Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?

55 replies
Here's a little story for you to think about:

Two guys decided to each create a business selling trousers. The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project. He tells you that the great thing about selling trousers is that almost everybody wears them; not just males. We can find people everywhere who need trousers. People of all ages and both sexes wear them. They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!

He is convinced there are a myriad ways of reaching people with his offers. He is full of ideas and begins to brainstorm his options:
  • Use Drop-Shipping and Sell them via eBay
  • Create an Apparel Website focused on Trousers
  • Buy Wholesale and Sell via a Stall on the Local Market

Meanwhile, the other guy sets up a small website that features cool videos for skaters showing them how to perform clever tricks. He advertises his site at a popular online forum for skaters. On his site is a section that features his pants (that's what skaters call them).

He doesn't intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters - you know the ones that are labelled with the wrong sizes so that when the kids put them on, they drop down to their crotch and show their underwear. They crumple at the legs and drag on the floor.

His trousers don't fit properly and the vast majority of the people in the world think they look completely stupid.

Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
#business #guess #profitable
  • Profile picture of the author MsHeart
    While the second guy can probably start making sales right away, the first guy may end up bigger in the long run. It's not really about the product line they are selling, it's all about how they market it.
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    • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
      Originally Posted by MsHeart View Post

      While the second guy can probably start making sales right away, the first guy may end up bigger in the long run. It's not really about the product line they are selling, it's all about how they market it.
      I second this. Provided the first guy ends up being that big.
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      • Profile picture of the author merezza
        Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

        I second this. Provided the first guy ends up being that big.
        I would strongly disagree with the idea behind this answer.

        The second guy should win every time. Why you ask?

        Well think about it this way, pretty much everyone agrees that the second guy (the niche one) will make more money in the short term and build his business significantly faster.

        Once his business is built out to the point where he has a BRAND (Billabong, Levi, etc), he doesn't necessarily need to stay in his niche anymore. Levi Strauss (jeans) are a great example of this. They were started in the 1850s as a company that made riveted work pants, which is something that they did well for a decent amount of time.

        However, when that niche was saturated, they moved into other areas and began marketing their jeans to the point that they were a hit in pop culture and other less mainstream areas of the fashion world.

        What should you take away from all of that? Levi Strauss was guy #2. He built his business until he owned his niche, and then proceeded to destroy pretty much every other niche out there.
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  • Profile picture of the author dylan4f
    Niche Marketing at its best..second guy know's his job
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  • Profile picture of the author vjboc
    From what you said. The first guy is just brainstorming with a lot of ideas. The second guy did the work, built the site, did the advertisement and is reaching his target to sell his products.
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    • Profile picture of the author 24hours
      I think they'll both do okay albeit through different channels and with different clientele. Second guy will be up and running faster tho.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    Here's a little story for you to think about:

    Two guys decided to each create a business selling trousers. The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project. He tells you that the great thing about selling trousers is that almost everybody wears them; not just males. We can find people everywhere who need trousers. People of all ages and both sexes wear them. They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!

    He is convinced there are a myriad ways of reaching people with his offers. He is full of ideas and begins to brainstorm his options:
    • Use Drop-Shipping and Sell them via eBay
    • Create an Apparel Website focused on Trousers
    • Buy Wholesale and Sell via a Stall on the Local Market

    Meanwhile, the other guy sets up a small website that features cool videos for skaters showing them how to perform clever tricks. He advertises his site at a popular online forum for skaters. On his site is a section that features his pants (that's what skaters call them).

    He doesn't intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters - you know the ones that are labelled with the wrong sizes so that when the kids put them on, they drop down to their crotch and show their underwear. They crumple at the legs and drag on the floor.

    His trousers don't fit properly and the vast majority of the people in the world think they look completely stupid.

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    Awesome post Will! ^

    This is pretty much marketing gold in a nutshell.

    How to target a profitable market.

    Of course guy number two should also promote skateboards with a trouser combo!
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  • Quite frankly, I'm not very sure what to answer to this post. I'm sure you think that guy #2 would make more money, but I'm equally sure the WalMart family would disagree...

    Conclusion: there's not enough info in your post to take any educated guess whatsoever.
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    • Profile picture of the author Malcolm Thomas
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Quite frankly, I'm not very sure what to answer to this post. I'm sure you think that guy #2 would make more money, but I'm equally sure the WalMart family would disagree...

