All posts in Experiences

A Trick to Find and Start a Profitable Idea

by Robert on April 23, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 1 Comment

fun fact, the life design project was almost called “no shift key” because i didn’t like using capitals

whether you’re thinking of selling a product or service, or have an idea for a business, i have a trick for testing if it’s profitable that i’ve been using in my business.

the idea can be anything at first to open your mind to this, it could be selling baked goods, doing technical support, telling people how to rack up frequent flyer miles, it’s not important to start.

the biggest hurdle when in this space is usually a mental one…

you’re head messes with you when you have ideas…

  • might be scared and so you think “i could never make money from this”
  • might be practical and worry about graphics, and the website, and marketing, and how you’re going to charge people equaling overload
  • could be adding features by the minute to your great idea, increasing development time, and people involved
  • get lost on where to start
  • complain you’re already too busy but have big dreams

most businesses don’t fail for lack of trying, they fail because the idea wasn’t very good to start with and no one bothered to figure that out.

so how can you figure all this out quickly and get the real question answered…is this idea going to work?

your first move is to ask that question, which not everyone does before they throw all their money into a pizza place or quit their job

…then boil everything down to basics and set one really specific goal…that will get you started, everything after that I’m still learning.

start small, test, and tweak

IT Arsenal didn’t grow until I got really specific about what was offered and measurable goals like, 10 sales this month.

i tricked myself into action by telling myself i would offer one of my product ideas for a couple months and then change to another one of my ideas instead of trying to get my head around how to offer everything and get everything done.

this “cycle idea” tricked me into getting really really specific instead of trying to pitch “how awesome everything I do is” (pour on the sarcasm)….or think of all the problems or reasons i can’t do it. i was able to just start, really start.

after you make the mental shift, it’s much easier to make progress. it’s something bite sized you can take on.

i ended up not actually moving to another idea in a few months, sometimes it was longer, sometimes shorter, but it forced me to get obsessed about a specific product idea in cycles and find what worked, in other words, iterate more and quicker. i’m still doing this now.

examples of getting really specific for my ideas looked like this…Monthly WordPress Backup and Customized Advice, Website Setup for Online Entrepreneurs, Website Setup Training with Video’s for the Non-Technical.

instead of worrying about delivery, i asked people if they wanted this, got feedback and if yes, just sent them a PayPal link and the more feedback I got validated putting more effort into setting up a system for people to buy it, or a better graphic, or a graphic at all.

bad execution is also why business ideas fail, but without a profitable idea, execution doesn’t matter.

you could post your idea on craigslist first to boil things down to their basics. look to only make 3 sales or some very specific measure.

i was surprised…just getting a little specific in the offer and the goals made all the difference and had immediate results (IE questions, interest, and sales). i now have several products selling, with several landing pages, while i slowly keep testing.

the fact that I’m too busy with users to make changes means I’m making money, which was the point. my original ideas have changed, but what’s important is i know what is wanted, what people will pay for, and can act on it.

when you have something to grow, instead of looking quizically at an empty pot you can test just how profitable your idea can be or change it and keep testing.

how to start

  • boil your idea down to a specific small offering
  • ask people if they would buy it, ask them to do so. use friends or craigslist to find people. use launch rock to gather e-mails (http://launchrock.com/)
  • do it for them, gather feedback
  • test and tweak

…after you do this, you have something, which was the point. this is encouragement to take a step on a project you’ve been thinking about.

How To Stop Being My Own Worst Enemy

by Robert on March 7, 2012 in Experiences with No comments

…this is an introspective look on being my own worst enemy and tactics on how to over come it. something i feel many online business builders, and project creators could easily relate to. it’s probably the most re-occuring “issue” i continue to have as i develop.

*this is all based on not having urgent tasks, bodily needs or requirements present while “at work”.

