by Dot Cannon

Pat Flynn launches his new book, Will It Fly, today.

A lot of other people will be seeing their dreams launch, as a result.

“Will It Fly” is warm, approachable, and the overall tone is that of a favorite teacher, guiding and challenging students.   Like the instructor who took you through something you’ve always wanted to do (but were a little scared to try), Pat makes the journey fun.

The book starts with a great story about Pat’s little son, Keoni, and his attempts to fly a paper airplane.  But at first–it doesn’t work!  And Pat uses Keoni’s learning process as a metaphor for what we, as small-business owners, go through.   (How many of us are so in love with an idea that, even if our business model is the equivalent of a scrunched-up paper ball, we’re convinced we’re headed for cruising altitude?)

 

The book continues with “The Airport Test”: an inspiring goal-setting exercise that’s sure to make you smile.    (It also has a tendency to keep you focused on crushing your goals.)  In the chapters that follow, Pat guides readers through finding their passion–and which ideas might (or might not) be a good fit.  A lot of the exercises may leave you saying, “Wow, I never realized that!”

But, further on in “Will It Fly”, are the sections that are worth gold.  (Or, at least, a first-class ticket to Hawaii!)

In the “Flight Plan” and “Flight Simulator” parts of his book,  Pat explores ways to get involved with communities and serve them–on a long-term basis.   He  suggests becoming a contributing part of a group, as opposed to simply showing up and saying, “Hey, buy my product, everybody!”  (Long-term and ethical work really well for me–how ’bout you?)   Will It Fly steps readers through the process of finding a community to which a business idea will be targeted, serving that community and having a customer base develop organically, as a result of that involvement.

Two definite pluses here are the resources Pat lists–many of them free or low-cost–to help you in the process.  And just in case readers think, “Well, that’s fine for someone else…”, there are case studies of how these techniques worked–ending with a challenge!

“Will It Fly” promises to be a workable “flight plan” for a lot of entrepreneurs.  See you at 20,000 feet!

 

Now–full disclosure.  I am a (proud) member of the “Pat Flynn Book Launch Team”, who received a preview copy.  I tried my hardest to be a good critic and find something wrong with it, to critique–but that just didn’t happen, I loved this one!