07 — DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGY

Don’t just work hard. Know where to put your effort.

You’ve chosen a direction.

Now comes one of the most important questions:

How are you actually going to approach it?

Because choosing a business model doesn’t automatically give you a strategy.

You could choose affiliate marketing and still have no idea:

• Who you’re trying to reach
• What you want to be known for
• What content to create
• Which platform to use
• How to generate leads
• How to follow up
• What to promote
• How much time to spend
• What to measure

You could work incredibly hard and still get nowhere.

Why?

Because effort without direction can be wasted effort.

This is where an old strategic principle becomes useful.

The Art of Strategy

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a military text, but many of its underlying strategic ideas are not really about warfare.

They’re about:

Understanding the situation.

Knowing your resources.

Choosing where to concentrate them.

Avoiding unnecessary battles.

Recognising strengths and weaknesses.

Adapting when circumstances change.

Those principles can be remarkably useful when thinking about business.

We’re not going to pretend that building an online business is a war.

It isn’t.

But the strategic lesson is valuable:

Don’t commit your resources until you understand where they are best used.

Your resources are limited.

Your time is limited.

Your money is limited.

Your attention is limited.

Your energy is limited.

Your knowledge is limited.

So strategy is about deciding:

Where should I put them?

1. Know Yourself

We’ve already started this work.

You know more about:

• Your goals
• Your ambitions
• Your strengths
• Your weaknesses
• Your resources
• Your motivation
• Your skills
• Your experience
• Your limitations

This matters because your strategy needs to fit the person executing it.

For example, imagine two people want to build an affiliate business.

Person A enjoys writing and research.

Person B loves talking to people and making videos.

They might promote the same product.

But their strategies could look completely different.

Person A might focus on:

SEO → articles → Google traffic → email

Person B might focus on:

Video → social media → conversations → follow-up

Neither strategy is automatically better.

The better strategy is the one that person can actually execute consistently.

2. Know Your Environment

You also need to understand the environment in which you’re operating.

Ask:

Who are you competing for attention with?

Because you aren’t operating in an empty space.

Every day people are competing for attention on:

• Google
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Websites
• Podcasts
• Advertising platforms

Your potential customer is surrounded by information.

Your challenge isn’t simply:

“How do I promote my product?”

It’s:

“Why should someone pay attention to me?”

That’s a strategic question.

Understand the Market

You also need to understand the market itself.

Ask:

Who has the problem I’m trying to solve?

How important is that problem?

Are people actively looking for solutions?

What solutions already exist?

What are competitors doing?

What are customers complaining about?

What do people like about existing solutions?

What do they dislike?

What could I do differently?

This isn’t about copying competitors.

It’s about understanding the environment before entering it.

3. Choose Your Battlefield

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is trying to be everywhere.

They create:

• A Facebook page
• An Instagram account
• A TikTok account
• A YouTube channel
• A LinkedIn profile
• A blog
• An email list

Then they try to create content for all of them.

A few weeks later they’re exhausted.

Nothing is getting enough attention.

And they conclude:

“Social media doesn’t work.”

The problem may not have been social media.

The problem may have been strategy.

You Don’t Need Every Platform

You need to identify where your audience is and where you can realistically perform well.

For example:

If your audience searches Google for answers, SEO may make sense.

If they consume long-form educational content, YouTube may make sense.

If they spend their time on Facebook, Facebook may make sense.

If you are comfortable writing but hate video, don’t automatically build your strategy around video.

The question is:

Where can I reach the right people in a way I can sustain?

Choose One Primary Battlefield

For most beginners, I’d rather see:

one platform done consistently

than

five platforms done badly.

That doesn’t mean you can never expand.

It means you establish a base first.

For example:

Primary

YouTube

Supporting

Email

Later

Blog + other social platforms

Or:

Primary

Facebook

Supporting

Email

Later

YouTube

The exact combination depends on the person and the business.

But the principle remains:

Concentrate before you expand.

4. Choose Your Audience

A strategy becomes much easier when you know exactly who you’re trying to reach.

Instead of:

“I want to make money online.”

you might define:

“I want to help people in full-time employment who want to build an additional income before retirement.”

Now you have something to work with.

You can understand their:

• Problems
• Questions
• Fears
• Goals
• Objections
• Interests
• Language
• Behaviour

And you can create content specifically for them.

5. Choose Your Message

Once you know your audience, ask:

What do I want to become known for?

This is your positioning.

You might become known for:

• Helping beginners understand affiliate marketing
• Helping people build online income around a job
• Helping people avoid common network-marketing mistakes
• Helping people understand online business
• Helping people choose an online business model
• Helping people generate leads
• Helping small businesses get customers

You don’t need to be everything.

You need to be useful for something specific.

6. Choose Your Content Strategy

Now ask:

What information does my audience need?

Think about their journey.

They may start with a problem.

Then they have questions.

Then they research solutions.

Then they compare options.

Then they decide.

