Inventory Stuck in China? Here's How Patrick Met that Challenge and Still Sold $10K During Launch Week

Action Always Speaks Louder than Words: Meet The One Percent Member of the Month, Patrick O'Donnell 

Some people merely fantasize about what could be. Then there are self-driven entrepreneurs who take action to make those visions a reality. Patrick O'Donnell is the latter.

Patrick is the Chief Experience Officer for DLP and the owner of Ignite Performance Today. Both businesses serve the same target audience. Patrick's hard-working, determined attitude demonstrates how to be a team-focused intrapreneur and an independent entrepreneur simultaneously.

When it came time for us to select The One Percent Member of the Month, we knew Patrick was the ideal choice. 

Here's how he fits into our GIVE acronym:

G-Grit: Patrick isn't the type to let a setback get in his way. After securing a printing company in China, he announced the launch date for his journal. Then COVID hit. But he refused to let massive shipping delays stop him from moving forward. Even when the boat carrying his inventory got stuck in China, he didn't throw in the towel. Instead, he communicated with his audience and still managed to bring in $10K during the first week.

I-Investing: Unlike other startups, Patrick didn't need much capital to get the ball rolling. Paying in advance for print copies was the brand's biggest cost. They were confident enough sales would come in from current relationships. So, he didn't hesitate to pay the printing fees up front. Now, staying on top of supply and investing in more inventory is his top goal.

V-Value: It's not smoke and mirrors with Patrick—he takes action and delivers results. He reiterates the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people who can bring you to a higher level. His ambitious spirit inspires other TOP members to follow in his footsteps.

E-Expanding: Patrick wants to continue growing DLP and Ignite Performance Today organically. DLP's next step is to launch its EES (Elite Execution System) Tools software, accompanying the brand's book and journal. This software will help companies scale profitably through better organization skills. It should launch by Q3 to elite members and then to the public shortly after.

Inrive Nutrition already has performance products in prototype development. The first physical product might launch this year or, at the very latest, early 2022. Patrick isn't a stranger to physical products. His popular Fit Life Challenge changed lives in just 40 days through mindset, sleep, exercise, and nutrition. This time, he wants to focus on the nutrition side of those components.

Patrick O'Donnell: Lifelong Entrepreneur

Patrick is no stranger to launching companies. Visions, dreams, and ideas for new businesses pop into his mind all time. He owned a CrossFit gym and even owned a marketing agency.

Today, Patrick O'Donnell is the Chief Experience Officer (no, not a typo—just a really cool title) for DLP Real Estate Capital. It's a company dedicated to helping its core audience "dream, live, prosper." The brand provides real estate investors solutions for building wealth and prosperity.

DLP is very successful in the real estate niche, but the company didn't have any products. Patrick, following his entrepreneurial tendencies, brainstormed ways to change this. Everyone at DLP jumped on board. The brand has since launched a book and a journal. It even plans to release specialized software. "This company is incredibly entrepreneurial," he explains.

Although Patrick was (and still is) extremely happy at DLP, he felt the urge to start something new. After completing Justus' PDP course, he had an epiphany—many of the things he did before needed to come back. This realization led Patrick to found Ignite Performance Today. 

Building an Empire by Helping Others Become Their Best Selves 

Fueled by his passion, Patrick created The Fit Life Challenge.. The program optimized participants' performance through better sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Inrive (inspire + thrive) will serve a similar purpose—and the same target audience.

Patrick leads Ignite Performance Today and its complementary physical products brand, Inrive, alongside DLP. He knows that collaboration is far more productive than competition. "I know it wouldn't work with every company, but the company culture we have there is amazing," he brags. Ignite would send referrals back to DLP and vice versa. Initially, Ignite will be a whole online platform, complete with podcasts and a YouTube channel.

Through Inrive Nutrition, Patrick will serve a subset of his larger audience - entrepreneurial parents who desire high performance and the best for their kids. Serving this market is his personal passion. He has already started developing a prototype for a Paleo-friendly granola cereal. And he will expand his performance-based nutrition line from there.

Entrepreneurs Are Often Unemployable

Curious minds wonder how a self-proclaimed entrepreneur ended up working for someone else—and actually enjoying it! The story starts when Patrick first met his wife, Hunter, at Georgia Tech. The two wanted to create memories full of adventure. But kids quickly put a damper on that vision.

With two young children, traveling all the time was out of the question. Patrick put down roots and started his marketing agency. As the kids got older, the desire to travel came back full force. Hunter and Patrick decided to homeschool their boys and travel across the world. Following Tim Ferriss' business model, Patrick put the agency on autopilot, and they left. "It was by far the greatest thing we had ever done."

