i would write a #1 hit using the manual.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manual
Oh I remember reading about that (mostly the controversy it caused within the industry). I don't know if he'd have the money to hire the studio musicians, etc I will definitely direct him there.
I thought this was hypothetical. In 24 months, assuming you're just getting started I think...
First 3-6 months: Get started on basic music theory and begin learning an instrument (and continue practicing the rest of the 24 months)
Next 3-6 months: Produce as much music as possible
Year 2: Hustle, I think nowadays you have two choices to make money, either license or tour. You could either write music for film/games/commercials or download some songs from beatport, find a club and press play as stated above. I don't think it's much different from building any other business, you would have to get out there (either online or in the real world) and have people remember you for something. If this was a real endeavor you could blog about your progress, write up some tutorials, give away some free music, sell lessons, run some contests/giveaways, basically do a lot of marketing and make a name for yourself. I think with the growth of indie games the last few years, writing music for games might be a good niche, you would just have to do a lot of it.
A third option would be produce songs for mainstream artists, in which case you would probably have to do all of the above plus move to LA or NYC, write a catchy gangnam style tune and sell your soul at some point
i think the main thing is that only a small percentage of those 24 months would be spent actually writing music and most of the effort would be on the sales/marketing front.