,

what is the MOST IMPORTANT thing when you want to sell something -- the most important thing in running a business?

You'll get the correct answer in the upcoming paragraphs anyway, but try to think about it on your own for a second.

Thought about it?

Okay, here's the answer: As a seller, the most important thing you need is -- you guessed it -- a buyer.

But what about a great product?

Don't get me wrong, having a great product is very important, especially in the long run. As well as decent shipping (if you're selling a physical product), customer service and business operations.

But all these other things don't mean anything if nobody is buying your stuff. If you can't sell the product -- regardless of how good it is -- you have no business.

As Ron Harper (Michael Jordan's teammate) said: "It don't mean a thing without the ring."

Or in this case: "It don't mean a thing without the sale."

Makes sense?

Good.

But what does this ACTUALLY mean for you? How does it help you?

We'll get to that in a second. But first, let's take a look at what you should not do, ever...

You must never sell a product to everybody. If you do, you'll probably go broke.

And yes, that's exactly what I did a few years back, as a clueless 20-year old trying to dropship watches from China. (This fact will give you a perspective into how little I care about watches: My own watch is not working for almost a year now, and I don't really care.)

I spent months creating a Shopify store, then simply ran ads either to the homepage or specific product pages.

Any success, you ask? If $500 in losses after 5 months in business counts as success, then yes.

Onward.

Let's take a look at a complete opposite -- one really amazing example of targeting a very specific niche market.

Have you seen ads by Meridian Grooming or BALLS recently? If not, maybe you're not in their target demographic. And no, I'm not kidding -- one of the two brand names is actually 'BALLS' -- as in 'cojones', not balls for sports.

Can you guess what they're selling? It's pretty obvious. An electric shaver for 'down there'. And by the way, shavers by Meridian Grooming and BALLS brands look awfully similar to each other, basically almost the same.

Are their shavers any better, more special or 'safer for the twins' than a standard body shaver out there? No. I mean they are waterproof, but so are many other body shavers.

The only difference between those two and other body shavers is that they are marketing their products in a specific way, they're targeting a very specific type of customer.

That's why they're successful and probably making millions of dollars just because of this simple marketing move.

Think about it. Imagine you were a man in your 20s or 30s, looking to buy a shaver for your private parts.

What would you rather buy:

• A random body shaver at a decent price OR
• the shaver sold by the BALLS brand that seems to be exactly what you're looking for, even at a higher price?

You know the answer, I know the answer -- it's obvious.

And remember their shavers are not any better than others on the market, they are just marketed in a different way.

Not just a shaver, not even a body shaver, but a 'shaver for down there'.

I know what you're thinking -- "GENIUS!", and I agree.

Sometimes I am talking to my friends about needing 'just one great idea to start a business' (I am looking at you Stefane!). This is that kind of an idea. Simple and doable, yet extremely profitable.

* * *

So let's recap: What's the single most important thing in running a business? A buyer, or having someone to sell to.

The best way to find buyers is not to sell to everyone on Earth, but to go really specific. You need to define who your customer is. And whether you call this target audience, target market, ideal customer or buyer persona doesn't really matter.

Some categories you can use when defining your target audience can be: Age, gender, location, problems, needs, wants, desires, interests or whatever comes to mind.

You must never forget that finding customers is the most important thing when selling any product or service. In fact, it's even better to find a market first and then create a product for that market.

If you can do that, you won't have to worry about money ever again.

And if you recently found any other great examples -- similar to Meridian and BALLS -- please do share them with me.

Even better, if you came up with a business idea while reading this email, hit that 'reply' button right now and tell about me about it!

See you around,

Filip

P. S. If you like reading my emails, consider sharing them with someone else who you think will like them. Growing my audience helps me stay motivated in teaching you what I've learned on my quest to become a millionaire.