This series starts with an introduction to the 1000 True Fans concept and solopreneur Alexandria Brown. The first part demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of dollars can come from a handful of manageable online income streams. The second part highlights three keys to attractive big-ticket VIP memberships and events and finds us exceeding our $1,000,000 goal with only 441 True Fans. The last part outlines the hands-off workstyle that enables Ali to get lots done and still have a life.
You may want to read these earlier posts for context on today’s topic. And nope, this is not a sponsored case study.
“Reading between the lines”; cc Emuishere Peliculas, courtesy of Flickr
Whew! Well, this topic has run out of steam and so have I :)
But there are still elements to the case study that need mentioning, even if they don’t fit tidily into categories…or maybe especially because they don’t. Some go along with the great comments on these posts, where folks clearly picked up—and picked at—what wasn’t expressly written.
So to wrap up the series, here are some of my untidy, uncategorized, yet-unsaid thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and assumptions about Alexandria Brown’s business structure/model:
Freeing up our time ain’t free
Automation and delegation cost money, and a steady stream of it. Payment processors and shopping cart engines call for transactional fees and commissions, and sometimes monthly fees and storage fees. Virtual assistants’ time costs $30+ per hour, and is often packaged in blocks of time, or by task. Freedom comes at a price, and I’ll be happy to pay it when the time comes.
A lot goes out before anything comes in
VIP events call for VIP accommodations, food, and entertainment, with proportional out-of-pocket cash for deposits and whatnot before any ticket sale revenue.
A lot goes in before anything comes out
Creating a first product is hungry work. Like most creative work, tons of time goes into researching and developing the product, bringing it to market, and attracting buyers before the author/creator sees a penny of earnings.
Self-motivate or perish
Between the first spark of the idea and the first sale are hundreds of effortful (wo)manhours, and outside motivators like a dwindling savings account and encouraging friends and family will only stretch so far. A regularly-stoked inner fire is essential…ask me how I know. No, wait. Don’t ask.
This is get rich stuff, but not get rich quick stuff
It took Ali 7 years to build what she has. ‘Nuf said.
Stamina wins the race, not speed
See above ^
Limitless demand
The digital product portion of Ali’s machine is structured to work on maintenance-free autopilot, and generates income 24/7/365. The only limitation is the size of the market, which (for her) grows with online income hopefuls every day—she has 28,000 ezine subscribers now, had 22,000 just four months ago.
Limitless supply
Create something once, sell it a million times. Behold the beauty of digital products (music, ebooks, whatevah) that don’t require a stock room and have no per-item production costs.
Limited risk
The only per-item fees for digital products are transactional (payment processing, shopping cart commission, etc.), so there’s no outgo until there’s income. Well, there are the annual domain and hosting fees. But that’s less than $60 a year with GoDaddy, so pack a lunch once a month and build sumpin’!
Reactions to the potential
At first, I went tharn at the idea I could or would know something worth $2,000,000—totally deer-in-the-headlights. Then I wondered if I already knew something worth a fortune, which led to sifting through my Idea Bag for something with larger-than-average potential. And left me wondering: what if I didn’t yet know my Golden Ticket topic…how would I recognize it when it surfaced?
Dig deep into something deeper
The topic has to have some meat on its bones. It needs be vast or bottomless or both so it can spread across a niche or two, or go wayyyy deep if it’s restricted to just one niche. It needs to interrelate with other things, be worthy of a subtopic or two. And it has to age well, or at least gracefully. It doesn’t have to last forever, it just needs a lasting effect. It doesn’t have to be unique, just uniquely executed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just capable of being perfected.
Popularity not required
It’s encouraging (and a relief) to have proof and to know in my gut that I could earn enough, maybe even more than enough, without needing to attract and hold the attention of millions. I’ve never been popular in my life. I wouldn’t know how to win a popularity contest, or what to do if—by some freakish happenstance—I won it. But earnings from 1000 people? I know exactly how to get that started.
Et tu?
Got some stray thoughts about the case study?
Lemme know down below…
