Business Ideas - You need to FIGHT for your idea! - #EvansBook ep. 21

You need to fight for your ideas. So earlier this week I made an Enespresso video featuring Madonna talking about putting up the gloves and fighting for what you believe in and what you love and, you know, not letting people trounce all over your idea. And so I shared a story in there that related to the book, and I thought, let's roll the clip and play it now for you guys too.

I think the best advice I can give anyone, male or female, is that, you know, you have to really believe in what you're doing. I think having a good job and having work is— it's hard to come by, and being able to do what you want to do with your life. So you have to be willing— first of all, you have to be really passionate about what you do and really believe in what you do, because there's going to be a lot of fights and battles and struggles along the way. So my best advice is to really believe and love what you do because, um, yeah, because at the end of the day, nothing, you know, you, you always have to fight for things that are worth it. So put your boxing gloves on.

So obviously, being Mr. Believe, this is a message that I resonate really well with. You have to love what you do, you've got to believe in it all the way, and you've got to fight for it. I'm reminded about a story around my book. I'm writing a book right now, and when my agent first said, "You got to write a book," I wasn't all that interested in it. You know, I felt there were better priorities, and it was really because I wasn't super passionate about the topic that we were writing about. And then about a quarter of the way through that first book, I came up with an idea about the book that I wanted to write. And I loved it and I believed in it and I was excited by it. And I showed it to him and he said, "That's not a book." But I was convinced that it was. And I started writing it and showing him what I had in my head. So it wasn't just a concept, but I could give him proof, I could give him a demo, I could show him what I was talking about. He introduced me to a literary agent and again, her first thoughts were, "I like the first book idea better than the one you have in your mind." And so I had to show her even more and I had to show her a sample chapter and I was fighting for what I believed in to get to the point where where I was convinced both my agents that what we had was a winning product. Then we started talking to publishers, and some publishers got it right away and said, "This is amazing, we love it, we want to partner with you." And a lot of the other ones said, "We don't get it. This isn't a book. This isn't ever going to do well." And so each step along the way, I had to fight for it. I had to fight for what I had in my head. And if you are chasing a dream that you love so much that you have to make it happen, you're going to get a lot of people telling you along the path that This isn't gonna work out. You're crazy, you're stupid. There's no way this is gonna happen for you. Fight for it. Put your boxing gloves on and show them. So you've gotta fight for what you love, fight to believe in it, and fight anybody who comes up against you and tells you that it's not possible. So let's get to your questions. A few of them came in. First, @ub3rjakey. Great video, Evan. Thanks, man. Opinions on founding a business under a parent company where they offer everything you need and wouldn't be able to get on your own, but you only hold 35% equity. "Dealbreaker." That's an interesting one. If I'm starting a company and I'm only getting 35%, then I need to make sure that the guys I'm partnered up with are delivering an insane amount of value. You don't hold majority. If you go out and you raise funds, you're gonna get diluted even more. You don't have ultimate decision, ultimate control in the company. And so my gut reaction would be no way. But if they are providing just so much incredible value that it's worth giving up 65% of the business, then maybe it's worth, maybe it's worth a shot. But I wouldn't, I wouldn't undervalue what you bring. You know, if you're going to be the heart and soul of this, if you're going to be the guy who's doing all the work day in, day out, I wouldn't undervalue that because they need you too. And so, uh, I would probably fight for a lot more. Next up, Nav Benga. I think I always know the goals are going to help me. I think it's the accountability that gets me. Yeah, accountability is super important in goal setting. I think most people don't have anybody to hold them accountable. You know, in a workplace environment you do. You've got a boss who you have to answer to, who is checking up on you, is making sure you're doing what you said you're going to do. Whereas entrepreneurs, we tend to do the things that we'd like to do, the things that are comfortable, and not necessarily the things that will stretch ourselves and the things that we have to do and the things that will help us grow. We don't have people to hold us accountable, hold our feet to the fire, have people who are trying to make us be the best version of ourselves. What I recommend there is joining the mastermind group, either starting one or joining one. I created one in my city of Toronto where we meet once a month and push each other and hold each other accountable. And part of what we do is have to share what we're going to get done before the next meeting. If you're not hitting your goals, we're on you and say, hey, you know, you said you'd be doing this in the past 3 months and it hasn't happened. What's going on? I also have an online mastermind group for some entrepreneurs. And we, we do it every week. And, uh, you're in there sharing your goals and updates, and I give you challenges to help you grow your business. It's just great to be part of a community. One, to know that you, uh, are not alone in this. There's people that you can talk to because friends and family can, they'll listen, but they don't know what to tell you cuz