Bowden Bros Golf - Building a Platform
The concept of having a platform in the sales industry, especially real estate, is virtually non-existent. The strategy of prospecting, prospecting, and more prospecting is an unsustainable business plan. Almost no one likes doing it.
How many people are actually wired to be rejected 100 times a day just to get one yes? Not many. Furthermore, NO ONE likes being on the receiving end of a sales pitch. Some may be more polite than others, but if you actually like someone knocking on your door, please correct me.
Jonathan Bowden
I sat down with a fellow Jonathan today, Jonathan Bowden, owner of Bowden Bros Golf, and we had a fantastic conversation about platforms.
Let's talk about this: What is a platform?
We'll start with the dictionary. A platform is a "raised level of surface that is above everyone else, placed so that visitors can see".
Having been to many concerts in my life, my mind pictures a band playing on a stager with thousands of fans looking up and singing along.
When you think about it, a band is a group of entrepreneurs. Every band starts in the same place. Playing local shows, slowly earning followers, and almost always it's unfathomably slow.
A fantastic example of a musical entrepreneur is Jack White. You probably have heard of him, and his band, The White Stripes. He went from having his own upholstery business and a band called "the Upholsterers", to having running three different award winning bands and having a platform to launch his solo career.
There's a lot more to his story, and I'm not a musician despite how much as I wanted to be in high school. Yet, as a young and aspiring entrepreneur, I'm positive that is how you build a platform for yourself. He leveraged what he had around him and built himself an empire, and he has become one of the biggest names in alternative rock.
Jonathan's grandfather grew up as a golfer. Then his son and both of his grandsons, Jonathan and Daniel, all golfed. Surrounded by golf, and loving it, Jonathan ended up playing golf for Furman University while studying for his business management degree.
Not only that, Jonathan had a coaching mentality and started a golf coaching business with his brother.
"Now, I want to see what's going on in the world," he told me. "What is Greenville all about? I look at platforms that business's like Uber have built, and I want to study them. I want a front row seat to successful people."
"I want to give-back, help the freelancers and entrepreneurs. Hear their stories and learn from their skills."
He and I have a lot in common.
Jonathan now has several business ventures in the works. He's formatting them with a philanthropic cornerstone. I'm confident that doing this is going to naturally build his golf coaching business.
The main of which is Bowden Bros Golf. Head over to their site and check out what they have to offer. If you're a golfer, or an aspiring one, these are the guys you want to be talking with. They focus on player development and consulting.
Jonathan took what he grew up loving, leveraged it, studied the true professionals around him, and is now in the process of putting the final nails into his platform.
This is how to build a business the RIGHT way.
The respected way.
The sustainable way.