After weeks of fiddling with the analytics & playing with Adwords I shutdown Muse 1 on Friday the 12th(Day 31). I was not getting the clear and concise picture of whether the niche market I had identified was finding my site. While there were “conversions”, it was not enough to justify purchasing an inventory and starting to sell them online. Had drop shipping been an option for this product, I believe I could have made it work. Unfortunately with the need to carry an inventory came an overhead that likely priced my product beyond the value it provided to potential consumers.
Remember, the goal is to fail fast, learn, and try again. So what did I learn from this muse? Well I learned many lessons, some I already mentioned back on day 12.
- Limit how much time you spend projecting costs for manufacturing and retailing until the market opportunity is confirmed.
- Grab a web design from one of the hundreds of online providers for speed’s sake.
- Focus on the high level priorities when working on rolling out the test site. I have been getting “lost” in way too many little details.
- Ensure you have the micro site analytics setup properly before proceeding into a PPC campaign.
- Do your SEO keyword optimization on the front end of site design and development. I wasted time doing some redesign and development work to implement the keywords.
- Spend time to make a 1 page marketing plan using the four Cs of marketing. This will help you get into the mindset of what problem you are solving for your client, and more effectively position you to sell them you solution.
On to Muse 2. Since Amy and I’s trip to Colorado I did finish a 1 page marketing plan for Muse 2. Writing the marketing plan really allowed me to think more in depth on the problem I am helping my potential consumer to solve. In fact it overwhelmed me a bit as it could be a lot of work to resolve. Though that is not to be a major concern at this point, if there is a market that will pay we can bring it together. My biggest challenge at this point it time to spend on Muse 2. Over the past week I have been quite busy getting caught back up at my full time job and on homework since being our of town in Colorado. Hence my slow down in posting here, and slowing down on posting is not something I am fond of at all.
Port Eighty, Inc, still working on my past due account payable case. Found out from a collections agency that my overdue accounts payable is at the level of a small claims court and would not fit into the realm of being handle by a collections agency. Not comments on my next actions in regards to this challenge.
I am also working on wrapping up a few minor details with my defining project from 2009. I would like to deliver a little something extra for the client to end on a very positive note, so I am working on getting a picture of their web site and blog framed. This will give them the opportunity to prominently display there new site and the milestone it marks for their new online identity. I am REALLY excited about doing this, though have made minimal progress in finding a good company to frame the pictures.
In the last week and a half, I have also enrolled in Ramit Sethi’s Earn1k program. Ramit is personal finance blogger, and a New York Times Best Selling author. Ramit blogs at IwillTeachYouToBeRich.com. I have found a lot of his advice to be very practical and down to earth. Not to mention I enjoy how he is not afraid to turn away those who do not fit his target market. Plus like Tim Ferris, he is another great marketer, but not in the traditional “I am making someone else millions” kind of marketer that has lately been leaving a bad taste in my mouth in regards to the big names in marketing. But that whole issue is a post in of itself, back to Ramit. Ramit’s Earn 1k program is about identifying a way for you to freelance, and then marketing your skills. Based of the quality of Ramit’s materials on his blog, and his 30 day money-back guarantee I am confident that I will learn new ways to expand Port Eighty and refine my process to become a serial entrepreneur. As a bonus, I have got Amy on board with giving the program a try also. So I may be able to convince her to do some freelancing to generate additional income to fund our traveling.
In the future I will do my best to be posting at least every three days as to avoid these posts that are a small novel.