Would you sit on a toilet for two days to start your business?

1 · The empty launch

Picture this. You finally open your own little business. You post, "Now open. Ten percent off." You hit share, and you wait.

Two likes. One of them is your mom.

So you figure the only way people will notice you is to pay for ads, lots of ads. Money you don't have yet.

But first, a quick test. Two posts just showed up in your feed. Be honest, which one made you stop scrolling?

Yeah. Nobody ever told a friend, "You have to see this ten percent off coupon." That's a big clue. Hold onto it.

Today, I'll show you three friends with a product nobody gets excited about, and one very strange idea. And here's the part almost everyone gets wrong about it. The money they raised mostly wasn't donations. Hold on to that too.

2 · The man on the toilet

Meet Simon in Melbourne, Australia. He and two friends spent two years making a toilet paper that gives half its profits to help build toilets. They called it Who Gives a Crap? Yes, that's the real name.

Because back then, more than two billion people around the world didn't have a safe toilet.

Good cause, good product, one big problem. To make their first big batch, they needed people to order fifty thousand dollars of toilet paper.

And toilet paper is not exactly the kind of thing people rush to tell their friends about.

So at six on a dark winter morning in July 2012 in Australia, Simon walked into their chilly, empty warehouse, pointed a camera at himself, and sat down on a toilet.

And he made a promise live on the Internet. "I'm not leaving this toilet until we pre-sell fifty thousand dollars of product."

For five dollars, he'd even write you a thank you note on a square of toilet paper and post a picture of it live from the toilet.

People watched, people laughed, and news sites from Melbourne to New York started writing about the guy on the toilet.

3 · Help him off the toilet

Remember the part almost everyone gets wrong? Here it is. Most people weren't donating. They were ordering toilet paper that didn't exist yet. That's called a pre-order. You pay now, and it shows up later.

Their homepage said it in giant letters, "Help Simon get off the toilet. Want to help? Tap pre-order. Every tap is an order."

He couldn't sleep. But just over fifty hours later, they hit it. Fifty thousand dollars.

The company's own update said Simon was finally resting his sore buttocks. Yes, really.

And here's the part most people miss. The orders didn't stop when he stood up. They left the door open, and by the end, one thousand three hundred thirty-three people had ordered about sixty-six thousand dollars' worth. That paid for the first big batch.

So here's the secret. Most of us think attention has to be bought. But people don't forward ads, they forward a show.

And the best show is a promise with a finish line happening live where every person watching can help you cross it.

Today, that little company sells in dozens of countries, and it has given more than twenty million Australian dollars to help build toilets and bring clean water. Not bad for a company that got its start with a man who wouldn't get up.

4 · Leo's soggy weekend

Now let me show you how this works for a small business near you. This is Leo. He just opened a one-van dog grooming business.

His now open ten percent off post got two likes. You know whose.

So Leo makes a promise. He parks his van in the town square, climbs into his own dog tub, and goes live. "I'm not getting out of this tub until thirty dogs are booked."

His van is covered in thirty muddy paw prints. Every time someone books and pays for a first bath, he rings a bell and wipes one off. Neighbors bring him coffee. Someone brings a towel.

By Sunday night, Leo climbs out soggy and grinning, and his calendar is full. People didn't just watch, they booked, they paid, and they told their friends about the guy in the tub.

5 · Your turn

So here's your new superpower, the finish line promise. One, make a promise with a finish line. Two, do it live where people can watch. Three, make every helper a buyer. Pre-orders, not favors. And keep the door open after you cross the line.

Here's a quick test for your idea. Would a stranger check back tomorrow to see if you made it? If yes, you've got a show.

One rule, only promise what you'll really do. The show only works because it's real.

Now it's your turn. Pick what you won't do and what has to happen first or type your own.

Flip it over. That's piece number three for your collection.

Next time, I'll bring you another outlier and another superpower you can try that same week.