Commandment of Need vs. Commandment of Entry

[Esquire]

There may be no clear answer to this ...

But how do you distinguish between the compliance with the Commandment of Entry ... and a violation of the Commandment of Need ...?

In other words ... when you find yourself saying ... F*ck ... this is a hell of a lot harder than I thought ... for a hell of a lot longer than you thought ... did you ever wonder ... is this a good thing ... or a bad thing ...?

Is the difficulty you are experiencing, you overcoming the Commandment of Entry (a good thing) ...?

Or are ya running afoul of the Commandment of need (a bad thing) ... Ahab chasing the whale ...?

Any thoughts ...?

 

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[Kyle Tully]

Depends on a few things.

How well you validated the need in the beginning.

How good you're doing at filling that need.

How good you are at getting the solution in front of the right people.

What specifically you're struggling with.

Etc.

What in particular are you finding hard?

 

[RogueInnovation]

The CENTS formula is more just a checklist, not a garuntee.
If your mindset is off, if you are executing on the need poorly, if you are structuring your business with things that weigh it down, its going to not be as good as it should be.

You are feeling a bit futile, and that has nothing to do with need in the marketplace, I feel that futility now and then, and I see it as a signal that I need to get on the ball.

Futility isn't really a barrier to entry if there are plenty of competitors that get past that feeling.
However it will narrow the playing field for sure.
Sometimes the only way to make a barrier of entry is to be excellent, so try that (I know its not that easy)

I wrote the above before I realised it was you, lol. (different answer coming)

Its unlikely ahab's whale, but you may be getting the execution wrong and need a bridging tweak to get her moving along (bridging between a more reliable path and yours without losing your original idea).

You need to start looking for trigger points, which are little explosions of activity in your client base, and you need to follow that trail of bread crumbs with your detective hat on.

I think that you ARE hitting what I call the wall, where you need to find your second wind to push through it, and the wall is absolutely a HUGE boe. So be encouraged.

I think you may need to tweak your need, like I said above, but I also think that big aims require just as big of an effort, so, I'd expect some brutal feelings.


I like your biz, cuz its about as brutal as mine, so ha, I get this feeling a lot.
I think it makes you really question if you are just pie in the sky, and most people think it is. Screw that though!

I think that big ideas, often fail because those executing on them "scale it back to size, to be realistic", I think you just have to find ways to help it click.


My biz has harassed my mind and soul for years... But its slowly clicking, at the highest level, cuz I didn't back down, neither can you.

GIVE it more than your all. Because giving = growth, even if the idea is dumb, you can utilise that power you build to easily launch other things.

 

[Esquire]

Depends on a few things.

How well you validated the need in the beginning.

How good you're doing at filling that need.

How good you are at getting the solution in front of the right people.

What specifically you're struggling with.

Etc.

What in particular are you finding hard?

Well ... if I had to describe it ... I would call it a couple things ... the "Google Plus" effect ... the "Bing" effect ... or the "Commandment of Perceived Need" ...

For example:

Suppose you are a food vendor at Costco handing out free samples ... but they put you way at the back of the supermarket ... and between you and the door and a whole bunch of other food vendors handing out some truly horrific samples ... of some truly horrific food.

Your food is outstanding ... and tastes better than anything in the room ... but by the time the average customer gets to you at the back of the store ... they have already had such a bad experience with the free samples before you ... that they walk on by ... and purchase something bland off the shelf ... something they are used to ... and know doesn't taste like shit.

That's one of the things I am wresting with. So many (truly crappy) poorly executed "me too" dating sites have popped up in my niche that people often pass you by based on ... not what you are ... but what they have come to expect. The crowd has become cynical.

The end result being ... getting them to taste the free sample ... is like pulling teeth. It' ain't easy.

They love it when they try it ... but son-of-a-bitch is it hard to get them to try it.

Makes me wonder ... is this just me pushing through the Commandment of Entry ... or I am violating the Commandment of need ...?

Am I pushing five star cuisine ... on a crowd that is content with McDonalds ...?

Is "good enough" ... truly good enough ...?

I am targeting a very narrow segment of the population ... the site is growing ... but at a much slower rate than I had once anticipated ... and with considerable efforts poured in.

If I continue to attract ultra high-caliber members ... like those who I have brought in to date ... I should do very well ... if I keep rolling the snowball down the mountain ... I believe an avalanche will follow.

