Creating a Winning Concept: A TFM Success Story

There’s a new wave of entrepreneurialism in Europe, and Stan Lenssen is riding it all the way to his First Million. Based in the Netherlands, Stan recognized a massive opportunity in the rising number of freelancers in his country, and set out to build an online business to support them.

“Up until the beginning of this century, our country was dominated by large companies and institutions,” says Stan. “But in the last few years there has been an entrepreneurial rebirth, a movement toward professionals working for themselves and starting small businesses.”

Stan’s no slouch in the entrepreneurial department. Last year he sold his own successful business to one of the top 50 e-commerce companies in the Netherlands, and recognizing the problems small business owners have to cope with, launched a new venture—the SayEbusiness blog—in May with the aim of helping this new crop of entrepreneurs build their businesses. Stan’s no dummy, either. He knew his chances of succeeding would increase significantly if he had his OWN support system in place. So he joined the First Million Club.

“Working on my little island I realized that I needed a mentor, a kind of steering wheel, and I needed contact with other entrepreneurs. I liked Mike’s practical approach—no scientific babble; more hands-on and action-oriented.”

Stan knew creating and operating a blog in a small country like the Netherlands wouldn’t generate much advertising revenue, so he began working with the First Million Club to improve and expand his concept. Like so many TPEs, Stan had a great idea—to deliver services via his blog—but “no clue” how to make it happen.

“Because of The First Million Club I was forced to give my way of doing business some really good thought, and at some point in building my Prosperity Plan it struck me that the only way I could reach my audience in a way that would be affordable to them was to build a membership site with an interactive learning model.”

Since joining the First Million Club Stan’s readership has grown 200% each month, and he secured a regular guest post on well-known e-business blog, which in turn opened more doors for him in the Dutch blogosphere than he could have opened himself. “I know the First Million Club has played a roll in all of this, because the program helped me realize that my determination in reaching my goals is very important.”

“I was taught in business school to always look for the hole in the market, but that is totally WRONG,” says Stan. “What I am learning now is that it is much more important to know where you yourself want to be heading. For me, it’s not just about getting to that First Million, it’s about supporting freelancers. My philosophy is that “vrije werkers” can make a big difference to society because they are forced to go outside of their comfort zone, and build bridges to people of different cultures, races, and belief systems.”

In my own work with TPEs all over the world, I’ve seen plenty of great concepts wither and die because someone took their do-it-yourself mentality to an extreme. Everyone needs guidance, support and motivation—even seasoned entrepreneurs like Stan, even TPEs who defy convention…even (and especially) you.

Whether you join the First Million Club or seek out help from another source, don’t go it alone. You may have conjured up your own brilliant idea all by yourself, but you’re going to need reinforcements if you plan to reach your own First Million.

By AJ Harper

Tags: Entrepreneur, europe, SayEbusiness, Stan Lenssen

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