I'm doing Digital Marketing and Web Design -- You idiot everyone is doing that?

He's right.

Well, there are a lot of people selling cars, copiers, groceries and just about everything else you can think of too. I wouldn't let that thought "run me out of the business" alone.

There is truth to that statement though in the sense that there are a lot of "weekend warriors" out there that can take a toll on your business if your let them. But again, that's true about other businesses as well (promotional/imprinted products, for instance).

If you compete as "just" another "weekend warrior" than you'll likely have problems, but if you compete as a professional company (even if you're a company of one) who delivers a good product, great customer service, follows up, answers questions, has a professional sales process, etc. I'm sure you'll have very little to worry about.

Is he simply referring to "everyone in college" taking courses on digital marketing with social media with some web design? if so, it does not mean that everyone in college is then going to start and run a business doing the above. Out of those that do try, not all of them will be successful. So just ignore discouraging statements, and focus on learning all you need to know in order to not have to work in a sawmill. (unless you enjoy milling saws of course).

Meh, people like that NEED to be proven wrong.

The internet is here to stay. Its already changed our lifes so drastically already. And it will only continue to do so.

There is LOTS of money to be maid in this digital era so why not jump on the band wagon and try.

At least you will have the skills to survive in twenty years time when we eat, sleep and drink Internet.

I can imagine working in a saw mill is very profitable.... go ptove them wrong.... nothing feels better than showing the doubters up...lol

Danny

The real problem with this guys stance is that he doesn't need to justify or prove what he's saying to you. How many times have you heard "Everyone's doing it!" for almost any trend you can think of. Just saying it doesn't mean it's so!

The other thing is that "doing" social media is NOT the same as using social media as a part of your marketing strategy. How many people have a FB page? Now, how many people advertise on FB? Now how many people offer a FB marketing consultancy to other businesses as a product. By the time you get to the last question the answer is very few. So "everyone is doing it" does not cover every base!

Recently I was taking a day off, and climbing to the top of a nearby mountain. It was a nice spring day – one of the best we have had this year – so there were quite a few families on the lower paths to the top. The car parks were busy with kids running around, families with baby buggies, older people strolling in the woods, and people walking their dogs.

As I got about half way up the crowds had thinned. There were some younger couples, no kids here, and only a couple of serious walkers with their dogs.

By the time I was close to the top there were just a few hard core walkers like me. The last stage of the climb was steep loose shale, and the clouds were right down and you could only see a few feet in front of you. Up there the breeze was significantly colder, I was crunching through the last frozen snow, and I was wearing my hat, gloves and outer shell jacket to keep warm.

As I got to the top I broke through the cloud layer. The sun was bright and the view was stunning. I could look down on the white cloud layer and could see for miles. It had been worth all the work and sweat.

As I started to eat my lunch at the summit it struck me that this is a lot like internet marketing (and all things "web" really)

Most people will do the easy stuff, and you’ll be just part of the crowd. You’ll be mixing with everyone. You’ll see all the free information that everyone knows about and reads!

As you take the next step to internet business success it might be a bit harder, or need more work, but you’ll leave some of your competition behind, because they can’t really be bothered putting in the time or effort. The majority are lazy and unfocussed after all.

The next step might require a bit of serious investment in your education, or might require you to get some help by signing up to a mentorship program. As you take this next step you’ll leave some more of the competition behind, again because they think it’s too hard, they can't afford it, or they can’t be bothered!

When you reach the summit of your internet business goals you’ll find that the top of the IM mountain is a fairly sparsely populated place. There are only a few serious players at this level.

This is what internet marketing and all things "web" is like, be it web development or IM or anything else internet related. For example, if you’re only ever prepared to play at article marketing for your traffic; if you’re content to sell other peoples products as an affiliate; if you just want to use low quality free PLR or resale rights, then you’ll surely be stuck at the bottom. If you never really invest in your education or skills, then you will always be stuck in the “car park” with the dog walkers, day strollers and kids!

If you only ever go after the next, biggest, shiny system or “make money online product” then you might get further up the path to the top, but you’ll never reach the summit. You might make a bit of money on the side, but you’ll never leave your day job, or have a proper internet business!

To reach the top with the serious marketers then you need to play the game as a serious player. You need the right resources, and you need to invest in the right services, education and traffic. You need to take the actions that result in success!

Every time you do something that’s a bit more difficult, you will leave more and more of your competition behind. Every time you do something that takes a bit more knowledge or skill, the crowd thins out a little. Every time you do something that takes a bit more time or work, you’ll find the path a little less crowded.

And then one day, you’ll break through into the sunshine and discover that you have arrived at the top of the internet business mountain, with the serious players.

Good luck and you're doing the right thing educating yourself! If this guy knows what he's talking about how come he's working where he is at the job he's doing?

The real truth is that everyone is NOT doing it. The real truth is that if you want to be the best you need to put in the work and time, and this will leave everyone else behind!