      Conclusion: there's not enough info in your post to take any educated guess whatsoever.
      This. I'm sure that most people would say guy #2 will make more money but I'm not so sure. His target demographic is limited and guy's #1 target market is much more huger. I think if(big if)guy #1 takes action he has the potential to have a more profitable business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan David
    I get the point of your post, but I think it's kinda 50/50 who would make more money in that situation. You could easily make the argument that the first guy is more diversified because he sells through more channels, whereas the skateboard guy might find that his product is more of a fad.

    But to your point, I compete in a niche and do more of what the first guy does. I sell through Amazon, other channels, website, wholesale, I dropship for customers, etc. I was recently approached by a competitor who sells to the "higher end" segment of our market and had the opportunity to review his numbers/financials. And in this case, there was not more more in serving a specific market. There is something to be said for the snowball effect of owning a business.
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  • Profile picture of the author mstrmindmktg
    Wait! Your post said "skaters" and the others are saying "skateboarders." So if the 2nd guy is trying to sell those kind of pants to skaters, they will never sell. What skater wants their pants down past their crouch when they are trying to do a double-axle jump! :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
      Originally Posted by mstrmindmktg View Post

      Wait! Your post said "skaters" and the others are saying "skateboarders." So if the 2nd guy is trying to sell those kind of pants to skaters, they will never sell. What skater wants their pants down past their crouch when they are trying to do a double-axle jump! :-)
      1) The World's Dumbest Videos (TV)

      2) Mallers and Ballers selling Polaroids.

      Jeffery 100% :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    I think that the 2 "guys" will do just well. One will see a short term gain and the other one will see a long term gain from his efforts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    The guy selling trousers/pants wholesale to these resellers.
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  • Profile picture of the author dannygnenerate
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    Here's a little story for you to think about:

    Two guys decided to each create a business selling trousers. The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project. He tells you that the great thing about selling trousers is that almost everybody wears them; not just males. We can find people everywhere who need trousers. People of all ages and both sexes wear them. They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!

    He is convinced there are a myriad ways of reaching people with his offers. He is full of ideas and begins to brainstorm his options:
    • Use Drop-Shipping and Sell them via eBay
    • Create an Apparel Website focused on Trousers
    • Buy Wholesale and Sell via a Stall on the Local Market

    Meanwhile, the other guy sets up a small website that features cool videos for skaters showing them how to perform clever tricks. He advertises his site at a popular online forum for skaters. On his site is a section that features his pants (that's what skaters call them).

    He doesn't intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters - you know the ones that are labelled with the wrong sizes so that when the kids put them on, they drop down to their crotch and show their underwear. They crumple at the legs and drag on the floor.

    His trousers don't fit properly and the vast majority of the people in the world think they look completely stupid.

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    Well one is broad and one is linear in their "initial" approach but there's not enough statistics to say who's going to have a profitable business; there are too many variables that are not noted.

    So me being me I'd say they'd both fail since I don't perceive a clear winner of profitability.

    That is how most marketers think.... Go broad or go niche (linear) and they think this way because this is what they are taught and most think since this is the spectrum of what I'm taught then they must be the way.

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  • Profile picture of the author joaquin112
    What does Walmart have to do with trousers? Walmart has an entirely different business model.

    The second guy will almost always beat the first one. And what's more, the second guy can sell more stuff to skaters and actually make a lot more money in the short and in the long run.
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    • Profile picture of the author theory expert
      Banned
      Originally Posted by joaquin112 View Post

      What does Walmart have to do with trousers? Walmart has an entirely different business model.

      The second guy will almost always beat the first one. And what's more, the second guy can sell more stuff to skaters and actually make a lot more money in the short and in the long run.
      Would: fruit of the loom, Hanes, Levis, or, Dockers be a better example?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by theory expert View Post

        Would: fruit of the loom, Hanes, or, levis be a better example?
        This question is missing the point, a little.

        It's always possible to find questions like that, of course. The point they miss is that at the time Fruit Of The Loom, Hanes and Levis started, and since then, there were also many thousands of other similar companies set up, none of which you've ever heard of because they all sank without trace. At the time, "Levis" was not "Levis" in the meaningful sense in which you refer to it when you're looking for an example. You're arguing with hindsight, and when you do that, it's always possible to find a way to make yourself right. (Your "logic" is essentially the same as that of all the people who, when trying to deny the unquestionable reality that you should never join a newly-formed MLM company rather than a longstanding one, will observe that "Mary Kay" was once a newly-formed MLM company, imagining that that fact somehow serves as a meaningful counter-example, which of course it doesn't at all :rolleyes: :p ). In other words, the facts may be technically accurate, but they don't actually demonstrate what they were presented to try to demonstrate.

        In Will's example above, to express it in probability terms, the "trousers guy" has perhaps a less than 1% chance of making a living, and the "skating guy" has perhaps a more than 10% chance. And I'm understating the difference to a large extent, here, to try to make my point non-controversially.

