draw up some outlines first right? Now, for a first time client you've never worked for before it might be pretty bonkers to just do the work from start to finish WITHOUT sending the outlines.

Not only do you risk having to do it ALL FROM SCRATCH, but you also risk the client being unhappy with your work.

Whatever work you do, find some way to get some feedback. 'Grow your beanstalk in the right direction. So you and your client are both happy.

P.S. if you think the client might be highly unresponsive, ask for some examples of what they want.

Log out...
 

sap_LA

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
90%
May 20, 2021
10
9
Day 86
(35 minutes) Article writing 2 sections ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction - Constructing wireframes ✅

It's pretty fun working to create something you're proud off. Maybe I should do a career switch to web development armed with knowledge of copy XD

One strategy I recommend to make sure you satisfy your clients that has worked for me is the green light strategy.

This involves doing a little bit of the work and sending it for review to get feedback.

For example, say you're writing a couple of articles. It's advised to draw up some outlines first right? Now, for a first time client you've never worked for before it might be pretty bonkers to just do the work from start to finish WITHOUT sending the outlines.

Not only do you risk having to do it ALL FROM SCRATCH, but you also risk the client being unhappy with your work.

Whatever work you do, find some way to get some feedback. 'Grow your beanstalk in the right direction. So you and your client are both happy.

P.S. if you think the client might be highly unresponsive, ask for some examples of what they want.

Log out...
This is good advice! I do a lot of graphics development for industrial control systems.

One of the things I learned quickly was that you can spend 2x the amount of time it should take to make a graphic display if you try to perfect it. Instead get the functionality hammered out, say 80% there and fire off a screenshot to the customer. Typically they modify it a lot, which speed a the process along a lot and reduces hours spent only to have it torn apart after first seeing the display for the first time. As a bonus they feel like they have ownership in the process and it puts a positive spin on it and relieves anxiety about the newness of the display itself.
 
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Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 86
(35 minutes) Article writing 2 sections ✅
(1 hour) Shopify Construction - Constructing wireframes ✅

It's pretty fun working to create something you're proud off. Maybe I should do a career switch to web development armed with knowledge of copy XD

One strategy I recommend to make sure you satisfy your clients that has worked for me is the green light strategy.

This involves doing a little bit of the work and sending it for review to get feedback.

For example, say you're writing a couple of articles. It's advised to draw up some outlines first right? Now, for a first time client you've never worked for before it might be pretty bonkers to just do the work from start to finish WITHOUT sending the outlines.

Not only do you risk having to do it ALL FROM SCRATCH, but you also risk the client being unhappy with your work.

Whatever work you do, find some way to get some feedback. 'Grow your beanstalk in the right direction. So you and your client are both happy.

P.S. if you think the client might be highly unresponsive, ask for some examples of what they want.

Log out...
Day 87
(1:10 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages ✅

3 Simple Daily Actions To Supercharge Your Life

Got these tidbits of wisdom from Lex. These should act as your guide.

1. Help one person a day | Provide value to one person a day
2. Do 1 action that scares you everyday
3. For 10-30 minutes each day, embrace doing things you really want to do deep down.

For me...
1. Someone reached out to our Uni group to ask for help in settling a couples private accommodation. Everyone was mostly afraid of doing it so almost no one responded...

And so was I XD So I communicated in secret to let them know great websites to find one appropriate for their needs.

2. Honestly... I don't think I did this XD But I like to think 2 & 3 can be a substitute for each other :D

3. I went out to meet with my friends (Virtually). Though I originally went out for a jog. I'd been putting it off for a while and it helped to soothe my mind.

Best of luck on your adventures fellow comrade.

Log out...
 
Last edited:

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 87
(1:10 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages ✅

3 Simple Daily Actions To Supercharge Your Life

Got these tidbits of wisdom from Lex. These should act as your guide.

1. Help one person a day | Provide value to one person a day
2. Do 1 action that scares you everyday
3. For 30 minutes each day, embrace doing things you really want to do deep down.

For me...
1. Someone reached out to our Uni group to ask for help in settling a couples private accommodation. Everyone was mostly afraid of doing it so almost no one responded...

And so was I XD So I communicated in secret to let them know great websites to find one appropriate for their needs.

2. Honestly... I don't think I did this XD But I like to think 2 & 3 can be a substitute for each other :D

3. I went out to meet with my friends (Virtually). Though I originally went out for a jog. I'd been putting it off for a while and it helped to soothe my mind.

Best of luck on your adventures fellow comrade.

Log out...
Day 88
(5 minutes) Blue Oceans Strategy book
(35 minutes) Article writing
(1:20 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages

When Should I Give Up?

Oh boy, the clock's ticking!

One way I've found to be effective in finding a person's problems is by asking:

"What's been on your to do list for a while now?"

They'll tell you, and then you can step in and help them out (Value).

I just went back to one of my previous posts on the thread and saw this exact statement...
I'm so behind. At this rate, I'll need to get $25 a day for the next 45 days ($175) to even consider passing the $1k mark.

I've learned that when you fail, when you're defeated you gain XP. You're growing.

I submitted so many Upwork proposals in the beginning that weren't responded to and granted, to this day I'm still trying to perfect the process. But qualitatively, I believe the response rates are a whole lot better and that's due to just trudging on and doing my best to improve the process.

Let your motto be, "Watch me get crushed!" And launch a frontal attack on the fierce bosses that hold the keys to your dream life. Even if you loose, you'll grow by the magnitude of the defeat to come out a whole lot stronger.

I remember MJ saying something like this...

The only time you're allowed to give up is:
A) When you make your first sale
B) When a large sample proves you should readjust or stop.

Do actions that lead to sales, and go crush it!
 