Just don't pay attention to negative people, including members of your family.

95% of people buying WSOs wont do a thing after.
There's competition in everything you can think of it.
Just be different, have a good product and service.
The rest will come around before you know it.
Most people creating good websites are making very good money flipping them.
You do or will have the tools to do the same.
Keep Focus and don't let it go.
Good luck to you!!

Meharis

What's your business Unique Value Proposition going to be? Of course, if you're just another "me too" then your business plan is seriously flawed.

There are several ways to cut down on your competition:
* Do as artists do - tie your product to your own unique and individual nature. Nobody else is you. Therefore you have zero actual competitors, just other's trying for the same market niche.
* Concentrate on your Unique Value Proposition.
* Be honest and sincere and prove it - that puts you above many.
* Specialize in terms of both your market niche and your skills.
* Always work toward long-term business relationships, not short-term sales.
* Always over-deliver on value and quality. Even if that lowers your profits a bit now, it's an investment in your future. Top quality and value will put you above many competitors.

Hope this helps...

Take no notice, I live in the UK and do just fine. As long as you're not scared of a bit competition, and are willing t work hard, you'll do fine.

LOL that cracked me up

The fact is there is a plentiful market for it and as the internet is a permanant fixture, there always will be a market for digital services.

A solid marketing plan which you revisit regularly will see you make a living from offering such services.

"Everyone is doing that" ... sure. But "everyone" is not making a full time income doing it.. That's the difference.

The Internet is a fad. It will all blow over soon, just like Beenie Babies.

Lol, joking.

The guy works in a sawmill so in my opinion is not the most qualified to speak on the subject so take it with a grain of salt.

He is right in that lots of people are in this game but in order to succeed, you only need to do 2 things (listed in order of importance).....

1. Be a better MARKETER than them to sell your skillset to your target market.
2. Offer more VALUE than them to your target market

And what will he do if the sawmill closes down?

I did Digital Media at university too - best thing I ever done

Everyone might be doing it, BUT cream rises to the top! So in other words, if you are the best at what you do, it doesn't matter that everyone is doing it. You do it better and make more money than them.

Also, everyone may be doing it, but are they even having success? Just because everyone is doing IM doesn't mean everyone is successful. Most people fail for many reasons. Some give up too soon. Others never learn the proper way to do things. Even others don't know anything about running a real business.

I think you should not worry about what other people are saying and do what you gotta do to succeed. That's the best thing to do! Who cares if "everyone" is doing it? You do it better, faster, and rise to the top! Good luck!

And the question you really need to ask is how can someone who works full time in a sawmill even really know what he's talking about?

Hi, Byron.

The problem isn't in WHAT you are doing so much as your positioning in terms of what BENEFIT you provide. A previous poster in this thread said that if you compete as a professional firm providing a good product and service, you'll do fine makes a fair point however I would add that even then, you are still competing. The secret to building a wildly successful business is to position yourself as completely unique in your market niche so that you are incomparable. As long as you focus on production services then people can immediately compare you to others in your line of work. However, the second you focus on your unique intellectual property that only you can offer then you no longer compete with anyone... and you can charge loads more for your knowledge. This one shift is what transformed my business over a two week period last November. It's amazing.

Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Brian

This sawmill that he works at - do they need a website?

Where there is Competition there is Money

I am a therapist and I starting to find out that the #1 problem for other therapists it's getting clients!! As long as the schools continue to provide degrees to those in the many helping fields there will always be people needing traffic to their physical business or their websites. Every day it's an opportunity, some days are better than others but the high from a sale it's irressistible. I used to be a finacial advisor and reinventd myself by accident, I trying to create my own website, seo and many other skills I told myself I can sell this to others therapists. Some are not interested in reinventing we just want to improve it and selling it.

What man go and do you! If that's what you want to do! I was just in a group and I asked the question what are you doing to get leads? Only one person said Google ad-words. You know I got happy! Why? Because now I can teach them how to give away a free report and collect leads. Their always going to be opportunity in what you do. You just have to learn how to do it better. Some business don't even have websites. Everyday a new business open up for business.

many chefs in restaurants, not all of their food is great.. if you are good at it and see results, do not let it go

I hope you understand how fortunate you are.

Most of your competition (all those weekend warriors all over the world) are self-taught, floundering around learning things the hard way - by experimenting and making mistakes. (Well, they are if they're anywhere near my age.)

If you have good tutors, you're getting a jump start on most of your competitors.

If the market is profitable, there will be competitors. You definitely not going to stop your venture because there are competitors. There are more than enough customers and you will simply need to stay focus on getting your own customers. I will focus more of my time on getting exposure for my product or services.

Yeah he's right, not only that but there's always someone far more intelligent than you trying to out smart you in this business. The Internet is one of the most competitive business environments I've ever known.

So what if everyone is doing it?

Everyone is having sex, eating to survive and showering daily as well.

