How I Landed a Business Deal with One of my Idols
Here's the story.
Almost 10 years ago, I moved to Florida to try and get sober. My cousin let me sleep on his couch and then he fronted me a few hundred bucks to put me in a halfway house.
The first year was very hard
I found a contracting job for $9 an hour. I woke up at 5am and took the bus. I got home at 6pm and played basketball with the other junkies trying to get their lives together.
It was a desperate time, but it was a great time. It was a relief to get out of Philly and I quickly fell in love with the crystal blue ocean.
Eventually, I saved up a few dollars to pay my cousin back. I got a new job selling medical supplies and I bought a used laptop. Somewhere about 9 months into my journey, I discovered CopyBlogger.
CopyBlogger is a website that teaches people about content marketing. I discovered this new world of possibilities. With CopyBlogger as my guide, I decided that I was going to start a blog and I was going to build my own company.
I read every blog post, every ebook, every email. I followed instructions of formatting my content and practiced coming up with different headlines. I studied the simple art of knowing when to use bullet points. Why?
bullet points catch your eye
bullet points list features and benefits
bullet points stop people from scrolling
I know because you read all 4 of these bullet points
cool right?
Imitation is the purest form of flattery
CopyBlogger was founded by a man named Brian Clark.
I followed his every move. I watched what he did, and I did the same thing. I didn't know him. He didn't know me. I didn't have a plan. I just thought to myself...
"If Brian Clark is doing something, there's gotta be a good reason for it. I'm just going to do whatever he says I should do."
And eventually life got better.
I founded a company. I made money. I made friends. I took care of myself. I kept writing, I kept learning, I kept reading CopyBlogger. I made a little more money. I lost all my money. I lost everything. I kept reading CopyBlogger. I kept practicing. I kept learning.
I would study writers like Damian Farnworth, Sonia Simone and Pamela Wilson.
Eventually, CopyBlogger started a podcast network called RainMaker.FM.
So I listened to every podcast.
I would listen to podcasts by Jonny Naster and Chris Ducker. I idolized these people. To me, they were this secret society of content marketing rockstars. They got to live life how they wanted.
They did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it and they made tons of money by creating content and doing work that they loved.
I never wanted to be famous. I wanted to be like these guys. I wanted what they had. If Brian Clark was doing it, then I was doing it too.
Then I Discovered Your Boulder
Brian Clark started a project on the side called Your Boulder.
It is a local media site that creates content around the lifestyle, people and businesses of Boulder CO. In 2017, for whatever reason, he stopped working on it. I would look at the site and just stare at it.
"Why did he give up on this project?"
The site gets lots of traffic. The content is great. The email list is strong, but for whatever reason, he stopped working on it.
I needed to know. I knew I could help. This is my shot.
So I sent him an email. I told him that if it were my site, I would put a local business directory on it. I told him that I have a ton of experience with directories. I told him that I'm a great SEO, and that local search is becoming more and more important in search engines.
Your Boulder is a winner. I know I can help!
I didn't tell anyone about it. Not even my wife. I double checked the spelling at least 15 times. I kept the email open on my computer and I took Alice for a walk.
I came back. I stared at it some more, I built up some courage, and I hit send.
The next day I got an email back from him. It said something like...
"let's chat about this."
Next thing I know, I'm talking on the phone with Brian Clark, and I told him my plan. I wrote up a proposal, I put in some money and boom...
IT'S A DONE DEAL. I actually screamed out loud.
It may not seem like a big deal to you
But to me, this was a real "holy shit" moment.
You have to understand. I was desperate. I had no education. No money. Nowhere to call home.
Luckily I had family, and I had CopyBlogger.
I would read CopyBlogger and it would give me hope. It would give me direction. It would give me the slightest bit of confidence because I had finally found something that made sense to me.
I knew that I was a terrible employee. I knew that I didn't have a degree or a certification of any kind.
But I knew that I could write and I knew that I could outwork anyone I ever met. Even The Rock.
I haven't looked back since.
You Can Do This
What do you want to do?
You can do it.
There are no shortcuts and there are no easy wins.
But if you are willing to practice every day, if you're willing to endure the lonely weekends, if you're willing to fail in public, then you can earn the life you aspire for.