... but it is looking more and more like a long-term project. Might take a few years to hit critical mass ... 2015 ... or perhaps 2016. It's not going to happen in 2014 ... of that I am fairly certain.

I operate on the assumption this is just me pushing though the Commandment of Entry ... that the difficulty in pulling this off with one day come to comfort me ...

But every now and then I find myself wondering ... am I really pushing through the Commandment of Entry ... or did I misjudge the Commandment of Need ...?

How do you know ... when to keep pushing on ... and when to call it a day ...?

I'm not the kind of guy to call it a day ... so if I misjudged the commandment of need ... might as well call me Captain Ahab ... cause I am going to keep at it ...

I don't know the answer. Perhaps there isn't one.

But I figured I'd throw it out there.

 

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[Esquire]

Its unlikely ahab's whale, but you may be getting the execution wrong and need a bridging tweak to get her moving along (bridging between a more reliable path and yours without losing your original idea).

You need to start looking for trigger points, which are little explosions of activity in your client base, and you need to follow that trail of bread crumbs with your detective hat on.

Well ... yeah ... that's what I am doing.

I operate on the assumption that I am Edison in pursuit of the metaphorical light bulb ... that there must be a better way to do it ... so I am continually refining the process ... testing new methods ... eliciting member feedback ... brainstorming ... looking for patterns ... etc. etc.

I'm starting to build some nice momentum in Texas ... so I am watching that market carefully ... what I am doing there that seems to be working ... and pushing hard to keep that snowball rolling.

I (do) believe I will succeed at this ... but I sometimes wonder whether the value is in the site's potential ... or in what I have learned from the whole experience ...?

Whether I should put all of my eggs in this one basket and then mind the basket (as Henry Ford would say) ... or if I should be repacking the franchise model ... diversifying ... and seeing what sticks ...?

In other words ... suppose my target market was farmers (its not, btw) ... should I single-mindedly pursue farmers ...? Or should I be simultaneously target other professions ... popping up repackaged sites left and right ... waiting to see which sticks ...?

Maybe instead of targeting farmers ... the real money is in accountants ...? I may have the right formula ... just the wrong audience ...?

I can't help but wonder these things.

I guess that is the real question going on in the back of my head.

I believe I will (eventually) succeed ... if I continue down the path I am going ... but I wonder if I am making a mistake ... putting all of my eggs in one basket ...?

There are other things I could be doing ...

Master one ... or experiment with many ...?

I honestly don't know.

 

[RogueInnovation]

Oh hell yeah,
I know exactly where you are coming from.
Exasperating.

I was thinking the same thing about henry ford and minding the basket, I think it is important but that if you can do off shoots at low cost, give them a go because sometimes we get stuck on one way to approach our idea that we can't see there is more than one way to achieve the same thing.

I think even henry fords example of focusing on the basket is really all in an effort to force you to make a crucial pivot. You reimagine the problem in order to arrive at the same answer from another angle "ok, he wants a v8 engine but he didn't say it has to be exactly the same" etc.

So, I think the answer is "healthy" deviation, rather than explosive and underplanned experimentation.

Like are you being explorative, adventurous, pushing boundaries?
Or are you sticking to one plan and getting stuck.

If you are pushing enough, it should break up at some point into something more manageable..

 

[Esquire]

Oh hell yeah,
Like are you being explorative, adventurous, pushing boundaries?
Or are you sticking to one plan and getting stuck.

I am definitely doing that (the former) ... no question.

Were I not ... I'd be outta here.

Doing quite a number of things that no one in the niche has done. Carving out a nice little place in the market.

Which (admittedly) makes it a bit harder in the short term.

Most site owners welcome "everyone and anyone" in ... anxious to fill the room ...

I keep "everyone and anyone" out ... and turn a lot of people away ...

It's a short-term kick in the nuts.

 

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[RogueInnovation]

Thats the sacrifice you have to make though.
I think the "run after the doves" way of starting a business is stupid, so its better you get honest and unclouded feedback from your core group, so thats definately not the issue (stupid businesses don't succeed so no point worrying over their flailing failures).

I dunno, maybe you are waiting for something, an impetous to lead or something.

In my business what is getting me over my exhaustion is understanding that I have to drag them through their first experience rather than assume they'll gravitate like flies.