Your content should help them move through that journey.

For example:

Problem

“I need another source of income.”

Question

“Can I make money online while working full-time?”

Education

“How does affiliate marketing actually work?”

Comparison

“Affiliate marketing vs network marketing.”

Decision

“How to choose an affiliate programme.”

Action

“How to get started.”

That’s a content strategy.

You’re not randomly posting.

You’re helping someone move from problem → understanding → decision → action.

7. Choose Your Traffic Strategy

Once you know what content you want to create, decide how people will find it.

There are two broad approaches.

Organic

You earn attention through things such as:

• Search engines
• YouTube
• Social media
• Communities
• Referrals
• Consistent content

The advantage is that you’re building an asset over time.

The disadvantage is that it can take time.

Paid

You pay for attention through:

• Advertising
• Sponsored placements
• Lead generation
• Paid traffic

The advantage is speed and scale.

The disadvantage is cost.

And paid traffic can become expensive very quickly if your conversion system isn’t working.

Don’t Buy Traffic Before Understanding Conversion

This is a major strategic principle.

Suppose you pay for 1,000 visitors.

If your website converts poorly, you have simply paid to discover that your website converts poorly.

Before scaling traffic, understand:

Traffic → Lead → Conversation → Sale

Where is the problem?

If you have traffic but no leads:

Your lead-generation system may be the problem.

If you have leads but no conversations:

Your follow-up may be the problem.

If you have conversations but no sales:

Your offer, positioning, sales process or audience may be the problem.

Don’t automatically buy more traffic.

Diagnose first.

8. Build Your Conversion Path

You need to know what happens when someone becomes interested.

For example:

Content

↓

Website

↓

Lead magnet / registration

↓

Email follow-up

↓

Information

↓

Conversation

↓

Offer

↓

Customer

This doesn’t have to be complicated.

In fact, beginners often make things unnecessarily complicated.

Your objective is to create a simple path from:

attention

to

relationship

to

customer.

9. Decide How You Will Follow Up

You need a follow-up strategy.

That could include:

• Email
• Messages
• Content
• Webinars
• Calls
• Automated sequences
• Personal conversations

Ask:

How will someone who isn’t ready today continue hearing from me?

This is particularly important because most people won’t make a decision the first time they encounter you.

10. Decide What You Will Promote

This is where your strategy meets your chosen business model.

You might have:

• One primary product
• Several related products
• Multiple affiliate programmes
• Your own service
• Your own product
• A combination

But be careful.

More offers do not automatically mean more income.

Sometimes they simply create confusion.

If someone arrives at your website and sees twenty different things to buy, what should they do?

A better strategy might be:

One audience → one core problem → one primary solution.

Then expand once the foundation works.

11. Concentrate Your Resources

This is perhaps the most important strategic principle in this entire section.

You have limited resources.

So decide where they go.

For example, imagine you have ten hours available each week.

You could spend:

• 1 hour on Facebook
• 1 hour on Instagram
• 1 hour on TikTok
• 1 hour on LinkedIn
• 1 hour researching new opportunities
• 1 hour watching training
• 1 hour redesigning your website
• 1 hour creating content
• 1 hour following up
• 1 hour doing something else

You’ve been busy.

But have you built anything?

Instead, perhaps you spend:

4 hours creating useful content

2 hours engaging with your audience

2 hours following up

1 hour learning

1 hour measuring and improving

Now your effort is concentrated.

That’s strategy.

12. Don’t Fight Every Battle

Online business creates endless distractions.

A new platform appears.

A new AI tool appears.

A new advertising method appears.

A new opportunity appears.

Someone announces a new “secret strategy.”

Someone claims:

“This is the future.”

You don’t have to respond to everything.

Ask:

Does this help me achieve my current objective?

If the answer is no:

Not now.

That doesn’t mean never.

It means you’re protecting your focus.

13. Adapt

Having a strategy doesn’t mean refusing to change.

Quite the opposite.

A good strategy evolves.

You might discover:

• Your audience is different from what you expected.
• A particular platform doesn’t suit you.
• One type of content performs better.
• One offer converts better.
• Your customers have a different problem.
• Your assumptions were wrong.

That’s useful information.

Don’t become emotionally attached to your original plan.

Become attached to the objective.

The strategy can change.

Strategy Isn’t Guesswork

Your strategy should gradually become based on evidence.

Start with a hypothesis.

“I think this audience will respond to this message on this platform.”

Then test it.

Measure what happens.

Learn.

Adjust.

Test again.

This creates a cycle:

PLAN → ACT → MEASURE → LEARN → ADAPT → ACT

That’s how strategy improves.

Your Strategic Advantage

You don’t necessarily need more resources than everyone else.

You may simply need to use your resources better.

Imagine two people have:

• The same ten hours
• The same £100 budget
• The same platform
• The same product

One person spreads their effort across ten different activities.

The other concentrates on one audience, one message and one acquisition channel.

The second person may have a significant strategic advantage.

Not because they have more.

Because they are more focused.

Your YNMM Strategy Map

Now bring everything you’ve learned together.

Complete this:

My Goal

What am I trying to achieve?

My Audience

Who am I trying to help?

Their Problem

What problem am I helping them solve?

My Message

What do I want to become known for?

My Primary Platform

Where will I concentrate my attention?

My Content

What useful information will I consistently provide?

My Traffic Strategy

How will people discover me?

My Lead Strategy

How will I turn attention into leads?

My Follow-Up Strategy

How will I stay connected with interested people?

My Offer

What am I ultimately offering?

My Weekly Commitment

How much time will I realistically invest?

My Key Metrics

What numbers will tell me whether I’m progressing?

The “Not Now” List

This is a powerful exercise.

Write down the things you have decided not to focus on right now.

For example:

I’m not going to:

• Build five social-media accounts
• Promote ten different programmes
• Buy every new marketing tool
• Change business model every month
• Chase every new trend
• Spend hours redesigning my website
• Learn every advertising platform
• Join every opportunity I discover

Why?

Because saying no to distractions allows you to say yes to your strategy.

Your First Strategic Test

Before moving forward, explain your strategy in one paragraph.

You should be able to say something like:

“I want to help __________ who are struggling with __________. I’ll reach them primarily through __________. I’ll create content about __________ and use it to generate __________. I’ll build relationships through __________ and ultimately offer __________. I’ll dedicate approximately __________ hours each week and measure __________.”

If you can’t explain your strategy simply, it probably isn’t clear enough yet.

The Mentor’s Question

Imagine I asked you:

“What are you going to do next Monday?”

Not someday.

Not eventually.

Not when you’ve finished another course.

Next Monday.

Could you tell me?

Because strategy eventually has to become action.

A strategy that never gets executed is just an idea.

The Bigger Principle

Sun Tzu’s strategic thinking can be reduced to a few principles that are extremely useful in business:

Know yourself.

Understand your strengths, weaknesses, resources and limitations.

Know your environment.

Understand your audience, market and competition.

Choose your battlefield.

Don’t try to reach everyone everywhere.

Concentrate your resources.

Put meaningful effort behind a small number of priorities.

Don’t fight every battle.

Protect your time, money and attention.

Adapt.

Use evidence to improve your strategy.

And perhaps the most important:

Choose your battles before your battles choose you.

Your Strategy Is Now Taking Shape

You started this journey by asking:

“How can I make money online?”

That’s a very broad question.

You’ve now narrowed it down.

You understand yourself.

You understand your resources.

You understand what drives you.

You’ve learned from your past.

You understand the fundamentals of online business.

You’ve chosen a direction.

And now you’ve begun developing a strategy.

That’s a completely different starting point.

You’re no longer simply looking for an opportunity.

You’re building a plan.

NEXT: 08 — BUILD YOUR PLAN

A strategy tells you where you’re going and how you intend to get there.

A plan tells you:

What are you actually going to do?

We’ll turn your strategy into:

• A 90-day objective
• Monthly priorities
• Weekly actions
• Daily activities
• Skills to develop
• Resources required
• Metrics to track
• Milestones to achieve

Because eventually, thinking has to become doing.

Build your plan →

06 — CHOOSE YOUR DIRECTION

You don’t need every opportunity. You need the right direction.

You’ve done the groundwork.

You’ve looked at yourself.

You’ve examined your goals, ambitions, strengths and weaknesses.

You’ve taken stock of your time, money, skills, knowledge and experience.

You’ve thought about what drives you.

You’ve looked honestly at your past.

And you’ve started to understand how an online business actually works.

Now we can finally ask a much better question:

What actually fits me?

This is where we begin moving from self-understanding to decision-making.

And this is where many people go wrong.

They see an opportunity.

They get excited.

They join.

They start learning.

They take action.

Then, a few weeks or months later, they discover that the business doesn’t really suit them.

So they move on to the next opportunity.

And the cycle starts again.

New opportunity → excitement → action → frustration → abandonment → new opportunity.

The objective here is to break that cycle.

Stop Looking for “The Best Opportunity”

There is no universally best online business opportunity.

There is only:

the opportunity that may be a good fit for you

and

the opportunity that may not be.

Think about it.

Someone who loves creating videos may thrive with a content-driven business.

Someone who hates being on camera might struggle with exactly the same model.

Someone with very little spare time may need a completely different approach from someone who can commit 30 hours a week.

Someone with strong sales skills may choose differently from someone who is much stronger at writing, teaching, technology or relationship building.

That’s why the question isn’t:

“What’s the best opportunity?”

It’s:

“What’s the best fit for me?”

Start With Your Destination

Before choosing the vehicle, remind yourself where you’re trying to go.

What are you actually trying to achieve?

