My Top 10 Worst Money Making Ideas

by Neil Patel on October 19, 2009

dumb idea

As you may already know, I have started a lot of companies and most of them have failed. But what you may not know is that I had a ton of other cool ideas. ;)

So here goes:

1. Mesothelioma Girl 15

Do you remember Lonely Girl 15? She technically wasn’t 15, but she was a big hit on YouTube. Once I saw that, I wanted to film a hot chick that acted like she had mesothelioma (a form of cancer).

I know that’s a sad thing to joke about, which is why I never executed on the idea, but if you can get enough buzz and rank for the term “mesothelioma” on Google, you can potentially make millions.

2. Fast Food and Beer

America is a big fan of fast food. No matter how much crap you may talk about fast food, you still eat it.

The other thing you are a big fan of is beer. So why not combine the two?

The problem with this idea is that it is probably illegal to serve alcohol in the drive through. Cops kind of don’t like open alcohol containers in cars.

3. Rent My Site

Who doesn’t want a website? These days’ people are popping up websites about almost anything.

So why not create thousands of websites in different business niches, optimize them for maximum traffic exposure, and rent them out to people or companies who are in that space?

At one point in time I tried out this concept, but it didn’t go so well because people wanted to own the website. Why would you want to spend all your time building up a business you are renting?

4. Siteblimp

My business partner and I probably spent $60,000 on Siteblimp and it never ended up working out. The site is still up and I think the software may even work, but we never launched the company.

Siteblimp was supposed to be a free pay-per-click management software that helps you manage your advertising campaigns. The way we were going to make money off of it was by up selling users into a monthly subscription service.

The problem with Siteblimp is that the concept isn’t unique. It is just another me too company that didn’t do anything unique.

5. Fruitcast

Unlike Siteblimp my business partner and I did something unique with Fruitcast. We ended up creating the first podcast advertising network, similar to Overture.

This all happened a few years ago when podcasts were the new hot thing. We thought it was so hot that when the Yahoo Advertising department scheduled a meeting with us, we thought we were going to get acquired.

Time went on and we put either $50,000 to $100,000 into the company. We didn’t make any money because we placed advertisements in front of the podcasts, which isn’t too effective. People were ignoring or skipping the advertisements. You actually have to put advertisements within a podcast for an advertisement to be effective, but that’s hard to do unless the podcaster does it themselves.

6. MyStatCounter

Do you use StatCounter? It is such as popular service that I noticed that tons of people were going to my.statcounter.com to log in and use the service.

The concept behind MyStatCounter.com was to squat on all the users that were trying to go to my.statcounter.com. For a while it worked out and we got a surge of signups, but the users weren’t sticky.

7. 5 Dolla Holla

Do you remember William Hung? He was on American Idol and sang the song “She Bangs”. If you haven’t seen the video, you can watch it here.

The concept behind 5 Dolla Holla was to charge people 5 dollars to have William Hung prank call you or one of your friends.

The only issue with this business idea is that I didn’t know William. Plus after his 5 minutes of fame was over, no one would be willing to pay 5 dollars for a William Hung prank call.

8. Cabledescramblers.tk

In high school, I was known as the kid that sold all things pirated. I was so well known for it that I even sold pirated goods to some high school students’ parents.

So to expand my business I thought that it would be smart to sell pirated goods on the Internet. There was only 1 problem… it wasn’t legal.

I thought I could do it as long as I was under 18, but I wasn’t willing to risk jail time. Plus, I couldn’t afford a real domain name. I am not sure how many people would be comfortable in buying goods from a domain name that ended in “tk”.

9. The Homeless Kids Franchise

You have seen homeless people beg for money, but have you seen a homeless kid beg for money? You probably would turn down a homeless person, but would you turn down a homeless kid?

The concept behind The Homeless Kids Franchise is to create a franchise that taught kids how to act homeless and get free hand outs. And as the founder of the franchise, I would take a cut of each of the Homeless Kid Franchises around the US.

Other than this being illegal, I think the kids would end up being taken away by child services and placed in foster homes. Plus it would be really hard to collect the franchise fees.

10. 1-800-Strippers

Similar to 1-800-Flowers, you could call 1-800-Strippers and we would send a stripper to your friend’s door. What better way is there to cheer up a friend than to send him a strip-o-gram?

I never really looked into this business idea, but my guess is that there are a lot of issues that will come up; such as people not being home when the strippers arrive.

Conclusion

I know most of these ideas sound foolish, but I was a kid/new entrepreneur when I came up with most of these business ideas. The point I am trying to make is that you to will come up with a lot of dumb business ideas, which means that you will fail a lot. Just don’t get discouraged because sooner or later you’ll learn to come up with good business ideas.

