Today, I’m going to make a case as to why you should launch your imperfect product or service. Don’t wait for perfection. Start selling your incomplete or imperfect product… now.

Even if you don’t intend to bring a product or service to market, the messaging I present today can be applied in any professional environment.

I’d like to tell you my personal story of how I launched an imperfect initial product.

Here, I am using internet archive, also known as the wayback machine, which allows you to see what a website looked like at just about any point in time.

The year was 1998 and I was in the United States Air Force. I was 20 years old. I started a fitness website where I would provide tips and answer various questions from users. Let’s just say, abdominal related questions were very popular: so popular that I began to notice I was answering the same questions over and over.

I figured there might be a way to make money by selling a virtual book on abdominal training. I looked online and noticed that there was no such book on abs in digital format. There were plenty of published titles on abs, but no ebooks.

Skill wise, I knew I was strong in English. My Air Force job mostly involved proofreading. So, writing and formatting an ebook was no issue. I had gained traction as a fitness author.

I then began the process of consolidating every user question, along with my reply to those questions, into a file. The content was used as an outline for what would ultimately become the first ebook on abs. It took approximately 2 months to write.

To give the ebook a marketing edge, I also made it the largest book on abs ever assembled with over 170 pages. While most of the published abdominal books covered the basics, I was able to creatively incorporate things like popular abdominal infomercial products and diet trends.

The ebook was launched with great success. At its peak, I was generating roughly $300 per day, while working full time in the Air Force.

There are some interesting facts that I must share:

Prior to joining the Air Force, I didn’t know how to type.

I was able to publish an ebook that was made entirely in Microsoft Word and converted into PDF via Adobe Acrobat.

There was no formal planning, only a basic idea.

This was a self-published ebook, meaning initially I could not afford the services of a publisher. Back then the concept of an ISBN for an “ebook” didn’t exist. ISBN meant you were talking about printed books that needed a barcode.

The total cost to launch the ebook did not exceed $500. The only costs were for web hosting and software.

The ebook gave birth to many other website projects that ultimately generated millions in revenue.

Now, let’s refocus on the initial message:

I launched an ebook that wasn’t perfect. It was never professionally proofread, formatted, or anything like that. But over time, I enhanced it, added to it, and ultimately made a print version available. A simple ebook provided the impetus for other sites to flourish and bring in millions over time.

If you are working on a project, and you are having trouble finishing that project, go ahead and try to launch what you have now. You can always make improvements as you go. Think of the ipad One versus the ipads currently available. Think of that progression. Apple didn’t start with their best product. They launched a very basic initial product.

Launch your imperfect product or service today.

I’m Justin Leonard. Please visit LeonardInnovation.com and sign up for the free mini course. Leonard Innovation is the business school for entrepreneurs who don’t come from wealth. Thanks again for tuning in.