Lee Hale (TheSale)

I'm probably a lot like you. As a young man, I
used to sit and dream of being rich someday.
Big houses, fancy cars, trips to exotic places,
and everything else that goes with it. Most of
all, I wanted the freedom that came with
having money... the ability to do whatever I
wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it.
About halfway through my tour in the NAVY,
I had to make a decision: should I go into the
workforce and get a JOB when I complete my
enlistment, or should I try to start my own
company? The thought of having a boss and
being told what to do... and worst of all, not
getting RICH made me decide on the business
route.
So I started my search for a business... but a
business doing WHAT? Here's the list I came
up with as I dreamed up the ULTIMATE BUSINESS
1. Time: Ability to have enough time to enjoy
my money and spend time with my family.
2. Money: Every kid dreams of being not just
rich. I was no different.
3. Leverage: The business can not be dependent
on my being IN the business all the time, and
forever.
4. Variety: I couldn't stand the thought of doing
the same old boring thing everyday.
5. Credibility: Something I could tell my friends,
family, and contacts about with pride and garner
their respect.
6. Recession Proof: I watched my dad ride the
ups and downs of real estate for 20 years... not
for me!
7. In Demand: Sell a product, service, experience,
or transformation that's needed by HUGE numbers
of people, not just a tiny niche.
8. Residual Sales: Didn't want to be out of work
the day after making a sale.
9. Unique: I didn't want to be selling the same
thing that somebody could get at a thousand
different places.
10. Health Proof: What if I were to become
disabled somehow? I wanted a business that was
mind work.
11. Low Start Up Cost: Who wants to carry a
million dollars of inventory just to make $100,000?
Not me.
12. No Employees: I didn't want to manage a bunch
of people... I wanted to do it on my own.
13. Politician Proof: Avoid having my business legislated
out of existence by some special interest group.
PROBLEM: There Was No Business That Matched
My Wish List!

I started searching earnestly. I read dozens and
dozens of books on success, sales, marketing,
advertising, and entrepreneurship. I joined (and quit)
7 or 8 multilevel marketing companies. I considered
direct sales, importing, restaurants, franchises, retail
stores, security, computers, vending, and everything
else I could think of. All of these businesses had their
relative pros and cons, but none of them came close
to matching my ULTIMATE BUSINESS criteria. In all
of my research I became convinced that marketing
was the key to success in business, but the burning
question remained: what should I market?