And if that doesn’t encourage you, just look at Mark Cuban. At one point he had a business idea that revolved around selling powdered milk. In his eyes, it tasted as good as the real thing and you wouldn’t have to worry about expiration dates. But as you know, that isn’t how he made his billions. ;-)

PS: If you are looking for more bad business ideas, check out this post by Jeremy Schoemaker and this post by Brian Armstrong.

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{ 168 comments… read them below or add one }

Yasir Khan's bio October 19, 2009 at 9:51 PM

Hey Neil,

LOL I am loving the “business” ideas. If I am not wrong, nearly all of them would have been super risky things to get into. It kind of brings me to the next question. How many businesses did you EVER start in total? And how many of them worked out?

Have a good one!

Yasir

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Neil Patel October 19, 2009 at 10:25 PM

Good question. I don’t know… but well over 10 for sure.

I used to average 3 new businesses a year. But recently I have been focusing all of my time on KISSmetrics.

At this point all the new ventures I get into are usually through investments.

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Philippine Stock Exchange October 23, 2009 at 5:16 AM

amazing! 3 new businesses a year!? you are a serial entrepreneur! i hope i would be able to do that one of these days.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:42 AM

Yah but most of them do fail, but then again… that’s what it’s all about.

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Luke Jones October 20, 2009 at 12:05 AM

Haha, some of those ideas are hilarious but others sound as though they’d really work – the mistake you made, perhaps?

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:15 PM

nope…none of them worked out. They were foolish ideas that just won’t cut it online.

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Nathan J. Brauer October 20, 2009 at 12:34 AM

Great post, Neil! I’m ALWAYS thinking up ideas. Probably 2 or 3 a week.

Regarding the “Homeless Kids Franchise” — hate to be the bearer of “bad” news, but you weren’t the first to think about it. Here in Vietnam (and Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more) that’s a common “business”.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:16 PM

Yah, I’m not surprised… they actually do stuff like that in several countries.

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Michael Broukhim October 20, 2009 at 12:51 AM

Love it Neil. Something very refreshing when someone shares their misses. Keep it up bud.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:16 PM

Thanks Michael. I’m all about learning from mistakes. It helps my readers too, which is the best part.

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Prostate Problems October 21, 2009 at 10:03 PM

When it comes to developing yourself it is always advisable to not only accept your mistakes but also learn from them. Twice beaten twice shy is an adage you should take seriously, since failure to does that may result to stagnation in your career development. Experience is known to be the best teacher, therefore learn to pick yourself up whenever you plunder.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:13 AM

Learning from your mistakes is the type of knowledge and info you will need to avoid the challenges you’ll face in the future.

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Prostate Problems October 20, 2009 at 2:36 AM

There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to start your own business, but not having the right idea. Maybe you’ve come up with several ideas, but not hit on the one that’s right for you yet. Maybe you’ve come up with an idea, but been put off it by the poor reaction from people you’ve told or seen someone else start up your idea.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:17 PM

There will probably be many times in your life when you come up with an idea, don’t follow through with it, then see someone else get rich from it. GOI-get over it and look for the next idea.

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Christmas SMS October 20, 2009 at 4:15 AM

Hi Neil,

Absolutely right, in business, be patient, sooner or later you will come up with a good idea.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:19 PM

It’s only a matter of time you know. Most people just have an issue with being persistent or patient enough.

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Adam Kornfield October 20, 2009 at 4:26 AM

Neil, Certainly may be a list full of misses and fails, but good lessons none the less. Thanks for the post.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:19 PM

No problem Adam. I always take a look at it the perspective of “no failure, only feedback”

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Christmas SMS October 20, 2009 at 4:38 AM

Well Neil I think making different sites in different niches and then renting them out or even selling them is not a bad idea, if managed properly.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:21 PM

It’s too easy to start up a website and then have it positioned to bring traffic. People just won’t fork over the money to have something and then loose it after they build it up.

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chandan@work at home October 20, 2009 at 5:35 AM

Thank you that you share your worst money making ideas. We all blogger are learning and sometime we have encountered with some bad experience like you. Afterall our main target is to reach our goal.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:22 PM

Well Chandan, it’s a way for people like yourself to see ideas that work and don’t. Sometimes if an idea just seems too dumb to do, more often than not, it is.

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Ankur Jain October 20, 2009 at 7:42 AM

Nice inspiration for those who are scared of failing.
May be 3rd could have worked with some twist. Idea #9 is horrible. I at once thought of the movie Slum Dog Millionaire

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:24 PM

Yeah, this is true. Well all the ideas aren’t terrible, there’s just no money in it.

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Ankur Jain October 22, 2009 at 6:34 AM

btw, what is your pass rate (or may I say failure rate :) ) ?

