God I’ve heard that question so many times before.
A good deal of people I know see my lifestyle:
- No boss
- No set working time
- Take any day off
- Don’t have to commute anywhere
- Can work from any location
….and they think it’s great. And I got admit…it ain’t bad!
Many of them realize that working 9-5 is not just 9-5, but also the night before, the morning of….so it consumes and dictates nearly your entire day, what you can do, when you go on vacation etc.
If you like your job…this isn’t really a problem, but if you don’t….yeesh.
So back to the question I get from someone who’s never started a business and now wants to after years of working:
“I want to start a business but don’t know where to start”
To burst most bubbles quickly: It’s doubtful it will happen. I’ve seen long-term working people start successful businesses only a few times. Usually the longer someone’s worked, the more likely they will not succeed. Most people trying this are in the wrong frame of mind almost immediately. They just want to “make some money” without doing much work.
Anyhow, for this question I will try to assume the role of how I’D PERSONALLY go about starting a business with no particular business acumen.
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First and foremost I’d GET MY LEARN ON. That’s right….prepare to READ A SHIT LOAD OF STUFF. And TAKE NOTES. It’s like school.
Then I would try to implement what I’ve learned and make $100 from it.
That’s it.
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I think those three short sentences above can teach you an immense deal about business.
The benefit of this is:
1.) It’s easy to make $100 in just about anything.
2.) Simply DOING something will very quickly show if you like it or not.
3.) Your desire to learn will be way more intense if you’re currently DOING something real….not just thinking about a hypothetical business you might build.
It is ABSOLUTELY GRATIFYING to destroy the dreams of people who say, “I want to start a business but can’t think of anything”.
Me: “What business books have you read?”
Them: “Ummmm, none.”
Me: “Have you ever written down what you like to do, what skills you have etc. on a piece of paper? Spent a couple of hours on it?”
Them: “Hmmmmm…..not really.”
Me: “Have you sought out business people you admire and asked them to show you how their business works”
Them: “I once saw YouTube video of Bill Gates.”
Me: “So basically you’ve done NOTHING to realize your dream of starting a business?”
Sincerely,
Neville (destroyer of dreams)
P.S. Here’s some motivation to consume if you fall in that camp.
Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret