I Tried Making $800 in 4 Hours with Google Maps (To See If It Works)

Summary

In this video, the presenter takes on a challenge to make $800 in four hours without using any pre-existing skills. After brainstorming, they decide to leverage Google Maps to assist small businesses in optimizing their Google Business profiles. The presenter educates themselves on the service, identifies potential clients with incomplete profiles, and attempts to sell their services via phone calls. Despite facing initial rejections, they manage to secure a few clients on Fiverr, ultimately falling short of the $800 goal but gaining valuable experience and offering a step-by-step guide for viewers to replicate the process.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker set a challenge to make at least $800 in four hours without using any existing skills.
• 🤔 They considered various business ideas and ruled out physical products due to the time constraints.
• 🚫 The speaker dismissed the idea of print on demand due to the desire to test product quality.
• 💡 The idea of a service-based business was chosen, specifically focusing on Google Maps and Google Business Profiles.
• 🔍 The speaker used Google Trends to verify the demand and viability of Google Business Profiles as a business opportunity.
• 📚 They took a 42-minute course on Google My Business to quickly learn about the service they intended to offer.
• 📞 The strategy involved identifying small businesses with incomplete Google Business Profiles and offering to optimize them.
• 📈 The speaker aimed to find businesses with low reviews and unclaimed profiles to offer value through their services.
• 📞 They faced challenges in contacting business owners directly and had to adjust their approach by using Fiverr to sell services.
• 💰 The speaker managed to sell services to a few companies but did not reach the $800 goal within the four-hour timeframe.
• 📝 A follow-up guide will be created to help others replicate the process, including steps and types of businesses to target.

Q & A

What challenge did the speaker set for themselves?

The speaker challenged themselves to make at least $800 as quickly as possible without using any of their existing skills and in a way that anyone could replicate.

Why did the speaker rule out physical products businesses like drop shipping and Amazon FBA?

The speaker ruled out physical products businesses because they would require finding a company to source the product from, agreeing on product features, and would likely take longer than the four-hour time frame they set for the challenge.

What alternative business idea did the speaker consider and why was it initially rejected?

The speaker considered print on demand but initially rejected it because they would want to test the quality of the product and ensure it provides the right value for what they're charging, which would take more time than the challenge allows.

What type of business did the speaker decide to pursue and why?

The speaker decided to pursue a service-based business using Google Maps because it does not require sourcing or shipping physical products, and they could potentially bring the product to market in less than four hours.

How did the speaker verify the viability of the Google Maps business idea?

The speaker used Google Trends to check the demand and interest in the 'Google my business' and 'Google business profile' niches over the past five years worldwide, which showed consistent high levels of interest.

What tool did the speaker use to learn about Google Business Profiles quickly?

The speaker used a free course from Google called 'Google My Business in the Skillshop' to learn about Google Business Profiles in 42 minutes.

How did the speaker plan to find businesses to serve using Google Maps?

The speaker planned to search for small businesses in small towns in the US, focusing on those with incomplete profiles, unclaimed business accounts, and low review rankings to identify opportunities for improvement.

What criteria did the speaker use to identify potential businesses for their service?

The speaker looked for businesses with low review counts, low ratings, incomplete profiles, unclaimed business accounts, and a lack of optimization on Google Maps.

What was the speaker's strategy for contacting businesses and selling their services?

The speaker's strategy was to call businesses directly, introduce themselves as a Google-trained digital marketing specialist, and offer to help these businesses maximize their online presence, particularly on Google.

How did the speaker adapt when they realized they were running out of time?

The speaker adapted by creating a Fiverr account to sell their services more quickly and broaden their reach to potential clients beyond the initial list of companies they had contacted.

What was the outcome of the challenge and did the speaker meet their goal?

The speaker did not reach their goal of $800 within the four-hour challenge but managed to sell services to two companies for $250 each and one company for $200, totaling $700.

What additional resource did the speaker offer to help others replicate their challenge?

The speaker offered to create a free downloadable guide detailing step by step how they looked for companies, what types of businesses to look for, and what to look for exactly to replicate the challenge.

Outlines

00:00

🤑 Challenge to Make $800 in 4 Hours

The speaker is challenged to make $800 in four hours without using their existing skills. They consider various business ideas and decide against physical products due to time constraints. They settle on a service-based business and contemplate consulting but are reminded of the challenge's rules. The speaker then decides to explore opportunities with Google Maps, a platform they believe has untapped potential. They plan to verify the viability of this business idea using Google Trends to analyze demand and interest in Google Maps-related services over the past five years globally.