Perhaps you want:

• An extra £500 a month
• £1,000 a month
• A replacement income
• More financial security
• A business you can eventually leave your job for
• Greater control over your time
• A business you can build around family commitments
• Something you can eventually sell
• A long-term asset
• Simply the experience of becoming an entrepreneur

These are very different objectives.

If your goal is simply an additional £300–£500 a month, you may not need to build a huge organisation.

If your goal is to replace a full-time income, the strategy will probably need to be considerably more ambitious.

Your destination influences the vehicle you choose.

What Are You Actually Prepared to Do?

This is one of the most important questions in the entire YNMM journey.

Because every business model requires work.

There is no point choosing a model because it sounds attractive if you aren’t prepared to do what that model requires.

Ask yourself:

Am I prepared to create content?

Am I prepared to talk to people?

Am I prepared to follow up?

Am I prepared to learn sales?

Am I prepared to learn marketing?

Am I prepared to appear on camera?

Am I prepared to write?

Am I prepared to make phone calls?

Am I prepared to build relationships?

Am I prepared to learn technology?

Am I prepared to deal with rejection?

Am I prepared to keep working when results are slow?

You don’t need to enjoy every part of business.

But you need to be prepared to do the important parts.

Your Personality Matters

Different business models reward different behaviours.

For example, if you genuinely enjoy:

• Meeting people
• Talking
• Networking
• Teaching
• Encouraging others
• Building relationships

then a relationship-driven model may suit you.

If you prefer:

• Writing
• Research
• Creating videos
• SEO
• Building websites
• Working independently

then a content-driven model may suit you better.

If you enjoy:

• Designing
• Building
• Solving technical problems
• Creating products

you may prefer a product or service-based business.

None of these is inherently better.

They’re simply different.

Your Skills Matter

Don’t automatically assume you need to start from zero.

You already have skills.

Perhaps you can:

• Write
• Teach
• Sell
• Organise
• Lead
• Communicate
• Research
• Design
• Analyse
• Solve problems
• Build relationships
• Manage people
• Create videos
• Use technology

Your existing skills can give you a starting advantage.

But don’t make the opposite mistake either.

You don’t have to choose a business simply because you’re already good at something.

Sometimes the business you want requires you to develop completely new skills.

That’s fine.

The question is:

Am I willing to learn them?

Your Time Matters

A business model needs to fit into your real life.

Not your imaginary life.

If you have:

5 hours per week

you need a different plan from someone with:

30 hours per week.

If you’re working full-time, looking after children, caring for family or dealing with other commitments, your available time may fluctuate.

That’s not necessarily a problem.

But you need to be honest about it.

Ask:

How many hours can I realistically commit every week for the next 12 months?

Not:

“How many hours could I work if everything went perfectly?”

Your business needs to fit your actual life.

Your Financial Position Matters

Different models can require different levels of investment.

Some can be started with relatively little money.

Others require:

• Stock
• Equipment
• Advertising
• Software
• Training
• Websites
• Subscriptions
• Professional services

Don’t choose a model simply because someone tells you that you can “make money.”

Ask:

What will this actually cost me?

And more importantly:

Can I afford that cost without putting myself under financial pressure?

Never confuse available credit with available investment capital.

Understand How the Money Is Made

This is essential.

Before joining anything, you should be able to explain in simple language:

Where does the money come from?

For example:

Does the business make money from:

• Product sales?
• Services?
• Subscriptions?
• Advertising?
• Commissions?
• Licensing?
• Memberships?
• Customer referrals?
• Sales generated by a team?

And then:

How does my role generate income?

If you can’t explain the answer clearly, you don’t understand the business well enough yet.

That’s a reason to investigate further — not a reason to join immediately.

Don’t Confuse Marketing With a Business Model

This is another important distinction.

Facebook isn’t a business model.

TikTok isn’t a business model.

YouTube isn’t a business model.

Email isn’t a business model.

A website isn’t a business model.

They are channels and tools.

You can use them to build many different types of businesses.

For example, YouTube might generate:

• Affiliate sales
• Product sales
• Advertising revenue
• Leads for a service business
• Customers for a membership
• Customers for your own products

The same platform can support completely different businesses.

So don’t ask:

“Should I do YouTube?”

Ask:

“What business am I building, and would YouTube help me build it?”

Compare the Main Directions

At this stage, you don’t need to investigate hundreds of individual companies.

Start by understanding the broad directions available to you.

Affiliate Marketing

You promote another company’s products or services and receive commissions when your referrals generate qualifying sales or actions.

Potential advantages:

• No need to create the product
• Can be started relatively simply
• Many niches available
• Can work well with content marketing
• Can potentially build multiple income streams

Potential challenges:

• You need traffic or an audience
• You don’t control the underlying product
• Commission structures vary
• Competition can be significant
• Results can take time

Network Marketing

You promote products or services and may also build a sales organisation, depending on the company.

Potential advantages:

• Product and infrastructure are often already established
• Training and support may be available
• Can suit people who enjoy relationships and community
• Potential to build an organisation

Potential challenges:

• Requires selling and relationship building
• Recruiting alone isn’t enough
• Team development can be difficult
• Company and compensation plan matter enormously
• You need to understand the actual economics

Selling Your Own Services

You use your skills to solve problems for customers.

Examples:

• Consulting
• Coaching
• Design
• Writing
• Marketing
• Administration
• Technical services

Potential advantage:

You can often start with skills you already possess.

The challenge is that your income may initially be closely connected to your time.

Selling Your Own Products

You create or source products and sell them directly.

Potential advantages:

• Greater control
• You own the customer relationship
• Potential to build a valuable brand

Challenges can include:

• Product development
• Stock
• Fulfilment
• Customer service
• Marketing
• Cash flow

Digital Products

You create something that can be delivered digitally.

Examples:

• Courses
• E-books
• Templates
• Training
• Memberships
• Software

The attraction is obvious:

Create once, potentially sell many times.

But creating the product is only part of the job.

You still need:

Audience → attention → trust → sales.

Don’t Choose Based on Hype

You will encounter claims such as:

“This is the next big thing.”

“Everyone is making money with this.”

“Get in early.”

“You don’t want to miss this.”

“This is the future.”

Be careful.

Hype encourages you to make decisions based on emotion.

A mentor should encourage you to make decisions based on fit and evidence.

Ask:

Does this fit me?

Does it fit my goals?

Does it fit my resources?

Do I understand it?

Can I actually do the work?

Does the economics make sense?

Can I see myself doing this for several years?

Those questions are far more valuable than asking whether something is currently popular.

Your Direction Scorecard

Now let’s make this practical.

Take any business model or opportunity you’re considering and score it from 1–5.

Question	Score 1–5
Fits my financial goal
Fits my available time
Fits my personality
Fits my existing skills
Fits my interests
I understand how it makes money
I am prepared to do the required work
I can afford the investment
I can see myself doing it consistently
I believe there is a genuine market
I am comfortable with the level of risk
I can see a realistic path forward

Then add the scores.

But don’t simply choose the highest number.

The scorecard is there to make you think.

The Red Flag Test

Sometimes the answer becomes clearer by asking what would make you say no.

Walk away or investigate much more carefully if:

• You don’t understand how the company makes money.
• The opportunity depends primarily on recruiting rather than genuine customer demand.
• The costs aren’t clear.
• You’re being pressured to join immediately.
• You’re encouraged to borrow money to participate.
• The income claims seem unrealistic.
• The business model cannot be explained simply.
• You dislike the actual work involved.
• You’re relying on “someone else will do it for me.”
• You’re joining mainly because you are afraid of missing out.

A good opportunity doesn’t need you to abandon common sense.

The Mentor’s Rule

Here’s a principle I want you to remember:

Never choose a business because someone else says it is right for you.

Understand it.

Question it.

Compare it.

Then decide.

That’s especially important here at YNMM.

I’m not interested in telling everyone:

“This is the opportunity you should join.”

I’m interested in helping you understand why something might or might not fit you.

Your Direction Exercise

Choose three possible directions.

They might be:

1. Affiliate marketing
2. Network marketing
3. Selling a service

Or perhaps:

1. Digital products
2. Affiliate marketing
3. E-commerce

Now answer:

Direction 1

What attracts me to it?

What concerns me?

What would I need to learn?

What would I actually have to do every week?

Could I realistically do that?

Direction 2

What attracts me to it?

What concerns me?

What would I need to learn?

What would I actually have to do every week?

Could I realistically do that?

Direction 3

What attracts me to it?

What concerns me?

What would I need to learn?

What would I actually have to do every week?

Could I realistically do that?

Now Eliminate

Choosing isn’t always about finding the perfect answer.

Sometimes it’s about eliminating the wrong answers.

Ask:

Which direction clearly doesn’t fit my personality?

Which doesn’t fit my available time?

Which requires money I don’t have?

Which requires skills I’m unwilling to develop?

Which would require me to do things I know I won’t consistently do?

Which doesn’t give me a realistic path towards my financial goal?

Elimination can be incredibly powerful.

You don’t need to find the perfect answer immediately.

You just need to remove the wrong ones.

Your Shortlist

After completing the exercise, reduce your options to:

ONE PRIMARY DIRECTION

and, if necessary,

ONE BACKUP DIRECTION

That’s it.

Not ten.

Not twenty.

Not every opportunity you find on social media.

One direction.

Because concentration creates momentum.

But Don’t Rush Into an Opportunity

This is an important distinction.

Choosing a direction is not the same as choosing a company.

For example:

Affiliate marketing is a direction.

There are thousands of affiliate programmes.

Network marketing is a direction.

There are many companies operating different models.

Your next job is to investigate the options within your chosen direction.

That’s where we start looking at:

• The company
• The product
• The market
• The business model
• The compensation
• The costs
• The support
• The tools
• The training
• The customer demand
• The risks
• The opportunity itself

In other words:

First choose the battlefield.

