I launched KickstarterForum.org a little over 3 years ago. Since then, I’ve had the chance to survey users about various topics and subjects. Here are a few of the surveys I’ve run in the past:
- Here’s how most creators find out about Kickstarter
- Hours per week spent on a Kickstarter project
- The secret to going full-time as a creator or entrepreneur
- How long will it take Kickstarter to approve your project?
In this survey, I asked the community what their overall dream is and why. I received 38 replies.
I’m going to sort out these aspirations into general categories and then talk about how Kickstarter can be a starting point for your goals.
These are the dreams Kickstarter campaign creators have on the forum:
- Put products into the world that will positively influence others.
- Impact others to think or behave a certain way.
- Do what you love for full time work.
- Make a living at your passion or be paid for it.
- Own your own business.
- Have a business that combines creativity, innovation, doesn’t require an obscene time commitment, and integrates with family life.
- Grow a community around your creations.
- Change your career from what you’re doing to what you’re passionate about.
Many of the creators talked about their childhood dreams and what they’ve always wanted to do with their time. Of course, there were also answers like:
- Travel the world
- Get rich or become wealthy
- Be famous
- Be remembered by the world
- Get recognition in a community.
You can read all of the replies here. I’ll include a few sample ones below.
After reading through all of the replies on the forum, I was blown away. Many of these dreams are similar to ones I’ve had, and to think that I’m playing a small role in helping these creators achieve theirs is very humbling.
I find it interesting that so many of these entrepreneurs and creative types gravitated towards Kickstarter, but it actually makes complete sense. Kickstarter helps you:
- Gather a following around your product, project, or idea.
- Get the initial funds to launch the product into the world.
- Interact with other creative types and patrons of the arts.
You could be living in a small town in middle America or be an unknown international entrepreneur, but if you create a great product and market it right, you’ll have backers beating down your door.
Suddenly, you’ll have that recognition, influence, community and income that you’ve been searching for.
How amazing is that!?
And it’s not like I’m selling a mirage here. There are plenty of entrepreneurs and creative types that I’ve interviewed on the podcast. Even one team has launched three successful campaigns and has raised over $1 million dollars on Kickstarter.
Since 2012, it’s been my mission to demystify crowdfunding, share what’s working, and isolate tactics and strategies that you can use to smash your Kickstarter goal.
But, I think I need to be doing more.
In fact, there’s a lot more ways I can help the community achieve their goals.
As I posted on the forum,
“It really makes me angry when we buy the narrative that the media tells us about our career path, or when we don’t pursue our passions.
It makes me angry because I know for a fact that people are capable of so much more. It makes me angry when people settle.
We live in the best time in the history of the world. We live in a time where we can get funding for our passion and create a product that will impact thousands, if not millions of people.
I have a lot of dreams, but one of my major ones is to be on the cutting edge and to be the catalyst for change in our world.”
After reading through all of the dreams, one thing that REALLY makes me happy is that almost none of the creators were just launching a campaign just to make money. They really wanted to change the world. I do too.
I look forward to serving this community in new and exciting ways! If you’d like to share our dream or why you’re launching a Kickstarter project, join the discussion on the forum or leave a comment below!
