“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Albert Einstein
I wrote this email to Ben Casnocha about a massive idea I wanted him to invest in almost a year ago after I read “The Start Up of You”.
Today is May 30, 2014 – so before you read this very wordy letter of inspired action laughing at me (it’s ok, I do it daily), just know Ben did personally respond to a few emails, as did his office manager, both super polite declining the project at this time.
My victory is that I had courage to send a real idea through an email exchange with a billionaire and I wasn’t afraid either way. YAY!
Thank God this letter led to me to great teachers like Chris Brogan’s self paced courses like Owners Mastery Foundations Group and Digital Mastery, Love Letters and SO much meaty valuable self paced #yourcashcow material in his store to choose from PLUS private online community groups filled the void this letter below was asking for the meantime.
Being an online ebiz takes real life connecting to succeed, getting active, networking, never giving up on the dream kinda thing. I have also learned from so many other online mentors I mention in a different post who are giving me the mindset and concepts to super succeed, Chris gave me the “how to” break it down in baby chunks in the baby pool to stream income quickly while I get ready for the big time! I still have this utopian dream and intend to make it happen somehow.
Enjoy revisiting this rookie dreamer effort to be heard from the heart below. I love her gusto, I love her ability to laugh out loud with us in CV2ville will ya? (not sure why I am talking in 3rd person?) …what a freak show it is out here solo for me, myself and I, maybe thats why! Speaking of Freaks, check out Chris’s new book!
June 19, 2013
Dear Mr. Casnocha,
Ben, Would you like the opportunity to be an investment partner to help me build this Virtual Tribe platform? (Spoiler Alert, he said “not at this time”:)
Heartbreak: How much innovation is being lost in thought hidden in imaginations because someone doesn’t have the new and improved “LinkedIneur Utopia” of full range of skill sets, resources, funding or a supportive Tribe to develop within at a healthy pace like I have created to share with the world?
I’m aware this is a very bold request and is very uncommon and will not happen again. However, unless I ask you directly, you don’t have the chance to say YES! Every good sales person asks for the close. I believe doing business together and especially creating a start up business platform for everyone should be as easy 1, 2, 3. KISS (keep it super streamlined).
What if building a full service online professional business was even EASIER than building a Subway sandwich?
Module 1: “Business in a Box” – I mean a true full every bell and whistle offered in one box. No widgets, plug ins, zillion licenses etc…full service ecommerce website ebiz out of the box all in one place. Why hasn’t this been invented yet is my big question?
This is first step towards building my dream Virtual Tribe mentioned below. I am going to be an Advocate for Worldwide Solopreneur’s to create their online business dreams too; regardless of age, skill level, background, I want to provide a one stop shop toolbox to get started as easy as 1,2,3.
My motto is, the faster I get the NO, the closer I am to the YES! I look forward to a simply reply “YES” or “No” with extreme gratitude for you either way, I am a genuine Fan!
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 6:33 PM
Subject: LinkedInpreuer: A Global Platform for Solopreneurs Idea!
Letter to LinkedIn Executive Management sent from Cathy J. Van Voorhis:
Respectfully, Thank you in advance for your time, consideration and compassion reading this letter from a nobody with dreams and a plan to make it happen for not only myself but for the world of workers like me willing to die trying until we make entrepreneurialism work for us. With utmost respect for you as mentor in my life, I’ve never been an Inventress’ with a million dollar idea to present before so, out respect for our time, I am just GOING TO GO FOR IT sending you the most love and gratitude one can muster up over an email like this. I don’t have fancy connections to introduce me to you and Reid, but that doesn’t take away from my incredible ideas aiming to take LinkedIn to the next generation.
My Proudest Moment is Now: Regardless of the outcome of this email I hope you remember my name because I am on my way to greatness thanks to you! I’ve already succeeded by simply taking your book to heart, investing in myself, my future, scripting my genius ideas with a beta target market group knowing my solution is solid and desperately needed. I am simply elated finding the unapologetic courage to send this email to the 2 most powerful men I can imagine. I am also standing on the front lines with other Solopreneurs trying to create something from nothing from a place of integrity with nothing else to lose by trying. So, here goes!
The Big Question: Why are millions of “Starter Uppers” with genius level talents and gifts to give the world banned to months of solitude forced to reinvent basic business online infrastructures to get up and running, wasting months of time and resources towing the line alone trying to develop the basics before they launch when very advanced technologies are already offered for free? My question is this: Why does it need to be that hard to start up? Do you currently have a follow up plans to expand the idea of “The Start Up of You” into an evolved community version of LinkedIn for Solo-Entrepreneurs’ as an interactive massively collaborative platform to propel the process? If not, why? Is this some cruel hazing process to see if we can cut it?
Answer: I have a mega-business solution platform created for solo-entrepreneurs that I’d love to discuss with your team in detail. I am aware Reid said he was not interested in new projects unless introduced by someone fancy. I am not fancy nor do I know anyone fancy enough to introduce me to either of you through LinkedIn.
