Arts
It’s a great day … for science! Dr. Jordan Bell is a psychologist, educator, and author from Australia, and one of my first Boss Foundations students. Now she’s about to publish a crowdfunded book called Aunt Jodie's Guide to Evolution! Learn more about the book, how she got it launched, and how Boss Foundations helped her skyrocket her campaign. How did the idea for the book begin? Having a basic understanding of science is really important for all citizens in our world, but there weren’t many adventure story books about evolution for middle to upper primary students (grades 3 to 7) to really get them involved with the concept and fundamental ideas. So Jordie wrote one! How did you get started with the book? This has been a labor of love for the last seven years. She came up with the framework and wrote the draft very quickly, and soon dove into her research for half a year. And with all that information, she was able to craft a story that illustrates the concept of evolution based on actual fossil records and what the earth was really like 55 million years ago. The book sat on her hard drive for about six years, and things came together in the beginning of 2017 when she was able to connect with an artist and start working out a plan to bring this book into the world. Where was the project before you started taking the Boss Foundations Masterclass? Before starting Boss Foundations, Jordie had a clear idea of what she wanted to do with the book but had no idea how to move that forward in a way that would let her get through her huge to-do list. She also had no idea how to bring it to market and tell people that the book was going to be available. How did Boss Foundations influence the project? After only three months of Boss Foundations, the book is currently halfway through a successful crowdfunding campaign, with enough funding to bring the book to market. What do you think Boss Foundations helped you achieve in three months that you couldn’t have done yourself? The concept of an Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) is not new, but with other ICA exercises, Jodie would always come up blank. Boss Foundations was really able to break it down with an incredible worksheet, and now, not only does Jordie have a detailed ICA, she’s able to talk to them in a way that they find interesting, relevant, and appealing. Tell me more about your launch. It was fast: they hit their initial funding target in eight and a half days with zero advertising. Jordie credits part of the success to being able to speak with her ICA customers so well. What other tips and tricks have you found most valuable when bringing your project to light? Have a landing page to collect email addresses, instead of just sharing about the project on Facebook. Learn how to carve out enough time to implement ideas, and take it one small step at a time so you can gain momentum and succeed at more things What advice would you have for someone who wanted to start a similar project? Obviously, join Boss Foundations! Have a product that people actually want and then get the word out there. This comes down to really nailing your ICA as precisely as you can, then testing your idea out on them. Go hard on your publicity before you launch so you have a group of excited people ready to buy when you do. Resources Dr. Jordan Bell (Website) Aunt Jodie’s Guide to Evolution (Pozible) Aunt Jodie’s Guide (Website) Aunt Jodie’s Guide to Evolution (Facebook Group)