When do you call time on a project

11 replies
Like most people trying to make money online I have had a few ideas which have been complete failures - they make close to nothing yet I continue to work on them...

Whether it is plain vanity or a me not willing to admit I was wrong I keep working to try and salvage something from a clearly sinking ship. I think that the nature of IM demands persistence & determination but there is a fine line between failure and success.

How does everyone else decide when to shelve a project? Rightly or wrongly I don't think I will ever stop working on several of my websites although they are unlikely to take off
#call #project #time
  • Profile picture of the author Stefan Shields
    Well I've only been going for a few months and I'm not really set up properly yet but I don't think you should ever give up on anything.

    It's good to have your eggs in more than one basket but you need to keep coming back to things regularly and you'll get there someday.
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  • Profile picture of the author ElusiveEnd
    Originally Posted by Paul Hill SEO View Post

    Like most people trying to make money online I have had a few ideas which have been complete failures - they make close to nothing yet I continue to work on them...

    Whether it is plain vanity or a me not willing to admit I was wrong I keep working to try and salvage something from a clearly sinking ship. I think that the nature of IM demands persistence & determination but there is a fine line between failure and success.

    How does everyone else decide when to shelve a project? Rightly or wrongly I don't think I will ever stop working on several of my websites although they are unlikely to take off
    Most ideas generally are

    I tend to continue working on them, at a slower pace, after confirming that the particular project is a sinking ship. I like to do it for a few reasons:
    a) It may eventually pick up
    b) If it is a website than It is always worth pushing for higher PR, if only for the ability to use it for a decent link on the next project.
    c) It's good practice to keep working on it to try and find out where you potentially went wrong.

    It differs person to person though, I know many people that will give up on them in order to put more effort into more successful projects.
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  • Profile picture of the author tdanz
    Yes definitely keep it..and maybe send 30 minutes a week and a few dollars to maintain it..it might turn into a great opportunity in the future.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    If you are doing things 'hoping' they will help - STOP.

    If you have a clear plan and know what actions are needed to get a specific result (in revenue terms) then go for it and make it a priority.

    If you find yourself just doing 'stuff' to see if it helps then you've probably lost the plot or the idea was flawed.

    Don't waste your time doing things which you don't know WILL increase your revenue.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

      If you find yourself just doing 'stuff' to see if it helps then you've probably lost the plot or the idea was flawed.
      This is the essence.

      I've had projects flop. We all have if we've been around long enough.

      I go into a project with an objective and a plan. I think I know the factors I need to concentrate on. So, if something isn't working like I thought it would, I look at it in terms of my initial factors. Then I make a change to one thing, but I don't just "try something different." I change something because...

      If I find myself out of ideas for things to change and still have a reason why I think the change will work, it's time to either pull the plug or put things on the back burner until conditions change.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Paul Hill SEO View Post

    I think that the nature of IM demands persistence & determination but there is a fine line between failure and success.
    I agree: there can be, indeed.

    Originally Posted by Paul Hill SEO View Post

    Rightly or wrongly I don't think I will ever stop working on several of my websites although they are unlikely to take off
    That'll be "wrongly", then - not "rightly". :p

    For me, it's about understanding why something isn't working. Correcting my mistakes is always based on analyzing enough to discover (with at least a reasonably satisfactory degree of certainty) why/how I've screwed up, because without knowing that, I can't possibly decide whether to continue or abandon something. I actually abandoned most of what I originally started off with ... but only after realizing why it wasn't ever going to work out for me: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8532320
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  • Profile picture of the author HeadStartSEO
    I hear this question a lot from consulting clients, and usually it's the result of a lack of a long term vision and clearly set goals for the project.

    Outline your goals, then clearly plan out how you're going to reach them. This gives you something to calibrate against other than a "feeling that you're persisting".
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  • There are 2 main reasons as of why a project (website, product, service, promo campaign, whatever) might fail:

    1) No traffic: you cannot determine whether a project is viable or not until you've tested it out with a significant amount of traffic. You must make sure to drive some few thousands of targeted visitors in order to gather some statistical data. Pay for that traffic if necessary, but don't give up on a project until enough eyeballs have given you enough statistical info.

    2) No conversions: so you've got the targeted traffic but it's not converting into sales? then it's time to tweak your offer, your pitch, your pricing plan, etc. Continue driving traffic while split testing all those variables, hopefully increasing those conversions as you tweak and optimize.

    If eventually, after having driven enough traffic and having optimized your site to the best of your capacity, you're still not making money off that project... well, then it's time to accept that the market is not excited enough about it and it's time to move on.

    Some projects eventually succeed, some don't. I've had my fair share of both, and quite frankly I still fail to determine what was the pivotal differential point between the two types. I've had some projects that seemed awesome in my mind but never netted me anything other than headaches
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  • Profile picture of the author brutecky
    Originally Posted by Paul Hill SEO View Post

    Like most people trying to make money online I have had a few ideas which have been complete failures - they make close to nothing yet I continue to work on them...
    You may not like what Im going to say but please dont be offended Im only trying to be helpful. First let me qualify myself by saying I make my entire living online and have for the last several years.

    Ok that being said a couple of things stuck out in your message.

    1) "Like most people trying to make money online I have had a few ideas" .. how many is a few? Are you jumping around from one thing to another? A lack of focus is a big problem.

    2) What kind of business plan are you creating for your ideas (before you even start them)? Are you planning everything out, reviewing, and refining before you even start?

    3) What kind of effort are you putting into your idea's? Are you investing several hours a day (or more)?

    Basically are you treating your online business as just that. A real business .. a true job? I ask because in my line of work I have seen scores of people do very well and hundreds of people fail and in my experience the #1 reason people fail is NOT because they had a bad idea, its a lack of planning, effort, and commitment. That is since you have had a 'few' ideas not make any money you might start considering the possibility the the problem isnt the 'ideas' its you.

    If you do conclude that the problem is you then the strong upside is that you can easily correct the problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    Grow your winners, although if you spot a new opportunity then rush out a quick 1.0 of something and see if it has potential.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hill SEO
    Interesting comments guys - particularly like this quote from AndyHenry:

    If you find yourself just doing 'stuff' to see if it helps then you've probably lost the plot
    I do not think for one minute that there is a one-size-fits-all golden rule to finding success via Internent Marketing, but hard work, motivation and focus do seem to be a common attribute of all successful marketers.

    If I look at myself I can relate to what a lot of the comments above have eluded to...The problem is me...

    I certainly put the effort in and know what I want to acheive but there probably is a lack of focus and not enough smart working. I am not in any real rush to make money online as I have a well paying day job but I do hope that I can turn my online business in to something extremely profitable in the future.
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