by: AskPat 28 Episode Transcript
Pat Flynn: What's up everybody? This is Pat Flynn, and welcome to Episode 28 of AskPat. I'm here to answer your online business questions every single day. At the top of the show, I usually mention a sponsor or link or resource or tool or something like that. But today, I want to do an exercise with you right here at the top of the show, something you could do right now.
So this is what I want you do. I want you to think about one person who really inspires you who is where you want to be or is doing something amazing that you just love. So I'm going to pause for second so you can think about it. It could be anyone. It doesn't have to be anyone doing online business, but just somebody who really really inspires you. Then, I want you to think about something that you are struggling with right now. Something maybe you really want to try to accomplish, but it might be hard for you, or you don't know what your next steps might be. What is your dream?
Then finally, I want you to pretend you are that person who inspires you. I want you to take their brain. Imagine taking their brain and putting inside your head. Then I want you to think about that dream or that struggle that you are having that next thing you want to do. What would you do now with that inspiring person's brain? I want you to think about that. What would they do to help reach that goal? I want you to do that. Do that. Think like that person to help you achieve your goals. This is an exercise I learned from Jaime Tardy. You know, it's actually something that I do quite often, and I don't even think about it. I never really put a foot on what exactly this was. But this is exactly how I do it sometimes. When I'm struggling with something, I think of what somebody else would do, somebody who's done that already. What would they think? So Jaime, from EventualMillionaire.com. Thank you for that. I really appreciate it.
So I want to get to today's question which is from Colin. I'll tell you, whenever I get questions just like this one, it totally fires me up, and you'll hear why after the question is asked. So here's a question from Colin.
Colin: Hi Pat. I'm a big fan of your show. My name is Colin. I'm 10 years old. I would like to start a business and think online business may be the right choice. Do you have any tips from starting online business for someone my age? Thanks.
Pat Flynn: Colin, let me first just say, you rock. I mean, every time I get a question from a kid, like yourself, Colin, I just get so inspired. We had another 10 year old actually, name Briggs, in episode 3 of AskPat. You, Colin, and Briggs, and all the kids out there who I can tell are just curious about that stuff, they want to know more. I mean, it lights up my fire because if only I was thinking like that at your age, Colin. I mean, kudos to you! Just keep going. I think that's my first piece of advice for you. For any kid out there, who's curious about online business, just keep thinking about that. Keep up that curiosity. Keep trying to figure things out and keep learning. Always keep learning. That's my first piece of advice. Don't ever stop. I love that, sort of, wanting to figure things out. That's really what's going to help you create a successful business whether it's online or offline or anything. Just really wanting to solve problems and try things out. That's what will help you get there.
Second piece of advice I want to give you, Colin, is successful businesses, they provide successful solutions. My piece of advice here is to look for places in your life throughout your day, or wherever you are at. If you feel like something can be done easier, or you feel like, “Hey, why is it this way? Why can't it be done this way instead because it would be better?” Keep your eye out for that sort of stuff because that's where businesses start. That's how businesses get created, usually from one's own awareness of things that are happening around them and what they are doing. There are business opportunities that pass all of us by every single day. For all of us listening to you, no matter what age you are at, it's just a matter of noticing what those things are and figuring out how you can best provide a solution to that problem. A lot of people are like, “All the good ideas are gone.” No way! You're just lazy, or you're not opening up your eyes.
What I love about kids is kids see things totally different than adults do. So Colin, and all the other kids out there, you have an advantage 'cause you think about things differently. You see things that we don't see. Not just because you're smaller and you have that lower angle, a viewing angle, but because literally, you just think differently than us. So use that to your advantage. Come up with creative ideas. There are no stupid ideas. I want you to not be afraid to just try something. That's my third piece of advice for you. Just try. If you feel like something could be done better, try to make it better. You are not always going to hit it out of the park for the first time. For those who you are listening, that is a baseball reference. Sometimes you're going to go up to bat, and you're going to strike out, and that's okay. Sometimes you might hit a ball and it might look like it's going to go out. Then the person catches it before it goes over the fence, and you're out. But that doesn't mean it's over. Never give up. You'll get another at bat, and you'll have more knowledge from that first experience you had.
