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Good morning Launch Key 🚀 community!

I’m back at elevation this week, writing from a different screen porch in the mountains of NC. The screen porch series turns back to one of the original foundations of this newsletter - only you can create the business idea of your dreams.

Generations of business owners have come from this single seed – “I did it my way.”

Let's get into it.

Gmail users may wish to read online since some parts may be clipped. Comment below and let me know if we’re on the right track.

Table of Contents

• Pull to Eject

  • Contrarian ideas

• Modern Tools

• Old School Wisdom

• Free Knowledge

• Recommendations

• Visual Crapshoot

Pull to Eject

One of my favorite side hustles was being a DJ at bar during college.

I can’t say that I was very good or that the pay was great. But everyone was legal and early 80’s Thursday nights were packed at the Tick Tock. The owner (RIP Butch) always wanted me to play Frank Sinatra’s My Way before the evening was over.

Every business owner wants to sing along at the top of their lungs.

Contrarian ideas

But it can be hard to make others see your vision if your idea doesn’t fit neatly into the existing boxes.

Contrarian Warren Buffett doesn’t fit in a box. Richard Branson doesn’t either. Elon Musk doesn’t fit in the many boxes he touches. Steve Jobs never fit in a box.

With 1980 offices full of typewriters, Steve Jobs envisioned a completely different role for personal computers.

Doing it his way included both creating and being removed from his own company. And Jobs built one of the most consequential companies ever, upon his triumphant return to Apple.

The “Think Different’ campaign was the beginning of the global consumer technology dominance that included the iMac, iTunes, Mac OS X, Apple Store, iPod, iTunes Store, iPhone, App Store, and iPad. Job’s ‘way’ and incredible vision has forever changed our lives.

Launch Key subscriber Jason Duncan (1 of a few who knew my Tick Tock gig 😉) sent me the following article on comedian Nate Bargatze. A different kind of contrarian.

Shut out by the Hollywood establishment – Bargatze created his own path – from Nashville. He chose to move closer to family. And keep his act clean. And play smaller venues. And stop drinking.

Last year he sold more tickets to his stand-up shows than anyone else in comedy –including Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, and Sebastian Maniscalco combined. He just released his first book - Big Dumb Eyes and is now being pitched movie ideas every week.

Bargatze is a man who knew his worth and figured out how to make the world see him on his terms. And he became the biggest comedian on the planet, doing it his way.

There will never be another Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett.

There’s not going to be another Nate Bargatze either. Who knew that cultural contrarian comedian was even a thing?

People make excuses that they can’t dream up an entirely new category like those above.

Ok – then start something that just might be lacking in your area. You don’t need to design a better mousetrap. Availability, or even marginally better can be a solid business.

And the internet is full of small business ideas that need doing:

• Hubspot - 50 Small Business Ideas

• Shopify - 40 Home Businesses

• Business News Daily - 30 Great Business Ideas

• Reddit - 500+ comments on types of businesses

What do you think different about?

How can you turn those ideas into singing with Sinatra?

Now go launch something 🚀 

Modern Tools

Many of you are already using Notion. But it just got significantly better with AI.

Notion unveiled “AI for Work” featuring AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search, and Research Mode.

Business and Enterprise plans now include unlimited Notion AI with automatic transcription and cross-platform search.

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

Old School Wisdom

With his recent retirement announcement, it’s a good time to re-read Buffett’s classic.

The book traces Warren Buffett’s career from his humble childhood beginnings, the influence of his father, working with the legendary value investor Benjamin Graham, to launching his investment partnership at age 25 that later purchased control of a nearly bankrupt Berkshire Hathaway, that became the 7th largest company in the world worth $800 billion.

Free Knowledge

Kyle Grieve chats with Larry Connor about why being different is crucial to outperformance, why turning over the most rocks and ruthlessly eliminating opportunities is vital to success.

Contrarian thinking is an excellent tool on the path to Your Way.

Recommendations

💼 Thriving Freelance - Gigs and Growth : Hundreds of job opportunities sent directly to your inbox each week, plus timely resources to support you as you grow and evolve.

👋 Huntrs : Join Hanna Larrson and learn how to build your personal brand and audience, monetize your knowledge, build multiple income streams and a lean, profitable online business.

📕 MGMT Playbook : Practical management insights straight to your inbox every Wednesday.

📰 Newsletter Operator : Learn how to grow and monetize your newsletter. Trusted by 30,000+ media founders, CEOs, creators.

🗃️ Dealroom Business Success Uncovered : Learn directly from billionaire entrepreneurs on how to grow a business. Join a community of 2,000+ innovators.

🟢 Scalable : Helping early-stage founders launch products and grow startups, fast.

Visual Crapshoot