You can sit there like "I'm awesome why won't anyone ask me to dance" or you can be like "come dance with me! Cha cha cha! You cannot resist! You have the beating heart! Come!".


I mean, what on earth even COULD be wrong with your site?
Probably not much. So just get a bit more authoritative.

Don't just set a plate of food on a table, tell them "eat! laugh! enjoy the view!"

If you are doing that then its just a matter of influence, not right or wrong

 

[Esquire]

You can sit there like "I'm awesome why won't anyone ask me to dance" or you can be like "come dance with me! Cha cha cha! You cannot resist! You have the beating heart! Come!".

LOL! Yep ... that's exactly what I'm doing.

A relentless suitor ... singing and dancing ... till the pretty girl says yes to a date. Getting better at it each day ... takes a bit of effort ... but yeah ... nothing to be gained slouching against the wall feeling bad for yourself ... gotta get out there and go after em.

 

[Ubermensch]

There may be no clear answer to this ...

But how do you distinguish between the compliance with the Commandment of Entry ... and a violation of the Commandment of Need ...?

In other words ... when you find yourself saying ... F*ck ... this is a hell of a lot harder than I thought ... for a hell of a lot longer than you thought ... did you ever wonder ... is this a good thing ... or a bad thing ...?

Is the difficulty you are experiencing, you overcoming the Commandment of Entry (a good thing) ...?

Or are ya running afoul of the Commandment of need (a bad thing) ... Ahab chasing the whale ...?

Any thoughts ...?

Thought-provoking.

Let's assume the Commandment Need has been followed, and there is tremendous demand for your product.

Just because there is demand for your product does not mean you will instantly be able to get your product to your potential customers. Is it a product that you have to manufacture? That takes time. Have you negotiated bottom-of-the-market pricing with the manufacturer? That takes time. Do you have to involve a financial partner to make deals happen? Finding the right one(s) takes time. Are your clients picky, specific requirements that you have to meet? Tailoring a solution takes time.

Logically speaking, then, following the Commandment of Need means you may yourself endure the pain that comes with the Commandment of Entry. To fill a need - and to really fill it right - that takes time. It's a process, even a journey of self-discovery.

Listen to what Greene says here. If you're really, truly connected to your environment - in this case, knowing WHAT NEEDS TO FILL for your potential or actual customers, then you won't have any doubts about the legitimacy of that need. If you're all in your head, what Dr. HAHA Lung calls "skunk smelling its own a$$," then you might not really connect with your target market. But if you've got something real, and you tune into their genuine excitement and interest, then you can run with that, knowing with 100% confidence that you have a firm foundation for success: the need.

But getting to that point is rough. You have to master your craft so that it reflects the needs of your target audience, and part of that mastery process involves literally shaping your craft to suit the needs of your target. As a sword is molded by fire, so your project must be exposed to the elements of the marketplace.

Dr. HAHA Lung says: "Knowing Your Environment," first and foremost, means recognizing and taking advantage of any edge your environment offers you. Yes, this means our being willing to seize up a rock or break a limb off a tree when necessary to defend ourselves. But, on a deeper level, "Know Your Environment" means taking advantage of every opportunity provided by your environment - and that includes every opportunity to learn.

Knowing your environment better than any other animal in the jungle gives you a distinct advantage. You see things others don't see. In the context of business, if you know your clients better than anyone else - if you know what they need, what motivates them, what really matters to them - then you'll be able to really make actions that are truly effective. Don't just find the need. Discover what your targets hunger... find what they can't say no to, and give it to them.

That's taking advantage of your environment. Taking advantage of every opportunity to learn - about your market's needs - will help you perfect the art of filling a need that no one else can fill like you. Once you have reached that point of mastery, you'll be so far up the mountain (and continually climbing upwards) that no one will be able to fill the need like you.

Sun-Tzu Said:

Know your enemy, and know yourself, and in 100 battles, you will never be in peril.

By studying Sun-Tzu, we know the importance of knowing the lay of the land - again, for us, that means our market, the customers, the need, etc - and devotes many chapters to this in The Art of War. (Hint: any time Dr. HAHA Lung, Robert Greene AND Sun-Tzu agree on something, it might make sense to pay extra close attention.) Know the terrain well enough, and shit in the market that will trip up your competitors and simultaneously speed you up. With efficiency like this, you'll carve out entire sections of the marketplace before your competition even knows what hit em'. While they're stuck trying to figure out how to make things work (going through the pain you already went through), you'll be perfecting the edges of your already finely-sharpened sword.

