There are dreams and then there are what I call “Big Dreams.” In the last year, I’ve had a number of clients with Big Dreams. One wants to have her own show on HGTV, the Home and Garden Cable Network, another client dreams of starting his own internationally syndicated sports radio show, and still another is actively taking steps to buy a horse farm and riding resort in Canada.

In many cases, big dreams require more chutzpa than money. But there are some dreams that require both.

I was first turned onto the idea of investing in other people’s dreams in 2003 at the Making Dreams Happen workshop in Boulder, Colorado. In searching for local entrepreneurs to speak to the group, I came across an article about a bike lover and passionate environmentalist named Doug Woods. Doug wanted to start a bike taxi business. Picture a two wheeled rickshaw bike-powered by a University of Colorado student with strong legs.

There was only one problem – Doug had no money. That is until he decided to ask family members, friends, and acquaintances, many from his church, to invest in his dream. After reviewing his carefully researched business plan, dozens of people invested anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 in Doug’s business. Up until an unfortunate car accident put his business on hold, Doug and the people who invested in his dream both realized a very handsome return on their investment.

Doug’s story got me thinking. In addition to investing in Fidelity or Vanguard, why not invest in other people’s dreams? If you attended this past summer’s Work at What You Love workshop, you got to hear from entrepreneurs Heather and Nancy Whitley of Possibilities, LLC who spoke on this very subject. These two average income women are well on their way to raising $25 million dollars from a variety of sources to fund their big dream.

Their story offers some wonderful lessons for anyone with a dream.

1) Capitalize on Trends

Like many income streams, the Whitley’s business involves capitalizing on trends. One of the trends they’re addressing is that many of the “follow your own road” baby boomers won’t want to take the same aging path from retirement community to an assisted living facility to a nursing home.

The Whitley’s, who operate Barton’s Angels (BartonsAngels.com), a company that provides private home care services to elders and their families, is building on this trend by being one of the first to pioneer an emerging trend known as “aging in place.” Unlike retirement or assisted living communities which involve moving out of a home you likely lived in for decades, aging in place uses technology and a sense of community to allow you to manage your own health care in your own home. Put more bluntly, the concept of aging in place addresses the universal desire people have to live out their final days at home.

Rather than a facility operated by on-site nursing or other medical staff, the Whitley’s plan involves meeting health needs in three ways. One is by returning to an old-fashioned sense of community whereby residents more or less look in on one another. Another is by designing homes that will include technology allowing residents to, for example, send an EKG to their doctor simply by holding their phone up to their chest. And the third leg involves having a full-time “health care concierge” whose job it is to help residents arrange their own in-home care as needed.

To date, the Whitley’s have partnered with a developer in Boston to turn an empty factory building in Easthampton, Massachusetts into 70 upscale aging-in-place condominiums called Paradise-One (Paradise-One.com). In addition to forging some of the pretty impressive corporate partnerships that you’ll hear about in a moment, they’ve also signed on the area’s premier architectural firm and building contractor and gotten enthusiastic initial support from town officials.

2) Find Your Niche

As of July 1st, 2005 there are estimated to be 78.2 million baby boomers representing a gigantic marketing niche. Drill down, though, and you’ll find smaller typically underserved demographic groups to tap. For example, Aegis Gardens in Fremont, California (Aegisal.com) is believed to be the first for-profit assisted living community to target Asian Americans.

As children break with the tradition of elders living with their adult children, their parents are growing more comfortable with the idea of being in a community where staff member speak Mandarin and Cantonese and understand the importance of culture and customs.

As a lesbian couple themselves, Heather and Nancy are targeting a similarly growing – and graying population – the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT). As the first generation to live outside of the closet, this group’s retirement needs are largely unacknowledged by traditional retirement communities.

For example, a couple who has spent their life together will not find it acceptable to pay thousands of dollars to live in a place where they are discouraged from holding hands in public or worse, denied the right to participate in medical decisions for their partner including watching a loved one be moved to a nursing unit or other facility without regard for the relationship.

There are different ways to decide on the right niche market for you. It could be a group you identify with, say women experiencing breast cancer or single fathers. It might be a population you enjoy working with – seniors, children, or musicians. Or, it could simply be a group where you see a market need.

3) Do Your Homework

You don’t raise $25 million dollars – or indeed start any business – without first doing your homework. Among other things, the Whitley’s learned that by 2009 there will be 5.7 million GLBT people over the age of 50. They also discovered that 76% of their market group aged 45 to 55 is actively planning for retirement living options as opposed to 31% of their heterosexual counterparts.

