Introduction
How I Accidentally Became an App Millionaire
THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH
I spent some of the happiest days of my life sleeping on dirt and foraging for food. I hiked through rainforests and saw hidden waterfalls. I hunted wild boar alongside the villagers, and I toasted the tribe's 97-year-old chief with a bitter tonic called kava kava, which we drank from coconut shells.
I was on the island of Savusavu, one of the remotest of 336 islands along Fiji's archipelago. The people there laughed easily, ate simply, and lived off the earth. The island was made up of vibrant green mountains that shot up out of the pristine turquoise waters of the South Pacific.
I chose to spend a week living amongst the villagers there because they are considered to be some of the happiest people on earth. The people of the Savusavu villages seemed about as content and satisfied as one could get, and though their ways puzzled me at times, their smiles didn't lie.
It was refreshing to see how the Fijian people lived, which differed from anything I had ever experienced before. What I learned from this culture in such a short time can be summed up in seven words: Less is more, and love is everywhere.
After leaving the village, I was so inspired that I wanted others to share the experience with me. To my surprise, I found a WiFi signal in a remote shop on the island, and I e-mailed two of my buddies, Patrick and Nadim, to join me. Being spontaneous by nature, Patrick jumped on a plane from South Carolina, and Nadim took the next plane from Bangladesh.
Two days later, we were sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun and the island's natural beauty.
“Hey, what should we do next?” asked Nadim.
“Well, I've always wanted to learn to scuba dive,” I said. “I've never done that before.”
“Yeah, that's it,” he said.
I did a Google search on my iPhone and found a place on the island that offered scuba diving lessons. The Google Maps function showed it was across the street. We found a tiny shack near the rocky beach with a sign across the doorway that read “Diving lessons.” Inside, a thin man with missing teeth and a huge grin said he would teach us to scuba dive and take us out in the water.
Two hours later, we were submerged 40 feet down, swimming in the purplish-blue ocean with a rainbow of fish and coral beneath us and huge, four-foot-long turtles beside us. Breathtaking … literally.
THE APPRENEUR LIFESTYLE
My life is about doing what I love while earning easy income. I run my business from my iPhone. I work in a virtual world, earning real dollars. I've hiked Ayers Rock in the Australian Outback, trekked with Aborigines across the desert, hiked the Rocky Mountains, got certified in solo skydiving, heli-skied in Whistler, Canada, saw my favorite team play in the NBA finals from courtside seats, walked on fire, went bungee jumping, and most important of all, learned not to take life so seriously.
For my next adventure, I plan to spend three months at a time in nine places I have always wanted to visit. This includes learning martial arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina; dancing salsa in Bogotá, Colombia; running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; and riding gondolas on the canals of Venice, Italy.
I have an amazing life and the truth is anyone can have this lifestyle regardless of his or her background. I am part of a growing community of appreneurs, entrepreneurs who make money from applications, or apps, that are used on smartphones like iPhones and Droids, and other mobile devices such as iPads or iPod Touches. Appreneurs can live anywhere and can start a business regardless of their stage in life. As of this writing, the world's youngest appreneur is nine, and the oldest is 80.
Appreneurs earn money, while creating lifestyles of great freedom. Two of my appreneur friends spend several months of the year doing nonprofit work in Vietnam, while their businesses are generating seven-figure incomes. Another is taking his kids to see the Seven Wonders of the World, creating priceless memories with his family. Still another friend goes backpacking throughout Europe with his wife for most of the year.
No matter what your dream lifestyle is, you can have it as an appreneur. You don't have to be versed in computer programming to do this.
When I started, I didn't have a clue about programming languages or how to write code. I still don't, but I was motivated to succeed at this business.
Due to my unique circumstances at the time, failing wasn't an option.
STARTING FROM A HOSPITAL BED
When you are on your deathbed, will you be able to say you lived a fulfilled life?
I nearly couldn't.
I started this business from a hospital bed, wondering if I even wanted to live. I had survived a terrible car accident that shattered my left arm. I had gone through two groundbreaking operations, and spent 18 months in painful rehabilitation.
With limited insurance, I had racked up $100,000 in medical bills. Even though I survived, I had no clue how to get out of the deep hole I felt trapped in.
