FBC – 290 – And The Title Of Biggest Idiot Of The Year Goes To…

I thought that yesterday I was a complete idiot but it turns out that there was an even bigger idiot around! The Idiot of the year, in fact. Today you want to hear the story of someone who did something you should NEVER do under any circumstances.

This will honestly save you time, money, headaches and sanity.

All the answers are inside this episode

For those interested in creating a kickass lifestyle, here is the link to the only system that allows you to achieve it in no time.

https://martinebongue.com/profit-machines

So I'm working on a few things and in particular a new product that I've been working on for a few weeks to make it better and it’s a great product and everything.

Thankfully I haven't launched the product and stuff officially. So it's fine. But here's what happened today. I was I'm preparing for a big promotion for the product and looking for affiliates and creating all the graphics, the banners and everything. And I was like, you know what? I need to go and book the actual domain of the product.

So if you have a product name, first mistake that I did, because I just came up with the name out of a hat, I was like, well, that was a good name, actually. And I was like, oh, let's do it. So I created the product and stuff.

So what happened is this. I started looking for the domain and I saw that someone actually has the domain and I'm like, damn, what do I do now? So can I take another extension? So I look for another extension. So dot com is taken, which sucks because you do want dot com. Right? And I see that the dot net is also taken. It’s driving me absolutely nuts.

So it’s pretty bad and then I think well let me look on Google to see who is ranking for that product. Maybe I can outrank them. That will solve my problem. But that creates another problem of me having to do some SEO like super-fast.

And so I start typing the name of the product. And then what happens is that there’s an onslaught of bad reviews, people saying this product sucks and everybody hates it and stuff. And I mean that's the worst case scenario because here's the thing. Let's say my product comes out, my product is good, but there are so many bad reviews about a product that has the same name, that’s going to hurt my product as well.

And the other thing is some dude actually created, I think, the product for like 2017 or something. So that person has a history there. So even if I get the product out and stuff, this guy will be ranking first and he's going to have all my clients, which sucks. It really sucks.

And The Title Of Biggest Idiot Of The Year Goes To…

So, I mean, what's the moral of the story here?

Well, don't be an idiot. So I was an idiot. I didn't do the research, OK? And sometimes I slack off as well. I have a lot of things to do because I'm building some stuff. I'm always building something.  And this is what happens when you slack off and when you don't do your due diligence.

What I should have done was make sure the domain name is free. If it's not available, then what you do is that you find another name. So I didn't actually go and check up because I was busy doing too much stuff and I was traveling and stuff like that, which is it's not an excuse.

Secondly, type that product name in Google and see if there are reviews or something like a product that has a similar name and that has awful reviews because that can kill you, because the number of people who are actually going to buy the product straight away is quite limited.

Some people will be on the fence. They'll be like, you know what? Let me go and do some research. I want to see what people are saying about this product and then what happens? They see all these awful reviews and that will hurt you.

And also, you want to check if someone has trademarked that name. The last thing you want is some lawyer knocking on your door.

But thankfully, it's not like I had launched a big giant campaign and this thing was all over the place and stuff like that. So the product name is not out there yet. So I can still change that.

And I've learned something valuable for the future is, you know, regardless how busy I am doing stuff, these simple checks, these due diligences can save you a lot of time and a lot of money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do smart business owners still make embarrassing mistakes?

Smart business owners still make embarrassing mistakes because confidence in one area transfers poorly to another. Being great at marketing does not protect against bad legal contracts, missed taxes, or weak hiring. Each new function in the business has its own learning curve. Humility plus checklists prevent more disasters than raw intelligence ever will.

What is the most common stupid mistake online entrepreneurs make?

The most common mistake is signing up for tools, services, or partnerships without reading the cancellation terms. Forgotten free trials roll into paid plans, agencies charge for unused months, and contractors lock up assets. Read the small print before the signature lands. Five minutes of careful reading saves five months of recovery work.

How do you recover from a major mistake in your business?

Recover by naming the mistake out loud, refunding or making good with anyone affected, writing the lesson into a checklist, and moving on within thirty days. Public ownership rebuilds trust faster than silence. Hiding the error costs more than the original loss, because customers and partners can smell the cover up from a long way off.

How can you reduce the chance of being the next big business mistake story?

Reduce mistakes by writing every key decision into a one page document before signing. Cost, exit terms, risk to revenue, time to recover if it fails. Sleep on the page for forty eight hours. Most disastrous decisions feel obvious after a single night of distance. The document is the cheapest insurance policy a small business can carry.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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