Engineering a “Muse” – Volume 2: Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses 214 Comments
The “LapDawg” earns $10,000-$25,000 per month for Tonny Shin.
In the last four years, I’ve received hundreds of successful case studies via e-mail, and more than 1,000 new businesses were created during a recent Shopify competition, but I’ve presented only a handful of a case studies.
In this post, I’ll showcase three successful muses inspired by The 4-Hour Workweek, including lessons learned, what worked, and what didn’t. Income ranges from $1,500 – $25,000 per month…
“LapDawg” by Tonny Shin
Describe your muse in 1-3 sentences.
Portable laptop table(s).
What is the website for your muse?
http://lapdawg.com
How much revenue is your muse currently generating per month (on average)?
$10,000 – $25,000 per month
To get to this monthly revenue number, how long did it take after the idea struck?
6 months.
How did you decide on this muse?
I got injured one day, severely twisting my ankle while playing tennis. The doctor said to stay in bed with minimal movement. Well, there is not much to do in bed lying around all day, and I needed my laptop. But it was super uncomfortable to use! Your groin area heats up a lot when it’s on your lap, which is no good for a male. I tried propping it up on a pillow but the laptop would overheat. I also got sore in a hurry when I was on my stomach. I needed something to hold my laptop that was portable, ergonomically comfortable, and easy to adjust to any position I wanted.
What ideas did you consider but reject, and why?
Starting an internet marketing and consulting business. There were just too many negatives. It turned out to be: (1) Un-scalable, since there is only one of me; (2) Time-consuming, not only in the technical/maintenance side, but also educating the client; (3) Cost heavy. You need to find good web designers and skilled programmers, and pay them a good hourly rate; (4) Research heavy. You need to keep up with this stuff all the time; (5) On call. You have to be around if you want to bring in sales and keep your clients happy, no matter what situation comes up.
My most important goal for me planning my own business was all about “ROE,” or Return On Effort, and NOT just “ROI.” The ROE for consulting would have been way too low, while LapDawg happens to be very high!
What were some of the main tipping points (if any) or “A-ha!” moments? How did they come about?
The main “A-ha” was realizing that starting with the right complementary partners was key to long-term success! Fortunately, my job at the time gave me access to talented web designers and programmers. Selling them on the idea, getting the right agreements in place, and then splitting the work involved took time to develop. But in the end, you have to trust that people will do what they are best at.
To this degree, it substantially cut our initial costs as I partnered up with a web designer, and business analyst/programmer who, by profession, allowed maximum efficiency in getting things done right!
What resources or tools did you find most helpful when you were getting started?
Since my partners lived far away from each other in our city, it was hard to get together face-to-face on a regular basis. We decided that a private online collaboration tool would help us communicate better getting the project up and running. So we signed up for Central Desktop. At the time, they allowed one project to be free. Anymore and you had to pay. We definitely maxed out that one free project!
We had good private discussions and everything was documented. It turned out to be valuable in that I can now look back and see what I did wrong or right.
What were your biggest mistakes, or biggest wastes of time/money?
Getting the pricing of our product right. Our initial price included shipping. It turned out that, due to the dramatic variations in shipping costs, we were not making any money and actually lost some in our first month.
Raising the price, splitting shipping separately, and changing the value proposition on our website helped significantly.
What have been your key marketing and/or manufacturing lessons learned?
Very important: For Chinese manufacturers, make sure they are the original manufacturer. A lot of Chinese companies will claim they are manufacturers but are in fact middlemen. They will take your requests and modifications, then outsource them to the lowest priced manufacturer who may not produce the best quality, but will give them the best deal. They will go to great lengths to produce authentic proof that they are the original manufacturer, and you have no way of knowing unless you physically visit them.
Hire a consultant who will check them out in person and report their findings back to you.
If you used a manufacturer, how did you find them? What are your suggestions for first-timers?
Make travel plans to visit Canton Fair. Not only is it one of the largest in the world, it’s also a real eye-opener on what brand names companies use to produce their stuff. Each booth will have brochures and catalogs on what they manufacturer, which are free to pick up in exchange for your business card. Make sure to bring LOTS of business cards!
Any key PR wins? Media, well-known users, or company partnerships, etc.? How did they happen?
We were mentioned in Kevin Kelly’s newsletter (contacted him).
Placement in “The Shop” in Rolling Stone Magazine for 2 months. (Paid advertisement)
Hands-on reviews from The Gadgeteer, Virtual Hideout, About.com’s Mobile Office, and Digital Trends (all contacted via email).
Where did you register your domain (URL)?
http://moniker.com
Where did you decide to host your domain?
http://softlayer.com
If you used a web designer, where did you find them?
I partnered with one.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Make sure that you have your business basics down first. Proper business bank account(s), incorporate earlier, record expenses properly, keep receipts, and get your accounting straight. It’s very hard to switch things over later, so invest some time at the outset and get it right.
Although obvious in practice, it’s hard to do as it is detail-oriented work and requires patience. It takes away from the “real” work that needs to be done but come tax time, you will absolutely regret that you did not do this from the start. It becomes much more error prone and harder to do everything at the end of the corporate year.
What’s next?!
Develop more products, improve our current products, create more product videos, try affiliate marketing, and experiment more with social media. There is a whole world of exposure methods online. You have to dig in and try them all!
“Butterfly Repellent” by Timothy Spencer
Describe your muse in 1-3 sentences.
Natural Defense against social anxiety and stage fright. Safe alternative to beta blockers (when used for stage fright).
What is the website for your muse?
http://butterflyrepellent.com
How much revenue is your muse currently generating per month (on average)?
$1,000 – $2,500 per month
To get to this monthly revenue number, how long did it take after the idea struck?
1 year (2 months on market)
How did you decide on this muse?
After watching the documentary “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” I learned about a growing problem of musicians and actors abusing prescription beta blockers to mediate the effects of stage fright. I looked to see if there was a natural alternative on the market, and there wasn’t.
What ideas did you consider but reject, and why?
I was originally working on a relaxation drink (think anti-Red Bull). I had contacted manufacturers and was just about to order product when I learned about the growing problem of beta-blocker abuse. I saw a niche and my business made a major pivot.
What were some of the main tipping points (if any) or “A-ha!” moments? How did they come about?
1. I play volleyball for my university and tested the initial batches on my team. Positive feedback from the team was very encouraging.
2. I was so excited after having my first logo designed (outsourced on eLance). I made the logo my wallpaper on my computer and iPhone, and showed it to everyone. I don’t actually use it anymore, but it gave real life to the product and motivated me to keep pushing forward.
3. Getting my first few sales online was easily one of the most motivating experiences I’ve had.
What resources or tools did you find most helpful when you were getting started?
The podcast “Automate My Small Business” is GREAT. Youtube tutorials for learning WordPress and Photoshop. ODesk.com for outsourcing and managing VA’s.
What were your biggest mistakes, or biggest wastes of time/money?
Waiting until things were “perfect” before going ahead with them. Market presence was held off for months because we kept fine-tuning the website. I eventually realized that things will never be perfect, and most hang ups are self-imposed.
What have been your key marketing and/or manufacturing lessons learned?
Prompt, positive, and courteous customer service is invaluable. I’ve had great success with providing personalized coupon codes for whoever emails with a question. For instance, if I receive an email with questions from Amber, I tell her in the response that she can enter the coupon code “amberisawesome” for 10 dollars off. A little more work but well worth it.
If you used a manufacturer, how did you find them? What are your suggestions for first-timers?
I used thomasnet.com to contact dozens of manufacturers around the country. I found one that was local and we were able to meet face-to-face. He loved the business idea and liked me a lot. My starting budget was very small and I was able to talk him into developing and manufacturing the smallest order he had ever done. He was happy to do so, which would have never happened without a face-to-face meeting.
Any key PR wins? Media, well-known users, or company partnerships, etc.? How did they happen?
I have tried reaching out to local newspapers, attempting to spin an interesting story for them (e.g. “Local student-athlete finds creative way to pay tuition”). No takers yet, but the effort continues.
Where did you register your domain (URL)?
http://godaddy.com
Where did you decide to host your domain?
http://godaddy.com
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Move things forward quicker. I think I could be 6 months ahead of where I am now if I had made bolder decisions and taken action instead of waiting for everything to fall into place.
What’s next?!
The next big goal is to try and land product on retail shelves.
The company is very young and I see a bright future. November was the first $1,000+ month and with a continued effort in Adwords and SEO, these numbers will only go up.
“ClockSpot” by Jason Ho
Describe your muse in 1-3 sentences.
Clockspot is a web-based employee time tracking tool, designed for business owners. Employees clock in from any phone or computer. Managers can then check timesheets online instantly.
What is the website for your muse?
http://www.clockspot.com
How much revenue is your muse currently generating per month (on average)?
More than $25,000 per month
To get to this monthly revenue number, how long did it take after the idea struck?
12 months.
How did you decide on this muse?
I originally came up with Clockspot because my parents needed a way to track time for different employees at different offices. Being a techie, I insisted that they hold off on buying physical time clocks, and instead wait for me to make them a simple web-based time clock. Within 3 days, I had a rough but usable prototype.
What ideas did you consider but reject, and why?
Out of college, I started a social Question & Answer website called Qaboom.com (pronounced “Kaboom!”). It didn’t work out for a number of reasons: partner conflicts, difficulties gaining traction, a failed partnership, etc. I learned a whole lot, but had to cut my losses and move on.
I dabbled in a couple of startup projects/ideas after that, then eventually came up with Clockspot. I’ve been running it ever since.
What were some of the main tipping points (if any) or “A-ha!” moments? How did they come about?
“The 4-Hour Workweek” really struck a chord with me because my company was growing quickly, and there was this forever-growing list of things that needed to get done. I was working 80+ hour weeks, at the expense of everything else around me: my relationships, my social life, my body… Being a perfectionist, I was very reluctant to delegate tasks to anyone but myself.
After reading the book, particularly the lesson about “The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen,” I decided to outsource support. The obvious benefit was that I no longer had to answer emails and phone calls myself. The most surprising benefit, however, was that it actually increased my focus and productivity by an order of magnitude, which was so much more valuable than the actual hours outsourcing saved me (~20-30 hours/week).
