Starter Story - Your first million

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So there’s this guy I’ve been following for a few years.

His name is Lane.

He started a website called "boot.dev".

And holy sh*t... I've never seen a business take off like this...

This is what his business journey looks like:

• Year 1: $0
• Year 2: $1K/mo
• Year 3: $6K/mo
• Year 4: $16K/mo
• Year 5: $76K/mo
• Year 6: $291K PER MONTH….

Like are you f*cking kidding me?

I can't stop thinking about his business...

"How did he do this? What growth tactic did he use?"

So I did a ton of research on his business.

And I think I found the answer.

But... it's not what you think...

––

Yes, he did some really smart marketing stuff, like sponsoring creators on YouTube.

But... there's something deeper.

I think his success has more to do with the fundamentals of his business.

Lane's business went from average to $3M+/year because... he built a product that helps people learn a skill that will improve their lives.

In other words, he built a business around teaching.

I think that if you're starting your first business... the business that will turn you into a millionaire... this is the best type of business to start.

Why though?... Why is teaching such a great business model?

Here's why:

(1) Educational businesses get a head start thanks to the built-in knowledge of its founders

So... before starting this business, Lane knew how to code.

Years before even starting the business, he was building up expertise in his product and his target customer (whether he knew it or not).

In other words, Lane was able to get his business off the ground quickly without having to learn anything new.

Sure, he had to learn about some new stuff like marketing and distribution, but he didn't have to learn much about the customer.

This gave him a massive, multiple year advantage IMO.

A head start! (that he wouldn't have if he started a business selling fidget spinners)

(2) Buyer psychology: Paying money for educational products feel like a no-brainer when compared to the cost of college.

A computer science degree at Stanford costs $200,000.

Lane's product costs $29/month.

Obviously, you get way more by going to Stanford, but in a way, these two products provide a similar outcome: learning how to code.

This is a form of price anchoring and it helps convince potential customers Lane's product is worth far more than $29.

$29/month feels like a steal compared to $200,000, right!!?

(3) The cost of teaching someone is zero, and the distribution is... the entire world

Here's the beauty of educational products: they have virtually a 100% profit margin.

(digital ones like Lane's, of course)

For every new customer that lands on his website and pays for his product, it costs him virtually nothing.

100 more people try his product. 1,000 more people try his product.

It costs $0 extra.

The entire world could use his product, and it wouldn't cost him much more.

The marginal cost of teaching people is zero, yet his distribution is the entire world.

––

These are the reasons why I think teaching people might be the best FIRST business to start.

Because everyone – yes, even you – has experiences in this world.

You can figure out your unique skills in 5 minutes if you wanted to.

Just write down the following:

– FT job
– PT job
– Hobbies
– Knowledge
– Passion
– Curiosity
– Obsession

You don’t have to be an expert. Lane sure wasn’t!

But he figured out how to be useful based on experiences he already had.

Here are two simple questions you can ask yourself:

Who is a few steps behind me that could benefit from my experience?
What do friends and family already come to me for advice about?

Someone is out there behind you on a similar journey.

And they’re just waiting for you to show up and guide them.

––

I want to help you identify your thing:

Your skills
Your knowledge
Your passions

Because I truly believe you have a million-dollar idea inside of you.

So I’m running a free workshop on Thursday (tomorrow)

Where I’ll talk about how I turned my skills into $1M.

And I’ll show you how to turn your skills into money.

See you there.

– Pat

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Starter Story - Your first million

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