Is it going to work

Posted on September 23, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized | | Written by Gary Reid

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Starting a web business is so easy today that there really isn’t anything to stop you. But, once started the real business of getting going starts. Alarm:Clock was kind enough to mention me today in an article about this very subject - after the launch let down.

The article follows up one by Blognation Track your time and manage your expectations, written by Markus Spath, who writes

Since there are only about two or three launches each day almost any site will get more initial press and users in the first couple of days than they may have hoped for. But the blogs will move on and so does the crowd. The euphoria comes with a hangover and only then the real life begins.

How true. If it’s your first launch it’s easy to get carried away with the honeymoon rush of visitors. I certainly had it with J-Board, which got a mention on Mashable and Folkstr, which was mentioned on eHub and Read/Write.

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In residual terms all the mentions have provided good leads and continue to do so in a much smaller way, but it certainly shouldn’t be something to rely on.

Marketing your start-up is relentless, it’s lonely, it can be expensive, it is hard work. And, for all this effort how many don’t bother to track even the simple things?

If you keep all of these stats you can, at some point, work out if it’s going to work. You can decide whether you can scale, spend more on marketing, will it result in a better bottom line?

The real key is what you do when those stats flatline?

Seth Godin calls it ‘The Dip‘. I love Seth’s books, they are my read of choice while sat in Stansted Airport. What I love about The Dip is how it turns ‘winners never quit’ on it’s head

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt-until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

When we started out with Folkstr we knew we’d have people who just didn’t like it, but that’s ok, what you never know is where the journey is going to take you, I never thought Folkstr would end up becoming a telecoms business, but it is!

Is it going to work? Who knows. Will it end up being exactly what you planned? probably not. Should you give up? Read The Dip.

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