Today (10 April 2008) I got a $196 speeding ticket, but I am so excited that not even this could dampen my enthusiasm!
Let me explain… I am about to embark on an incredible challenge and I am putting everything on the line – literally everything, including my money, my job and my hard-earned reputation.
Two hours ago Shaun McCowat asked me to help him out. This is hardly news – after releasing my Underdog Marketing Formula (which by the way has been unavailable and off the market for some time now) we’ve have had heaps of clients – but they have all been owners of already established businesses. We’ve always had a solid foundation to build upon.
(By “we” I mean PR legend Penelope Herbert, salient marketing whiz Terry Reeves and myself)
Anyway, this is not the case with Shaun - he is completely different from our other clients: he is only 19 years old, has never had a business, knows bugger-all about marketing, has never created a website, and has no money to spare.
It looks bad enough, but it gets even worse: Shaun’s passion is get-fit industry (he is a Personal Trainer), which has a big market but the one that is saturated by competition. We’re not talking about some tiny forgotten niche where you can easily achieve virtual monopoly. We’re talking about a BIG, real market already populated by powerful competitors… who have big teams… with big budgets… and big already-established customer base. Everything Shaun does not have!
It is an uphill struggle - imagine a race with everyone so far ahead you're not even in the picture. And apart from a circle of friends who'd give their right arm for him, no-one has even heard of Shaun. He is clearly an underdog, but he has 3 things going for him:
1) His desire to succeed
2) Ideas
3) The helping team
Speaking of Shaun’s ideas, I’ve been trying (and failing) to get fit myself for a long time, but when Shaun started telling me about what he had in mind, I was literally blown away… and filled with hope that it was only a matter of time before I got fit again.
Anyway, I love a challenge and this is a BIG one. The challenge of helping Shaun succeed from a no-win situation was so energizing that on my way to meeting my partners Penelope and Terry I forgot about the speed limit… and was promptly caught by a cop with a hand-held speed camera. A $196 fine!
As a matter of fact, I NEVER exceed the speed limit. I am known to take unreasonable chances in business, but when it comes to driving I am one of those guys who ALWAYS go by the rules and NEVER put other people’s life or well-being in jeopardy by speeding. But just thinking about the challenge ahead made me forget the rules and step on the accelerator – and into the hands of a policeman lying in an ambush!
The fact that we’re talking about a wide 4-lane street did not make it any easier. After YEARS of religiously observing every traffic rule I didn’t feel that the fine was fair – but I owned to my mistake, apologized to the policeman and promptly paid the fine.
Fortunately, when it comes to a helping team my partners Penelope and Terry are not only great marketers but also nice people. Yes, we’ve already had a full load of clients – any more and you run the risk of not being able to provide the best possible service – but Penelope and Terry too were keen to help Shaun, even when it meant working for free and losing their spare time. They too have always wanted to help the underdogs – people who badly need quality marketing information but cannot afford to pay for the top consultants.
Penelope, Terry and I reach another important decision: Shaun is not the only person who needs this information, so we’re going to share with you every step of building an insanely successful business from scratch – you’ll know every why and how-to.
Stay with us as we help Shaun through the initial hurdles – next time I’ll explain in detail:
- Who is Shaun and why do I help him and risk my reputation– even though the odds are stacked against success
- Getting started can be overwhelming - what you MUST DO to overcome the odds, and
- Why do we give away powerful strategies that can truly make-or-break your business– even though we can charge top dollar for this information.
With warm regards,
Dr Alex
P.S. You probably have a story of how YOU managed to overcome the difficulties. Why not share with others your 2 biggest hurdles and what you’ve done about them?
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