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:54 AM

That’s a good question, I’ll have to look into that. I can tell you though most of of ideas didn’t go anywhere.

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team ray October 20, 2009 at 8:15 AM

LOL. I thought of the order strippers idea as well, but I wasnt sure if it was legal . Is it legal to order strippers to come to your house? Security would be a big issue.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:25 PM

It is legal, but the problem is that it’s been done… a million times practically too.

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vinay October 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM

Wow. And I thought I was the only one with stupid ideas. The 1-800-STRIPPERS ideas was cool though :)

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:27 PM

No, I can bet that most people have stupid ideas like these. The Strippers one was catchy, wasn’t it.

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chiropractic October 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM

Funniest thing is I’ve had similar ideas and some that I read here actually seem pretty good… until hind site sets in. Reminds me to make my own list. Thanks Neil.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:28 PM

You should make your own list, I think everyone should. We all have stupid ideas that we believe in… only to find them to be a piece of crap.

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Teen Blogger October 20, 2009 at 3:06 PM

Haha great ideas LOL NOT, i actually thought some were very funny. I also thought that i was the only one able to think of the worst stupid ideas, looks like you proved me wrong lol.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:32 PM

Well I guess I did. We all have hopes and dreams in ideas that we THINK sound like a good idea, but only come to find out they suck. O well, fail forward fast.

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Prostate Problems October 21, 2009 at 10:00 PM

Our hopes and dreams are the magic that drive us on. Sometimes, no matter how unrealistic they may seem to other people, without them life can often seem to have no purpose. This is why it is vitally important that if you have dreams that have been broken or lost, to create a new set of ones so that life once again is exciting and forever interesting. The pressures of finances can be the single greatest obstacle to overcome.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:11 AM

Dreams will come and go… especially after you achieve what you want, you’ll want something else.

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WPswitch October 20, 2009 at 7:12 PM

The Homeless Kids Franchise would actually work better if you hired real homeless kids instead of actors. You would not have to pay them as much and havew higher profit margins.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:33 PM

yeah, but there is a bit of dishonesty and other stuff there that just makes the idea sound kind of evil.

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Cooper October 21, 2009 at 5:19 AM

I like the stripper idea the best, but then again who wouldn’t want a stripper to show up at your house. :) Consolation prize would have to go to the Homeless kid idea, you could make a mint on that one. I will have to sit down and make out a list myself, it isn’t like I dont think about these things.

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:34 PM

We all do… I’m sure. No both those ideas I can’t seem to see being successful. Let’s face it, even if they sound good, there’s just no money in it.

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Mitesser October 22, 2009 at 6:38 AM

The main problem is that most ideas force you to spend way too much time and money in them. And more often, there’s no guarantee you’ll make a penny at all. I’ve had so many offline business ideas.. which would have cost me so much time and money, probably without any acceptable results. I also had tons of ideas involving illegal activity, but it’s the same thing with those. Too time-consuming and expensive. Plus, the risks are just not worth it in the long term.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:23 AM

Well you have to spend time…and no you don’t need to spend that much money. Illegal activity? Everyone always gets caught with that kind of junk.

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Cooper October 21, 2009 at 5:22 AM

I like the stripper idea the best, but then again who wouldn’t want a stripper to show up at your house. :) Consolation prize would have to go to the Homeless kid idea, you could make a mint on that one. I will have to sit down and make out a list myself, it isn’t like I dont think about these things.

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James October 21, 2009 at 5:23 AM

“… but if you can get enough buzz and rank for the term “mesothelioma” on Google, you can potentially make millions.”

Hey Neil this is my first post, but I love your blgo I have it as my homepage at work, it’s great! Anyway regarding the quote above.. I’m just curious, how could you potentially make millions? or any money?

Thanks :)

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Neil Patel October 21, 2009 at 4:35 PM

It’s a word that’s searched thousands of times every day. If you have that kind of natural traffic, you can sell ads, products, etc.

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Carlton Green October 21, 2009 at 6:29 PM

Neil,

Your definitely right about the unique proposition in regards to siteblimp. For example the start-up (moneyledge.com) I’m building is not a new concept, but it definitely have some unique features and concepts. I’m also trying to connect with my targeted market (web entrepreneurs and internet marketers) before we launch.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM

That’s great Carlton, creating buzz for a site is the key to giving you the head start you need.

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Acai October 21, 2009 at 7:16 PM

I remember running a site about mesothelioma. The site provide basic information about asbestos lung cancer. It did not get much traffic but the keyword really paying well, sometime it hit up to $10-$20 per click.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:11 AM

WOW… so if that site was created the right way, a person can make a ton of money from it.

