My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Let the public name your product/service through viral contests
Why It Works
People love participating in creative challenges, generates organic social media buzz, creates emotional investment in your brand
Prerequisites
How to Execute
Create clear contest parameters and submission process
Promote through social media and community channels
Set up voting mechanism for public participation
Plan for viral/joke submissions and decide how to handle them
Execute on the winning name to maintain credibility
When It Fails
When the audience isn't engaged enough to participate, when you can't handle unexpected/inappropriate suggestions, when the naming actually matters for legal/branding reasons
Real Example
“Minnesota DOT's snowplow naming contest generated widespread social media attention and community engagement with names like 'You're a Blizzard Harry' and 'Clearopathra'”
Related Knowledge
First Principles Career Reinvention
Instead of asking 'what should I do next in my current field,' ask 'what can I do next using my existing assets (audienc
Experience controlled fear and fight-or-flight response through safe sparring
You can handle physical confrontation, elevated heart rate under pressure, and have experienced fight-or-flight response
Meter Maids
People who actively search the internet looking for minor violations or reasons to be offended, like meter maids looking
User Experience Over Technology
Judge products by what the user actually experiences, not by the underlying technology or buzzwords used to describe the
Accidents and random events drive more major life changes than conspiracy or planning
Be prepared for random major disruptions rather than assuming everything is planned; maintain flexibility and adaptabili
they didn't just ask what should I do next as a YouTuber they were like what can I do next using thi
Successful people think about leveraging existing assets across industries rather than staying within current field cons