The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success
  • SPONSORED: GiganticWebsites.com: We Build Sites with THOUSANDS of Unique and Genuinely Useful Articles

    30% to 50% Fastlane-exclusive discounts on WordPress-powered websites with everything included: WordPress setup, design, keyword research, article creation and article publishing. Click HERE to claim.

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

You're going to have to do it again MJ

ZDS

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
34%
Oct 2, 2008
492
165
This is a different time period. Obviously his success can't be repeated. I mean, he lived in a dot-com bubble! It was so much easier back then, there aren't any big tech bubbles going on right now that I can exploit.

( For Mobile Apps, It’s 1996 All Over Again )


So I've been sharing MJ's book with some people I know, and I get this response a lot. "He lived in a different generation, it is harder to make money online now"

I saw that article on Tech Crunch today, and it inspired me to write this.

There are ALWAYS MASSIVE OPPORTUNITIES going on. You just have to open your eyes and LOOK.

I always try to tell them that it doesn't matter where you live or what time period, but the lack of "identifiable and explosive" opportunities is rather a result of how they approach the issue. But they don't listen. They would rather view someone else's success as lucky, rather than a lack of initiative and drive on their own part.

I don't know if it's just my generation, but self accountability seems to be a barren wasteland that people refuse to venture into.

There are always needs, there are always more innovative ways to solve problems that will continue to make people millions.

I swear MJ, sometimes I think you need to do it again in "This generation" and write another book, that will only be good for another 6-9 months until the opportunity is gone and then someone will say, "Well he got lucky with a unique opportunity"

So i'm asking you, please, just repeat the process every 6-9 months so we can take that excuse away from people and make my life easier! :smx4:
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

darkjediii

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
29%
Jun 8, 2010
168
48
Washington, DC area
The people that are saying that are missing the point of the book. It's not about "this is how you make money in a tech bubble" it's more about core principles of wealth creation like finding a void in the marketplace and fulfilling the need.

The principles in the book are general principles and describes the mental state you need to be in to become successful. It doesn't matter if you used the principles in 1935 or 2011, the principles stay the same.

There are a handful of new millionaires everyday just in the USA alone.. It's only impossible if you never try.
 

FDJustin

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
11%
Apr 30, 2010
715
79
Canada
Of course they're missing the point of the book, they're refusing to even read it in the first place. The issue isn't that they have an excuse, it's that they really just aren't into it, but want to appear like they aren't somehow flawed or inferior.
 

Russ H

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
21%
Jul 25, 2007
6,471
1,363
62
Napa Valley, CA
The issue isn't that they have an excuse, it's that they really just aren't into it, but want to appear like they aren't somehow flawed or inferior.

I'm not so sure.

I think one of the greatest things that holds people back in life is fear-- and they calm that fear through a variety of means:

•Zoning out (drugs/sex/alcohol/spectator sports/almost any obsession or distraction)
•Rationalization (they convince themselves that whatever is not feasible/possible)
•Badness (it's sinful, illegal, immoral, etc-- even though it may not be-- figure out a way to label it that way)
•Time frame (your example-- "Sure, he did it during a different time. Can't do that anymore")
•"Not possible" (pretending it never happened, or was a one in a trillion longshot)

I could go on-- over generations, lots of people have come up with great reasons for "I CAN'T".

It's the ability to come up w/that quick response-- "I could never do that, because . . ." that will hold them back, for the rest of their lives.

-Russ H.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

BPA

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
18%
Apr 27, 2010
51
9
D.C.
Of course they're missing the point of the book, they're refusing to even read it in the first place. The issue isn't that they have an excuse, it's that they really just aren't into it, but want to appear like they aren't somehow flawed or inferior.

I was completely agreeing with you right up until you said the part I highlighted. Someone is not "inferior" or "flawed" simply because they disagree with MJ's theories or method, that's a ridiculous thing to say.
 

taichijedi

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
21%
Feb 22, 2008
130
27
Philadelphia
I could go on-- over generations, lots of people have come up with great reasons for "I CAN'T".

It's the ability to come up w/that quick response-- "I could never do that, because . . ." that will hold them back, for the rest of their lives.

I agree with the entirety of Russ' post above. Success is a process of order, and refusing that path is like chaos. There is often only one road to order, but there are infinite roads to chaos. For instance, there is only one way to clean a table, but a myriad of ways in which one could get messy.

My grandmother always used to tell us "Can't never could do anything." Truer words were never spoken.