Then choose where you want to fight.

The Sun Tzu Principle

One of the strategic ideas we’ll keep returning to throughout YNMM is simple:

Don’t fight every battle.

You have limited:

• Time
• Money
• Energy
• Attention
• Skills
• Resources

Trying to build five businesses simultaneously may feel ambitious.

It can actually dilute your effort.

Concentration gives you a better chance of becoming good at something.

You don’t need to be everywhere.

You don’t need every platform.

You don’t need every opportunity.

You need a strategy you can actually execute.

Mentor’s Question

Forget what is trending.

Forget what everyone on social media is talking about.

Forget what someone says is the “next big thing.”

Ask yourself:

“If I had to work on one business model consistently for the next three years, which one would I be most willing and able to build?”

That’s a much harder question.

But it’s also a much better one.

Your Decision

Complete these sentences:

My primary direction is:

I chose it because:

It fits my goals because:

It fits my personality because:

It fits my available time because:

The skills I already have are:

The skills I need to develop are:

The work I will need to do consistently is:

My biggest concern is:

The first thing I need to investigate is:

One Final Thought

You have spent the first five stages of this journey looking inward.

Now you’re beginning to look outward.

But don’t lose the principle that has guided everything so far.

The opportunity comes after the person.

Not before.

You are not trying to find something that sounds exciting.

You are trying to find something that fits the person you have discovered through this process.

Because ultimately:

The business has to fit your life.

You have to fit the business.

And you have to be prepared to do the work.

That’s when an opportunity becomes more than just an opportunity.

It becomes a possible vehicle for achieving your goals.

NEXT: 07 — DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGY

Choosing a direction is only the beginning.

Now we need to decide how you are going to compete.

Where will you focus?

Who will you serve?

What will you offer?

How will you get attention?

How will you generate leads?

What will make you different?

And, perhaps most importantly:

What battles are you going to fight — and which ones are you going to ignore?

Develop your strategy →

05 — UNDERSTAND THE GAME

Before you choose a business model, understand how the game is played.

You can know yourself.

You can understand your goals, your resources, your strengths, your weaknesses, your motivation and your past experiences.

But there is another question you need to answer:

How does an online business actually work?

Because if you don’t understand the game, you can spend years jumping from opportunity to opportunity without ever understanding why some people succeed and others don’t.

You might join an affiliate programme.

Then a network marketing company.

Then buy a course.

Then build a website.

Then try Facebook.

Then try TikTok.

Then buy advertising.

Then try something else.

And every time the results aren’t what you hoped for, you conclude:

“That didn’t work.”

But perhaps the real problem wasn’t the opportunity.

Perhaps you never understood the underlying game.

That is what this part is about.

The Online Business Game

At its simplest, almost every online business is trying to do the same thing:

Find people → get their attention → help them → build trust → make an offer → serve them → create more value.

The technology, products and business models may be completely different.

But the fundamentals are remarkably similar.

Let’s break them down.

1. Find an Audience

Every business starts with people.

Not everyone.

The right people.

You need to know who you are trying to help.

For example:

• People looking for additional income
• People approaching retirement
• Small business owners
• People looking to save money
• People interested in health and nutrition
• People wanting to learn a particular skill
• People looking for a solution to a specific problem

The more clearly you understand the person you want to reach, the easier it becomes to create relevant content and offers.

Mentor’s question:

Who do you actually want to help?

Don’t answer:

“Everyone.”

If you try to speak to everyone, your message often becomes so general that nobody feels you are speaking directly to them.

2. Identify Problems

People don’t usually buy products simply because they exist.

They buy solutions to problems.

Sometimes the problem is obvious.

“I’m spending too much money.”

“I need more customers.”

“I want to lose weight.”

“I need better software.”

“I want another source of income.”

Sometimes the problem is emotional.

“I’m worried about retirement.”

“I feel stuck.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“I’m frustrated with my current situation.”

“I’m tired of trying things that don’t work.”

A good business understands the problem before presenting the solution.

This is why YNMM starts with you rather than with a product.

Before asking:

“What should I sell?”

ask:

“What problem can I help solve?”

3. Create Useful Content

Once you understand your audience and their problems, you need a way of helping them.

Online, one of the most powerful ways to do that is through content.

That might be:

• Articles
• Videos
• Social media posts
• Short-form videos
• Emails
• Tutorials
• Reviews
• Case studies
• Guides
• Podcasts
• Webinars

Good content answers questions.

It solves small problems.

It explains confusing subjects.

It helps people make decisions.

It demonstrates knowledge.

And over time, it can build trust.

The important distinction

Content isn’t simply:

“Buy this.”

Content should first give someone a reason to pay attention.

4. Generate Attention

Creating great content is not enough if nobody sees it.

You need attention.

That attention can come from many places:

• Google
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Paid advertising
• Communities
• Referrals
• Search engines
• Partnerships

This is where many beginners become confused.

They think:

“I built a website. Why isn’t anyone visiting?”