        In so far as you can tell at all, from the information provided, I know which of the two I want to back, anyway ... of course it's possible that the "trousers guy" might turn into "Levis" - but that's not the way to bet, because it's far more likely that he'll be one of the great majority who don't.

        This relates closely to where all the people who answer beginning marketers' questions, here, advising them to go into the "MMO" and "dating" and "weight loss" niches, have got it so deeply wrong, of course, because that advice is actually stacking the deck against people by sending them into the trouser business rather than into skating videos where their chances of earning a living are (relatively speaking) so much higher. The niche with the most money in it typically isn't the niche in which it's easiest to make money.

        The biggest/best-converting niches are also the niches in which the highest numbers of people fail.
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        • Profile picture of the author ptwain
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          This question is missing the point, a little.

          It's always possible to find questions like that, of course. The point they miss is that at the time Fruit Of The Loom, Hanes and Levis started, and since then, there were also many thousands of other similar companies set up, none of which you've ever heard of because they all sank without trace. At the time, "Levis" was not "Levis" in the meaningful sense in which you refer to it when you're looking for an example. You're arguing with hindsight, and when you do that, it's always possible to find a way to make yourself right. (Your "logic" is essentially the same as that of all the people who, when trying to deny the unquestionable reality that you should never join a newly-formed MLM company rather than a longstanding one, will observe that "Mary Kay" was once a newly-formed MLM company, imagining that that fact somehow serves as a meaningful counter-example, which of course it doesn't at all :rolleyes: :p ). In other words, the facts may be technically accurate, but they don't actually demonstrate what they were presented to try to demonstrate.

          In Will's example above, to express it in probability terms, the "trousers guy" has perhaps a less than 1% chance of making a living, and the "skating guy" has perhaps a more than 10% chance. And I'm understating the difference to a large extent, here, to try to make my point non-controversially.

          In so far as you can tell at all, from the information provided, I know which of the two I want to back, anyway ... of course it's possible that the "trousers guy" might turn into "Levis" - but that's not the way to bet, because it's far more likely that he'll be one of the great majority who don't.

          This relates closely to where all the people who answer beginning marketers' questions, here, advising them to go into the "MMO" and "dating" and "weight loss" niches, have got it so deeply wrong, of course, because that advice is actually stacking the deck against people by sending them into the trouser business rather than into skating videos where their chances of earning a living are (relatively speaking) so much higher. The niche with the most money in it typically isn't the niche in which it's easiest to make money.
          Alexa,

          Great response, and you always seem to put things in the right perspective.

          Paul
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        • Profile picture of the author Dave Espino
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          This question is missing the point, a little.

          In Will's example above, to express it in probability terms, the "trousers guy" has perhaps a less than 1% chance of making a living, and the "skating guy" has perhaps a more than 10% chance. And I'm understating the difference to a large extent, here, to try to make my point non-controversially.
          I agree with you, Alexa - well said.

          It can be seen both ways, though. If Person A finds (from those activities) the best method that's working and then focuses on that alone, the tables could turn.

          There are too many variables in the examples to really be able to determine a clear-cut answer.

          Life's not always linear - and business is DEFINITELY not always linear...

          Dave
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        • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          This question is missing the point, a little.

          It's always possible to find questions like that, of course. The point they miss is that at the time Fruit Of The Loom, Hanes and Levis started, and since then, there were also many thousands of other similar companies set up, none of which you've ever heard of because they all sank without trace. At the time, "Levis" was not "Levis" in the meaningful sense in which you refer to it when you're looking for an example. You're arguing with hindsight, and when you do that, it's always possible to find a way to make yourself right. (Your "logic" is essentially the same as that of all the people who, when trying to deny the unquestionable reality that you should never join a newly-formed MLM company rather than a longstanding one, will observe that "Mary Kay" was once a newly-formed MLM company, imagining that that fact somehow serves as a meaningful counter-example, which of course it doesn't at all :rolleyes: :p ). In other words, the facts may be technically accurate, but they don't actually demonstrate what they were presented to try to demonstrate.

          In Will's example above, to express it in probability terms, the "trousers guy" has perhaps a less than 1% chance of making a living, and the "skating guy" has perhaps a more than 10% chance. And I'm understating the difference to a large extent, here, to try to make my point non-controversially.

          In so far as you can tell at all, from the information provided, I know which of the two I want to back, anyway ... of course it's possible that the "trousers guy" might turn into "Levis" - but that's not the way to bet, because it's far more likely that he'll be one of the great majority who don't.

