How to "Succeed" in Second Life

Charles Darwin promoted the theory of "Survival of the fittest". Survival of the fittest was based on two primary methods of success.

1. Being better than your competition, OR
2. Exploiting a area that there is little to no competition.

Now "Survival of the fittest", doesn't mean the strongest, fastest, smartest or biggest will only survive, what Darwin meant was the one who fit the best in their enviroment had the best chance of survival

MAKE A BUSINESS- You can't do it by camping.
Businesses and brands compete with each other in a struggle for survival, and collectively tend to operate in ways analogous to thier eviroments conditions. Survival of a business is akin to the survival of an animal.

STRATEGY- Better get one.
Strategy of a business or a brand is more important that the actual service or goods. Agian, the company and/or brand best “fitted,” or best “adapted,” to its environment (its markets, its customers) is most likely to survive, and most likely to flourish. It means that companies or brands not well “fitted” to their markets will NOT SURVIVE long-term.

PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING - Make your money work for you.
Time after time I have been asked "How can I sell things I make?" You have to bite that knuckle kid. Spend the L$30 for to get yourself listed in "Places". Research your best keywords. Use classifieds, Spend the amount of money you need to get your keywords on that first page. Advertise on SLX Forums and Second Life Forums. One thing is for sure, if you don't advertise, you'll never know how successful you COULD HAVE been


Here's a few statements I live by and really are the secret to success.

1 Whats true in Real Life is true in Second Life - wherever there is a need for something in the real world, there is a need for it in Second Life, whether its clothes or Cuban cigars. Look around you, what do you need in real life? Chances are someone in SL needs the same thing.

2. Look to the future - Everything thats popular already has a large competitive market, if you don't want to jump into a marathon run with alot of seasoned veterans, then look for future developments and prepare yourself for those new features in SL (like voice). Time and time again, new features have came to Second Life and those who where ready and prepared became successful. EX. read Statement one AGAIN- What is true in RL is true in SL

Good luck on your future business!

Good post, but I don't know how to reply to it!!!

This is a very good statment, one that deserves to be elaborated on.

One of the things about SL, is how close it can and in some ways, does resemble RL. The main advantage is the RL is much older and many of the business methods for creating success have already been done over and over again. Porting those into SL is easy, assuming you know what they are to begin with!

Most business/people struggle to make a success with their business, even with some fantastic product and or service, simply due to poor business accumen. I am not sure, only because I have not checked it out, whether there is a SL form of Chamber of Commerce that can aid small companies/individuals, that can offer advise, create networking opportunities, or a form of mentoring. Perhaps this is somethingg that needs developing? There certainly is enough business talent in SL to form such an organisation.

What deters many, is the thought of the potential paperwork, burning the midnight oil after spending all day with their designs and creating, and probably the most ardous task, is paying for/gaining, investment, which can put most people off. Perhaps creating a Chamber of Commerce, is a task that some of the more established, and or the larger RL companies can consider creating (assuming their isn't one already)?

One thing that you can do in SL, which is very much easier and certainly cheaper than RL, is getting around and contacting people. Networking is a very important element for any business.

Good post. Too many people think that Second Life is just a way to make easy money - that's why we have a proliferation of camping, pyramid schemes and similar cons, because they're able to prey on the stupidity and greediness of other in the hope that they'll fall for the tricks before they get caught.

Having said that, I know people that have put a lot of excellent effort, time and money into things that don't actually have a great deal of competition... yet still wouldn't really call themselves mega-successful.

But then again, it depends how you define successful. I know I'd rather have 20 people that appreciate what I do, instead of 200 people that are only here to see what they can get out of me.

We don't have a 'right' to make money here, we don't have a 'right' to be successful, we don't have a right to even be here. Let's just be grateful that we are, and if we can make some money out of it even better. But that shouldn't be the driving force behind our presence.