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Ross October 25, 2009 at 8:06 PM

Yaa thats the problem.. So many people know that Mesothelioma is a very high paying niche but its a very rare keyword.. Competition is too much for this keyword and very few people search this keyword so I think its very very difficult to earn money from this keyword.

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:35 PM

It is difficult to get the results, but if you can do it, you can potentially earn a lot of money. It all depends on your strategies.

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Fahad (Make|Money|Online) October 22, 2009 at 2:07 AM

hi neail great list, most of ideas in this list is new to me but now i know that through these ideas we cannot make money without extra ordinary good luck. i am thinking to creat a site on any high paying adsense keyword e.g short loans, mortrage loans what do u think it is nice idea or not?

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:53 AM

That’s a good idea, but its VERY VERY competitive. So just be aware of the fact that a lot of people have already done that and very few people are actually making money with it.

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Fahad (Make|Money|Online) October 24, 2009 at 6:19 PM

yes i know its very competitive but if we optimize our site for this keyword and even get few clicks on adsense it makes much money as compare to other keywords.

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:28 PM

You can, it just requires a ton of work. If you can optimize you can definitely make a ton of mula.

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Mitesser October 22, 2009 at 6:34 AM

2, 8 and 9 are awesome. Personally, I have come up with easily over 50 different offline business ideas, when I found out about Internet Marketing I had another 50. You need tons of ideas to filter out the good ones in the end. The ones that are actually worth investing a lot of time and some money.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:55 AM

Coming up with the ideas isn’t too difficult, but then marketing it and exposing it to the world is very hard. Learn the art of creating a buzz.

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DefunktOne October 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM

Thanks for sharing your personal stories. They are awesome and the message is invaluable. You have to be in it to win it so get out there and get failing, you will be one step closer to success!

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:29 AM

That’s very true DefunktOne, you need to be in it to win it… just like the lottery ;) . Every time you fail, you are one step closer to succeeding. Digg through the dirt to find the gold.

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Mark Yarrobino October 22, 2009 at 10:58 AM

About #2. A few years ago, my wife and I were on vacation at the Jersey shore, and we passed a store with a big neon sign saying “self service drive-in liquors”. So, of course, we took a picture of it, because that’s hilarious, and, let’s face it, unexpected. They didn’t have the drive-through service anymore, so we figured it was a one-shot business idea that didn’t work out.

Flash forward to this month. A movie called “Hamlet 2″ was on TV, so I watched it. It was mediocre, at best, but there’s a scene where the main character goes to a liquor store, and outside is a neon sign advertising their drive through service.

So, apparently, at some point in time, this was a normal business practice for some liquor stores. You know, for when you really need that booze in a hurry, and getting out of the car just isn’t in your plans. Maybe because you’re already drunk and can’t really walk a straight line. You don’t want to draw attention to that.

Bring back the drive-through liqour store, Neil.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:30 AM

LMAO The drive-through liquor stores were awesome! They still have some down in So Cal

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David ODonnell October 22, 2009 at 7:32 PM

Kinda funny that the majority of these are highly illegal – you have a set for publishing this! However, I think someone will actually steal you first idea ‘Mesothelioma Girl 15′ and attempt it…

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Many people have already tried… so it’s nothing new.

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Blog Directory October 22, 2009 at 9:47 PM

Thanks Neil. I need that laugh! LOL!! You were quite the opportunist (and probably still are?) back then.

Adam Osborne said “The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect.”

Amen.

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Prostate Problems October 22, 2009 at 10:21 PM

By evaluating mistakes in this way you will gain in confidence. As your confidence grows you focus more on the positives and less on the negatives. Embrace the reality that you are taking action and being positive. Once you are fully equipped with your new more confident mindset you will lose your apprehensiveness and be more willing to take the risks necessary for success.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:37 AM

Very true. As confidence grows, many things begin to change, develop, and grow. New opportunities all of a sudden begin to appear.

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Prostate Problems October 22, 2009 at 10:28 PM

Barack Obama:
Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

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Christmas SMS October 23, 2009 at 5:10 AM

I think the President is very right in saying this. We must learn from experiences, whether we fail or succeed, every give us some lesson. Failure is the sign for success but if you take it positively, so its how your perceives the matter :)

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:39 AM

Wow, very insightful. Patience, commitment, and the ability to accept failure. Fail forward fast and you’ll reach your destination a lot quicker.

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Prostate Problems October 23, 2009 at 10:51 PM

Exactly! Be able to accept failure and responsibility – don’t blame but learn and move on;

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 6:39 PM

The power to accept your mistakes is huge in itself. It’s about not having an ego at all.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Wow, that’s a great quote… thanks for sharing it. I’m taking that!

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Prostate Problems October 22, 2009 at 10:26 PM

Brainstorming business ideas should be uncensored. No idea is dumb or impossible and each person’s contribution is equally valuable.

