You know you want out of the rat race, and you know the way to do that is to set up your own business. You have access to endless information about how to run it, how to market it, how to find your perfect customers… but you still don’t know what to do.

And maybe you do know what you want, sort of… You want to teach useful skills to social workers. Or you’re really brilliant with kitchen supplies. Or you used to work in information technology, and you just know there’s a business idea out there that’s perfect for you. But you don’t know how to come up with something more specific than that, and you feel like you’re running out of time. You need a concept that will really work, something you can build and improve and turn into a venture that supports you while you do what you love.

You need the idea, and then you need the plan.

We all start here.

We all wonder if we’ll ever come up with the right idea. I did, too.

I had a background in the arts — illustration, graphic design, and vocal performance in school, and I still didn’t know how to strike out on my own. When I started out, I did what I was fiddling with at the time — I built websites for people. But it took me years to figure out how to pull together my creative impulses in a way that could really benefit me as an entrepreneur. By the time I really pinned it down, I’d been pretending to do website design and development for nearly ten years — when I was actually, almost unconsciously, doing the idea consulting and catalyst work I finally copped to publicly. It was a process, but it finally revealed to me what I was doing wrong, and what I was doing right.

So I tried to quit doing the wrong stuff. Like taking on projects just for the money when I didn’t get along with the client. Like following all the “official” traditional business rules that told me what to do and when and how much money to spend and where — the rules that were keeping me from being who I was. Like letting the mainstream dictate what was crazy, and what wasn’t. Like ignoring my passions to do what everyone else thought I was supposed to do. Yeah — those were the wrong things.

And I tried to figure out what exactly the right things were.

I knew that I had always wanted to engender change. I knew that the thrill of new experiences and new understandings was what drove me to keep learning — and coming up with new ideas. And I knew that over time, I’d gotten really good at it. But what exactly was I doing? What was happening every time I came up with a new concept, or a new business plan? What made me creatively successful? Why did people label me a “creative type” in the first place? Maybe it was because I started in art and music… but maybe it was something else. Something quantifiable.

I asked myself these questions, and after a long time of wondering where the hell I was going… I figured out the answers.

And I wrote them down.

With the help of IttyBiz’s Naomi Dunford — who knows more than you can probably even imagine about one person starting and marketing their own business — I’ve turned these concepts into an “idea catalyst” kit whose purpose is to get you to your goal faster than I got to mine. I spent a lot of time screwing around, unable to cement my creative process and wondering where I was going to end up. I still do web work, but it’s a sidebar to the stuff I really love, and I want you to find the thing you really love. I want you to find it, and I want you to do it.

In order to do that, you need the idea.

Once you have the idea… you need the plan.

I am so happy that I can finally offer you something to help you do that.

Naomi Dunford

Owner of IttyBiz

The Idea Catalyst Kit is about ideas. Ideas for businesses, ideas for what to do when you’ve created your business, ideas for how to make money appear from nowhere, ideas for when you think you’re well and truly screwed.

Got a great thing going but no list? She’s got ideas.

Got a great list but don’t know what to do with it? She’s got ideas.

Got nothing but must quit your job by Wednesday or die? She’s got ideas.

When she sent me her initial draft, I planned to scan it. I ended up reading every word. And then I begged her to let me add some marketing stuff. I’ve done it for free, because I think it needs to be done. Her stuff should be out there because I very strongly feel that the information she’s packed into this kit will change lives, if used properly.

It’s very, very good. If enough people get their hands on it, I think it’ll change the way these things are done.

Sonia Simone

Senior Editor, Copyblogger

Most people don’t understand that business is a creative process. And hardly anyone can explain the ins and outs of that creative process like Megan Morris.

She has, in her usual style, overdelivered like crazy on this kit. She dives into all of the stuff that tends to slow us down when we’re trying to start a business. She has a wonderfully gentle way of rearranging your thinking so it’s in line with what you want, and so you actually know you can reach it.

Because she’s a sap sweetheart, she’s underpriced the Idea Catalyst Kit (for now) so you might not realize how valuable it is. Don’t be a dope, grab it now before it’s a zillion dollars.

Michael Bungay Stanier

Senior Partner, Box of Crayons

The truth is, ideas are cheap. They pop into our head, they pop out of our head. I know this – I was the first ever employee of what’s now the world’s largest independent innovation company. But being able to take an idea and do something with it? Ah now…. that’s a whole different story. That’s why I’m a big fan of Megan’s program. It’s a lovely balance of encouragement, insight and butt-kicking to go from, as she puts it, ’scratch to expression.’

One of my favourite quotes is from Lou Holtz – a football coach – who said “when all is said and done, a lot more is said than done.” If you want to start doing rather than just talking, take a look at The Idea Catalyst Kit.