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push through, flesh it out, get it out there. just do it. procrastination. it’ll be there tomorrow. i’m hungry.

those are the things i’m thinking right now as i sit here stuck staring, literally staring from screen to screen for something mildly entertaining enough to pull my attention.

what i’d like, what i WANT is to update and build out my business services page. i want to unravel more services that i can provide and create the on-boarding forms and announce them to the world. i want to grow. i want to get inspired and create new products…but instead i stare at my print out of the page i want to rework with some scribbled notes, and i look back at my monitors for distraction. it’s not so poignant as to force me to realize i’m avoiding action, it’s just a numbing vague sense that i don’t have to do what really should get done if i scan around long enough.

it’s infuriating when the realization does sets in.

why is it so hard sometimes to do that which we should be doing?

there’s little else in my way at the moment, which is better than most days. i’m mildly enticed by doing some other less important reading, or writing, checking out what other people are into and posting about. what are my peers, friends, and the world “up to” right now. is it something i can use?

i recognize those things aren’t important though so i don’t do them either, i just sit here, in an in-between state, hoping something lights me up and pushes me forward.

i see the mounds of piled information i have organized to be used or re-purposed for my next awesome idea, still more enticement to write something, or save information for some specific purpose instead of holding tanks for a unknown “could be useful” purpose.

i’m doing a lot of waiting for things to happen instead of making things happen. i’m my own worst enemy, and the worst part is the indifference i have about it. the non-action because, no one else will notice, or care, or depends on this.

what an interesting trap.

is this the loneliness of an solo entrepreneur or someone with too many ideas and self created projects?

i’ve even invented a process to unhook myself and get focused. i look at the powerful steps i’ve scanned in from written note cards, and think, those are great ideas. the words hit a lead wall, and slump away without any impact on actions.

 

it’s a cascade, if you want the business adventure and success you’re looking for, you need to finish these pages of text, and groupings of images, and forms, and payment processes, so you can then announce it, promote it, tell your list about it, or finally have a reason to make a list of people to tell about it.

if you don’t get these things presentable, you’re not doing the stuff that really matters, you’re just maintaining status quo.

the status quo isn’t so bad, when it’s not so infuriating i guess.

i love my current projects and clients, but i’m up to date on them at the moment. inbox zero and all that. then why the frustration? maybe because there are ideas left undone, projects half built? that’s part of it. no growth.

there’s a mental barricade that it’s in my way, and i put it there. i can also remove it.

how to stop being my worst enemy?

i can choose to take a break, not physically, (as i’m obviously not making progress right now) but mentally i can stop thinking about these things, take a real break. come back later. immerse myself in something so clarity of mind comes.

i can stop pretending there’s something stopping me and actually start doing that which should be done. this would be letting those words that hit the led wall take effect.

i can simply start anywhere, because it’s leads elsewhere. it’s apparent you (self) don’t want to be “here” thinking about frustration and being your own worst enemy. so choosing anything in the most remote direction of what you want to accomplish, will lead you elsewhere, which has the potential to be forward, or better.

ask for help, start a conversation. start by vulnerably saying i’ve been trying to get this thing done, and i’m failing at it right now, and it’s totally messing me up. see what the conversation does for you.

you can freeze your physical and mental state in your minds eye. now come “out of” youself and look down from above and slightly to the left. identify what things are impacting you. your environment, are you hungry? are you angry at people? are you scared of something? what systems are working against you and can you identify one by one and fix? how can you break apart your problem into tiny pieces and deal with them one at a time? address them, make requests, make promises.

sometimes defeating ourselves, overcoming ourselves as our enemy, leads us to success. it may be a daily battle, a quarterly one, or just a slump.

keep on keeping on.

Others Wisdom: Practice = Trust, Done is Better, Chaos Business

by Robert on March 5, 2012 in Experiences with No comments

 

Readings, quotes, and images I’ve captured to boost your business mind and general operation below…

IMG 0764

i believe this

IMG 0786

innovative artists adapt

IMG 0715

training = trust = ease of action = mastery

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see done is better than perfect. good reminder for procrastination creep

Done is better

Mechanics of Making More and Working Less – Work the System 3

by Robert on February 17, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 3 Comments

Work the system

I just finished reading Work the System for the second time, it’s in it’s 3rd edition printing and I can’t recommend it enough for grasping a concrete sense of how to elevate yourself out of the chaos in business and life, pinpoint the systems that make things work, and set them up to do your bidding.

The book is freeing, but also down to earth with real applicable methodologies. It’s awesome and has been a powerful book for me the last couple years, both in automating life, and my online business income, and just identifying how things work and then working them to my advantage.

It gives you a confidence in almost predicting how things will happen, a la Robert Downy Jr. version of Sherlock Holmes…seeing what’s there, taking it in from an objective angle, and then executing to push things in your favor. Continue reading →

“What’s Working” Online Business Report January

by Robert on January 23, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 2 Comments

 

I don’t have tons of free time for my online business.