So, this is a great question. The answer reveals that the one commandment vouchsafes the other.

If you really want the life glorified in MJ's book, you have to do the hard work required for glory. Do what you do and get what you've been getting. Do what others can't-won't-don't do, and get what they can't-won't-don't have.

Most people are too scared. Most people are too lazy. Most people are too undisciplined. Most of them are too this or that to put in the work it takes to discover a need. But if you can find a need that really excites you - and I mean really excites you, to the point where you are OBSESSED with your crazy little idea - your love for what you do will get you through the dark moments.

In one of Dr. HAHA Lung's books, Atilla the Hun is quoted as saying that "what pains a man trains a man." If you can last through the fight to find a need - and a perfect way to fill it - then Sun-Tzu, Dr. HAHA Lung, and Robert Greene smile on your actions.

 

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[Esquire]

Knowing your environment better than any other animal in the jungle gives you a distinct advantage. You see things others don't see. In the context of business, if you know your clients better than anyone else - if you know what they need, what motivates them, what really matters to them - then you'll be able to really make actions that are truly effective. Don't just find the need. Discover what your targets hunger... find what they can't say no to, and give it to them.

And that's the odd thing ... I know this market cold. I know where their pain points are ... I have listened to them bitch moan and complain about this that and the next thing for years ... so when I developed a service that resolved each and every one of those issues ... I thought the crowd migration would naturally follow ... but much to my surprise ... that didn't happen ... not in my test market, at least.

Their crappy old car ... might have paled in comparison to my shiny new model right off the assembly line ... but that piece-of-shit hooptie they'd been bitching about ... was PAID for.

And they knew mine ... although free for now ... was coming with an (eventual) price tag.

They knew a Mercedes when they saw it.

So odd as it may sound ... a large part of the test crowd ... that bitched and moaned the loudest ... became hyper-protective of their "free ride."

They didn't want to see a paid site thrive in their backyard. Because they knew ... if the crowd moved over ... they'd have to pay to join em.

And they didn't want that to happen.

So ... bitch and moan as they may ... "good enough" (turns out) ... was good enough.

Even if "good enough" ... was pretty bad.

What they really wanted was all sorts of new features and services ... for free.

That is when I realized I needed to dump that penny-pinching crowd ... and set off in a very different direction.

I realized ... that being "better" ... or even "the best" ... was not going to be enough.

That the road ahead ... was going to be a lot tougher that I thought.

So I took some extreme measures ... and ramped up the strength of my USP ... but to do so I significantly cut back on the size of my target audience.

My target market has been slashed to 10 percent of the original target audience.

A niche within a niche.

Which has made short-term growth all the more challenging.

 

[Kyle Tully]

I know this market cold. I know where their pain points are ... I have listened to them bitch moan and complain about this that and the next thing for years ... so when I developed a service that resolved each and every one of those issues ... I thought the crowd migration would naturally follow ... but much to my surprise ... that didn't happen ... not in my test market, at least.

...

So ... bitch and moan as they may ... "good enough" (turns out) ... was good enough.

...

So I took some extreme measures ... and ramped up the strength of my USP ... but to do so I significantly cut back on the size of my target audience.

My target market has been slashed to 10 percent of the original target audience.

OK your last post has made things a whole lot clearer.

So the first problem was that the pain side of the need equation was validated... but not the "will you pay for a solution" side. There are millions of problems in the world people will bitch about but they are not big enough, important enough, or of high enough priority to pay for a solution.

Couple of things to think about...

Have you validated this segment of the market or are you making assumptions?

How many members do you need to make this profitable?

Do the numbers still work with only 10% of the market as your ENTIRE universe?

e.g. If you only get 15% of the available universe on your site... and you churn 20% of them each month... how do the numbers look?

I imagine critical mass from the users perspective is more about the number of quality people from their local area than the total number on the site, so I would probably narrow my focus rather than go wide. Prove the concept and get it working in a single market (e.g. Texas) before trying to take over the world.

 

[Esquire]

How many members do you need to make this profitable?

