I can do it with a Plugin

[TwoSteps]

A couple of years ago I had an idea.

Over time the idea has popped in and out of my mind but was always sitting in the background.

Now there are others doing it. At least 2 prominent businesses with notoriety.

The business model has been proven. Someone else has done it and sold for 7 figures.

I know I know how to replicate and improve on this tried and tested model. It's in my market.

Thanks to the 'The Book' I'm more motivated towards a better future than a lifelong career could bring.

So I started researching software. I know WordPress. Been playing with it for over a decade (Wow!).

By the way, it is an online business. A subscription service with added value.

So WordPress, it's great. Plenty of successful business have been created thanks to its 'ease of entry'....

Which is why, when I discover, I can build the business using a very comprehensive Plugin, I am slightly disheartened.

A Plugin!

It has literally every feature I could need to make something bigger and better than already exists.

A Plugin! (Premium one though....).

I could knock up the site in days.

Does it break the rules? Or is it a tool to use to my advantage??

The really fun part is going to be selling the concept. Albeit to an audience that already buys....

 

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[JDx]

You want to set up an internet based service with wordpress and a plugin?
Which rules are there to be broken?
I'm afraid I don't quite understand your post

 

[TwoSteps]

You want to set up an internet based service with wordpress and a plugin?
Which rules are there to be broken?
I'm afraid I don't quite understand your post

CENTS

E = Ease of entry.

 

[mws87]

CENTS

E = Ease of entry.

Is the plugin going to negatively affect your customers/your backend? Is it going to limit you/your site/your customer's experience? Does said Plugin have faulty security?

If your answer to all of those questions is NO, then plug(in) away, man. Use those tools.

If the plugin fits your needs and helps move you toward what your goal is then go for it.

 

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[WebMedic]

Interested to learn more about the plugin(s) idea you want to work on, if you can share for feedback and advice would be great.

In general building plugins and themes for WordPress is profitable, there is massive demand that is ever growing. (Look at Envato Marketplace)

All the best in your journey!

 

[MitchC]

It may be easy now for you to get started, but once you are started and making money you can raise the barrier to entry in so many ways that nobody can compete.

- Add extra value and get more money from your customers, then you can pay more to acquire a customer.
- Improve way beyond the plugin to provide a site that people can no longer compete with just using the plugin.
- Branding, recognition, being first in the mind.
- IP?
- Knowledge, you will learn so much from your customers about what they want, and what marketing works, that people can no longer catch up.
- Partner with influencers in your niche first before any competitors?
- Testimonials, word of mouth, customer list, etc.

Most of these ideas I got from @JasonR's thread, check it out.

Reading or listening to The 22 Irremutable Laws of Marketing may help you too.

 

[nradam123]

Dont make another plugin. Dont make another fitness app.
Like you said, the commandment of entry is little. Everyone is making it.

Use plugins and wordpress to build the MVP (Minimum viable product). Prove the concept with little cash. Maybe you can do something different such as calling up people and connecting with gyms or supermarkets depending on your product. If you see Stripe, they build connection with all banks which made them more successful than competitors who are not that universal.

Do something like that.

 

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[smarty]

Which is why, when I discover, I can build the business using a very comprehensive Plugin, I am slightly disheartened.

A Plugin!
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
It has literally every feature I could need to make something bigger and better than already exists.

A Plugin! (Premium one though....).

I could knock up the site in days.

CENTS

E = Ease of entry.

If you need to seek permission to build something, it's probably not the thing you want to work on.
You're being fixated too much on the CENTS that you don't even want to try.

 

[rogen]

If you need to seek permission to build something, it's probably not the thing you want to work on.
You're being fixated too much on the CENTS that you don't even want to try.

this.

plugins are just tools, you need to know how to use them tho so it is kind of barrier, but you shoudnt care, just build stuff and test

 

[randomnumber314]

Plugins can be lucrative. If you think it has a shot, and you've done your research, make an MVP and get feedback ASAP. Don't underestimate support, though. Something like 20% of the internet is Wordpress, and most people can barely turn their computer on, so you're going to have to somehow offer support for those people, while maintaining backwards compatibility for all versions of Wordpress with any given number of other plugins woven through that terribly messy app.

 

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[townhaus]

I wouldn't bother if it looks too easy.

 

[TwoSteps]

Lots of people know WordPress, lots of people make a living using it as a tool. On reflection the same applies to any Plugin.

Yes, the fact I can deliver my offering using a premium Plugin makes it very easy for me but there are a lot of people in the world and it isn't easy for most of them!

At the moment, it doesn't look like anyone that could do it easily is. There are some pretenders but they're just landing pages farming web leads - no user/customer experience. Only 2 real competitors. A swathe of copycats could be just around the corner but then again, maybe not.

I need to create branding, imagery, customize the layout and add content. Then invite clients (AKA Advertisers). I have access to 100+ clients immediately. They'll get preferential treatment and provide a nice load of original content to bulk out the site and get things moving. Then I can charge new clients. All the while, any leads I pass on to the 1st 100, I'll get up to 25% of their commission.

