The 4-Hour Workweek - Step 3: Automation
Finding the Muse
Goal: to create an automated vehicle for generating cash without consuming time
Step 1: Pick an affordably reachable niche market
Find a market, then develop a product for them
Be a member of your target market
Which social, industry or professional groups do you belong to?
Which of the groups have their own magazines?
Step 2: Branstorm (do not invest in) products
Pick two markets you are most familiar with that have their own magazines
The main benefit should be encapsulated in one sentence
It should cost customer $50-200
It should take no more than 3-4 weeks to manufacture
It should be fully explainable in a good online FAQ
Option one: resell a product
Easiest but least profitable
Option two: license a product
Dealmaking intensive but high profit margin
Option three: create a product
Create new product prototype
Find a generic product that can be repurposed for a special market
Sell only through one outlet (to avoid price wars)
Information products
20-50x markup
Time consuming to replicate
You don't have to be an expert
Paraphrase and combine points from several books
Repurpose content that is in the public domain
License content or compensate an expert to help create content
How can you tailor a general skill for your market ("niching down")?
What skills are you interested in that you--and others in your markets--would pay to learn?
What experts could you interview and record to create a sellable audio CD?
Do you have a failure-to-success story that could be turned into a how-to product for others?
Read 3 top selling books on your topic and summarize on one page
Join two or three related trade organizations
Give one free 1-3 hour seminar at a nearby university, then at 2 large companies
Offer to write 1-2 articles for trade magazines
Join ProfNet to be a quotable expert for articles
Outsourcing Life
Goal is to free your time to focus on bigger and better things
Build a system to replace yourself
Get a remote personal assistant
Don't limit yourself, just ask if something is possible
Eliminate before you delegate
Unless something is well-defined and important, no on should do it.
Refine the rules and processes before adding people
Which VA to hire
Determined by cost per completed task, not cost per hour
Get a trial first
Use a VA firm instead of solo operator
Aviod misuse of your information
Never give them debit cards
Create unique login for VA for your websites
Avoid common complaints
Make special request for type of VA you want at the outset
Give precise directions
Request regualr status updates on tasks
Tasks should be completed in no more than 72 hours (Parkinson's Law)
Send one task at a time, no more than two, and always prioritize
MBA - Management By Absense
Remove the human element
Place yourself out of the information flow
Contract outsourcing companies that specialize in one function instead of freelancers
Ensure that all outsourcers are willing to communicate among themselves to solve problems
Replace yourself with scalable infrastructure
Phase I: Do it all yourself
Phase II: Add extensive FAQ and use local fulfillment company
Phase III: Use bigger, more sophisicated outsourcers such as end-to-end fulfillment houses
Fewer options=more revenue
Offer one or two purchase options
Do not offer multiple shipping options
Do not offer overnight or expedited shipping
Eliminate phone orders completely and direct all prospects to online ordering
Do not offer international shipments
Not all customers are created equal
Do not accept money orders or checks
Raise wholesale minimums and require tax ID number to qualify resellers
Refer all potential resellers to an online order form that must be printed and faxed in
Offer low-priced products instead of free products
Offer a lose-win guarantee instead of free trials
Do not accept orders from common fraud countries
Look like a bigger company
Give yourself mid-level title instead of Founder/CEO
Put multiple email and phone contacts on website for different departments
Set up interactive voice response (IVR) remote receptionist
Do not provide home addresses
Testing the Muse
Step 3: Microtest your products
Best the competition
Use search term suggestion tools to find related/derivative terms for respective products
Figure out how to differentiate
Use more credibility indicators?
Create a better guarantee?
Offer better selection?
Free or faster shipping?
Create a one-page advertisement emphasizing differentiators and product benefits
Test the advertisement
Test eBay auction
Dry test with one-page site advertisement
Use real websie to offer free downloadable material
Drive traffic with Google PPC and track results
Invest or divest
Rollout and automation