Feynman talked about an "extra" kind of integrity, where one bends over backwards to show how one might be wrong. In my field (organic chemistry), this is de rigeur, and it is enforced by the fact that you can release a paper on one day and have people report on how replicable it is within 24h.

For a much fuzzier field like economics, where the line between knowledge and opinion is extremely blurry, this "bending over backwards" to show how you might be wrong should be applied 100x .

The line "I did not ignore their advice" seems particularly ambiguous. An example of not telling the whole truth.

Like I alluded to in a previous comment, in this particular field the experimental feedback loop is short (often <24h). This type of peer-replication has led to the retraction of at least one paper in a highly prominent journal (JACS): http://totallysynthetic.com/blog/?p=1903 . So the potential to make a dent is there, for this field at least.

Ring shaped molecules containing nitrogen and oxygen (as well as sulfur) are called "heterocycles" and they are an extremely common building block of pharmaceuticals. They are found in 8 of the top 10 best selling drugs in the USA: Lipitor, Plavix, Nexium, Abilify, Seroquel, Singulair, Crestor, and Cymbalta. Combined sales of these 8 pharmaceuticals were worth $43.2 billion in 2011. http://www.businessinsider.com/10-best-selling-blockbuster-d...

So developing reliable reactions that build these molecules is, indeed, a useful exercise.

This is one of the distinctive features of organic chemistry as a science - that once a procedure is published, the barrier for any competent chemist in a well-stocked academic or industrial lab to attempt to replicate it is very low. It can often be done in an afternoon. This stands in contrast to say, cell biology, where the experimental feedback loop can be on the order of months or years.

I challenge you to find a better place to go online for specific, actionable advice on the many facets of building an internet business.

that's not a serious answer.

One suggestion: support online tutoring. There's more to tutoring than finding someone in your zip code. I tutor organic chemistry and haven't met a single person in person. Skype tutoring is just ridiculously convenient for all parties concerned. When people flake out - because they do, a lot - at least I haven't left my office.

Thanks for the advice. It's something we're seriously thinking about. How do you usually find clients?

I found Jason Fried's analogy in "Rework" useful. Paraphrasing: "Going to work" is like going to sleep. If someone keeps interrupting you every few minutes, you're never going to fall asleep. It takes uninterrupted time to get there.

I've tried to use this analogy with my wife. Still working on it.

My advice would be the following: look at the common questions students have and give 2-3 specific examples (with screenshots) of how they'd use your product. For instance SN1/SN2/E1/E2, figuring out nomenclature, reactions of alkenes, etc. Show how your downloadable guide solves their specific problem.

BTW I'm basically in your exact same space: masterorganicchemistry.com

You hear a lot of "I should never have spent 5+ years on my Ph.D." from chemists and biologists in today's job market, trust me.