And they found out that the LGBT community is more inclined to be early adopters of technology than their heterosexual counterparts. All good information to support their business idea and to share with potential investors.

If you’re looking for demographic information in the United States you can always start with the U.S.Census Bureau (Census.gov). Or you can seek out more specific information through a company like Packaged Facts (PackagedFacts.com) which the Whitley’s used. Packaged Facts has information on anything from the U.S. market for gourmet foods to pet products in non-traditional outlets, even the so-called Dad market. Some information you can access for free and some you’ll need to pay for.

4) Tell, Tell, Tell

Since you never know who you’re talking to Heather advises new business owners to talk about their business idea to anyone and everyone who will listen. If you’re lucky, you may find the pay-off for all this chatter may far exceed your wildest dreams. At least it did for the Whitley’s.

While at the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC.org) annual conference in San Francisco, Heather struck up a conversation about her business with a woman at the trade show. “We’d be very interested in talking to you,” said the woman. “Great,” Heather replied, “Who are you?” It turns out the woman represents one of the biggest technology companies in the world.

Unfortunately, I can’t reveal the name until all of the final contracts are signed, but suffice it to say that a few people and conversations later and this company which is quite literally a household name offered to partner with Paradise-One.

The partnership involves building “smart homes” allowing residents of Paradise-One and their health care providers to use technology to be alerted to potential medical problems. For example, computerized refrigerators can monitor a sudden drop in the number of times a person is accessing food. “Smart” beds will be able to detect a rapid weight loss.

Talking about your business puts you in a better position to meet potential customers or clients, referral sources, vendors, marketing opportunities, or even partners.

5) Ask, Ask, Ask

One day Nancy found her way to the website of one of the leading product development firms in the world. On a whim, she decided she had nothing to lose by popping them an email to inquire about the cost of their service. When the reply came back indicating a $70,000-$80,000 price tag, she politely wrote back that it was beyond their marketing budget.

In another, “bowl me over with a feather” moment Nancy couldn’t believe her eyes when the product development company wrote back the next day to say that they were so excited about the Whitley’s business idea that they would be willing to fly out from the west coast and do the work pro bono.

What are the odds that a company will offer you $80,000 worth of services for free? Pretty slim. And yet, in my own life I can point to countless examples of situations where by simply finding the courage to ask, I have received far than I ever dreamt in return.

6) Sell Your “Sizzle” and Yourself

If you plan to approach investors or a lender you’ll definitely need a business plan. Business Plan Pro (PaloAlto.com) can help get you started and offers over 400 free templates. When you’re going after other people’s money, you need a good business plan that includes, as Nancy and Heather call it, your “sizzle.” The sizzle that got me to invest is the concept of aging in place, a receptive untapped niche market, and the big name high tech connection.

In addition to your sizzle, Doug Woods says you need to realize that people aren’t investing in your business – they’re investing in you. He is utterly convinced that it was his passion, his excitement, and his determination to succeed that won his investors over.

7) Create a Grand Vision

In Studs Terkel’s book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do is an insightful quote from Nora Watson. Watson says, "I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job. Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit." I think our dreams are too small as well which perhaps explains why so many people have such a hard time thinking big. I’m not necessarily talking about making a lot of money. I’m talking about making a lot more happiness.

Let’s say you’d like to work at home and work for yourself. Too many people stop there. Having a grand vision for your life might include working at home with a beautiful view of the mountains, the ocean, or the Paris skyline. Working for yourself is great but what if you bumped up your goal to work for yourself and take most of the summer off or maybe spend the winter working from your seasonal office in the Caribbean? It takes not one ounce of energy more to dream big than it does to dream small.

The Whitley’s grand vision combines making money with being happy because what makes them happy is providing an underserved population with an opportunity to age with dignity. That’s why these two inspiring entrepreneurs have plans to roll out other aging in place communities on the north shore of Massachusetts, in Costa Rica, and who knows where next!

Do you have a big dream that you’ve abandoned because of money? Dust it off and use these seven steps to find a way get others to invest in your dream and make it happen!

To learn more about Nancy and Heather’s Big Dream or to request an investor packet before the mid-February deadline visit www.Paradise-One.com.
 
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About the Author

“Off the beaten career path” consultant, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com, offering free resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Redbook, Entrepreneur’s Business Start Ups, and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com.

An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, she’s presented her How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are program to thousands of people.

Find multiple resources at Changing Course

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