I have talked to a number of you over the last few days or so. So much that I thought I would write about it. I talked to one very intelligent inventor. I honestly believe that his product will change the way fuel in vehicles is spent. The problem is when I talked to him he said he only had $200 to spend on marketing. How can you expect to educate the masses that your product is the next light bulb for only $200?
Last year, I made it to the ULI Spring Council Forum in Chicago. I was walking through the lobby and I ran into Ken Hughes. This guy is really sharp, I asked him to lunch and we shared a cab on our way to the metropolitan club in sears tower. I remember looking across the river at the new Trump project. I asked him about his deals and what his philosophy was on marketing. He leaned to the side and told me this: “Jeremy, if you don’t have an unlimited budget for your project then you won’t have a project for long.” I will never forget that. He is absolutely right. Some people might think he’s crazy but I asked that question too. When he developed Highland Park Village in Dallas, He was crazy. When he bought the land which is now called mockingbird station, yep you guessed it… They called him crazy. Now? Both of those properties are sold and he no longer is involved. He had the vision and the know how to get buzz and create something that people would ultimately be a fan of.
So as you go about your day thinking about the next big idea, don’t forget. If you don’t intend on spending whatever it takes to market your product, don’t bother. I know that seems harsh but you don’t want to create a product in what my old CEO would define as “HA”. It stands for Half-Assed. My wife tells me that I am all or nothing. Sometimes that’s bad, in this case its sink or swim.