So I've been told three times in the last week by creative people running cool businesses

that they “really respect my business skills,” and to that, I just would like to say…

[LAUGHS]

The list of my screw-ups is a mile long and full of cringe.

Now I'm not saying that I'm not interested in it, haven't worked hard.

There are reasons why I'm fairly good at this.

A big one is that I do like solving problems, I like getting a good feel for them

and finding different ways to attack them and worrying about them.

I find this to be fun, creative work that's actually kind of similar to plotting a novel?

Two, I see it as good. Employing people, treating them fairly,

creating value for the world, finding ways for that value to sustain itself.

Three, my dad has run businesses, and whenever I have a problem I can call him and he helps me.

It's… extremely valuable!

I could go on! Four, I've gotten very lucky with hiring.

And all those things have helped, and I'm happy to take some credit where it's due,

but ultimately I have a secret.

And it will be absolutely no help when I tell you about it. Every business I have launched that has succeeded

has been launched with the support of a really wonderful online community.

Honestly, this is part of why DFTBA now gives all of John and my profit

to the Maternal Center of Excellence in Sierra Leone.

It's why the Vlogbrothers channel revenue has always been split

between charity and supporting smaller educational video channels.

When I look at this honestly and objectively and I think about where the value came from,

it always feels to me like a lot of the value came from the employees and this community

and less from me, because I'm just one person, right?

There are times when I have pounded myself into the ground to get things done.

I've had a lot of bad weeks in my life.

But in running a business, it's important to understand where your value comes from.

It's important to understand your strengths.

And this community has always been at the top of the list of our strengths.

And that's not just like marketing to you. It's finding people who can tell us

how to do things, finding people to hire.

Getting immediate product feedback! Like there's a reason I keep talking about soda syrups.

I'm trying to get you guys to tell me how you feel about soda syrups!

And basically no one has this asset. Now, other people have similar assets,

but not like Nerdfighteria, right? Not this good!

So I've been hesitant to give advice when my biggest asset is something that I don't tend to share… but!

I would like... for us... to build a business! Now here's how it's gonna work.

If you are a business person and you think you could help this idea by

providing mentorship or helping us pick business ideas that are submitted to us,

I've created a form in the description, and it's next to the words, “I can help.”

If you think you have expertise that will be valuable on a small board of people

making decisions and providing mentorship, fill that out!

Second, if you are an entrepreneur, if you have a product or a service that you are excited about

that you've started to grow but you need a push,

I've got a form for you as well. It's called, “I need help.”

Now in general, we're looking for stuff that's beyond the idea stage

and that it actually has a product or service or business developed a little bit.

You can fill this out with just an idea, but... it better be a banger, basically.

But here's the sticky bit: I'm gonna give this business $50,000… but!

If the business is able to become successful over the next three years,

we wanna get that $50,000 back to promote maternal health in Sierra Leone.

And every year when you do your profit distributions, 10% of after-tax income

should also go to support that effort.

If that sounds good to you and you've got an idea that can grow but needs some mentorship

and some support from an amazing audience of cool people who wanna support good things,

the form is down in the description.

John, I think everybody has the ability to be a business owner. Now, not everybody has the inclination.

But even if you don't, I think everyone should watch

the Crash Course Business: Entrepreneurship Learning Playlist.

It's a 17-episode series hosted by Anna Akana that goes over the basics

of starting your own business and also of business in general.

The link to that playlist is here and in the description,

and those forms that I was telling you about are down there as well.

John, I'll see you on Tuesday.