This is part of the It’s My Turn series … read more or submit your own story!
Sometimes life happens in a big way. You lose a job. You lose your home. Depression sets it. Or maybe it’s a combination of all three.
When you’re down, there’s no place to go but up.
If you read biographies as much as I do, you realize that some of the best ideas come from the lowest places. Is it because we’re more open to what’s missing around us?
Businesses are started all the time by people that have lost jobs and can’t find new ones. Big Change is often made when we’re at our lowest point. In some cases that’s what brings the best out in us. That’s where we discover who we truly are, what we’re made of. And from there, the future shines bright.
When I first heard Suzanne’s story, she fit this classic tale perfectly. When you’re down in every way, there’s only one direction.
Suzanne’s Story:
I lost my corporate job in 2008. Not long after that, I lost my Hollywood Hills home. A friend was kind enough to give me a job waiting tables at his pub and let me stay in his extra bedroom in a mobile home park. But I was seriously broke, depressed and lost.
While waiting tables, my girlfriends would visit me at work. That’s when I noticed a pattern. They kept complaining, “There are no good men in LA. We’re never going to meet anyone.”
I told them that was ridiculous. There are nine million people in this city – some of them had to be good guys. I suggested they smile and say “Hi” to guys. They said, “We can’t do that.” I said, “What if I dared you?”
And then came my big idea.
I came up with an idea for a dating game in which singles compete to earn points by dating. Players get one point when they exchange numbers, two when he texts, three for a call and six for going on a date. When your girlfriends are 10 points ahead of you, it’s suddenly not that scary to chat up the guy next to you in line at Starbucks. In 10 weeks, they went on more dates than they had in the previous two years. And one of them met the man she married.
That’s when I realized if Fantasy Dating worked for them, it could work for other people. So I built a website (much like other Fantasy Sports sites) and started a business so that people around the world could find love by Fantasy Dating.
Suzanne’s a-Ha Moment:
Entrepreneurs really like to help each other – especially women. I knew nothing about social media when I first started. I happened to tweet a dating coach in Dallas saying I had no idea what I was doing. She asked me for my number and she called me and taught me everything she knew about Twitter.
Since then, I’ve connected with women who have had me on their radio shows, published my articles, and taught me how to do everything from programming to coaching. And I’ve helped them in return. It’s been an amazing experience I didn’t expect.
Your idea may be big, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Do NOT focus on the big picture. You will scare yourself out of doing anything. Instead, create a plan that breaks down what you need to do step by step. For example,
- Figure out how to protect your idea first.
- Next, learn how to form a business entity in your state.
- Then decide how you will manufacture your project, etc.
If you think, “How am I going to protect my IP, file a business, manufacture my product, build a website to sell it, get it in stores, advertise it and sell it?” all at once, you’ll freeze in fear.
Just take it one step at a time and you’ll get there.
Takeaways For You To Follow:
- Listen to your intuition. It can often lead you to the path of success.
- Never be afraid to ask. A simple tweet can lead you in all kinds of directions.
- Do NOT focus on the big picture. Instead, create a plan that breaks down what you need to do in step by step format.