          This relates closely to where all the people who answer beginning marketers' questions, here, advising them to go into the "MMO" and "dating" and "weight loss" niches, have got it so deeply wrong, of course, because that advice is actually stacking the deck against people by sending them into the trouser business rather than into skating videos where their chances of earning a living are (relatively speaking) so much higher. The niche with the most money in it typically isn't the niche in which it's easiest to make money.

          The biggest/best-converting niches are also the niches in which the highest numbers of people fail.
          My girlfriend's father and grandfather made Fruit of the Loom into what is is today.

          The odds don't look real good. I'm well aware of that. I also believe 90% of people either do it wrong, give up, aren't willing to follow the advice of successful people, or follow the wrong successful people. You have to be real. I've been quite humbled in the past several weeks, but hopefully I'm learning.
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        • Profile picture of the author davidbatchelor
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          You're arguing with hindsight, and when you do that, it's always possible to find a way to make yourself right. (Your "logic" is essentially the same as that of all the people who, when trying to deny the unquestionable reality that you should never join a newly-formed MLM company rather than a longstanding one, will observe that "Mary Kay" was once a newly-formed MLM company, imagining that that fact somehow serves as a meaningful counter-example, which of course it doesn't at all :rolleyes: :p ). In other words, the facts may be technically accurate, but they don't actually demonstrate what they were presented to try to demonstrate..
          Are you suggesting people should join a new MLM opportunity and using the example above to illustrate your point?

          I personally would never recommend joining a new MLM business because despite your example above, about 90% of them fail in their first 5 years.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by davidbatchelor View Post

            Are you suggesting people should join a new MLM opportunity and using the example above to illustrate your point?
            No. The opposite. (For those who want to join one at all, of course).

            I'm pointing out that when someone wants you to join a new MLM business, and you point out (correctly) that most don't survive their first two/three years and you want to join only a well-established one, and your putative sponsor says "Mary Kay was once a start-up", he's guilty of exactly the fallacious, mistaken logic described above, and the appropriate thing is to throw rotting fruit at him.

            Originally Posted by davidbatchelor View Post

            I personally would never recommend joining a new MLM business because despite your example above, about 90% of them fail in their first 5 years.
            I'd have put it more strongly than you, but we agree completely, anyway.

            Clearly joining a start-up MLM is just another way of stacking the deck against yourself, and the fact that Herbalife and Mary Kay were "once start-ups" - true though it is - actually isn't a counter-argument to that reality at all, though it's very widely used as one by people whose grasp of logic leaves a lot to be desired. Those same people, in internet marketing, with their same defective logic, advise beginners to go into "the biggest niches like "trousers" (or IM/MMO/dating/whatever), and avoid the small niches like "skating" (or whatever), because "those big markets are where the most money is". What they don't understand is that the fact (and it really is a "fact") that those big markets are where the most money is, isn't a reason for a beginner to try them, and doing so is actually stacking the deck against himself.

            Originally Posted by Jgowen77 View Post

            My girlfriend's father and grandfather made Fruit of the Loom into what is is today.
            It's a small world!

            Originally Posted by Jgowen77 View Post

            The odds don't look real good. I'm well aware of that. I also believe 90% of people either do it wrong, give up, aren't willing to follow the advice of successful people, or follow the wrong successful people.
            I agree completely, Jack.

            I've always thought (and often said, here) that the single biggest factor in becoming successful, here, is "developing the judgment to know who to listen to", and "deciding by whom one wishes to be advised" (as I've worded it in slightly different contexts). That's my own perspective, anyway. I earned nothing to speak of in my first 3+ months, when I started. The single thing that made the world of difference for me, between that position and where I was just another 3 months later ($3,000+ profit per month), was developing enough judgement (and guessing well, to be honest!) to be able to decide who to listen to, here. Being unwilling to follow the advice of successful people, or being unable to follow the right successful people, are more common here than they ought to be, for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons is the fact that there's very little "informational quality control" on the internet. Urban myths of internet marketing are very pervasive indeed, and continually propagated simply by their repetition. :p
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            • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              No. The opposite. (For those who want to join one at all, of course).

              I'm pointing out that when someone wants you to join a new MLM business, and you point out (correctly) that most don't survive their first two/three years and you want to join only a well-established one, and your putative sponsor says "Mary Kay was once a start-up", he's guilty of exactly the fallacious, mistaken logic described above, and the appropriate thing is to throw rotting fruit at him.



              I'd have put it more strongly than you, but we agree completely, anyway.