05:02

📈 Researching Demand with Google Trends

The speaker uses Google Trends to confirm the demand for Google Maps services, finding consistent high levels of interest. They test both 'Google My Business' and its updated name 'Google Business Profile', discovering significant demand for both. Convinced of the viability of this business idea, the speaker moves forward with a plan to use Google Maps to make the $800, but they realize they have only three hours and 36 minutes left. They acknowledge the need to learn about Google Business Profiles quickly and find a free course on Google to help them get started.

10:02

📞 Identifying and Contacting Potential Clients

The speaker outlines a strategy to find small businesses with incomplete Google Business Profiles, focusing on those that have not claimed their business account or have low reviews and poor online presence. They decide to target businesses in small US towns where they can communicate in English. The speaker identifies several potential clients, noting those with low review counts and incomplete profiles as ideal targets for their services. They prepare to make cold calls to offer their services and improve these businesses' online presence.

15:03

📞 Cold Calling and Facing Challenges

The speaker attempts to cold call businesses they identified on Google Maps but faces several challenges. Many businesses do not have their phone numbers listed, and some calls are not answered. Of those reached, some are not interested, while others request a free assessment. The speaker realizes they need to create a Fiverr account to facilitate transactions without using their existing business infrastructure. Despite the difficulties, they manage to secure appointments for follow-up calls but have not yet made any sales.

🎯 Final Push and Reflecting on the Challenge

With time running out, the speaker creates a Fiverr account to sell services to small businesses. They reflect on their experience, noting that they had more success with painters in Atlanta, Georgia. The speaker acknowledges that they did not reach their $800 goal but considers the experience a success and a learning opportunity. They plan to create a downloadable guide detailing their process for others to replicate and express gratitude for the challenge, despite not achieving the initial target.

Keywords

💡Challenge

A 'challenge' in this context refers to a task or trial that the speaker has set for themselves, often with specific conditions or goals to achieve. In the video, the challenge is to make at least $800 in four hours without using any existing skills and in a way that anyone could replicate. The challenge sets the premise for the entire video and drives the narrative.

💡Print on Demand

Print on demand is a service used by online retailers to fulfill orders without having to keep inventory in stock. The speaker initially considers this business model but decides against it due to the desire to test product quality. This concept is relevant as it represents one of the potential business ideas that the speaker evaluates during the challenge.

💡Service-Based Business

A 'service-based business' provides intangible products, such as consulting or professional services, rather than physical goods. The speaker concludes that a service-based business is more suitable for the challenge due to the time constraints and the inability to source physical products quickly. This concept is central to the video's theme of finding a viable business idea within a short timeframe.

💡Consulting

Consulting involves providing expert advice or services to individuals, groups, or businesses. The speaker mentions their extensive experience in consulting but decides against using this skill for the challenge as it's considered an existing skill. Consulting is highlighted as an example of a skill that cannot be leveraged for the challenge.

💡Google Maps

Google Maps is a web service that provides detailed information about geographical locations and businesses. The speaker decides to explore opportunities with Google Maps, considering it as a platform to identify businesses that may need help with their online presence. The use of Google Maps is integral to the strategy of reaching out to businesses with incomplete profiles.

💡Google Business Profile

A 'Google Business Profile' (formerly known as Google My Business) is a tool that businesses use to manage their online presence across Google, including search and maps. The speaker learns about this tool and uses it as a basis for offering services to businesses with incomplete profiles. The concept is key to the video's strategy of identifying potential clients.

💡Google Trends

Google Trends is a tool that analyzes the popularity of search queries in Google Search across various regions and times. The speaker uses Google Trends to validate the demand for services related to Google Business Profiles, ensuring that the chosen niche is viable. It is used to confirm the potential of the business idea before proceeding.

💡Freelance

Freelancing involves offering services on a self-employed basis, often on a short-term or project-by-project basis. The speaker creates a Fiverr account to offer services as a freelancer, which is a pivot from the original plan due to the difficulty in selling services directly over the phone. Freelancing is the final approach taken by the speaker to achieve the challenge's goal.

