30 Days of Focus Can Change Your Life

Each week I'm sending you a side hustle idea, stories of entrepreneurs who’ve executed successfully, and resources to learn how to do the same

THIS WEEK'S THOUGHTS:

Black Friday means discounts!

At least as consumers that's what we think. However, if you're offering a product, service, or experience, that means you're no longer the consumer and, instead, the business. So you should be thinking profits!

And, as an entrepreneur, here's something you should understand... discounts ≠ profits.

But, Black Friday did $9.12B in sales in 2022. That's gotta be good news for businesses, right?

Wrong.

In order to push a tentpole event and follow convention, you're devaluing your offer and playing to your lowest value customers.

These are the customers who have no brand loyalty and are chasing deals. They tend to be the hardest to turn into high-value customers, the most difficult to please, and the loudest.

You need to remember that not all customers are created equal.

Your goal for sustainability is to build relationships with high-margin customers who are going to continue to come back to you.

Don't get me wrong, the sales numbers can be large! But, leave the flash sales to Wal-Mart and Groupon.

We're going to flip it. What if instead of racing to the bottom on price, you raced to the top on value?

You've heard of the sawdust principle, right? Essentially, in building your current offer, you've likely scrapped bits of it, done client calls, unlocked insights, put together lead magnets... created byproduct along the way.

If you were to take all of this and value-stack then you'd be able to maximize profits across the right customer set.

I'm about to break all email etiquette rules and drop in a loooong image, so sorry (not sorry). I want to share an example of value-stacking that will help you better understand how this works. This is how Kieran Drew has been able to generate $519K YTD through October as a solopreneur - and it's a masterclass:

You'll notice that he took his current processes and client videos, added a guarantee (love the framing of it btw) and added 200% MORE value.

As a buyer, you look at the $297 price and think "maybe...".

But, with all of the added value and money back guarantee in place, you decide it's worth pulling out the credit card.

So, as a shopper - grab the best deals you can. But, as an entrepreneur try to best determine how you can create urgency, not through discounts, but through as much value as possible.

As always, I'm sharing my thoughts as a way to help you. If it helps you, it could help someone else. So before diving into this week’s side hustle idea (below) feel free to share:

SIDE HUSTLE IDEA: START A PODCAST

Podcasting is one of those "slow burn" side hustles.

They take time. It's difficult to build an audience. Monetization doesn't happen immediately.

Yet, there are more than 3M podcasters (4M+ on some accounts) and an active monthly listenership of more than 460M people.

The trend is up and to the right, but more exciting is the fact that the landscape is still so small compared to entertainment platforms like YouTube and its 2.7B monthly active users.

That means you better get in while the gettin's good.

If you have 'stick-to-itive-ness', then this may be a great opportunity for you. There’s a lot of money to be made through sponsorships, merchandise, tours, and even acquisition.

The idea of getting paid just to have a conversation about topics you’re passionate about seems like one of the most successful business ideas.

Podcasts are one of the rare opportunities that have the ability to be both the revenue driver or the marketing channel.

We're still extremely early in this space. If you have a topic that you geek out on, then it may be worth grabbing a mic and dropping gems.

WANNA LEARN MORE?

Power-Up Podcasting® Long-time award-winning podcast host, Pat Flynn, lays out everything you need to do to launch your show. Power-Up Podcasting takes you sequentially through the podcast creation process, beginning with crafting your show's purpose and culminating in your show's launch. Check It Out

Side hustles can eventually become your main hustle.

With a serious desire and a focused effort, you can eventually build something of value for yourself.

It may not be this week's example, but there are as many interests as there are people on the planet. And, there are as many ways to make money as there are interests.

Let's uncover yours together.

You got this!
Mark