So many people spend copious amounts of energy rationalizing what could go wrong, how things won't work out, etc. that they decide to do nothing and try to blame the circumstances. If they took half the energy they used identifying chaotic discrepancies, and applied that energy to a well thought out process, they would most likely be shocked with the success they would encounter. So worried about their image, other people's thoughts of them, and their success ratio that people refuse to be different, and they will do nothing risky or different. It is for these exact reasons that most people can't find the opportunities right in front of them; they are too busy seeing only what everyone else sees.

Some people need that comfort, and that is fine because as my successes grow and my business expands, I will need people to employ in my own human resource systems. If everyone were an entrepreneur, there would be no employees, and at some point most entrepreneurs need good employees. There are plenty of opportunities abound, if one only seeks them out.

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."
 

FDJustin

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
11%
Apr 30, 2010
715
79
Canada
I was completely agreeing with you right up until you said the part I highlighted. Someone is not "inferior" or "flawed" simply because they disagree with MJ's theories or method, that's a ridiculous thing to say.

That's also not what I said.

I said they don't want to appear inferior... And I thought I was implying they don't want to appear inferior for not achieving/attempting to strive for monetary success.

But you know, I made that same mistake. The people ZDS shared his book with might have read it before coming to those conclusions. :)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

FDJustin

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
11%
Apr 30, 2010
715
79
Canada
You know Russ, if my issues were as simple as fear, a single bottle of Tequila would make me the god of these forums. :p
 

Russ H

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
21%
Jul 25, 2007
6,471
1,363
62
Napa Valley, CA
You know Russ, if my issues were as simple as fear, a single bottle of Tequila would make me the god of these forums. :p

Fear is the trigger. It's what starts the whole process.

And you're right-- there may be all kinds of other things in people's lives going on to prevent them from success, or accomplishing more.

But fear, and all its coping/avoidance mechanisms, goes a long way to stifle most folks.

-Russ H.
 

Neon

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
56%
Jan 22, 2011
54
30
So I've been sharing MJ's book with some people I know, and I get this response a lot. "He lived in a different generation, it is harder to make money online now"

I got my start back during the dotcom boom, made some money. Made a whole heck of a lot more money since then.

Think about how EASY we have it now.

People are comfortable with the idea of buying online. We have Paypal, Google Checkout, Clickbank, etc. so we can get paid without needing a merchant account. (trying to get a merchant account back in the 90s for online stuff was like open heart surgery- I was shut down more than once "because the underwriters are nervous")

Established advertising platforms are everywhere that allow us to drive traffic within hours of establishing a new business.

Large communities exist where we can easily find qualified and talented people to work for us (odesk, guru, elance, etc.)

Building a site is as easy as Wordpress sometimes. I've made plenty with nothing but a Wordpress site.

Social media means that if we provide value to consumers their friends and family will find out about it easily.

In 2011 it's EASIER than ever to make money online. Anyone saying otherwise will always look for external reasons why they can't succeed.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

theBiz

Silver Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
46%
Jul 9, 2009
1,162
535
NY
In case you have not realized we are all here typing on MJ's forum, where at the same time hes promoting his book, so how do you know how much money all of this is bringing in? Always observe successful people and how they made it but never ever compare yourself to them or their business.

It is EASIER to make money in todays market, MJ had to start from scratch convincing people to do something completely new. Ask any internet marketer, they will tell you they make more now then ever. Look at companies like groupon, do you realize how big the internet is? Look what is going on in front of you and stop complaining about it. Here is you 1 month task, build a website pertaining to what you want to do. Find your target market, call them whatever you have to do to reach out to them i don't care, and provide your service for free. If it is a product call them ask if they are interested and send some stuff out for free, give huge discounts, sponsor someone famous, whatever, just get things going.

EXAMPLE:

back in the day you wanted to sponsor someone to get your brand out there, you needed a PR agent and spend a ton of money to get in front of people. Now you can find someone with 10 millions viewers on their youtube channel, email them, send them a t-shirt with your website on it, pay them a few grand and they are the happiest person in the world.

What is the biggest major issues with making money online?

Low barriers to entry.... so guess what, go beyond others. Do something that would take others alot of time to build something similar, build some sort of offline brand, sign exclusive contracts, whatever it takes to make it difficult to compete.