💡Digital Marketing

Digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels to promote products or services. The speaker positions themselves as a digital marketing specialist when reaching out to businesses, offering to help them maximize their online presence. Digital marketing is the service that the speaker ultimately sells to businesses during the challenge.

💡Claim Business Account

Claiming a business account on platforms like Google allows business owners to manage their online listings and respond to customer reviews. The speaker identifies businesses that have not claimed their business accounts as potential clients, indicating a lack of optimization and an opportunity for service provision. This concept is crucial for identifying businesses in need of the services offered.

💡Fiverr

Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services, where buyers can hire freelancers for various tasks and projects. The speaker uses Fiverr as a platform to offer and sell services to businesses that need help with their Google Business Profiles. Fiverr is the final platform chosen by the speaker to reach out to potential clients and attempt to meet the challenge's financial goal.

Highlights

The speaker accepts a challenge to make at least $800 within four hours without using any pre-existing skills.

The idea of a print-on-demand business is dismissed due to the desire to test product quality.

A service-based business is chosen over physical products due to time constraints.

Consulting is considered but dismissed as it violates the rule of not using pre-existing skills.

The potential of using Google Maps as a business opportunity is explored.

Google Trends is used to verify the viability of the Google Maps business idea.

The speaker decides to proceed with the Google Maps business idea after seeing positive trends.

A Google My Business course is taken to quickly learn about Google Business Profiles.

The strategy involves finding small businesses with incomplete Google Maps profiles.

The speaker specifically looks for businesses in small US towns to ensure language compatibility.

A list of potential businesses with low online presence is compiled for outreach.

The speaker prepares a pitch to sell services to these businesses.

Cold calling is used as a method to quickly reach out to business owners.

Challenges in contacting business owners and selling services are encountered.

A pivot to using Fiverr to sell services is made after the initial cold calling approach does not yield immediate sales.

The speaker reflects on the outcome of the challenge, noting the difficulty in making sales without existing skills or assets.

A total of $450 is made through sales on Fiverr, falling short of the $800 goal.

A commitment to deliver high-quality services to the clients is emphasized.

A downloadable guide will be created to share the step-by-step process of the challenge.

