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Are You Here for a Good Time or a Long Time?
I’m consistently amazed by the number of people who are determined to build a business online and resort to flinging ideas in the hopes that something will catch on. It’s like tossing shit on a wall. Yeah, eventually some of it sticks – but what kind of business is that?
Ah, yes. It’s the type of business that tries rapid-fire strategies in the hopes of suddenly hitting a miracle income source. It’s the type of business only concerned with one rocket-ship ride to fame. It’s the type of business built on a loose pile of sand instead of one built with architectural structure and a solid foundation.
It’s the type of business that won’t be around in a few years.
I’ve shoveled enough shit in my life to know that all you get from it are tendinitis issues, a mound of manure that you have to haul away and a deft ability with a barn rake that rivals the best knighted swordsman of yore.
There are no lasting effects to flinging shit for a living beyond a lingering fragrance that multiple showers just won’t cure.
And when all your horses age and die and there’s no more shit to fling? You have a damned empty barn that echoes with a bunch of nothing.
Think back on some hot 80s fads. Remember Michael Jackson and his hip little glove? Damn, he had it goin’ on, didn’t he? Or leg warmers! All the girls sported them à la Flashdance. How about neon clothing? A veritable assault to the eyes but what discerning taste in style, n’est pas?
Those fads lasted a couple of years before dying down to a passé trickle. A true success!
True, true, once people lose interest and move on, there’s always the next fad to chase, the next crazy bandwagon to hop on. Why bother with long-term goals and carefully laid business plans? Who needs ration and logic or the E-Myth Revisited?
There’s money to be made online! Fast! Launch the forum! Write the ebook!! DO SOMETHING! There’s a river of potential out there; let’s ride!!! Who the hell stands there thinking about business?
Well, we do. There are very, very few strategies, tactics and decisions that we carry out based on impulsive snap ideas. We build our business carefully, thinking about what works, not just what works for now.
We break some rules, sure. We think damned long and hard before doing so. We don’t recommend rule breaking as a strategy for longevity, and we certainly don’t recommend wild abandon as a stable foundation.
We make sure that what we work on today will help us grow and still be working for us in 10 years or more. We’re not just here for a good time; we’re here for a long time.
Where is this all going? Does this post have a purpose? Yes, yes it does. I want to share three valuable thoughts I believe in to keep in mind when you’re thinking about your online business:
- If you want your business to last, build it with your brains, not with your ass.
- If you want to end up with nothing but shit, stand near those who fling shit for advice.
- If you don’t give a damn what your life will be like in 5, 10 or 15 years, go fling some shit around.
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You nailed this – it’s so hard to not be tempted by the allure of fad-hopping (well, it’s hard for me). It’s so easy to do because hey, It’s Working For Everybody Else, So It Will Work Forever, right?
So James, let me ask you this – when your readers say “Ok, I need to build a true foundation,” where would you tell them is the first place they should start?
Dave Navarros last blog post..Chuck Norris Chimes In: Followup Review Of SEO School
Hi James,
Just like Dave said, you nailed this. And it’s true, a sequel to this would be great, to show tell us how to start.
It is funny, I live in France, and things seem to be slightly different here – more hesitancy to start anything. But on the English language web I do see so many people chasing the same bandwagon.
@Dave, I’d say the place to start is you.
Do what you want to and do who you are. That’s a foundation you can maintain.
If you know what you want to do you won’t be distracted by someone else’s shit.
Just my two cents worth.
@ Dave – I hate you. You’re making me think too early.
But the question is a good one, and here’s my standard answer:
What do you want to accomplish in life? Where do you see your business in five years? In ten? In 20? What do you want? More time? More money? More fame?
To know where you want to go, you have to know where you are now. Then you can begin plotting a course that focuses only on your goals and keeps you on a straight path heading directly there.
Without that, you’re just swerving around heading nowhere.
(Do I pass the test?)
I have a blog and I’m having fun with it, and it makes me some money. I’m not aspiring to be a problogger, so I like the way things are growing. Sometimes I work hard on the blog and enjoy the results, and other times I kind of ignore the blog and not much happens.