Broccoli

Darwin did not coin or promote the phrase "Survival of the Fittest". We got that from Herbert Spencer in his 1864 tome, Principles of Biology. He did draw parallels with Darwin's "Natural Selection" though.

It also may not be a good idea to namedrop Darwin too much, because his theory depends an awful lot of reproduction, and we all know that teh sex0r is broadly offensive.

While the British economist Herbert Spencer is often credited with introducing the phrase "survival of the fittest" in his 1851 work Social Statics (relating to free market economics) or his First Principles of a New system of Philosophy of 1862, he actually did not use the phrase until after reading Darwin's Origin of Species. and introduced it in his Principles of Biology of 1864, vol. 1, p. 444, writing "This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection', or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life."

From http://www.answers.com/topic/survival-of-the-fittest

Exactly what I said then Jackson.

Charles Darwin never said it.
Herbert Spencer did.
While drawing parallels with "Natural Selection".

I said all three things in my original post.

Whereas in today's western societies the term seems to have changed to "survival of the fattest"....

There are as many definitions of success in SL as there are people in SL.
For me the definition only has two words. "Have Fun"

To succeed in SL a la Darwin: Have a great time in SL, feeling fulfilled, stimulated and satisfied creatively-- or from doing business, or from some other style of activity. You might spend some RL money along the way. Then, from your new-found confidence and interest in life, reproduce in RL. Then get all your children and grandchildren hooked on SL.

That's pretty much exactly what I was gonna say. I have never earned a single Linden in SL, but I am extremely successful according to your/my definition of success.

Some good advice for those who want to be in a SL business I guess. I'd add try to find something that A RL Company can't prvide. Because if they show up, you probably will not stand a chance against them.

I have spent many hours thinking about what I could bring to SL that it currently doesnt have, with absolutely no success.

It's pointless making more clothes, shoes, hair, etc etc when there are so many well established creators who make them better than I can. I thought about making flowers and plants, but such a small percentage of the residents have land and there are several excellent plant makers that I don't see how I could make money from that. I can make sunbeds, umbrellas, loungers etc but they are ten a penny.

Everything I think of is already here. I get despondent sometimes but maybe one day a spark of an idea may appear.

I'm going to be pedantic here. I've been patiently reading and thinking and now, by deighty, the time has come for me to speak!



A better definition of success would be "Having fun" ... or the past tense, "Had fun".

"Have fun" is more akin to a strategy.

Please discuss ...

I think that an even better definition would be "the attainment of fun"

I want to say a big thank you to Altic Plasma, who IM'd me and has fired up my imagination

Reliability? <ducks>

But seriously Alexa, is making a commercial profit that important here? Is content creation the beall, endall?

What you could bring to SL that it doesn't already have is you. I'm sorry if anyone thinks my rambling is trying to dilute Jacksons informative post. You, your presence, your interaction with all you meet, is unique.

No, I'm sorry. I'm going to stop right there. Ignore me LOL

Did you *see* the smiley after my "please discuss"?

Bilbo

I never ignore hobbits, they are far too wise

You are right I guess. But it would be nice to contribute something to SL, and not always lay on a beach or build in a sandbox or go to classes. I don't spend much in SL and the money side of making or doing something is not the driving factor.

All those things are contributing. Someone made that beach, by visiting you are contributing. Someone is giving their time to teach that class, by attending you are contributing. Just by logging on, and using what SL offers, (and not griefing or being Broadly offensive) you are contributing.

Woo hoo! .. you don't know this one very well then!

Just told Gandalf .. he's spilt chicken soup down his beard .. not a pretty sight!

OMG bilbo! I almost choked on my tea! LOL

Mandy C

I did, but I guess I didn't understand its meaning! lol

Listen to the hobbit - don't underestimate your value! I did nothing but socialize during my first incarnation in Second Life. However, I was told by several people that I was one of the main reasons they kept playing SL and that I made it a fun place for them to be. With the possible exception of griefers, there's nobody in SL whose presence is worthless.