              Clearly joining a start-up MLM is just another way of stacking the deck against yourself, and the fact that Herbalife and Mary Kay were "once start-ups" - true though it is - actually isn't a counter-argument to that reality at all, though it's very widely used as one by people whose grasp of logic leaves a lot to be desired. Those same people, in internet marketing, with their same defective logic, advise beginners to go into "the biggest niches like "trousers" (or IM/MMO/dating/whatever), and avoid the small niches like "skating" (or whatever), because "those big markets are where the most money is". What they don't understand is that the fact (and it really is a "fact") that those big markets are where the most money is, isn't a reason for a beginner to try them, and doing so is actually stacking the deck against himself.



              It's a small world!



              I agree completely, Jack.

              I've always thought (and often said, here) that the single biggest factor in becoming successful, here, is "developing the judgment to know who to listen to", and "deciding by whom one wishes to be advised" (as I've worded it in slightly different contexts). That's my own perspective, anyway. I earned nothing to speak of in my first 3+ months, when I started. The single thing that made the world of difference for me, between that position and where I was just another 3 months later ($3,000+ profit per month), was developing enough judgement (and guessing well, to be honest!) to be able to decide who to listen to, here. Being unwilling to follow the advice of successful people, or being unable to follow the right successful people, are more common here than they ought to be, for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons is the fact that there's very little "informational quality control" on the internet. Urban myths of internet marketing are very pervasive indeed, and continually propagated simply by their repetition. :p

              Of all your 20K posts, this might be the one that I think you
              should bottle and sell.
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            • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              No. The opposite. (For those who want to join one at all, of course).

              I'm pointing out that when someone wants you to join a new MLM business, and you point out (correctly) that most don't survive their first two/three years and you want to join only a well-established one, and your putative sponsor says "Mary Kay was once a start-up", he's guilty of exactly the fallacious, mistaken logic described above, and the appropriate thing is to throw rotting fruit at him.



              I'd have put it more strongly than you, but we agree completely, anyway.

              Clearly joining a start-up MLM is just another way of stacking the deck against yourself, and the fact that Herbalife and Mary Kay were "once start-ups" - true though it is - actually isn't a counter-argument to that reality at all, though it's very widely used as one by people whose grasp of logic leaves a lot to be desired. Those same people, in internet marketing, with their same defective logic, advise beginners to go into "the biggest niches like "trousers" (or IM/MMO/dating/whatever), and avoid the small niches like "skating" (or whatever), because "those big markets are where the most money is". What they don't understand is that the fact (and it really is a "fact") that those big markets are where the most money is, isn't a reason for a beginner to try them, and doing so is actually stacking the deck against himself.



              It's a small world!



              I agree completely, Jack.

              I've always thought (and often said, here) that the single biggest factor in becoming successful, here, is "developing the judgment to know who to listen to", and "deciding by whom one wishes to be advised" (as I've worded it in slightly different contexts). That's my own perspective, anyway. I earned nothing to speak of in my first 3+ months, when I started. The single thing that made the world of difference for me, between that position and where I was just another 3 months later ($3,000+ profit per month), was developing enough judgement (and guessing well, to be honest!) to be able to decide who to listen to, here. Being unwilling to follow the advice of successful people, or being unable to follow the right successful people, are more common here than they ought to be, for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons is the fact that there's very little "informational quality control" on the internet. Urban myths of internet marketing are very pervasive indeed, and continually propagated simply by their repetition. :p
              When I first started contemplating internet marketing, and read that I needed to choose a certain niche, and this is when I knew little about what I was doing, I chose electronics. I realized after a few days of running ads with zero sales and not many hits, that I knew nothing about IM and even less about electronics. So, I came on this forum and realized I needed to choose something I was genuinely interested in. That could have been a few different things but I made my choice and I'm sticking with it. I may branch out at some point but first things first.

              IM is humbling. If you have too much pride, forget it. And in choosing who's advice to follow and who to look at as examples to follow, that's just following your intuition and having some common sense. That can vary from person to person, depending on what they want to accomplish and how. I want to be successful in affiliate marketing and I get inspired to write occasionally. I've come to understand that they go hand in hand, something I was oblivious to last month when I decided I needed to have a stay at home business. Right now I've started reading a guide about getting articles published. Next week it'll probably be something else. I moved my domain today. My blog will get moved eventually and given another makeover. All this because people who know said "you need to do this." I hope some happy day I'll be able to point some hopeful newbies in the right direction. Success means sharing, I've learned that in other areas of my life. Without sharing it and passing it on I wouldn't see the point.
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    Ah I see the light...
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project.
    Everyone seems to be overlooking that part. There's not really enough information here to know the answer, but enthusiasm will win out over brains in many cases.
    The real secret of success is enthusiasm.
    - Walter Chrysler

    I studied the lives of great men and famous women, and I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm.
    - Henry Truman

    You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it there are only alibis.
    - Henry Ford

    A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.
    - Mary Kay Ash

    Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
    - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    Will asked,

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    Answer: Allen Says.

