MBA2632 Why Most People Don’t Want What You’re Selling (And That’s OK)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show - Episode MBA2632 "Why Most People Don’t Want What You’re Selling (And That’s OK)"

Introduction

In Episode MBA2632 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom delves into a fundamental yet often misunderstood aspect of entrepreneurship: embracing the reality that not everyone will want what you're selling. Released on June 2, 2025, this episode explores why it's perfectly acceptable—and even beneficial—to recognize that your product or service won't appeal to the masses. Instead, success lies in targeting and resonating with the right audience.

Embracing Rejection: Why Most People Don’t Want Your Product

Omar begins by addressing a common entrepreneurial pitfall: attempting to cater to everyone. Drawing from his two decades of entrepreneurial experience, including bootstrapping two multi-million dollar businesses, he emphasizes that trying to "serve everybody" often results in serving no one effectively.

"Most people don't want what you're selling. And guess what? That's completely fine. And in fact, it's expected. It's normal." [01:22]

This realization freed Omar from the guilt of rejection and allowed him to focus his efforts on those who truly valued his offerings.

Narrowing Your Focus to the Right Audience

Omar underscores the importance of honing in on a specific target market instead of casting a wide net. He likens this strategy to everyday choices:

"Not everybody loves sushi. Not everybody likes football. Not Everybody drives a Honda and that's okay because you don't need everyone to succeed." [02:00]

By accepting that universal appeal isn't necessary, entrepreneurs can concentrate on building deeper connections with their ideal customers—those who already see the value in their product or service.

Examples of Successful Niching Strategies

To illustrate his point, Omar shares several compelling examples:

1. Webinar Ninja: Omar recounts his experience with Webinar Ninja, his software company focused on webinars. Instead of trying to convince skeptics of the webinar's value, he targeted individuals already aware of and benefiting from webinars but seeking a better solution. This approach led to more meaningful engagements and successful sales.

   "These people don't need convincing. They're sold on the idea of webinars. Okay? I just need to sell them on my solution." [03:15]

2. Uber: Omar analyzes Uber's strategic targeting. From its inception, Uber didn't aim to replace all forms of transportation but specifically targeted individuals who traditionally relied on taxis—especially in scenarios where taxis were unreliable or inconvenient.

   "They are not trying to sell people that are not normally going to take a car to their destination." [04:10]

   By focusing their marketing efforts on airport advertising where potential Uber users are most likely to seek reliable transportation, Uber effectively reached its ideal customers without wasting resources on uninterested demographics.

Practical Steps to Implement Niching in Your Business

Omar provides actionable advice for entrepreneurs looking to refine their target audience:

1. Get Crystal Clear About Who You Serve: Focus on psychographics rather than just demographics. Understand your audience's beliefs, values, desires, and pain points.

   "What do your people believe in? What do they value? What do they want? What keeps them up at night?" [06:25]

2. Speak Directly to Them: Use language and messaging that resonates specifically with your ideal customers, even if it alienates others.

   "Use language that resonates only with your people and it's okay if others don't get it." [07:40]

   Omar cites the urban fashion brand AND1 as a perfect example. The name itself—a term familiar to basketball enthusiasts—creates an instant connection with its target audience.

3. Celebrate Being Different: Embrace what sets your brand apart and use it as a strength rather than viewing it as a flaw.

   "Your edge isn't a flaw, it's your advantage." [09:00]

   He highlights Kevin Hart’s comedic persona as an example of celebrating and leveraging personal differences to build a unique brand.

Omar’s Own Example: The $100 MBA

Omar shares how he applied these principles to his own venture, The $100 MBA. Instead of targeting individuals interested in traditional MBA programs, which are often expensive and time-consuming, he crafted a practical, affordable alternative for aspiring entrepreneurs.

"We made a lot of jokes and talked about how expensive an MBA is... speaking directly to entrepreneurs who said, I don't want a mountain of debt. I want to start now." [10:15]

This focused approach resonated deeply with his intended audience, leading to enduring success over 11 years.

Conclusion: The Power of Polarization in Business

Omar wraps up the episode by reinforcing that business success isn't about universal appeal but about creating strong connections with a specific group. He likens this strategy to iconic brands like Harley Davidson, CrossFit, and Apple—each of which clearly defines and serves its niche market effectively.

"Business isn't a popularity contest. It's a connection game." [12:45]

By accepting that you won't appeal to everyone and instead focusing on those who do, you not only save resources but also build a loyal and engaged customer base.

