Ken Uchikura Newsletter Vol. 35

“Do you sell your products or service online? If you say no, you are so behind, you need to start selling online. If you do sell online, do you think you are selling enough? Do you think you can sell more if you do it right?”

Those are the marketing pitches that many online experts make to get you to spend money on them.

Do not listen. They do not work.

Think about the Internet as a country. Yes, a country. If you want to expand your business to a new country, what do you need? Do you just buy a real estate and build a store there? No, you do not do that. First, you find out if there is a need for your product or service in that country. Then you find the competitors in that country. You must determine if you want to sell directly to consumers or establish a distributor. Then, you test the market by selling your product or service at a very limited scale.

You do all that and more if you want to penetrate a new market. So why do you break the Internet like it's just small add on? Because the Internet does not cost you anything. Opening a new store in other countries should not stop you from doing your due diligence. Doing business is a big deal. So treat it like so. You need to work with experts … not marketing experts. Someone who is already selling on the Internet. Work with them.

Lastly, don’t give up. Internet is the way now, and the future. You cannot give up. Keep trying. I am trying a new thing every day. Let’s share ideas. Ideas are free.