Have you ever wondered why some people achieve 10x the results of others in their business, with what looks like less effort and more ease? It’s a little like the surfer paradox: You can’t surf fast unless you’re on the big wave, but you can’t get on the big wave unless you can surf fast…
How do we get over these quantum leaps in expertise to make it look easy at the next level? Because we learn how to find and then surf the wave of success. When I was a child, I heard the phrase ‘Putting your toe in the water’ – Test the temperature before you jump in. Every good entrepreneur knows how to put their toe in the water with a new market or a new product – how to prove the concept, product and pricing with a small sample before rolling it out and investing in growth.
Today, the waves are much bigger and much faster. Relying on your ‘toe in’ takes on a new meaning with big waves. ‘Tow in’ surfing was invented in the 1990s to allow surfers to pick up enough speed to get onto giant waves – riding behind a jet ski or even a helicopter. It isn’t really the same as just dipping a toe in gently. It’s more about hitching a small ride before the big ride. It’s what all the best entrepreneurs are doing today.
Matthew Inman wouldn’t call himself an entrepreneur. He’s a cartoonist, he created ‘The Oatmeal’ website 3 years ago and wrote his first book a year ago (5 Very Good Reasons To Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth). The popularity of Inman’s cartoons has led to him making about $500,000 in 2012 on his website from advertising and merchandising.
Then, two months ago, Matthew tried a toe in…
Matthew was served with a defamation notice from Funny Junk, for writing blogs criticising the website, where his cartoons were getting posted by users. Funny Junk’s lawyers demanded $20,000 in damages from Matthew. So what did he do? Having heard about crowdfunding but never having tried it himself, he decided to try and raise $20,000 from fans – not to pay Funny Junk, but so that he could take a photo of the money, send it to the lawyer with a cartoon of his mother making love to a bear, and give all the money to charity. He named it Operation BearLove Good, Cancer Bad, and set up the fundraising on Indiegogo. Within the month, instead of raising the $20,000, he raised $211,000 for the charities, and Funny Junk dropped the suit.
But that was just the toe in. Having suddenly realised the power of crowdfunding, this month Matthew was back on Indiegogo again. This time, to try and raise $850,000 to buy scientist Nikola Tesla’s original laboratory and turn it into a museum. Just two weeks after launching ‘Operation Let’s Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum’ he has already raised over $1.2 million, and there’s still another 30 days to go… Now Matthew is on the wave.
If Matthew hadn’t tried the $20,000 idea, he wouldn’t have tried the $1 million idea. He put a toe in, and now he’s jumped in. What can you test right now? Crowdfunding? Micropayments? A mobile site? Rapid prototyping? A new market in a new country? A partnership with a hyper-growth company?
We all know that the days of just having the better product – or the prettier surf board – are over. Success is dictated by not just the surf board, but how you surf it and the wave you choose. Don’t wait to build the perfect board for the perfect wave. Put your toe in today, test the water, take a ride. Do it. Now. Use the toe to build both your confidence and competence. If it’s not the right wave, try again. When it is, let go of the rope and fly.
What will you do today to find your next wave so that you too can surf the wave of success?
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
