Sorry! The sale is over but it’s almost midnight and I’m too tired to fix all the copy, so I’m just going to leave it here and deal with it Monday. If you want to get notified of sales in the future, you can click here to get on the list. In the meantime, Summer Camp is $147.

Darling! Welcome! We’re having a very small sale! It’s a good sale, but it’s small. Like, for only one thing. We’re selling Summer Camp for cheap because it’s winter and we heart irony.

If you don’t want to read all the copy below – and who could blame you, considering you’re either drunk, with relatives, or at work? – the basics are that it’s five classes of audio for people who either don’t already have a business or they’re WAY beginning. We sold it for $147 in the summer and we’re selling it for $47 until New Years. It was a live class that we taped, made spiffy (there’s even intro music! And outro music! And JACK!) and slapped up on a download page.

If you’re into that kinda thing, read on. If not, please accept my thanks for getting this far and go back to your eggnog. (Seriously. Drink it fast because a couple more days and it’s gonna go bad and you’re gonna be sick like Howard Stern.)

What the hell is Summer Camp?

There are about 20,000 regular readers of this blog. There are about 600 very regular customers — as in, the people who sign up for everything we do.

That means there are around 19,400 people who don’t shop here.

Business Tip # 1: Find out why people don’t buy from you.

The main reason people don’t buy from IttyBiz is that they don’t have a business yet.

Obviously, I want to change that. Not so that more people will buy my stuff — which they would, and that would be lovely — but so that more people will have businesses. So you can do your cool stuff. So you can have whatever it is that starting your own business will give you.

I don’t know for sure what it is that you crave about running a successful business.

Maybe your favorite part will be spending your days working towards something you really, truly like instead of just trudging along.

Maybe you’ll enjoy never having to answer to your boss again.

Maybe you’ll love the security of knowing you’ll never get fired.

Maybe you’re looking forward to going to sleep content and waking up energized.

Maybe you’ll relish the time with your kids.

Like I said, I don’t know for sure what your reasons for breaking free are, but the fact that you’re reading this blog means you want to make a change.

So I got to wondering, why do some people want to make a change but not actually make it? And I wondered, do you just need some help with the hard bits? Do you just need someone with experience to guide you through the process?

I did some asking around, and here’s what people said.

Linda said, “I have so many different ideas and I don’t know where to start. I don’t even know how I can know if they’re good ideas or shitty ones. And how do I feel comfortable knowing now is the time to implement all those ideas?”

Anouk said, “I’m scared I don’t have the support I’m going to need. Everybody thinks I’m crazy to even think of doing this but I really do want to live this dream.”

Richard said: “God I can’t tell you how much I want to give up my job but I have mouths to feed. I’m even OK with risk but my wife and my mortgage aren’t. How do I get ready? And how do you know you’re ready?”

Jim said: “What if I know I want to start an ittybiz but I don’t know what I want to do? Like I have some vague ideas (I don’t want to be an accountant or a welder or a computer programmer) but I don’t feel I have any of that stuff like a USP or a market or anything. Is there hope for me?”

There’s hope for you. Lots and lots of hope.

Summer Camp is like, you know, summer camp. Except it’s for you and not your kids.

We’re going to work through all the parts of choosing and starting a business that don’t show up in the business books in the library. We’re going to cover fear and money and risk. We’ll talk about ideas and action plans and how to know if you’re ready. We’re going to tackle all that stuff that was freaking you out and holding you back.

Who is it for? (Please read this part.)

There are a few types of people who will get huge benefits from Summer Camp. Check this list to see if you’re one of them.

* You don’t have a business.

* You’re in the thinking phases of starting a business.

* You’ve JUST started putting the steps into place but you’re not getting customers or clients yet.

* You have a business and you want to change it. (You’re doing X and you want to do Y.)

It is NOT for you if you have an existing business that’s going fine but could be doing a little better. It is NOT for you if you’re stagnating in business and want to bring it to the next level. It is NOT for you if you want a course that is specifically about marketing.

(If you’re in one of those camps, Marketing for Nice People has a sign up form so we can notify you when it opens again.)

Summer Camp Activity Schedule

Day One: Ideas, Ideas, and More Ideas

When I was studying fiction writing, I heard a story that changed the way I looked at ideas. I wish I could remember who said this, but there was a man who said, “If I could promise you I have an idea for a novel that could sell millions of copies, how much would it be worth to you?”

The answer is… nothing. I vow to you that you have more ideas in your brain than you could ever write down, let alone plan or, God forbid, implement. Ideas are everywhere. We have an abundance of ideas. Great ones. The trick is not to find a great idea… what we’ll be teaching is how you can find an idea that works great for you.

Day Two: Clearing Out The Freaking Out

Everybody has fear. It’s normal. One of my favorite authors, Po Bronson, said, “The absence of fear is not courage. The absence of fear is mental illness.” If you’re not scared, there’s something seriously wrong with you.

What we’re going to start clearing away is all that stuff that’s making you freak out. Because fear doesn’t stop you from starting your ittybiz. Freakouts stop you from starting your ittybiz. We’ll talk about which fears are good and healthy and reasonable and which ones are just keeping you from doing the thing you’d really like to do. And you’ll learn solid, practical ways to look your fear in the eye and get on with the rest of your life.

Day Three: Talent Show!!!