they're not entrepreneurs, so they don't really get it. And also somebody to hold you accountable and make sure you do the things that you said you were going to do. So start a Mastermind group or join one 'cause it'll help you stay accountable. Next up, Christopher Christie, "I hope the Blue Jays are watching you, 3 games to go." I agree, I'm recording this on Wednesday and our game is today, and so by the time this goes live, the Blue Jays' fate will have been determined whether we win and move on to the next round or not. So I am, fingers crossed, super excited that we won 2 in a row after losing the first 2. Go Jays go! I need my hat, don't know where it is, I gotta find it, but, uh, I'm with you, man. Next, Renandi. Hi Evan, why don't you self-publish your book? Being a bestseller author on Amazon is also a useful tag in your brand. That's a great question, one I've answered a couple times on the channel. Uh, one, I'm not doing this to say that I'm a best-selling author. I have enough credibility now with what I've done that I don't need that tagline. I also feel like it's kind of, uh, there's a lot of people who I feel are— who use that tagline to say they're a best-selling author and It doesn't take a lot to be a bestselling author. I don't know, I feel like it's not a massive credibility boost. A lot of the people I see using that tagline, I don't have massive amounts of respect for. I don't disrespect them, I just don't hold them in high esteem. So I don't think that it, it adds that much credibility. And I think with more time, it's adding less and less credibility. The reason for me wanting to go with a publisher instead of self-publishing, you can make a lot more money doing self-publishing if the book goes and takes off as well. My goal with it has always been impact. I want it to reach a lot of people, right? Everything I do, the main goal is big impact. Now, you know, I love helping people one-on-one, but I wanna be able to reach millions of people, right? My goal is to help a billion entrepreneurs. How am I gonna get closer to that? And so I feel like having a publisher on board who will help me create the book and market the book will create a better end product, which then will allow me to reach more people and get closer to my goal. So if your goal is just to have a book, if that's on your bucket list, I wanna have a book, you know, you could tell your grandkids and, and show them your book. Or if your goal is just to make a lot of money, then you can go the self-publishing route. If your goal is to reach more people and have a big impact, then I would suggest going with a publisher. At least that's what I did. Next up, Andrew, your channel is so amazing. Thanks, Andrew. The past months have been going through your videos. I went from unhappy to motivated. I love that, man. Your channel keeps me going and has helped me to start a small business. How do you approach people without sounding needy? I know they need and want help, but people want things for free. How can I make people understand that what I have to offer has value and will help them in the long run? He's doing meal plans and training. I've helped about 20 people now each lose 20 pounds. Thank you, Andrew. This is awesome. I love the feedback on the channel, and, uh, maybe we should do a hangout or something and help me, help me lose— maybe not 20 pounds. That's, that's That's going to be kind of insane. I'd be a stick at 20 pounds. But anyway, my thoughts for you. You have to make sure one, that you're dealing with ideal clients. You want to deal with people who can afford what you're selling and also value what you're selling. Because there's always going to be the people who want things for free and there's always going to be the people who will just go to anybody, right? Like they're going to compare you to the student who is in university who looks buff and will come over to your house and teach you for $15 an hour or something, right? Like, you're always gonna be compared to the low-cost provider. And so it's on you to identify who your ideal target clients are and then work with the people who understand your value and can pay you for it. What I would do if you're trying to build a name for yourself and get broader awareness is I would provide a lot of free content that would help build your name, and then do the private one-on-one coaching at whatever price you want. And the beauty of a service-based business is you, you're only selling your time. You don't have a lot of hard costs. Often you'll start off at lower prices and work your way up as your schedule fills up. But I would look at creating YouTube videos, creating guides, creating PDFs, creating content articles, blogs, podcasts, whatever is most You, I would think that if it's workout related, then video would help because it's much more visual and put that out there for free. And anybody who wants free, you can point to these free channels. And then for the paid stuff, which is your time working with you one-on-one or paid products, then, uh, then they have to come to you and they have to pay for it. And so I think that's probably your best bet. Move the free line forward, but make it something that can be mass consumed. Just like me when I'm helping people, like you're answering— I'm answering this question that you're asking me. You know, you're not paying for my consulting time right now to do that. I'm doing it for free for you, but in that process I gain more exposure and I'm helping out a lot more entrepreneurs who have that same problem. That was the last question. Good. So thank you guys for watching. I hope you have an amazing week. I'd love to know what your thoughts are about fighting for what you love. Leave that in the comments below. And if you have a question about my book, about the book writing process, or something that you want me to see answer in next week's episode, leave it below and I'll see what I can do. Thank you guys for watching. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.