young enterpreneur council

The Challenge: The biggest challenge with IWearYourShirt.com would have been getting started. How do you convince companies to pay a virtual nobody to wear their T-shirt?

How do you take a somewhat crazy idea and unique pricing model (starting $1 on Jan 1 and increasing by $1 per day) and get people to take a chance?

The Solution: I knew that I didn’t like being spammed by my friends with mass emails and when I started using Twitter I hated random direct messages and tweets from strangers asking me to check things out. Instead I contacted people individually and instead of asking them to spend money, I simply asked for their feedback and to share the idea if they liked it.

I would do daily searches on Twitter for advertising, marketing, T-shirts, etc and engage in the conversations already happening. Never pushing my business, just trying to get my name out there.

The Aftermath: I’ve been very fortunate to have a success story, but it hasn’t come easy. I haven’t taken a day off in two years and I mean that. I’ve continued my streak of not having to sales pitch companies and word of mouth continues to help me grow my business.

Social media is not only how my business makes money, but how I continue to grow my community. Without those things there would be no IWearYourShirt.com.

The Lesson: There is no such thing as an overnight success and I agree whole-heartedly with the adage that you make your own luck. The harder you work the more luck and the more success you will have.

Also, if I can get paid to wear T-shirts for a living the sky is the limit for you!

Jason Sadler, Official T-Shirt Wearer at IWearYourShirt, hasn't always been wearing t-shirts for a living, but has always been creative. Fox Business has called him the "Entrepreneur of the Century."