I have a decision to make.
My money maker of a website has the potential of becoming obsolete by year’s end. While I’m already planning to build something new in addition to that site, now I have to decide whether to pivot with the existing site, or stay the course by building something seperate.
What would you do?
How can a website become obsolete so quickly?
It all has to do with building a super-niche website.
I feel safe to say that no one else is doing quite what my EntreCourier website is doing. My niche is extremely drilled down. That’s been key to getting a lot of traffic.
But there’s national events that may make that fact work against me.
I focus on delivery contractors for gig economy apps like Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Instacart and others. But more than that, I focus on the business side of being an independent contractors for these companies. How do you handle taxes, what do you do with your money? Things like that.
The new administration has a priority of getting ProAct passed. That’s legislation that could force gig economy companies to use employees rather than independent contractors.
If that happens, the whole ‘business side of being an independent contractor’ loses its punch a little. Or a lot.
And to be honest, I’m not interested in continuing it as a resource for employees. It’s just a totally different dynamic.
But there are options.
It starts with where I’ve thought of going with this site
Just recently, I posted about starting to focus on the business of blogging.
In a nutshell, I’ve been discovering that there’s not much out there that does the same thing for bloggers and content creators as what I’m doing for gig economy workers.
Sure, there are articles, one off things here and there that talk about the business aspects, about taxes, different things like that. But it’s always one off. It’s always someone who has a broader focus that decides to do a general article on taxes or whatever.
There’s always been that for gig workers as well. But just like with EntreCourier, I’m not seeing anyone who is going full focus on those things.
So that’s where I thought I could go with Ronlwalter.com.
This potential issue with Proact is nothing new. I watched California put out AB5 and I’ve seen different states crack down on gig economy companies. I also know that the current model all these companies use is very inefficient. Even unsustainable. Just over a year ago I wrote that my EntreCourier site could become obsolete.
That’s part of my thinking for getting something new started. If that time ever comes, I need to have something that can take its place.
The potential need could become even greater.
Gig economy workers weren’t the only ones at risk in California because of AB5.
In fact, independent contractors were able to continue contracting even after AB5 went into effect. Freelancers immediately began losing gigs. Companies quit contracting with California based freelancers for fear of a misclassification ruling.
If ProAct becomes law, freelancers could see things change dramatically across the country. So what do they do now? One option may be to pivot the way their business is set up to comply with the standards.
People will be looking for options and answers. This new focus could provide options and answers.
But now the question beomes: Do I Pivot with EntreCourier or focus on building up this site?
Would I be better positioned to reach a new audience by adjusting the existing site that’s already performing well? Or is it better to build up something new that’s dedicated to a smaller niche?
EntreCourier already is earning money with advertising. It’s established with Google. I have relationships set up with affiliate programs.
I could broaden the scope a little. The focus is still on business and being self employed. However, I could create two major sections. One focuses on gig workers, the other on content creators.
It’s not a dramatic shift. Much of the focus remains the same.
But is it still too much of a shift? Do I dilute what I’ve accomplished on the one side by getting too broad?
I don’t have an answer just now
Since I decided that part of what I’m doing here is documenting my journey, this is one part of documenting.
How do I decide which way to go with these kinds of things?
That’s one thing about being in business, of any kind. Things happen that you have no control over. You need to be able to adapt.
I think where I stand right now, I feel like either option is going to be a good one. I’m not sure either option is the wrong answer. It’s more about, which is the best?
And maybe the best is just the one I go with and execute on.