How to Start a Business (When You Have No Idea Where to Start)
Why it took me 3 years to actually start and how to avoid that
I would consider to myself to have “found” entrepreneurship back in 2019 when I first listened to How to Get Rich Without Getting Lucky by Naval Ravikant. Since that moment, my desired end state changed from working on Wall Street to working for myself.
This sparked surrounding myself with all the books, podcasts, and content around business ownership. Since then, I’ve learned a ton, but I haven’t actually done anything.
I came across this tweet from Alex Hormozi this week that gave me pause.
This tweet is more than just about growth for a business - it’s how you start.
The two most common mistakes when starting -
Creating something that nobody wants
Not having anything to sell
I’m guilty of both. Up until last year, I was #2. Talking about business and what I wanted to do, but I didn’t actually have anything or any way to transact.
Late 2022, I switched to starting to produce things. Two different books, outlining a course, building niche websites, and everything else that sparked my interest.
I would announce it only to get 0 signups.
It wasn’t that those ideas were bad, its just that I wasn’t giving anything away yet. Why would someone be interested in a book on podcasting when I’m not associated with teaching people how to podcast?
Thankfully, I was giving something away, but I just didn’t know it.
Through interactions for the podcast, I would try to be helpful to those who came on in any way that I could. I would make sales connections for people, offer introductions, and other relevant suggestions.
Two months ago, someone approached me and said “Why don’t you use your networking skills to put together a veteran business owners peer group. I’ll pay you today for it.”
What I was giving away was my network.
In Alex’s tweet above, I reached the point of someone wanting more of what I had.
Action Step: If you’re wanting to start something -
Make a list of 2-3 things you’re skilled at (logo design, tweet writing, copy editing, cold email outreach, business idea generation, etc)
Find 10 people you think would benefit from your skill and offer it to them for free. Make sure your statement says whats in it for them. The goal is to be as selfless as possible.
If nobody takes you up on it, it’s likely not the right skill. Choose something different and repeat.
Once you’ve done your skill for someone, get a testimonial from them and share it everywhere. You want people to know that you did this successfully.
Repeat until people come to you.
I wish I had understood this process better when I started, but if you’re looking to just get going on SOMETHING, this is exactly what to do. You have valuable skills people want. Give it away until you’re good enough to get paid for it.
This week on the podcast I hosted Nolan Gore. Nolan runs a landscaping company doing 5 million a year in sales, is passionate about leadership development, and is extremely eager to give back.
One of the most unique things about Nolan is he runs a Leadership Academy, a development program for high performing young people looking for alternative paths. He takes law students and D1 athletes, puts them to work mowing lawns and cycles them through different business segments to get experience.
Some aren’t cut for it, but those who are get true business management experience and seed leaders for Nolan’s different business segments.
Have a good week
B