Start A Movement! -- An Entrepreneurs Guide To Getting Noticed In A Noisy Marketplace

Want a short cut to entrepreneurial stardom?down the line if you dont try to sell to them yet.
Start a movement!Just focus on building the following, building
People love a cause. They love to jump on board.momentum, building the fan base. If you continue to
Flower Power in the 60s. (Bet someone made a killingbuild it, eventually people will beg you to sell to them
on flowers) Womens lib in the 70s. Nancy Reagansbecause theyll want some of what youve got.
Just Say No anti-drug campaign in the 80s. Hillarys ItIm not just talkin the Pepsi Generation here. A
Takes a Village. The low carb thing.movement goes a step further. If you give people a
If you start the movement, you can be at theplace to belong, a place to feel like they matter, like
forefront of that movement. Not a bad place for atheyre making a difference, youll build your platform.
star.Eventually theyll not only ask to buy stuff from you,
Its scary how powerful this technique is. Sadly, itstheyll actually volunteer to help you distribute it to
used as often for evil as it is for good. But if you canothers.
harness this power, youll be amazed at the results.So how do you apply this to your business? Heres a
If youd come up with a natural lawn care productperfect example. I remember, when I was a kid,
years ago, you could have been at the forefront ofgetting a little red I Am Loved button at the Peoples
an anti-pesticide movement. Activist, Anita Roddick,Jewellers store in the local shopping center. Funny
used this strategy to build The Body Shop to wherehow all these years later, I still remember not only
it is today, committing to social and environmentalwhat the little red button looked like, but also the
change. What a Dame. (No really. She is.) It doesntstore where I got it. I thought it was a Peoples
even have to be your idea. You just have to be theJewellers promotion, but, on researching it, I found
one to take it public.out that it was a movement that started about 40
Over a decade ago, a Canadian provincial partyyears ago in Kansas City. Barnett Helzberg Jr., of
swept into power by announcing the Common SenseHelzberg Diamonds, had just had his marriage
Revolution. Didnt like the guy or the party, but theproposal accepted. The guy was ecstatic. He was
marketing rocked. Totally worked.loved and wanted the world to know it. So he
I know what youre thinking. Tsufit, I dont want toproduced these little red buttons with the words, I
be a politician. I just want to promote my business.Am Loved, printed in white. The idea spread like
Starting a movement doesnt have to be big orwildfire, buttons were given to presidents, celebrities
political. Its not the subject of the movement thatand soldiers in Vietnam. 44 million buttons later, you
makes it work, but rather the passion and energycan still order yourself a button in any of 9 languages.
behind it.The buttons were, and still are, free, but they did put
So How Do You Start a Movement?Helzberg Diamonds on the map.
Dont be standing on a street corner with a clip boardDoesnt always work. Dont think Special K broke any
or petition. Thats for bit players. Write a manifesto.sales records with their Do I Look Fat?
Have a credo, a mantra. The more outrageous it is,commercialsremember the ones with the men asking
the more chance itll work. The more youll stand outthe dumb questions women always ask?
from the crowd. Were not talking corporate missionBut Doves making out OK. Check out Doves new
statement here.Pro-Age, a clever reaction to womens anti-aging
Get some publicity for your movement. The moreproducts. How bout their Campaign for Real Beauty?
provocative you are, the more controversial, theA lot of women are jumping on the bandwagon.
more free ink youll get.Dove is selling self-esteem by featuring women in
And have stuff. Your stuff will become a symbol oftheir underwear accepting their non Barbie doll bodies.
the ideals behind that movement. (Reminds me ofKinda almost makes you forget that Unilever also
the sandal in Monty Pythons Life of Brian) Yoursells Slim Fast with young women in bikinis.
symbol can become a potential source of income. ButWorth a try. Build a platform. Create a movement. Be
dont make the mistake of cashing in your chips tooa rebel with a cause. And Ill see you in the spotlight!
soon. Your followers will be more valuable to you