iPhone Entrepreneurs

The most ingenious iPhone revenue ideas
Come from the folks standing in line to buy one

Lost in all the hoopla over the launch of Apple’s new iPhone last Friday are some remarkable entrepreneurial stories.

No, not the saga of the development of this amazing gadget, but those of the people who lined up to buy it.

Yep, anytime you have anything with this much buzz, you’re gonna have a few folks making a couple bucks off it in some ingenious ways. And we might be able to learn a lot more from them than from the marketing of the iPhone itself.

First . . . the story of a young man who desperately wanted the device, but didn’t have the money to buy it. Rather than whining, he came up with an ingenious solution: Nab the first spot in line, and SELL his spot in the queue, netting the difference between his cash on hand and the price of the phone.

Here in LA executives were paying gophers and personal assistants to do the same, so why not?

Another group of resourceful teens camped out early, but had a different plan: Sell the phones they were able to buy on eBay. They knew after the launch the iPhone would be in scarce supply, so they figured (correctly) that a lot of folks with more money then time (yep, they do exist) would pay them handsomely for the privilege of NOT having to wait for their iPhone.

So what can we as product creators learn?

1. Its about the desire
   
   Both of these folks wanted something desperately. Our first entrepreneur wanted the iPhone. The second wanted money. When you want something badly, you have a much greater chance of figuring out a way to get it.
   
   The problem with most product wannabes is their interest in product creation is casual and mired in fantasy (interviewed by Oprah!). So they’re never engaged enough in the process to figure out how to achieve their goal.
   
   Desire leads to engagement which can lead to an often ingenious solution, sometimes sooner than you expect.
   
   
2. Its all about the trade
   
   Both of these resourceful folks wanted something they didn’t have (money / iPhone). What makes them different from most folks is they were willing to trade what they did have in abundance – time – to obtain what they didn’t, but wanted badly.
   
   Most folks only talk about achievement. The trick to achievement is it requires something in return. If your existing life was adequate to get you what you wanted, you’d have it already.
   
   So you may have to give up something you have (30 minutes of sleep / eating out once every two weeks instead of twice a week / working a 10-hour day instead of an 8-hour day) in order to get something you don’t have. If you want what you want badly enough, this shouldn’t be much of an issue. If you do find its an issue, chances are you don’t want what you want badly enough. You simply have another casual diversion, not a worthy goal.
   
   
3. Its about the HOT potato
   
   Both of our entrepreneurs not only identified something they wanted badly, but something OTHERS wanted badly. This is crucial!
   
   A lot of product creators are making things THEY want to make, completely disregarding if there are enough folks out there who also desperately want it.
   
   This is called a hobby, not a business.
   
   Our iPhone entrepreneurs were willing to be flexible enough to give people what they wanted in order to satisfy their own desire. Are you?

So, our iPhone Entrepreneur Formula looks like this:

1. Identify what you really want -- (Cash / iPhone).
2. Identify what others really want -- (An iPhone without waiting / a prime spot in line).
3. Identify resources you can access that let you give others what they want, so you can have what you want -- (Time waiting in line).