How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide

by Dan S. Kennedy

You've come up with a brilliant idea for a brand-new product or service you know could make you rich. Or maybe you currently own a business that pays the bills, and your dream is to become a fabulous millionairre. But how? How to Make Millions with Your Ideas has all the answers.

This book is packed with the true stories and proven advice of ordinary people who began with just an idea, a simple product, or a fledgling business and wound up with millions. It examines the methods and principles of dozens of successful entrepreneurs, including author Dan Kennedy's surefire, easy-to-follow Millionaire Maker Strategies. It helps you determine which of the three paths to success are best for you and guides you step-by-step down that path on your way to fortune. Discover:

The 8 best ways to make a fortune from scratch How to turn a hobby into a million-dollar enterprise How to sell an existing business for millions The power of electronic media to help make you rich The "Million Dollar Rolodex" of contacts and information you can use to get on the road to wealth

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Nonfiction, Buisness, Personal Development, Self Help, Finance

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Dan S. Kennedy is the provocative, truth-telling author of seven popular No B.S. books, thirteen business books total; a serial, successful, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; trusted marketing advisor, consultant and coach to hundreds of private entrepreneurial clients running businesses from $1-million to $1-billion in size; and he influences well over 1-million independent business owners annually through his newsletters, tele-coaching programs, local Chapters and Kennedy Study Groups meeting in over 100 cities, and a network of top niched consultants in nearly 150 different business and industry categories and professions.

As a speaker Dan has repeatedly appeared with four former U.S. Presidents; business celebrities like Donald Trump and Gene Simmons (KISS, Family Jewels on A&E); legendary entrepreneurs including Jim McCann (1-800-Flowers), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and Nido Qubein (Great Harvest Bread Co.); famous business speakers including Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, and Tony Robbins and countless sports and Hollywood celebrities.

Dan has addressed audiences as large as 35,000....for more than ten consecutive years, he averaged speaking to more than 250,000 people per year. Corporate engagements have included American Honda, Floor Coverings International, IBM, Pitney-Bowes, Sun Securities. Today, Dan rarely accepts speaking engagements outside of Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle ™ events.

As a direct-response marketing consultant and copywriter, Dan is the 'hidden genius' behind full-page magazine ads you read, TV infomercials you see, online marketing and direct-mail you receive. He is routinely paid upwards from $50,000.00 to, on average, $100,000.00 to $200,000.00 plus royalties to craft direct-response ads, sales letters, direct-mail campaigns and integrated offline/online marketing systems for his private clients.... over 85% of which repeat. His advertisements created for clients have appeared in over 200 magazines from industry trade journals, airline magazines and The Wall Street Journal to USA Today and Readers Digest to Cosmopolitan.

He has created winning campaigns for health, diet and beauty products and companies, B2B and industry products including software, and investments including Canadian land sold to Asian investors — but his #1 specialty, where he does most of his work, is with clients in the information-marketing industry including book, home study course, online course and newsletter publishers; seminar, conference and event promoters; coaching organizations; and associations. Most new client relationships begin with an initial consulting day at his base fee of $16,800.00, conducted in one of his two home cities. There is usually a waiting list, and new client candidates are asked to communicate initially via a one to two page memo describing their business, needs and interests.

Reviews

[Maarten Koller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good:
Nice read, first 20 pages got me very inspired. Around page 15 the author gives an example of how a plumbing company got around to providing service extraordinaire so to speak.
Also I found page 155 essentially the abstract of this book: It's about a thief who sold information about how not to get robbed in a little booklet and a couple audio tapes (tapes? what are tapes? I hear you asking, I'll tell you about it in the 'the bad' section of this review). After Mr. Kennedy was done there were several products, ranging from small to medium to large. IE: little booklets, audio tapes, a course with manual, training video's, training course on the job etc. Ranging from tens of dollars to 1200+ for the training course.

The bad:
This book is very (very) dated (I mentioned the audiotapes right?), even though it came out in 1996. the author for example writes he has something against computers... That attitude will get you nowhere these days. Luckily he recommends the reader to get interested in the subject, who could for instance go to a BBSCON to get more information. A BBSCON was a CONvention for Bulletin Board System operators and visitors. But even in 1996 the BBS was on the way out with the rise of internet.
Furthermore he talks about how cool it is to get diskettes with magazines and about 'the recent development of the cd-rom' which even in 1996 was already pretty common and disks were already on the way out.

Also in the beginning of the book the product 'Fly Cake' is mentioned but I have not been able to find anything on the subject. It almost feels like something was wrong with it and it got pulled of the market or it didn't exist in the first place and was used as a metaphor.

