The Ultimate Leverage Success Blog

One Solution to Leverage and Legacy

Cynthia’s challenge: “Going from the idea to marketing. I have two very good ideas, one is a t-shirt idea, and the other is an educational system for teenagers to receive exposure, planning, and a technique for goals.  I don’t even know where to start on either.”

This challenge excited me–particularly her idea for the educational system. Talk about leadership, leverage, and legacy!

Hi Cynthia,

I do have more insight on marketing the second idea since there is more specificity in your description there (and education is a dear-to-my-heart topic!). But I’ll share my quick insights on the t-shirt idea first: Contests are often a hit “Please help me choose a logo” or “Which slogan do you like best”–winner gets a t-shirt.

When creating an educational system for teenagers a really good idea would be to get permission from the school(s) to do a survey to gauge the dominant learning style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic), what their biggest challenges are, etc. I did this in the 90s with a middle school before the web was on my radar, let alone tools like surveymonkey.com and the like! This way they know that’s something coming, and offering to speak at the schools for free can get your foot in the door.

Some teenagers may be willing to be interviewed with parent’s permission (I got an enthusiastic response from students at a local college!).

If you want all to be digital, and on the cheap, use the free program Audacity for audio (see video tutorials on how to get and use Audacity by looking at the productivity & tech resources on this blog, which also shares tutorials on how to create a squeeze page) and PrimoPDF http://www.primopdf.com/ to create PDF documents. A highly recommended one stop shop for hard copy CDs, DVDs, and printing is http://www.disk.com/ and they’ll even do the order fulfillment for you. They’ll work with the digital media you provide for them.

The free media to get the word out could include Facebook, Twitter, and blogging while keeping the schools in the loop about it all. Keep in mind that building relationships with your followers even on topics not related to business is key. Just pick one to start with at first so you don’t get (as) overwhelmed. Flyers in mom/pop coffee shops and bookstores seem to be well-received for t-shirts.

Having someone hold you accountable and supporting during this journey is pivotal though. Don’t let the crazy-makers and naysayers steal your joy because this educational system is a fabulous idea in my not so humble opinion!

Good luck!