Do the numbers still work with only 10% of the market as your ENTIRE universe?

e.g. If you only get 15% of the available universe on your site... and you churn 20% of them each month... how do the numbers look?

I imagine critical mass from the users perspective is more about the number of quality people from their local area than the total number on the site, so I would probably narrow my focus rather than go wide. Prove the concept and get it working in a single market (e.g. Texas) before trying to take over the world.

Will the numbers work with only 10% of the market ...?

They certainly can.

Will they ...? Well ... I guess I'll find out.

To refine my core and ramp up my USP, I tossed 80% of my members ... and kept only the cream of the crop ... so I'm not at critical mass yet ... that is going to take time ... but it can be done.

And the (new) sub-niche I am targeting is not particularly price sensitive ... or, at the very least, the sub-niche is a more well-to-do demographic.

I tossed the "Motel 6" crowd to the curb and am now focusing exclusively on the metaphorical Marriott crowd.

So hopefully price will be less of an issue in Round 2 ... provided I hit critical mass.

But I agree on the local aspect ... I am focusing on the regions where I am strongest (deep south) ... trying to build a solid core community there first ... then will radiate out once I have perfected the model.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Satisfaction of both Entry and Need are mutually exclusive from execution. I can have the best product in the world and still not be able to sell it unless I can effectively target, reach, and present the solution to my market. Presentation then becomes a barrier as well.

Your field is like a bar... the bar cannot succeed without women. So your challenge is to encourage women to join. And in the bar world, beautiful women rarely pay for anything. I think this kinda plays into your struggle.

Am I pushing five star cuisine ... on a crowd that is content with McDonalds ...?

Also a lot of people won't pay for something they are used to getting for FREE.

Instagram is free. Beautiful women are everywhere on Instagram and they receive a ton of attention.

 

[Esquire]

Satisfaction of both Entry and Need are mutually exclusive from execution. I can have the best product in the world and still not be able to sell it unless I can effectively target, reach, and present the solution to my market. Presentation then becomes a barrier as well.

Your field is like a bar... the bar cannot succeed without women. So your challenge is to encourage women to join. And in the bar world, beautiful women rarely pay for anything. I think this kinda plays into your struggle.

Also a lot of people won't pay for something they are used to getting for FREE.

Instagram is free. Beautiful women are everywhere on Instagram and they receive a ton of attention.

I agree ... I'm just mentally exhausted ... that's all ... between 13 months of site development prior to launch ... another 5 months in beta ... and another 3 months since the re-launch ... I'm a full 21 months in ... and still ... I see a very long road ahead.

Building a successful dating site ... is a real bitch, let me tell ya ...

That so many new sites come and go ... does not surprise me.

When your customers and your product ... are one and the same ... it's a real challenge.

Particularly when you are going head to head with long-established competitors who have far more resources, far more members, far more experience, and far more connections.

No small task.

I knew it was going to be hard ... but F*ck me ... I had no idea it was going to be this hard ...

And yet ... I keep soldiering on ... determined.

Execution ... I can master.

The Commandment of Entry ... I can overcome.

But if the root of the problem is the Commandment of Need ... I'll be climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen tank.

Just hope I don't die in the process ...

 

[Esquire]

I guess the other thing going through my head is this:

Over the last 21 months ... the learning curve ... has been very steep. I have learned so much about the process ... what to expect ... what not to expect ... what works ... what doesn't work ... so much trial and error ...

If I had to create a new social community tomorrow ... in a totally different niche ... dating or otherwise ... I could do it far more quickly ... and far more successfully ... than I ever could have in the past.

So much of what I have learned ... is transferable.

On one hand ... I expect the site to succeed ... eventually. Not sure when. Not sure to what degree. But I do see a long-term ROI somewhere in the future.

I am going to pull this off.

On the other hand ... I don't think this will be my most successful project. I believe that what I am learning today ... the process ... will be successfully re-applied and re-purposed in different contexts ... and that one of those projects ... will be my true ticket to the Fastlane.

That the process is more valuable than the product.

What frustrates me ... is that I had expected to have been much further along by now.

So on one hand I think ... I should master THIS project first ... continue to learn ... perfect the "process" ... and THEN branch out ... (Option 1)

And on the other hand I think ... I should take what I have learned ... re-purpose it ... and branch out right away ... (Option 2)

If the problem is the Commandment of Need ... then Option 2 is clearly the better way to go.

