Chen - The Art of Marketing: Innovative Strategies for Entrepreneurs, Startups and eCommerce

The Art of Marketing:

Innovative Strategies for Entrepreneurs, Startups and eCommerce

Michael Chen

Michael Chen 2016 - All Rights Reserved

Acknowledgments

'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - Robin Jones Gunn

Though this is going to be at the beginning the book, I am actually writing this part last as a thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way. Without everyones help, I would not have had the heart to make what used to be just an idea come to life. The day I posted three variants of my book cover on Facebook -- and receiving one hundred replies in under a day gave me unimaginable hope to finish this book and to put my heart into it. Writing a book can be scary because you are putting yourself out into the world and enabling yourself to be open to criticism, but to be welcomed with open arms is to know one of the best feelings in the world. I am grateful of everything.

The individuals that subscribed to my email list were part of a special group and I counted on them to help me with the launch of my book:

Thao Nguyen

Chris Pham

Richard Kieu

Andrew Dinh

Andy Chiang

Christina Nguyen

Christian Ancheta

Isaac Gomez

Star Huynh

Edward Vo

Bettina Supo

Benjamin Nguyen

Alfred Ly

Esme Orozco

Bianca Mellado

Tatsuya Ishikawa

Kylie Cacao

Caren Zeng

Jessica Kwong

Nancy Chen

Cindy Duong

Ashari Goins

Toral Suthar

Manoj Manoj

Eric Lee

Sarah Belanger

Chris Vu

Trang Bui

Jeremy Cruz

Raymond Dang

Anthony Dinh

Bill Truong

Andrew Tani

Katie Tran

IE Tran

Sarah McKee

Thank you to all who signed up to show me their support. I really do pay individual attention to anyone who supports me and then reaches out to me. It means the world to me.

Id also like to thank one of my best friends, Jeffrey Nguyen, who was with me every step of the journey from me having the idea for a book to the book turning into a reality. He made me believe that I could write a marketing book at just 19 years old. The time period spent writing this book was filled with many things going on at the same time. There was definitely many low points. It was a struggle to handle everything at once. Working on making this happen meant I had to sacrifice social time to spend more time writing but having him as someone I could talk to whenever I wanted to showed me that though I was alone, I was not lonely. It is not often you can find someone as genuine as him and I am grateful we crossed paths. When I was in my lowest points, he was there to pick me up and support me through difficult times. In my highest points, he will be with me.

I also want to thank the person who made me into the man I am today, Coach Mike. He is a father figure to me and showed me the importance of being a good person. I met him when I was just 11 years old; he was just my soccer coach but despite that, he showed me the path to become the greatest version of myself. He believed in me even before I believed in myself. From a young age, he would always tell me that I was destined to accomplish great things. To be constantly imbued with life lessons and inspiration meant that I had everything I needed to go on and achieve great things. Im finally just starting to realize what he has been telling me for the past 8 years. From the day he took me in to start weight training to the countless lessons of life all to improve my character, I have constantly been finding who I am as a human being with his support. This is just the start of my journey. Without him, I would never have written this book. Without him, I wouldnt be where I am today. With him, I can move mountains.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Through writing this book, I have learned even more about myself. I have done something I never thought I wouldve done. I was never one to love writing. In high school, I was a C grade student in English class who dreaded every writing assignment given to me. Who knew I would someday write a book? I had to sacrifice and dedicate more time to writing this book but I recall being told that if you love something, its not work. I loved writing this book. It tested many of my limits. Im proud to say that I came out on top. Im proud to say that together, we came out on top.

About Me

As you already know, my name is Michael Chen and I am 19 years old. Despite my age, I have never let that stop me from trying to achieve my dreams. Ever since I was young, I had the entrepreneurial spirit. I wanted to learn as much as I could and teach myself many things. I always had the desire to expand my mind. I wanted to be the one to create my own path in life.

When I was 13, I would ask my dad if I could buy wholesale candy from Costco so I can resell it at school to my peers. After school, I would browse the internet and watch exercise videos in order to teach myself how to work out.

When I was 15, I would buy the 32-pack bottled water so I could resell them to people on hot days when there wasnt easy access to drinkable water. Sometimes I even gave full cases of water to the homeless and taught them to resell them, re-invest the money and repeat.

Through my years of high school, I ran Track and Field which pushed me to develop discipline and a hard work ethic. At 17, I ran an online eCommerce business on eBay to sell Apple iPhone cases -- my favorite times were whenever Apple released a new phone. I would also read tons of books to absorb as much knowledge as I can. I even stayed in a classroom at lunch just so I could read. When I was 17, I taught myself photography and had a ton of success holding photo shoots just for friends. Eventually, one set of my photos went viral and I saw success when all my clients came from referrals.

When I was 18, I started my own nonprofit apparel brand, Aspire Higher Apparel. I also taught myself the fundamentals of web design and created my own website (michaelchen.biz).

Now, I am 19 and Ive set my courses to write my own marketing book as well as utilize my marketing knowledge as the Marketing Director of Peerbuds (an online personal tutoring startup). As you can tell, I am a firm believer that I am the one to decide my destiny. Though I may have supporters, it is ultimately up to me to decide that I want to become the best version of myself. I grew up in the age of the Internet and I fully recognize the power that it has if harnessed correctly. Times really are changing today. It is a new era.

Though I may be young, I never thought I was too young. I have so many things I want to do. Perhaps the biggest thing I want to do is to change this world. I believe even the smallest action can make somebodys world. I want to inspire a generation willing to listen to me and my story. I want this world to be better having me gone through it. This is just the start of my journey.

Intro

Times are changing in todays digital world. With the boom of new startups and ecommerce platforms, old marketing techniques might not be the best option to draw in potential customers. Marketing techniques and strategies for established corporations are quickly found to be not the best option for new age businesses.

If you are an entrepreneur, founder/part of a startup or in eCommerce, this book is for you.

In The Art of Marketing: Innovative Strategies for Entrepreneurs, Startups and eCommerce,