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Neil Patel October 23, 2009 at 9:38 AM

Any idea truly can be turned into some kind of profit, but other variable come into play… like passion. If you want to be happy, then do something you enjoy doing.

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Christmas SMS October 24, 2009 at 3:48 AM

Absolutely Right Neil,

If you want to be happy, then do things of your own interest. Other factors play an important role in success of your business, but most important is committment and how your perceive the things.

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 6:39 PM

You level of commitment to yourself is more important than any other type of commitment you can ever make. You need to believe in you before others do.

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Top Search Engine Placement October 24, 2009 at 12:33 PM

I agree. I think that focusing on what we love is the key to a happy and successful life.
Developing the habit of always, automatically, looking for the positive aspects we can appreciate and for the opportunity whatever event we are facing brings is one of the best things we can do.

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:24 PM

When you focus on doing the things you love, you do come across ideas and concepts that probably appeal to you.

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Urdu Ghazals October 24, 2009 at 10:34 AM

The life is not so perfect, each and every one first falls then if he tries to know the cause then there are chances that he will be a successful man, and if he think this was due to luck then he can never get up.

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Prostate Problems October 25, 2009 at 10:56 PM

Seeds of thought to turn failure into success may sound strange but failure can be a springboard to success. In fact if you do not have a lot of failures in your life you will never obtain a high level of success.

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:36 PM

Almost every successful person has more failures under their belt than success.

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how to build a website October 26, 2009 at 10:23 AM

where i live they have drive thru liquor stores. so thats not actually a bad idea. lol

i dont drink. but i’m sure it would appeal to a few folks.

btw. is that a wordpress plugin for the little pop-up showing other pages being visited? or a custom thing?

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:23 PM

It’s a custom thing. They actually have drive thru liquor stores… interesting. I’m sure it does appeal to the younger crowd.

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Damon Day October 26, 2009 at 1:58 PM

Hey Neil,

Thanks for sharing your failures. I have had quite a few in my day. My first profitable venture was in Junior high. I would purchase gum in quantity and then sell the individual packs for profit out of my locker. That worked out real well until I got caught. While there was no rule against selling gum on campus, students where not allowed to chew gum on campus. So once they figured out that I was selling it, they expanded the rule to include no selling on campus either :-) . But I was pulling in 20 to 30 bucks a day while it lasted. That was good money for a 13 year old back then :-)

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Neil Patel October 26, 2009 at 7:43 PM

The gum thing seems to popular with many people, including me. 20-30 bucks a day is VERY good. Now take it to the next level with the same concept.

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GDI Blog October 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM

The Homeless Kids Franchise ?? Oh my God, this was really the Worst one :)

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Neil Patel October 28, 2009 at 5:17 AM

Oh yeah, it was a terrible idea, but was definitely something I was thinking about a long time ago.

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no fax October 27, 2009 at 11:07 AM

lol.. i didnt know you could be this pathetic.. homeless kid.. c’mon

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Neil Patel October 28, 2009 at 5:23 AM

Hey, you know what, I was kid… Yes, I know it’s far from being a good idea.

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Graeme @ findaposter.com October 29, 2009 at 1:31 AM

I’m glad none of my business ideas are on your list, there may still be hope for me yet.

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Neil Patel October 29, 2009 at 5:10 AM

There is still a chance for you I guess! Keep us posted with what happens.

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alex salgado October 29, 2009 at 6:45 AM

Hi Neil,
I really like your posts.
I am a brazilian developer with master degree and a lot of experience in site development.
I have some ideas and I am working at one now. It’s a kind of social networks site. But I have doubt, how is the best way to have a investor for it?

Thanks

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Neil Patel October 30, 2009 at 9:16 AM

Well Alex, know that there are thousands upon thousands of social networking sites out there, so yours would have to be quite spectacular to even have a chance to thrive. If it is, start talking to people in similar industries, attend conferences, and abc (always be closing)

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FunkyList October 29, 2009 at 11:28 AM

Sometimes having too many failures can be too costly and painful but learning from other people’s mistakes can help you become successful faster.

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Neil Patel October 30, 2009 at 9:17 AM

Most people will go through massive failures in their life… what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger ;)

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louie jerome October 31, 2009 at 2:22 PM

Other peiople’s failures make great blog posts, especially if they are huge failures.

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Neil Patel November 2, 2009 at 8:32 AM

Yes, it’s always better to read about someone else making a mistake ;)

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Joshua October 31, 2009 at 10:40 PM

Lol i like the stipper o gram but it think the beer would work if you only served the beer in a section at a fast food resturant.

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Neil Patel November 2, 2009 at 8:33 AM

A lot of fastvfood restaurants do serve beer. Take a look at Chipotle.