It never was easy for MJ if you research his older stuff and im sure its not easy for him now, but study his outlook and perspective on problem solving not the internet or his business. Oh and by the way, next time MJ does become successful again whether its this book or something else all of those people are going to say "well he already had a name and money behind him".

good luck
 

tchandy

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
20%
Aug 16, 2007
456
92
Kansas, for now
This is a different time period. Obviously his success can't be repeated. I mean, he lived in a dot-com bubble! It was so much easier back then, there aren't any big tech bubbles going on right now that I can exploit.

So I've been sharing MJ's book with some people I know, and I get this response a lot. "He lived in a different generation, it is harder to make money online now"

I swear MJ, sometimes I think you need to do it again in "This generation" and write another book, that will only be good for another 6-9 months until the opportunity is gone and then someone will say, "Well he got lucky with a unique opportunity"

So i'm asking you, please, just repeat the process every 6-9 months so we can take that excuse away from people and make my life easier! :smx4:

Not speaking for MJ, but he created his fastlane. Now he's on fastlane 2.0, the second chapter. I've taken time to reflect since reading the book, analzing where I'm at, and where I want to be. I've started to reread the book again to see if I missed anything, reflecting on today's market, and hopefuuly coming up with my fastlane. I may find the answer or I may not. I have several ideas but just trying to focus on them.

I think you need to do the same thing. There will always be people who don't agree with you. Make note of it and move on. They'll only hold you back from your goals and dreams.

MJ gave his story but there are so many other valuable nuggets in the book. If your friends missed them, then they probably stopped after chapter 4 or 5. I've already made a few changes already, for instance I stopped contributing to my IRA. It was hard but after contributing for so long, I wondered what took me so long.

Tom
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
446%
Jul 23, 2007
38,220
170,556
Utah
Obviously his success can't be repeated. I mean, he lived in a dot-com bubble!

I almost went broke during the "dot com bubble" - it is when I was still dancing on the Sidewalk. I made most of my money AFTER the bubble -- DURING and AFTER the crash. While web companies were folding, I was growing.

The people that are saying that are missing the point of the book.

Absolutely. The book is about finding opportunity in the marketplace in ANY TIME. There is always a growth opportunity ... I mean seriously, just look at the evolution ... Desktops, LapTops, Mobiles, Tablets ... in each one of those segments, millions are being made.

In 2011 it's EASIER than ever to make money online. Anyone saying otherwise will always look for external reasons why they can't succeed.

The entry barriers to the internet space are incredibly low which means your needs of exceptionality (and execution) rises. This can be a good or a bad, depending on the person. In my case, the entry barriers helped. Today, anyone can set up shop on the web and have immediate access to the bottom lever of SCALE.

MJ had to start from scratch convincing people to do something completely new.

Yup! And even now, while promoting this book I am experiencing the same types of challenges as I am questioning status quos and long-accepted doctrines. I am questioning NORMAL and when you do that, you set yourself up for resistance/attack.

Oh and by the way, next time MJ does become successful again whether its this book or something else all of those people are going to say "well he already had a name and money behind him".

Exactly. BTW, I already consider myself a success with this book which I measure in terms of lives/perspectives changed VS sales. The ride has been fantastic, expectations have been exceeded, and everything else is just gravy.

its not easy for him now,

It isn't but I tell you what ... I'm loving the journey, the experience, the learning, the failures (the mistakes in learning the publishing business), and everything else that comes with building a new business.

for instance I stopped contributing to my IRA.

Yikes, now that scares me as my intention with the book was NOT to get people to stop contributing to retirement plans. It was moreso to have them SEE where exponential growth comes from ... I don't have access to your personal finances, but I hope you have an alternative investment that yields the same or better returns on a after-tax basis. (Perhaps a Fastlane biz?)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

NoMoneyDown

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
10%
Aug 28, 2007
509
53
Round Rock, TX
•Badness (it's sinful, illegal, immoral, etc-- even though it may not be-- figure out a way to label it that way)

I did a double-take on this as I thought it said "Baldness" ... lol
 
A

Anon3587x

Guest
I love people who think it's not feasible to make a killing online as it used to be.

I'd lay those pessimists to sleep with 1 domain name.
"groupon.com"

I use Groupon.com as a huge inspiration.

Creativity and imagination will always prevail against those who recall to much thought from memory an nowhere else.

Russ H

I think one of the greatest things that holds people back in life is fear-- and they calm that fear through a variety of means: . . . .

That is a great Post Russ.

I'm sure I could have my website finished already if I wasn't scared of whatever it is that comes after. I'm not sure what I am gun shy of but I just keep chugging along the best I can.
 