Inside the Idea Catalyst Kit

Idea Catalyst Ebook. The included ebook is 86 pages of in-depth treatise on finding your own best creative process, and a shitload of information you can use to jumpstart it. Included are sections about…

• Managing the emotional aspects of getting yourself rolling.
• Reliably and continually generating your own fabulous ideas.
• Building them into complex plans that can be turned into businesses.
• And finally, taking action on them — which is the most important part!

The whole ebook is illustrated to help the concepts stick to your brain — plus, we’re including a full-length audio version you can listen to on your iPod, or burn to CD. There’s an enormous amount of information, including:

• On page 8, we learn Megan’s secret formula for dissolving feelings of intimidation, and getting a booster shot of confidence whenever necessary!
• On page 26, we show you how your worst ideas might magically become your best — and on page 40, you’ll learn to make your subconscious your bitch. (It’s not as hard as you’d think.)
• On page 42, you’ll learn how to get in touch with your inner child (and put him to work).
• Page 47 is proof that bathtubs are the best idea generation tool available, with Naomi’s final word on the matter — and we could go on.

Our favorite page is 82, where we share a time-honored (and masochistic) use for rubber bands that will forever change the way you think about your business. LITERALLY.

Idea Catalyst Workbook. This 35-page workbook is how you apply your newfound knowledge, and make sure it stays with you. Use it while you’re reading, or dive in at the end. It contains…

• 19 action-oriented worksheets to put you through your paces.
• 15 brain-busting lists pulled from the ebook and expanded — so that you know exactly what to try next.
• Serious calls to action, because you need motivation and drive to succeed.

Idea Marketing with Naomi Dunford. Included are two exclusive audio sessions with the marketing diva and founder of IttyBiz.com. In the first session, she starts where the ebook left off — with a complex, ready-to-express idea — and walks us through our first marketing steps.

In the first 65 minute marketing session, Naomi tells us…

• How even a beginner can Starbucks-engineer the customer experience.
• When to listen, and when to ignore — opinions and advice, that is!
• How to decide whether to do market research (and how to do it well!).
• Telling a story, and the impact it has on your ability to make your idea successful.
• Also? Naomi shares her “Uncle Joe” impression. It’s at 8 minutes and 20 seconds into the recording, and we particularly suggest you listen to it at half speed. It’s a RIOT.

The second audio session is 46 minutes of Q&A from the point of view of the confused new business owner, with a list of questions we’ve heard from rookie ittybiz-owners over the years. Some of the questions Naomi answers include:

• How can my idea KEEP making money?
• How do I convince people my ideas are worth money?
• How can I give a Starbucks experience on a nonexistent budget?
• How do I know who my Ideal Customer is?
• How can I get (and keep) attention for my product?
• How do I price my products & services? What am I worth?
• How long should I stick with a project that’s not working?

Endless Extras

We also put together an Extra Materials folder for you, because we had trouble deciding when to stop making helpful content. (Worst indecision ever, right?) Want to know what’s in that folder?

• A complete, comprehensive outline of the ebook for later reference.
• Complete outlines for each of Naomi’s audio marketing sessions.
• 6 beautiful pinup lists — illustrated, with visualizations! – that you can print and hang near your workspace, including half-page versions you can cut to carry around.
• An “Extras” page on our site that you can check for even more materials as time goes by.
• Continual updates to the entire kit — for free — forever, for as long as we continue to improve and update the content.

Jonathan Fields

Career Renegade

The Idea Catalyst Kit is an ass-kicking, action-inspiring ideation toolbox. It wrangles together the critical importance of mindset with a series of mini-case studies and immediately actionable tools and worksheets that actually deliver you into a place of clarity, inspiration and momentum. This isn’t a magic bullet, nor does it claim to be. You’ve still got to do the work. But, if you’re willing, it’s one hell of a guide.

James Chartrand

Men with Pens

There are a lot of great ideas out there. You probably have a few of those half-formulated ideas floating around yourself. But half-formulated isn’t much good, is it? Half-formulated is just a vague idea that you might be onto something cool, but there’s no real, tangible goal that you can reach. It’s just a feeling you have. Just a dream.

Want some good news? You can give your dreams some glue and turn them into something awesome. The Idea Catalyst Kit is specifically designed to help you get those feelings of something great out of that semi-formed state and onto paper so you can do something about them. It helps you grab your ideas, overcome the creative obstacles and helps you set your dreams into motion.

The Idea Catalyst Kit doesn’t let those dreams of yours float away. What more could you want?

Pam Slim

Author of Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur

Lack of ideas is not what keeps hoards of people trapped in Cubicle Nation – rather it is the lack of actionable, marketable, feasible ideas. Thank goodness Megan whipped up her entertaining, inspiring and extremely useful Idea Catalyst Kit so you not only generate killer ideas for improving your life and starting your business, but have fun while doing it.

