Money Always Starts With An Idea — Make It Yours
IDEAS & MONEY — One of the coolest things I’ve gotten from James Altucher’s work is this: “Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century.”
It sounds like it could be a bunch of highfalutin crapola, but it’s not. He breaks it down.
Money is ALWAYS made from an idea.
The difference for you is, what kind of idea, and how much ownership you have in the idea.
For example, when you work at McDonald’s flipping burgers, you’re working on Ray Kroc’s idea. (I’ve done consulting work for the franchise industry. They even call the thing the franchisor sells to the franchisee a “concept.”)
Another example of working on someone else’s idea is what a turnaround artist does. If you take a business that’s failing and make it profitable again, you’ve taken someone else’s idea and made it better.
According to Altucher, most lawyers and stockbrokers are people who make a good living giving people their own bad ideas.
And the best place to be in this model of ideas-as-currency is the person who comes up with a lot of great ideas, that work. ideas that make money. Ideas that improve people’s lives. Ideas that increase the size of the pie that will get divvied up, sooner or later.
(All of this from the introduction of Altucher’s book “Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth.”)
So that best place to be — coming up with ideas, that work — what’s your best shot at being there yourself?
I mean, what could be greater than getting paid large sums of money for your ideas, smug in the satisfaction that you’re also helping to make the world a better place?
How about… copywriting?
Example: Years ago I helped a well-meaning but clueless author, with two degrees from a very prestigious university, and a resume that could hang in the Resume Hall of Fame, take a jumble of ideas and turn it into a multi-million dollar business.
His content was solid, but his organization and his presentation were a mess.
His biggest problem was that he had a book with a title that sounded like it was out of Victorian England.
No one could possibly understand it, so… no one ever would buy it.
We changed the title to not only understandable, but appealing. And then restructured the product and the offer to make them profitable. Turned it into a fantastic package with a killer sales letter. And away he went.
I got paid well.
He made a fortune.
Copywriting.
Another example: My client Jonathan Christian Hudson recently shared some valuable and painful experience in a blog post, where he talks about how he lost half a million bucks on mediocre consultants and coaches.
Then he gave me the best Christmas gift a client could ever give a coach, in writing these words in his blog post:
“In fact, the ONLY coaching investment I’ve ever made with a real ROI was with David Garfinkel, who taught me copywriting (and arguably, that investment paid for all the rest of these guys!).”
I got paid well.
He made a fortune.
Copywriting.
I do not think, by the way, that copywriting is the single best way to get paid for ideas.
I think the single best way to get paid for ideas is to come up with a business plan for a business that makes profits hand over fist.
And put those profits in your pocket.
But the SECOND best way in the world to get paid handsomely for your ideas, is copywriting.
Think about it. What do you want that you’re not getting… that you WOULD get if your copy, or your copywriting skills, were in better shape?
That’s what I’m here for. I mentor copywriters and business owners. I also do critiques of sales letters and other sales copy.
So when you’re ready to convert some of your good ideas into cold hard cash, let me know how I can help you.
David Garfinkel is a veteran coach of professional copywriters and business owners who are familiar and comfortable with direct response marketing. To apply for copywriting coaching, business owner mentoring, or copy critiques, visit Garfinkel Coaching.