Because building the shop doesn’t automatically bring people through the door.

A physical shop needs footfall.

An online business needs traffic and attention.

5. Generate Leads

Not everyone who sees your content is ready to buy.

Some people are simply curious.

Some are researching.

Some aren’t ready yet.

Some may become customers months from now.

That’s why businesses often try to turn attention into leads.

A lead is someone who has taken some step that allows you to continue the relationship.

For example:

• Joining an email list
• Requesting information
• Downloading something
• Registering for a webinar
• Sending a message
• Creating an account
• Requesting a quote

The important principle is:

Don’t treat every visitor as a sale.

Sometimes the first objective is simply to begin a relationship.

6. Start Conversations

This is particularly important in network marketing and many forms of affiliate marketing.

People don’t always want another sales pitch.

They want someone who understands them.

A conversation allows you to discover:

• What they are looking for
• What problem they have
• What they have already tried
• What they want to achieve
• What is stopping them
• Whether your solution is actually appropriate

The conversation should not be about forcing someone into a decision.

It should be about finding out whether there is a genuine fit.

7. Build Relationships

A lead is not necessarily a customer.

And a prospect is not necessarily ready today.

This is where relationships become important.

People buy from businesses and people they trust.

Trust is built through:

• Consistency
• Honesty
• Useful information
• Good communication
• Keeping promises
• Demonstrating knowledge
• Helping rather than constantly selling

This is one reason online business is rarely an overnight process.

You are not simply building a sales funnel.

You are building an audience and a reputation.

8. Follow Up

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is assuming:

“They didn’t buy, so they’re not interested.”

That isn’t necessarily true.

People get distracted.

They become busy.

They need more information.

They need to think.

Their circumstances change.

They may want the product but not be ready to purchase today.

Follow-up allows you to continue the conversation.

That might happen through:

• Email
• Messages
• Phone calls
• Content
• Reminders
• Further information
• Demonstrations
• Webinars

Good follow-up isn’t pestering someone.

It’s giving them another opportunity to make an informed decision.

9. Make Sales

Eventually, a business has to make sales.

This is where some people become uncomfortable.

They want to build a business without actually selling anything.

But sales are not inherently bad.

If you have something genuinely useful, helping someone understand why it may solve their problem is part of the job.

The important distinction is between:

helping someone make a decision

and

pressuring someone into buying.

A sustainable business needs sales.

But it also needs satisfied customers.

10. Serve Customers

The sale isn’t the end.

It’s the beginning of the customer relationship.

After someone buys, you need to think about:

• Delivery
• Support
• Communication
• Customer experience
• Solving problems
• Answering questions
• Retention

A business that focuses entirely on acquiring customers but ignores existing customers can end up constantly replacing the people it loses.

11. Create Repeat Business

Depending on the business model, customers may buy once or repeatedly.

Some businesses depend heavily on repeat purchases.

Others operate primarily through one-off transactions.

Some generate recurring subscriptions.

Understanding this matters because the economics of a business can be very different depending on what happens after the first sale.

Ask:

What is the customer’s lifetime value?

In simple terms:

How much value does an average customer generate for the business over the entire relationship?

This helps explain why businesses invest money in marketing and customer service.

12. Build Systems

Eventually, you want less of the business to depend on remembering everything yourself.

Systems can help with:

• Lead capture
• Email
• Follow-up
• Content publishing
• Customer onboarding
• Scheduling
• Payments
• Reporting
• Team communication
• Tracking

Technology can automate parts of the process.

But remember:

Automation doesn’t fix a broken business model.

Automating something that doesn’t work simply allows you to do more of something that doesn’t work.

First understand the process.

Then improve it.

Then automate where appropriate.

13. Measure Results

This is where you stop guessing.

Instead of saying:

“I think this is working.”

you start asking:

“What do the numbers say?”

You might measure:

• Visitors
• Views
• Clicks
• Leads
• Conversations
• Sales
• Conversion rate
• Cost per lead
• Cost per customer
• Customer retention
• Revenue
• Profit

For example:

If 1,000 people see your content and 20 become leads, that’s useful information.

If 20 leads produce 4 sales, that’s more information.

If those 4 customers generate £400 in revenue from £100 of marketing expenditure, that’s even more useful.

You can then begin improving the system.

Measure → learn → improve → repeat.

The Basic Online Business Journey

Put everything together and you get something like this:

AUDIENCE

↓

PROBLEM

↓

CONTENT

↓

ATTENTION

↓

LEADS

↓

CONVERSATIONS

↓

RELATIONSHIPS

↓

FOLLOW-UP

↓

SALES

↓

CUSTOMERS

↓

SERVICE

↓

REPEAT BUSINESS / REFERRALS

↓

SYSTEMS

↓

MEASUREMENT

↓

IMPROVEMENT

This is the underlying machine.

Different businesses simply use different vehicles to move through it.

So Where Do Affiliate Marketing and Network Marketing Fit?