Because I didn’t have to directly deal with customers, I could actually think clearer and make better decisions about the overall direction of the product. Anyone who’s had a startup can probably relate to this: it’s really hard to say “no” to a customer when you don’t have that many of them. Because I wanted to please every customer and acquire every prospect that came in, I had this never-ending list of features to implement. I ended up scrapping this enormous list, and decided to only concentrate on the top 5 items.
Outsourcing support was the stimulus to my four hour work week. I delegated all tasks that weren’t core to my business, moved to Taiwan, then spent the next two years traveling Asia and South America, working only 4 hours/month while my company continued to grow. “A-ha!” is an understatement!
What resources or tools did you find most helpful when you were getting started?
I read a lot of books. About one every two weeks. I had no business experience or real mentors, so I had a lot to learn a lot on my own.
The most influential books I read were:
1) The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss)
2) Crossing the Chasm (Geoffrey A. Moore)
3) The World is Flat (Thomas Friedman)
I have since moved to Silicon Valley, so my best resources now are other talented entrepreneurs.
What were your biggest mistakes, or biggest wastes of time/money?
I experimented with many different types of advertising: newspaper, magazine, buying leads, and even hiring a company to cold call. They were all a huge waste of money, but I wouldn’t consider any of them to be mistakes… unless I did them all over again!
My biggest mistake was trying to save money on hosting. When I first started, I went with a budget host, and never bothered to switch until my server crashed one day. After being on hold for hours with the hosting company and being transferred a thousand times, they finally fixed the issue 8 hours later. I lost 15% of my customer base that week.
Clockspot is now hosted on Rackspace, which we pay an arm and a leg for, but now our service is 100% solid. High-end servers, hardware redundancy, load balancing, dedicated firewall, daily security scans, etc. We’ve never had a downtime ever since switching to Rackspace.
What have been your key marketing and/or manufacturing lessons learned?
Track everything. A/B test everything. I am consistently surprised at how wrong my assumptions are.
A good example is to always track the performance of your keywords from start to finish. I used to pay for the keyword “time clock” because it brought a lot of traffic, and a decent amount of sign ups. However, it wasn’t until I started tracking actual account activations (when a sign up becomes a paying customer) that I realized “time clock” wasn’t converting at all, compared to the lower traffic key phrase “online time clock,” which was converting many times more than “time clock”.
If you track enough data, you’ll eventually be able to quantify each action a visitor takes into a dollar amount. For example, I know customers that searched “online time clock” and signed up for our newsletter will have a X% chance of signing up, which converts Y% of the time, which translates to $Z/month in earnings.
Now if Clockspot’s monthly growth ever fluctuates, I know exactly which levers caused it.
Where did you register your domain (URL)?
http://www.godaddy.com
Where did you decide to host your domain?
http://www.rackspace.com
If you used a web designer, where did you find them?
I am both the designer and developer.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Drop out of college to start Clockspot sooner! Just kidding, if mom and dad are reading…
Honestly nothing. I have a tendency to not listen to good advice, which causes me to try and fail, then start preaching that same advice. But as a result, I never really regret anything that I do.
What’s next?!
During my two years of travel, my main accomplishments were:
1) Climbing Mount Everest to Basecamp (where the oxygen is 50% that of sea level).
2) Biked the circumference of Taiwan (~1000 km).
3) Volunteered in the relief effort for Haiti.
I ended up moving to Silicon Valley and plan to start other businesses, as well as get involved in more humanitarian work.
Life plan = loop { create_value(); have_fun(); }
###
Need help with developing or perfecting your “muse”?
This following offer is only available for the next 12 hours.
Click here to learn how you can get a complete site review from me and one of the best site testers in the world… or a one-hour phone call with me. I advise companies like StumbleUpon, Evernote, Posterous, and TaskRabbit, and the least I’ve improved conversions is 21%. The most is over 100%. Ridiculous as it might seem (it is ridiculous), I get at least $50,000 per 60-minute speaking engagement, so this is something I never do.
Want to also get your X-mas shopping done in one shot?
Click here to learn how… and also get a 1-hour group conference call with me.
Posted on December 11th, 2010
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214 Comments
Randy Cantrell — December 11th, 2010, 11:05 am
Love the case studies. Interesting to see how different approaches works.
Michal Ksiadzyna — December 11th, 2010, 11:18 am
Great examples. I’m developing my muse as well, and it was inspired by the 4HWW, although I got to grab the book only around half year ago.
Hope to read about more muse examples soon.
Milad Jama — December 11th, 2010, 11:24 am
Hey Tim,
Great to see this article! I have been struggling with muse ideas and was happy to see your offer with Ramits course included as a bonus for buying the Four Hour Body.
This promotion is really an education, best of luck on the bestseller list!
P.S I will let you know how the muses turn out or dont
Steven — December 11th, 2010, 11:24 am
Very inspiring stories. I’m not yet at the level of these guys, but it is great to read about their past experiences and take away little nuggets to help out my own journey. Thanks for sharing!
Jeff F — December 11th, 2010, 11:27 am
The link to “Click here to learn how you can get a complete site review from me and one of the best site testers in the world… or a one-hour phone call with me…” is redirecting back to your site. Broken? Kindly advise as to how we can know more.
Tim Ferriss — December 11th, 2010, 4:29 pm
Dang! Fixed! Please take a look. Appreciate the heads up!
Tim
Ray Higdon — December 11th, 2010, 11:31 am
This is great stuff, what a great name! Butterfly Repellent! lol
Theo — December 11th, 2010, 11:34 am
Tim,
The links for the promotions don’t work.
Is it just a test ?
David Berger — December 11th, 2010, 11:35 am
Great to see some more examples of successful muses.
The 4HWW inspired me to live everything behind and spend the last 8 months in Asia which resulted in the time of my life.
I’m mostly working on building affiliate websites which are pretty set and forget once they rank for your target keywords as my muse.
Sid — January 17th, 2011, 1:59 am
hi,
how’s your affiliate websites coming along? I am working on the same idea but not flying yet.
let me know.
thanks,
Sid
Mark — December 11th, 2010, 11:47 am
Wow – what great ideas! It just goes to show you, there is always room for another idea and innovation. Thanks for the nuts and bolts. I am reading your book again(I also ordered 4hrbody) send some good shakas my way!
Eddy — December 11th, 2010, 11:49 am
Links don’t work for me either. The offer can’t have expired already can it? lol
Sean Dawes — December 11th, 2010, 11:59 am
Theo – see what you get for 300 books below on that page. Its listed there.
Steve Zussino — December 11th, 2010, 12:17 pm
I like the structure of those Q & A sessions. I am surprised how much information each business gives.
Good on them for sharing.
I would rather read what HAS worked vs what doesn’t.
Andrea — December 11th, 2010, 12:22 pm
This post is exactly what I needed. Right on time! Thanks TIm! I just bought your 4 hour work week expanded version as well. I look forward to diving into it. Good luck with your new book.
Josh Crocker — December 11th, 2010, 12:54 pm
Excellent idea in asking the question about which books have helped influence!
Tim, I was wondering if you have any type of a “curriculum” of books or sites that you would send young entrepreneurs to (high school or even college age)? I have a good amount of teenagers within my sphere of influence and want to introduce them to entrepreneurship while still fighting the “support the rat race” mentality that so many American public schools proclaim.
These are great questions for the case studies. Thanks again!
- Josh
Victor — December 11th, 2010, 12:56 pm
Hey Tim,
Great post as usual. I love these series on “Muse” engineering, as this is something that has been a sticking point for me. I’m caught up on how you get from idea to manufacturer without knowing exactly how to build your product, and without having to spend 1000′s of dollars on e-lance hiring an engineer.
I’m also concerned with much of the research I have done on suppliers in China (ie not being the original manufacturer, stealing your ideas, crafty accounting, etc.) I have faith that their are legitimate sources in China, however finding them seems to be a daunting task, let alone knowing the right questions to ask them without getting scammed.
anyways.. looking forward to the next post in this series, and my new book in the mail..
cheers,
Victor
Olivier Roland — December 11th, 2010, 1:53 pm
Thanks Tim, but the link to thomas.net is broken.
Tim Ferriss — December 11th, 2010, 4:25 pm
Fixing now!
Doc Kane — December 11th, 2010, 1:55 pm
Tim, I’m lovin’ these case studies. One extra question to ask if you do more of these could be “How much initial capital did you require prior to reaching your break even point?” While the number will surely vary depending on the product, I think it’ll help folks recognize that some of these adventures most certainly require an investment of money in addition to time, and it might provide planning perspective as well.
P.S. I’d love to attend the party in NYC, but think I might not be able to make it in time from Jersey! How many do you anticipate will go?
Doc Kane — December 11th, 2010, 1:59 pm
Tim,
…just a heads up … the link for ThomasNet is pointing to a parked page. It should be: http://www.thomasnet.com/
Cheers,
D
Doc Kane — December 11th, 2010, 2:16 pm
@Josh
For your teenager friends, I might encourage them to check out Global Entrepreneurship Week and the Ewing Kauffman Foundation in general. Lots of great stuff coming out of those camps for budding entrepreneurs!
Cheers,
Doc
Josh Crocker — December 11th, 2010, 2:35 pm
Will check them both out Doc! Thanks
Mike Hassard — December 11th, 2010, 2:18 pm
Again proof that even in times like these businesses can make money and don’t have to be big to do it.
Thanks again for the outstanding case studies.
Ross — December 11th, 2010, 2:21 pm
Tim-
Love these posts. The case studies of successful cash-flow businesses really help and inspire people who are trying to come up with their own muses. I have learned a lot from both this post and the earlier one.
Keep these types of posts coming!!!
Thanks!
Collin Ferry — December 11th, 2010, 2:27 pm
These are my favorite types of stories! I’d like to know what the initial investment for each muse was too. Tim, maybe in the future you can include that as a question as well. How much money was invested before a return was realized, or how much money was spent to test the validity of an idea. I’d also like to see failed muse stories, and break-even stories. Ideas that seem amazing and then fizzle out due to some reason with a lesson learned.
Can’t wait to Hulk out my mahscles on 12/14!
Jeff Nabers — December 11th, 2010, 2:28 pm
Ha, I had to do a double take on “butterfly repellant.” I was like “Who the hell are these people getting pestered by butterflies?!”
Andrew Kazakoff — December 11th, 2010, 3:02 pm
If I choose to start a muse, do I need to finish college? I have completed 2 years and have 2 years left of university. I don’t enjoy college and I have always planned to work for myself (or have others work for me). I am currently brainstorming muses and have 2 very good prospects.