Pinky Swear: I trust you’ll protect my intentionally vague intellectual property that follows because I am here solely because of your inspirational encouragement spawned form your book. Therefore, I know you want to see the little people living on the faith of a mustard seed like me succeed under your mentorship by truly proving that anyone is able to achieve this if they believe in the dream and make it come true with hard work, thanks to the inspired words in “The Start-Up of You”. I have a solution for you.
Solution: I’ve created Modules 2-10 to accompany “The Start Up of You”. I casually named her “LinkedInpreneur”: A Utopian Tribe creating Ideas to Execution on a Global Platform for Solopreneurs!
Gratitude: I am so extremely grateful to both of you and the team that allows you to share your magic with the world so brilliantly. Your book has sky rocketed millions into action! As a start up of me, freelance, attempting solo-entrepreneur in dyer need of a super application platform to start and sustain with like-minded people. LinkedIn is not serving the new world of work target market of your book to its fullest capability and I have developed a solution to solve the pain/needs that starter uppers are begging to PAY for.
Target Market: I am nobody. Your book made me feel like somebody with valuable ideas to share despite my background or lacking resources. I represent everybody who buys into the underground movement caused by reading ‘The Start Up of You’ and is passionate about making it a living and breathing application reality for everyone not well connected. That should make me very special to you.
My Past: I am still recovering from 20 years of scars being tightly bound and beaten by my own self-inflicted rusted out golden handcuffs and dirty glass ceiling. I have been a faithful LinkedIn junkie for 10 years as it’s essential to living a successful corporate online life.
Pre-Solopreneur Need/Pain: After reading your book I was forced to ask myself who, why, what, how, and when can become a start of up me and how am I going to do it? The minute I changed my title to ‘Entrepreneur’ on my beloved LinkedIn profile, I instantly became an outcast to most of my professional zombie networks with nothing in common with my new career path. I joined entrepreneurial focused groups to find out most are filled with spam, not collaboration or self help training resources I was seeking.
Shocker: Though I have a top producing proven track record, suddenly, recruiters won’t touch people like me now that I’ve branded myself an Entrepreneur. For some reason the title = wild unmanageable renegade. As financial fears come and go as I freelance on various projects while networking with other start-ups outside of LinkedIn I hit a wall. While my professional networks including friends and family circles consist of self defeated zombie drones to fearful to try anything more than status quo in between job hopping or living off of unemployment until the next dead end job comes along and think I should be doing the same – wish I was kidding. I still enjoy following LinkedIn Thought Leaders blogs eager to learn more from experts that I could use in my own new start up as I go the long road very alone.
Opportunity: The moment LinkedIn became obsolete for me as an Entrepreneur, I felt I had lost my entire Tribe in a nuclear explosion. So in my long days of solitude using every minute getting a PhD in everything I needed to figure out on my own, for free over the last year as you now its endless trail by fire and error x infinity. I continue to collect a knowledge bank of resources others starting out need while seeking out other crazy thought leaders outcasts until we make “a mint” like myself to collaborate, share resources, train each other in our lacking skills and abilities, connect, encourage, laughing at mistakes, with extreme integrity towards accountability to only a hand full of co-creator buddy system that I can’t live without. My wish is that I could expand this community platform to the global masses to include third world countries! Build it and they will come. I have a solution for you.
While I have developed a concept to re-create everything I discovered, needed to start up a start up with literally NO MONEY to include what they don’t teach all in one place. A happy place, faux-corporate virtual environment for any Solopreneur seeking find their own “LinkedIneur Utopia” to network, learn and grow in a safe place with others who have the guts to jump in and just do it until we get it right. I imagine a community of compassionate conscious co-creators not afraid to die trying in support of each other, including our own competition. A massive and ever expanding idea has been born because I have a solution for you.
Daily Affirmation: MY IMAGINATION IS MY GOLDEN TICKET!
The Good News: Despite the bad news of our corporate scars past to heal and mindsets to change. As you know, “The Start Up of You” has planted the miracle grow seeds of great possibility for people like me waking up from a dead corporate coma striving and growing like a weed of limitless possibilities (pretty-dandelion-make-a-wish-kind of weed). Like millions who read your book we are busier than ever self-learning as much as possible trying to reinvent the wheel of hope and change firmly planted into the hearts of millions who have gifts to share and every right to live abundant balanced happy life when we choose not to die.
The Shift: Entrepreneurialism is a mindset shift into an alternative lifestyle, it’s a soul calling.
My Purpose: As an unfunded Solopreneur, the solution I’ve created to expand the existing website is out of pure need/pain I have right now to grow and prosper in my efforts to the next level. The thought of an evolved spin off “LinkedIneur’s” platform with a much different concept and extreme functionality to connect, collaborate and create collectively with others in my new global-wide Tribe. For me, considering every detail of what it takes to create a new business it’s leading people to find critical resources, groups, webinars, FB pages, every social media platform out there is exploding with entrepreneurs seeking the same as I am. We attend endless seminars, waste thousands of dollars on trainings that only hit the high levels, dive into self help for dummies, support groups, meet up groups, knowledge share groups that will allow me to start playing bigger in the new world of work with urgency. It doesn’t have to be this hard to start at all. I have a solution for you.