Failing in businesses is okay. It is okay as long as you learn from your mistakes, from your first failure. You get up and do it again. That's what makes the successful entrepreneur. It's the ones who fail and learn and keep going. The only real failure is if you don't think you can do it, or you come across that hurdle and something's hard, and you just give up because it's hard. So keep going.
I want to give you some examples of other kids who have done amazing things. I just did a quick Google search online and found these. These are amazing stories. So there's a six year-old named Kelly. She came up with an idea which is inspired by cowboys' gun holsters, the little belt thing that holds a cowboy's pistol. This person, Kelly, six years old, she drew up a plan to hold a kid's video game system, like a Game Boy or PSX, whatever the portable PlayStation was. Man, I'm getting so old! This is crazy. But anyway, she came up with this idea. She got feedback from other kids who had these video game systems. She started selling them. With the help of her parents and some other people, she got them made. So like a little belt with a little holster that holds your portable gaming system. She sold them. She sold them at flea markets and trade shows. She got so much interest that she had an investor come in. What ended up happening was that she ended up selling the firm at the age of nine. So that's crazy. I mean, she sold her first company at the age of nine. Then in 2002, she started her own non-profit organization to teach other kids how to become an investors. How cool is that? Not only does she build a successful company at the age of six to nine, she's now helping other kids. That is awesome.
Again, just providing value to people, and there's really nothing more important than trying to help others. That's really what it all comes down to. I love that this person is paying it forward and helping other kids to discover how to become investors. Here's another one. Age 11, a girl named Cassidy. She had this problem that she's always had, and found a solution for. This is the problem that all kids have, but she was the one who built a solution for it. This has to do with crayons. She noticed that when she was coloring with crayons, they'd always break. So she actually went to her arts and craft supplies in her house or store something and found a plastic tube that you're actually supposed to put roses in to keep fresh during shipping. She put a crayon in there. That was her first prototype for this device that would keep crayons from breaking when she would use them. She got a patent for this crayon holder, and now she's doing extremely well with this business. She hooked up with a company, got a licensing deal. She gets five percent of royalties from every sale that's made. I mean, that's crazy, right? Ah, so awesome. Those are just two of several amazing kids' stories.
I know Briggs, him and his dad are doing this drumming lessons for kids online thing. That's cool. It doesn't have to be a physical thing. It could be something where you have some knowledge and you want to share that knowledge. Again, Colin, nobody's like you. You're going to have your own experiences. You're going to have your own things in your life that you know that other people don't. A lot of times, people will want that information. You can use online business to share that information with people.
Last and final piece of advice for you, Colin, I have and for everybody out there is to ask for help: Never feel like you have to do this all by yourself. If you ask any successful entrepreneur business person, any of these kids that I mentioned earlier, any other successful entrepreneur, no matter what age they are at. You ask them, “Hey, did you have any help when you got started? Did you do this by yourself?” If they're completely honest with you, they'll all say that they got help from other people. A lot of times, it's those people who go out and reach for that help who ask people. When they don't know something, they ask for help to help them figure it out. That's what separates those who are successful now from those who aren't successful yet or will never be successful. So when you get your idea, whatever it may be, whether it's an online business or offline business or combination of both, you're going to need some help and guidance. Just like how you asked for help from me today, ask for help from other people. Whenever you get that idea, whatever it's about, find out people who are experts on that who have done that before. Ask for help. Ask for guidance. Might be scary to ask for help, but what's the worst thing that can happen when you ask? They're going to say no, and that's not all that scary. Sometimes, it just takes one yes out of thousand no's to really make a huge difference.
Colin, I wish you all the best of luck. Thank you so much for your question. I can't wait to send you an AskPat t-shirt. So you'll get a email from me soon from somebody who's going to be asking your parents for information to help us send you a t-shirt, if that's cool with them. For anybody else out there, if you have a question that you'd like asked here on the show, or answer here on the show actually, head on over to AskPat.com. Thank you again for your question, Colin.
I want to leave everybody here with a quote. This is a great quote from Pablo Picasso. He says, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
So Colin, and all the other kids listening to this, don't ever lose that creativity. Don't ever lose that fire. Always have the same enthusiasm that you've had when you were little, when you're older. For those of you grown-ups listening, sometimes, we might have to find a kid in us to discover these business ideas that can actually change the world. So take care, and I'll see you in the next episode.