Shannon — December 15th, 2010, 12:54 pm
Finish college. Even if only part time while you get your next muse up and running. Find a way to enjoy it. It’s just a mental shift. You don’t need As – Cs will do. It’s easy to get Cs in today’s grade-inflated environment – all you have to do is show up.
When else in life will you have the luxury of just reading and learning all the time? Not until your muse takes off and you can truly live the FHWW.
Pick courses that contribute to what you want to do – accounting, chemistry, physics, psychology – whatever relates to what you’re interested in. That’ll help you connect the material to what you care about, get through it, and maybe even enjoy it.
Good luck!
Alex Ikonn — December 11th, 2010, 3:28 pm
Tim Thanks for sharing!
I also want to thank you for creating the 4HWW! It has changed my life and now my wife and I are able to focus on self-growth and the value that we can create in this world. I totally agree with Jason!
Life plan = loop { create_value(); have_fun(); }
Tim, you have made 2010 the best year of my life and the future looks only better from here!
Thanks Tim! Congratulations on 4 Hour Body as well (already pre-ordered my copy) It’s going to be another hit!
Alex
Jim Connolly — December 11th, 2010, 3:46 pm
Very inspiring writeup, thanks for posting this!
CM — December 11th, 2010, 4:21 pm
Great post.
Thanks for sharing.
Pura vida.
CM
samuel — December 11th, 2010, 4:39 pm
Tim,
Great article as usual, it really motivates to action by showing the nuts and bolts of what’s currently being accomplished.
Did you have a specific book or article that inspired you when you started?
Thanks,
Samuel
Looking forward to the new book.
Tim Ferriss — December 11th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Thanks so much for all of the comments, everyone! I do think 2011 is going to a fantastic year. I’ll commit to that with all of you.
Talk soon and un abrazo grande…
Tim
James Hayton — December 11th, 2010, 5:27 pm
Hi Tim,
Excellent stuff as always, and I look forward to reading the 4HB!
Four hour work week has been inspiring, but it’s great to see others succeeding too. Just out of interest, do you ever get any “I read your book and it ruined my life” casestudies? I’m writing a book with advice for grad students, and sometimes worry about the consequences for them if I get it wrong…
Sam Lloyd — December 11th, 2010, 5:29 pm
My room mate started butterfly repellent. Tits!
Yonatan Weic — December 11th, 2010, 5:33 pm
Very inspiring Tim.
Thank you guys for sharing your Muses !
I’m waiting for the 3rd batch already
Josh — December 11th, 2010, 6:08 pm
Tim if and when you get time
could you do an article on:
“imagined cost due to misguided perception and actual real world cost” when it comes to VA’s and the assignments they are given, also the type of assignments
i think it would be a complement to the very helpful articles ur doing now that dig deeper in the step by step process to making it happen if you could show how much of it could be done by VA’s and the reality of the cost buffer it would make it easier to envision the financing for a business start up and automation transition
i personally believe that if you did that it might help people not leap like you did where you brought up brain quicken through massive credit card dept and also so it can be applied through the books formula of relative income, i firmly believe it would bring together so much of your work on this blog into a completely straightforward step by step process and take away the illusion of it being a leap and more of a slight shift in attention, understanding, and action
damit i hate myself for missing ur party i flew out of NY because of the snow but i bought ur expanded and updated, 4hour body (with ur bonus give away) and The Art of Non-Conformity
all the best to you from the Bay Area
Rock On
Fabio — December 11th, 2010, 7:38 pm
Hey Tim —
Thanks for these posts, they are a great source of inspiration. The 4HWW was a groundbreaking reading and I’m now in Valparaiso, Chile. My “short early retirement” will come to an end at some point, but I’m using some of the time here to think about the next one already!
un abrazo de vuelta
Fabio
Butterfly Repellent — December 11th, 2010, 8:01 pm
Wow, huge thanks to Tim for the exposure. Looking forward to answering all those new emails and fulfilling orders during finals week
Since the post shows a “secret” on how to get 10 dollars off orders of BR I went ahead and made a promo code for the post.
Feel free to enter for $15 dollars off. Thanks again for the kind words guys, a big digital hug to everyone.
-Tim Spencer
Butterfly Repellent — December 11th, 2010, 8:27 pm
Sorry the post didn’t show the promo code. It’s ” fhwwftw “
Vegas — December 11th, 2010, 8:20 pm
This is absolutely amazing! Very helpful post and I hope to see more like it. I don’t have a product to sell, nor an idea for one, but this helps get me in the right mindset.
Georgina — December 11th, 2010, 8:28 pm
Dear Tim,
Thank you so much for opening my eyes, giving me energy and inspiration. I’m sure all my dreams are within my reach because of your book(s) and constant information flow on your blog. I can’t wait until February when I can read the body book. (Yes February! It’s crazy but I actually want X-mas to be over!)
I was wondering about one silly thing: Do you think the producers of the TV serie Dexter have been inspired by you? season 5?(Although not too much I hope:-)
Keep being awesome!
Pablo — December 11th, 2010, 8:47 pm
Muchas gracias Tim,
Los estudios de caso han sido realmente útiles para tomar nuevas ideas sobre como automatizar mi pequeña empresa. Me da mucho gusto que exista alguien como tu!
Pablo.
Tim Ferriss — December 12th, 2010, 2:13 am
Muchisimas gracias, Pablo! Un abrazo desde Nueva York
Tim
Hector Adrian — December 11th, 2010, 9:57 pm
Haha, what’s with the new ad “Eat like Santa, look like Jesus” ?
Mark Koning — December 11th, 2010, 10:29 pm
Nice to see you active in the comments Tim.
Muse posts are fantastic! Very encouraging.
Vergil Den — December 11th, 2010, 10:31 pm
Tim,
Do you have any examples of those that failed at trying to implement their muse? I think examples of the other end of the sprectrum could be helpful to those trying to be successful (i.e., further learnings for what not to do).
Thank,
Vergil Den
Rob — December 11th, 2010, 10:45 pm
Great collection of businesses. The Lapdawg is definitely something I’d buy. So many people have moved away from desktops to laptops and the only way to get comfy with them is to sit back at a desk, neglecting the major advantage of a laptop. I love simple solutions like that.
Daniel — December 11th, 2010, 11:23 pm
Tonny Shin (LapDawg) is right about the consultancy business being totally unscalable; it’s a timesuck.
http://www.cantonfair.com/ = place where he found his manufacturer?
And product design, (help me demystify this!) need some engineer / designer to create / sketch to be given for them to be created?
Kaiwen — December 12th, 2010, 2:52 pm
Canton Fair is a massive trade fair held twice a year in Guangzhou, China. When I went there were about 200,000 buyers there.
While there is a directory of manufacturers on the website, I believe Mr. Shin is advocating actually attending the fair.
If you get a visa that allows you to stay in China for a month, you can physically visit factories and do some due diligence. (This may not be in the spirit of 4HWW as it’s more hands-on) It’s always a good idea to hire some third-party quality control to do inspections for you during production.
LapDawg — December 18th, 2010, 3:23 pm
Absolutely i advocate this. if you don’t know what to sell, walking around and picking up ideas is a great alternative. take it home and do the research.
the directory is not visual you don’t know what the product looks like, and the latest stuff each company is making.
on top of just seeing china, having a purpose plus with the travelling makes it doubly fun.
LapDawg — December 18th, 2010, 3:34 pm
You will see alot of the world’s products and who manufacturers it here at this fair.
Yes you can get custom products designed in china, but you need the blue prints from an engineer developed and or the mold. a rough guide is 10k – 50k but really depends on how complex the product is.
on clothing / fashion items a simple sketch can work but you need be very detailed with it.
Kevin McLoughlin — January 14th, 2011, 1:40 pm
Tonny, I’d love to exchange a few emails with you in order to demystify the manufacturing process (I’m in an early stage of prototyping for a muse).
If you’re interested, I’d love to send you a book via Amazon for your time.
Cheers,
- Kevin
kevin (at) eethos (dot) net
Chase — December 12th, 2010, 12:34 am
Tim,
Great article, as usual!
I’m a 23 year old entrepreneur, who started and currently runs several profitable web services, my newest being a JV with one of my best friends, an expert-system based lead management platform named eInfer. It’s always refreshing to see so many liked-minded individuals out there.
I loved this article, as I have dozens of muse projects I’ve started over the years. Right now I’m working on scaling a few of my larger earners, and figuring out how to attain a better balance in my life. 2010 was a really productive year and like the majority of you there, I have some huge goals I’m working towards over the course of 2011.
I’m looking forward to one of these days crossing paths, either on a personal or professional level. I think we’d have some great conversation.
Best wishes,
- Chase
J. Christian Andersen — December 12th, 2010, 2:05 am
Very interesting! Super cool post. The only thing Im missing are more details about how they…
1. Positioned themselves in the market among the competitors. I know thats crucial in order to have success and most entrepreneurs forget about it.
2. Market their products. Marketing is often more important today than making the product. What worked for them; affiliate, PR, SEO, adwords etc. ?
Thanks!!!
Brian Armstrong — December 12th, 2010, 2:21 am
I’m curious to see profit (or profit margin) along side these businesses.
But great series of posts Tim.
Brian
JJ — December 15th, 2010, 11:06 am
Yes, the next set of success stories (which I’m looking forward to) should ask them about their actual profits or income from the business, not the revenue. Some of the people may have answered with their profit number anyway, but it’d be most helpful to ask for profit numbers.
Cody — December 12th, 2010, 3:21 am
Love these posts, really inspirational. Would love to see a website that just profiles businesses like this.
DH — December 12th, 2010, 3:23 am
Tim,
I love this series. Now get up and make the third one available already
We’re dying here, you know… 
This kind of stories always give me the energy needed to keep going at my muses.
Thank you!
Jimmy — December 12th, 2010, 4:52 am
Great post and awesome ideas! Anything’s possible…
Matt — December 12th, 2010, 4:59 am
Hi Tim,
Wondering if you have received any case studies from people who have developed their business around photography / video products. I know I would be interested to hear as I have been trying some ideas around this type of industry.
