Robert Lee

I'm probably a lot like you. As a young man, I used to sit and dream of being rich someday. Big houses, fancy cars, trips to exotic places, and everything else that goes with it. Most of all, I wanted the freedom that came with having money... the ability to do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it. About halfway through my tour in the US NAVY, I had to make a decision: should I go into the workforce and get a JOB when I complete my enlistment, or should I try to start my own company? The thought of having a boss and being told what to do... and worst of all, not getting RICH made me decide on the business route.

So I started my search for a business, but a business doing WHAT? Here's the list I came up with as I dreamed up the ULTIMATE BUSINESS:

1. Time: Ability to have enough time to enjoy my money and spend time with my family.

2. Money: Every kid dreams of being not just rich. I was no different.
3. Leverage: The business can not be dependent on my being IN the business all the time, and forever.
4. Variety: I couldn't stand the thought of doing the same old boring thing everyday.
5. Credibility: Something I could tell my friends, family, and contacts about with pride and garner their respect.
6. Recession Proof: I watched my brothers ride the ups and downs of real estate for 10 years... not for me!
7. In Demand: Sell a product, or service that is needed by HUGE numbers of customers, not just a tiny niche.
8. Residual Sales: Didn't want to be out of work the day after making a sale.
9. Unique: I didn't want to be selling the same thing that somebody could get at a thousand different places.
10. Health Proof: What if I were to become disabled somehow? I wanted a business that was mind work.
11. Low Start Up Cost: Who wants to carry a million dollars of inventory just to make $100,000? Not me.
12. No Employees: I didn't want to manage a bunch of people... I wanted to do it on my own.

PROBLEM: There Was No BusinessThat Matched My Wish List

I started searching earnestly. I read dozens and dozens of books on success, sales, marketing, advertising, and entrepreneurship. I joined (and quit) 3 or 4 multilevel marketing companies. I considered franchises, importing, restaurants, retail stores, car washes, computers, vending, and everything else I could think of. All of these businesses had their relative pros and cons, but none of them came close to matching my ULTIMATE BUSINESS criteria. In all of my research I became convinced that marketing was the key to success in business, but the burning question remained: what should I market?