Up until that point, I had worked for and started several companies and ultimately failed because I had burned myself out. My last business was a real estate franchise I started right before the real estate bubble burst.
Even as my own boss, I was tired of working 18-hour days without freedom. I wasn't an employee. I was a slave to my own business with all the pressure and responsibility. So, it was much worse.
The doctors put my arm back together with a titanium rod holding things in place from my elbow to my shoulder. It was an agonizingly painful ordeal but a huge wake-up call that I realize I was lucky enough to receive. After that, I made the decision that my old way of going through the motions of life would not do anymore. I had to find a way to live a life I could look back on without regret.
After my accident, I was moved to a physical rehabilitation center and worked on reconstructing my body, my mind, and ultimately my life. While rehabilitating, the books of thought pioneers like Anthony Robbins, author of Unlimited Power, strengthened my mind, and Timothy Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, inspired me with the idea of lifestyle freedom.
During that time, my good friend and future business partner, Tayfun, gave me an article about appreneurs and told me I should get into the business. I learned that most appreneurs were one- or two-person teams, with low costs, and the successful ones were bringing in millions in profits. Still in my hospital bed, I drew app ideas while taking intense pain medication.
Three weeks after my last surgery, desperate, broke, and grasping at straws, I borrowed $1,800 from my stepdad and jumped with both feet into the app business. The result?
In just over two years, I created and sold three app companies and made millions. Two months after launching my company, one of my apps averaged $30,000 a month cash flow. Later, the company's income reached $120,000 in one month. In all, I've developed more than 40 apps and have had more than 35 million app downloads across the globe. Over 90 percent of my apps were successful and have made money.
To this day, I still don't know how to upload or update apps. I outsource that work to programmers and let Apple do the distribution. I focus on monitoring trends and doing creative work while leading my company. Although I concentrate on Apple's iPhone apps in my business, most concepts I show you can be applied to other platforms, including Google Android and BlackBerry.
Every morning when I wake up, I lie in bed for an hour, viewing reports on my iPhone. After that, I go for a run and eat breakfast, I take another hour to outsource tasks, and I spend the rest of the day living an incredible life.
GAME PLAN
My success came from having a game plan.
Even though I work a few hours a day, I want to build an empire that will last for years to come. To do that, I developed core areas of my business I can monitor daily, weekly, and monthly. I call this core the seven pillars of an app business. Understanding these pillars will turn your business from a one-time lottery winner to an unlimited gold mine.
The chapters in this book are set up in a modular fashion, so if you need marketing ideas, reread the marketing chapter and so on. The ideas I share will help at every stage of growth, from launch to expansion. Sure, you can find answers to specific questions, but I suggest learning the overall game plan first because this will bring you long-term riches.
Each chapter ends with actions for you to take. You can use these while building your business to ensure you stay on track every step of the way. You can also find additional helpful resources at www.AppEmpire.com/ resources.
THE REAL QUESTION
Why wouldn't you get into the app space now? Mobile technology isn't going away, and the industry is exploding worldwide. Look around and see how many people use their mobile phones to find a restaurant, text friends, or update their status on Facebook. This hot industry is only getting started. It's the perfect time to jump into the mobile game.
You can run your own app business because you don't need a lot of money, skill, or knowledge to begin. All you need is a mobile phone and a desire to succeed. This industry allows you the freedom to work from anywhere and to earn a paycheck to support it. Plus, the best part, is it's fun.
In this book, I give you the roadmap to riches in the app business. Whether you are a total novice or an experienced developer, I guide you in building a business that supports the lifestyle you want while growing your bank account year after year.
I'll share with you how to:
- Tune your mind for success.
- Make insane amounts of money, while working part-time.
- Outsource nearly everything, so you can enjoy your lifestyle.
- Work with people who can do the technology side of things, so you don't have to.
- Make your product crazy attractive, so people love to give you money.
- Partner with others who can double and triple your profits.
- Create a sustainable app business.
- Live life on your terms.
This is a time in history when technology has given us the tools to live as we want. All you need is the desire and a game plan. No matter your background, gender, race, education, or situation, you can build an app empire, while you are living the life you deserve.
You don't have to wait till someday to fulfill your dreams. You can start today.