Is targeting the local Tunisian market worth it compared to going after US/EU markets given lower friction but lower earnings?
He explains that the decision comes down to weighing reduced earnings against reduced friction. He ranks markets: US first, British Commonwealth second, EU third, with Luxembourg and Switzerland similar to British Commonwealth. Selling locally yields lower income because of lower earning power, but also less friction if you share the local language and culture. The mental calculus is simple: if the reduction in friction outweighs the reduction in money, it’s worthwhile. For example, earning half as much but finding it three times easier to close deals gives you 1.5× the effective return compared to a high‑ticket, competitive market. He adds that when starting out, high‑ticket coaching beats low‑ticket offers because you need cash flow and proof; personal brand isn’t the real moat—distribution is. Systems beat motivation; clients who have a system stay, those who rely on motivation don’t. To teach money‑making you must be in the top 1% of earners yourself; otherwise you’re wasting time. He advises becoming a specialist rather than a generalist, as the market seems smaller but more focused.
English is economically valuable, but the decision is a math equation: compare (your chance of success in the Ukrainian market × the Ukrainian rate) with (your chance of success in an English-speaking market without an advantage × the English rate). If the former is larger, staying local makes sense; otherwise, learn English. Maker School doesn't offer language support, but the same approach works for non-English audiences.
Most definitely. The United States is by far the strongest country in the world by labor productivity. That means you can typically charge people more money because they have more money, they're used to paying more for things, they're more productive with their time, and they also expect higher productivity with their time per dollar. So there are definitely differences, primarily in pricing. There are also anecdotal cultural differences. I don't mean to say this to offend my European friends—my family's from Bulgaria, Eastern Europe, and I go back there often. I've been in Belgium, and culturally speaking, there's less of an emphasis on America being the birthplace of capitalism, right? Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations. There's less of an inherent or intrinsic desire to spend money to solve problems, and people are just a little bit less problem aware and solution aware. So typically you're fighting slightly more of an uphill battle to get it done. Now, what am I not saying? I'm not saying that's an excuse to sit on your ass and do nothing, or an excuse for you thinking selling to a European audience makes everything much harder. No, everything is possible regardless of where you're selling in the world. These are just trends specific to regions—depending where in Italy, obviously—but I wouldn't consider Italy the economic superpower of Europe right now. If I wanted to sell my systems, I'd look at places like Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, which tend to have more money. So don't worry too much about this.
My audience is roughly 90 % male and 10 % female according to Google Analytics. My spoken English sits around B1‑B2 while my comprehension is C1‑C2, though I’m not entirely sure what those levels mean in practice. I’ve held the belief that I shouldn’t jump into the U.S. market until my English reaches C1 because the fees there are the highest, but I wonder whether that’s just a bias or if I should instead target places where my language is stronger even if the fees are five to ten times lower. The answer really depends on where you are: some countries let you earn outsized returns because they pay high fees and have lots of buyers for automation work—think Germany, French agencies, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg (I’ve had a couple projects there). If you’re in a poorer country like Bulgaria, I’d avoid niching down for local clients because the fees you could command would be much lower; it’s a tough call, and I wish I could do more there. Regarding running a digital nomad lifestyle with big time‑zone gaps, I haven’t found a perfect fix. When I lived in the Philippines for a few weeks I had to take calls at night, which was annoying and hurt my sleep and income. The reality is that a prospect’s reply is as close to money as you get, so you have to treat it like gold and be ready to respond. If a client is only available at 2 p.m. PT, that could be 4 a.m. in Thailand; asking to meet at 8 a.m. would make about half of them disappear. It’s therefore difficult to sustain a nomad schedule that avoids night work. You’ll do better by focusing on markets that are closer to your time zone—Thai firms pay less, but Singaporean or Chinese companies often pay more. I tried the nomad life myself, found it unsustainable (poor sleep, low earnings), though I did enjoy seeing new places and learning about myself. After I returned to a stable base, sat down, focused, and my results took off. In the end it’s a trade‑off: you sacrifice something—usually rest or income—for the travel experience. As for fitting agency work around a regular job, I’ve given you the best approach I can; thanks for the question.
I don't really think that whether you're doing it in the Middle East or somewhere else matters; it's more about human psychology. I understand there are slight cultural differences in how offers are received, but geography shouldn't slow you down—it's often just an excuse. People sometimes say, 'Everything works in your country but not in mine,' and assume you're American, but I'm English and work in the American market, which is a competitive advantage. However, you don't need to be American to make a lot of money; the same approaches that work in American markets work elsewhere because they rely on human beings and psychology, which are similar everywhere. I've already answered this question before, but hopefully that gives you some context.