If this is what you choose to do, make it your passion, and go hard so that you're producing top quality.

Just because everyone else is "doing it," doesn't mean they're doing it well.

Do the opposite what everyone else is doing!!!!

Depends on your business/career goals. If you want to go very far ahead then yes, going into this market won't do it because everyone is doing it. But if you want to have a stable, consistent stream of income then you do this because, even though a lot of people are doing it, there are EVEN more people who want this service.

Good luck.

The diet and weight loss market will continue to be profitable as long as there are people that are obese.

The IM market will continue to be profitable as long as there are people that want to make money online.

The car industry will continue to be profitable as long as there are people that want to drive.

The food industry will continue to be profitable as long as there are people that want to eat.

The web design and social media markets will continue to be profitable as long as people use the internet.

Seriously. The "everyone is doing it" excuse was invented by people that were either too lazy or didn't want to deal with any competition.

Fortunately we need people like that. If we didn't, who'd work at the sawmills?

When everyone else is doing it... you find a way to do it better/different/more unique.

Some of the most successful products in the world are just slight modifications on what's already out there and what's been selling for years.

I NEVER want to be a pioneer... because pioneers find out that there's no demand. I'd much rather enter a market where the demand is there... then it's a matter of becoming better/different/unique.

Just proceed by asking yourself this...

“What do I want to do in my business that’s different from everyone else?”

As I got older, I realized some people talk just to talk, or make conversation. It doesn't mean that they have anything worthwhile to say... it's just a timber worker's thoughts anyways. Also, If I agree with something, I'll file it away mentally... if it doesn't apply, I'll let it go... Let this one go. =)

Trey from netBrainiac.com

He got a point. Everyone is trying internet marketing.. However, 95% of them fail..

I wouldn't take much business advice from someone who has
been an employee for years.

How many successful businesses have THEY set-up and
run?

Most likely answer: NONE.

(Otherwise, why would they still be working for someone
else?).

Sure. Listen to what they have to say, but unless they have
a track record of success in business, I wouldn't give their
opinion much weight.

Instead, ask a business owner with a track record of success
how they would enter a highly competitive market and win.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

A lot of people are doing this now a days, but how many of them are successfully doing Digital Marketing and Web Design ?

Its a trend, of course he will say that. Just take action and show results to prove the haters.

Awww; pay him no mind. He's probably just repeating the same thing he heard when he told someone in town that he was working at the sawmill.

Frequently, we'll see people who announce that they are looking for a niche where there is no competition, selling something no one else is selling. If you find that niche, it's likely one where nobody is buying, either!

The surest way to know there is profit in something is when people flock to it. You just have to do it better than 90% of others who dabble in it (which ain't that hard!).

Microsoft didnt invent the graphical OS
Google didnt invent web search
Facebook didnt invent social networking

So what if everyone is doing it. We know for sure that means one thing. There is money in it. The trick is to do it better.

There's a reason 'everyone' is doing it: there is demand for it.

The internet has created several billionaires already. The majority of those who try have yet to make any considerable income.

What does this tell you? It's easy to start a website, create a WordPress blog or start a free forum. What is difficult is, as usual, what most people avoid. Those who make billions online usually have amazing ideas, great timing and the desire and passion to succeed. If you can't differentiate yourself from other web designers, then you're probably in the wrong industry.

This guy is full of it.

I'm doing computers from the year 1990......

And I'll tell when Amazon came out in 90s people thought they Amazon would crash. But someone stuck around quickly learned the technology made a LOT of money and started selling on amazon.

When Google came out and then FB the world needed "someone" to learn the technology and create new online businesses, websites, marketing, etc.

Now, jump on some new technology where you can see an opportunity and learn that.

Don't listen to stupid people that are trying to stop you!

I'm in Ireland too and did the DMI postgraduate in Digital Marketing. That guy is talking through his worst feature. There are absolutely loads of jobs in digital marketing in this country with bluechip companies. Of course you can use what you learn to work for yourself either but the qualification will get you in the door with the likes of Google and Facebook to interview stage at least. There are lots of small time web designers doing wordpress sites here and there but almost none of them have any business sense whatsoever. They will never get beyond a cheap WP site or two per month and that simply won't pay the bills unless they are happy to supplement the dole with cash in hand. If you are going it alone go to your local Enterprise Board, there are grants available for starting up your own business including R&D money for developing new software (even if you are outsourcing everything). If you incorporate you can even get staff through the JobBridge scheme. Definitely worth investigating. My startup went through an Enterprise Ireland incubator recently and we're in the funnel to HPSU status, we also secured €100K worth of services and support from Microsoft on the basis of an elevator pitch and a coffee. What they say about Ireland becoming the Silicon Valley of Europe is true. All of the biggest tech companies in the world have their EU headquarters here including Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Linkedin, Ebay... even Hubspot have just set up in Dublin. Take advantage of this now because it may not last forever (eg if the tax situation changes)!