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catalin November 1, 2009 at 4:34 AM

Thank you for sharing all this ideas with us. But I think that is really sad where the world has ended up to. All we care about is making money and very often we forget how beautiful and how short life is. We keep working and working to make money and we miss all the joys of life. It’s very sad.

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Neil Patel November 2, 2009 at 8:41 AM

It’s true… people are interested in money now more than anything else… but just accept it and realize that you can do more with more money (donations, vacations, etc.)

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catalin November 4, 2009 at 7:12 AM

There is a saying: “Money don’t bring happiness but they maintain it”. This is what almost all the people are living for today. To maintain a “fake” happiness which can be gone in a second if you make a mistake. All I am saying is that is normal to try to make money in order to live a good life but don’t forget to benefit from the joys of life.

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Neil Patel November 4, 2009 at 8:09 PM

Fake it till you make it. Be happy now and you’ll start to attract more happiness as time goes on.

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catalin November 9, 2009 at 9:36 AM

Yup. You are right. But many people are faking it till the point when is too late and they find themselves already old and with a lot of money. Where is the joy in that?

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:53 PM

Life is about the journey, not the destination.

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jason November 3, 2009 at 4:44 PM

actually we are doing a few “rent my site” type deals right now where we are getting paid fairly well to work on our own websites :) .

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Neil Patel November 4, 2009 at 7:49 PM

That’s great to hear, does your company have a webpage?

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Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma November 5, 2009 at 2:50 PM

Hey Neil,
I love your articles. They are full of insight and wisdom which has helped shape my blog. I have recently started a blog on malignant peritoneal mesothelioma; incredibly I was unaware of its “potential” before I embarked on this course of action. I was wondering if you had any advice or words of wisdom about creating a successful blog and exploiting a hot market (mesothelioma).

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Neil Patel November 5, 2009 at 10:06 PM

Well, focus on writing powerful and compelling content… and then comment on other blogs that are similar to yours to start driving in traffic.

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Klimatici November 6, 2009 at 8:35 AM

Everyone have passed true this period of silly ideas, me too, I used to have website like bux.to. I also tried with a weight loss site – healthproblemstoday.info this was the result => fail.. sold for 70$ :(
Best regards!

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 9:52 PM

lol, that’s $70 more than I would of made the stuff I had. Look at it like this… Each failure is 1 step closer to success.

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Akeisha, ATT Uverse Coupons November 7, 2009 at 1:06 AM

Hey, you’re not the only one with stupid ideas when you where younger, all of us probably had one. :D To be successful in business one should not be afraid to fail..it’s always part of the game…sooner or later you’ll hit the jackpot…I hope I do too. nice post…

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:08 PM

I think most people make mistakes throughout their life in both career and life… its just nature.

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Rockstar Sid November 7, 2009 at 8:21 AM

Hey Neil,

I am Sid and it is really interesting to see your ideas at 18 or so.. I am looking forward to be like you and I strongly assume you are an Indian (from your name).. anyway but I loved all your ideas..

I thought the idea of Siteblimp was cool.. :)

Good luck!

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The Pro Designer November 10, 2009 at 8:52 AM

Rockstar Sid, I agree, I thought the Siteblimp idea was awesome! From my initial reaction!

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:44 PM

I agree, it was a smart move on their part.

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:12 PM

That’s great Sid! I hope your success come to you as quickly as possible. Yes I am Indian (Patel ;) )

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Home Business November 7, 2009 at 10:03 PM

Nice list Neil,

I’d say that is an original list anyway. I like the comment you made about “another me business” Those ones are rough. I think an existing market is a sign of a worthwhile niche or industry to enter, its nice to be clearly different than what already exists in the market place.

Joe @ Home Business Ideas

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:20 PM

Those are very rough, especially with the amount of consistency and hard work you’ll need to put in.

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The Pro Designer November 9, 2009 at 7:23 AM

You really do a have an amazing creative mind. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. But if you don’t get back up and keep trying you will never know!

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Neil Patel November 10, 2009 at 10:54 PM

The more you put it to work, the faster and easier it’ll be for you to see and notice it.

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Health Insurance November 11, 2009 at 8:48 PM

If something is going to fail its better if it fails fast in my opinion.

I woud rather know if somehting wasn’t going to work right away.

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Neil Patel November 11, 2009 at 10:04 PM

That’s very valid… and the most important part of this to take is for you to move forward fast too.

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lung cancer survival rate November 11, 2009 at 6:47 AM

I would say experience that counts…mistake was still an experience. Who in this world never make mistake before? Learn from mistake is what your need to appreciate…don’t worry about making stupid mistake, that’s part of life…

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Neil Patel November 11, 2009 at 9:58 PM

Learning from a mistake is the best thing you can do… even better than not making one. You’re right… everyone makes mistakes in some kind of form and it all just comes down to the experience you get and the knowledge you take from it.