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 88
(5 minutes) Blue Oceans Strategy book
(35 minutes) Article writing
(1:20 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages

When Should I Give Up?

Oh boy, the clock's ticking!

One way I've found to be effective in finding a person's problems is by asking:

"What's been on your to do list for a while now?"

They'll tell you, and then you can step in and help them out (Value).

I just went back to one of my previous posts on the thread and saw this exact statement...


I've learned that when you fail, when you're defeated you gain XP. You're growing.

I submitted so many Upwork proposals in the beginning that weren't responded to and granted, to this day I'm still trying to perfect the process. But qualitatively, I believe the response rates are a whole lot better and that's due to just trudging on and doing my best to improve the process.

Let your motto be, "Watch me get crushed!" And launch a frontal attack on the fierce bosses that hold the keys to your dream life. Even if you loose, you'll grow by the magnitude of the defeat to come out a whole lot stronger.

I remember MJ saying something like this...

The only time you're allowed to give up is:
A) When you make your first sale
B) When a large sample proves you should readjust or stop.

Do actions that lead to sales, and go crush it!
Day 89
Break
The last day approaches, a new dawn encroaches.
Log out...
 
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sap_LA

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
90%
May 20, 2021
10
9
Day 88
(5 minutes) Blue Oceans Strategy book
(35 minutes) Article writing
(1:20 hour) Shopify Construction - Send prototype, build prototype for pages

When Should I Give Up?

Oh boy, the clock's ticking!

One way I've found to be effective in finding a person's problems is by asking:

"What's been on your to do list for a while now?"

They'll tell you, and then you can step in and help them out (Value).

I just went back to one of my previous posts on the thread and saw this exact statement...


I've learned that when you fail, when you're defeated you gain XP. You're growing.

I submitted so many Upwork proposals in the beginning that weren't responded to and granted, to this day I'm still trying to perfect the process. But qualitatively, I believe the response rates are a whole lot better and that's due to just trudging on and doing my best to improve the process.

Let your motto be, "Watch me get crushed!" And launch a frontal attack on the fierce bosses that hold the keys to your dream life. Even if you loose, you'll grow by the magnitude of the defeat to come out a whole lot stronger.

I remember MJ saying something like this...

The only time you're allowed to give up is:
A) When you make your first sale
B) When a large sample proves you should readjust or stop.

Do actions that lead to sales, and go crush it!
Sent out some prototypes of my product today for testing! I’ll collect some feedback in a procedural way with survey sheets asking specific questions. I’m digging for big things that I missed in the value skew. If nothing major sticks out, on to selling and then if that works, scaling (production).
 

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Sent out some prototypes of my product today for testing! I’ll collect some feedback in a procedural way with survey sheets asking specific questions. I’m digging for big things that I missed in the value skew. If nothing major sticks out, on to selling and then if that works, scaling (production).
That's awesome!

Did some digging, and I believe these threads would help tremendously for a launch online to validate your product ideas if it ever comes to that-

(Though you might not need it, since I get the sense you're testing it offline already with your target market)


@journeyman's thread was especially comprehensive and practical.

TL;DR

You can create a simple Shopify site or landing page to validate it by posting some pictures and descriptions and pulling traffic to it.

If it's something people are actively searching for online (google ads) or would like but aren't, use Facebook ads. Structure the website as if you are selling something that already exists by making it professional.

If you're profitable, cha-ching! You have a validated business idea. And if not, there's always room to improve the website design, copy etc

You can then scale with the assurance that people find your idea valuable.

By asking them to buy you'll get cold hard market research, rather than just profitless yesses XD.

For the value skew, you can then collect e-mails from the people that reached conversion and engage with the people who signed up. You can then ask them for feedback, what they liked about the product, how it helped them, what you can improve etc. Which will allow you to skew value from there too!

And if they checkout, you can then tell them the product is currently unavailable but will be stocked soon so they were not charged anything for it.

In any case, sending them out physically for real time testing so they can touch and experiment with it would still work! In fact, you can use it as a stepping stone before testing it online on a larger sample, but that's just my 2 cents.

Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I've never launched a product before XD
 
Last edited:

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
Day 89
Break
The last day approaches, a new dawn encroaches.
Log out...
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...
 
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Last edited:

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
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

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
May 29, 2021
547
801
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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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.
 
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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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I do wonder if you could move faster if you were less analytical?
I probably could ahaha!
I’m super analytical but what helps me move faster is to throw away the spreadsheets and dive headfirst into niche 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.
True! And solid advice! This is exactly what I did actually, and in doing so found most of these important activities that people do from seeing the problems in myself and out there in forums and discords.

Like that "I generate business idea as a high skill expert to get productocracy" example that came from TheControlVoice. It was something he was stuck on so I see it as an actual need. And I have seen a bunch of other people on here who have that problem.

I did help with this thread here I think- IDEA - Finding A (Fastlane) Need Is This E A S Y

But in it, I still see ways they could be helped more with the process. For this same example, then it would be just finding...

What they’ll pay you for
I'm pretty close to the pre monetary validation stage, so I'll definitely do more action in terms of sales, but my next plan after choosing one of these 45 activities is to go where the target market is, and get pre sale money. Like literally, asking for a down payment for the supposed solution. Because that does confirm this is actually a problem. Once they agree and actually send the money, that would be validation that this is something they need.

What they’ll gladly hop on a call to resolve
It's then in day 60-90 that the plan was to help them solve this problem after finding existing solutions and improving the value skews on them.

Does that help or am I wide of the mark?
Definitely! Just want to make sure this venture I pursue checks all the important* boxes, but it should only take about the next 3-4 more days before I start really interacting with the market, since for each of these opportunities I'm checking for long term sustainability like if the market is growing, and if it's niche, if it's a recurring problem, if I'm actually passionate about it etc so I can hopefully charge a premium. I could consider these unnecessary now but I don't want to find myself in a dying market or a market where college students (like myself) can't even pay for the service haha.
 