Final Thoughts

Omar encourages listeners to embrace their unique value propositions and invest their efforts in serving their true audience. He reinforces that being polarizing is not only acceptable but can be a significant advantage in building a sustainable and impactful business.

"When you stop trying to win over everyone, you finally win the right ones over." [13:10]

For those seeking continued growth and practical business insights, Omar offers his "Three Things" newsletter, promising weekly actionable advice to help entrepreneurs stay focused and advance their ventures.

Key Takeaways

• Accept Rejection: Understand that not everyone will want your product or service, and that's perfectly normal.
• Target the Right Audience: Focus on those who already see the value in what you offer.
• Use Language that Resonates: Communicate in a way that speaks directly to your ideal customers.
• Celebrate Your Uniqueness: Embrace and leverage what sets your business apart to attract the right audience.
• Build Deep Connections: Prioritize meaningful relationships over broad, superficial appeal.

By implementing these strategies, entrepreneurs can create more effective and sustainable businesses that truly serve their intended audience.

Transcript

[Omar Zenhom]

If you're a listener of the show.

[Unknown Host]

You probably own a business or looking to start one.

[Omar Zenhom]

So the question is, are you ready.

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[Unknown Host]

Here's a truth most entrepreneurs don't want to hear. Most people don't want what you're selling. And guess what? That's completely fine. And in fact, it's expected. It's normal. And today I'm gonna show you why it's not a problem. But more importantly, why embracing it is the key to actually succeeding. You see, when I was starting out in entrepreneurship about 20 years ago, I was trying to talk to everybody. I was trying to serve everybody. And therefore, I served nobody. Okay? I didn't resonate with anybody. No one was listening to me because I was too generic. I was too vanilla. I was easily ign. And that's the worst place to be in business. So if you're sick of being in that state, if you want to be a hell yeah to your ideal customer, then keep on listening. Welcome Back to the $100 NBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenholm, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, to help you start, grow and scale your business. We live in a world of endless choices and we just need to admit it. Think about it. Not everybody loves sushi. Not everybody likes football. Not Everybody drives a Honda and that's okay because you don't need everyone to succeed. You just need the right people. Business isn't about convincing the masses. It's about finding a few people who already are leaning in that direction. When they find you, they're like, wow, where you've been all my life? You're exactly what I need. This is all to say that your job is not to sell to everyone. That is the wrong mindset. A lot of people, they say to themselves, how can I make everybody like this thing that I'm creating? No, the right mindset is who already wants this and how do I make it a no brainer for them? That shift changes everything. I can tell you firsthand that that shift changed my business. Webinar Ninja, my software company that I ran for 10 years and got acquired by ProProfs in about year two. I really got tired of trying to convince people that webinars are great and webinars can help you grow your business. And webinar sells like nothing else out there. So instead of trying to convince people to do webinars, I sold my software to people that are already convinced, that are already getting wins from webinars, that already are loving the results they're getting. But they're wanting a different solution. They're wanting a better solution. They want a better way to do webinars, they want a more efficient way, a way that will actually get them better results. That's why I decided to go after these people. These people don't need convincing. They're sold on the idea of webinars. Okay? I just need to sell them on my solution. My improvement of that experience of webinars. So much easier to make sales this way you don't have to drag people and convince them and get them to trust you on the concept of what you're selling. Another example is Uber. Uber knew from day one that their ideal customer was are people that normally take a cab. But if they can't get a cab on a rainy day in a major city and they want to be able to get into a car that's safe and easily get to their home or get to their destination, then Uber would be a perfect fit for them. It's a better, smarter solution than hailing a cab. It's more reliable. Money doesn't change hands, so therefore it's safer. Whole bunch of advantages. They were not competing with people that take mass transit, people that take the train to work, or people that take the subway to go to their party or go to their event or go to somebody's house, they were not competing with people that walk everywhere. Okay, so if you notice, even till today, where does Uber advertise? Where do you see big signs in billboards and advertising for Uber? At airports. Okay. When you're at, you know, baggage claim at an airport, even international airports nowadays in Europe, you'll see signs for Uber and you're like, oh, great, let me just get an Uber. I know Uber. Uber is easy, it's safe. I could just do it on my phone. I don't have to hail a cab in a foreign country. They are not trying to sell people that are not normally going to take a car to their destination. And in fact, if you notice, if you go to international airports that are well connected with transport, with great train systems like Tokyo, for example, Uber is not really prevalent there. Even though you can call an Uber in Tokyo, in the city, you don't see advertising of Uber in the airport because they know that a lot of people just take the subway because it's so convenient, it's so easy. Most people are just going to go with that option. They're not going to try to fight against the tide. This mentality focuses your energy on serving and not chasing.

