The Downhill Business Principle
Start businesses that push downhill — where eager buyers are already waiting
Godin shares a deceptively simple but powerful principle: sell something that people want to buy. He illustrates this with the story of his friend Lynne, a brilliant toy designer who spent years being rejected by toy companies that were not organized to do business with outside designers. Godin told her to come into the book business instead, where underpaid editors wake up every day waiting for the next great idea to cross their desk. Within two months, Lynne sold over 5 million decks of cards. The insight is that many entrepreneurs fetishize the difficulty of pushing a business uphill — overcoming resistance, converting skeptics, battling entrenched competitors — when the smarter strategy is to start a business that pushes downhill, where the market is already eager for what you have to offer. This does not mean avoiding hard work; it means choosing a game where the hard work goes into creating value rather than overcoming resistance to the very existence of your product.
- Choose a market that is already eager for what you offer rather than one that must be convinced
- The same talent that fails in one market can thrive in another — the market matters as much as the product
- Struggling businesses are often in the wrong market, not offering the wrong product
- Moving to a different table with different cards is often smarter than playing a losing hand harder
- Assess Whether Your Market Is Uphill or DownhillHonestly evaluate whether your current market is actively seeking what you offer or whether you are constantly pushing against resistance. Signs of an uphill market include: potential customers do not understand why they need your product, sales cycles are extremely long, you spend more time educating than selling, and competitors are deeply entrenched with no customer dissatisfaction. Signs of a downhill market include: customers are already looking for solutions, buyers respond quickly to outreach, and existing players are underwhelming the market.Pro tipIf you are spending more than 50% of your energy on education and evangelism rather than delivery, you may be in an uphill marketWarningDo not confuse a temporarily difficult sales environment with a fundamentally uphill market
- Identify Adjacent Downhill MarketsMap markets where your existing skills, knowledge, and products would be actively welcomed rather than resisted. Lynne toy-designing skills translated perfectly to the book business because book editors were organized to receive and evaluate creative products. Look for markets with hungry buyers, low barriers to entry, and existing infrastructure for purchasing decisions similar to what you offer.Pro tipThe best adjacent markets share your core skill set but have completely different competitive dynamics
- Test the Downhill Market QuicklyBefore fully committing to a new market, run a rapid test. Approach potential buyers with your offering and measure response speed and enthusiasm. In a truly downhill market, the response should be fast and positive — buyers who have been waiting for what you offer will not require extensive persuasion. Lynne sold millions of decks of cards within two months of entering the book business, confirming the market was truly downhill.Pro tipA two-week test in a downhill market will tell you more than six months of strategy in an uphill market
- Commit and Invest in Value CreationOnce you confirm a downhill market, redirect all the energy you were spending on overcoming resistance toward creating exceptional value. In an uphill market, 80% of your energy goes to pushing; in a downhill market, 80% goes to building. This is where the real leverage comes from — not from removing friction but from investing fully in the product, service, and relationship that the market is eager to receive.Pro tipIn a downhill market, your competitive advantage comes from out-creating, not out-sellingWarningEven downhill markets have competitors — do not confuse eager buyers with zero competition
Godin friend Lynne was a brilliant toy designer who spent years being rejected by every toy company in America because the toy industry was not organized to work with outside designers. Godin told her to move to the book business, where editors wake up every morning waiting for the next great idea. Within two months, Lynne created a Decks of Cards product line and sold over 5 million units — the same talent that was unwanted in one market became wildly successful in another.
Godin developed this principle through decades of observing the difference between businesses that succeed and businesses that struggle despite brilliant founders. He noticed that Silicon Valley had a fetishizing of pain — the belief that if it hurts, it must be meaningful. But many struggling businesses were not in pain because of worthwhile challenges; they were in pain because they had chosen a market that did not want what they were selling. The Lynne example crystallized the principle: the same talent that was rejected in one market was celebrated in another, simply because the second market was organized to appreciate and buy what she was offering.