If the problem is execution ... Option 1 is clearly the better way to go.

And therein lies the dilemma.

I can't tell if the problem is my execution or the problem is the Commandment of Need ... because I do not believe I have done the very best I can do on the execution side.

If I reasonably believed that my execution was outstanding ... and the outcome was sub-par ... well ... I'd have my answer.

But I have spent so little time on the execution side ...

Almost all my time (to date) has been spent on development side.

I have only been laser focused on the marketing side for a couple months now.

I KNOW I can be MUCH better on the execution side ... and I will be.

But I need more time to perfect the process.

And in that regard ... I feel like these last 21 months were just about me getting to the metaphorical starting line ...

Got a great product. I'd be doomed without it.

These last 21 months will pay off ...

But now I need to work on my marketing.

And as I mentioned before ... when your people and your product are one and the same ... it makes your initial marketing twice as hard.

Once you hit critical mass ... whole different story ... but hitting critical mass ... with the RIGHT type of crowd ... and JUST that crowd ...?

It's a bitch!

 

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[RogueInnovation]

Its probably you more than them. I think you just need a simple hook, but maybe you are hesitant because things changing in a big way freaks you out.
Its like a spider in your room, hanging over your bed, you don't want to knock it because you don't have an end game, just a desire to not have him over your bed, and when he freaks out, things get worse, so you start to crack and want to sleep elsewhere, deal with it later.

You have to toughen up, just like toughening up to the spider so you can gently guide him where you need.


To create a hook that works, you need an endgame that isn't "touchy", or you will sabotage it because you are more focused on the spider not running at you than guiding to the end goal.

Why cant you do whats been done before?
When aren't there challenges?
Who hasn't had naysayers?

Screw all that.
If you have the will to succeed, the method may change but the results will be the same, what you want.

 

[Esquire]

Its probably you more than them. I think you just need a simple hook, but maybe you are hesitant because things changing in a big way freaks you out.
Its like a spider in your room, hanging over your bed, you don't want to knock it because you don't have an end game, just a desire to not have him over your bed, and when he freaks out, things get worse, so you start to crack and want to sleep elsewhere, deal with it later.

You have to toughen up, just like toughening up to the spider so you can gently guide him where you need.


To create a hook that works, you need an endgame that isn't "touchy", or you will sabotage it because you are more focused on the spider not running at you than guiding to the end goal.

Why cant you do whats been done before?
When aren't there challenges?
Who hasn't had naysayers?

Screw all that.
If you have the will to succeed, the method may change but the results will be the same, what you want.

No ... it's much more than just finding a simple hook ... of that much I am certain.

I need to hit critical mass.

What my members seem most excited about ... is not what it is today ... but what they see it becoming tomorrow ... it's potential.

The platform and site concept kick a$$. They want to see it grow. If we had a larger crowd ... we'd be king of the hill.

But no one is kidding themselves ... we don't have the numbers ... yet.

It's going to take time.

 

[RogueInnovation]

What my members seem most excited about ... is not what it is today ... but what they see it becoming tomorrow ... it's potential.

This is what you focus on, and the day that you pull that into reality so it becomes the present, it should all come together

Until then its gonna feel chicken and egg

A b#tch of a thing

 

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[Ubermensch]

And that's the odd thing ... I know this market cold. I know where their pain points are ... I have listened to them bitch moan and complain about this that and the next thing for years ... so when I developed a service that resolved each and every one of those issues ... I thought the crowd migration would naturally follow ... but much to my surprise ... that didn't happen ... not in my test market, at least.

Their crappy old car ... might have paled in comparison to my shiny new model right off the assembly line ... but that piece-of-shit hooptie they'd been bitching about ... was PAID for.

And they knew mine ... although free for now ... was coming with an (eventual) price tag.

They knew a Mercedes when they saw it.

So odd as it may sound ... a large part of the test crowd ... that bitched and moaned the loudest ... became hyper-protective of their "free ride."

They didn't want to see a paid site thrive in their backyard. Because they knew ... if the crowd moved over ... they'd have to pay to join em.

And they didn't want that to happen.

So ... bitch and moan as they may ... "good enough" (turns out) ... was good enough.

Even if "good enough" ... was pretty bad.