Thanks,
Matt
Anna — December 12th, 2010, 5:45 am
Are there any 4HWW disciples operating out of the rough and tumble African landscape, particularly East Africa? I’d love to know what adjustments you made to make things work here. Thanks
Petru — December 12th, 2010, 7:11 am
Love them love them want some more
Miguel — December 12th, 2010, 11:36 am
Motivador como siempre, espero poder figurar entre tus ejemplos dentro de poco desde el otro lado del Atlántico. ¿Cuando podremos tener tu nuevo libro “4HB” por aquí? Un abrazo
Joona — December 12th, 2010, 12:10 pm
This is why I read your blog!
Thanks for an inspiring post – the field of doing business has indeed changed, and even crazy ideas have a potential to make a buck.
Best regards and happy holidays,
Joona
John Sullivan — December 12th, 2010, 12:51 pm
Tim, great post… these are my favorite to read. I love the Q & A, very inspiring and helpful. More please!
Mik Forfa — December 12th, 2010, 2:52 pm
This was so well timed Tim! I’ve just spent the weekend brain storming how to turn my business into a muse that will allow me to travel forever and was wondering whether my idea was possible. It’s always nice to see others come before you to give you that kick of confidence.
Just a note on Jason’s comment, “Anyone who’s had a startup can probably relate to this: it’s really hard to say “no” to a customer when you don’t have that many of them. Because I wanted to please every customer and acquire every prospect that came in, I had this never-ending list of features to implement. I ended up scrapping this enormous list, and decided to only concentrate on the top 5 items.” If you have this problem, also read “Rework” by 37 Signals- aside from “4-hour work week”, I think this is the best business/lifestyle design/anti-going-insane-from-over-work-and-stress-and-over-thinking-shit book I’ve read in the past 2 years
Love your work Tim
Mik
Holly — December 12th, 2010, 3:01 pm
Tim, thank you so much for posting these case studies!
I wonder if you or anyone could help me…Finding a muse has been so difficult for me. I have a health website, and when I checked Thomas.net for products…nothing seemed good enough to put my name on it. I started to create a healthy cookbook…but it’s taking forever!!! Any ideas?
Thanks all!!!
Holly
Cody — December 12th, 2010, 3:16 pm
Awesome stories. Thanks for these Tim. This is good motivation for me and everyone else who read the 4 hour work week. I’ve yet to figure out what my muse is going to be, but hopefully I’ll figure it out soon and can put it into action.
Ian — December 12th, 2010, 3:56 pm
Let’s not forget that revenue = turnover and not profit. On turnover of 25,000 per month how much of that is profit?
Readers who are less financially astute may miss this point and assume that figure to be profit!
Fawn — December 12th, 2010, 5:56 pm
Thanks for another article in this series! I especially liked the ClockSpot case study.
Bob Smith — December 12th, 2010, 5:59 pm
Revenue? Meaningless. Tell us about profits, not revenue.
Ritesh — December 12th, 2010, 7:18 pm
And I was wondering if I am the only one who is noticing this? With enough marketing/advertising spend just about any product/service can achieve 2-10k/month revenue (in our small startup/muse context).
My first version of product with a very rough ghetto website, ghetto version of product etc. hit 2K/month rev right from start. Took 3 months from idea conception to this market test version. BUT it costs me ~2.5K in adwords spend.
Of course now with this market validation in place, I am working on a better converting pro designed site, professionally created product etc. which hopefully will actually break even and then go on to generate profits. At which point I can start working on scaling this biz model.
So to add to other requests, I would love to see some PROFIT numbers rather than revenue, and the capital costs required to reach breakeven. I feel these numbers would be more useful to us in a realistic planning scenario rather than blanket monthly revenue numbers with no other impt background numbers to accompany them.
Having said that – Wow thanks for providing these case studies and even these revenue numbers. I know it takes a lot of work on Tim’s part to create these for us, without him we wouldn’t have even these. And it’s extremely generous of other entrepreneurs to share these personal stories with us.
So THANK YOU for this!
Best,
-Ritesh
Beth — February 21st, 2011, 5:10 pm
Hi Ritesh! I went to your site and it’s beautifully done. I am launching my first muse and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing with me who designed your site, how you did your video and who you used to create the graphics for your product (the book and audio book).
I think it’s awesome what you’re doing, and wish you the best in helping people heal themselves from these terrible conditions.
Thank you!
Eric S — December 12th, 2010, 6:44 pm
Tim
I’d love to hear how many hours a week these muses are actually taking up, as I’m sure it varies person to person.
Chase Bourdelaise — December 12th, 2010, 7:04 pm
Tim,
These articles are great! Keep the volumes coming. Reading about real life examples with resources of how other people did it is by far the best way to learn and stay motivated.
YOU’RE THE MAN.
Best,
Chase
Dave Huss — December 12th, 2010, 8:11 pm
It is so interesting to see the other innovative muses that 4HWW readers have come up with. The LapDawg just seems so useful, why didn’t someone come up with that sooner?
The 4HWW book literally changed my life. I read it just before my college graduation, and over the next few months I developed an online muse related to college exams which now averages $2k-$3k income per month and I’m down to 30 minutes of work per day.
2010 has been the best year of my life by far. Thanks to the 4HWW I have had tons of amazing experiences – everything from climbing volcanoes in the Philippines to bar crawls in Prague. Now I am gearing up to take a 2 month mini-retirement to Thailand/Philippines in February while my college friends are desperately searching for any fulltime employment.
The biggest key to muse success I got out of the 4HWW is to test market demand BEFORE you start investing tons of your money and time into the business. If your muse idea is going to fail (and 8 out of 10 will) then you want to know that quickly and inexpensively so you can move on to the next idea.
I was able to do all of the initial muse testing for under $200 (I have a post on my blog about how I did it). After one week of muse testing the market response was great – 20 “customers” attempted to buy and so I focused all my attention on writing and developing the product.
Also I am so incredibly pumped for the Four Hour Body. I’m trying desperately to see if I can make it to NYC for the launch party. If I got to meet you (Tim Ferriss) in person for even just a minute, all of the other Christmas gifts I’ve ever gotten combined would pale in comparison.
Here’s to making 2011 even better and life improving than an amazing 2010!
ShoeTease — December 12th, 2010, 8:27 pm
Completely inspiring and wonderful to see how other business’ ideas came about and the troubles they fumbled upon along the way. Great post!
Happy Holidays,
Cristina
Cristina — December 12th, 2010, 8:30 pm
Completely inspiring and wonderful to see how other business’ ideas came about and the troubles they fumbled upon along the way. Great post!
Happy Holidays,
Cristina
Hugo Obbens — December 12th, 2010, 10:01 pm
Dear Tim,
I love these great inspiring articles.
I developed a IT travel Kit. This kit includes everything u need when u want to be able to control your muse from all over the world. As a big traveller i know u would like it. Thats why I would love to send u one of these kits to find out what u think about it. Because it would be great to create a muse helping others to control theirs.
Regards,
Hugo
Sam — December 12th, 2010, 10:57 pm
Awesome article…again.
Great to see what actually works for people, and just as importantly, what they are rejecting as bad ideas and why. Really gives me an idea of areas I should be focusing on (and those I shouldn’t!)
Adam — December 13th, 2010, 12:14 am
Keep these case studies coming. I love reading them!
Balint — December 13th, 2010, 12:38 am
Hi Tim and everyone,
Great post as always and certainly inspiring. Let me ask you a question, Tim:
In the 4HWW book you emphasize that creating informational (digital) products is one of the easiest and painless way to start a muse, although in the case studies you are almost always presenting physical stuff. (I was glad to read about ClockSpot) – in future posts can you introduce a bit more digital products? Or aren’t there that many? Thanks!
Balint
Tim Ferriss — December 13th, 2010, 1:02 am
Hi Balint,
No, there are plenty! I’ll see what we can gather…
Thanks!
Tim
aaad — April 10th, 2011, 3:43 am
Ditto! Tim you still focus on physical products, where are the digital/info products?
Chris Pepin — December 13th, 2010, 9:35 am
I’ll second that advice! I’ve spent hours dissecting PX Method in the process of building up mine but I’d love to see some live ones that follow the formula as well. Plus I’ve found myself spending untold hours devouring everything available from every guru I can find for internet marketing, copy writing, and adwords campaigning. A little help on the “schools” we need to hit up would be great as well.
John Ainsworth — December 19th, 2010, 11:34 am
A few people had asked about examples of information/ digital products. Here are a couple that I’ve come across that I’ve really enjoyed hearing about.
This one’s about a DJ who started selling training in how to DJ
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/2821/dj-sean-gallagher/
This one’s about a tennis coach who sells access to online videos about how to play tennis.
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/2168/will-hamilton-tennis/
Hope that’s helpful.
John
Grant — December 20th, 2010, 2:50 pm
Tim,
You are my hero! Thank you for all of the hard work you do. If you started writing a series of books on this topic, I would buy everyone! Thanks again my friend!
Grant
Mark McLemore — December 13th, 2010, 1:26 am
Tim,
I love reading these case studies. It really lights the fire under my tail to get to work on my own muse, which is delayed because I’m too busy singing on national television at the moment.
While that is not my muse, it very well may lead to a favorable stream of income.
Can’t wait for my signed “4-Hour Body,” which will be waiting for me when I get home.
Mark
Andy Hayes — December 13th, 2010, 1:50 am
Great case studies Tim.
Working on my own muse as we speak!
Riley Cabot — December 13th, 2010, 2:36 am
Love these, very motivational!
Philipp Knoll — December 13th, 2010, 2:39 am
Hi Tim and everyone!
It can’t be a coincident that I find this post today – the day I QUIT MY JOB!
Honestly, I had very difficult discussions with my wife lately on what I should be doing. I have tons of ideas and sometimes find it hard to pick the one that is the most promising. For the last year my job was holding me back from continuing to follow the path I was on before I ever took the job. No, let me rephrase that – it was not my job that was holding me back – it was my fear. Fear of what would happen if i just quit and started taking control over my own life again.
I finally made that decision and am literally just about to walk into my bosses office to have that talk…
Tim, keep up your work, you make a difference. I know that it is me consciously taking these steps and I trust that a lot of good will come from it and I am prepared to live with the consequences – you definitely played your part in it as well. Posts like this one are a true inspiration and a fear killer.
To all of you muse-creators:
I love to read your success stories and hope to hear a lot from you in the future!
Thanks,
Philipp
Holly — December 13th, 2010, 6:51 am
Phillip, THANK YOU for your words of encouragement… I would love to stay updated in your efforts!!!!
Philipp Knoll — December 13th, 2010, 1:13 pm
Thanks, Holly!
