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Just because it is called hustle does not mean it should be hard.
“Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
I want to build an online empire. Not because I want to get rich. No, I am already wealthy. I want to build it because I don’t want to die with untold stories.
I am a lazy guy. Please, don’t tell my colleagues or my friends and family. Often at work, while others deliver, I stare blankly at my screen.
While people are getting promoted, I am still searching for the optimal way. Sometimes, I get frustrated that they get more money than I do.
Then I remember: we are not in the same business. I don’t want to trade my time and energy for money. I am doing more than just getting promoted at work. I am already wealthy.
I am healthy. I have a roof over my head. I am creating a safe space for my kids to grow. I strive to make an impact at work, with my kids, and in many other communities I am part of.
I am a content creator. I want to build the most successful empire in the laziest way possible. That is my conundrum. I only have 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Yet, I want to be seen at work and at home in my communities.
That is a lot of places to be. Below is my framework for my online empire. I use those three strategies to output more with the minimum input.
1. Build your C.R.Ew.
When it comes to online creation, you are at the mercy of Web 2.0 all mighties: the algorithms. They need to eat from you daily.
Algorithms are the new lords of our Internet age.
The moment you hit publish, you get back to the hamster wheel. You wonder: what should I publish next?
Welcome to the rat race 2.0. You have to be in the newsfeed of your followers. You need to feed the beast 24/7. Yes, the online gods never go to sleep.
You try to keep the momentum. You either burn out or you quit. Too bad that you already quit your well-paid 9 - 5 too early.
Welcome to the side-hustle hell hill: the wheel of chains where there is no healing. There is only pain. Well, unless you break the reins.
You don’t have to do it alone. Ain’t no self-made person who made it to the Forbes 500. They are just the tip of the iceberg.
They don’t tell you about their crew. Build a crew like me.
C.R.Ew as in:
- C as Consume, Curate and Create
- R as Rest, Reset and Reflect
- E as Entertain, Educate E(I)nspire
C as Consume, Curate and Create
You don’t need to come up with genuine ideas. Steal, from other people, combine their ideas by adding your perspective and hit publish. It is that easy.
R as Rest, Reset, and Reflect
You Should never work to rest. You should always work from rest. You are not a machine. You need to unplug from the Matrix. Go back to basics: Nature. Do nothing and let your brain breathe for a moment.
E as Entertain, Educate E(I)nspire
Nobody needs to be lectured and put down online. Plenty of people in the real world do that for free. For people to consume your content, entertain, educate, or inspire them.
No more. No less.
2. Use the ultimate Pareto Principle
Now you have your crew. Congrats. You are a rockstar. Until you become obsolete. Oops, I am breaking my own rule: no lecturing or putting down.
The gods of the Internet are not only satisfied with your creation, they require your attention.
In other words, it would be easy if you just had to put your content out there and go to sleep. You wake up the day after, and some money is delivered to your doorstep overnight.
Nope, the algorithms require you to work for them. You have to beg for attention by interacting with other people’s content. You have to show up and bow to the online gods.
Then you tell the online gods: I cannot do both. Either I create or I interact. I cannot do both; this is my side hustle. Nope, that is not a response they will accept.
Use the Pareto principle. I will share with you the lazy version I use.
Basically, the Pareto principle states that 80% of your output comes from only 20% of your input. That is great for a lazy guy like me.
In every endeavor, except eating, I always focus on the 20% input to maximize my output.
Yet, I use a variation of the 20/80 principle for my online presence. You don’t have to be creating 100% of your time online. You don’t have to interact with other people’s content 100% of your time.
You cannot definitely do both equally: that would be 200% of your time.
Steal my Pareto principle weapon of mass creation:
Spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% of your online presence interacting.
3. Find your Waffle House and double down on it.
You are on fire. You have a CREw that provides you with content on a sustainable stream. You are using the 20/80 Pareto principle to maximize your online presence. Yet nothing is happening.
You feel like I have lied to you. You are feeling robbed of your time and your attention. You played by the rules of the book. You cooked the recipe for success. Yet it does not have the same taste in your mouth.
You are lacking focus. You have been fooled by the term “online presence.” Being present online does not equal being present everywhere online.
Are you familiar with the Waffle House strategy?
“No ads, no billboards, no social media promoted content, no paid voices, no representatives, no nothing.
It's all about location for Waffle House.
But not any location. Waffle House carefully assesses where their stores will be set up before anything else, and they take into account just one factor to make this decision:
The location has to be along an already-existing traffic stream of people looking to fulfill another need that you can provide.
The strategy is simple: Target that market and find a way to absorb that traffic.”
Source: The Waffle House Marketing Strategy
You are in a niche for your content creation. If you are not, the Waffle House strategy can also work. Yet, it works better if you know your niche.
Go to your platform of choice, where you are pouring in your content. Find the biggest creators in your niche. Interact with their content.
Go to the comments section: like, add your perspective, and leave meaningful digital crumbs.
Yes, I have heard you: those big fishes will not interact with you. They have too many comments to handle. That is not the point. The trick is that you are visible to their audience.
You show up. You provide value in their comments section. You steal their audience.
That is the Waffle House strategy in a nutshell. You can work hard and dilute your presence. Or you can work smart and amplify your impact.
Final Thoughts
The online gods do not sleep. They require that you worship them 24/7 if you want their light. Yet you are only human, after all.
You cannot always be online at 100% energy level. You will burn because you were too close to the sun. All you will get is burnout at worst. At best, they will throw you viral content to keep you believing.
Don’t be ridiculous. Be like me. Be lazy. But in a smart way. That is the caveat. When I tell people I am lazy, I never tell them the truth.
I am lazy, but smart lazy. Yes, Milady.
Build your C.R.Ew, use the ultimate Pareto principle, and apply the Waffle House strategy to your online presence.
It is not just about working hard. It is about working smart. The online game is not a sprint. It is a marathon. It is not a finite game. It is an infinite one.
Make sure that you are playing with sustainable rules. Understand the game. Don’t strive for fame. The online gods share their light for a limited time. Strive to tame the beast that is the newsfeed.
Be lazy. Be crazy.
Be smart, hardly. Be hard, smartly.
Be hard. Be smart. Be both. Nobody’s judging.
What is your approach to doing more with less?
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