Transcripts

my team just challenged me to make at

least 800 as quickly as I could but I

cannot use any of the skills that I

already have and I have to do it in a

way that anyone could and to make it

worth my time I'm gonna give myself four

hours

let's do this okay so let's think

strategically what would be a smart

business idea that we could choose that

we could actually make money with in

four hours because every business idea

that has to do with physical products

like Drop Shipping and Amazon FBA are

probably gonna take a lot longer because

we need to find a company to Source the

product from and then we need to agree

on the product features and no that's a

no-go but how about print on demand

because there I don't need to Source

anything I don't need to ship any

product myself there's no inventory and

I could definitely bring the product to

Market in less than four hours but I

know myself I will probably want to test

the quality of the product and make sure

that it's in good shape and that it

brings the right value for what I'm

charging so no that's a no-go as well so

it has to be a service based business

wait I could do Consulting I've

consulted businesses big and small from

startups to multi-billion Dollar

corporate operations for the last 18

years I could easily do that

well my team said I cannot use any of

the skills that I already have so

think think

how about we try to make money with

Google Maps I've always seen loads of

opportunity in Google Maps shall we try

that let's do this but before we dive

straight in let's do one thing let's

make sure that we check the viability of

this business idea because I don't want

to be wasting my time and I'm sure that

you don't want to be wasting yours

either so let's use a tool that I've

mentioned before and that I completely

swear by it is one of my secrets and it

is always going to show you how much

demand exists in any Niche that you

choose not only that but it is

completely free and you can use it to

test demand and interest in any niche in

any country around the world at any

given time and what I think is even

cooler is that and probably the reason

why I trust it so much is because it is

also from Google which is the largest

search engine in the world and because

of that you are able to see everything

about that Niche that you want to test

including be able to compare Trends over

time and this way you make sure that

whatever you're getting yourself into is

not a sinking ship so let's use Google

Trends and let's see if this is a good

idea or not great so what you want to do

is come to trends.google.com and I would

suggest you choose the past five years

you could do worldwide or you could

choose a country you have literally all

the countries in the world here and I'm

gonna test Google my business first of

all

and definitely we see that there's

consistent high levels of interest but I

know that Google changed the name of

this product or service and they no

longer call it Google my business they

call it Google business profile so let's

try for that as well and make sure that

this also has high demand

wow this looks amazing it's definitely a

width okay now I'm convinced this is

what we're gonna be doing we're gonna be

using Google Maps to make the 800 that I

committed to my team to do as quickly as

possible and I only have three hours and

36 minutes left so we need to hurry up

the only problem is I don't know

anything about Google Business profiles

and I always want to over deliver for my

clients it's another one of my secrets I

always do it and the more value I add to

them the more they want to work with me

and build a long-term partnership which

allows me later on to add more value

deliver more services and be able to

charge more and as you can see they get

more value I get more value into my

company so I can keep growing it so it's

always a win-win and you know what they

say it's a lot easier to sell to an

existing client probably a hundred times

easier than it is to acquire a new one

alright so let's see if there's a way

that I can learn this thing as quickly

as possible and Google have a lot of

free courses so I bet they must have at

least one about Google my business or

Google business profile let's check so

I'm just going to Google Google business

profile manager course and let's look

for one from Google here we go Google my

business in the skill shop all right

Google my business learn how to use your

free Google my business to create

listings that will stand out when

customers search online 42 minutes

all right let's do this I've got 42

minutes to learn this

all right let's find some businesses to

serve and what you want to do and by the

way feel free to do this along with me

I'm gonna explain it step by step so

what you want to do is open Google Maps

so maps.google.com and then look for

small businesses either in the area

where you live or literally anywhere in

the world under one condition that you

speak the local language of that area I

live in Switzerland so for the purposes

of this challenge I'm not going to be

calling businesses in Switzerland

because that means I would need to speak

either French or German and in that case

maybe not everybody would understand so

I'm gonna look for opportunities in

small towns in the US so I can speak

English and I can record some of the

calls and then you guys can see how I

handle them okay let's start working all

right so now I'm on Google Maps probably

everybody has seen this before I don't

need to explain to you what it is and

what I'm gonna do is

first let's find some small towns in the

US let's pick Wyoming okay

how about

sunshine I like sunshine

and I miss the sunshine we we haven't

seen the sunshine here in Switzerland

for a few weeks now okay so let's look

for

plumber

in sunshine

okay there we go we already have some

now what you want to do is look for

small brick and mortar businesses right

you can look for hairdressers for pet

groomers for plumbers for painters for

coffee shops you can obviously also look

for higher income businesses like law

firms like dentists chiropractors and so

forth but my recommendation would be

that you try with some smaller less

complicated businesses first because

you'll probably be able to sell to them

relatively easier than it would be to

sell to a law firm so let's try it out

and see if that works once you found a

list of businesses and you see you have

them listed here on the left side then

what you want to do is try and identify

the ones that have incomplete profiles

the ones that have not claimed their

business account the ones that that have

very few reviews very low ranking in

search so this way you know there is a

lot that you can do to help them so

let's see what we can find so I'm

definitely not going to call this

company because it looks like they have

a lot of reviews they already have

pictures

okay so that's not somebody that I want

to talk to let's see the next one this

one either

no okay let's look lower

for companies with

a lot less

filled in in their profile

how about this one

so for example this one could be a good