JEdwards

Legendary Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
418%
Jan 16, 2011
1,339
5,602
Texas
Im sure I could have my website finished already if I wasn't scared of whatever it is that comes after. I'm not sure what I am gun shy of but I just keep chugging along the best I can.

You know what comes after 90% of the time. Failure. But you will learn.

Like Nike says Just do it.

And to the OP, MJ seems to me to be doing it again. with his book.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Russ H

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
21%
Jul 25, 2007
6,471
1,363
62
Napa Valley, CA
. . . and to the OP, MJ seems to me to be doing it again. with his book.

I was waiting for someone to point that out! :smxB:

-Russ H.
 

Russ H

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
21%
Jul 25, 2007
6,471
1,363
62
Napa Valley, CA
I almost went broke during the "dot com bubble" - it is when I was still dancing on the Sidewalk. I made most of my money AFTER the bubble -- DURING and AFTER the crash. While web companies were folding, I was growing.

. . . the book is about finding opportunity in the marketplace in ANY TIME. There is always a growth opportunity ... I mean seriously, just look at the evolution ... Desktops, LapTops, Mobiles, Tablets ... in each one of those segments, millions are being made.

. . . the entry barriers to the internet space are incredibly low which means your needs of exceptionality (and execution) rises. This can be a good or a bad, depending on the person. In my case, the entry barriers helped. Today, anyone can set up shop on the web and have immediate access to the bottom lever of SCALE.

. . . even now, while promoting this book I am experiencing the same types of challenges as I am questioning status quos and long-accepted doctrines. I am questioning NORMAL and when you do that, you set yourself up for resistance/attack.

. . . BTW, I already consider myself a success with this book which I measure in terms of lives/perspectives changed VS sales. The ride has been fantastic, expectations have been exceeded, and everything else is just gravy.

... I'm loving the journey, the experience, the learning, the failures (the mistakes in learning the publishing business), and everything else that comes with building a new business.

This is one of my favorite posts from you in a long time, MJ.

You tend to keep your joys close to the vest. I'm gratified to hear that your expectations have been exceeded, and why.

I also like the fact that you're enjoying-- and celebrating-- your new journey, even the mistakes.

It's this attitude/perspective that first made me read your posts on the "other" forums. And it's why, to this day, I have such respect for you.

-Russ H.
 

Eric Louviere

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
70%
Jan 25, 2011
10
7
most of the world is still WAAAAAY behind online, and in business online. The world has not caught up yet, believe me, I can prove it very quickly. I saw this site recently:

blinds.com
cufflinks.com

both owned by the same guy/company and he does millions and millions from what I gather.

I quickly looked to see if they have affiliate programs and they do. I then checked "Austin TX blinds" on Google to see if there was any "real" competition. There's not really and I could easily rank at the top for Austin TX blinds. I checked "Houston TX blinds" and same thing. I bet there's tons of cities, states, areas open just like that with barely any "real" competition. I could dominate by building my own "blinds" company online and then simply pass the sales on to blinds.com

I checked cufflinks.com and they have NFL, MLB, NCAA licenses for cufflinks. I checked Aggie cufflinks and there's not much competition. I checked the domain names:

Aggiecufflinks.com and it was available. I checked AustinTXBlinds.com and it was available. I checked houson, AtlantaFalcons and even Packerscufflinks.com and they were all available. Easy to rank high when you have the keyword as the domain name.

Next...

My pool company owner (he cleans my pool and also owns the company) asked me what I do for a living when I showed him a problem with the pool. He asked if I could help him. I brought him into my home office and quickly showed him that although Austin has a ton of swimming pools, the competition was bleak at best.

Those companies dont know s### about online marketing and they dont have yellow pages or newspapers to rely on as much anymore nowadays. Add in smart phones and they are WAY the hell behind and suffering.

My main point is there's opportunity all over the place. Heck, my problem is there's too much opportunity. The problem with people who want to get wealthy is they make the wrong choices... and dont stick to any one thing long enough to get good at it and know it well. They are 10% good at 1,000 things instead of 100% good at one thing.

Anyway, people will see what they see... and great books like MJ's are what can inspire people and give them a pathway to break those habits and create new ones -- better choices. Lucrative choices. In the slowlane, those people dont see "opportunity". They are in a different world than ours and cant see it. It's invisible to them. For business owners, they are in a different world. They see too much opportunity.

Eric Louviere
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
446%
Jul 23, 2007
38,220
170,556
Utah
Speed++

My main point is there's opportunity all over the place. Heck, my problem is there's too much opportunity.

