Yesterday I told you about Michael's newest venture, if that message ended in the junk pile or you haven't opened it yet, you can read it here.
Today, I want to reveal the secret I've discovered in Michael's success. Once you hear it, you'll agree, the concept isn't baffling but logical and the fact that a 14 year old understands the power behind this principle, while many more experienced entrepreneurs, like me, fail to take advantage of its power is amazing.
Do you remember Michael's business summary? Well it shouldn't go unnoticed that he started many businesses in 2012, some made him money, some lost him money and some just never took off. The list includes:
- Landscaping business
- Custom Nike Elite Sock business on EBay
- NFL Football information website
- Teen business website
- Chocolate chip cookie business (he makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies)
After receiving Michael's analysis of his 2012 businesses, I was ready to listen to his newest idea. While back in Pennsylvania, visiting for Thanksgiving, Michael spent a lot of time helping his grandparents fix their computer. They asked him to “Fix this, fix that, and make it run faster.” He did just that and taught them solid virus avoidance tactics, Microsoft applications, etc. His grandparents were very complimentary of his work, so he decided his next business venture would be to teach other Baby Boomers the same computer skills that he taught them. I thought it was a brilliant idea! He was targeting the largest segment of the population with the most buying power and filling a need. I was excited to help him begin.
As with all new business' we started the usual way, we discussed his “Why”, his U.C.A. (Unique Competitive Advantage) and his Target Market, we also discussed which media he would use. In the end, he decided he wanted to ‘boot strap' his new business using sweat equity rather than investing money on Marketing. Not a bad choice considering the cost of media and the unknown economics of his new venture.
One of the first things I did was help him visualize his ultimate goal. He downloaded to his phone a picture of his dream car so he could see it every day and he uses it to remain excited through the rough patches.
Now, here's the big lesson dad learned from his son. With no guarantee of success, no current customer base, no curriculum in place, very little marketing dollars, and just a glimmer of “how” he was going to accomplish his goals, HE SET A DATE! The date was just after the holiday and many would argue it wasn't the best time to begin a new business being most people have a difficult time restarting into the New Year. Even I discussed the limitations of his decision. Then it hit me, this date was his deadline and deadlines create urgency and urgency creates a massive call to action. And that's exactly what happened…
I've taken this lesson from my son to heart. As I shared yesterday, after nearly a year of hard work, hundreds of hours, and thousands of dollars' in investment, Automated Business Results is ready to launch its newest product.
I also shared that I like things done right. Therefore, sometimes I worry too much about perfect and not enough about “done”. Well, truth be told, watching my 14 year old son go from inception to launch in 10 days inspired me. So, without further delay, I'm announcing the launch date for our newest product Your Practice Mastered on Thursday January 10th.
We're calling it “Our baby is born” celebration because it took about 9 months to build. And, on this day, in celebration of the launch, rather than give cigars we'll be offering a special launch discount.
So, be on the lookout for your opportunity to take advantage of this amazing product and discount soon.
Between now and then, there's more lessons to be learned from Michael, so, as Paul Harvey used to say stay tuned for “The Rest of the Story”
Building a better business, one deadline at a time…