one to contact because you can see they

have very low reviews very low level of

performance from reviews it only has 3.4

and only 10 reviews

they only have the phone number but they

have no website only two pictures that

could probably be better so this could

be one that I'm gonna call let's look

for a few more

foreign

so now we found one that is the perfect

example of what I'm talking about you

see here it says claim this business and

what it means is that this company has

created an account for their business

but never claimed their business account

and they would need to do that in order

to then be able to better optimize it a

lot of these things you're going to

learn in the 42 minute course that I

just took so definitely brag plumbing

and heating Inc is one that we need to

call let's look for a few more

here's another one claim this business

is still an option

and another one this is getting too easy

already okay so you can see these

companies only have their address

their name very very few reviews there

is no business account being claimed and

oftentimes they have really poor quality

pictures they have no website and

sometimes no phone number these are

amazing opportunities for us to offer

some services to them and help them get

ranked a lot higher and this way they

could make a lot more money because they

would show up in front of people who are

searching for a plumber in sunshine and

this way they could get a lot more phone

calls or more feed through the door all

right you guys I was already able to

find 22 different plumbers and Painters

I decided to go a little bit more

towards the east coast because due to

the time that I am filming this

challenge at it's gonna be a lot easier

to find small business owners available

and willing to speak to me at this time

on the East Coast so we've got enough I

feel but because we only have two hours

and 12 minutes left I won't have enough

time to email them and wait for an

answer because I really want to make

sure that I make at least some money

with this challenge so

um I'm gonna have to call them

wish me luck I first need to think about

what I'm going to say and how I'm going

to pitch my newfound business so I'm

gonna take a couple minutes to

brainstorm a little bit and come up with

some uh very loose script that I would

like to have in front of me as I talk to

them because I want to make sure that I

land the value that I'm able to provide

to them through my services as quickly

and as

um

you know in a meaningful and impactful

way as possible so wish me luck

I'm ready let's do this

okay this one didn't pick up let's try

another one

so here's the thing

many of these businesses that haven't

claimed their business account and that

are perfect opportunities for us to

reach out to

don't have a phone number in their

profile either so

how am I going to call enough companies

to be able to sell at least three or

four I would say services so that I can

reach the 800 okay let's look for some

more okay here's one that has a phone

number

hello

yeah hi

hi nice to meet you my name is Laura I

am calling you from a digital marketing

agency called

um

scale Studio yes look I'm a Google

trained and specialized individual and I

help companies

okay this one did not go well I could

not get through to the business owner

which is really important if you want to

sell something quickly on the phone so

let's try another one

hi

yes hi hi my name is Laura and I'm

calling you from scale Studio yeah I'm

Google trained and I specialize in

digital marketing yeah I help

yeah I help businesses small and medium

typically brick and mortar ones maximize

their online presence particularly on

Google

[Music]

okay so we made a call we have a

follow-up for tomorrow but I was not

able to sell to her right now so

I am going to go ahead and make a lot

more phone calls okay all right you guys

so

um things are not looking great I have

one hour and four minutes left I went

through all 22 companies that I had

initially found I actually had to go

ahead and look for more

um because I couldn't get through to the

owner and when I did so I got seven

companies that I got through to and two

of them said that they weren't

interested two of them asked me to send

them a free assessment that I made for

them but I couldn't get confirmation for

a follow-up call and the others were

willing to have a follow-up call

um and then I also realized that I mean

it's not great that I didn't sell

anything so far but

um if I had there was no way that I

could have charged them other than

through my company and I wanted to do

that by not using any of my existing

skills or assets so I'm gonna have to go

and create a Fiverr account and find a

few more companies and hopefully sell a

couple of services before the time runs

out okay so let's do this

foreign

[Music]

okay so the Fiverr profile is done I did

not think about this one before uh good

thing is that it didn't take that long

to create and obviously I know enough

about freelancer profiles that I could

do that quickly and

um now let's look for more companies

okay so the time is out

we um are done with the challenge and it

turns out that I actually had a lot more

luck with painters instead of plumbers

and a lot more luck with Georgia so

around Atlanta based small businesses

now if you want to try this yourself you

don't have to call only painters around

Atlanta you can still look for other

small brick and mortar businesses

anywhere in the world but this was my

luck today so I managed to actually sell

the three

um I was able to sell to two companies

for 250 dollars and to one company for

two hundred dollars after some

negotiation

now I need to go ahead and deliver

because I obviously want to make sure

that I give them the best Services

possible so I am not there yet in terms

of making the 800 but I only gave myself

four hours probably if I had another 30

40 minutes I probably would have made

the other missing dollars to reach 800

but hey it was a challenge and the

time's up so I have to give it to the

team this was fun I actually had a lot

of fun doing this I hope you did as well

and I hope it was helpful by the way if

you think it's gonna help I'm gonna work

with the team and create a free

downloadable guide that we're gonna link

down below this video and I'm gonna

write in there everything step by step

everything that I did

um how I looked for companies what kind

of companies you can look for we're

gonna give you a lot more types of brick

and mortar businesses that you could

search for and what to look for exactly

so you can replicate this as well okay

thank you guys so much for watching I

hope you enjoyed today's video until

next time I suggest you go ahead and

watch this video over here like this

video if you liked it be sure to

subscribe if you haven't done so and

also share with a friend who might also

want to see how I make a lot of fun of

myself I guess but you know after all

it's not a bad outcome I'm really

pleased with what we did today so thank

you for watching and I'll see you next

time bye