Too Late For The Gravy Train?
I read a lot about the various bandwagons that everyone jumps on and I want to correct a misconception that seems to follow all of them.
Bear in mind, there’s a heatwave in the UK and so I’m crankier than usual.
If you ever read about a money making technique and wonder, “am I too late to jump on this opportunity?” then this article might be for you.
Your Competition
In most entrepreneurial industries there is very little in the way of competition. I can’t speak to the corporate environment because I’ve never been a part of it and it functions in an entirely different way.
In terms of entrepreneurship though, there are a ton of lazy people and people who don’t know what they’re doing. You often hear phrases like “90% of businesses fail within the first year” and it’s important to remember that half of those weren’t businesses to start with and most of the other half shouldn’t have been businesses.
Unless you’re surprised that some stay-at-home mum didn’t make millions from her organic cupcake business or that guy you know didn’t succeed in his attempt to start a new restaurant with no experience.
Most of your competition in any industry don’t know what they’re doing, don’t want to put in thousands of hours’ worth of work and don’t have the resources to succeed even if they do.
Now, that doesn’t mean necessarily that you do either, but it is what it is.
Now, add in the fact that most people who have the entrepreneurial bug are looking for the easiest money possible, and we start to build an argument.
The Easiest Money Available
It only takes a quick glance at every entrepreneur forum to see that most people who call themselves entrepreneurs aren’t really that at all.
They’re hustlers trying to make the quickest buck for the least effort.
I have no ill will towards those people; if it works, it works.
But to broach the subject of this article: when you see someone say “the ship has sailed” they often mean “the ship to the easiest possible money has sailed and now you have to actually put some work in.”
In the past year, we’ve had:
- “dropshipping is no longer viable”
- “T-shirt businesses are no longer viable”
- “You can’t make money by creating apps”
- “Subscription boxes are dead”
Today I read about how copywriting is no longer viable long term as a career, because we’re all going to be squeezed out by 3rd worlders and stay at home mums.
That’s literally what the person said.
Look, T-shirt businesses aren’t dead. The ship has sailed on you being able to set up a Teespring account and creating a product line straight from cartoons you nicked from imgur or hired some guy on fiverr to create, but people still need to wear clothes.
You can’t make money creating apps or copywriting or building a physical product business? Come off it. People still buy stuff, people need tech more than ever and the written word has never been more prominent in terms of marketing.
The crazy thing is that the guy who said he was a copywriter and it wasn’t viable long term also said he “got in early.”
Copywriting has been around for a hundred years. You can read Scientific Advertising and it’s still as relevant now as it was then, and only the media has changed – not the message.
The Burst Bubble
So, the above examples show that the bubble bursting isn’t everything. In fact, it’s not really much at all. Most people want to throw together a quick website (or not even that. I often see forum threads saying “how can I do affiliate marketing without a website?” or “how can I start selling stuff wen I have no money and don’t own anything?”) and put no effort in.
If you’re talking about an entirely new concept; like customised t-shirts, then that approach will work until there’s a glut in the market when everyone jumps on it.
After that glut, all of those people who can’t or won’t put in any effort will disappear onto the next scheme, and that’s when it’s a great time to jump in.
Why?
Because everyone is abandoning the market and the blueprints for success are all basically there… all you have to do is be a bit smarter about what you’re offering.
Final Thoughts And Future Predictions
These bubbles inflate and pop all the time. You know a bubble is about to burst when millions of Kindle authors start writing pamphlets about how to make millions doing whatever it is you find.
Again… no hate and I might be guilty of doing that at times. Whatever.
The point is though you have to recognise the bubble and get I when the penny drops to its lowest. Kind of like if a company has a catastrophe (like it’s CEO goes on a drugs bender, rapes his secretary and then shoots his family or something) you know the stock is going down the toilet. If you buy at the lowest point, you’re likely to see your investment rise.
Often when internet bubbles burst, there are opportunities to pick them up at the low point.
Here’s a good example: cryptocurrency.
I’m not recommending anyone invest in cryptocurrency right now (or necessarily ever.)
But it fits our descriptions for a niche to watch:
- Forums and chatrooms are popping up left, right and centre to cash in on cryptocurrency
- Those forums are filled with people who know nothing about either the tech, investing or even basic financial literacy (e.g. I saw a kid spending his entire student loan on some new bitcoin alternative; bad idea)
- The Kindle vultures and lifestyle bloggers are creating their free sales funnels on how to live on a beach while some digital wallet makes you a billionaire
Now, cryptocurrency in general has massive long term issues. (Outside the scope of this article by a thousand miles.) However, the gullible don’t know about those. Regardless, cryptocurrency as a concept is a long-term thing and it won’t go away after those gullible people lose all their cash and start calling it a scam.
That’s why it’s a good niche to watch out for; long term potential and a short term “craze” that’s welling up into a bubble.
Look out for these and prepare.