Today, we’re going to tackle talent. Skill. Natural ability. There are two sides to this beautiful subject. On one hand, knowing what we’re naturally great at is a priceless tool to help you find what you’re going to be amazingly happy doing. On the other, waiting until you can find a natural talent is death to your ittybiz dreams.

Why? Because we’re not exactly objective when it comes to our skills, abilities and talents. Sure, we know we’re good at math or writing or solving problems. But normal humans aren’t really very good at objectively figuring out where they can apply these skills the best. Even when we’re rock solid sure we are fantastic at something, we’re so busy being sure of it that we don’t stop to think of all the other wonderful ways we can apply it. So this is the class where we’ll tackle this issue once and for all.

Day Four: Rainy Day

Camp isn’t camp without at least one day that’s raining. Luckily, we’re only going to deal with metaphorical rain — the rainy day. Money. Security. The Future With A Capital F.

We will focus on two things: the high concept money stuff and the brass tacks concrete money stuff. How to deal with the fact that we’re all lunatics when it comes to money and how to know how much money you REALLY have to have saved up. (Hint: it’s not three months, six months, nine months or a year.) How to save money. How to know if you should borrow money. And how to SPEND MONEY so you don’t miss out on unmissable opportunities.

Day Five: What’s Next For YOU

Theory and learning are awesome, but they don’t make a whole lot of money. (If you know a way to make money by learning theories, I’d love to hear about it.) You need to create solid steps with next actions so that you can get moving on YOUR ittybiz. Friday is going to be about concrete plans and building your dream, one brick at a time, safe in the knowledge that you’re doing it right.

In the days and weeks ahead, you’ll act out your action plan and move forward in your dream business, taking it out of your head and into reality. Because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

And the bonus goodies. Or goody, which doesn’t look right written out.

When we ran Summer Camp live, we promised that everybody who took it would be guaranteed a spot in the IttyBiz SpeakEasy when it opened up again. A lot of people took us up on it and sounded nice and happy and grateful. Or at least they were convincing liars. So we figured we’d do that again. When the SpeakEasy opens up for applications again, you’re guaranteed in. (It’ll be around February. Ish.)

That way you don’t have to spend a perfectly good Tuesday clicking the refresh button, hoping you sign up on time. Cause you just, you know, get in. You can spend your Tuesday doing something fun. Like volunteering. (Or getting drunk in the bath. We don’t judge.)

Enter “The Brad Rule of Marketing”

When Jamie worked for a satellite TV company, he knew a guy named Brad in the marketing department. Brad was one of those marketers everybody loves to hate. He was the quintessential marketing sleazebag. While he basically had no redeeming features, he did teach Jamie a lesson he’ll never forget.

The Brad Rule of Marketing states: “If you can’t enforce it, don’t make it a rule. And if you don’t make it a rule, you may as well look like the good guy and encourage it.”

Because Jamie is smarter than me, he realized that the particularly literal-minded among you will notice that it would be possible to sign up for Summer Camp just to get a guaranteed spot in the SpeakEasy. While that’s not the intention, nobody’s going to stop you. And if you were thinking of getting into the SpeakEasy anyway, you could get this too for the guarantee.

So, no. You don’t actually have to listen to the Summer Camp audios. Although you probably should, because they’re a nice, cheap way to figure out if the sound of my voice makes you want to vomit.

OK, Naomi. Get to the money. How much?

It was $147. Now it’s $47. That’ll be the case till New Years’ Day. I’ll try and do an adequate job of reminding you, but I’m not going to harass you. So if you’re one of those “Dude, I am SO going to do this. The minute I remember to do it. Tomorrow? Or possibly Tuesday. Or, shit, what was I saying?” types, you might want to just do it now.

The Guarantee, or What If It Sucks

I work my fool ass off creating products that do everything they promise and more, but not every product is right for everyone. If you find that this class isn’t right for you, of course I don’t feel right keeping your money.

My friend Mark Silver from Heart of Business has a beautiful approach to guarantees that I’ve co-opted with his blessing. It’s called the Backwards and Forwards Guarantee. If you’re not utterly delighted with Summer Camp, we have a two step process.

First, I give you your money back.

Second, you pay it forward. This product may not have been for you, but there’s somebody out there who could really use it. So I ask that you pass your Summer Camp materials on to someone you know who could really use them. Easy peasy.

There’s no risk. There’s no fear. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ve been teaching these kind of classes for a long time and buying from IttyBiz is completely safe. If it turns out Summer Camp wasn’t for you, everything works out fine.

(Also, please remember… the internet marketing world is a pretty tight community. If I started putting out crappy products, the truth would get out pretty quickly. I couldn’t stay in business if I didn’t create products people absolutely loved.)

Not sure if you’re ready? Not sure if it’s right for you?

We had a feeling you might feel that way, so we made a special post that’s just for you. Read Should I Buy This? and run it through your mental checklist. (You should probably read that post before you buy ANY course or information product, really. It’s handy.)

When you’re ready, click the button, send me forty-seven bucks, and we’ll have you on your way.

P.S. God I get sick of putting a P.S. at the bottom of every sales page. But the Marketing Gods say that I have to find something important to say here. Um, I’m a very nice person? I’m funny sometimes? I give lots and lots of presents when there’s a Christmas toy drive?

No. I’m supposed to talk about YOU. And benefits. Right. Uh, you get to start your business finally? That’s pretty beneficial, isn’t it?