"Fail Fast" for Building a Profitable Home Internet Business

“Fail Fast” is a saying many Internet marketers often use to describe a strategy used on the road to success. My wife hates that saying! Therefore, I will explain exactly what the short, but powerful phrase means for beginning marketers.

First let’s take a look at how building a brick and mortar business differs from an online business. Significant investment and risk are required to establish a physical business. Anyone beginning a new business downtown had better do their homework well. If their odds of success were wrongly calculated, failure with that type of business can be catastrophic.

Unlike a brick and mortar business, marketing online can actually be an “experiment in progress.” Experimentation online need not require much risk. We can conceive an idea, research it, and develop tests for it very quickly in order to assess its potential. Best of all, the testing requires very little funding and time to implement.

Here’s where the “fail fast” term comes in. It is very unlikely that our first idea will result in a home run. It’s more likely an idea will result in a learning experience which can be used to tweak future, and possibly related, plans of action.

Failing fast is related to other terms we often speak of: “Take Action” and “Good is Good Enough!

Obviously, without action, the idea will forever be just that – an idea. Rapid and educated action is an absolute ingredient for online success. It’s important to understand the benefit online marketing offers by forgiving four “failures” if the fifth gets good traction.

Good is good enough simply means not to spend too much time working at making your offer or site absolutely perfect. Don’t waste your time! Research the idea, assemble it in an offer which is “good enough”, and get it out there to test!

If testing proves the idea wasn’t so great after all, then much time has been saved which can be quickly applied to the next idea. Put only enough work and time in the test to determine if the idea may prove worthy of investing more attention into making it better.

“Fail Fast” could well be changed to “test fast.” My wife actually prefers that version. The ability to test ideas quickly with little risk is the single greatest benefit online marketing has over a conventional business.

One of the biggest mistakes a new Internet marketer can make is failing to understand and/or follow the path of “failing fast.” Too often beginners become so excited with an idea they get far ahead of themselves and spend too much time and energy on product and/or site development before first confirming the idea is viable.

Package an idea in a format which is “good enough.” Test it in ways that will quickly signal thumbs up or down. Embrace the “thumb downs” since they will educate and lead to the one or two ideas which result in a profitable business.