I have given up on every blogging fad that comes along, most of the times I even don’t read about the new new thing anymore. Takes up way too much time and doesn’t deliver anything. If I miss the one that does stick and delivers, no big deal. After all, it’s all shit like you said. Only some of them are good shit
I’m working on starting an offline business though. It’ll have an online presence, but most likely without a revenue stream. But your advice is just as solid for that type of business. Work on the foundation, grind along to build the business, and stay out of the shit
Lodewijks last blog post..Review week 39-2008; Goals, blog and productivity habits
Hi James – leg warmers didn’t last long did they? I remember wearing them in bed when I was cold just to get some use out of them.
People should take the time to plan any business venture. I’ve spent a good few months now planning my next one because I want it to be right. I’ve spent a lot of time brainstorming because I just began with a germ of an idea and I wanted to turn it into something that’s not easy for other businesses to copy. But at the same time it needs to have a simple system, so it’s easy to grow it.
In the time I’ve been doing this planning, some folk will have tried 3 or 4 of what they call businesses – we would probably call them flimsy, desperation for money ideas.
@ Dave – I would start by building a picture of what you want your business to become when it’s finished – not when it starts but when it’s grown to a point where you might want to sell it – even if you think you won’t want to sell it. Then work backwards to see how to build the foundation.
Well, I’d say that Mr. James is just slightly impassioned about this subject.
It is really great advice. Lotsa folks that are relatively new to an internet business are like a kid in a candy store. “Oh my gosh. Look at all the pretty wrappers! I want them ALL!” And that’s how it begins.
Certainly not a winning strategy.
Oh, and let me say I’m just a little disappointed that the term, “shotgun approach” was nowhere to be found in this article. Are you guys slipping?
Cheers!
George
Tumblemooses last blog post..Yikes! I HAVE to Quit my Day Job!!
::::looking around::::: Whew, what’s that smell? Why, it’s the crap flung around the blogosphere!
I think most of us can spot the stinky stuff from a mile away. There’s no substitute for quality–it shows and it lasts.
Ahh nothing like that fresh barn smell in the morning…
There’s nothing wrong with putting on some wellies and pitching in with a fork to do a little maintenance, a little work…but flinging poo. I think is best left to the apes.
Janice Cartiers last blog post..Watercolor Truffles and Some Grass
I live in London, so spend my walking moments avoiding dog shit at all costs. I’d rather avoid shit than fling it, ya know?
I’d love to hear more about this “using my brain” concept. I’m new to this online business stuff. For example how do you know if something’s a fad? What are your tips for researching a business idea? Is there a special hat I should wear when using my brain?
Monicas last blog post..Guest Post on Freelancewritingtips.com
I feel a series coming on…
@ Monica – Barring special hats (I prefer the baseball cap myself), the best way to determine what’s right is to think critically.
Does this idea seem sustainable? For how long? Will it still be a hot item in a year? Sure, everyone wants it now, but what happens when everyone has it? Where’s the longevity?
Look towards your energy, too. How much time will this take up? If I spend time on this, what other area of my business is being neglected? What are the potential returns if I go ahead? And how long will those returns last?
Ask questions of everything you see. If people are jumping onto this train or that wagon, ask why. Are they just trying to fit in with the crowd? Are they jumping because everyone else jumped? Is there a mattress at the bottom or a rocky riverbed?
Researching a business idea follows basic business planning tenets. What is the immediate cost? What are the potential gains? Can it grow? How will it grow in a year? In three years? In five years? Pretend you’re pitching a bank for a startup fund loan. Will they say, “Yeah, hey, that has potential.” Or will they say, “Okay, you’ll make 5k now… then what?”
Hmmm … I may have to differ slightly here. Yes, of course planning and strategy is important — but sometimes you don’t know what’s going to succeed until you jump in and try it.
I had absolutely no plans to be a freelance blogger in January. By August, I was just about paying the rent through staff-blogging for various places. The things which I *do* plan never work out how I’d hoped or expected. (This probably says something about my ability to plan, mind.)
For me, I think I’d suggest finding a balance. Stick with things that are working — and plan your way forwards with them — but be open to spending a bit of time (maybe an hour a day) having a go at some new stuff too.
Ali
Ali Hale – Alpha Students last blog post..Uni, the sequel: Being a postgrad
James,
Great post. You took the words right out of my mouth. Well, except for all that sh*t. I save that for offline talk.
Plan, plan, and GO.
Dave,
I know you know where you’re going, but to a client who asked me that, I’d say, know your Ideal Customer. So many folks have poop they love! So they think everyone else will love it too!! With lots of exclamation points!!! And then they’ll be rich!!!!