Edgar King

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You know what Andy? I wasn't reading between the lines, and I probably was action faking.

Gonna ask someone from my target market to hop on a call now to help them.
 
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What they’ll pay you for
I'm pretty close to the pre monetary validation stage, so I'll definitely do more action in terms of sales, but my next plan after choosing one of these 45 activities is to go where the target market is, and get pre sale money. Like literally, asking for a down payment for the supposed solution. Because that does confirm this is actually a problem. Once they agree and actually send the money, that would be validation that this is something they need.

What they’ll gladly hop on a call to resolve
It's then in day 60-90 that the plan was to help them solve this problem after finding existing solutions and improving the value skews on them.
Reading this, I was just about to suggest swapping those about.

Get them on a call, help them, then figure out over time if it's something people will pay for.

Even them getting on a call with some complete stranger to get free help is a good validation. They're spending their time doing so. (Of course, it's not quite as good as getting a paid call/consult ... but I find it really helps me understand who I'm helping, and brings them to life because I can see them in front of me.)

Seems you beat me to it though with this:

You know what Andy? I wasn't reading between the lines, and I probably was action faking.

Gonna ask someone from my target market to hop on a call now to help them.
 

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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?
Andy, I totally agree. I got lost in the details of his post. I'm into action rather than into the weeds.
 

Edgar King

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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.
NEED PHASE- FLOPPING HARD
Day 6-9


This week I hit up over 10 people I thought had a specific problem, but no dice, they hinted they wouldn't pay for the service and I saved myself hundreds of dollars and time possibly in the "run ads to landing page" phase.

I did get an offer for a commission only sales job from one of the people I hit up, although he laughed at my pitch and commended the "hustle".

I then posted the idea on reddit for the niche, but it's not a real problem based on the responses etc so I've dumped that idea.

I gave up on that, and just followed Andy's advice. My best bet to find a problem that needs solving is...

A) Going to a relevant space by skill, location, demographic etc I relate too and am interested in and just seeing the problems and complaints people have, and solve those. I did this today and I'm then again reminded that value is just giving someone a helping hand when they so desperately stretch out for help.

Through this approach I came across like 2 needs. Some people need this thing called "skimming" for their walls, and another person was looking for early morning yoga lessons, like 6 am early. Of course, I've never done these things so my limiting belief is that I can not pursue them, especially the skimming one because I might get sued for doing a bad job XD

Maybe for those kind of jobs, I just need to try them myself and make it work at least once.

B) Going on Amazon to find complaints, based on offer vehicles I've already found in a niche. By offer vehicles I mean products/services that achieve the same thing and fall under the same umbrella/category like baby toys for example.

I'd then need to actually use one of these offers so I can relate to the target market myself as I feel the previous idea flopped because I didn't actually use the offer vehicle and so my analysis of the problem was purely hypothetical, especially since it wasn't backed up by other people's complaints.

I've found problems to solve, I think I'm now in the process of finding the right one to solve. But my guidelines for the one I want to work on is...

1. Remote: One I can work on remotely/from home (at least in the beginning). My #1 reason being that it's so cold out there XD and my second reason being that I don't think it's safe to enter people's homes personally (don't want to make my parents worry) as someone of my age.

2. External Results: The service/product of the business should have results in the outside world regardless of the state of the client. A third party should be able to "see" these results.

3. Relatability: Must be a business that I'm motivated to solve, possibly by just being in a cool space, I have the problem, or I've had the problem before. I want to see the business make a real impact in other peoples lives while at the same time be really motivated to do it.

4. Scale. Must be a business I can see having scale in the long run. I could help other people with copywriting, but I've never seen anyone scale that, except for a course, there's definitely a way.

My next line of action is to help and find a need with these criteria to solve, or upgrade an existing product/service with these guidelines.

Just at the top of my head, things like copywriting, gardening, software, email marketing, etc I need to dive head first into those spaces and find what people are complaining about and just roll with one. Or pick from the offer vehicles I've found, buy and use one, and then find specific problems others are complaining about and solve for that.

Starting something is 10X better than nothing and I need to work with something before or on day 15 to construct the offer theoretically (the copy).

EDIT: Found 5 more needs.

TL;DR
Me need to find complaints/help requests of the people I support in solving OOgah Boogah

Log out...
 
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Last edited:

Andy Black

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NEED PHASE- FLOPPING HARD
Day 6-9


This week I hit up over 10 people I thought had a specific problem, but no dice, they hinted they wouldn't pay for the service and I saved myself hundreds of dollars and time possibly in the "run ads to landing page" phase.

I did get an offer for a commission only sales job from one of the people I hit up, although he laughed at my pitch and commended the "hustle".

I then posted the idea on reddit for the niche, but it's not a real problem based on the responses etc so I've dumped that idea.

I gave up on that, and just followed Andy's advice. My best bet to find a problem that needs solving is...

A) Going to a relevant space by skill, location, demographic etc I relate too and am interested in and just seeing the problems and complaints people have, and solve those. I did this today and I'm then again reminded that value is just giving someone a helping hand when they so desperately stretch out for help.

Through this approach I came across like 2 needs. Some people need this thing called "skimming" for their walls, and another person was looking for early morning yoga lessons, like 6 am early. Of course, I've never done these things so my limiting belief is that I can not pursue them, especially the skimming one because I might get sued for doing a bad job XD

Maybe for those kind of jobs, I just need to try them myself and make it work at least once.

B) Going on Amazon to find complaints, based on offer vehicles I've already found in a niche. By offer vehicles I mean products/services that achieve the same thing and fall under the same umbrella/category like baby toys for example.