I actually quit today! My last day at that job will be 31st of December – I still have some vacation left that I will use to straighten things out for me. I’m really looking forward to start working for myself again. Tim and the people participating on this website have been a tremendous encouragement. Thanks!
Holly, I’ll gladly keep you posted on what I’m up to. I’ll check out your site again now and send you a message there.
Will — December 14th, 2010, 4:43 pm
How did you finally decide to quit your job? I have been advised to make sure I have some other source of income before I quit mine, hence the 4hww.
How are you supporting yourself and wife? What industry/field are you in?
I understand your comments on fear and taking back control. I am in the same boat as this is all pretty new to me. Good luck!
Ian — December 13th, 2010, 2:53 am
Is it just me, or is it a bit sad that people are coming up with more useless items that nobody needs, running off to China where they can produce these items through essentially slave labour?
As the middle class in the USA is getting the squeeze and all those middle class jobs disappear I guess you have to pay back those tuition fees somehow…
And Tim, how exactly are these `successful’ cashflow businesses as your title suggests? Butterfly repellent at 1k to 2.5k per month?
Cmon!!
Tim Ferriss — December 13th, 2010, 10:39 pm
Hey Ian,
I’ll only address the last, as I’ve spoken on the others elsewhere. 2K a month, or an extra 24K a year, make a lot of lifestyle difference to a lot of people! Of course, it depends on your current income and how fast you burn through it, but it’s non-trivial for most people, especially if the muse requires little time.
Thank you for the comment,
Tim
Ian — December 14th, 2010, 3:16 am
“I’ll only address the last, as I’ve spoken on the others elsewhere. 2K a month, or an extra 24K a year, make a lot of lifestyle difference to a lot of people! Of course, it depends on your current income and how fast you burn through it, but it’s non-trivial for most people, especially if the muse requires little time.”
I agree absolutely, but the profit figures aren’t mentioned, so things come across as being rather opaque. 2K revenue is not 2K profit.
How were these businesses funded? What is the interest on the debt incurred etc? The liabilities?
As readers we thirst for a more detailed analysis.
Cheers.
ButterflyRepellent — December 14th, 2010, 8:51 am
to go along with what tim said. this muse is enabling me to live my ideal lifestyle this summer. Moving to san diego, buying and living on a sailboat, and training in beach volleyball every day (a very low TMI). Pura Vida
Florian — December 13th, 2010, 4:17 am
It is great to read these case studies!
One more question that I would like to read answers: What was the initial costs to start these businesses?
Joe — December 13th, 2010, 9:01 am
Hi Tim,
Great post! My muse is a book which I’m about to launch.
I’m wondering whether to push sales exclusively through Amazon (via Lightningsource or other POD) or also my own website.
I know your books are available elsewhere but you focus sales towards Amazon and don’t have your own store. My question is, do you do it that way because you don’t want the hassle of maintaining your own store, or because you just make more money through focusing on Amazon (and getting a higher sales rank, more reviews, etc.) despite their cut? Should I even be thinking of running my own checkout if I’m just selling a book?
Thanks,
Joe
Vergil Den — December 13th, 2010, 9:08 am
Tim, I was drafting my blog posting on New Year Resolutions and came across this video on youtube where you discuss negative visualization and stoicism. http://www.youtube.com/v/RwosCDOwRHQ&hl=en_US
You’re one of the few theorists/practioners of success that cuts though the BS of the positive thinking movement and focus on what really works.
Thanks,
Vergil Den
David — December 13th, 2010, 12:47 pm
Another good post. But it’s still missing something.
Funding: it’s a catch 22. if you don’t talk about how a project(muse) got funded, it is less believable. It’s a great story(and who does not love a great story) but it’s less realistic. If you do talk about how the project(muse) got funded,(credit card debts, borrowing from family, high paying previous job, huge savings and etc) it is less of a good story and less inspirational. Perhaps a really in-depth timeline interview in the way to go.
Degrees/Skills/Income/previous occupations: Just because a person has an MBA, Ivy League education, or huge paychecks, does not mean it is easier to create a successful muse. We can all agree that time, fulfillment, geological freedom are much more important than a large income or prestige. However, it is best to be upfront about these things. Was the story of Nexus Surf(from the 4 hour work week) less of a good story because the person was a successful but over worked lawyer? No, not really. If the story omitted that he was a successful lawyer but you later on find out he was, would that make it less of a good story ? Most likely, yes.
By the way, you mentioned that your assistant Charlie was able to go on his mini-retirement to Thailand or South America after 6 and 12 months. Tell Him congratulations. I was wondering if he could share how he did it. it would make a great post. It would also generate stacks of resumes and emails inquiring about a assistant position.
David
Joe — December 13th, 2010, 1:08 pm
I’m so glad to see other people finding their muse. Please keep publishing these stories. It helps me a lot.
Darby — December 13th, 2010, 7:59 pm
Hi Tim and everyone – it’s my first time commenting and I loved this post! I am dedicating 2011 to getting my first muse up and running. I haven’t even been working for a full year (since graduation) but I don’t want to wait to have my own business and be location independent. This post is great inspiration and I’m sure that I’ll refer back to it (and to my copy of the 4 Hour Work Week) while I try to get my act together this year.
PPC4 — December 13th, 2010, 8:36 pm
Tim-
THE BOOK IS COMING OUT!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
There I said it…I’m more mellow now…Can’t make New York with 4 year olds and a wife who would NOT stand for me going without her, so had to celebrate here at home.
Congrats Man.
Paul
Will — December 13th, 2010, 9:05 pm
Hey Tim
I recently tried finding 4HWW on technorati using multiple search terms with no luck. I then searched google: “4HWW Technorati” and a link came up. I’m not sure why the search on Technorati couldn’t find you on their own site but I thought you should know.
Bring on the case studies! I appreciate all the insider insights.
Bill — December 13th, 2010, 9:20 pm
Tim, I love what you are doing and love to hear how these businesses were created from scratch. I only caution that many would-be entrepreneurs are not getting the full story. For example, ClockSpot claims to have more than $25,000 monthly income after only 12 months. This is quite good in a crowded marketplace in which every payroll company (ADP, Paychex, etc.) is offering the same product. What is he doing to differentiate it from the market? He implies that his marketing is basically limited to Google AdWords and split testing. Your questions are great, but they only raise more questions. Perhaps Jason can respond. Otherwise, sounds like Jason has a winner on his hands, and I wish him continued success!
Josh — December 13th, 2010, 10:55 pm
tim can you do a post on how to derive the principles out of everything you read so you don’t have to go back and read it again
Prithvi — December 14th, 2010, 12:00 am
THis is so awesome. These posts are so inspiring, and it keeps us who aren’t making anything yet motivated.
Thanks Tim.
Anon — December 14th, 2010, 4:05 am
Sounds like being hated by the Daily Mail is really an honor. Wear your badge proudly!!!
From a friend across the pond in Sunny Florida!
Rob Martinez — December 14th, 2010, 7:45 am
I am curious as to how these people found their muse, funded their muse, and what steps they took to market.
I have two blogs which I want to believe are muses. I just now have to find a way to monetize them and not like everyone else is doing it through adsense.
I want to sell something of value within my niche.
Wish me luck!
Bravo — December 14th, 2010, 5:50 pm
I love the case studies on real life muses.
Instead of monthly revenue, would it be possible to share monthly PROFIT? At the end of the day, it’s about putting cash back in our pockets. Thanks in advance for considering it.
Matt Forquer — December 14th, 2010, 8:27 pm
Tim,
I noticed that all of these muses require creating a product relatively from scratch. Are there any muses where someone sells a product that is already out there just not well known/easily available?
Thanks,
Matt
Tim Ferriss — December 15th, 2010, 12:34 am
Hi Matt,
I’ll look into this.
Thx!
Tim
Philipp Knoll — December 15th, 2010, 3:39 am
Hi Matt and Tim,
Red Bull was / is such a muse. Mateschits found Red Bull (might have been called differently at that time) during travel in Asia. He arranged a deal with the owner, started promoting as hell and you can see what that led to – Red Bull is found everywhere now. The original owner is still a silent partner and I guess he never regretted the steps he made.
Hope this is a good answer.
Philipp
LapDawg — December 18th, 2010, 3:36 pm
Checkout http://www.doba.com/ which offers millions of products to dropship.
Matt Forquer — December 18th, 2010, 8:37 pm
I have checked out doba… it didn’t work for me.
did you have good luck with it?
Matthew Jeschke — December 16th, 2010, 3:16 pm
Hey thanks! These case studies are very helpful. I especially liked you guys that are earning 25k / month! I put my ventures on auto pilot for the past 4 months to raise more capital via a day job (ug).
I’m currently working some weeks upwards of 70-80 hours. It’s coming to an end soon though, I’m going to head back to work for myself and my partners.
We’ve got some exciting stuff coming up and I hope I too can soon submit our successes. We are all teetering in the few hundred dollar range / month right now. I’ve been studying HARD to learn every edge I can and meet every body successful I can while working as well.
As I previously said though, thanks for the post. These are VERY reassuring. Sometimes it almost seems unattainable or not possible but seeing is believing and this really fits the bill!
Curious if there’s anybody out there in Tucson or Phoenix that would like to join our mastermind group when I head back to building my business??
Mike Arone — December 16th, 2010, 3:53 pm
Stoked—-got my book today. Bigger than I thought it would be—-great surprise.
Thanks man!
Madding — December 16th, 2010, 9:37 pm
Time I sent something similar to Amy, but I did not know if it would ever get to you.
As a fan, I immediately ordered the four hour body, and noticed on your title page that you support St Jude research through donations of royalties. One of our portfolio companies owns the technology that recently has been shown to possibly “cure” leukemia in children (see article from the St. Jude website), which is known as natural killer cells, or NK for short. It is very early stage but interesting none the less.
We have had great success in getting interest from foundations and high net worths by suggesting that they donate “for a profit” by investing in companies that directly research these types of technologies. If it is successful, then potential profits can be pyramided into other companies providing more bang for the buck than just giving the capital away.
Just a thought.
Syed — December 17th, 2010, 9:24 pm
Great Examples Tim!
Jonny Gibaud — December 18th, 2010, 7:46 am
These are great Tim, especially for young entrepreneurs like myself. A place where we can learn from others mistakes and learn how they made things happen.
I hope you keep them up.
LapDawg — December 18th, 2010, 3:16 pm
To all of you who are wondering / asking.