Conclusion: I read this book as it is one of four main recommendations of The Four-Hour Workweek which I loved. I like this book but if you read the first 20 pages, and page 155, I think you get the gist as well. You can skip the rest. After all the talk about audiotapes I'm having a hard time believing the ideas in this book will work in 2013 and up.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had read this book 22 years ago (when I was 9) it would have been explosively revolutionary. As it stands today, it reads like a collection of hackneyed blog articles. The fact that the ideas that are so readily, freely, and widely circulated today can be found in this book is proof that they had efficacy, even if they may not anymore. The advice in this book boils down to a few points:

Don't reinvent the wheel. You don't need to invent new products if you can make a lot of money repackaging or remarketing existing products to new people. If an approach or idea already works, use it rather than trying to do it yourself. If you can get someone to do your work for you, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, etc, then do so. That's like 9/10 of this book. The remaining 1/10 can be summed up as "don't go broke learning why your idea or plan won't work".

If this book had summed those ideas up as generally as I just did, it would be a timeless classic. Unfortunately, the book mostly presents those ideas through specific methods. While some of them may be valid (direct to consumer advertising is still a hit, as is relabeling existing products for sale and exploiting underused product features to break into new markets), some of them have aged like hot milk (the entire section on the internet, for obvious reasons).

I may just take the author's advice here, repackage the concepts of this book into more modern terms and market it as "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a guide to making millions with your ideas, by someone has done just that many times over.

Kennedy guides you through the eight best ways entrepreneurs can make a fortune today: using powerful marketing to turn an ordinary business into an extraordinary one; inventing or controlling profitable products; reinventing products; providing a service; creating saleable systems; direct marketing; information products.

His decades of successful business experience make this a practical guide. It won't give you all the answers you need, but a key skill of entrepreneurship is the ability to make things up as you go along.

If you're an entrepreneur or an aspiring one, this book will show you how to make your millions.

[Jonathan Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me all the details I need if I ever want to start my own business which is a career I am interested in the future. It talks about critical thinking and making the right choices to create a pathway to success in business and life.

[Jesse Mac Dougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did a video review of this book a few years after I read the book. I read some of my notes I wrote down. And Wow So much wisdom and money clues in this book. BAD ASS!

Video Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F35o...

[Brian Lingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated. The author expressed in the beginning of the book this isn’t a 123 how to manual but rather a collection of his observations and research. This book had a lot of filler for me. Kennedy expressed his aversion to computers and the book mentions fax machines, direct mail, catalog info products and service based business.

This book contained some nuggets spread out throughout the book. Out of the 254 pages I ripped out 33 pages and sent it to my kindle library. Although a lot of this is outdated because the internet and e-commerce has closed the gap, if you read between the lines you can pull out some gems and apply them to your vision. Towards the end the author did a review of T Hark Eker’s checklist tinsel your business for the most money. Eker mentions that you make more money selling a business than working the business.

I finished the book in 3 hours with one break.

[Stefan Bruun · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book as Tim Ferriss recommended it one of his podcast episodes. It's quite outdated and while the ideas may conceptually be applicable today, they could be explained in a much easier fashion. It's essentially a collection of business and marketing tactics that have worked for some individuals, but without the details about why they worked so well. It's hard to argue against that publicity on a radio channel is good for building awareness or that direct marketing may work very well. The devil is in the detail and besides from the arguably numerous ideas, I don't think there is much value in the book as the details of the execution are completely lacking.

[Richard Propper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recommended by other writers and podcasters. Besides being very dated, its concepts are, today, pedestrian. Perhaps when other writers and entrepreneurs of another era were starting out, this book held knowledge and strategies. Not today. After story after story about the author’s great successes, it becomes an overview of his greatness. Really, not helpful nor dynamic, just a guy impressed with himself.

[Jasky Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Repulsive title however great book. Even though originally written in 1996 - still lots of practical ideas to get you thinking about aspects of your own business, possible growth options, and improvements you can make. And generally a fan or copywriting, advertising and direct marketing - this one is right up my alley.

[Anthony Colasurdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas and proven business models and successes in this book really helped me think about my own businesses and how to make more money with them. The book is older so some of it is outdated, but no matter the platform for marketing and selling your product or service, there are gems that can help you grow or build your business.

[Johan Atterholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book clearly suffers from outdated sources of advertisement, but seeing through that it contains a lot of principles for success that would be applicable in any modern business. It is filled with real life examples from ordinary people making extraordinary money, and it is really inspiring to read.
I recommend the book, just skip the parts you feel are outdated.

[Vincent P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Dan Kennedy's work and many of the influencers I follow these days cite him as a key influencer for them too.

I read this book as it was mentioned in Tim Ferriss' 4-Hour Work Week.

It's a great reference of ideas for creating and adding revenue streams to any business.

[Ethan Drower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old and outdated but a classic text on the hustle.

[Yushi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly out of date with the examples, otherwise alright read.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an older book so a little behind times, but has some great marketing ideas. Some you will already be doing, but you will definitely find some new ideas to incorporate.

[Erik Seversen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for getting the wheels to turn in your brain and getting you excited to take action on ideas.