I'd then need to actually use one of these offers so I can relate to the target market myself as I feel the previous idea flopped because I didn't actually use the offer vehicle and so my analysis of the problem was purely hypothetical, especially since it wasn't backed up by other people's complaints.

I've found problems to solve, I think I'm now in the process of finding the right one to solve. But my guidelines for the one I want to work on is...

1. Remote: One I can work on remotely/from home (at least in the beginning). My #1 reason being that it's so cold out there XD and my second reason being that I don't think it's safe to enter people's homes personally (don't want to make my parents worry) as someone of my age.

2. External Results: The service/product of the business should have results in the outside world regardless of the state of the client. A third party should be able to "see" these results.

3. Relatability: Must be a business that I'm motivated to solve, possibly by just being in a cool space, I have the problem, or I've had the problem before. I want to see the business make a real impact in other peoples lives while at the same time be really motivated to do it.

4. Scale. Must be a business I can see having scale in the long run. I could help other people with copywriting, but I've never seen anyone scale that, except for a course, there's definitely a way.

My next line of action is to help and find a need with these criteria to solve, or upgrade an existing product/service with these guidelines.

Just at the top of my head, things like copywriting, gardening, software, email marketing, etc I need to dive head first into those spaces and find what people are complaining about and just roll with one. Or pick from the offer vehicles I've found, buy and use one, and then find specific problems others are complaining about and solve for that.

Starting something is 10X better than nothing and I need to work with something before or on day 15 to construct the offer theoretically (the copy).

EDIT: Found 5 more needs.

TL;DR
Me need to find complaints/help requests of the people I support in solving OOgah Boogah

Log out...
What if you just found someone to do Facebook Ads or Google Ads for? You're analytical, and people spending money on ads have already shown they're willing to spend money. Or web design like folks doing @Fox's programme do?

Pick some service, ideally B2B and that you can do online, and get started. Don't worry about scaling. ("Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don't have.")
 

Edgar King

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What if you just found someone to do Facebook Ads or Google Ads for? You're analytical, and people spending money on ads have already shown they're willing to spend money. Or web design like folks doing @Fox's programme do?

Pick some service, ideally B2B and that you can do online, and get started. Don't worry about scaling. ("Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don't have.")
Thanks for the knock Andy.

I've actually earned in the copywriting niche (Not like 10K a month, just a good amount), and with good effort could find more people to do this for (work more on what I already know) which they've been proven to spend money here. So copywriting would actually be a good fit for this.

But I am concerned about scaling? The whole point of this part of the thread is to find a business need I can provide a service/product for that I can detach my time from, perhaps there is something I'm missing?

Maybe what I should focus on is actually getting to that goal of 10K a month with copywriting? But I'm concerned if I don't start early enough I'll miss the advantage of not having bills to pay in the meantime and being weighed more in time and mental drain by a job.

And I'm in Uni as a computer science, so I presumed most computer scientists earn upwards of 80K a year (just my assumptions) so it wouldn't be wise to get to 10K a month copywriting when it could be spent pursuing a business. Just my thoughts on the matter.
 
Last edited:

WJK

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Thanks for the knock Andy.

I've actually earned in the copywriting niche (Not like 10K a month, just a good amount), and with good effort could find more people to do this for (work more on what I already know) which they've been proven to spend money here. So copywriting would actually be a good fit for this.

But I am concerned about scaling? The whole point of this part of the thread is to find a business need I can provide a service/product for that I can detach my time from, perhaps there is something I'm missing?

Maybe what I should focus on is actually getting to that goal of 10K a month with copywriting? But I'm concerned if I don't start early enough I'll miss the advantage of not having bills to pay in the meantime and being weighed more in time and mental drain by a job.

And I'm in Uni as a computer science, so I presumed most computer scientists earn upwards of 80K a year (just my assumptions) so it wouldn't be wise to get to 10K a month copywriting when it could be spent pursuing a business. Just my thoughts on the matter.
I'm getting a clue that you are trying to game the system by out thinking it. You are afraid you will make a bad decision. And if you just vet the possibilities enough, you can come up with the perfect plan. It is the double bind of a perfectionist. You can't do anything unless you are the best. And you can't be deemed the best without starting the process by sticking your toe in that pool as a total novice. You must start at the bottom to make it to the top.

Many times you don't know where your skills and your efforts will take you. Just start. Keep learning new stuff. Apply that knowledge liberally. Refine. Combine the new with other existing skills. Revaluate your prospects as you go. Change direction when it is merited. Remember, you are a mere mortal. Even you can't see over the horizon -- no matter how hard you try.
 
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Thanks for the knock Andy.

I've actually earned in the copywriting niche (Not like 10K a month, just a good amount), and with good effort could find more people to do this for (work more on what I already know) which they've been proven to spend money here. So copywriting would actually be a good fit for this.

But I am concerned about scaling? The whole point of this part of the thread is to find a business need I can provide a service/product for that I can detach my time from, perhaps there is something I'm missing?

Maybe what I should focus on is actually getting to that goal of 10K a month with copywriting? But I'm concerned if I don't start early enough I'll miss the advantage of not having bills to pay in the meantime and being weighed more in time and mental drain by a job.

And I'm in Uni as a computer science, so I presumed most computer scientists earn upwards of 80K a year (just my assumptions) so it wouldn't be wise to get to 10K a month copywriting when it could be spent pursuing a business. Just my thoughts on the matter.
Provide a service. Charge a recurring subscription. Make it so it’s low maintenance. Tada, you have the makings of a scalable business.

Can you build your high ground and grow what you know? Maybe combine your copywriting skills with your IT and research skills and provide a recurring service to businesses? Create and rent landing pages, or email marketing funnels, or … ?

