Today I want help you avoid a fatal mistake that destroys your shot at building a business—before you even start. That’s the combination of instant overwhelm and the paralysis of analysis.
Here’s where most newbie entrepreneurs go wrong in their approach to starting a business:
STEP 1: They think to themselves hmm… ”What business ideas are hot right now?”
STEP 2: They hit Google and begin reading blog posts from Entrepreneur.com, Business Insider and Seth Godin about the best new business ideas.
STEP 3: Eureka! They discover a new business trend with TONS of potential: [insert ideas like: drop-shipping, creating an online course, hacking Amazon to exploit a niche product, and so on…]
STEP 4: They begin planning how fast this business could take off.
“If I could get 1,000 clicks every day from Facebook… and convert that traffic at a conservative 5%, I would have 10,000 customers in 6 months… Holy crap, watch out Zuckerberg!”
STEP 5: Buy the “magic-bullet” course or book on the topic. You know the ones. The giveaway is usually in the title.
STEP 6: Consume the product and realize there’s actually work required to get this business off the ground. “Wait… I need to do WHAT?”
All of a sudden, the business model goes from looking like this:
To looking more like this…
- Writing articles
- Building products
- Creating eBooks & physical books
- Creating Audio & Video
- Creating software
- Creating content pages for SEO
- Creating graphics
- Creating list management
- Segmenting
- Creating merchant accounts
- Paying affiliates
- Accounts payable
- Vendor sourcing
- Creating budgets
- Paying taxes
- Software development
- Site maintenance
- Sales pages
- Order forms
- Getting email subscribers
- Opt-in forms
- Link buying
- Getting featured in publications
- Link building
- JV recruitment
- Pay-per-click & Facebook Ads
AHHHHHHHHH!!
STEP 7: Give up… Until the next “shiny-object” business model bursts onto the scene.
Rinse. Wash. Repeat.
There are a lot of things wrong with the process above. Let me start at the top.
- Chasing hot, new “business ideas” — without any focus on solving problems for people
- Starting a business without taking into account your unique interests and skillset
- Being tempted by quick and easy “riches”
And the biggest problem of all: Not taking action and never implementing.
90% of people screw up right here.
They do nothing with the information they consume.
They become infatuated with the business idea and earning potential… but never get started.
Most of us have been taught we need to start a Facebook/Amazon/Google-sized business from the get-go.
We’ve been taught that our business needs to be able to earn $10 Million+ in 12-24 months.
The harsh truth is: Most of us have the wrong definition of business success. That’s probably because most of us have never run the numbers.
What if you had an extra $20k per year?
Let’s break down what it would be like if you were earning an extra $20,000 with your business.
That comes out to $1667/ month. That’s 3 people paying you ~$500/month for coaching. Or 30 sales of a $60 product per month.
If you can land one coaching client or do $60/day… then you have everything you need to scale up to $20,000 per year—without even quitting your day job.
What could you do with an extra $1,600 coming every month?
- You could pay off your student loan debt 3x faster
- You could buy the new iPhone when it comes out, instead of waiting for your next upgrade cycle 2 years from now
- You could set aside money into investments, save for a home or start preparing for your kid’s college tuition
- You could pay for your parents to come visit you and treat them to an amazing time
Or you might try this…
This is the Constance Moofushi Resort in the Maldives.
It was voted 1 of the the 10 most luxurious all-inclusive resorts in the world.
The ocean is crystal clear. Private villas line the ocean.
Every day finishes the way it starts: with an orange sun rising and falling in the distance.
The beaches are white & empty. And the happiness of the locals is contagious.
A couple of weeks ago, I was reading about this little piece of paradise and I got curious, “How much would it be to actually go there?”
What I found kind of blew my mind… only $4,785
$2,155 to get a room for a week. And $2,630 for the most expensive plane ticket I could find.
In other words, you probably only need to earn about $5,000 to cover an all-expense paid trip to one of the most luxurious all-inclusive resorts in the world. That’s it.
If you were earning $20,000 more per year, you could do that 4 times.
I think most people’s perception of how attainable the “perfect lifestyle” actually is… is way out of line with reality.
If for you, bliss involves swinging in a hammock while the ocean swooshes gently onto a white-sand beach nearby… then perhaps 4 trips a year to the world’s most luxurious all-inclusive resorts will suit you.
Understand, I’m not trying to convince you to take next week off and buy an expensive ticket to an island in east Asia (unless you want to, it’d probably be fun)…
I’m simply using the luxury resort as an illustration of what’s possible… for a lot less money than you might expect… and how having a business can get you there much sooner than you think.
My aim is to reframe your perception of success.
And then show you how easy it is to create a business that allows you to get those results.
Your “Maldives” may be taking a week off to hike the peak of Mount Hood, Oregon… or boating on Lake Como, Italy for the summer… even relaxing in Fiji. The specific destination doesn’t really matter.
The majority of people around the world are slowly draining themselves in 9-5 jobs that they hate.
Why? Because they think that’s what they need to do to survive the shit that “life” dishes up to them.
Now that you’ve seen a taste of what success could look like for you…
I want you to get crystal clear on two things before moving forward: your “What?” and your “Why?”
WHAT is your goal for starting a business?
- Is your goal to pay off debt and make a side income?
- Is your goal to earn enough through your business that you can quit your day job?
- Is your goal to take a sweet vacation with your wife?
Once you get clear on that, I want to know…
WHY do you want that?
- Do you want to quit your job and make $10k per month so you can be happier, focus on clients you enjoy and have the freedom to travel with your family?
- Do you want to start a business because your mom told you that you never would and you want to prove her wrong?
- Do you want to launch your first app because you love programming and want to finally ship an actual product?
There are a lot of things that will affect you ability to accomplish these things.
But the starting point is NOT getting off track (and trying to consume more information).
It IS getting crystal clear on your WHAT and WHY.
Ryan
P.S. Really. Stop reading. Write your answers down to your “WHAT” and your “WHY” right now.
Close your other browser tabs, exit out of Facebook, silence your phone—and before you read anything else, spend five minutes or fives hours answering these 2 questions for yourself.
There are no right or wrong answers. Write quickly. Don’t edit too much. Don’t analyze yourself as you make your list. Write everything down, even if it sounds foolish.
Your answers don’t have to be definitive. They will change over time. That’s okay.
In fact, some will change by the the time you finish your day. But it’s important to write them down now.
Stop reading. Don’t worry about other people’s answers. What you are about to write is infinitely more important than anything else I have to say.