Start with the NEED
Identify a burning problem that people need a solution for.
You can select a desire, something people want or wish they had or you can be more concrete and focus on a need.
Then design a solution and test it with your target customer.
Your target customer is the main one you are creating this solution for. Your target customer is a profile of the attributes shared by most of your customers which includes things like demographics, psychographics, interests, and challenges that your target customer(s) deal with in their lives. Here’s a great resource for that.
“I think if I offer these services then people will want to buy them.”
Can you validate your assumptions with revenue — people paying for your solution?
“I think if I offer these services then people will want to buy them and I can use that income to further develop the business and possibly pay myself a salary.”
Can you validate your business model with PROFIT— income that is remaining after paying for all costs related to running the business?
Entrepreneurship is a bond between thinking and DOING. Because the one thing entrepreneurs are missing is not necessarily ideas, but performing the necessary actions on a daily basis to be successful. I don’t have any hardcore stats or facts to back this up, but this is what I have observed and it is true for me at the moment.
The world of business…
Almost feels like I wasn’t meant to be a part of this business world. Something of an inferiority complex, because of how the United States works, and the top businessmen/capitalists are usually non-melanated.
We (the folks with some shade in our skin) have made some remarkable progress in business and investing so I know that it's possible for my brothers and sisters but I have to be honest in saying the system was not designed for us to be successful. Is that a hindering perspective? Is that really truthful? I think so. Is knowing this going to stop me?
I’m not gonna lie… sometimes it does stop me for a bit. Thinking about how the system is rigged against me and there are seemingly more ways for me to lose than win is motivating sometimes and demoralizing at other times.
I’m usually a pretty positive person, or at least that is what others have told me. But I have negative self-talk that I am constantly working on. And I’m not here to talk about our odds of being unsuccessful, I just wanted to call it out honestly. The barriers to entry for business have never been lower but non-melanated people still control the game and the game is controlled by people who don’t have our best interests at heart.
Okay, enough of that… for now. Not here to complain.
Business is a gift. Entrepreneurship is a set of skills that can set you free if you are willing to sharpen those skills and work them to your best mental and physical abilities.
Start with the need. What do people desperately need in their lives to achieve their goals?
Create a solution to help them “fill the gap” between where they are and where they want to be.
Marketing and Sales
Marketing is everything involving bringing your solution to the market so that people can become aware and interested in your solution. Sales are about converting that interest into revenue for your company. Sales are all about timing and the right fit.
Project Management
Project management is needed to ensure you are working on the right tasks (at the right time) and doing things in an organized and productive manner. Project management is a core discipline that will help you focus your time and resources on the building blocks of your successful enterprise.
Project management (with the addition of copious note-taking) will help you create a plan and execute your list of ideas and to-dos so that things GET DONE.
Visual Roadmaps
These are process flow diagrams that show each project that needs to get done in a sequential manner to the destination which is your successful company.
Know that the destination is not an end but merely a new beginning for your enterprise. Businesses constantly evolve or die.
Product development
Product development is the set of skills and discipline to evaluate what is needed in the market and to create it from an idea to a working product or service. A great framework for doing so is the Build, Measure, Learn loop from The Lean Startup.
Production spreadsheets
These are created using a program like Microsoft Excel or Google sheets. As an entrepreneur (who is also an employee of your company), you need to identify what needs to be done daily from a production perspective and perform the necessary daily actions.
When we have an active manager (in a job) this works well. When you are your own boss, it's easy to skip out on work if you are not disciplined. Production is what you need to hit your income goals and beyond. Producers get paid the big bucks.
Track your production every day and become more productive. You will put the odds of hitting your goals in your favor because you are performing the activity AND TRACKING IT. Not to mention reviewing those numbers on a regular basis and thinking of ways to improve them.
BAM — Brand, Audience, Monetization
This is an acronym that has stuck with me for some time which I learned from a friend named Ozeal. It's a great concept to keep in mind. There are many ways to earn in our economy so you don’t always need a brand or an audience. It just depends on what you are trying to create in your life.
Build a brand that stands for something. Build a brand that is unique and provides something special to the world in a way that is not currently being offered. It's kind of difficult to do this at first but the more you produce, the more you will “come into your own.”
It may be best to start with Audience because the brand should be created to serve the customers. Maybe in fact you should Start with the Need like the title suggests. :)
Start with the need and then discover the people that have this need. Then create a brand centered around helping them out. Build your brand strong enough and your audience large enough and you can turn their interests and supports into income for your enterprise. That is the gist of the BAM acronym. It works, that is what I can say from experience.
Networking and friends
If you have friends you are more likely to be successful in business. Friends mean more options and resources. Without a network or the skills or the activity daily to build your network, you will not have a sufficient number of connections to make offers and secure new business. Entrepreneurs expand and nurture their network on a daily basis.
CAPITAL is oxygen
Level up your personal finance.
Level up your understanding of credit and how money works in your domestic economy as well as the global economy.
Financial education comes first from learning and second from doing and exposing yourself to calculated risk.
Capital (money) is not the only important resource in business but it ranks close to the Oxygen we need as human beings.
The one thing that can save a funky business is the injection of capital and possibly some new ideas and new management. The one thing that can grow a business to reach your desired level of prosperity and more is the injection of capital. Without capital, a business can only go on for so long.
These are SOME of the ideas I want to share with you. I appreciate your time and energy. Please let me know what you think with a Response!
I have realized that I read a lot of male authors. I like women lol. I love women lol. I am focused on one relationship right now. Please don’t pay much attention to the authors (they are great authors) but it is the ideas they reveal that have brought much “boost” to my entrepreneurship education.
Books to read
- 100k Offers by Alex Hormozi
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
- How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger
- Go for No by Richard Fenton
- The One Thing by Gary Keller
- 7 Levels of Communication by Michael Maher
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel (actually haven’t read it yet but the summary slaps)
- The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients by David A. Fields
- Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel
- Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
- PMBOK Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge)
- Getting Things Done by David Allen (haven't read but I do practice the flow. I need to get back in the cycle but I have it implemented in various parts of my life.)
Have an awesome day. If you like this post, please let me know with a Response. Thanks!