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Twilight Barbies November 12, 2009 at 8:18 PM

Seriously, I can envision a sitcom based around that teenage kid (you) with those quirky business ideas. It would be an instant hit! lol

You’re bound for Success, Neil (if not already)!

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Neil Patel November 12, 2009 at 9:53 PM

lol.. yeah I can see that too, but who will play me?

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satrap November 13, 2009 at 1:06 AM

some of these ideas are actualy not bad if they can be adjusted . i mean sometimes people respond greatly to unusual things.

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Neil Patel November 14, 2009 at 2:13 PM

This is very true and that’s exactly why it’s just so important for you to TEST out everything you implement. Do a few things at a time, else you might skip over things that actually make huge differences.

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Eugene Carpet November 13, 2009 at 8:32 AM

The rent a website idea is one I have been working on for a while. If the site already ranks for what your potential customer wants to rank for then you should be able to rent space on your site to them.

It is all in the approach.

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Neil Patel November 14, 2009 at 2:33 PM

Yeah and people have done it in the past, but it’s overall not the best idea that will make you a ton of money. Especially with it being so easy to setup your own websites now a days.

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lung cancer survival rate November 14, 2009 at 8:23 PM

Almost everyone with some webpage knowledge can setup their web easily, the question is how they get the traffics wanted?

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Neil Patel November 15, 2009 at 10:35 PM

That really is the million dollar question. The answer however lies within the realm of consistency. You must be constant with blogging, commenting, posting, networking, reading, researching, and analyzing.

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Ishan@ILoveFreeSoftware November 15, 2009 at 1:12 AM

That sounds a lot like me :) I get “bright” ideas every now and then. It is Eureka moment for me in beginning, then excitement continues for a few days, and then reality sets it.

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Neil Patel November 17, 2009 at 9:59 PM

That is usually how it works for most people. Just do some testing to see what works and what doesn’t.

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Aldwyn November 16, 2009 at 12:33 AM

Hi Neil,

I have a lot of business ideas,but the problem is, I don’t have enough money to start these businesses. Another thing is, I am employed currently and can’t afford to sacrifice my job to start a business because I am paying amortizations monthly plus the needs of the family. Thanks.

Aldwyn

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Neil Patel November 17, 2009 at 10:21 PM

Then you should start your second business after your first one is finished… don’t worry, most people start off this way.

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Weber Smokers November 17, 2009 at 3:55 PM

What a great post! It brought back some hilarious memories of my best friend and I trying out our entrepreneurial skills at primary school. Our first idea was called Yo n Jo’s Rent a Pen service. We would offer ourselves willingly to the teachers to do classroom cleanup after school when we gather up any odd pens n pencils lying around the place. We’d clean them up, sharpen the pencils, put new little erasers in the ends then label them with our business name. Then we would run our little business from our desks that people could rent a pen or pencil for 2 cents per class or a bulk deal for 10c for the whole day. They would give us a 10c bond up front too which they got back on return of the item! Eventually we upgraded to buying new things in bulk from discount stores and sell them individually before exams! We were guaranteed of making our ice-cream money every afternoon, as well as our bus fare home!

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Neil Patel November 17, 2009 at 10:20 PM

lol, what a great idea. It’s always fun doing stuff like that when you’re a kid. That’s where many entrepreneurs get their first fix.

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Denim Leggings November 24, 2009 at 6:18 AM

Al Bundy would say that the worse money making idea is to work in shoe shop. But in real world there are many worse. People in lowest caste in India are earning money from cleaning cesspit without any protective clothes. That is just one bad idea for living.

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Neil Patel November 24, 2009 at 10:11 PM

This is very true… there are many low quality ways to make a living. Fortunately, the internet has allowed many people in bad situations make much more than they could ever imagine.

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Chris Peterson November 25, 2009 at 3:32 AM

Always you write good topic, but this time little bit different. Really I had no idea about rent a site; even also I am long time in online business. May be you failed in this step, but I think I can able to manage? So I am going to try your 3rd tricks.

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Ranveer November 28, 2009 at 9:14 PM

great(WORST) ideas neil………;-)
You really done alot to get success after getting this much of failure…
I’m a 21 year engineering sudent and recently started a blog.
If u don tmind will you give me some tips for my blog to succed?
I m thinking to get failures such you got to be successful like you.
It was very inspiring post of yours.
Bye friend….
All the best for more and more success(without failures).

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Neil Patel December 1, 2009 at 6:08 PM

I think talking about your failure is a great idea, but your focus should first be on choosing a niche to blog on. Then as you gain success and momentum, talk about what works and what doesn’t.

