The other day, a mutual subscriber of a private lifestyle design and business-development forum we’re a part of needed some starting advice on how to create a successful “online business” of his own.

As is the case with a lot of people these days, his question and interest needed to be validated and adorned with a lot of hand-holding and you-can-do-it replies.

It wasn’t just good enough, in other words, for him to SEE (and soak in) solid answers around questions like:

>> Your experience. What has and hasn’t worked for you?

>> What are your passions and interests?

>> What unique skills and valuable ideas can you bring to the market?

>> What are the various business models that work online?

All good questions, of course. Yet, then the “Yeah, buts” started coming out.

Before we knew it, there were six forum pages of posts, and the commonly themed replies from him, after the 3rd page, were this:

“Okay, I know what you’re saying there, _______ (person he’s addressing). But, I still don’t see how that will _______ (fill in what he’s trying to make a reality), as I don’t have the _______ (his excuse for invalidating the advice).”

The point is this:

Like the people in the LOA / metaphysical arenas who NEED every new book, online course, or teleseminar that comes out to feel like a whole and evolving person, the same miscue is placed by many would-be business folk.

The former, without even knowing it, use their participation in the latest  personal growth ebook giveaway (amassing downloads after downloads of ever-confusing and often countering info) as the equivalent of their ‘spiritual Prozac.’

The latter, not realizing the voice inside that’s saying, “I must have all corners covered before I start, and I must refute anything I know won’t work for me,” just need a few doses of realism.

After seeing a pattern of replies that were basically written in a desire to figure out things he didn’t even know he’d need to figure out BEFORE engaging in basic actions, Barry simply told him:

“If you spend all your time working on the 5 things you can control, and stop wasting your time and energy on the things you can’t control, your income and leveraged lifestyle will soar.”

The above no-nonsense approach is what is needed, as more and more younger minds come into business.

The system, as molded through over-analyzing academia and ‘feel-good’ groupthink, has put thinkers on the street who, well… without knowing any other way to say it… just don’t like thinking for themselves.

‘Cause, at some point, in a person’s desire to achieve through entrepreneurship, they’ve just gotta strip away all the book lecture, theories, and uplifting advice and dip their toes into the water.

So, once you know what your value proposition is, what do you do to earn income selling it?

Well, if we had to start over from scratch — knowing nothing about the mechanics of leveraging the internet to earn income — we’d do this:

Go find an existing online publisher, with a brand and philosophy that is meshed up with our idea, and ask if they’d be willing to read our pitch for a newsletter and/or info-product that they could publish.

Think about what we just said there.

With the above approach, you’re simply playing your own matchmaker between your idea — your desire to monetize your knowledge and intellectual capital — and the estasblished brand’s base of readers/customers and existing e-commerce structure.

There’s no need to get on a forum and ask for the name of marketing gurus whose books you should buy to be successful. There’s no need to buy the latest, greatest ClickBank “$50,000 in 4 weeks” product (none of which are sustainable in the first place, even if the figures are true… meaning, bringing in major moolah over a short period of time has nothing to do with building a scalable long-term business).

In fact, there’s no need to know anything about anything you shouldn’t be knowing, as your entire FOCUS is set in motion:

To research, write, and provide depth of content to your readers and, subsequently, new customers to the paid version of your newsletter or membership site.

Do something well. Leave the rest to people who do other things well.

This year we’ll be looking out for people who are problem-solvers — those who understand that ‘marketing’ is just a process (one of many) in the growth, scalability and longevity of a thriving BUSINESS… not something that labels WHO you are — or what you need to excel at or BE!

There are niche problems out there that need to be served and solved. Yup, providing solutions and immense value to a group of people needing your experience, knowledge, and insight, is IN DEMAND!

One example of a guy that is serving a niche market that desperately needed a solution is the guy who owns Limos.com

He knew that limo companies need leads and are willing to pay for them.  His site routinely makes $100,000 a month or more.  The owner has no passion for limo leads, but he has a passion for solving a problem.

Now, that example is out of context to what we’re looking for — which are people who want to be Managing Editors and/or Directors of a specialized info-product or membership site. But, it does illustrate the potential that can be had when you FIRST look to solve, versus attempt to figure out the ins and outs of “business.”

So, here’s the deal:

If you’ve created a product, or started a product, or have a great idea for a product that will allow you to teach what you’re good at and help others live a Life Without Limits — then we may want to partner with you as a content producer.

It may be a book you’ve written, or a series of audios you’ve recorded, or even a documentary or movie — if it teaches people how to live a Life Without Limits, and capitalizes on what you know and do well, then you could be a fit for us.

We might need you to expand your product, create something else, or take a slightly different angle. But if you love to create — and not do all the other time-consuming stuff that goes along with getting your creation out to an audience (like payment processing, fulfillment, affiliate tracking, etc.) — then we may be a perfect match.

Yes, we know there are internet marketing gurus who teach that you need to learn how to create your product, AND build a website, AND write sales copy, AND drive traffic to it, AND take payments, AND set up product launches, AND find affiliates to promote it, AND pay the affiliates, AND do customer service, AND… whew!

Yeah, we understand, the process of selling online can get daunting — especially when you’re attempting to do it by yourself.

We realize most writers, most teachers, and most creators just want to write, teach, and create.

Wouldn’t it be great if someone would do all that other stuff FOR you so you could focus on what you do best?

If you think so, let us know by commenting on this post. You don’t need to reveal your grand idea or anything too private about yourself. Just some thoughts about what is being embraced here.

Oh, and Lest we Forget:  If you’ve been following us at all, for any length of time, you should already understand that we’re about substance AND uniqueness — whether in our view of how conversation and issues should be engaged in, or what products need to have BEFORE they hit the market. 

We’re looking for meaning, congruency, and authentic intention from our content partners and, from a product / service standpoint, a value-proposition that goes way BEYOND  “me too” features. We’re looking for trailblazers, NOT Johnny/Susie-come-latelies pushing out surface-level stuff just because they THINK it’s a way to “make money online.”

So if any of this resonates with you, let us know…

Filed under: Business Development