Some of the questions seem really stupid. ``Where did you register the domain name?'' seriously? How is that ever an issue. It could have been so much better if there had been a real interview. Lazy journalism?
Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
11–20 of 65 posts
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#12Some of the questions seem really stupid. ``Where did you register the domain name?'' seriously? How is that ever an issue. It could have been so much better if there had been a real interview. Lazy journalism?
Because HN readers aren't his target audience. Most people have no idea where to go to register a domain or host a site or how to evaluate different options.
Instead they chose based upon what other people have chosen. That's why he asks those questions.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#13Some of the questions seem really stupid. ``Where did you register the domain name?'' seriously? How is that ever an issue. It could have been so much better if there had been a real interview. Lazy journalism?
I think they were actually an excuse to get some affiliate links on the page.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
I won't go that far, but I did notice that they completely glossed over her mention of partners in the interview with the laptop stand woman. Ferriss is certainly invested in the idea of one-person financial power, but in the laptop-stand case study there would seem to be more to the story.
I'll weigh in because I know Jason, one of the people profiled. His modesty obscures the fact that starting, running, and growing Clockspot wasn't an easy ride by any means. But Jason did pull this off almost entirely on his own.
Clockspot looks really nice and by the numbers quoted it sounds very successful.
I'm quite intrigued by how he arrived at the current pricing model. It looks like it's been through a few iterations and I'd be really interested to learn more about it.
Does anyone know if this has been discussed anywhere online?
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#15Does this guy bother anyone else as much as he bothers me?
The recent trend of him outsourcing his own posts is really annoying.
I don't understand how anyone can learn anything from someone who has pretty much diluted his work to appeal to the widest possible audience.
I mean the guy has a weight loss book now.
EDIT: Most of his recent posts have been "guest" posts, which I consider the same as "outsourced" since he didn't write it himself.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#16Does this guy bother anyone else as much as he bothers me?
The recent trend of him outsourcing his own posts is really annoying. I don't understand how anyone can learn anything from someone who has pretty much diluted his work to appeal to the widest possible audience. I mean the guy has a weight loss book now. EDIT: Most of his recent posts have been "guest" posts, which I consider the same as "outsourced" since he didn't write it himself.
Interesting. I didn't know he outsourced his blog posts. Can you give me the link for that?
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#17Does this guy bother anyone else as much as he bothers me?
I understand what you mean... he's earned himself a reputation as a bit of an egomaniac. To be fair though, his book is how I was first exposed to MVP ideas and his approach to life and business changed my life. Granted, it took a lot of work and a lot more digging once I got past 4HWW, but it was an eye opener nonetheless.
I think a lot of blatant self promotion comes across as spammy to "people like me" (for lack of any real description of what that might be), but the more I look around, the more I realize that most people eat it up.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#18Some of the questions seem really stupid. ``Where did you register the domain name?'' seriously? How is that ever an issue. It could have been so much better if there had been a real interview. Lazy journalism?
I think they were actually an excuse to get some affiliate links on the page.
Nice catch. Some of them appear to be affiliate links.
I also think his book has a few businesses like Yourmaninindia where he tells the reader to mention his name. He probably gets commission for that too.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#19Does this guy bother anyone else as much as he bothers me?
The real value in Tim Ferriss' work for me is not usually in the actual content (This blog posts talks about where to register domain names rather than nitty-gritty business details, for example) but rather in observing how well he sells himself and understand what people want. He obviously does a lot of research and testing, and his posts are carefully tailored to sell dreams to large portions of the population.
He has two books: One sells you on the dream of world travel with minimal work, interspersed with stories about how awesome he is and how you, too, can be just as awesome if you follow his instructions. Nevermind the fact that he clearly states he wrote the book because he became successful by working long hours and working very hard to make his company successful.
His second (upcoming) book is all about how to 'beat the system' when it comes to eating and fitness. He talks about losing body fat while eating anything he wants using little-known secrets, among other things.
Finally, his blog (and this post in particular) tell a lot of feel-good stories that feel just within reach. He's a master at weaving a narrative that makes you feel like you want his lifestyle, and that it's within reach if you just follow his simple advice.
So what do these all have in common? He's a master at selling people on an idea, even when all of the facts don't quite line up. His works all make lofty promises, but they all seem just crazy enough to still be within reach. He even puts reverse-psychology disclaimers throughout his works to trip up your own sense of disbelief. Meanwhile, he has become wealthy and successful not by following his own advice, but by selling his advice to others.
The takeaway: Learn from his techniques and products, not from his advice. And there's a lot to learn if you step back and look at it.
Re: Tim Ferris: 3 More Case Studies of Successful Cash-Flow Businesses
#20next book: how i made a million dollars in real estate by writing this book about making millions in real estate