What are people NOT talking about anymore?

[AgainstAllOdds]

Each year, a new get rich quick scheme pops up and everyone starts talking about it like it's the only way to make any real money.

The easy money dries up, the market matures, the conversation dies, and then money-chasers jump onto the next get rich quick scheme.

So, as an exercise to help identify "gold rushes" of the past, in order to help identify similar phenomena of the future, I wanted to make this thread where we can point out what people are NOT talking about anymore. It doesn't necessarily mean that the market is dead, just means that it's not as easy money as people thought.

I'll start with the past:

Cryptocurrency

• I believe in the merits of the technology, but it's worthy noting that the conversation has been dead ever since the market cap plummeted months ago.
• If the market cap bounces back, prepare for another wave of money-chasers and countless threads on the front page.

Amazon FBA

• This used to be "the only way to make money" on many forums including this one
• I've lost count the number of times people asked me why I wasn't just selling on Amazon and that my business model of selling offline was stupid
• The market matured and now it's not as easy as before, so people aren't interested anymore; now you're competing against random guys in China happy to make $10,000 a year working full-time
• Conversation has shifted from "the easiest money you'll ever make" to "Amazon FBA is a scam" -- a 180 degree shift in stupidity

Amazon Publishing

• Similar to FBA, but conversation died a bit earlier
• When I joined this forum, this was the most talked about way of making money
• People that had nothing to do with writing suddenly started writing erotica and getting ecstatic about their newfound get rich quick scheme
• Market matured, Amazon made changes, the conversation died.

What else can you think of?

Disclaimer: I'm fully expecting a lot of hate for making this thread.

 

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[Royce2]

I don't know if this is dead or still active but I had a lot of people I know "rent" peoples facebook accounts and create business pages in them to promote and grow their main channel. I actually let someone use my account for $50 bucks and they made a fitness page and used that page to funnel into their main one.

 

[lowtek]

I've heard mechanical turk is pretty hot right now.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

Chatbots

Relatively new still, but I haven’t seen much talk or ads anymore to start your “chatbot agency”...whatever that means...

People keep forgetting that a business’ sole purpose is to provide value for customers.

Google Ads, FB Ads, SEO, Chatbots, Email, Messenger, etc...

These are all tools, not businesses.

 

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[Mike Partee]

Dropshipping on Alibaba
Everyone's doing it as the barrier to entry is so low.
I don't know if the conversation's stopped entirely but people are beginning to realize that this is largely a waste of time.

Social Media Marketing/Management Agency
When all the older business crowd didn't realize what it was and that it was some magic 'thing' they needed to jump on. Then the conversation died when a bunch of people started these done-for-you agencies that didn't actually 'do' anything but load shit up into Buffer.

Podcasting
When Johnny Dumass, Pattie Flynn, and Hewis Lowes started talking about how much money they made teaching people how to make money, everyone jumped into Podcasting. Conversation stopped when everyone realized, oh wait, this in and of itself isn't a business but just a marketing tool! And I'm delivering zero value!

 

[Raoul Duke]

Podcasting
Conversation stopped when everyone realized, oh wait, this in and of itself isn't a business but just a marketing tool! And I'm delivering zero value!

You're giving way too much credit. They stopped because they... SHOCKER!!... found out it was hard work involved. Can't just buy a mic, etc... and be a multi-millionaire in a week.

 

[Mike Partee]

They stopped because they... SHOCKER!!... found out it was hard work involved. Can't just buy a mic, etc... and be a multi-millionaire in a week.

Fair point. That's certainly part of it.

Some of it simply feeds people's narcissism...
As if they should be rewarded simply for putting themselves out there.

That's why I don't like Gary V or his types encouraging the masses to start businesses around whatever their interests are, irregardless of market need.

Authority Marketing only works if you have something important enough to say in the first place!

 

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[RazorCut]

You're giving way too much credit. They stopped because they... SHOCKER!!... found out it was hard work involved. Can't just buy a mic, etc... and be a multi-millionaire in a week.

Yes so now you have successful podcasters running courses on how to be a successful podcaster. Geez who'd a thought that would happen.

 

[RazorCut]

Mobile Application Creation

• Come up with a novel concept that entertains or fills a need.
• Learn to code (or farm it out)
• Launch on Google Play or App Store and rake in millions.

Again the market is mature and you need either big budgets, luck or heavy social media influence to get noticed enough to earn sizeable incomes.

YouTube Personality

• Launch a YouTube Channel and make passive income from your wonderful business partner Google
• Especially popular in the health and fitness arena
• Still possible to carve out a niche (a couple of people I know will probably go full time this year) but Google having moved the goal posts makes income much less easier to make

 

[Runjie Chen]

Dropshipping on Alibaba
Everyone's doing it as the barrier to entry is so low.
I don't know if the conversation's stopped entirely but people are beginning to realize that this is largely a waste of time.