After returning home, Patrick realized how much he longed for coastal views. So the family sold their home in Atlanta and moved to the beach in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Patrick also decided to go beyond marketing alone. Instead, he wanted to try his hand at something new—something amazing that would change the world and others.

Intrapreneurs Are Invaluable

Patrick searched the area for people with the same mindset, but he reiterated it wasn't a job search. He eventually discovered DLP and realized he and the owner saw eye-to-eye. DLP stands for Dream, Live, Prosper. Patrick read the company's core values to his wife. She said it sounded like something he wrote himself. He left on Friday, met the CEO on Monday, and the stars aligned. Patrick became the Chief Experience Officer. His title sounds weird, but it blends his past worlds perfectly.

The DLP CEO wrote Building an Elite Organization, a book about scaling profitably. But the company needed a companion to it—something to further explain how to apply the tips taught in the book. This journal became Patrick's primary focus. It turned into The Elite Journal and became the company's first product.

Launch Sales Over $10K Despite a Global Pandemic

Journals aren't anything new; there are tons out there on varying topics. Patrick studied other journals for inspiration. But he wanted to create one specifically related to their Elite Execution System, a business operating system. And there wasn't a journal for that niche.

Writing the journal was a fun process: create, get feedback, and repeat. Patrick brought an advance copy to a DLP event and handed it out to all the attendees. The journal wasn't pretty—it was a VERY rough copy—but he wanted to get it out there. "If you're not embarrassed by your first product, you waited too long," Patrick jokes. He found himself apologizing a lot, but in the end, he just wanted people to provide honest feedback.

Patrick trusted their opinions because they were all really hard-driving entrepreneurs. All the constructive feedback was constructive. He incorporated it into the final version. He also built connections at these events and created a prelaunch email list.

Producing the product was relatively inexpensive, and DLP didn't need outside funding. Printing turned out to be the most significant cost involved. They saved money by choosing a book publishing company based in China. The launch date was just around the corner.

And then COVID struck.

When the pandemic hit, shipping slowed to a near stop. Products took forever to ship unless they were essential to health. Everyone told Patrick the launch wouldn't happen. But after talking through the options, he decided to give it a go. And yes, the product got stuck on the boat along the way. Patrick emailed customers to explain they would miss the initial launch date. "Nobody was upset," he recalled.

The journal launched recently on Amazon. It sold over $10K the first week and made the best-seller's list. He credits existing relationships for the journal's warm reception. Patrick kept in touch constantly, adding value to the entire process. "It was a very organic, grassroots approach."

A Performance-Driven Family Affair

Patrick is very thankful to have a loving family that supports all his entrepreneurial endeavors. He has two sons, ages 11 and 14. While his wife is creative and comes up with ideas, his oldest son is a strict driver. He is a type-A who pushes deadlines and gets things rolling. Patrick says, "He has a mind beyond his age." After all, his son wants to earn and save enough money to buy a truck AND a boat, AND a fishing pole. His younger son doesn't have any interest in the business side of things—at least not yet.

His family helps out with Ignite Performance Today. Inrive Nutrition has its first nutrition-based performance products in development. Patrick hopes to launch this year or early 2022. Once again, he plans to self-fund this brand.

Patrick’s Best Business Advice 

Patrick believes all entrepreneurs need to create a future picture first. Then, your vision will get you inspired about what's next in the journey. "You're not being pushed. Instead, you're excited about it," he passionately states. And once you have and share that vision, it will pull you and everyone else to it.

After identifying your vision, setting your top three goals is crucial. Dial in the steps for the goals you want to reach for the following year. From there, you work with rocks and milestones. Yearly goals break into quarterly goals, which are rocks. Always work on the big rocks first. Then, break those down into two-week millstones—your sprints.

"Everyone has the vision, but the problem is execution." 

Patrick O'Donnell

Milestones help you stay on track and inspire you to continue forward. Execution is the usual challenge for those without these milestones. Wake up every morning and start your day with an inspiring routine. Then sit down and focus on your goals and habits for the day.

From The 4-Hour Workweek to 12 Months to $1 Million

Patrick says he built his marketing agency to run without his constant work and input. He followed Tim Ferriss' four-hour workweek blueprint to a tee. It worked beautifully. 

Now, he's building his Ignite Performance Today brand following the step-by-step blueprint in Ryan's book. Patrick says his membership in The One Percent community and his interactions with Justus and Ryan help push him to a higher level. As he says, "Being part of the community makes all things possible."

Patrick also says that, like many entrepreneurs, he’s very busy. But there’s one weekly business newsletter he never misses reading. It’s The Grind - and it’s absolutely free. (We knew he was a smart guy!)