Don’t start with the poop. Start with the customer. Then get poop they’ll love, and pitch it right to them. Nobody cares how much you love your own poop.
Regards,
Kelly
Kellys last blog post..Local Is the New Global
Ooh good answer about knowing where you are, James.
What do you mean leg warmers were a fad?! Damn, that explains a lot.
Jamies last blog post..Pick the Brain of Harrison McLeod of Men With Pens
Boy, you guys are peppery this week…
Good points though.
Mark Dykemans last blog post..The world media became an echo chamber
@LOL –
I’m getting more conversation here on that one comment than on my own blog!
Awesome. Will pop back in later and respond.
Dave Navarros last blog post..Chuck Norris Chimes In: Followup Review Of SEO School
James,
Your article raises critical questions, but that’s what the post did — just raising questions. I’m glad you are fielding some answers — or the ways to find answers — in your comments.
It’s not hard to start a blog, like personal development blog. Any reasonably smart kid can do it. And then, it seems they spend hours online social bookmarking and commenting to get traffic. I’m not saying this is bad at all. But I do wonder what they are trying to achieve. If they have business, like coaching business, it makes sense. Blogs that make income from ads? Steve Pavlina is special for a reason. . .
Akemi “spiritual entrepreneur” @ Yes to Mes last blog post..Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship, Part 1, Find The Niche
I couldn’t agree more, James. My words are permanent. I don’t post just to fill the day. My posts are part of my future, as is every decision I make. Thanks.
Spot on, Sir James.
I find it really interesting that a lot of these passe fads are coming back around. Remember when being really good at guitar was considered nerdy and flashy and unnecessary? Well, guitar pyrotechnics are coming back again. As are ’70’s shirts, ’80’s music and wearing sequined gloves on one hand. Okay, maybe not that, but you get it.
But from a business point of view, being anything other than a “business for all seasons” is a waste of time. A good idea is a good idea because it’s a good idea, not because it just happens to be Wednesday, or Halloween, or whatever the hell.
Charfish Charlies last blog post..Current State of Charfish Affairs
I’m a little new to this whole concept of one having a business, so please excuse my silly questions
I’m just a little unclear as to what would make for a good business plan. I love the idea of planning, but I’m not sure that I know what to plan for. I mean sure, if I were to start a business, I would have some services to provide, but I don’t know what to do after that. Do you have any suggestions for beginners (or naive college kids)?
I swear on a stack of Bibles, I actually saw someone wearing legwarmers a few days ago. And I sheepishly admit that as a tween girl, I loved the movie Flashdance (I was a ballet geek.)
The thing to remember about legwarmers is that they were only PART of a fad. Dance was the fad; legwarmers were an accessory.
Lots of people wore legwarmers because they wanted to LOOK like a dancer. You know how you could tell the real dancers? Bloody, blistered feet and calves and a butt to die for.
I’m reasonably sure there’s some kind of metaphor in there for your vocation, including online business. Lots of experts and gurus are handing out legwarmers. Some are even giving excellent dance lessons.
But you have to have the discipline and drive to keep hitting that barre, even when it seems like the barre is hitting back!
KatFrenchs last blog post..Stumbling towards community.
Nothing like a good post about shit-flinging.
Amy Derbys last blog post..Punk Up Your Resume
@ RLD – Ha, that post is already written and upcoming for next week!
@James – Excellent! I was hoping that you would follow up this article
I was actually going to request more posts, but I didn’t know if I was the only one who was struggling with this whole business idea.
@ RLD – Feel free to list questions you have or areas you struggle with. It helps me provide you and other readers with information that you all want to know, versus what I think you might want to know. It was a good question!
Excellent. But, what do you do when you need money FAST? (Big, scary money things going on for everybody, I know, but especially in my family lately. Scary, scary things.)
Oh, and leg warmers are actually back. I can’t tell you how many knitting patterns I’ve seen for them in the last year or so!
–Debs last blog post..MM: Fontastic
Deb, I’ll chime in on that–it’s very good to have a “way to raise a bunch of money” trick or two in your business arsenal. Send a mailing to your existing customers with a wonderful new offer. Do a thing you know works well. If you don’t have one now, it’s good to develop one, but IMO you’ll do better not basing it on anything faddish or new. You can pick up something like Dan Kennedy’s Ultimate Marketing/Ultimate Sales Letter books and get solid and very time-tested ideas.
