When Jorg Sprave was 9, his dad took him into the woods for the occasion that should be part of every boy’s
growing up experience – making a slingshot. “We searched and found a perfectly forked hazelwook stick,” Sprave says. “Then we cut the rubber from a car’s inner tube and made the pouch from an old shoe.” He was hooked.
Today Jorg is 52 – and still making slingshots. He doesn’t even build them to sell as his designs are one-of-a-kind and pretty exotic. He uses simple wood triggers and basic mechanics. Some shoot 6 projectiles at once. One uses iPhones for ammunition. But then he puts his amateur videos up on his YouTube Channel – and people are obviously enthralled with watching them. The video of his 7.5 ft slingshot that blasts a full-size machete has been viewed 2,991,820 times. And you’ll notice the little banner ads that run at the bottom of the screen – thus generating significant income for Jorg.
What goofy idea did your Dad teach you that you may be overlooking as your next profitable business?
It seems that when we “grow up” we dismiss all of our childhood passions as unrealistic or impractical. Maybe your skill with the yo-yo, the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, checkers, Legos, the Pogo stick, jacks – or slingshots, would provide more of an opportunity than that MBA got you.
Both of my sons raced BMX – bicycle motocross. We modified bicycles, built ramps, designed starting gates and experimented with mental preparation to get just that little edge. Those skills laid the groundwork for success in things they’re doing now many years later.
Opportunities don’t have to be complicated to be fun and profitable. Tweet This
What great lessons, tricks or principles did your Dad teach you?
