Less Consuming, More Producing - Progress Thread

[403burnout]

I've been mostly lurking around here the past few weeks and finishing up a (re)read of TMF (now reading Unscripted as well which I've never read before.). Figured it was time I start contributing as well.

I've flirted with "side hustles" and being a wantrapreneur for pretty much the last decade, but it wasn't until the last few months that I really became disgusted with the Slowlane and obsessed with finding my own way out of it. I want to straighten up and get serious about making a real income from a business that I control, not just "side hustle" cash.

I've come up with a few different business ideas and ways that I can create value, and decided on one that I think has great potential and meets CENTS. I am working on developing my first product now (information product so there is a decent amount of content creation involved.)

I realize I am in the "desert of desertion" right now so I'm starting this thread as a way to hold myself accountable. I want to get to that first sale as soon as possible! My goal is to have a sellable product live, with ads being sent to it, by April 1st.

Near Term Goals -

• Product Development
  • Currently around ~25% finished - want to get to ~50% by end of next week
• Website
  • Decide on and purchase domain

 

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[Andy Black]

I am working on developing my first product now (information product so there is a decent amount of content creation involved.)

Have you had feedback about what you're going to develop?

 

[403burnout]

Have you had feedback about what you're going to develop?

I found a competing product selling very well on Amazon (~30,000 sold last year) that I think I can beat in terms of delivering a better value at a competing price.

 

[Andy Black]

I found a competing product selling very well on Amazon (~30,000 sold last year) that I think I can beat in terms of delivering a better value at a competing price.

Good to hear. How will you get people to your product?

 

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[403burnout]

Good to hear. How will you get people to your product?

My plan is sponsored ads on Amazon. But I'm admittedly a complete newbie when it comes to advertising so that may change as I learn more.

Similar to this thread, the product will include a link / qr code to my website for downloadable extras to capture emails.

 

[Andy Black]

My plan is sponsored ads on Amazon. But I'm admittedly a complete newbie when it comes to advertising so that may change as I learn more.

Similar to this thread, the product will include a link / qr code to my website for downloadable extras to capture emails.

Are there online communities where you could interact with your potential market?

 

[403burnout]

Are there online communities where you could interact with your potential market?

Yep, I'm part of a few.

 

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[403burnout]

Week 1 Update-

• Completed both goals from last week, domain purchased and finished product is around ~50% complete
• Near-term goals are to have a logo made up and the product ~75% complete by end of next week

 

[403burnout]

I'll share an update and humbling lesson in violating the Commandment of Control... the product I was working on was a study resource for a popular vendor certification in the industry I work in.

This week they announced an update to their certification, making my study resource irrelevant around the end of Q1. The irony is that this vendor is notorious for being late on updates to their certification, and this current update was not expected until a year from now. Lucky me!

I've weighing my options on whether or not to continue with this idea.

On one hand, a new certification update is an opportunity to be fast-to-market with a new study resource. On the other hand, it's obvious I have no control over the demand / need for a product like this, it is entirely dependent on the cert vendor.

It has also been tricky to validate the product with feedback from online communities (see @Andy Black's post above). Discord / Reddit mods on power trips want to ban any type of "self-promotion" even if you're offering a FREE study resource for the damn certification that their community is centered around. I don't want to be "that guy" that abandons an idea at the first roadblock, but also not going to sunk-cost-fallacy myself into a business that I can't successfully validate, and violate Control.

 

[Andy Black]

I have no control over the demand / need for a product like this, it is entirely dependent on the cert vendor.

I wouldn't say demand is entirely dependent on the cert vendor. I presume it's based on people's desires to safeguard or progress their careers?

If requirements keep changing then it could be seen as an opportunity to get ahead of competitors who don't update their study resources, and maybe even for ongoing study material?

 

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[Andy Black]

Discord / Reddit mods on power trips want to ban any type of "self-promotion" even if you're offering a FREE study resource for the damn certification that their community is centered around.

Don't offer a free resource then? Or drop free tips and help directly into the community instead?

I suspect you're approaching it wrong and would do better to figure out how to get the mods to ASK you to present to the community.

 

[403burnout]

Guess I'm due for an update.

I saw an @Andy Black post in another thread asking someone who they were going to help this week. They said that they were going to help their dad, and then you asked them if whatever they were doing to help their dad would be something others would pay for.

That probably sounds obvious for some people on here, but for me, I'd never really tried to break down solving a problem in such a simple way before. So I asked the same question to myself and threw together a website about a specific niche that I often am helping people in my life with.

I'm about a month and a half in with the new site and things are going pretty well. I set up some social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit) to get eyeballs on the site and the content has been received pretty well. Over 400 organic followers on Instagram and coming up on ~50 for Facebook.

I set up some affiliate links up on my site and as of yesterday got enough conversions to cover the hosting costs the past month. So at least if this fails I won't be losing money.

Having the niche following on social media seems really valuable for getting product validation. I have one product idea already that I'm getting samples for, and last weekend I had a follower reach out and ask if I was going to sell a different type of product... so that's another idea in the works. It was very cool getting a message that effectively said "Sell this thing so I can give you my money."