The “proven strategy” that quietly kills businesses ... [🐝U]

“Just use this proven strategy.”

That might be one of the most dangerous phrases in online business.

Strategies usually don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they don’t match:
→ the stage of your business
→ the size of your audience
→ your goals
→ or how you naturally operate as a person

The same strategy that works brilliantly for the person teaching it
can completely break someone else’s business.

Not because they did it wrong.

Because it was the wrong tool for where they are right now.

I’ve been running into this a lot lately.
→ Clients struggling to launch or scale their businesses
→ Even pushback from experts & mentors while I restructure parts of my own.

Some strategies that made sense (for me) before don’t anymore.
& some things that work great for other people would be a terrible fit for me.

Which brings us to one of the most common mistakes I see when people start a business…

Yes, these strategies are ‘proven.’
They worked for someone.
(Usually the person selling the strategy.)

But that doesn’t mean they’ll work for your business
Especially if you’re at a completely different stage.

Why “proven strategies” fail

There are 2 alignment problems most of us ignore.
1 - Personality mismatch
Some strategies simply don’t fit how you naturally work.

You’ll end up like a vegan running a dairy farm.

You know what else doesn’t work?
Using “proven” strategies at the wrong stage of your business.

Yes, that’s a thing!

2 - Stage mismatch
A strategy that works for a mature business often breaks an early one.

The low-ticket elephant in the room

For starters, the tendency is to create an offer,
THEN wonder what someone would pay for it

& when you’re getting started in business
You tend to start with the low-ticket offer
- a $7 ebook
- an $8/month newsletter subscription
- a $15/month membership

It feels safer for your imposter syndrome.
& you tell yourself your audience “can’t afford” anything higher.

The problem shows up in the numbers.
They just don’t add up.

Consider how much time & effort it takes to build & sell low-priced things to get out of a job permanently.

Let’s say you need $50,000 a year in your business to leave your job.
(Yes, you may want more but let’s start here …)

to have to sell 7,143 ebooks at $7 to earn $50,000
or 6,250 newsletter subscriptions at $8/month
or 3,334 community memberships at $15/month

“but wait, there’s more”

If you’re phenomenal at copywriting & have a perfect lock on your target audience & their needs, you’ll maybe get a 10% conversion.

so you need to get your $7 ebook in front of - at least - 71,430 people
or tell 62,500 “right market” people about your newsletter
or reach 33,334 people looking for a community like yours

I’m from an old-school Italian family that bred like rabbits.
We had 400 people at an engagement party once.
& that was just “immediate” family.

So I know a lot of people
But I’m pretty sure I can’t fill a stadium with the right people ready to buy from me.

Can you do this at this stage in your business?

Now, some people argue you need a small paid offer first for “proof of concept.”
But you can get that proof much faster by working with someone 1-on-1.

& you can get to the income you need (& want) faster

The faster path most of us ignore

What if you charged $7,000 to work with someone directly?
It can be a quarter or a year.

Now you only need 8 people to say yes to reach $50k.
Doesn’t that sound a lot easier than finding 7,143 buyers?

& here’s the psychological & operational bonus for you…

I’m willing to bet you’ll work your @$$ off to help someone if they pay you that.
& you’re going to give them better results
& you’ll learn more about what they really need

That 1st-hand experience also gives you confidence & clarity

Confidence comes after you take action.
The “right” messaging shows up after you talk to real people.

& you wouldn’t need to spend time prepping materials.

You’re giving 100% to each person
You’re paying close attention to what they need & how

deliver & document as you go
Then you have the start of a packaged system for the next person
& results to back it up

You’re not just looking to make some coffee money
Even if you were, you want the effort you put in to balance what you can get out
You want to escape the 9-5 drudgery
You want freedom & flexibility

What happens when you skip this step

I had a client with a potentially industry-changing idea.

Instead of testing it with a few clients first, they spent months building a membership platform.
→ Live coaching calls.
→ self-paced courses.
→ a full resource library.

Launch day/month/quarter came.

They got 1 subscriber at $47

Now they had a bigger problem…
They have to show up & give them everything you promised
day after day
week after week

… for just $47 …

& they have the added pressure to hurry up & get more
Because not only is 1 not a community, it’s not even going to cover the cost of the platforms to host a community
… or your time

& if they don’t get what you promised, they’ll leave

The reality is, they could have put as much effort into helping that 1st community member as they would a 1-on-1 client.

But consider how hard it feels to deliver on that for a few dollars a month
What are the odds you got it all “just right”, when you’ve never worked through the process with anyone … ever

That means you’ll have to change things
& keep serving

Why it works for “gurus”

All those experts telling you to start a Substack already have years of experience
& clients
& followers

That’s just like people “admiring” all my misadventures when I travel
Statistically, I’m spending more time on the road than the rest of them combined
That means I’m more likely to experience the misadventures

Now, don’t freak out … keep in mind we’re looking at income streams.

It’s a different conversation if you’re NOT immediately (or ever) monetizing your newsletter, community, etc.

The strategy has to match the goal …
& where you’re at in business
& who you are as a person

Here are a few other ways we put the cart before the horse …
→ building a website before you've locked in your message
→ spending too much time (& money) on the perfect tech-stack
→ wasting time deciding on a business name, bank account, etc

I changed my business name a few times before settling on Be Yourself Marketing.

What I’m changing in my own business

Right now, I’m experimenting with a few clientless income streams in my own business.

Not because everyone should.

Because at this stage & with how I like to operate, it’s the strategy that makes the most sense for me.

I’m documenting what I’m building, the numbers behind it, and what’s actually working.
& explaining why it might look like hypocrisy based on what I’ve said before.

If you want the breakdowns, just reply with “clientless.”
You’ll get the details as I build them.

Make it a great “self-assessing“ week!
EG

PS:

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