The Reason People Hate 'Online Business' (+ how to win)

As you swim across the vast sea of information we call the internet, maybe trying to find a quick dose of entertainment, inspiration, or genuinely trying to learn something new and solve a burning problem in your life.

It seems like you are constantly bombarded by these guys – Piranha Marketers (sorry Tai Lopez fans, nothing against him, he's just the perfect poster child)

These days, it seems like everyone, their moms, and even some grannies are trying to sell you something online.

A new content creation system, a new business model, a new 'tactic' to attract women, a money manifestation system, whatever.

As a person who is chronically on the internet and is deeply interested in online business, just in the past 6 months, these are all the ads and models I've seen people saying are the next best thing:

• Dropshipping
• Amazon FBA
• Affiliate Marketing
• Social Media Marketing Agency (I tried this one and hated my life)
• Artificial Intelligence Automation Agency (AIAA)
• Info Product Growth Agency (IPGA)
• Using Etsy to sell cat pictures on mugs [Print on Demand] (POD)
• No-code development Agency (NCDA)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Short-Form Content Agency (SFCA)
• Information / Digital Products
• Twitter Ghostwriting
• Forex Trading
• Cryptocurrency Trading
• Single-skill Freelancing (i.e. Copywriting, video-editing, email marketing, etc.)
• And many...many... more.

"tHe bESt wAy tO mAkE $10,000 pEr mONTh iN 2024!"

Puke.

Trust me I'm as tired of hearing that line as you are.

But in this article, I want to zoom out to understand what's really going on here, and get to the root of the problem. I want to show you what separates the good ones from the bad ones, so we can learn how to build a brand the right way.

Because selling stuff online is not evil.

These people are not scammers (at least many of them aren't).

And frankly, internet entrepreneurs receive a lot of unwarranted hate (sometimes even death threats) for simply trying to teach people what they know and solve problems they've already solved for themselves.

Take Derek for example:

• Has been creating content for 7 years discussing health, fitness, steroid (ab)use, hormonal optimization, etc.
• Posted 1,800+ videos (many of which are 2-3 hour long lectures)
• Interviewed highly-qualified subject matter experts such as Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr.Peter Attia, and many more.
• Includes a very clear disclaimer before every single one of his videos stating that his content is not medical advice, acknowledging he is not a 'professional'

But when Derek launches his line of supplements, which now does well over $100M/year, he gets called a scammer.

HUHHHH?

I mean where do these internet dungeon rats crawl out from?

Why do they feel the need to spread hate and negativity to people who do not deserve it?

A more recent example is Chris Williamson, who's been building his podcast for 5+years, and grew from 250,000 Subscribers in January 2022 to ~1.5 Million near the end of 2023.

And after 5 years, 700+ Podcast episodes, and interviews with some of the most sought-after intellectuals and public figures, and objectively providing an immeasurable amount of value to his audience by facilitating insightful conversations...

He does what any logical and intelligent business person would do... he launches a product.

An organic energy drink marketed as a 'nootropic productivity drink'. Ultimately, something that he personally wanted and would use every day, so logically his audience would also be interested.

But of course, the dungeon rats come out crying "SCAM!!", even though every single ingredient in that drink is natural and scientifically supported to do what it says it will do.

Sigh 🤦🏽‍♂️

The crazy thing is, these are two examples of people who've accumulated enormous amounts of goodwill from the market, and are selling traditional physical products, and STILL even they get crap for it.

The people who unjustly get the most heat are the 19-25-year-olds who made money online doing X, and now have some sort of information product showing others how to do the same.

But why?

This is literally how education works.

Would you learn how to do brain surgery from a nail technician?

What about your plumber teaching you accounting?

A violin teacher showing you how to write code?

People gain mastery, solve their problems, and from their experience they show others how to do the same thing.

Phillip II was the 18th King of the Macedonian Empire, he had conquered most of Classical Greece through military and diplomacy and united their forces under his leadership for a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.

As was the tradition, when determining how he would educate his son, the heir to the throne, he sought out a mentor.

He acknowledged limitations and knew that a great king should have a deep understanding of philosophy, morals, religion, logic, art, and history...not just war.

So he summoned the wisest Greek philosopher: Aristotle, who had learned from Plato, and Socrates before him.

That is how Aristotle became a mentor to the legendary: Alexander the Great.

Now, obviously, I'm not comparing Aristotle to some 19-year-old kid teaching others how to start dropshipping. LOL.

What I am trying to illustrate is that this is how education worked for thousands of years before the establishment of the modern education system.

A system that simply locks you in a building (strangely reminiscent of a prison) along with hundreds of other people to memorize, not understand, a pre-determined general curriculum that has nothing to do with your particular set of interests and curiosities.

A curriculum simply designed to make you an obedient worker for whatever corporation or establishment will indoctrinate you next.

Isn't that lovely?

But this has been so normalized that people don't question it.

We're quick to yell and scream at a marketer selling us a $2,000 course on FB ads, drop-shipping, or any other practical skill that is actually relevant to the current demands of the market...