(I will not lie, what sold me was proof that you generate profitable ideas while in the bathtub. I always knew it, but now have Naomi’s $11,000 testimonial to back it up. Worth the price of the ebook for this tip alone.)

Bob Poole

Author of Listen First – Sell Later

Oh, how I wish there had been an Idea Catalyst Kit for me when I was 22 years old and starting out as an entrepreneur. It would have saved me many, many hours, and sleepless nights. They say experience is the best teacher but I know for a fact that other peoples’ experience is so much better, quicker and cheaper.

This is one investment you’ll look back on one day (if you apply what you learn) and realize it ranks in the top-five you made in your life.

Megan Zumwinkel Taylor

Aspiring Entrepreneur

The Magnificent Megan M. and company have created a remarkable product in the Idea Catalyst Kit. If you’ve ever lost faith in your creativity, or in your ability to come up with ideas, or if you’re just not sure you even had such an ability to begin with, you should check it out. It takes you step by step through the process of idea creation, offering encouragement (and a few belly laughs) along the way. I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t benefit from the product; I know I have.

Colin Beveridge

Pleased Purchaser

Hey, Megan,

I wanted to say thanks for putting the Idea Catalyst Kit together – I’ve had the audio on in the car for the last week and I’m coming up with some awesome new stuff.

My internet went out a couple of days after I bought the kit, and instead of moping and grumbling the whole time, I looked for ways it could be a positive thing, and I came up with dozens of ways to work around it – realising I only ‘need’ it for e-mail and Skype, and pretty much everything else could fit in an odd half-hour in Starbucks.

The kit has given me an incredible shift in my perception of the internet and made me more productive (at least this week) than I’ve been in nearly a decade. Thank you.

All the best,

Colin

Keith Roumfort

Pleased Purchaser

I bought Idea Catalyst when it first came out for two big reasons.

1. Naomi said so. Don’t mess with Naomi. Whatever she says goes.

2. Your product is truly groundbreaking. In today’s new economy,
creativity to generate ideas to solve problems is the ultimate
resource. It’s something that can’t be outsourced easily overseas
because it can’t be easily reduced down to a mindless set of
repeatable steps.

I love how you interjected your cool personality throughout the
product. It makes it personable and user-friendly.

This product is not just for the budding entrepreneur, like myself,
but a regime for all small businesses to continually enhance and grow
through creative problem-solving.

If that sounds pretty damn good, you can buy it here:

Idea Catalyst Kit, $97

More information about our pricing…

We feel pretty strongly about getting this into the hands of people who can make it count, and although we know many people who have no trouble paying this price for the awesome materials we’ve put together, we also know that some people aren’t in a position to do so. If you really can’t afford $97 all at once, send Megan an email and let her know your situation. We’re not above payment arrangements, because we’ve been there too.

How we feel about refunds: We know it’s tough to be sure if you’re making the right choice when you can’t see the product before you buy it — this isn’t a bookstore, after all. Our favorite policy ever is one we’ve stolen from Naomi, who stole it in turn from Mark Silver at Heart of Business. He calls it the Backwards and Forwards Guarantee:

If this kit isn’t for you, we’ll give you a FULL refund of the money you spent. Your part of the deal? You forward your kit on to someone who can really use it. Plus, if you let us know what didn’t work for you, we’ll either update and improve the kit based on your recommendations — or we’ll suggest other resources that might help you out.

Furthermore, if you have any questions, email Megan at megan@ideaschema.org. You can also call her at 512-364-0045; she’ll either pick up or call you back. She often responds to voicemail by email, but she loves hearing from new people and making friends. So don’t be shy. ;}

Here’s what will happen once you hit the buy button: First, it will pop up an E-Junkie shopping cart — either in this window, or in a new window. E-Junkie is a third party payment processor, just like PayPal. What this means is that E-Junkie keeps your information just as secure as PayPal does — and we don’t share ANY of your information with ANYONE. EVER.

Once you hit the “Checkout” button, you’ll be taken through a PayPal dialogue that has “Megan Elizabeth Morris” at the top of the page. That’s where you can pay with your PayPal account, or any credit card if you don’t have an account. (Some people have a hard time finding this option. It’s near the bottom of the PayPal dialogue before you log in, and it says “Don’t have a PayPal account?”) Once you pay, you’ll get a confirmation email from megan@ideaschema.org, one from E-Junkie with your purchase details, and one from PayPal confirming the transfer. Keep a particular eye out for the first one, since it will give you all the information you need to download the zip file with all the Idea Catalyst Kit contents inside!

That’s all there is to it. Once again, email Megan if you need help. And good luck moving forward — we’re really excited to see what you come up with.

Idea Catalyst Kit, $97

PS. That “Uncle Joe” impression? Kept us cracking up all evening the day before we launched. If ANYTHING is worth the price of admission…