Maybe this might help:

I agree with @WJK … you’re trying to think before you act. You’re trained that way as a student (of an engineering discipline no less).

Take action, *then* think about what you’ve learned.

This might help:
 

Edgar King

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NEED PHASE- FLOPPING HARD
Day 6-9


This week I hit up over 10 people I thought had a specific problem, but no dice, they hinted they wouldn't pay for the service and I saved myself hundreds of dollars and time possibly in the "run ads to landing page" phase.

I did get an offer for a commission only sales job from one of the people I hit up, although he laughed at my pitch and commended the "hustle".

I then posted the idea on reddit for the niche, but it's not a real problem based on the responses etc so I've dumped that idea.

I gave up on that, and just followed Andy's advice. My best bet to find a problem that needs solving is...

A) Going to a relevant space by skill, location, demographic etc I relate too and am interested in and just seeing the problems and complaints people have, and solve those. I did this today and I'm then again reminded that value is just giving someone a helping hand when they so desperately stretch out for help.

Through this approach I came across like 2 needs. Some people need this thing called "skimming" for their walls, and another person was looking for early morning yoga lessons, like 6 am early. Of course, I've never done these things so my limiting belief is that I can not pursue them, especially the skimming one because I might get sued for doing a bad job XD

Maybe for those kind of jobs, I just need to try them myself and make it work at least once.

B) Going on Amazon to find complaints, based on offer vehicles I've already found in a niche. By offer vehicles I mean products/services that achieve the same thing and fall under the same umbrella/category like baby toys for example.

I'd then need to actually use one of these offers so I can relate to the target market myself as I feel the previous idea flopped because I didn't actually use the offer vehicle and so my analysis of the problem was purely hypothetical, especially since it wasn't backed up by other people's complaints.

I've found problems to solve, I think I'm now in the process of finding the right one to solve. But my guidelines for the one I want to work on is...

1. Remote: One I can work on remotely/from home (at least in the beginning). My #1 reason being that it's so cold out there XD and my second reason being that I don't think it's safe to enter people's homes personally (don't want to make my parents worry) as someone of my age.

2. External Results: The service/product of the business should have results in the outside world regardless of the state of the client. A third party should be able to "see" these results.

3. Relatability: Must be a business that I'm motivated to solve, possibly by just being in a cool space, I have the problem, or I've had the problem before. I want to see the business make a real impact in other peoples lives while at the same time be really motivated to do it.

4. Scale. Must be a business I can see having scale in the long run. I could help other people with copywriting, but I've never seen anyone scale that, except for a course, there's definitely a way.

My next line of action is to help and find a need with these criteria to solve, or upgrade an existing product/service with these guidelines.

Just at the top of my head, things like copywriting, gardening, software, email marketing, etc I need to dive head first into those spaces and find what people are complaining about and just roll with one. Or pick from the offer vehicles I've found, buy and use one, and then find specific problems others are complaining about and solve for that.

Starting something is 10X better than nothing and I need to work with something before or on day 15 to construct the offer theoretically (the copy).

EDIT: Found 5 more needs.

TL;DR
Me need to find complaints/help requests of the people I support in solving OOgah Boogah

Log out...
Day 10-14
Mind Destruction. Mind Reset.

After reading what Andy and WJK said about Action, I spent one whole day to reflect on...

Goal -> Action -> Fault -> Learn

Pain.
As someone who loves to create meticulous plans and then go for it, this was a scary thought. But as WJK said, no one can see beyond the horizon, things change, plans change, and the only thing that will get us closer to our goal is *drumrolll* action.

If I was going to act, and act in a way to get to my goal 10X faster, I had to create a mind space where I had no worries, unnecessary thoughts, or backlog thoughts that kept me in the same place.

I needed to recognise the phantom fears ahead of me were nothing but that, phantoms.

I took the goal and broke it down to ONE action word. Sell.

I just needed to sell. And I needed to spend my time doing just that.

Action

I took to Upwork to set up a product descriptions writing project for those in a specific e-commerce niche. I'd defined the price(10X the one of the others in the market by the way), the deliverables and some other items, and even had a pretty good Job success score on the platform to back it up (It was 59% before, but I kept pushing thankfully and it's in a much better spot now), but came to a grinding halt when Upwork asked for a gallery to show prospects proof of work. And that's when it hit me...

FAULT

Not only did I NOT have any portfolio pieces to show I'd written product descriptions, I hadn't defined a process to write more product descriptions and a process to take the client through, even when I knew I had to hit a home run for this first client so they loved my services so much they'd order again or they'd go tell their friends and then I could raise the prices even more. And if I was going to be charging these prices, I had to create a solid offer I was confident in and a process to work through to produce those results (And that was for them to sell more than they already do with their store)

Learn
So one option moving forward was to create a process to write product descriptions, test it on a dummy product, then actually get results for someone with that process, and then sell at the price that's 10X what one of the other offers on the market are.

Action
So I went to work, I just needed to find people to sell to. I reached out to people who needed product descriptions in the e-commerce niche on Craiglist, Classified ads and even reddit (My post was downvoted to oblivion, due to my negligence in posting my services on a job board *face slap*).

Returned 0 results. Hmm, ok we need to find people who need my specific services in the specific niche. After asking in Lex's copywriting discord (go join if you're a copywriter by the way, they'll help you) where to post my services, I was advised to post it on the Fastlane forum since there were tons of Ecommerce owners here who needed that kind of services so that's an option. Get results here, then move to Upwork to show these results and use it as the basis for the sell.

But first, I had to craft an offer that really solved the problems in my niche so my clients felt as though they were paying cents for dollars, and I'll do this by looking at the negative reviews and praises of those in the niche to make a million dollar offer. I might not have the results to sell in the pitch, but in addition with the dummy portfolio pieces, I'm hoping the extra problems solved is what will push them to buy.