Before starting lapdawg i had a full time job, i raised the capital buy partnering with 2 other people and putting down 3k each.
we all did our part working initially on the weekends, closer to launch i worked on it from 9pm to 2am. (for a few weeks).
we all kept working full time even when we were making sales, because we only had a small inventory float. all monies made was directly put into buying more product, and i mean 100% of all sales went back to buying more. we did this cycle 3 times.
before launching the time it took was about 6 months for research (part time hours). i realize that i said 6 months from idea to revenue for the post but it was actually 12 months from idea to that revenue area. (i mis read the question)
I’m not going to get into profits or exact numbers because i feel that it is private information. much like asking a stranger how much you make. it’s none of anybody’s concern nor is it beneficial for this topic because whether the profits are 100% or 5% the purpose of tim’s post was to show people it’s possible. All i can say is if huge profit margins motivate you then get into software as a service but to run it as a lean startup i believe it to be incredible TOUGH if you or your partner(s) are not a talented programmers.
i’m a relatively young guy and to describe it as a “muse” doesn’t do the work involved justice. It turned out to be difficult execution wise. a muse implied it is something simple and it wasn’t especially when your trying to go global. This was our first venture, and i have 2 more built from scratch projects coming online soon. we have learned a ton on how ecommerce / global trade works and figuring out the technical, marketing, financial, customer service, and delivery process will be a never ending process.
but i’m strictly talking ecommerce / product development here, there is drop shipping, digital products, affiliate, lead gen, etc. which are completely different avenues of making money online.
It’s 2010 folks, the world has never been this close, 6 billion people on earth and the future is ALL online.
Mat — December 18th, 2010, 10:08 pm
To the guy with the drink looking for PR angles, figure out a way to market the drink as a liquid Marijuana / Weed and see what happens.
John Breese — December 19th, 2010, 7:30 am
I’m surprised that one product wasn’t in this post – especially considering it got a post of its very own a while back – I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but it was a hardcover case for the iPad.
I was very impressed at how quickly the two entrepreneurs behind the venture had jumped so quickly aboard on that idea.
Tim Ferriss — December 19th, 2010, 4:43 pm
Dodocase!
John Childs — December 21st, 2010, 6:41 am
Tim,
Awesome post. I once considered doing consulting for leaders in businesses but realized that it wasn’t scalable (must like those in your post realize as well). I have started my own store but am in desperate need of a web designer to partner with in order to spruce up the page. Know if any good pages besides Elance to look for? It seems elance is just people looking to work for hourly rates while I’m looking more for a business partner. Any help from anyone would be appreciated.
Also, the book is superb. As a fan of crossfit and military athlete workout programs, I appreciate the MRE that you have put forth in the book. I dont think the Army will appreciate my new founded rules for working out since we train to time not to standard and that time is usually an hour. We’ll see how it works out. Maybe you can demonstrate for a few 4 star generals and they can change it! Me, as a lowly captain, am unable to currently.
John Childs
ML Carr — December 21st, 2010, 10:07 am
Love the Muse overviews, they are very helpful. Like Doc I would like to know more about the financial commitments.
thanks
Josh — December 21st, 2010, 8:10 pm
Honest question here…
These are all great ideas, and I realize that the presentation here is not sensational in any way, but the numbers presented, 10-25k per month, 25k+ per month, even 1k-2.5k per month, all from start to present revenue in a period of about a year, it just feels a bit like the stuff of infomercials, you know, the one’s where they say “These results are not typical… yada yada yada…”
I realize the reason “Results are not typical” is because most people put up walls to their own sucess, but comparing these numbers to some of the traditional businesses I’ve seen grow to sustainable, revenue producing ventures, it feels a lot like the “make money fast” stories I’ve become so jaded on. I realize some do make money fast, from the stories above to the truly sensational stories like milliondollarhomepage.com.
So the question…
Is my experience in watching businesses grow large but slowly (not my own yet sadly) doing me a disservice by creating limitations that need not be there? Is being cautious and reasonable worth anything or just an obstacle to success?
Thomas — December 22nd, 2010, 4:40 pm
Great input, thanks Tim!
It would be interesting, how these guys managed the financials at the beginning, how many money was needed and how did they get the money, own money? parents/friends? bank credit? venture capital?
best regards from germany
Cary Eisenhut, PT, DPT — December 23rd, 2010, 9:21 am
Great post! Some very inspirational cases on finding your muse. However, I am having difficulty trying to find my muse. I am a physical therapist and so its my patients that produce cash flow. There does not seem to be any possible to way to produce more free time in my day and still make more money. I make more by taking on more patients. Waiting for that “a-ha” moment to hit me. Looking for some insight on this. Thank you
Cary
Nick C. — December 24th, 2010, 7:12 am
Tim, how do you explain the fact that lapdawg.com domain was registered 2006-09-15 while your book 4-hoursworkweek and the site fourhourworkweek.com was only registered and online after 2007?
To me it looks a bit odd for someone to get inspired by yoru book and to actually have registered the website domain for their idea prior to your book being published.
Tim Ferriss — December 24th, 2010, 10:24 pm
No idea. You’d have to ask them. That said, I have 100s of domains that I’ve grabbed “just in case,” but I don’t have plans for them. I don’t thing their registration date alone proves any malfeasance.
Best,
Tim
Shannon — December 25th, 2010, 10:47 am
How about the possibility that someone had an idea for a product in 2005, registered the website in 2006, and then got inspired by Tim’s book to bring the product to life in 2007?
LapDawg — January 7th, 2011, 2:44 pm
I’ll tell you exactly what happened. Someone else had registered lapdawg.com in 2005. Because it was taken i had to go with our initial domain TheLapDawg.com which was a main website for a while. I waited on the original owner of lapdawg.com to drop the domain and sure enough he did. I got lucky and picked it up off of pool.com for $60.00. Once i got it and had to switch everything over.
Just to clarify the book didn’t inspire my idea of the project, but it helped solidify what was already happening.
Peter Davis — December 25th, 2010, 10:45 am
Tim, I’m loving these muse case studies! They’re perfectly timely for me as I’m developing my first muse right now.
Read your book shortly after being fired from a dead-end retail job last month (in my first year out of high school) and I couldn’t get enough of it! Your experiences in your initial young adulthood jobs reminded me so much of my 2010!
I’m pretty confident in my current idea though… Hoping to start the test phase in the next month
Rob Craig — December 26th, 2010, 6:11 am
Hi Tim,
love your work, just reading your 4HWW for the second time, love these sort of case studies too, for all the doubters and people worried about profit and cost of startup…..here is a brief snapshot of my muse & business, I currently work fulltime at the moment, but have started a sideline business, inspired by you Tim, I pencilled in some ideas, part of which had to be low cost startup, I found a wholesaler who happened to be close to home, set up an account, started selling on ebay, have an e bay store now, wholesaler dropships for me, so I use his stock, I don’t carry any stock at all! Cost of startup was nil! have been running now for approx three months and turnover is approx $3,000 per month with a net profit of between 35% to 40% and the possibility to go much further, and it takes about 2 hours of my time each week, thanks again Tim for showing me the light…….if anybody in Brisbane Australia would like to contact me and talk muse and business ideas I would love to hear from them…..Cheers Rob
Shane — January 18th, 2011, 6:54 am
Hey Rob!
Great to see dropshipping does actually work!
Very interested in talking with you – coffee / brainstorming/ inspiring and motivating each other for Business ideas.
I live in Brisbane on Southside/Eastside.
Drop me an e-mail at your convenience shanemor99@yahoo.com
Nikbin R. — December 28th, 2010, 3:43 am
Hi Tim,
I think I have a great idea for a muse and I would love to work on it. Right now I have just one partner (a great friend of mine).
Unfortunately it seems that we are not able to get all the money we need to realize our idea (The webdesign is going to be very expensive). Do you think it make sense to get another partner like a webdesigner on our boat or do you think its better to wait for a few more month and then do it by our own?
Thank you so much for your inspiring book.
Cheers
Nik
Aor — December 29th, 2010, 11:25 pm
I am really inspired by this story, I have an idea of my own now that I will put into action and maybe you can read about how successful it is
Mike — December 30th, 2010, 10:57 am
Another great post. These stories are very inspirational. I have deployed my muse and am currently expanding it.
There has been talk of what types of muses to use. Whether digital, common product or new product, what matters most is getting out there and doing it. I selected an industry that is very established with a ton of competition, yet I have found a niche that works where I live. A muse doesn’t have to be “sexy” to work.
Thanks for everything you do for us Tim. You are my hero!
MG — December 31st, 2010, 2:40 pm
I am just beginning to read your book and begun a few of your suggestions but for outsourcing I am looking for some type of software or it could be web base to track projects and basic task I give to my VA’s. Can you recommend a few that you have used or know about. Thanks MG
haydee — January 2nd, 2011, 12:22 pm
Hi everyone,I need your help
I have an idea for a muse,
is it necessary to patent the idea,the price is too high,
is there a way to avoid the patent thing?
haydee villegas — January 2nd, 2011, 12:25 pm
HI everyone
I have an idea for a muse
it is not clear to me if it needs to be patented
and it is too expensive
could you help me with this
thanks a lot
haydee villegas
Nick Pegtol — January 4th, 2011, 1:34 pm
Thanks for an inspiring article! Your first book really pushed me in the right direction and I am working hard (for now, that is) to get my muse up and running. I loved your suggestions about taking things to India, giving me a nice bit of extra pocket money!
frizztext — January 5th, 2011, 3:22 am
a great idea, this “LapDawg” – I would buy that, if I could (too far away in Germany)
Dale — January 5th, 2011, 11:41 am
My problem is developing the prototype for my muse idea.
I have the web development/marketing ability. What I don’t have is the “design/build the prototype” ability.
Where do you find others to whom you can outsource this part of the equation?
Jerry — January 9th, 2011, 11:26 am
Tim,
I see several posts from folks trying to find a muse or not knowing how to create one.
One of the simplest ways to jumpstart is through affiliate offers. In your “honey of a book”, you give the shining example of somebody selling sailor shirts and how they used google ads. The same can be applied with affiliate offers, though I’d look for large media buys instead. Google just keeps me guessing too much.
I’d just like to thank you for all your contribution to my online guitar course/muse and it’s [huge] success.
It took me two years to develop the thing but only because it was something I am truly passionate about and being that I am [the product], I poured much caution into everything I did including over a thousand hours of video production.