I don’t go to many online webinars from the “Pros” … I don’t host them either. I rarely send out e-mails to my list (once a month), barely do interviews or guest posting. I don’t have the time to dedicate those methods to my online business growth right now, and I think most would say those a pretty important ones.

It’s not that I don’t like those methods, or they don’t work, they can and do, but not for me while I’m being cut throat with my time, and holding to building IT Arsenal in only a few hours a day or less.

I focus mainly on those people who buy what I have on the shelf, or might, or have already. When I do promote something or get approached, I make sure I’m the winner for that person and they have the best experience possible. Service is my strength.

I’m just making something more obvious for myself that wasn’t previously. I don’t do a lot of popular business builders right now, or if I do, I ease very slowly into them, and it’s okay, there’s no right way and as shown below I can still earn an income without them.

That is something that is consistently mind blowing about business, it’s a human interaction when generally referenced. That’s it. You provide something, and someone pays you for it. There is no specific set of right ways or wrong ways. It’s also what makes it so difficult to grasp and pin down.

These revelations are landing for me as I’ve been in this (business) space for almost a year and a half down and continue to make sense of online business and what’s working for me right now. A beautiful meeting in Laguna Beach, CA helped grant perspective on doing more of what works helped too. Continue reading →

Using Fear for Motivation, The “Worst Case” Experiment

by Robert on December 13, 2011 in Experiences with 4 Comments

need some motivation? use fear.

what would it look like if you dropped everything to pursue a passion or goal you’ve really wanted to accomplish and it failed miserably? what would happen to you emotionally, what would happen to your bank account, your relationships, your day to day activities?

fear typically isn’t seen as is a good motivator, but it can be. why? because after you’ve looked your fears in the face, they aren’t so scary.

see my example below as i go through asking myself what if tried something big and it all went south. Continue reading →

Expanded Techniques for Business Automation and Efficient Behavior

by Robert on December 5, 2011 in Experiences, Stage 3: Automation with 9 Comments

i’ve gone on at length on this blog about automation, and workflow. (See Life’s Easy Mode in 3 Steps | Automate Your System). today i’m going to expand on techniques i use in my technology support business for chopping out time otherwise wasted. you can use these techniques in your business and life.

i’ve continued to put effort into NOT wasting my time by utilizing services that have dual outcomes to a business goal, tools for automation, filters, workflow and the practice of selective ignorance. the more traffic i get, want for freedom, questions about something i’ve produced and so on push the importance of these techniques, although saving time is generally accepted as a good thing.

some tactics are fundamental for me now, certain actions have to be automatic, they need to be completely out of my way so i can continue to struggle with real metrics, new sales, new creation, marketing, understanding my clients, and where else i’m screwing up and not taking action.

the more time you spend in “administration” the more you’ll be infuriated by your business efforts, try these on to get more done. *note, more of the right stuff, not wrong stuff. you never want to efficiently waste time

below are some ideas on expanded techniques for business automation. each of them is going to have a slightly different application depending on your circumstance, i’ll list them below and then elaborate on how i specifically use them. Continue reading →

18 Tools I Haven’t Made Time to Share With You

by Robert on November 29, 2011 in Experiences, Resources with No comments

I’m a tool hoarder. I’m an app junkie….I can’t help myself when a new website, app, or service springs up promising me untold productivity, informational, or business riches. I sign up, I bookmark, and I try to make the best use of them as I can. I’ve found some great ones lately, but haven’t shared them with you, until now. Continue reading →

9 Ways to Grow Your Mild Successes Online

by Robert on November 22, 2011 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with No comments

so i’ve had mild success online maybe you’re in the same boat. let’s grow them to something more than “mild”.

i’ve taken this blog, grown it, started a business, grown it, explored information products, automation and efficiency tactics, service creation, selling and marketing. i have the basics down, i understand the playing field, i have some really successful contacts and networking friends.

does this sound sound familiar to you?

i’m psyched and overwhelmed at times. i want some big wins and upward growth. how do i do that?

here’s some snappy answers, purposely short so i will, i mean you will take one to heart and go with it. Continue reading →

Reflection on Numbers and Popular People

by Robert on November 9, 2011 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with No comments

numbers mean a lot to internet folk, but if you have 10 people, paying you $500 a month, you’re making $5000 a month or you have 10,000 people, paying you .50 a month you’re still making $5000 a month. which is better?

more importantly, how much time do you spend (or have to spend) with those people to pay you? Continue reading →
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