Page 66 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

Was this a market in search of a solution? Yes, and the market was substantial.
Was Brandon giving them the fish? Yes, and because music teachers are often on
a low budget, Brandon made sure to highlight the fact that paying for Music
Teacher’s Helper might actually save them money over time, but to ensure the
business’s profitability, he didn’t skimp on the price. The service is available in
several different versions, including a free version for limited use and going up
to a $588-a-year version depending on the number of students.*

Three years later, Brandon’s life is quite different. Instead of living in Utah, he
now wakes up in sunny Escazú, Costa Rica, where he lives with his wife and
three young daughters. He has ten employees living in different places around
the world. He carefully tracks his time and estimates that he spends eight to
fifteen hours a week directly related to the business. The rest of his time is spent
with his family and on various side projects that he pursues for fun.

Brandon and his family used to live in Utah and now they live in Costa Rica,
but that’s not the whole story; the whole story is that they could live anywhere
they want. When they needed to do a visa run, they went over to Guatemala for
eight days, and since Brandon and his wife are “unschooling” their children and
can easily take them anywhere, there’s no telling where they’ll end up next. (A
tentative plan involves moving to Asia.)

Oh, and one more thing: Music Teacher’s Helper is currently on track to earn
at least $360,000 a year. Because his customers commit for the long term and
pay monthly, it’s unlikely that this number will ever go down. Instead, it will
continue to increase as more and more music teachers join the ranks.

Case Study 2:
The Accidental Worldwide Photographer

Originally from Michigan, Kyle Hepp is an “accidental” entrepreneur in the
literal sense. Having relocated to Chile with her husband, Seba, Kyle made ends
meet by working on side projects for AOL while she looked for a job in her
planned field of sports management. The South American lifestyle was great, but
Seba’s job as a construction engineer was far from secure, and the company
started to go under. One Friday afternoon, he received notice that his salary was
being cut 20 percent. He declined to sign a new contract and was immediately let
go.