This is where we need to separate two things.

The business fundamentals

and

The business model.

The fundamentals above apply across many businesses.

The model determines how you participate in the process and how you get paid.

Affiliate Marketing

In affiliate marketing, you typically promote another company’s product or service.

You may receive a unique referral link.

When someone purchases through your referral, you receive a commission according to the company’s compensation structure.

Your job may therefore involve:

• Finding an audience
• Creating content
• Generating attention
• Sending traffic
• Generating leads
• Educating prospects
• Making recommendations
• Driving sales

The company generally handles the underlying product or service.

You don’t necessarily need to manufacture anything yourself.

You are effectively helping connect customers with products or services.

Network Marketing

Network marketing uses many of the same fundamentals.

You still need:

• An audience
• Attention
• Leads
• Conversations
• Relationships
• Follow-up
• Customers
• Sales

But there is another component:

Building and developing a sales organisation.

Depending on the company, compensation may come from personal product sales and/or sales generated within your organisation.

That means your role can potentially involve both:

selling products

and

helping other people learn how to sell them.

That creates additional complexity.

Recruiting someone is not the same thing as building a productive organisation.

The underlying customers and sales still matter.

Other Online Business Models

Affiliate and network marketing are not the only ways to build an online business.

You could also consider:

Selling your own products

You create or source a product and sell it directly.

Services

You sell your skills, knowledge or time.

Examples include:

• Consulting
• Design
• Writing
• Coaching
• Marketing
• Administration
• Technical services

Digital products

You create something once and sell it repeatedly.

Examples include:

• Courses
• Templates
• Guides
• Software
• Memberships

E-commerce

You sell physical products online.

Subscription businesses

Customers pay regularly for continued access to a product or service.

Content businesses

You build an audience and monetise that audience through advertising, sponsorships, products, services or referrals.

There are many variations.

And there is no single model that is automatically best for everyone.

Don’t Choose a Model Yet

This is important.

At this stage, don’t rush to choose.

You now have more information than you had before.

But we haven’t yet asked:

Which model actually fits you?

That comes later.

Remember the sequence:

Know yourself.

Know your resources.

Understand what drives you.

Learn from your past.

Understand the game.

Only then do we start thinking seriously about which direction makes sense.

The Real Question

The beginner’s question is often:

“Which business opportunity should I join?”

A better question is:

“Which business model fits my goals, resources, personality, skills and circumstances?”

And an even better question is:

“What type of business am I actually capable of building consistently?”

That’s a much more useful question.

Because the “best” opportunity in the world is not necessarily the best opportunity for you.

The Mentor’s Perspective

If you walked into my office and said:

“Ugo, I’ve found this amazing opportunity. Should I join it?”

I wouldn’t immediately say yes or no.

I’d want to know:

Who are you?

What are you trying to achieve?

What resources do you have?

What have you tried before?

What are you good at?

What do you need to learn?

How much time can you realistically commit?

And now I’d add:

Do you understand the game you’re proposing to play?

Because choosing a business before understanding how the business works is putting the cart before the horse.

Your Part 05 Exercise

Before moving on, answer these questions.

1. Who do I want to help?

Write down your ideal audience.

2. What problems do they have?

List at least five.

3. What could I help them understand or solve?

List your existing knowledge and experience.

4. How could I reach them?

List the platforms and methods that fit you.

5. How could I turn attention into leads?

Think about websites, email, messages, forms, webinars or other mechanisms.

6. How would I build trust?

What could you consistently provide that would genuinely help people?

7. How would I make sales?

What would the customer actually buy?

8. How would the customer be served?

Who provides the product or service?

9. What happens after the first sale?

Is there repeat business, retention, referrals or additional products?

10. What numbers would I need to measure?

Choose at least five.

Your Understanding of the Game

Complete these statements:

My audience is:

Their biggest problems are:

I could help them by:

I could attract attention through:

I could generate leads through:

I could build trust through:

The eventual transaction could be:

The customer would receive:

I would measure success by:

Mentor’s Question

Before you move to the next stage, ask yourself:

Do I understand how an online business actually creates value and makes money — or am I still mainly looking for an opportunity that promises to make money for me?

There is a huge difference.

An opportunity can provide the vehicle.

But you still have to learn how to drive.

What Comes Next?

You now know more about yourself.

You understand your resources.

You’ve examined what drives you.

You’ve learned from your past.

And you’ve started to understand the game.

Now we can finally begin looking at something more specific:

Which direction should you actually take?

Not:

“What’s the hottest opportunity?”

Not:

“What’s everyone else doing?”

Not:

“What’s going to make me rich fastest?”

But:

“Given who I am, what I want, what I have, what I’ve learned and how I work — which direction gives me the best chance of building something successfully?”

That’s the question we’ll tackle next.

NEXT: 06 — CHOOSE YOUR DIRECTION

You don’t need every opportunity. You need the right direction.

[Continue to Part 06 →]