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[Omar Zenhom]

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[Unknown Host]

So instead of trying to water down your offer to appeal to everyone, make it sharper, more specific, more magnetic to the right people, you'll repel some people. And that's good actually, because when you repel the wrong people, you attract the right ones even harder. They're like, yes, this is exactly what I love. Let's bring in some other examples like Harley Davidson or CrossFit or Apple. They're not trying to win over everybody. They're polarizing in a lot of ways. And that's really powerful and helpful for the brand because they make it clear we are for these types of people. We are for people that are interested in this. We are people with this type of lifestyle. If you are part of our group, you're going to love our products and services. If you're not, that's okay. So how do you lean into this and implement this in your business? Number one, get crystal clear about who you serve. Now, I'm not talking about demographics. I'm talking about psychographics. What do your people believe in? What do they value? What do they want? What keeps them up at night? What worries them? What gets them excited? What makes them happy? What do they actually desire in their life? These pieces of information, the answers to these questions are gonna paint a beautiful, clear picture about who your audience is, who you actually need to serve. Number two, speak directly to them. Use language that resonates only with your people and it's okay if others don't get it. A great example of this is a company called AND one. AND one was a urban fashion brand specifically for people that like basketball. Now for the general public, if I say and one doesn't mean anything to you, right? But for people who play basketball, play street ball. And one is a very common term. People know what that means. It means end the foul. It means that you are playing through contact, you're making the point and you got fouled. And that's what we, you, you would just shout out on the basketball court, you would say and one. So the brand, even the name of the brand resonates with those who get it, who are in the know, that would like to buy T shirts, those products, those shoes, and it becomes some sort of secret club, so to speak. And it really resonates with people because that term AND one, it's a loaded term. It has so much meaning behind it in the world of streetball. And number three, you want to celebrate being different. Your edge isn't a flaw, it's your advantage. Someone who really is known for flexing this muscle big time is the actor and comedian Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart is a short guy and he uses that to his advantage. You know, he sees that as kind of a deficiency, but at the same time it's part of his comedy, it's part of his character, it's part of his stand up routines. He leans into it. It's not by accident that his co star in many movies is the Rock. Somebody who's like what, six, five, huge guy, right? The exact opposite. The contrast for him, he's like, hey, I'm going to just go all in on this and own the fact that I'm like five, two. I love it. I don't want to leave this episode without giving a practical business example like my own business. When I created the $100 MBA, I wasn't trying to win over people who loved a traditional MBA path. Actually, the opposite. We made a lot of jokes and talked about how expensive an MBA is, not only in terms of money, but in terms of time. I was speaking directly to entrepreneurs who said, I don't want a mountain of debt. I want to start now. I want a practical education, a real world business education. It allows me to start a business as soon as possible so I can learn through my experiences and get some wins under my belt. And guess what? Not everybody agreed with us. Not everybody loved this idea of a more practical, more real, down to earth NBA. Obviously there was people that had their MBA that spent over a hundred thousand dollars on their degree, two years and thought, I don't like the sound of this. You know, a hundred dollars a month to learn what I learned. That's fine. It's okay. You don't have to like me. We aren't for everyone, and we are for our people. We're here to serve the people that resonate with our message and what we do. And that's why our business exists. That's why we're still around after 11 years. And by the way, trying to be something for everyone is exhausting, okay? It's not sustainable. So don't try. Just be yourself. It's okay if you're polarizing. It's actually great because you're going to resonate with your people. One of my favorite ads of all time is a Porsche ad. And in the ad I'm paraphrasing here, they say, Porsche doesn't build cars that have has something for everyone. But we build cars that is everything to someone. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Business isn't a popularity contest. It's a connection game. You don't need everyone's applause. You don't need everyone's approval. You need a few people's deep belief that what you offer can change their life, their business, their future. And when you stop trying to win over everyone, you finally win the right ones over. Thanks so much for tuning in to the $100 MBA show. Again. If you want to continue to grow with me, if you want to continue to learn from me in a little more of a deeper fashion, you should join my Three Things newsletter. It's absolutely free. And every week I send you three things. Something to think about, something to do, and something to learn so that you're growing every single week. All you got to do is go to 1-000- MBA-NET and sign up for any of our free guides and you get added to our newsletter automatically. Until next time, stay the course. Stay focused. It's okay if you ruffle a few feathers. It's bound to happen if you're doing something right. I'll check you next time. Take care.

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