Social Media Marketing/Management Agency
When all the older business crowd didn't realize what it was and that it was some magic 'thing' they needed to jump on. Then the conversation died when a bunch of people started these done-for-you agencies that didn't actually 'do' anything but load sh*t up into Buffer.

Podcasting
When Johnny Dumass and Pattie Flynn started talking about how much money they made teaching people how to make money, everyone jumped into Podcasting. Conversation stopped when everyone realized, oh wait, this in and of itself isn't a business but just a marketing tool! And I'm delivering zero value!

Is smma dead?


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

 

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[Mike Partee]

BLOGGING

'nuff said

 

[RazorCut]

One of the next BIG things will be IOT.

Because of the barriers to entry I don't see it as a mass market gold rush but for those that have the foresight, knowledge and funds available I think there is huge seams of gold in that particular mine.

 

[Roli]

I got offered a CBD oil MLM the other day. Pretty sure people are going to be talking a lot about weed soon, only to find out that it is not an easy route to becoming a millionaire.

 

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[Longinus]

Step by step courses on how to become a digital nomad.

 

[Jello]

Cryptocurrency

• I believe in the merits of the technology, but it's worthy noting that the conversation has been dead ever since the market cap plummeted months ago.
• If the market cap bounces back, prepare for another wave of money-chasers and countless threads on the front page.

Maybe that the conversation is dead on the front page or in the mainstream media but it's certainly not dead in the crypto world. Still a lot of believers in crypto out there.

But you're right, the money chasers are at this moment somewhere else rambling about how to get rich quick.

Now it's the time to build the tools, the blogs and sites, the apps that everyone jumps on when crypto is hot again.

 

[Jello]

One of the next BIG things will be IOT.

Because of the barriers to entry I don't see it as a mass market gold rush but for those that have the foresight, knowledge and funds available I think there is huge seams of gold in that particular mine.

Exactly, but when it takes off everybody will jump on it eventually. Especially when there are tools available that don't need technical knowledge.

It's like the internet in the early days. Most people didn't know what it was and couldn't care less. Others saw opportunities and started coding and learning protocols.
When it took off suddenly everybody wanted to start a website / business. By that time the smart early adopters had a big advantage in knowledge and could for fill different needs by delivering tools. Search engines, software, domain names registration, hosting etc.

 

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[Dezzamondo]

Instagram Influencing
This area was red-hot up to about a year ago, leading to a huge influx of wannabe models and people trying to build up their accounts to become an "influencer" in just about any field. If I recall, there was a thread on here a few years ago about one of the fastlaners selling access to influencers? IMO this sector appears to have cooled down in favour of companies using instagram's business features (i.e. shops) instead.

There are still plenty of people trying to build their accounts to achieve an "influencer" status. Unless they are animals, particularly attractive or massive in a popular niche then I believe the majority will be facing an uphill struggle to get there.

Opportunity: Perhaps there's an opportunity for someone to connect wannabe influencers with businesses again, whilst coordinating shop sale links across accounts? Charge the wannabes for exposure & charge the businesses for access. The value add would be in the account coordination, off the top of my head.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Cryptocurrency

Yea, amazing how that crypto-buzz that was going on in this forum pretty much died at the same time bitcoin went into a bear market. As soon as "HARD" shows up, the money chasers evaporate looking for the next best easy thing. I'm sure the tech will survive and eventually turn into something, but I'm glad most of the hype has fizzled.

 

[Charnell]

Affiliate marketing using Amazon & SEO Although it still works for people, the hype around it has died a bit over the years. I still use affiliate marketing to supplement income, but it's not a primary source by any means. For every case study of success, there are hundreds of articles on the 16th page of Google talking about the best coffee mug for left-handed paraplegics.

 

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[Andy Black]

There’s a thread somewhere that I can’t find... “What’s the current gold rush?” or something like that.

It would be interesting to trawl through that and see what’s not being talked about anymore.


I can’t really think of many because I don’t pay much heed.

How about:

• Snapchat Filters
• Actually, Snapchat period.
• Apps. “I’ve got an idea for an app!” “Feck off.”
• Directories? Scrape everyone else’s directory and add their content to yours. Get businesses to pay for a premium listing. Blah blah.
• Tech startups? I don’t know if this has blown over. “BabyBay ... it’s just like eBay, but for parents selling their kids buggies!” “Dear Lord. Please make it stop...”
• Idea extraction? What happened to The Foundation and all that SaaS startup stuff?
• PPC arbitrage? Maybe only a few knew about this, but where’s all the Ask ads gone? I worked in a company spending €120k a day doing PPC arbitrage. I’ve no idea if that window is open anymore after Google got rid of the side ads.
• Yeah, podcasting. Haha. Don’t hear as much about that.

Hemp and CBD is definitely a current gold rush. I can tell from the number of people asking me to run ads for them.


Courses is a gold rush, but I think it’s legit and here to stay. There’s a lot of crap in this space though - so many courses on how to create courses about your passion.


Has entrepreneurship itself been experiencing a gold rush for a while? I was on Instagram for, oh about 30 days, and wow... there was a serious amount of garbage floating about.

