How to Start ANY Business in 2 Simple Steps
Yes, it’s not complicated. No, it’s not easy.
Yes, you can create a business!
Or maybe you just want another revenue stream.
Whether it’s an idea or dream, a product or a service, a self-published e-book or local coffee shop…these 2 principles apply.
I’ve started numerous small businesses, side hustles, and random revenue streams. From farm to table, designing products for Amazon, upstart coffee shops and small batch roasting with an NGO in Cambodia…these 2 principles always apply.
One of these will be harder for you than the other, but both are needed for success. And they distill every business down to its most basic parts.
Here are the only TWO steps you need to create a business.
Step 1: Create or Acquire Something People Want.
This is the foundation of every business.
People buy products they want.
It’s that simple. There’s always something cheaper or simpler (without bells and whistles). But the reason they buy your product is that they want it.
This might be easy for you, or it could be the hardest step.
Before you go all-in on your idea, do a little product research. Find out if customers actually want what you think they want.
- Do a sampling.
- Gather reviews.
- Test and iterate.
This is the easiest way to know if people will buy what you’re offering.
Beware: Don’t fall into the trap of Invention!
…You might think you have to find some revolutionary idea. Or you need to create something new nobody has ever considered.
You don’t.
And honestly, this is not how most businesses begin. They create something that already exists, but they do it in a different way — or just better.
Better or different can look…
- Simpler
- Easier.
- Cost-Effective
- Quality
- Customer Service
- Marketing and Branding (more people know you exist)
In other words, you can outperform your competition in any number of ways…
- Quality: Greater and better product.
- Marketing: Get inside their heads.
- Customer Service: Build more trust and loyalty.
- Simple or Easy: Less moving parts or easier to produce.
Any number of areas can set you apart from the competition. It’s up to you to determine which is most important to your customers and why.
Like I said above, you have something that’s worth money to other people. It could be a skill, a product, a service, but it’s something other people are willing to pay money for.
Take inventory of what you have, what you can make, or what you can do. There’s always something you can sell or a skill you can develop that other people want.
This is the new economy: You find or develop something other people are willing to pay money to have.
But most importantly: You take control of YOUR destiny and future.
Step 2: Get it in front of the people who want it.
You’ve done the hard part of finding what people will pay money to have. Now you have to put it out there in a way to capture their attention.
It’s that simple.
Except we live in a skeptical world. Now you have to persuade them why your product is better than the competition. And you have to do it in a way they relate to.
Just because people want it, doesn’t mean they are going to pay you to get it.
So convince them why they should.
This is the art of marketing and selling: putting it in front of the right people in the right way…
- You have to go where they go
- You have to use the words they use.
Once you do that, people will buy from you.
Marketing is persuading. It’s knowing what emotional problem your customers have, and why your product is the best fit. Answer those questions for them, and as long as people have that problem, you’ll have a solution.
This the bread and butter to any business. You might have a good idea, but without marketing and sales, it’s just that — a good idea.
Once you know you have an asset, find a way to put it out there. Market research tells you all you need to know about your ideal customer and where they are at. If you don’t know yet, use any and every channel you can until you find it. Then go all in.
You will have to change and iterate over time, even in marketing, but that is the nature of business.
Business is way too complicated sometimes. It often needs to be distilled into its most basic parts: People want something. Then they pay money for it. Businesses fill in where there’s a need. When you create something of value, and people see that they will pay you for it.
All you have to do is find something that is worth money to others. Then find the best channels to sell it.
Just Remember…
The only limiting factor in this equation is you.
Whether it’s your fear or uncertainty, your unbelief or insecurity, you need to find a way to conquer it. Courage is just taking one little step at a time. You may not have it at the moment, and that’s okay! Doing these three things will help you find it when you need it…
- Remove avenues for comparison (social media is killing you)
- Focus on where you want to go (1 year dreams)
- Take small steps to get there
As you succeed in the little things, courage will come. You’ll find it easier to take bigger steps and more risk.
Instant Successes or “Shiny Object” Syndrome are NOT your friends.
Everyone is obsessed with creating something fast, selling it faster, and raking in millions. This never happens. Yes, there are always outliers who find their way in on the ground floor, but the odds are rare. And they are never in your favor.
Just know…
It never happens fast.
It never happens without headaches and late nights.
It never happens without going outside of your comfort zone.
It never happens without some risk.
This is the cost of doing business.
It is normal.
If you think you found an easy way to make a lot of money, run the other way. It doesn’t happen without pain, loss, and hard work. However, in the end, you will achieve something else: satisfaction — and that is worth pursuing.
You might make millions, but only after 10 years honing your product/service and learning how to monetize it.
That’s how real life works.
Some do it faster. Some do it slower.
Do it at your pace, in your way, with your voice and knowledge. Just be you. That’s really the only thing you have to offer the world.
Do those two things well, and you have a business.
Do the 2nd step cheaper than the first, and you will make money.
To do Steps 1 and 2 requires trial and error. There is no shortcut.
Commit to the process. Go through the difficulty.
That is how businesses are born.
If this helped you in any way, I would love to know in the comments below!
