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[Note: I’m thinking about giving away something away. For free. It’s going to take some significant time to put together. But if I’m going to bust my ass, then I want to make sure you actually want it (so I don't feel like an idiot). More details at the bottom of the article.]

So my second to last post, I said I’d write about . . .

The #1 Reason Why Internet Businesses Fail

Ok. This is going to be really profound.  You better sit down.  Ready?

Here goes . . .

The #1 reason why internet businesses fail is that they’re not selling the enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices.

I know. I’m a genius.

But bear with me here because the stuff that follows is really important. It’s . . .

Stuff That 99% of Internet Marketing Courses Aren’t Teaching

Businesses fail because business owners don’t ensure – BEFORE THEY START THEIR BUSINESSES – that they can sell enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices. In fact, most of them don’t know what “enough stuff” is.

And because they don’t ensure – BEFORE they start their businesses – that they can sell enough stuff to enough people at high enough prices, they make poor decisions about what products to sell and which markets to pursue.

The Tragedy of Internet Business Failure

Most aspiring internet business owners start off really excited and enthusiastic.

And the first thing most online business owners do is spend lots time & money creating a product (or e-commerce store or whatever), thousands of dollars on marketing, and endless resources trying to make their business viable.

Sometimes the business idea works to the tune of $200 or $300 per month, but most of the time (the vast majority of the time), energy and interest is quickly lost and the entrepreneur loses between $2k and $5k and (even worse) lots of hours.

In some cases, someone will spend thousands of hours building up a blog audience before they spend thousands of hours creating a product (and before they spend thousands of dollars marketing a product).  And they do this . . .

. . . only to find out that people really don’t want to buy their stuff.

Then the reality sets in that they have mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay, a long commute, a family they’d like to spend more time with, and insurance needs they can’t meet.

So they stop.

They stop because they realize that their internet business will likely will never provide for their family like it should.

And they stop because they’re paralyzed by fear that their idea will never work. Or they decide that internet marketing’s a scam… and only the "lucky" ever make any money with it.

But it didn’t have to be this way.

What a Taoist With a Whack Mustache Can Teach You About Business

A really long time ago there was dude named Sun Tzu who wrote a really old book called The Art of War. At one point, the Art of War says this:

“In war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”

-Sun Tzu

As much as anything else, this statement applies to online business. For our purposes, Sun Tzu might well have said . . .

“When creating an online business, the successful person starts his company after adequate success is certain, whereas he who is destined for bankruptcy first creates a product and then looks to see if it will be profitable.”

-Clay (paraphrasing Sun Tzu)

You see, most internet entrepreneurs are destined for defeat because they “fight” first (i.e. start a business first), and afterwards look for victory.

They first create a business or develop a product, and then look to see if it will be profitable.

The reason why most internet entrepreneurs fail is because they don’t set themselves up for dominance BEFORE starting their business. They have no cold hard data that their business will likely work before starting out. Nothing.

The Next Sentence is Long. But Please Read It All. It’s Really, Really Important.

There’s No Reason At All, AT ALL, At All that you Should Have to Sacrifice Your Free Time, Your Children’s Quality of Life, And Your Hard Earned Money In Order to Create a Product that Won’t Sell or a Market that Won’t Make You Money

Here’s why . . .

The information you need to thoroughly and exhaustively research your market — and MUCH more importantly test your market — are almost entirely free. And quick. And easy to use. And accessible.

But Here’s the Big-Ass Catch (There’s Always a Big-Ass Catch)

I just said that the information needed to thoroughly research and test your market (often in less than 24 hours) is often free, easy to access, and quick.

The catch is that it can take years of trial and error, research, and testing to know where to look (i.e. what resources to use) and much more importantly, what to look for.

Which is why I’m thinking about giving you . . .

My Business Idea Litmus Test or The Factors I Look At When Evaluating And Testing a Market

I can’t believe how naive I am.

I sat down last night with the intention of writing down my business idea litmus test (i.e. the system I personally use to decide whether to enter a market or create a product) and giving it to you in this post.  Gratis.

Several hours later, at 3 AM, I was shaking my head.

I thought that the business ideas litmus test was only going to take a few hours to write.

But now I’m thinking it’ll take about 2 whole days to write.

So here’s what I want to know: do you even want this thing (i.e. the business ideas litmus test)??

Because I Don’t Want to Feel Like a Dumbass

I’d feel like a total dumbass if I spent 2-3 days non-stop working on this thing and no one downloaded it or wanted it.

So . . .

This is What I’m Going to Do

If you want the business ideas litmus test, enter you email address below BEFORE Monday. (If I end up making it I’ll send it to you at the email address you list below).

If you and enough other people get on the “interest” list (I’m thinking around 500), then we’re good to go.  I’ll use the interest list to send it to you.

If not, then no worries. (I’ll just use the 2-3 days to do visit San Diego or something).

P.S. I have some other big upcoming news. I’ll fill you in sometime in the next two weeks. At some point.  Can’t wait to break the news. (HINT: It’s not a product launch. It’s something bigger).