Huge gratitude to @Andy Black @WJK, switching modes of thinking is not an easy thing, and helping others to do so, not so much either, but I'm glad you did. Not saying I've got it down perfectly, but hey, gotta start somewhere :) Thank you.
 

WJK

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Day 10-14
Mind Destruction. Mind Reset.

After reading what Andy and WJK said about Action, I spent one whole day to reflect on...

Goal -> Action -> Fault -> Learn

Pain.
As someone who loves to create meticulous plans and then go for it, this was a scary thought. But as WJK said, no one can see beyond the horizon, things change, plans change, and the only thing that will get us closer to our goal is *drumrolll* action.

If I was going to act, and act in a way to get to my goal 10X faster, I had to create a mind space where I had no worries, unnecessary thoughts, or backlog thoughts that kept me in the same place.

I needed to recognise the phantom fears ahead of me were nothing but that, phantoms.

I took the goal and broke it down to ONE action word. Sell.

I just needed to sell. And I needed to spend my time doing just that.

Action

I took to Upwork to set up a product descriptions writing project for those in a specific e-commerce niche. I'd defined the price(10X the one of the others in the market by the way), the deliverables and some other items, and even had a pretty good Job success score on the platform to back it up (It was 59% before, but I kept pushing thankfully and it's in a much better spot now), but came to a grinding halt when Upwork asked for a gallery to show prospects proof of work. And that's when it hit me...

FAULT

Not only did I NOT have any portfolio pieces to show I'd written product descriptions, I hadn't defined a process to write more product descriptions and a process to take the client through, even when I knew I had to hit a home run for this first client so they loved my services so much they'd order again or they'd go tell their friends and then I could raise the prices even more. And if I was going to be charging these prices, I had to create a solid offer I was confident in and a process to work through to produce those results (And that was for them to sell more than they already do with their store)

Learn
So one option moving forward was to create a process to write product descriptions, test it on a dummy product, then actually get results for someone with that process, and then sell at the price that's 10X what one of the other offers on the market are.

Action
So I went to work, I just needed to find people to sell to. I reached out to people who needed product descriptions in the e-commerce niche on Craiglist, Classified ads and even reddit (My post was downvoted to oblivion, due to my negligence in posting my services on a job board *face slap*).

Returned 0 results. Hmm, ok we need to find people who need my specific services in the specific niche. After asking in Lex's copywriting discord (go join if you're a copywriter by the way, they'll help you) where to post my services, I was advised to post it on the Fastlane forum since there were tons of Ecommerce owners here who needed that kind of services so that's an option. Get results here, then move to Upwork to show these results and use it as the basis for the sell.

But first, I had to craft an offer that really solved the problems in my niche so my clients felt as though they were paying cents for dollars, and I'll do this by looking at the negative reviews and praises of those in the niche to make a million dollar offer. I might not have the results to sell in the pitch, but in addition with the dummy portfolio pieces, I'm hoping the extra problems solved is what will push them to buy.

Huge gratitude to @Andy Black @WJK, switching modes of thinking is not an easy thing, and helping others to do so, not so much either, but I'm glad you did. Not saying I've got it down perfectly, but hey, gotta start somewhere :) Thank you.
1. Find someone who needs some writing -- your writing.
2. Write up a FEW different ways to say it.
3. Give it to them, whether they pay you or not.
4. Try some A -B tests to see which version works the best.
5. Analyze the results.
6. Enter results into your journal.
7. Amend your writing to reflect your results.
8. Next... repeat #1

When you have enough successes, you will build a following who will LOVE to pay you for your time. Your job is to get experience and your foot in the door. You must have a track record to show people. If you were sitting here with me, I would ask to see your prior wins. I'd want a show and tell presentation. Do you have anything to show right now? If not -- see #1on my instruction list and just do it.

If you want to get paid to learn, then GET A JOB with a paycheck. That's the reason that people like us get jobs. They pay us to learn a new skill.

Even IF you go get that job, it's the same old truth -- practice, practice, practice -- at least 10,000 hours of concentrated work. Spend every waking moment writing, writing, writing. And then write some more. While you eat your cereal in the mornings, write an ad for the milk company that supplied your milk. What graphics would you use? What colors? What font for the print? How about the layout of your ad? Write and do an ad for the cereal company that manufactured your cereal. How about the same for the furniture company who sold the table you are eating on. And the company that makes the spoon that you are using to dip your cereal. Could you do a joint campaign for all of them? You get the idea...

As you waltz through your day, notice what features are important in every item that you touch, use, or see. What would you use to write an ad and create a marketing campaign? Writing is only the tip of the iceberg.

Study the ads around you. Why do they work? Where and how do they fall flat? What parts are winners? What media segments are they using? Are they using several different types of advertising platforms to get their point across? Look up their stats and study that data. Compare one to another and figure out why the data falls that way. Could you do it better? Prove it by rewriting their ads and storyboards for a campaign.

Since you love the be in the weeds, use that style of seeing the world to your advantage.
 
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Edgar King

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1. Find someone who needs some writing -- your writing.
2. Write up a FEW different ways to say it.
3. Give it to them, whether they pay you or not.
4. Try some A -B tests to see which version works the best.
5. Analyze the results.
6. Enter results into your journal.
7. Amend your writing to reflect your results.
8. Next... repeat #1

When you have enough successes, you will build a following who will LOVE to pay you for your time. Your job is to get experience and your foot in the door. You must have a track record to show people. If you were sitting here with me, I would ask to see your prior wins. I'd want a show and tell presentation. Do you have anything to show right now? If not -- see #1on my instruction list and just do it.