Lucky for me and thanks to you, not only does it work. My customers love it.
If I were to give any advice to the gang here, it would be to follow your book to the letter as much as possible and to outsource the second you can afford or justify it.
AND… Keep it real. Be passionate about your customers and show it.
I’m hoping to take my family to Italy for a month this year, play guitar, and enjoy the rewards of my muse.
I hope this helps encourage somebody here. You can do it.
Jerry
LGFA
Edgar — February 10th, 2011, 4:36 pm
I want to learn to play guitar and I’m looking for a a
DVD or videos I can use at home. What’s your web site? Your comments on Tim Ferris blog about your guitar product is why I’m writing to you.
Regards,
Edgar
Liron Segev — January 9th, 2011, 2:27 pm
Awesome post !
What’s really cool about this is that these businesses are not the same.
The essence of these is that it doesn’t matter what the business is nor what the service is – if you have the passion and the “don’t quit when things aren’t so smooth” attitude, you can make it happen.
From a personal point: I have read Tim’s book over 5 times now and each time I find more gems at different stages of my business. I have managed to create a business that allows me to work at it literally 2 hours per month. So these methods do work, and these case studies are an inspiration to keep going !
Barb Chipperfield — January 9th, 2011, 9:44 pm
Just finished the 4 hour Workweek and LOVED it. Looking forward to the 4 Hour Body. You are very inspiring. Your books JUST might change my life.
John Gitau — January 11th, 2011, 12:10 am
Hey guys,
I am working on a product and needed a heads up on something.
If I were to go to China to check out manufacturers, what sort of questions should I ask, does anyone on the list know a reliable consultant I can work with in Shenzen. or just reliable manufacrurers of electronic goods and laptop/mobile phone accessories.
I see alot of product listing on Alibaba for what I need but I need to ensure the quality of product and packaging is right for our target market (Kenya).
There also some shipping / taxation details to work out.
Regards
Gitau
JohnG — January 11th, 2011, 9:10 am
Tim,
Nice mention of 4 Hour Work Week in this interesting article on ’10 Simple Truths Smart People Forget’ if you haven’t seen it.
http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/01/10/10-simple-truths-smart-people-forget/
John
Martin Staael — January 13th, 2011, 1:51 am
Hi Tim,
Is your offer for site review already expired? I can’t get the link to work.
Thanks mate,
Martin
Sydni — January 13th, 2011, 7:48 am
Do you think that 4ww is beneficial to performance based (entertainment) businesses? I am a travelling (would like to do more) international performer who wants to get more business….
thanks for your answer:)
Taylor Franklin Hide — January 13th, 2011, 8:56 pm
Tim,
Just wanted to add some real time data in with my muse success.
Hope you are familiar with Kickstarter. It has been an incredible way for me to gauge interest for my product while taking preorders at the same time.
And all your 4HB fans will love the sleep benefits:
http://bit.ly/lumiks
I’m working on getting my process outlined to share once the campaign is over. Some really interesting things about what works and what doesn’t with Kickstarter as a muse platform. I want to reveal what my biggest time wasters and sticking points were up to this point and as we go into manufacturing.
Hopefully this can be a great resource for our community to watch unfold.
I would love for people to take a stab at any questions. I am your resource.
tfh
Kevin McLoughlin — January 17th, 2011, 10:05 pm
Dude, I would LOVE to trade a couple emails with you.
I will be using Kickstarter as a launch pad myself, and would seriously appreciate a few Q&As on do’s/don’ts + getting a reliable manufacturer to prototype your product.
Let me know. I’d be more than willing to send you a book you’re interested in on Amazon for your time.
Cheers,
Kevin
Rachel Henke — January 15th, 2011, 11:34 am
Hi Tim
I was just revisiting your book and wandered back in here. Loving the case studies. So helpful. Keep it coming
Blake Halladay — January 17th, 2011, 7:38 pm
Hey Tim.
I have a problem with this…
I really appreciate you posting the cases, they are very motivating, but it seems that there is something HUGE missing. After reading through the cases, it appears to me that most of these people are adding MORE responsibility and effort to their lives, not LESS. Isn’t that what the 4HWW is all about? Becoming a member of the NR?
More money is great, but automation is the key, correct? I’m reading in these posts that everyone is working really hard on marketing, accounting, development, etc. and not just in the beginning, but rather on an on-going basis. Shouldn’t these tasks be moved to a VA or something similar in order for the product/idea to truly become a “muse”?
I think many of these people have become caught up in their businesses and forgotten to create muses. They have forgotten the true vision of the NR:
We want more time, and I don’t mean added to our “sentences.”
Could you possibly add another question to your surveys inquiring about how they created a real muse and are now enjoying their lives as exclusive members of the NR?
Or perhaps another blog post with other case studies from those who really caught the vision of 4HWW and are living the life…
Thanks man.
Blake
Aurelius Tjin — January 17th, 2011, 7:40 pm
The case studies are mine full of information. Really helpful! Good work!
Philippe — January 19th, 2011, 2:02 am
Dear tim
I’m going to take some admission tests at the end of the year to get into a management school. One of the tests concerns an interview with questions about current events. So one of the vital things I’ll have to do until that time is to keep informed about everything that’s happening in the world. Now one way of doing that is to read a couple of newspapers every day. But as you can imagine that’s not really being productive. Plus, I don’t really have that much time to spare with college and the startup of a business I’m currently involved in. so my question to you is how can I do this in the least time consuming and most efficient way? Thanks for your help and I look forward to hearing from you.
Ps: the 4 hour body is really helping me to get into the best shape I’ve ever been in.
Kaz — January 19th, 2011, 1:57 pm
I am also in college and thought that I wouldn’t have the time to start a muse, but as I learn to use my time more effectively I learn that I can make the time for anything, but I often choose certain tasks over others and pretend that “I don’t have the time”. We all have the time, we just choose to use it in different ways. How many hours of class and work do you have a week? I personally wasted hours every week and now that I have a goal to achieve I get more done in one week than I used to get done in 4 weeks.
To learn about current material I recommend that when you meet up with other like minded business friends you ask them, “What did you read about today?” and get the notes from them.
Since reading the 4 Hour Work Week about 7 months ago I have read the newspaper once. It’s shocking. All the information that you need to know other people tell you and the other info doesn’t matter after a week.
PS: Learn to speed read. It makes a world of difference.
Philippe — January 23rd, 2011, 11:22 am
Thx for the advance. I was planning to learn to speed read as soon as my exams are finished (as I still have some exams until the beginning of february).
Just like you, i’ve wasted hours and hours a week, just doing nothing important. I think it’s kind of natural if you’re a student, right? But that’s all changing now. I was always a guy with a great amount of ambition but after reading the 4HWW, I turned from just thinking about doing great things in the future to actually getting up and doing something. I’m still looking for my muse though. This start up i’m involved in is just to gain some experience in entrepreneurship.
I agree with you concerning reading papers. I haven’t read much papers myself either. Indeed, you will hear the important stuff from other people. But for the admissiontests, unfortunately, I think it will be necessary to do some working and actually reading a couple of business news papers. I think what other people will tell me, won’t be enough, I’m afraid, to pass the tests (since they ask really specific questions).
Karen Chow — January 20th, 2011, 12:44 am
I love the detailed case studies provided here. They are very inspirational to me, and makes me motivated to find my muse.
Kaz — January 22nd, 2011, 12:52 pm
Dietary Supplement:
I am currently developing a natural supplement as an anti-anxiety pill, sleep aid, menstrual relief, muscle relaxer. I am not sure which market that I am going to target yet, but those are all options based on the effects of the active ingredients. If anyone has any tips or advice into the market please send it my way. I will make sure to give you credit where credit is due.
John Childs — January 23rd, 2011, 9:22 am
Hey guys,
Great comments. I am starting a muse right now and wanted to know if anyone knew where I could find a business partner who can focus on web development. If anyone knows sources or would be interested in going into business please contact me. I’d love to hear from you guys!
John Childs
Greg — January 25th, 2011, 3:29 pm
Hi John I am a web developer looking for partners (see my other post below) – I’ll get in touch via your site and see if we can work together.
Greg
Grant — January 23rd, 2011, 7:21 pm
Hey brother,
Guru.com; vWorker.com; freelanced.com; and, elance.com are all great sites to help you find what you need to move forward.
Buena Suerte!
Greg — January 25th, 2011, 3:26 pm
Great to see some inspiration. I am a web designer/promoter and I am interested in helping people get their businesses off the ground (for a cut, partnership or a fee of course – I’m not a charity). I’d like to advertise my services to people here, if that’s alright with you.
Does anyone have any other suggestions of places I can get in touch with like minded entrepreneurs like yourselves?
Annalis — January 28th, 2011, 4:22 pm
Greg,
Let’s keep in touch. I’m looking for partners as well. You can find my info on my website if interested.
~Annalis
Chad — February 16th, 2011, 2:09 pm
hello,
i’m a web designer looking for a developer to work on some MUSE ideas. sound like it could be you. please email me privately
John Childs — January 27th, 2011, 6:59 pm
Greg,
Got back to you. Hopefully we can work together.
John
Michael Klear — January 28th, 2011, 4:12 pm
Hey Tim – I’m in the process of reading your book right now, but have failed in one start up already Student Nerds where we trying to connect people needing computer help with a student near by high school or college to fix for them, but the operation side of the business was a mountain and we couldn’t seem to turn a profit advertising. So I am on to my next venture Hold My Cup and I was wondering if people could offer advice on how we should advertise or gain traffic. We have a prototype and potential manufacturers ready, but we are stuck at how to market/sell/drive traffic to our site. Its simply a cup-holder for the bathroom at bars/casinos/stadiums. I have been manually calling and getting contacts on my own, but its very labor intensive and we haven’t made any sales yet to date. HELP would be much appreciated!
Annalis — January 28th, 2011, 4:21 pm
I’m wondering how much each case study originally invested in their muse to get it up and running?
I’d also love to hear how each person found teams and individuals to collaborate since many mentioned help from a partner or team.