That's how I see it too ... lots of opportunity out there if someone just invests the time ... and by time, I mean a commitment, not "I downloaded wordpress and posted a blog and then waited" (for something to happen)
 

andviv

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
40%
Jul 27, 2007
5,361
2,143
Washington DC
so, Eric, how are you helping or working with your pool guy?

Did you buy all those domains you mentioned?

Are you making money out of those ideas already?

This is very exciting!
 

Eric Louviere

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
70%
Jan 25, 2011
10
7
so, Eric, how are you helping or working with your pool guy?

Did you buy all those domains you mentioned?

Are you making money out of those ideas already?

This is very exciting!

Naw, I did not buy those domain names, just thought about it. Like I said, there's too much opportunity out there. If i would have bought them, I would not have posted those examples here. lol

Try this...

Go to google keyword tool

and try typing in your city name (Dallas for example).

Look at the top searched keywords that pop up on the results. you'll find Dallas apartments or Apartments in Dallas (as an example I have not looked). Then, go see if that domain is available.

Apartmentsindallas.com

if it's not available, try this:

Apartments-in-dallas.com with dashes. It still works.

Now, with the dashes, you just opened up some very powerful keywords/domains you can get and own.

Then, create a plan to earn money with the leads or something you can get.

Oh, and focus on ranking high.

If I bought Apartments-in-dallas.com I'd do some press releases... a squidoo lens... hubpages... facebook... youtube videos... articles... etc

ALL using the main keyword and ALL linking back to my site. For example, Squidoo.com/apartmentsindallas

What would happen, hopefully, I'd get some love from the SE's because of the domain name and the link backs. Heck, I could rank high for several articles and lenses, etc too completely dominating that keyword rankings on the first page. the key is backlinks.

Now, that's just an example... not saying I'd go after that niche... because I'd look at the competition. However, I'm sure if I focused on that niche... I'd find plenty of domain names to rank for... Dallas, Houston, Austin, Libya (jk)

Just play around with ideas, think big, and research. I bet if you researched like this for a grand total of 25 hours, you'd have opportunities flooding out of your ears. THE WORLD IS BEHIND.

+++

My pool company wanted to trade me service for IM help. It's not worth it because they only cost about 150 per month. Then, he wanted to pay me, but it's not worth my time. It's trading time for money, and although I could hire people to do it for me, I'm focused on other things that are bigger in my mind (swinging for the fences...shooting for the stars).

BTW, once you learn this IM stuff and get it down, the opportunity is ridiculous. I mean, even my old RE broker kept emailing me and calling long after we moved in, asking to meet with me to help their firm online. It happens all the time. Again, if you get 90% good at one thing -- and not 10% good at 1,000 different things (specialized knowledge)... you'll be wealthy much easier... especially if that specialized knowledge is in a market that's in huge demand!

NOTE: Damn, I was just looking up an example for the pool company domain name to show you, and found a global domain name that gets over 160k searches (like swimmingpool.com but not that one). In five minutes I found an awesome opportunity for lead gen.

It's just a matter of doing it and sticking to it, period.

Eric Louviere
 

Michael W.

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
66%
Mar 2, 2009
204
134
Ok City, OK
Try this...

Go to google keyword tool

and try typing in your city name (Dallas for example).

Look at the top searched keywords that pop up on the results. you'll find Dallas apartments or Apartments in Dallas (as an example I have not looked). Then, go see if that domain is available.

Apartmentsindallas.com

if it's not available, try this:

Apartments-in-dallas.com with dashes. It still works.

Now, with the dashes, you just opened up some very powerful keywords/domains you can get and own.

Then, create a plan to earn money with the leads or something you can get.

Oh, and focus on ranking high.

If I bought Apartments-in-dallas.com I'd do some press releases... a squidoo lens... hubpages... facebook... youtube videos... articles... etc

ALL using the main keyword and ALL linking back to my site. For example, Squidoo.com/apartmentsindallas

What would happen, hopefully, I'd get some love from the SE's because of the domain name and the link backs. Heck, I could rank high for several articles and lenses, etc too completely dominating that keyword rankings on the first page. the key is backlinks.

Now, that's just an example... not saying I'd go after that niche... because I'd look at the competition. However, I'm sure if I focused on that niche... I'd find plenty of domain names to rank for... Dallas, Houston, Austin, Libya (jk)

Just play around with ideas, think big, and research. I bet if you researched like this for a grand total of 25 hours, you'd have opportunities flooding out of your ears. THE WORLD IS BEHIND.