Is the plugin going to negatively affect your customers/your backend? Is it going to limit you/your site/your customer's experience? Does said Plugin have faulty security?

Thank you for the input. That's what I was after but I didn't ask the right question!

From preliminary research of competition, the customer should not be negatively affected and their experience should not be affected, in fact I should be able to improve on what has been done before.

With regards security, that's something I'll need to look at further. I'm hoping I can lock the site down with other solutions (Plugins!)

The fact that I should find this an easy, fun project means I can get a MVP up quickly and prove the concept at little cost.

What I need to remember is I've been using WordPress & plugins, complex theme builders, etc. for years. I also studied for years to gain the qualifications that make me my own customer (INSIDERS knowledge!). I'm in a better position than a lot of people to deliver this.

In addition, I've been reading the Gold so I can't fail!

@WebMedic - it's a niche directory with proven client base (one competitor has 20,000 users subscribed at between £30 - £50/month and charges for leads). I haven't made a final decision on the precise Plugin but two I'm looking at are on Envato.

Other Plugins/Themes I use are Visual Composer, CSS Hero, Ulimatum Theme & Toolset. Yoast, Wordfence, Max Mega Menu Pro and a few other odds and sods.

 

[mcjon77]

I think some people may be misinterpreting the OP's post. If I understand him correctly, his business is NOT to sell plugins. What he seems to be saying is that he can implement his business idea using an EXISTING plugin, rather than paying for a site to be custom coded. This would be like someone using the WooCommerce store plugin on a WordPress site, rather than coding an online store from scratch.

My personal opinion is that it is a great idea. In terms of barriers to entry, the question is whether the plugin is providing the core value of the business or merely facilitating the sale/access to the true core value of the business.

For example, lets say you were creating some kind of online school, where students pay a monthly fee to get access to your lessons on how to start and grow a billion dollar hamster farm. You could use a plugin like "Paid Membership Pro" to handle the monthly recurring bills. You could use another plugin that manages the video, and perhaps a third that runs the private member form. Those plugins are performing necessary functions for your business to grow, BUT the core product that your customers are paying for is the CONTENT (in this case, about starting a Hamster farm). With only the plugins, but no content, the business has little value. Your barrier to entry comes from your specialized knowledge about hamster farming.

However, lets change the example. In this case what you are selling are online stores for budding entrepreneurs. They pay you a monthly fee and get a store website (something like shopify). In this case, you use WordPress MultiSite feature along with the WooCommerce plugin. Every time someone signs up they get their own WooCommerce store. In that case, THE PLUGIN is providing the core value of the business. In theory, someone else could start up WordPress MultiSite, install the WooCommerce plugin, and sell the EXACT SAME PRODUCT as you.

This could be countered two ways. First, you could just out market them. In this case, your deeper knowledge of SEO would act as a barrier to entry (more like a barrier to success) for your competition. The second way is that you offer more value added services to your product that differentiate you from your competitors who are "just" using the plugin. In my web store example perhaps you offer free logo design (you could outsource it to guys on fiverr), or free SEO, or listing in a custom directory that generates quality traffic.

To the OP, is there some additional value that your business is adding beyond just what the plugin does?

 

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[TwoSteps]

@mcjon77 Absolutely spot-on. The Plugin has the capacity to deliver the service. However it is what i would consider an 'advanced user' Plugin requiring detailed knowledge of all the necessary WordPress associated skills. It's going to take a while to master it.

Someone else could copy but most people in the niche don't have the mix of industry knowledge and web/seo skills.

I feel I have an advantage. Time will tell.

It's a B2C site and being a B in the industry means I know what I would want from the service, I know what the competition is not offering and I know enough to create & deliver that. Therein lies the additional value. Helping the B's get in front of the C's and presenting themselves for maximum response. In fact, there's a raft of added help & services that could be offered. It's exciting!

Thankfully I also have the added benefit of access to over 100 receptive guinea pigs to get feedback from, before going after paying customers.

 

[Yoda]

You're thinking too small.

What if we thought of it like this... the plugin is just an engine. Maybe a little inline 4 banger, maybe a V6. That's all it is.

Your website is the shell, the car, the make, model and brand. You can make your car look like whatever you want, and you can sell it as such. If your site is a Lambo, sell Lambos. If your site is a Honda CR-V, sell CR-V's. Just remember, it's only got a 4 banger. But...

Here's where it gets interesting.

You can always build a car, and you can always swap motors. But the end product can be unique.

What does any of this mean?

1. Build your business using the plugin.
2. Validate the business.
3. Acquire customers.
4. Rebuild the engine (plugin) by creating IP.
5. Laugh while [paid] plugins become obsolete.
6. ????
7. $$$$

It's all the in the execution.

It always was.

 

[TwoSteps]

@Yoda

- Rebuild the engine (plugin) by creating IP.

Yep, thought of that. When I get to the point it becomes necessary or possible.

- Laugh while [paid] plugins become obsolete.

Hadn't thought of that. Probably will though.

 

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