Changing Lives for Fun & Profit

As I write this, I’m getting ready to start a new class in my local area on how to start and run a business that is both enjoyable and profitable, while focusing on helping others.

I have several intentions for this class.

First, I want to help the students create a profitable business they’ll enjoy in the shortest time possible.  Ideally, those who attend the class will start to see a profit before the 9-week series of finished.

Second, I will also record everything so that when it’s done, I’ll have another product to sell through my website here.  This will give me another income stream and allow me to help many more people across the globe.

I also intended to form several close partnerships with my students so we can cross-promote each other, resulting in more profitability for all.

And finally, the process of creating, recording, and selling this course will be an example for others to follow in starting their own businesses.

Back in 2003, I started my business with little more than an idea and a plan.  After just a few weeks, I had started to write my first course, and even started selling it before it was finished.

Since then, I’ve also produced several quickly-done products which generated a nice little income stream.  In terms of $/hour, these were some of the most profitable products I’ve created.

All-in-all, I feel comfortable teaching this class, and know that those who attend will get a lot out of it.

The only ‘glitch’ is that my photography business is also calling for my attention.  I just finished a long weekend job for Toastmasters, and am scheduled to help a friend this Thursday to record a workshop and turn it into a product he can sell online.

This is a perfect opportunity to focus on a phrase I’ve had to become very familiar with these past few years.  “It doesn’t have to be perfect.  It just has to be done.”

When we find that there’s just not enough time to do things in the way we’d like to do them, we have 2 choices.  We can give up, perhaps putting it off until the infamous “later” which never happens, or we can buckle down, do the best we can in the time we have, and produce something of value.  Admittedly, maybe not as high a value as our original plan, but of SOME value nonetheless.

If we find our way back to it again later, we can often improve what we’ve produced and increase it’s value.

In a way, this is also how I’ve run my business.  I produce one product that has a certain amount of value, then I find ways to create other products with even more value.

So, the classes I do in the next several weeks may not be the best I can produce, but they will be the best I can produce NOW.