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The 4 Hour Workweek
Pareto’s Law – Roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
Parkinson’s Law – Work expands to full the time available for it’s completion
Refine rules, processes and systems before adding people (Elimination).
Step 1 – Finding
- Resell a product
- License a product
- Create a product
Cost $50-$200, 8x – 10x markup
1-2 weeks from order placement to shippable product
Fully explainable in a good FAQ (avoid ingestibles)
GO NICHE OR GO BROKE
People can dislike you, but they should never misunderstand you.
Step 2 – Testing
- Look at the best competition and create a more compelling offer on a basic 1-3 page website
- Test the offer using short Google Adwords campaigns
- Either cut your losses or invest
Search similar products and analyze the top competition to see how you can differentiate yours
Website with homepage, next page with pricing (s&h), and last page to “confirm order” to test pricing and demand
Google Adwords 50-100 specific terms to A-B Test ads, to perfect ad
High conversion rates with low cost-per-click
The ads cannot trick prospects into visiting the website
Disable the feature that Google serves only the best ad
Analyze data and determine – divest or invest
Step 3 – MBA: Management By Absence
Start with automation as your goal. How to manage employees? Remove the human element. Create a process-driven business, not founder-driven. Create a business that bothers us as little as possible.
Phase 1: 0-50 units of product shipped
Do it all yourself. Forward to your phone number and email address for customer questions/concerns. Documents all common questions/answers to update FAQ and train future phone operators. Handle advertising and website yourself, and optimize where needed. Handle packaging and shipping to determine cheapest options for both. Use PayPal, but investigate merchant accounts at your bank as well as credit card processing. If affordable and possible, contract a product manufacturer.
Phase 2: 10+ units shipped per week
Find fulfillment companies with no/low setup fees and monthly minimums that can respond to order status emails/calls from customers (provide copy and paste responses to common questions). Ask for “net-30 terms”. Have your contract manufacturer ship directly to the fulfillment house. Provide fulfillment company contact info on site for customers.
Phase 3: 20+ units shipped per week
Call “End-To-End” fulfillment houses that handle it all from order to status to returns and refunds. Ask them about costs and C.C. processors they collaborate with for file transfers and problem solving. It’s crucial that your outsources work together. Set up an account with a C.C. processor first. This is critical because a fulfillment house can only handle refunds and declined cards for transitions they process themselves through an outsourced C.C. processor. No longer using PayPal, an SSL Certificate is necessary for the website.
Deadlines over details.
Ads/Site clear about products benefits, as well as what it isn’t
Offer low priced products (not free) to capture contact info when testing market
One purchase options, maybe 2
One shipping option, no overnight or expedited shipping.
No international shipping. Avoid countries known for fraud.
Offer a lose-win guarantee. Example 110% money back.
Online orders only. No call orders.
No Western Union, checks or money orders.
Require Tax ID for wholesale resellers
Refers wholesale resellers to an online order form that must be printed, filled out, and faxed in. Never negotiate pricing. “Company policy.”
Outsourcing companies over freelances just incase someone doesn’t perform, there is no business interruption
Ensure that outsourcers communicate among themselves to solve problems
Give outsourcers written permission to make inexpensive decisions without you.
Don’t be the CEO or the Founder
Put multiple email/phone contacts on websites for different departments
Setup an interactive voice response remote receptionist (IVR)
Don’t provide home address