I do like Ali Hale’s point. Yes, you plan. Yes, you think things through. But sometimes you just have to do some shit and see how it turns out.
Sonia Simones last blog post..Does Your Business Have the Support It Needs?
Ah, but when you don’t HAVE any ideas?? (grin)
Great post.
I grew up on my Grandfather’s farm and in the time I spent there thirty years ago I saw the same thing: One year soybeans were selling at a high price. The next year everyone takes out loans, lease property from other farmers and plant soy beans…everyone. Needless to say, everyone following the pack hoping to reap the rewards of history failed miserably. This is one of the reasons why farms began shutting down in the late 80s.
It seems as if the world is being over-run by fad-fanatics. Even in corporate America (at least in the hospitality field I have just thankfully left behind), fads are the fashion. And from these fads spawn a million and one schools of fish trolling the internet and spawning knock-offs and schemes, hoping to reap the rewards of the innovators. The world will always have more imitators than innovators, which is a truly sad state of affairs; especially when the land-shark imitators swim in to take a fatal bite out of the innovator (ie Walmart, Microsoft, Starbucks, Hilton, insert oppressive corporate Goliath of choice here).
Great post! I like that you said that ‘more time’ can be a motive for a business idea. It’s not all about making heaps of money – sometimes the aim is to down-size.
Sally, Snappy Sentencess last blog post..Quick wins can give you long term gains
Haven’t you noticed that all these things are coming back? The marketers are recycling their shit!
When I was visiting Toronto last year I spoke with a colleague who had started her Professional Organizing business the same time I had, meaning that she was coming up on the five year mark and she said this:
“Remember how before we started everyone said that it takes five years to develop a truly profitable business and how we said ‘no we’ll do it in less time!’? Well, they were right. As I come up to five years the business is finally stable.”
You have to be willing to stick it out and if need be bring money in from somewhere else. I’ve noticed that on the web it seems to be 2-3 years (if you work really hard) but nothing comes quickly. Those foundations need to be built first.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndromes last blog post..Pushing Yourself Forward
You might want to update your copyright dates
But I’m sufficiently impressed by the dozen or so posts I’ve read here to subscribe and also delve deeper into your archives….
Pauls last blog post..His name is not f**king Keano, Robbie Keane
Ooops, ok now I know what that comment luv check box does, feel free to ignore the link to my most recent blog post as it’s for a LFC soccer blog and of no relevance whatsoever to blogs of this nature.
@ Paul – I’ve updated the RSS post footer. The site copyright is correct.
As for Comment Luv, who says someone wouldn’t be interested in that? Doesn’t have to be relevant to this blog
@ Kat, that was me, sorry, I wasn’t stalking you, honest.
I don’t wear them to look like a dancer, I fall over a lot. It’s just freaking COLD here, and I forget to shave my legs.
I see people recycling businesses, just like leg warmers and Farrah Fawcett hair. Just like Amway, it may change its name, products, and method of selling, but if I see a man in MY driveway in a suit, he’s either a Jehovah’s Witness, or an Amway man, every time.
Businesses that don’t work, do not magically become the answer to your problems just because some marketing guy put a flashy spin on it.
Jamies last blog post..Pick Another Pen Men Brain: Charlie Pabst
A recycled or returning concept/fad/trend isn’t a bad thing at all. But think of the time period in between fad-disfavor-fad again. Where’s the money coming in during that time?
My sister wore those elephant ear jeans in the late 70s. They were big. Hot. Everyone wore them. (Who remembers the Bay City Rollers?)
They came back in fashion around, what, 2007? Guys. That’s thirty years of NO INCOME from those style of jeans.
Guess what else? The fad has moved on. Again. 2008, and my teen is back into “skinny” jeans.
And the Bay City Rollers? They were a one-hit-wonder sometime around 2006 as well for a while. One song coming back 30 years later. One song. And what’s on my radio today?
Not the Bay City Rollers. See you in 30 years, guys.
@ Paul – Dude. I went an updated our RSS feed footer a year in the future… We’re 2008, which is what the footer was at. Went back and put it to 2008.
The site itself shows a copyright date of 2007, which is accurate – Copyright dates should indicate the date of creation, not the current date.
Have I missed a date somewhere else?
My question – how long did you search to find a picture of poo?
Love the post and the idea. Excellent!
Loris last blog post..Goal!
Great Post!!! i’m a new writer and im looking for feedback to get better. If anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated.
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