My Passion: I believe in the Napoleon Hill vision and feel a calling to reach out to you knowing the immeasurable value in the process towards investing and giving value to myself and genius ideas. I am taking this bold action as each stepping-stone lights up
My Tribe: I need one; millions just like me need one too and are willing to spend their last pennies to pay for one. I have taken the countless complaints of my groups over the last year turning the dark side of “starting up” and turning the mess into the message, the solution, pain into purpose for world domination as an advocate for my fellow “freedom fighters” brave enough to start something with nothing, being a nobody with the faith of a mustard seed.
My Goal: I want to create a global community for the new world of workers lacking basic resources but propelling us all into positive possibilities when we gather together as virtual genius power house as we powerfully join together. I have a solution for you.
Extreme Gratitude: Your book shifted me to the core as you can tell if you’ve read this far. Thank you for your labor of love! (The name Ben means “Strength”, so thank you for giving the millions of us out here the inspired strength and urgency to simply start the process with what you have to work with, the rest just somehow just shows up is the fun part.)
Inspired Reading: After I ferociously read your book in one day, was then led to “Linchpin” by Seth Godin and “The New World of Work” by Teri Maxwell and Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” incorporating neuroscience and quantum physics to retrain the brain which is absolutely fascinating and essential when it comes to ones thought life during a major career transition instantly into the CEO of You. Talk about shell shock of everything I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I’ve spent the last year collecting everything possible to compile into a book to share freely with others in hope they could avoid the slow and painful pace I have been walking.
Extreme Gratitude: Serendipity led to meet Stephanie St. Clair my mentor, also a new fellow Entrepreneur who has founded www.Blissbombed.com, 7 miracles in a month online workshop and private group. Most members are like-minded new entrepreneurs doing the hard work to make things happen despite being dead broke and mentally exhausted…knowing this is the only way to live. This group people share an intense desire to change and create a dream in a tangible sense. The format has not only brought out what I thought humanity lost decades ago (picture small town square with shop owners sweeping the sidewalks and eagerly helping each others business thrive as a community). Stephanie’s community has given our entrepreneurial group a safe place to ask, learn, create, share, give, barter, support, laugh, connect, play and authentically love one another towards our big hairy audacious goals/miracles manifesting in the form of building a business that is creating a healthy life AND streaming revenue and a way to make a sincere difference in the world by freely giving our gifts, talents and treasures back to the higher good. That is what being an entrepreneur is all about for me; the greater good. Her concepts aren’t obvious so I invite your team to call and interview her. You will be moved
Philanthropy: Paying it forward and contagious generosity is magic mojo success secret sauce.
Partnering: I can help you, help us; the millions of rookie solo-entrepreneur ex-zombie freedom fighters like us begging to pay for a Tribe. Together, I’d like to create a platform spin off from LinkedIn for the misfits and outcasts needing everything all in one place to go from “Idea to Execution”. I have a solution for you.
Again, I Respectfully Thank you in advance for your time, consideration and compassion reading this letter from a nobody with dreams and a plan to make it happen for not only myself but for the world of workers like willing to die trying until we make it work.
I’d love to introduce myself properly in hopes we can continue this heart felt conversation regarding the possibilities. If I don’t hear back I understand. Sending my deepest gratitude for giving me a true calling that I will find a way to build one way or another! Cheers!
Highest regards,
Cathy J. Van Voorhis
817-614-4651
http://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyvanvoorhis
Light hearted Identity Bio Inspired by Reid’s latest article:
Hi, I am CathyV. I am 41 single freelancing Solopreneur, sassy, liberal, mystical Christian, Virgo, Chinese metal pig with a powerful advocacy humanitarian fire element with a big elephant ‘trunks up’ spirit totem following me around for good luck. You have never met anyone like me, Thank God. I am a proven indispensible linchpin millionaire pending the zero$ to show up! I am a Virtual Genius, undiscovered. I am a colorful storyteller; a poet of the possible by creating innovative solutions like it’s my God given super human power to save the world with. I am a lover of humanity by genuinely loving people as an art form. I enjoy inspiring hope in all circumstances that can be annoyingly optimistic at times. I am a belly laugher; a wine-glugger and want to help others realize that Entrepreneurial dreams can come true when they believe it will, by having guts and tools to do it. I have set my souls desire on fire to make my dream come true from your book even when I don’t have all the answers yet. I am charming, hilarious, witty, individualistic, opinionated, kind, generous, connected to all things in nature, a progressive thinker, unique, and victorious in everything I do from the heart! I believe in the creative power of good feelings so I am sending oodles of happy vibes right now. Good or bad, thoughts shape our reality. I am a divine being with passionate calling to serve, dance and smile. I am a Life Lover growing at warp speed exponentially out of my comfort zone as a Successful Entrepreneur capable of changing the world with my doppelganger imagination and dedication to doing everything I can with blissapline!
All Copy Rights Reserved by CATHYV INC! 2013
Living Life Out Loud Feels Good 