Eric Louviere

Probably one of the most informative posts I've read in a long time. Much respect.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Boo Blizzi

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
188%
Mar 3, 2009
208
391
most of the world is still WAAAAAY behind online, and in business online. The world has not caught up yet, believe me, I can prove it very quickly. I saw this site recently:

blinds.com
cufflinks.com

both owned by the same guy/company and he does millions and millions from what I gather.

I quickly looked to see if they have affiliate programs and they do. I then checked "Austin TX blinds" on Google to see if there was any "real" competition. There's not really and I could easily rank at the top for Austin TX blinds. I checked "Houston TX blinds" and same thing. I bet there's tons of cities, states, areas open just like that with barely any "real" competition. I could dominate by building my own "blinds" company online and then simply pass the sales on to blinds.com

I checked cufflinks.com and they have NFL, MLB, NCAA licenses for cufflinks. I checked Aggie cufflinks and there's not much competition. I checked the domain names:

Aggiecufflinks.com and it was available. I checked AustinTXBlinds.com and it was available. I checked houson, AtlantaFalcons and even Packerscufflinks.com and they were all available. Easy to rank high when you have the keyword as the domain name.

Next...

My pool company owner (he cleans my pool and also owns the company) asked me what I do for a living when I showed him a problem with the pool. He asked if I could help him. I brought him into my home office and quickly showed him that although Austin has a ton of swimming pools, the competition was bleak at best.

Those companies dont know s### about online marketing and they dont have yellow pages or newspapers to rely on as much anymore nowadays. Add in smart phones and they are WAY the hell behind and suffering.

My main point is there's opportunity all over the place. Heck, my problem is there's too much opportunity. The problem with people who want to get wealthy is they make the wrong choices... and dont stick to any one thing long enough to get good at it and know it well. They are 10% good at 1,000 things instead of 100% good at one thing.

Anyway, people will see what they see... and great books like MJ's are what can inspire people and give them a pathway to break those habits and create new ones -- better choices. Lucrative choices. In the slowlane, those people dont see "opportunity". They are in a different world than ours and cant see it. It's invisible to them. For business owners, they are in a different world. They see too much opportunity.

Eric Louviere

For the most part u are right about the amount of opportunities being available online...but the reality is with ur local marketing idea...there is very low search volume for local keywords so u would either have to own a ton of domains in many markets/niches/verticals or u would have to do an offline/online hybrid type of deal...just a simple idea...say u live in Harlem...you can get a domain like "BestPizzaInHarlem.com" then list all the pizza shops in the area and perform some seo to rank it...once u get a decent amount of traffic u can now approach pizza shop owners and either rent them ur domain or sell them a featured spot on ur site...another simple idea would be to get a php script developed and scrape all the local business listings in ur area and then put them in a directory...now u can promote ur directory in ur area with bandit signs, flyers, postcards...etc...if people in ur area can go to one place and find all the local businesses they are looking for that's specifically dedicated to their area...its only a matter of time b4 the traffic grows and of course u can monetize with advertisements and/or leads.
 

Eric Louviere

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
70%
Jan 25, 2011
10
7
There is still plenty and plenty of opportunity with keyterms that DO get a lot of searches. And even if it's lower, you can make decent cash on each lead. The price per lead can be high too. My point was not to teach this on a forum, but rather demonstrate how abundant opportunity is out there and how far behind the rest of the world is

Ps - bandit signs?

Pps - the basics of what I explained can be very lucrative in many ways. I'd rather just buy another 10 $8 domain names than put bandit signs, etc
 

ChrisRempel

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
276%
Mar 1, 2011
72
199
39
Victoria BC
The local lead-gen space (and geo-traffic in general) is largely untapped by the capable SEO community.

We have quite a few properties now that outrank national banks, etc. for geo-keywords. It is the "new" wild-west online, and rankings are easily attained.

I don't want this to seem like I'm "self-promoting", because that's not the intent, but I feel like this is a perfect opportunity to mention 4 very detailed blog posts I put up last year specifically regarding local lead generation.

(Each post has over 100+ user comments, so I really don't need the extra traffic or anything, just wanted to add value to this thread)

Here they are:

Where The “Easy” Money Is Now (Part 1)…

Where the “Easy” Money is Now, Part 2…

Where the “Easy” Money is Now, Part 3…

Where the “Easy” Money is Now, Part 4…

Enjoy :)

-Chris
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top