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Brian P December 1, 2009 at 4:43 PM

I think the whole point here is that you tried new businesses. I like the 1-800-strippers one is awesome lol. You can setup show in Vegas.

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Neil Patel December 1, 2009 at 6:33 PM

Vegas is probably the ONLY place where that would work lol

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Brad December 10, 2009 at 6:48 AM

I love the idea of stepping our the box and looking at new business opportunities from a different angle. A buddy of mine owns a gun store with a shooting range that is right across the street from a topless club. He came up with a concept to hire topless dancers as the range officers for the gun range. He actually implemented the plan and the place was flooded with male customers. As this plan went forward a few issues arose:

#1 – The male customers spent all their time talking to the girls and not actually buying anything.

#2 – The city where he was located had specific zoning ordinances related to nudity so they shut it down.

Did he make any revenue from the idea? No not really. But, he did create a memorable experience for his customer base.

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Neil Patel December 10, 2009 at 8:57 PM

lol… funny story… he probably should of stayed away from the nude scene and done some kind of bikini instead. Also, if he implemented rules that prevent loitering… or even a cover charge type of thing, it may have survived.

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Matthew Krawse December 10, 2009 at 1:17 PM

Great stuff! I love that you shared this with everyone. You gotta go through the bad (and sometimes even the good) ideas to get to the elusive “great” ones.

Some of these ideas are awesome, even though they weren’t viable business opportunities.

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Neil Patel December 10, 2009 at 9:16 PM

Sometimes the “good” ideas can prevent you from the ones that help you in the long term. That’s why you need to look into what you actually pursue.

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Guildford December 11, 2009 at 3:10 AM

The ideas are not foolisg infact. They are great source of inspiration. The idea of Fast Food and Beer, thats cool, people will never stop eating and drnking. So that’s a great business idea someone can optimise on.

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Neil Patel December 12, 2009 at 11:55 AM

Yah, expect for the whole drinking and driving aspect of it ;)

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Jay Jalodomisa December 13, 2009 at 2:36 PM

Hey Neil,

LMAO @ 5 Dolla Holla

Can you imagine the legal issues with that?

Although being a male I’ll be the first to admit it was a pretty cool idea, not that I would ever use it haha ;)

Sincerely,
Jay Jalodomisa

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Neil Patel December 14, 2009 at 5:27 PM

lol, I’m sure you’d give it that ol’ college try!

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Ravi December 16, 2009 at 5:28 AM

Hi Neil, Good eye opener for wannabe entrepreneurs. There are so many online opportunities, some are just unbelievable. Offering such opportunity and charging a fee to teach same tricks could be their revenue model, what do you say?

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Neil Patel December 16, 2009 at 6:29 PM

There are just way too many out there Ravi, you’re right. Sometimes they are more than worth it and pay back the investment 10-fold, but more often than not…they’re a bunch of crap. Just be aware of it.

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Quality Motto December 30, 2009 at 12:46 PM

10 ideas above are really the worst ideas that I ever heard and of course, at least up to now, I have no willingness to try even one of them. Too much risk will kill me asap. :lol:

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Neil Patel December 30, 2009 at 5:04 PM

I agree…that’s why stayed far away from trying any one of them!

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catalin January 13, 2010 at 10:31 AM

It’s good that Neil told us about them because maybe we would have tried some of them :) Or you can try for yourself and maybe you will be successful…you can never know :)

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Neil Patel January 18, 2010 at 9:49 PM

Yea… you never know, but chances are these will fail miserably.

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Quality Motto December 31, 2009 at 4:44 PM

Yep, so far I still focus on PPC ads and just play it honestly. But once I’ve succeeded on that, I may try one of them for fun. :lol:

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Neil Patel January 3, 2010 at 3:06 PM

It’s a tough battle but if you can stick it out, you’ll end up making a ton of cash.

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David Hutchison January 12, 2010 at 4:29 PM

Well, at least you had ideas and went for it.

If only we all had your courage when faced with opportunity – however crazy the ideas might seem.

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Neil Patel January 18, 2010 at 9:40 PM

You can have that courage… try taking action with little things at first before you move on to more important decisions you have to make.

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http://freemoneymakingideasfromhome.blogspot.com/ January 16, 2010 at 7:37 PM

If we were all as lucky as you

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Neil Patel January 20, 2010 at 7:16 AM

Everyone can get lucky… it just depends with how hard and how many times you try.

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Fortheloveofdenim January 21, 2010 at 12:48 PM

Great article!!! These are alot of good does & donts. Some sound crazy but you never know what works unless u try.. I Guess :)

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Neil Patel January 21, 2010 at 7:57 PM

True for some ideas… but then some are just so far fetch it’s just not even worth it to put it together.

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