Are people starting to realise that there’s a bit of work involved, and ... gasp ... the mindset that got you to where you are isn’t the mindset that will help you move forward?

 

[Jello]

There’s a thread somewhere that I can’t find... “What’s the current gold rush?” or something like that.

It would be interesting to trawl through that and see what’s not being talked about anymore.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/whats-the-current-gold-rush.57713/

 

[Mike Partee]

Subscription Box Businesses
Not that this is a bad model.

BUT.

There was a lot of hype around the recurring revenue side of the model....

Followed by noobs applying the model to products and services that just don't need a subscription attached to it.

An example of this (and I can't recall where or what company it was), but basically it was a company that would ship a box of assorted candy from Japan to your house every month. The assorted candy part wasn't a bad idea. Who doesn't want that?

Problem is it was FORCING people into a subscription.

Couldn't buy a box one-off.

Very annoying.

 

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[Mike Partee]

Subscription Box Businesses

Actually, I'll rephrase this as...

Any "Stuff a box with products you don't make & sell as a subscription" ...Business

 

[JunkBoxJoey_JBJ]

Free white page download
Free Webinars
Check out my landing page
Video conferences
Affiliate Marketing
Banner Ads
Building Tiny Houses
Micro-Breweries

 

[Maxboost]

web design
digital marketing

 

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[Charnell]

web design
digital marketing

This a gag?

 

[Maxboost]

This a gag?

I've noticed EVERYONE is jumping on this.

80/20 rule. 80% of the business is going to %20 of web designers.

Although the market is large, it is also finite. These business owners are getting hammered daily with cold calls and emails.

If you can't sell, don't bother. A poll was conducted on Fox's group and maybe 5% made decent money, the rest were making $20k-40k. Basically a full time job with no benefits or stability. People were literally starving.

One major digital marketing firm in my city shut its doors down and moved. I opened up my chamber of commerce and a new "digital marketing" agency always opens up once per month.

It's a tough business and CAN WORK but it's not different from any type of shopify or amazon FBA or real estate agent. It's NOT easy money and very tough.

If you don't have a portfolio or a network, it's a hard grind...

 

[Maxboost]

Yea, amazing how that crypto-buzz that was going on in this forum pretty much died at the same time bitcoin went into a bear market. As soon as "HARD" shows up, the money chasers evaporate looking for the next best easy thing. I'm sure the tech will survive and eventually turn into something, but I'm glad most of the hype has fizzled.

I got hammered on this forum from the crypto guys on here for showing Jordan Belfort's argument on why Crypto is being a manipulated and the eventual downfall of bitcoin.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDUWhBdo2yE


It's like everyone forgot how to think critically which everyone on here is great at doing but put their blindfolds on when they refused to believe the well will eventually run dry.

Belfort's arguments were sound, logical, and based on his experience as a market manipulator himself. No one really addressed his arguments but threw ad-hominem and strawman fallacies (his arguments are invalid because he's a scammer himself!! Your stupid!!!).

Hopefully, people on this forum made their money and got out!

 

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[socaldude]

It's like everyone forgot how to think critically which everyone on here is great at doing but put their blindfolds on when they refused to believe the well will eventually run dry.

Belfort's arguments were sound, logical, and based on his experience as a market manipulator himself. No one really addressed his arguments but threw ad-hominem and strawman fallacies (his arguments are invalid because he's a scammer himself!! Your stupid!!!).

You know I used to think bitcoin was a scam but I actually changed my mind.

The reason that I think people believe in cryptos and the reason I have a little faith in it is because people wanna tell big banks, central banks, credit and debit card processors to get lost.

I do it sometimes, I send money and I get a better exchange rate than Bank of Americas scammy exchange rates. And I get my money faster and I don't have to pay a flat fee of $35 plus a terrible exchange rate.

But I do see that there are some things wrong with it. I could be wrong, anybody can be wrong. Who know what is gonna happen.

 

[Zcott]

Has entrepreneurship itself been experiencing a gold rush for a while? I was on Instagram for, oh about 30 days, and wow... there was a serious amount of garbage floating about.

Are people starting to realise that there’s a bit of work involved, and ... gasp ... the mindset that got you to where you are isn’t the mindset that will help you move forward?

I think it's a combination of three things which feed into each other.

1) Before where every other person used the internet, we now for the first time have a large majority of people who have been on the internet almost all or all of their entire lives, and with that increasing use there has been increasing opportunities alongside technological growth.

2) Wantrepreneurs would follow gold rushes offline and you'd not really see them, but now they're looking online at whatever is in fashion. They're not a new entity, they just now have a united platform online, so you get the feel of everyone is doing it. This lead into 3) instant gratification issues, realising they're not the only ones doing it, realising it isn't that easy, and then getting distracted by the next guru which feeds the need of instant gratification which has become troublesome today.

I think this is going to be a cycle which will go on for a long time. It is sad to see, but a true entrepreneur will break away from that cycle and move forward.