Key there, Steppers!

Okay, so those of you that have been following me know that I’m embarking on a series of “Shoestring101 Challenges”.

The first Challenge was to make a thousand dollars in a service bizness in 30 days or less, starting with seed capital of  less than what you might pull in with a garage sale. In my case that was $62.66.

Not only did that goal get accomplished, it turned into a MONSTER (in a good way); this summer brought in several thousand part-time bucks and a lot more ‘busy’ness than I imagined. I even took my 14-year old son with me this weekend (it’s after Thanksgiving for crying out loud) on a $200 job that took us about three hours to complete. Not bad money!

We did all the setup of the marketing machine back in April, but the calls from our no- and low-cost advertising have still been coming in. So that Challenge turned out really well for those of you looking over my shoulder. You can read more about it here if you like.

SOOooo… my second Challenge was to make $1,000 from an Information Product in 30 days. I knew from personal experience that this was possible, seeing as I have a book out there that I wrote over ten years ago that’s still selling. My book is called The Blueprint and it’s about how to trade the stock market without fear. If you want to look it over, you can check it out at www.radioactivetrading.com, hint, hint 😉

…but back to my present failure, since that’s the topic of today’s post. Problem is, I Challenged myself with this new Information Product venture to do it in 30 days, spend less than a night out at the movies, and bring in $1,000 cash… and it hasn’t done that well.

YET.

I have two customers to date that have paid $10 total for my “How to do 100 Pushups” product. It’s cost me about four hours total in time, $11.60 in domain registration fees, $1 for hosting, and $2 for commissions. That’s $14.60 and four hours OUT for $10 IN.

And it’s been over 30 days. Dang.

Now, before we completely write off the idea of selling information, let’s consider the total experience. My Information Product venture has succeeded in terms of proof of concept; after all I did find two customers willing to spend $5 apiece to learn how to do 100 pushups in a row.

And, I do have a mailing list of twelve humans that, though they were unwilling to fork out the five bucks, have demonstrated enough interest to learn more. So not a total loss at all. In fact, if only one of those twelve end up purchasing my program, we’re over into the BLACK. I’ve spent $14.60 and received $10 in sales. One more is the tipping point.

But we have to be brutally honest here. Was the Challenge to gross ten bucks, or was it to NET $1,000? You know the answer. As to meeting this 30 day Challenge, I have failed.

Heh. That may be so… but something I always point out to Students at my Martial Arts studio is that “…it’s okay to  lose the MATCH. Just don’t lose the LESSON.”

WHY did I get over 223 people to look at my “Squeeze Page” by way of free social media sharing… but only get twelve email addresses and two sales?

HOW can I tweak what is already in place to increase the number of people that opt-in, and especially the number that buy?

WHAT is the dynamic secret of ‘reverse-engineering’ your INCOME… beginning at the end (I want a thousand bucks a month) and arriving at today (what must I do today to ensure a steady flow of income tomorrow)?

Steppers, some folks like to crow about their successes. Aww, shucks. I do too… probably won’t ever let you finish hearing about how I met and exceeded that first Challenge. But here’s a change: I want to brag about my FAILURE here and now.

Listen. I am determined to make a thousand bucks with an information product. Maybe it will even be this one, the “How to do 100 Pushups” play. But even if I find that I cannot..! What did I lose on this business idea?

Some folks get into business by taking out a loan… renting space… making or buying lots of inventory… and THEN finding out that their idea is a flop six months down the line. After thousands of dollars and hours invested, THAT’s when they discover they don’t have a market.

On the other hand, I have used four hours and $14.60 to make $10. A loss of half a day and a grande latte.

Talk about a Shoestring 😉

Steppers, look for my next post soon. I’m currently deciding whether to scrap the 100 pushups idea in favor of another, or push this baby a little futher and see what comes of it.

Please weigh in with your comments! Until then,

Keep Stepping!

Kurt