Player Turned Plug

Who knew?

You don’t know what you don’t know. Confusing, right? I’ll show you what I mean. Have you ever heard the phrase “He’s got another thing coming”?

Well, you’ve been saying it wrong your whole life. It’s actually “another think”, not “thing”.

It comes from a larger phrase: “If that’s what you think, you have another think coming”. I know, I know your mind is blown.

Even my computer is trying to correct me. But it’s true, trust me.

Here’s another one.

“You don’t need to reinvent the wheel”. This is a little less straightforward, so stay with me. You see, the wheel, although invented 5,000 years ago, has never been changed.

It’s a perfect invention, fit for its purpose. Any attempt to reinvent it would add no value and be a waste of time and, more importantly, resources.

So this phrase isn’t to say we should avoid doing hard things, not at all.

Instead, we should recognise what is within our reach to avoid wasting time on impossible tasks.

The same is true for business. In fact, I’ll simplify it further. Never invent anything! It’s not worth it.

Instead, find a growing market and piggyback it like the hustler you are. That’s how real money is made.

And that’s how ex-Wales international Simon Church made his. Read on.

Two years after playing in the 2018 Euros, Simon retired. He was only 30, but his body couldn’t go on. He’d been on painkillers so long that they no longer worked.

A friend recommended CDBs, and they changed his life. He was finally pain-free again. According to Simon, had he found it earlier, he’d have played much longer.

Anyway, like you, Simon caught the business bug. He decided to start CBD Performance.

A company that infuses CBD into everyday products, think – protein shakes, bath salts, creams, and hydration drinks.

Simon saw a huge demand in a growing market that wasn’t catering to professional athletes.

Since starting, they have grown a sizeable social media following and sell from both their web store and retailers, like Selfridges.

Now I know what you’re thinking. CDB… All aboard the hype train, that’s not new or even interesting. Maybe. But neither are wheels, they still freaking sell.

It’s simple. Take an existing model that works, and apply it to your niche. Here’s how you can use this thinking.

Figure out what works

First, think like a consumer. What do you always find sells out? What would you consider paying more for?… Ok, enough of the questions. Here are the answers.

Junglescout – lets you look at the number of sales for any product on Amazon.
Import Genius – look at import records for everything coming into the country; shipping big weight = selling big volumes.
Facebook Ad Library – look up ads running on FB or IG for any brand.
Google Trends – look up how many people are searching for topics over time.
Shopify traffic – look up how much daily traffic any Shopify store has.

Also, next time you buy something on Shopify. Look at the # on the receipt.

All Shopify stores start at 1,000, so you can see how many orders they’ve had, thus gauging demand.

2. Do it better

Let’s take it back to football. You and Messi do the same thing. Only he does it better.

That’s why he’s Messi, and you’re… well you. How you should take that statement is based on what you makin’, am I right?

Go and look at other competitors (other apps, stores, websites etc) and think about how you could 10x them.

The hack

Go to www.flippa.com. It’s a marketplace for buying/selling websites, online stores and apps. Here you can see how much people make and what their businesses are worth.

I use it like this:

So I’m on Flippa. I see this site making 1k a month with a 98% margin. I go check it out – www.sportsglory.com. It’s a review site for sports equipment.

Each review then has an affiliate link. If someone buys the item via the site, they get paid.

Instead of purchasing the site, I think about how I could do it better. Or if I did buy it, how would I improve it?

The images they use are stock photos, and the headlines are boring—two easy improvements.

I also see they have a Facebook page, but no Insta or TikTok!? That’s an easy way to drive more traffic to my version of the site. Now I’m licking my lips.

You get the idea. Yes, this would take work, and websites don’t have to be THE idea. Check out the apps, the e-commerce sites, or the bakeries in your town. Whatever.

The point is, thinking like this is how you get the wheels turning. Before long, you will start seeing opportunities everywhere.

Do it YOUR way

Use Your Unfair Advantage. Using your unfair advantage can be the fastest way your idea can take off.

What do I mean? Take Fisayo at The Ball Business. He has unique skills. He has excellent knowledge of football and business and is also a great copywriter.

There are maybe 5 people in the world that can do that. That’s why it works, and the Ball Business is so fire.

Simon Church knew about CBD products and understood high-performance athletes. Just like that, he cut out 99% of his competition.

Your opportunity

I cannot stress this enough. Listen. Yes, you, Mr Footballer. Right now, your life is a cheat code:

You have knowledge that 99% of the country will never have (Football is massive). Combine this with any of your other interests.
You have (with your club) a loyal following. Pre-existing audiences are a giant cheat code for starting a new business.

Go out and use it.

By now, you should be feeling inspired. If you take anything from this article, understand that not having an ‘amazing idea’ should never you back.