Have you ever been doing something random and had a great idea pop up and smack you in the head? I did.
One sunny afternoon at me dad’s house, I challenged my wife (then gf) and dad to a friendly round of disc golf in our backyard. Of course they accepted the challenge because they knew I would keep nagging them until they did.
Now, I had just bought my first GoPro camera and was much videoing everything (because why not) including friendly backyard games like this so of course I wanted to record the butt whooping I was about to hand them.
For those familiar with Disc Golf, you know the game is played outside amongst trees, bushes, and other irregular (and completely natural) objects. But back in 2013, GoPro didn’t make any mounts that really fit Mother Nature’s crooked tree branches and terrain.
So during the first hole, I called a timeout so I could run inside and put together a makeshift mount that could attach to the plentiful tree branches. And here’s when the idea hit me:
What if I attached my GoPro camera to a plastic spring clamp?!?!?
I thought, “I’ve just created a highly versatile, extremely useful mount for GoPro cameras (which were like the #1 selling camera at the time) that every single GoPro camera owner would need!! I’m going to be RICHHHH!!”
Boy, was I wrong.
I, along with the help of my dad, did a ton of work, successfully brought it to market thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign and started selling them online. But right at that time, GoPro launched their own version of the clamp mount (which is probably cooler) and essentially buried mine.
I still managed to sell several thousand dollars worth of GoClamps, but nowhere near Scrooge McDuck status. So after 3 years and several knock-off brands hitting the market later, I made the difficult decision to close my first business down.
I’d been reluctant to jump back into something else right away because I wanted to learn about where I went wrong. So I spent the next year and a half reading books from highly successful business owners, blog posts about every subject related to business imaginable, listening to podcasts from Tim Ferriss, Pat Flynn, Jocko Willink, and many more. I’ve watched countless hours of YouTube videos teaching me how to run a successful online business and then motivational videos from the likes of Eric Thomas, Les Brown, Tony Robbins, and many others. All. For. FREE.
So now, I’m back!
I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ve validated my business ideas. I’m ready for the next chapter of business.
Now, you’ll notice that I’m not focused on just one business and this goes against a lot of advice out there, but sometimes you have to go against the grain. Sometimes you have to take on several projects and see which one gains steam.
Until then, I’ll be sending out periodic updates of my progress so sign up below if you want to learn how to build a business on the side like I am.
And if I can help you in any way, send me an email at Jason.JmrGlobal@gmail.com and I’ll try my best.
