Page 225 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

all kinds of backgrounds—a lawyer, a clergyman, a computer guy, a mechanic.
People who used to buy instant coffee at the grocery store began making a
special trip every week to pick up the superior stuff at Jamestown Coffee
Company. Slowly but surely, the business stabilized.

James thought back on the discouragement he had received from well-
meaning friends when he first told them about moving down south. “You can’t
start a business during a recession,” they said. “You can’t move across the
country without a job.” “Most small businesses fail within one year.” “Almost all
mom and pop restaurants fail within the first year.” On and on it went. And
every time someone gave him a reason he couldn’t succeed in what he had set
out to do, he made another note in his “non-planning” folder: merely one more
obstacle to overcome.

Elsewhere, Jen and Omar continued making their maps in Columbus, Ohio,
expanding to wholesale accounts in addition to the direct sales with which they
started. They were featured recently in an Expedia commercial and are thinking
about opening up a boutique travel store as part of the next adventure.

Karol Gajda and Adam Baker produced two other mega-sales, each one
bringing in a six-figure payday for themselves and their affiliates. I asked for
their help in producing the launch for this book just as soon as they finished
carrying the bags of cash to the bank.

Brandon Pearce was planning a family move to Malaysia. The business now
brings in over $50,000 a month.

Benny Lewis was still language hacking his way around the world, moving to
Istanbul for a crash course in Turkish. Next up: a planned attempt at learning
Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan.

The Mondo Beyondo course started by Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen has
served more than five thousand participants, producing $500,000 in revenue for
the two partners.

Brett Kelly’s $120,000 e-book has become a $160,000 e-book. His wife
continues to stay at home with the kids, and they are now completely debt-free.

Perhaps the most important lesson arrived in an email from Emily Cavalier,
who had recently left a high-paying job in Manhattan to pursue Mouth of the
Border, a tour and events business focused on ethnic foods. I asked how often
she still felt motivated to go it alone, and she told me: “Every single day. The
greatest benefit has been going to bed just as excited as if not more excited than
when I woke up. I get to work day in, day out on something that fully engages
me and elicits not just my passions but the passion of tons of other people, too.”

Yes, like Emily and everyone else in this book, you can do this too. You aren’t
alone out there.