If you want to get paid to learn, then GET A JOB with a paycheck. That's the reason that people like us get jobs. They pay us to learn a new skill.

Even IF you go get that job, it's the same old truth -- practice, practice, practice -- at least 10,000 hours of concentrated work. Spend every waking moment writing, writing, writing. And then write some more. While you eat your cereal in the mornings, write an ad for the milk company that supplied your milk. What graphics would you use? What colors? What font for the print? How about the layout of your ad? Write and do an ad for the cereal company that manufactured your cereal. How about the same for the furniture company who sold the table you are eating on. And the company that makes the spoon that you are using to dip your cereal. Could you do a joint campaign for all of them? You get the idea...

As you waltz through your day, notice what features are important in every item that you touch, use, or see. What would you use to write an ad and create a marketing campaign? Writing is only the tip of the iceberg.

Study the ads around you. Why do they work? Where and how do they fall flat? What parts are winners? What media segments are they using? Are they using several different types of advertising platforms to get their point across? Look up their stats and study that data. Compare one to another and figure out why the data falls that way. Could you do it better? Prove it by rewriting their ads and storyboards for a campaign.

Since you love the be in the weeds, use that style of seeing the world to your advantage.
Thanks much!

So just to clarify, I have been commissioned to write articles, sales pages, and product descriptions (wrote I didn't before, but checked that I have), just not for the niche I'm targeting, in addition to writing articles a lot in school. This project is just me switching into a specific niche. Not that it really matters, just want to provide some context.

"1. Find someone who needs some writing -- your writing.
2. Write up a FEW different ways to say it.
3. Give it to them, whether they pay you or not.
4. Try some A -B tests to see which version works the best.
5. Analyze the results.
6. Enter results into your journal.
7. Amend your writing to reflect your results.
8. Next... repeat #1


In this case, I'd go on to find those who need product descriptions in my niche, write up a few different versions for the business owners and send it to them by email. If they test it, love it, they'll get back to me with the results they got. I then save these results that I got for future clients pitching and repeat this process until I get paid clients. Actually, this would get me to helping others in the market almost immediately, so I'll try this out then!
 

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
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801
Day 10-14
Mind Destruction. Mind Reset.

After reading what Andy and WJK said about Action, I spent one whole day to reflect on...

Goal -> Action -> Fault -> Learn

Pain.
As someone who loves to create meticulous plans and then go for it, this was a scary thought. But as WJK said, no one can see beyond the horizon, things change, plans change, and the only thing that will get us closer to our goal is *drumrolll* action.

If I was going to act, and act in a way to get to my goal 10X faster, I had to create a mind space where I had no worries, unnecessary thoughts, or backlog thoughts that kept me in the same place.

I needed to recognise the phantom fears ahead of me were nothing but that, phantoms.

I took the goal and broke it down to ONE action word. Sell.

I just needed to sell. And I needed to spend my time doing just that.

Action

I took to Upwork to set up a product descriptions writing project for those in a specific e-commerce niche. I'd defined the price(10X the one of the others in the market by the way), the deliverables and some other items, and even had a pretty good Job success score on the platform to back it up (It was 59% before, but I kept pushing thankfully and it's in a much better spot now), but came to a grinding halt when Upwork asked for a gallery to show prospects proof of work. And that's when it hit me...

FAULT

Not only did I NOT have any portfolio pieces to show I'd written product descriptions, I hadn't defined a process to write more product descriptions and a process to take the client through, even when I knew I had to hit a home run for this first client so they loved my services so much they'd order again or they'd go tell their friends and then I could raise the prices even more. And if I was going to be charging these prices, I had to create a solid offer I was confident in and a process to work through to produce those results (And that was for them to sell more than they already do with their store)

Learn
So one option moving forward was to create a process to write product descriptions, test it on a dummy product, then actually get results for someone with that process, and then sell at the price that's 10X what one of the other offers on the market are.

Action
So I went to work, I just needed to find people to sell to. I reached out to people who needed product descriptions in the e-commerce niche on Craiglist, Classified ads and even reddit (My post was downvoted to oblivion, due to my negligence in posting my services on a job board *face slap*).

Returned 0 results. Hmm, ok we need to find people who need my specific services in the specific niche. After asking in Lex's copywriting discord (go join if you're a copywriter by the way, they'll help you) where to post my services, I was advised to post it on the Fastlane forum since there were tons of Ecommerce owners here who needed that kind of services so that's an option. Get results here, then move to Upwork to show these results and use it as the basis for the sell.

But first, I had to craft an offer that really solved the problems in my niche so my clients felt as though they were paying cents for dollars, and I'll do this by looking at the negative reviews and praises of those in the niche to make a million dollar offer. I might not have the results to sell in the pitch, but in addition with the dummy portfolio pieces, I'm hoping the extra problems solved is what will push them to buy.

Huge gratitude to @Andy Black @WJK, switching modes of thinking is not an easy thing, and helping others to do so, not so much either, but I'm glad you did. Not saying I've got it down perfectly, but hey, gotta start somewhere :) Thank you.
Day 15-19
Product Descriptions- Send off


This week was focused on actually writing and sending off some product descriptions.

I stumbled upon a comprehensive guide on the product, the different parts of it, why they're there, and went to amazon to see praises and pains of those who use these tools and mapped them to a step by step of how people use the product to turn these problems into solutions for the company's products based on the product's features.

After fishing up what I thought was a good enough product description, at @Speed112 guidance, I contacted the one in charge of CRO.

I couldn't find their number personally, and their company number wasn't going through so I had to send it by email and linkedin to the marketing manager of the company. Hopefully should get a reply soon as I sent the whole file through as a pdf as well.
 

Edgar King

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Day 15-19
Product Descriptions- Send off


This week was focused on actually writing and sending off some product descriptions.

