3. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

I recommend you listen to Simon Sinek’s TedTalk on Start With Why: How leaders inspire action. He explains that when we speak from the inside out – when we share our why, the reasons we exist, the things we believe in – we are talking directly to the part of the brain that is responsible for feelings like trust and loyalty. It is also responsible for human behaviour and decision-making and has no capacity for language.

You know, sometimes, you can give somebody all the facts and figures and they say, “I know what all the facts and details are but it just doesn’t feel right.” Why do we use that verb? It doesn’t feel right. Because the part of the brain that controls the decision-making, doesn’t control language and the best we can muster up is, “I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right.”

A big part of my crowdfunding campaign was storytelling and opening up to my community. For the very first time, I allowed myself to be vulnerable and shared my personal story, why I believed in the cause, and why others should believe in it too.

Two weeks into the campaign, my story made headlines on news.com.au, booting Putin off as lead story by mid-day. I also blogged about it in the Founder Diaries.

4. It’s a full-time gig

Do not underestimate the time and commitment required to see it through. From day one of going live, I had no time to do anything else but push the campaign, right to the very end. It was a full-time gig on top of my full-time business. I thought I was in over my head. Had I been more prepared I would not have missed out on media opportunities to feature on various media outlets. They reached out on Twitter but I was too busy to respond quickly. By the time I did, I’d missed their deadlines.

I believe what got me through was sheer determination and a laser-sharp focus on the goal.