But we won't blink an eye at these multi-billion dollar private universities that charge 10x the price, take 4 years of your time, just to learn that 85-90% of the things that are taught are completely useless in a job market that is evolving by the second.

And listen I'm not saying everyone should drop out of school, I'm not anti-university, anti-academia, or anything like that.

I've studied topics that I'm incredibly passionate about at university, I've met amazing people there, had life-changing community experiences, learned to manage my time better, and so on.

I'm anti-internet dungeon rats. Anti-people who don't think critically.

Those rats who criticize Chris Williamson for promoting his productivity drink, but don't think twice about Drake receiving $100 Million per year to promote online gambling.

Those rats will call people like Iman Gadzhi arrogant for showing his lifestyle or call him a scammer for starting an online education company (showing others how to solve problems he's solved for himself)

But don't think twice about Dan Blitzeran promoting OnlyFans girls, selling e-cigarettes, and vodka.

Again... HUHHH?

I'd like to think I'm building a small but mighty audience of critical thinkers, so it's likely you agree with me already, but if this is the first time you're finding my content and you've noticed yourself have that kind of internal resistance towards people promoting their stuff online...

Don't worry, keep reading, we're about to break down the root of the problem.

And just like turning your old electronics off and back on again, we'll reset your brain back to critical thinking, once again seeing the internet as the exciting sea of opportunities it truly is, rather than a circle jerk of marketers marketing marketing.

Marketers Marketing Marketing to Marketers.

So what's the real problem?

It's marketers marketing marketing to marketers.

Let's break this down, remember the formula I gave earlier for education, which is also the foundation of online business:

The real problem and the reason so many people hate online business is 1 of 2 things:

1) People completely bypass the mastery step, and just go straight to selling.

2) People whose mastery is marketing, and so they use every gimmick and click-optimization tactic to persuade you into buy their product/service, and then you learn to become just like them.

This creates a destructive feedback loop with 3 types of people.

Person 1 – the Machiavellian type who doesn't care about ethics, and just wants to make a quick buck online.

Person 2 – The marketer marketing marketing

Person 3 – The noob who doesn't recognize the importance of becoming undeniable, pursuing curiosity, and developing mastery, who wants to learn how to start a business or make some money. And who do they find as their mentor?

PERSON 2!!! The f*cking marketer.

So now person 3, who has their own curiosity, talents, and creative ability gets psy-oped into whatever person 2 is promoting, then they become a shittier version of person 2, ultimately ignoring their true calling for mastery in their own domain.

And so the internet circle jerk of marketers begins and grows.

THIS IS WHERE THE HATE COMES FROM, THIS LOOP IS WHAT MAKES THOSE INTERNET DUNGEON RATS SO ANGRY!!

I don't think these people believe business is evil and are actually communists in disguise, it's simply a knee-jerk reaction to seeing this cycle play out so many times.

It's classical conditioning.

The individual (internet dungeon rat) has become so accustomed to a specific pattern of marketing or selling that they automatically react with feelings of anger or resentment without engaging in critical thinking about the actual product being presented.

"The smallest dog barks the loudest"

I love this expression because it illustrates so much wisdom in such a simple way.

The small annoying little dog is always barking, trying to get attention, or trying to look intimidating when in reality they're terrified.

In online business, the person or organization who is doing all the click-optimizing, gimmicky marketing tactics, lead magnet this, Mr.Beast style thumbnail that, Alex Hormozi style captions here, free webinar there, etc.

Just like the annoying Chihuahua who won't shut up... it's annoying.

Really annoying.

It's mediocrity being disguised by a constant attempt to prove over and over again that they're good.

The big scary rottweiler doesn't need to bark at all.

That's the takeaway.

The only advice you need for self-improvement, business growth, audience growth, career growth, networking, etc.

Be Undeniable.

Authentic. Raw. Transparent. Honest.

Be a real human f*cking being.

So good they can't ignore you.

Authenticity Kills Competition

When you hear your favorite piece of music, you don't sit there and analyze it:

"Hmm I like that the bridge was 6 bars instead of 8, and that the key changed to D-Minor halfway through the song, and that the artist's voice went to falsetto but only in the second chorus"

No. Great music moves you. It creates memories and emotions, it resonates deep within every fiber of your being.

Art is the language of the soul.

It's not to be constructed, but created.

It's not to be analyzed, but understood and experienced.

But this doesn't just have to do with the arts...

We're all creators, in coming up with creative solutions in your work, in building an amazing product for your business, and in how you show up in your relationships.

Authenticity and true creativity is manifested in all areas of your life.

When you learn to present yourself in this way, you are rewarded exponentially.

So you have a choice:

Sit and complain at all of these unethical businesses, 'gurus' and piranha marketers... and practice "silent quitting".

Or you recognize that you are actively contributing to this evil by not starting your own business.

By not spreading information, education, goods, and services that are authentic to you and aim to raise the collective consciousness, you are allowing the unethical and hollow ones to rise to the top without competition.

I hope this made you think.

— Mikey 🧙🏼‍♂️