What they really wanted was all sorts of new features and services ... for free.

That is when I realized I needed to dump that penny-pinching crowd ... and set off in a very different direction.

I realized ... that being "better" ... or even "the best" ... was not going to be enough.

That the road ahead ... was going to be a lot tougher that I thought.

So I took some extreme measures ... and ramped up the strength of my USP ... but to do so I significantly cut back on the size of my target audience.

My target market has been slashed to 10 percent of the original target audience.

A niche within a niche.

Which has made short-term growth all the more challenging.

Robert Greene, page 35, Mastery: "The game you want to play is different: to instead find a a niche in the ecology that you can dominate. It is never a simple process to find such a niche. It requires patience and a particular strategy. In the beginning you choose a field that roughly corresponds to your interest (medicine, electrical engineering). From there you can go in one of two directions. The first is the Ramachandran path. From within your chosen field, you look for side paths that particularly attract you (in his case the science of perception and optics). When it i spossible, you make a move to this marrower field. You continue this process until you eventually hit upon a totally unoccupied niche, the narrower the better. In some ways, this niche corresponds to your uniqueness..."

Sounds like you're going through the process. In a thread awhile ago, MJ said the guy who sits around in his studio apartment dreaming about the Lamborghini and the guy out there actually going through the process are two entirely different people. I can sense the frustration in your posts. You almost seem angry with your base. That's cool. It's part of the process. But keep rockin'. You're doing it.

 

[Esquire]

Sounds like you're going through the process. In a thread awhile ago, MJ said the guy who sits around in his studio apartment dreaming about the Lamborghini and the guy out there actually going through the process are two entirely different people. I can sense the frustration in your posts. You almost seem angry with your base. That's cool. It's part of the process. But keep rockin'. You're doing it.

Ya think ...?

Yeah ... I am frustrated ... but I don't blame "them" ... I blame myself.

Sure ... I get frustrated ... over why this task is proving as difficult as it is ... but at the end of the day ... I accept full responsibility for every outcome.

So if my target audience is not acting they way I want them to ... then as far as I am concerned ... I have failed ... or ... more accurately ... I have "discovered" one more way that did "not" work.

But ... to my credit ... every time I get knocked down ... I keep getting up again.

I gather information. I reassess my situation. And I try a new approach.

And every day ... I get one step closer.

Yes ... I often experience a series of setbacks ... but I've also experienced a series of small victories ... I am making progress ... and getting better at this everyday.

It might take a hell of a lot longer than I anticipated ... but one way or the other ... I'm going to climb that mountain.

But yeah ... frustrating ... no doubt.

 

[RogueInnovation]

You've stepped up onto the right path, up from "this should work" onto frustration.

Frustration is good, it makes you question things, those other guys WON'T.
You got this!

 

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[RogueInnovation]

I like this thread, its helping me to rethink my own "need"
Cuz you can create a solution, but is it the right solution FOR them, is it the thing they instantly say "this is it!" about while jumping up and down.

How can we determine this? How can we pay it the attention it needs? How can we identify the KEY service point that will give us the FUEL to soar to the top?

Great questions to ask.

 

[Ubermensch]

I am convinced that the key is what Robert Greene or HAHA Lung would call "knowing your environment." Combine that with Sun-Tzu's "know your enemy and know yourself" adage, and you have a guaranteed victory if you can put it all together.

I got a call from a sales guy the other day. I plan to purchase the product he sells, because it will help me expand my business. However, he calls me at the wrong times, and he calls me too much. It's annoying. Still, his service is so necessary that I will eventually buy it. However, there are a few features that - if he added them - I would buy sooner rather than later. And I'd probably pay a lot more, too.

He doesn't know this, but what if he did? Knowing people that intimately would put you light years ahead of the competition. Knowing your environment (your market and prospects), your enemy (the competition), and yourself is the answer. The key is taking this to the logical extreme. It means going beyond a cursory grasping of the need and your solution, and breaking it down to the microscopic level. Take it apart like a Lego creation. Understand how all of the pieces fit together.

This will lead to mastery and greatness.

Weave these concepts together and you have something that's really powerful. Intense realism means using your time to focus on reality and actions affecting reality. Chapter 7 is self-evident. The further you take this, the more likely you are to get to the top.

I'm telling you. I'm living this this right now.