[Kika Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Japanese version

[Muhammad Osama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Piece for Entreprenuers. I will use the tips to generate ideas to create content for mr blogging blog named BlogOrbits

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of dated, some good concepts for the 1990s!

had to buy a physical paperback copy

[Andrei Roncea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Dan

[Kelsey Fanelli]

Recommended Tim Ferris

[Gabriel Vaduva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit outdated, but you can get some good ideas from it.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember it being good. It's been awhile though. Worth rereading.


Quotes:

"Don't worry about impressing people, jut get busy inspiring them."

"If someone else has control over your destiny, if someone else can change the economics of your business, alter your marketing rights, impede your creativity, sell the parent company, or otherwise unexpectedly interfere in your business, you don't really have your own business."

"The most traded, most consumed, most sought-after, and most valued commodity of our time is not precious stones, oil, or real estate. It is "specialized information." All around you, in every imaginable form , people are profiting by selling hat they know or know how to do."

"The blunt truth about most small business owners is that they are incredibly lazy, ignorant, negligent marketers."

"Creating perceived value substantially in excess of price."

"They solve an almost universal need and problem. They provide a much better way to perform a common task or do a common, necessary job. They have some enormous emotional or impulse appeal that transcends logic and basic needs."

"Take full responsibility for the success or failure of your ideas."

"The simple foundation of all successful service business: the ability to do and deliver a desired and needed service for less money than the individual customers can do it themselves, faster and more conveniently than they can do it for themselves."

"I learned three valuable lessons form that simple, primitive experience very early in my career: (1) The value of targeting a particular specialized market and creating information products of great interest exclusively to those people; (2) that what you can charge for information products has virtually no relationship to what they cost to make, only to the value of the content to the buyer, which means you can build incredibly high markups into these products; and (3) that you could make them as needed, avoiding tying up even a penny in inventory, so all your available financial resources could go into marketing."

[Tegan Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely love this book! Yes, it's dated, but the principles still stand today. The Millionaire Maker Strategies are the bread and butter of the book and really drill everything home. I hear criticisms about how it's not specific in detail, but even if it were, that would be of no use today. This is one of those business books that I would recommend to somebody that is just getting into entrepreneurship and is looking to build a strong foundation. I think if you take the main principles of this book and implement them, you will be well on your way to wealth.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book in the morning, and finished it a while ago. It was a pretty quick read, not exactly as great as I was expecting.

The book was written in 1996, and I couldn’t help thinking throughout it how out of date it was. No mention of the internet or internet marketing, except for a topic on the “information superhighway” and online “bulletin boards” and how important it is to learn how to use email. I think this book could really use a 2008 update, with additional information with websites and internet tips. The focus was on direct mailing, telemarketing, and infomercials, all three of which I really had a hard time relating to my business today. Plus, a huge focus on the creation of companies selling “information products,” many of which I think have become obsolete today with the vast wealth of information available on the internet. I can’t imagine someone today sending in a check for payment in order to receive a photocopied pamphlet in return, prepared by the information business owner. There was also an emphasis on product-centered business rather than service-centered businesses, so it was difficult to imagine how to apply some of the techniques described in the numerous stories cited to our business.

In any case, there were a couple of book recommendations inside that I am going to look into, and I did get some ideas that we can apply to our business. Funny enough, at the end of the book, the author says that many readers will read this book “hastily tuning out anything that doesn’t immediately seem directly and specifically relevant to their particular product, service, or business, as they see it at this moment.” I have to say I definitely used that filter while reading the book, so maybe what I need is to go back and re-read some parts. Though I still think this book will be of most use to someone who has never owned a business, but wants to and needs ideas on how to start.

[Fabian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly thought provoking

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is a bit dated, I'd highly recommend picking it up, as it presents sound business ideas that can help you grow your business if they are implemented. the majority of the ideas will work, even with the changes in the technology and the times. I tried a few of the ideas and saw my business grow as a result. Just as importantly, I feel like I've learned quite a bit about being flexible and creative with your business, which is a lot of what this book is ultimately about. I hope the author will write a revised version to account for changes in technology and the times, but even if he doesn't pick this book up!

[Noora · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that gives ispiration for those are looking to work for themselves. The only reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4, is because it is a bit outdated (published in 1996). Many of the ideas Dan discusses are not as feasible in 2010 as they were in the 90s. I do recommend this book for anyone who is trying to open their own business and needs a few tips on how to tweak their ideas or products to generate more profits/interest in them.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a lot of really good information but it didn't really flow and was a bit dated. I will definitely be able to use some of the information from the book and apply it to my business. It is worth reading, but it won't knock your socks off.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably killed it in 1994 when it was published. It's an older version of 4 hour work week. Lots of ideas and suggestions, but a bit out of date (mail-order business). 4 hour work week is an updated version of this book