Issue #8 - How to figure out what to sell

Read Time - 5 Minutes

Toward the end of 2018, I committed to making a full-time living on the internet.

It’s been 4 years since and the freedom I’ve been able to create and experience working for myself is second to none.

I’ve been able to travel the world, working on projects I am passionate about, with people I love, while making hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

All from my beloved MacBook Pro.

When I was getting started, I knew that to make a living on the internet, I had to sell enough of something to cover my lifestyle, taxes, and savings goals.

This was the first step in the process - Figuring out what to sell.

In this email, I am going to share a 4 step process you can use to figure this out for yourself.

Step #1 — Develop Self-Awareness

To figure out what to sell, you want to first develop some awareness around who you are.

Why?

Because you don’t just want to sell something to make money.

You want to make money selling something you enjoy selling.

To find what this thing is, think through the following areas:

Your innate abilities, inclinations, and interests:

• Are you good with tech?
• Do you love creating things?
• Are you obsessed with health?

Skills you already possess:

• Video editing
• Fitness training
• Organizing

Previous experience:

• Doing marketing for college club
• Working at a tech startup
• Becoming a well-known local singer

As you think through these areas, pay close attention to and focus on the things that energize you.

I encourage you to make a list similar to the one above and find where the dots connect. Look for patterns.

The following is an example of how someone might connect the dots.

• I am good with tech, I know how to edit videos, I love creating and I grew my Instagram page with video content to 25k followers.

Once you have 2 - 5 connections, move on to the next step.

Step #2 - Find The Intersection

The next step in the process is finding the intersection between who you are, what you can do, and what the world needs and is willing to pay for.

To find the intersection let your connections from step one guide your thinking.

If - you are good with tech, know how to edit videos, love creating, and know how to grow a social media account

You may be able to package your innate capabilities, interest, skills, and previous experience into :

• Short-form content creation for busy entrepreneurs
• Editing services for social media influencers
• Social media growth consulting
• A course on how to grow Instagram pages with video content

When thinking through this, don’t let your current skillset limit your thinking. You can always take a 1-month detour to master a new skill or become proficient in a new domain.

Once you have a list, feel into it.

Ask yourself - what feels right. What doesn't?

Another great question to ask is - Could I spend the next two years working on this?

When you have your answer, move on to the next step.

Step #3 - Make Sure It's A Good Idea

I like to run any idea through the following filters:

• Does this solve a painful problem someone is experiencing?
• Is this person willing to pay a minimum of $1000 to solve this problem?
• Is there a large number of people experiencing this problem?
• Can I group them into a category such as “entrepreneurs” or “doctors”?
• Are other people already selling this as a product or service?
• Do I have the skill set to deliver? If not, I’m I willing to take a quick detour to develop it?

Run your idea through this list.

Don’t move to the following step until you can answer yes to every question.

Step #4 - Package It

The next step of the process is to package what you will sell into an offer.

Here is a list of 10 great offers you can use to package your products & services

If you followed steps 1 - 4 you should now have something that you can take to market

Start working on that.

It’s probably no the thing you’ll end up working on for the rest of your life but it is the thing you need to work on right now.

The next step of the process is marketing and selling your offer, but that is beyond the scope of this email.

Figuring out what to sell and how to sell it is one of the things I cover in greater detail inside Accelerator.

I also dive into:

• How to find your niche
• How to position yourself in a niche fast
• How to build, market, and sell your first offer
• The mindset needed to bring your vision to life.

You can learn more about Accelerator here.

It's only $37 and I promise you, few courses deliver as much for so little.

If you have any questions on this subject, feel free to reply to this email.

I read and respond to every message.

That wraps up this email.

Keep crushing,

Abraham Casallas

P.S. - I just released a new youtube video where I show you exactly what's been working for me in terms of audience building and audience monetization. You can check it out here.