    George Wright
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Both guys have the potential.
    One has a bigger possible market but it's very unfocused.
    The other has a smaller niche market so he can put all his efforts into that market and thus succeed.

    You can never please everybody so it's usually best to find the ideal niche for what you want to do BUT keep options open as you never know what other opportunities may come your way.
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    • Profile picture of the author Newbieee
      Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

      There's not really enough information here to know the answer, but enthusiasm will win out over brains in many cases.
      I agree with you. All all those great men whom you have quoted.

      Just want to add something though.

      Enthusiasm is the horse power in the engine of a train.
      Brains/knowledge is what is needed for a plan, and strategy, a game plan, to steer your train in the right direction.

      I think both is needed.
      With all the horse power one can have, without a proper rail way, the train will go no where.
      With all the proper strategic planning, u have a perfect rail way to success, but the lack of enthusiasm will not bring you through your plan.

      BUT, if i were to choose 1, i would choose enthusiasm, because with enthusiasm, even without knowledge, you will willingly acquire them.
      Or even outsource certain areas that you are not knowledgeable.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
    I suppose I'll get another email about this ridiculous "content curation software" that 6500+ losers have purchased to fill the Internet with additional junk blogs and make Google roll out another door slam soon.

    That's exactly what the #1 guy would use as he "follows" the giant pack of clueless IMers trying to bulldog their way to alpha status.
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    • Profile picture of the author PaulBaker
      I put my money behind guy #1. His drive and enthusiasm sees him get there eventually.

      Guy #2 ties all his money up on a fad and misses the boat, his pants are so 2011/12 he has a warehouse full of dead inventory.

      Fun post OP and point taken.

      I'm waiting for guy #3 though, he's the trend setter that laughs all the way to the bank.
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  • Profile picture of the author MartinPlatt
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    Here's a little story for you to think about:

    Two guys decided to each create a business selling trousers. The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project. He tells you that the great thing about selling trousers is that almost everybody wears them; not just males. We can find people everywhere who need trousers. People of all ages and both sexes wear them. They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!

    He is convinced there are a myriad ways of reaching people with his offers. He is full of ideas and begins to brainstorm his options:
    • Use Drop-Shipping and Sell them via eBay
    • Create an Apparel Website focused on Trousers
    • Buy Wholesale and Sell via a Stall on the Local Market

    Meanwhile, the other guy sets up a small website that features cool videos for skaters showing them how to perform clever tricks. He advertises his site at a popular online forum for skaters. On his site is a section that features his pants (that's what skaters call them).

    He doesn't intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters - you know the ones that are labelled with the wrong sizes so that when the kids put them on, they drop down to their crotch and show their underwear. They crumple at the legs and drag on the floor.

    His trousers don't fit properly and the vast majority of the people in the world think they look completely stupid.

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    Depends on how big the market is for skater pants I'd imagine.

    And also how the first guy decides to promote. If he just sells trousers then he probably doesn't have a point of difference, so might find it hard to compete, but once he develops a brand, he could probably do okay mainstream.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
      Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

      Quite frankly, I'm not very sure what to answer to this post. I'm sure you think that guy #2 would make more money, but I'm equally sure the WalMart family would disagree...

      Conclusion: there's not enough info in your post to take any educated guess whatsoever.
      Not to admit that I remember the days of Sam,
      but Wal-Mart did not start out selling all that Chinese
      stuff that they do now...

      Actually, it seems like just a few years ago (1995) when
      that crazy CEO quit his job making millions, moved out West
      to Seattle, Washington(??!) to open a "bookstore" on the "Web".
      Crazy ole' Jeff Bezos, selling those books... Hmm, I wonder how that
      worked out for him, anyway?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jon Patrick
      If the question is who will make more money taking only the actions you have described for each person, then person #2, obviously. The first person is still at the brainstorming stage.

      If the question is who will ultimately make more money, there is not enough information provided to answer that question. I have no way of knowing what other ideas the first person will come up with in their brainstorming, whether or not they will take action on their various ideas, and if they do, how much money that will earn them and how it will compare to the second person's earnings.
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  • Profile picture of the author drem
    I think guy #2 will be the most likely to succeed. He took action and has a product that can fill a very specific niche. He has the audience in front of him and can reach them if he markets himself the right way. Being very specific might lower his profits, but that does not mean he can't expand his offerings once clients purchase from him.

