Looking back through 30 years of journals, one of my greatest joys is seeing the first appearance of an idea that I know is eventually going to make millions of dollars.
At the time, of course, I didn’t know that.
It was just a thought written down on a page.
“I think this might work.”
So how do you know when you’ve got a million-dollar idea?
I think there are four useful tests.
First, can you get people to raise their hands?
Before you build the whole thing, can you describe the idea in a way that makes the right person say:
“Hey, I’m interested in that.”
That’s the great news about marketing ideas. You can test them very quickly and inexpensively.
You don’t have to build the factory before you find out whether anyone wants what it makes.
Second, can you reliably deliver the result?
Getting someone’s attention is one bookend.
Actually helping them get the result they want is the other.
Everything in between…telling the stories, sharing the information, building your case…is the marketing that connects those two things.
Third, does it work without depending on an extraordinary person?
A great idea shouldn’t require a magician.
The real breakthrough comes when you can package your idea so ordinary people can use it to produce extraordinary results.
That’s what happened with my Guide to Halton Hills.
I created a duplicatable model that could be installed in someone else’s business and produce the same result.
That idea has created millions of dollars for me—and for the people who have used it.
Finally, can it be scaled?
Once you can get people to raise their hands, reliably deliver the result, and duplicate the process through ordinary people, everything changes.
Now you don’t need to keep reinventing it.
You need to keep running it.
Looking back, the crown jewel of all my million-dollar ideas is the 8 Profit Activators.
Not only because the idea itself has created millions of dollars…
But because it’s an idea that creates other million-dollar ideas.
That’s what we’re going to explore next.
But for today, take a look at the ideas you already have.
Is there one that passes these four tests?
Because you may be sitting on a million-dollar idea right now.
It just hasn’t been executed yet.