I stumbled upon a comprehensive guide on the product, the different parts of it, why they're there, and went to amazon to see praises and pains of those who use these tools and mapped them to a step by step of how people use the product to turn these problems into solutions for the company's products based on the product's features.

After fishing up what I thought was a good enough product description, at @Speed112 guidance, I contacted the one in charge of CRO.

I couldn't find their number personally, and their company number wasn't going through so I had to send it by email and linkedin to the marketing manager of the company. Hopefully should get a reply soon as I sent the whole file through as a pdf as well.
Day 20-24
First Submission- More Epic
Product Descriptions :party:

Improvement

Went ahead and rewrote the product descriptions for a wholesaler in the niche and,

The copy for a hand trowel went from... (Original )
Screenshot 2022-03-13 at 6.47.15 PM.png
To...(More descriptive, but harder to read)

Screenshot 2022-03-13 at 6.48.29 PM.png

And with some critique from Speed it went to...
Screenshot 2022-03-13 at 6.49.50 PM.png

At the very least a lot more interesting, though there's always room for improvement. But for my #1 I was pretty happy with it.

------
Seen. Acceptance.

I dived into calling the CRO without a pitch.

And the moment I mentioned, "Conversion optimisation" I must have unleashed Pandora's box because the next thing I'm hearing is, click.

No way...

All of that effort for nothing? I didn't want to accept it.

I sent the best email, "showing" the value in the descriptions, my brain could muster and sent it off.

One final time. Just, one more call. Even though I was a bit dejected. They ignored my previous email, they could ignore this one too.

I had to confirm they'd at least seen what I spent a good number of hours on.

"I apologise for wasting your time X. Have you seen the email- "

"Yes, I've seen it. We might be in touch, but if not, please don't call again."

"Of course. That's-"

click

This was someone who optimised their day for the seconds, I respected that :rofl:

It's a win either way. Worst case, I now have a portfolio I can show on Upwork and a better process for writing copy by solving problems.

And best case scenario, they use it and get more orders., validating my skills.

---------

Process
I went ahead and wrote down all the problems people had with product descriptions. Just to name a few...

Uncreative. Unoriginal. Boring. Not compelling. Not converting. Not well written, clear, informative and engaging etc etc

And I'm in the process of solving all of them. Little by little. Hopefully I have a full on process to do this before day 30, so I can cut out low value stuff as well.

Just by solving ONE of these problems, two copywriters I respect implied they enjoyed the newer copy against the old one. So what happens if all are solved? That would mean a lot more value to my clients and to me, especially since I love creating excellent stuff (The destination, not necessarily the journey XD)

This coming week, I aim to write more for others using this new process to be more efficient.
 
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Edgar King

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Day 20-24
First Submission- More Epic
Product Descriptions :party:

Improvement

Went ahead and rewrote the product descriptions for a wholesaler in the niche and,

The copy for a hand trowel went from... (Original )
View attachment 42557
To...(More descriptive, but harder to read)

View attachment 42558

And with some critique from Speed it went to...
View attachment 42559

At the very least a lot more interesting, though there's always room for improvement. But for my #1 I was pretty happy with it.

------
Seen. Acceptance.

I dived into calling the CRO without a pitch.

And the moment I mentioned, "Conversion optimisation" I must have unleashed Pandora's box because the next thing I'm hearing is, click.

No way...

All of that effort for nothing? I didn't want to accept it.

I sent the best email, "showing" the value in the descriptions, my brain could muster and sent it off.

One final time. Just, one more call. Even though I was a bit dejected. They ignored my previous email, they could ignore this one too.

I had to confirm they'd at least seen what I spent a good number of hours on.

"I apologise for wasting your time X. Have you seen the email- "

"Yes, I've seen it. We might be in touch, but if not, please don't call again."

"Of course. That's-"

click

This was someone who optimised their day for the seconds, I respected that :rofl:

It's a win either way. Worst case, I now have a portfolio I can show on Upwork and a better process for writing copy by solving problems.

And best case scenario, they use it and get more orders., validating my skills.

---------

Process
I went ahead and wrote down all the problems people had with product descriptions. Just to name a few...

Uncreative. Unoriginal. Boring. Not compelling. Not converting. Not well written, clear, informative and engaging etc etc

And I'm in the process of solving all of them. Little by little. Hopefully I have a full on process to do this before day 30, so I can cut out low value stuff as well.

Just by solving ONE of these problems, two copywriters I respect implied they enjoyed the newer copy against the old one. So what happens if all are solved? That would mean a lot more value to my clients and to me, especially since I love creating excellent stuff (The destination, not necessarily the journey XD)

This coming week, I aim to write more for others using this new process to be more efficient.
Day 25-29
Crafting a valuable offer


This week was spent refining my copywriting process (Attention grabbing headlines, principles of converting copy) and writing product descriptions to send to another company.

I also rewrote my Upwork profile and revamped it for SEO. But after further research, realised it isn't SEO optimised and the copy itself needs to be revamped with my findings.

As I solve more and more problems associated with product descriptions, the fulfilment cost (time) increases, worth it!

I want to overdeliver so well they tell their friends and I get referrals, and so I can possibly outsource where possible in the future. But that's step 42, let's focus on step 2 and 3.

Next week, I plan to...

1. Finish and send off the product descriptions to the company in my niche.
2. Finish refining my copywriting process to solve problems. Then...
2.5 Write another product description for another company in my niche. OR
3. Re-revamp my Upwork proposal and apply to relevant jobs. OR
4. Help an e-commerce owner and their Amazon store by contacting them to rewrite their page.

With the main goal to use what I gave them to get better results. Then I can use that as proof of service.
 
Last edited:

Itizn

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Using the fewest words possible, what are you looking to accomplish?
 

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