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Stories like this are inspirational on one hand and on the other completely irrational. Making $17K a month isn't as easy as finding a niche and working an ema

Stories like this are inspirational on one hand and on the other completely irrational. Making $17K a month isn't as easy as finding a niche and working an email list. Anyone who has built a business that has achieved a modicum of success could write a book about all of the challenges they faced, how they addressed them, and how they would have addressed them if only they had the benefit of better experience in the beginning. There's no secret to success. The key is understanding what success actually means to you, and working smarter or harder (or both) than the next guy to achieve it. Selling 800+ pallettes of cinderblocks to a niche market once is an achievement. Selling that many every month? That takes knowing more than just how to make them.

fencepost 9y ago
And there's a difference between making $17k/month and clearing $17k/month. mathofma (who makes a lot of cinderblocks) notes elsewhere in the discussion that there's not really that much margin to make it an attractive target. It's a good small business that covers its manufacturing, labor, etc. costs with likely a bit of profit beyond that, and it could grow a bit (as it has with bricks and other materials), but it's still the kind of thing with a relatively small total world market. There may be additional markets he could spread into particularly by going international, but that's still a limited set of potential customers.
blunte 9y ago
In an internet full of advice that's provided by people with no experience, I find it very difficult to trust a source of information. Since you seem to know about this, perhaps you can suggest where to learn about building and utilizing email lists to build niche businesses. TIA.
- brett40324 9y ago
  Search for Start Small, Stay Small. This book is full of truth and wisdom, and has excellent insight on building and using a mailing list.

fencepost 9y ago

And there's a difference between making $17k/month and clearing $17k/month. mathofma (who makes a lot of cinderblocks) notes elsewhere in the discussion that there's not really that much margin to make it an attractive target. It's a good small business that covers its manufacturing, labor, etc. costs with likely a bit of profit beyond that, and it could grow a bit (as it has with bricks and other materials), but it's still the kind of thing with a relatively small total world market. There may be additional markets he could spread into particularly by going international, but that's still a limited set of potential customers.

blunte 9y ago

In an internet full of advice that's provided by people with no experience, I find it very difficult to trust a source of information. Since you seem to know about this, perhaps you can suggest where to learn about building and utilizing email lists to build niche businesses. TIA.

brett40324 9y ago
Search for Start Small, Stay Small. This book is full of truth and wisdom, and has excellent insight on building and using a mailing list.