~AC
willy — January 30th, 2011, 6:59 pm
tim lei tu libro la semana laboral de 4 horas ,tiene buenas ideas ,pero muy dificiles de aplicar en el mundo hispano , yo vivo en Argentina y tu conoces nuestro pais , sin dominar ingles y armar un sitio exitoso de internet en español que venda cosas frabicadas por otros es muy complicado ,casi imposible sin capital , asi que no me sirve de mucho tu modelo economico es muy americano se entiende , saludos desde Santa Fe Argentina
Jesse Hopps — February 1st, 2011, 6:27 am
Tim, Would love to find out more about site optimization and taking a 30-40K/month muse to the next level. The link to learn more is broken.
Are you still offering this service and checking out web-based, renewable revenue based business models?
Jesse Hopps
Carson Lee — February 3rd, 2011, 7:42 pm
Well, we have a 3 person team following the 4HWW procedure for testing the muse, with a new product idea. We’re not “young guns” (in our 50s) and got off to a rough start with Google Adwords, however got some good data for one day, corrected our ads, improved our keywords and plan another run. We got 131 clicks, with 71,875 Impr. and a CTR of 0.18% for one test day. We have no base line or anyway to qualify the data. We plan on now running a complete five day test. Who can help us analyze the data to make a good decision going forward?
John Childs — February 5th, 2011, 6:23 am
Holy crap!
I just did a shipping rate quote for 300 items of my product from Taiwan to the US and it was $69, 000. Anyone know wtf is going on here?
John
Jenny - familia y escuela — February 5th, 2011, 10:48 am
Hi Tim,
When would be the spanish version of “the 4 hour body” ready. Please, I’m really interested.
Thanks
Jenny
Stan — February 5th, 2011, 4:59 pm
Hello,
How do you get rid of the excess skin after weight loss?
Brian — February 6th, 2011, 10:16 pm
Love the case studies and looking forward to volume 3! Any idea when we’ll see it?
Jershwin — February 8th, 2011, 7:19 pm
This article inspire me to do find my muse. It is more great if I have my business someday to relate in this article. Because at this point in time I am still searching and discovering my passion to pursue. Hence I think experience is the most effective way to discover you talent, because you have be a right person to do you passion perfectly and success.
Warren — February 8th, 2011, 8:18 pm
Another huge thanks to Tim for his inspirational book!
These posts and responses inspired us to create an entrepreneur community forum – based on the concepts of community, information, collaboration and inspiration.
It’s open to everyone and free to join.
We encourage everyone to stop by and share their entreprenurial journey!
For any successes community members have as a result we’ll certainly be sure to report back to you Tim, thanks again for the inspiration!
Best,
Warren
Sarah — February 14th, 2011, 2:39 pm
A friend gave me your book for my birthday (1st Feb) and have just finished reading it – completely inspired by your attitude towards and solutions for the many ideas you cover.
A couple of things -I don’t seem to be able to see the sample marketing page at http://www.pxmethod.com – it goes straight through to bodybuilding.com – am I supposed to click through to somewhere else? -
Thanks
and also wondering how you managed to create your own niche in your body building field? I have a completely new idea in the beauty/anti-ageing field that has shown good sales from magazine advertising, but I am struggling to find a niche small enough to bring sales on the internet. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sarah
Natasha — February 19th, 2011, 8:07 pm
Why is cottage cheese ok and not any other cheese or dairy?
Alisha — February 23rd, 2011, 8:23 am
Has anyone evaluated the use bean flour (including soy) on the Slow Carb Diet? Soy flour doesn’t have gluten and can fully replace grain flour in many recipes, whereas other beans flour recipes recommend replacing a portion of the wheat flour with bean flour. Not sure what happens if you use entirely bean flour.
Can this count as a legume? Or at least be used in ones slow carb diet without spiking insulin levels?
Thanks-
Maria — February 23rd, 2011, 1:39 pm
Tim,
I’ve been doing the 4HB for 3 weeks. So far so good! Do you know the amazing health benefits of the “nopal ?” (cactus). Try, noplaexoprt.com/healthbenefits.htm. I thought it would go good with the slow-carb diet, what do you think? I grew up eating that stuff. It tastes great with eggs and salsa. It’s better if you can find it fresh & cook it yourself. It is slimmy so make sure to rinse.
FujiTW — March 3rd, 2011, 11:53 am
Hi Tim, Hi All:
I am wondering about secure sites in this day and age and testing the muse(s). I am just a few documents away from being able to test my first muse.
In the three page website mentioned in the book, I’m thinking that page two and three would need to be shopping cart pages? (i.e. a commerce solution such as pay pal)?
I’m planning on securing the domain with godaddy, but I’m wondering what everyone’s experience has been with HOSTING and COMMERCE SOLUTIONS? I would like to go long-term for the savings.
Your input would be greatly appreciated.
FujiTW
Daniel S — March 8th, 2011, 12:46 pm
Hi everyone,
I have product idea that gets manufactured in china and shipped to germany.
I am wondering how you can outsource the product storage and delivery to the customer and still have a quality control. How is Lap Dawg doing it?
I mean they get manufactured in China and you store it at a shippingcenter, right? What if a charge is badly manufactured how do you notice?
Alejo A — April 5th, 2011, 9:34 am
I think that both the information and product are great, so, im in Colombia righ now, I’d like to know if is there a way to get the product here? do you know some stores? Thanks!
Mike Chaney — April 13th, 2011, 8:32 am
Any thoughts on what type of critical research you did to start your muse? i have so many different idea but how did you narrow your muse and begin implementation? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Edward — April 20th, 2011, 5:23 pm
Tim,
What services do the muses that sell online use to process payments?
Thanks
Ed
Kaz — April 21st, 2011, 12:34 pm
@ ed
I use shopify but there is also volusion, big commerce and magento.
Alejo A — May 3rd, 2011, 1:42 pm
Any thoughts on what type of critical research you did to start your muse? i have so many different idea but how did you narrow your muse and begin implementation? Any thoughts would be appreciated
Nicole @ WomanSeeksWorld — June 5th, 2011, 7:06 am
Very inspiring! Great to see people out there innovating and living their dreams! Now I just need to find my muse…
Miguel Lira — June 22nd, 2011, 10:01 pm
I just cant get enough of these case studies, they are pure gold for entrepreneurs. Besides containing condensed useful info, they are motivating as hell.
Tim, I would like to see case studies that include examples like the one you mention in the 4HWW regarding Douglas Price and Prosoundeffects dot com (no spamming).
I am very interested in that concept because the risk of product development and initial investment approach zero, and the simplicity of the process is much higher when it comes to “downloadable” products, thus eliminating the logistics costs (in both time and complexity, I see complexity as a cost), in conclusion, I would really like to see examples related to “download based muses”, either newly created or leveraged, Doug Price style (his whole process consists of a few clicks) how cool is that?
I really like reading your stuff, it is right up my alley, intoxicatingly motivating, both in therms of entrepreneuring and hunger for travel..
Jim — June 29th, 2011, 5:59 am
Hi Tim,
Love this muse case studies. It makes me green with envy seeing how some startups can take such a short time. besides being a good source of motivation, these “muse” articles are educational too.
Jamie Hudson — July 22nd, 2011, 7:25 pm
Tim, love your blog. Like your book even more. I picked up the 4 hour work week around a year ago. Kind of funny back then for a 15 year old. Anyway, I’ve been running online businesses since I was early 12 and your book has helped me get focused. I just thought I’d leave a comment to say thanks!
Andrew McGilly — August 5th, 2011, 9:08 am
Keep up the good work!
Ryan Steinolfson — September 16th, 2011, 7:43 pm
I have a great idea for a product but I really don’t know the best way to produce it (what materials to use etc.)
monclernimei — September 16th, 2011, 10:03 pm
These are great Tim, especially for young entrepreneurs like myself. A place where we can learn from others mistakes and learn how they made things happen.really like reading your stuff, it is right up my alley, intoxicatingly motivating, both in therms of entrepreneuring and hunger for travel..
NS — October 13th, 2011, 4:15 pm
all those stories are great but one critical thing is missing.
how much are they paying to manufacture or their employees?
how much asset is required to manufacture in factory for first place?
Charlie Hoehn — October 14th, 2011, 12:08 am
Those are two things.
mäklare liljeholmen — November 13th, 2011, 12:21 am
Thank you for another informative blog. Where else may just I am getting that kind of information written in such an ideal approach? I’ve a venture that I’m simply now running on, and I have been on the look out for such information.
Josh — December 21st, 2011, 12:22 am
Reading about the success of an idea as simple as a laptop stand is really inspiring. I love these muse examples and the structure that they’ve been published in. They’ve inspired me to create a website where I hope to document many more similar stories. If you liked these I’m sure you’ll get something out of the site so feel free to check it out (by clicking my name to the left).
local seo — February 22nd, 2012, 11:49 pm
I’d must check with you here. Which isn’t something I usually do! I enjoy reading a put up that can make folks think. Also, thanks for permitting me to remark!
TroyD — May 29th, 2012, 6:21 am
I have honed in my muse and I am nearing the point where I would like to find a manufacturer. Does anyone know a good site to find manufacturers? Is Alibaba the best place? I would appreciate any advice from someone who has gone through this process.
Thanks!
Troy
Rob — June 28th, 2012, 3:25 am
Great stories, inspiring and motivational.
Sid Mylavarapu — July 16th, 2012, 3:37 pm
Hey everyone -
I’m a huge fan of Tim’s case studies as they are very helpful in helping readers grasp a better idea of the inner workings of a muse business. I’ve already read through these posts + comments a hundred times so I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could gather more case studies on my own. I want to create a free newsletter featuring various muse businesses to be able to help people looking to create a business (like myself) gain skills and insight.
Here’s a simple landing page I made for anyone who is interested in signing up:
http://musecasestudies.simplelander.com/
Lastly, my email is dardster2@gmail.com I would love to hear feedback and thoughts from anyone. Please tell me how this newsletter would help you.
Best of luck to everybody looking to redesigning their lives!
Tom — August 10th, 2012, 12:10 pm
Hi Tim,
Thanks for pulling this together. Very inspirational. “Starting with the right complementary partners was key to long-term success!” really resonated with me. It’s so much easier when you have congruent partnerships and it lends itself to success.
All the best.
AT — October 19th, 2012, 1:37 am
It is funny because I did a similar system for an internship, 10 years ago. I was in Highschool. After the internship, I explained my teachers what I had done, but they didn’t understand, and told me that wasn’t usefull…the company didn’t use it either.
Lesson ? Don’t listen to teachers, see beyond every simple ideas and every task ?
David Robinson — February 15th, 2013, 12:00 pm
After reading these how can you not be inspired!? Love the case studies!