    Guy #1 has a lot of potential to start with, but his idea is rather vague. Sure, he wants to use drop shipping, markets maybe and ebay. but there are a plethora of companies doing this. Large retail chains will be hard to overcome and if money isn't seen fast, he might ditch the idea. He may also be spreading himself too thin and trying to accomplish too much with choosing general trousers.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    Here’s a little story for you to think about:

    Two guys decided to each create a business selling trousers. The first guy is full of enthusiasm for the project. He tells you that the great thing about selling trousers is that almost everybody wears them; not just males. We can find people everywhere who need trousers. People of all ages and both sexes wear them. They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!

    He is convinced there are a myriad ways of reaching people with his offers. He is full of ideas and begins to brainstorm his options:
    • Use Drop-Shipping and Sell them via eBay
    • Create an Apparel Website focused on Trousers
    • Buy Wholesale and Sell via a Stall on the Local Market

    Meanwhile, the other guy sets up a small website that features cool videos for skaters showing them how to perform clever tricks. He advertises his site at a popular online forum for skaters. On his site is a section that features his pants (that’s what skaters call them).

    He doesn’t intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters – you know the ones that are labelled with the wrong sizes so that when the kids put them on, they drop down to their crotch and show their underwear. They crumple at the legs and drag on the floor.

    His trousers don’t fit properly and the vast majority of the people in the world think they look completely stupid.

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?
    Monsanto?

    Second guy has his audience really singled out. Since there is a trend in the type of pants you just described in certain social sectors - he's got the strongest chance for some solid branding - especially when the skateboarders get a hold of those ads. I'll take killer branding over a sears catalog effect any day of my life. But that's just me, right.

    If you can't find the market, you can always create it.

    BTW - seems like the second guy has at least some enthusiasm for his product even if not business enthusiasm. He had no questions about his target. That shows some closeness to the project at one end or another.
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  • Profile picture of the author RobertCorby
    Is the second guy going to pay us to market his site and to get him ranked in google?
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  • Profile picture of the author thedark
    Many have said in this post that when the second guy will have limited potential because he sells only to skaters ( or skaboarders ). He selected a niche where he can get some nice videos into, where he know people, etc. But, once he made his main sales there, and it is clearly that he will succed into that, he can move to a wider niche. Well, it will be not very easy, but since he get his money by selling to the skaters, then he have enough time to find other venues or other niches, or even using the popularity he have among skaters to build a site for others.

    Both guys have the same goal, but only the second guy strategy was exposed. We don't know what the first guy have in mind. It is not necessary to go to a niche to start selling trousers ,but maybe he will start selling inside his alcoholic support group, or yoga support group, or in a local shop, or to a specific type of people. In this way, he will get some profits so he can build up the business .

    However, if the first guy goes directly for the whole market, without a specific target, he may succed as well. If he have a nice conversion rate he can buy traffic from adwords, msn, etc and he will make profits. With the money he can buy more advertising, goes to tv and earn more.

    The second guy can do the same, even if he started from skaters, he can use the profits to advertise a non-skater website, despite he will do very well only with the skater market. I think it is big enough, if he can take a nice share. Going without target is harder, and there may not be enough money to continue the advertising, or it will be hard to find a focus. Ultimately, even if you go wide, you can have a focus on something and build from that on.
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  • Profile picture of the author WarrenPeterson
    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    ....

    Guess who is going to have the most profitable business?

    I think this was one of those trick questions, where everyone reads too fast and misses the actual question. There is zero information provided to answer your actual question. In fact, there is no possible way to answer your question, based on what you gave us to read.

    We have no numbers at all, so how can we even start to discuss which model is the most profitable?


    Did I win?
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    He doesn’t intend to provide trousers to the whole world; he just sells pants for skaters




    Therefore, he is a specialist for a specific audience.

    He is not trying to make everyone in the world buy his trousers.

    The more specific you are online, better are your chances of success. Online users are looking for experts who know everything about the specific matter of their interest.








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  • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
    This is really about niche marketing

    It's true, the best way to go is to always find the audience first. Then find products they would be interested in.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Second guy hands down. However... if the first guy was able to PROFIT $10,000 a month from his business... this isn't a bad proposition either.
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  • Profile picture of the author merezza
    The first guy is every person who thinks that he can make cool pants, but ultimately fails because he does something like focus on outsourcing instead of making sales.

    The second guy is the one who started Volcom/Billabong/Burton/etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    If you use the dropshipping method, you can't max the result, because you can't see the physical stuff directly. If a buy get broken stuff and you don't know, he/ she get dissapointed. If you don't have money much, you can consider this way.

    If you have more money, I suggest you buy wholesale then sell it to your local market and also your country and its neighbour.
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  • Profile picture of the author infoway
    First of all, great post I must say. Now let us compare the story of two person : 1st Person has focused on large area to market his business whereas 2nd person has focused on specific niche. Well, for a long run in a business; guy #1 will go well, make his profit but will go slow in terms of earning money and the guy #2 will earn more money at very start of his business and will run much faster than the first one; but, in case of long run ; this guy will observe failure. Then, he would definitely need to extend his business range in wider areas.
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  • Profile picture of the author ExRat
    Hi Will,

    Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

    They are worn in all countries throughout the world and that is what is so exciting because that makes the market for trousers absolutely huge!
    The first bloke needs to brush up on his research.

    Has he never been to Fiji? Or Scotland?
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    • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
      Originally Posted by ExRat View Post

      Hi Will,



      The first bloke needs to brush up on his research.

      Has he never been to Fiji? Or Scotland?
      Hi Roger

      I bet there are not many people up in Scotland wearing kilts today

      Cheers,

      Will
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  • Profile picture of the author Merylo
    This post is basically what marketing is all about, we need to focus our market, and make a unique product to ensure we can win a highly competitive market. The first guy will lose the business because his trousers is too general and he don't target any market at all. Even though the second guy is not an exactly promoting a good product, it doesn't matter as long as he have a specific market who will buy his product.
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  • Profile picture of the author JensSteyaert
    Definately the first one!
    Dropshipping is a very good business model you can easily upscale if you outsource several tasks.

    The only worry is cross border transactions which can really be a pain with refunds, taxes etc...
    If you don't mind that it's definately the way to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    I keep running accoss this thread but the question doesn't make sense.

    It's like saying which tastes better apples or oranges? And then saying "apples" taste better because it's obvious.

    Which company do you think makes more money and has more long term stability?

    Amazon - big generic company that tries to sell to everybody.

    Tap-Out - specialized clothing company narrowly targeting UFC and now trying (and failing) to grow outside of the "fighting" niche to the more general "fitness" niche.

    Yes, niche marketing can be easier to get started in, but you are always limited by the size of your market. The more niche, the smaller the market and more limited your growth is.

    If you want to start in a narrow niche, make sure it has room to grow into the larger niche it is a part of.

    The UFC is already dropping rapidly in popularity and they are losing many of their "name" stars to age and retirement.

    If the UFC can't revive more fan interest then Tap-Out will disappear in a hurry.

    But Amazon will just stop selling UFC gear.
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  • Profile picture of the author mayagh
    In my opinion the Second guy.... nowadays we need to target marketing in a clever way and it seems he has a better handle on his marketing...
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    • Profile picture of the author daj



      1. Skateboarders don't wear special pants so there's not a profitable business there, IMO. The low searches indicate this as well.


      2. Trousers is a dying word mainly used in the UK (by the older population), but it still gets 5k searches a month in the USA, and 0-1,000 searches in other countries worldwide. I still don't see a profitable business here unless those trousers are really special and well-made.


      IMO, neither of these niches are good enough to make a profitable business out of but the Trousers niche has low competition and a better chance of becoming semi-profitable.
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  • Profile picture of the author thedark
    As I said before. When the OP wrote the cases, he did not specified the start-up strategy in the first case. If he have no strategy to promote it and no money to advertise it then he will not be able even to start a business. However, if he have a strategy to go for an audience or another, and money to support advertising, some campaigns focused on dfferent kind of people, then he can succed.

    The second one should have the same long-term goal: to grow and to rule his market. However, choosing a strategy on a category of people will help a lot. He has 2 choices: to build his brand around skaters or to have a neutral brand but to invest all his efforts to advertise to skaters. If the chose the first option he will have his name, logo, all branding efforts to sell more to skaters, he will own the niche sooner. But what if the market of skaters is not enough ? Maybe he can sell more stuff to skaters. If he want to get bigger, for a long time people will know that he is dedicated to scaters and will think more before buying. For example, you know that mercedes is a high end brand, you will never go to mercedes to buy an economic car. They had to build another brand for this. Fortunately, the first market is big enough to make a lot of profits. If he start from the begining to think to get a bigger market, but he want first to promtoe to skaters, it will be harder to own that market, but with the right involvement he can, but in the same time, he can go for another niche too, which he consider it is profitable and big enough. The guy in the first scenario can also select 1,2 or 3 niches to start to advertise in, while he can think at the market as a whole.
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