Summary

The provided content suggests that aspiring entrepreneurs do not require expensive business courses, pricey tools, or immediate coaching to start and grow their business successfully.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the common misconception in the online business community that certain products and services are essential for success. Contrary to popular advice, the author argues that business courses, despite their popularity, are often unnecessary, especially when their content can be found freely online. Similarly, high-priced business platforms like Kajabi are deemed non-essential, with more cost-effective alternatives like Systeme.io offering sufficient capabilities for a fraction of the cost. Lastly, the author advises against early investment in coaching packages, as they can constrain one's entrepreneurial exploration and may not align with the business owner's personal strengths and preferences. Instead, the author advocates for dedication and patience, underlining that hard work and time are the most critical components of building a successful business.

Opinions

Business courses, particularly those that are expensive, are often marketed with misleading success stories and may not provide unique or necessary information for success.
High-end business tools, such as Kajabi, may not be necessary at the start and can have significant cost implications without commensurate benefits for new businesses.
Coaching can be unnecessary and even detrimental early on, as it may push entrepreneurs in a direction that doesn't align with their skills, interests, or business goals.
Real-world experience and self-directed learning can be more valuable than paid courses and coaching, as they allow for personal discovery and business model development without significant financial investment.
Success in business comes from a combination of doing what one enjoys, providing value to others, and aligning with market demands, rather than relying on external guidance that may not be personalized.
Patience and hard work are non-negotiable aspects of entrepreneurship, often overshadowed by the promise of quick results from paid products and services.

3 Surprising Things You Don’t Need When Starting Your Business

Most will tell you they are essential

When you are first venturing into the online business space, you will meet a wall of people telling you exactly what you need to succeed in your business. Everyone has a story that goes something like this:

When I first started my business, I struggled. I wasted years working and it felt like nothing worked. Then, I got/started X and everything fell into place. I went from making $100/ month to $10,000/month in a few months.

The person sharing this story will then either be the creator of a product or an affiliate of the product. Notice how this story never seems to come up in places where no one stands to gain money.

Now, I have no problem with being an affiliate or a product creator/seller. However, I think many people pedal products that you need to have because they are just trying to make money from you.

So, while I have spent money on all 3 of these, I am here to tell you that you really don’t need these.

Business Courses

Everyone has a business course nowadays it seems. Right now, you could probably find at least 10 courses that will tell you how to succeed on this platform. What is astounding is that you have business course creators that their course is the first product they have ever sold!

I am honestly confused about how so many content creators are starting to create business content. Yet, they become crazy popular because so many people desperately want to make money online, that they do not bother to check their sources.

Therefore, many creators will tell you that if you want to become a creator or grow your business, you need their course. It will help you overcome all the mistakes that they made and skyrocket your business growth.

Unfortunately, it really won’t. When you first start a business, there is a time when you need to learn information, but you are going to learn the most just by doing.

I bought 3 major (over $497) business courses when I started my business. I didn’t need any of them at that time and all the information in them was already readily available online. They don’t have secret tactics. They have some version of a process that just about everyone uses.

I would recommend starting to work on your business first. Make a major stride and then, when you find a hole in your knowledge that you need to fill, it is time to seek online courses.

However, I would first look into a larger course platform such as SkillShare (referral link) or Udemy. These platforms will give you access to multiple courses from different creators for the same price. You can use these platforms to fill the gaps in your knowledge rather than spending $997 on a creator's course that leaves more gaps.

Expensive Business Tools

When I started my business, I started my business on Kajabi. The creators I was following at the time all talked about how Kajabi was the best tool and you needed it to be able to grow your business.

I even found some sharing how their own business skyrocketed after moving to Kajabi, which I am very curious about how that happened.

Now, Kajabi is almost $200/month, and even at that price they still have major limitations on contacts and products that you can have in your account. I stayed with Kajabi for 2 years, and I did not make a profit either year.

This year, I moved my business to Systeme.io (affiliate link). While Systeme.io is a much simpler platform, it included everything I needed for only around $400/ year. My business remained consistent through the switch. What is better is you can start on a free Systeme.io plan! This means that I could test the software and even start running my website, email marketing, and products for free.

Yes, Kajabi has more features that can help you save time or make more money, but this only makes sense when you already have a large audience and you are fine-tuning your marketing and sales efforts.

If you are just starting, ditch your fancy tools, because they are not going to be what drastically drives the needle in your business.

Coaching

Last year, I spent $2,500 on a coaching package that I didn’t even finish. While it can feel very nice to have someone to go to for advice and to celebrate every win with you, it isn’t necessary and can even be hurtful at the beginning of your business journey.

In the beginning, you are going to have no idea what is going to work for you in your business. Not only what is going bring in the most revenue, but also what you are going to enjoy the most. There is no reason you shouldn’t dabble in multiple different avenues and tactics in the beginning.

Maybe you start writing, then you make YouTube videos, and now you want to try a podcast. Maybe you start wanting to create an online course and pivot to coaching. While there is nothing wrong with exploring as a beginner, your coach is going to try and steer you in 1 of 2 directions.

The path that works for them and that they coach on.
The path they perceive will make you the most money so that they will have a good testimonial.

You may think that it is great to be steered in a path that will make you the most money. Isn’t that what you want to do as a business owner? Not exactly, or most people would never start businesses to leave their jobs. Early in business, you can make way more money working a job. In fact, in your first years of business, you are likely to lose money (especially if you are buying the items in this story).

Your gold zone in business is going to be at the intersection of three things:

What do you truly enjoy doing?
How are you the most valuable to others?
What do others perceive as the highest monetary value?

Now, what if your coach is aiming to help you create a coaching business because that is obviously their business model. Coaching is often perceived as one of the highest monetary value for knowledge products. So you would likely make decent money doing it. However, maybe you hate talking to people or struggle to have the time for coaching. Then, you are just creating another job for yourself that you hate. Maybe, you don’t give great advice in real time. You can help people, but you just need more time to process. Then, coaching is not how you are the most valuable to others.

However, you are now stuck with a coach pushing you in a direction that you don’t want to go, but you didn’t know that when you started. This is one reason I would truly recommend holding off on any coaching until you have the path and structure that you want to take in your business. Then, you can find a coach that will align with that structure.

What You Do Need In The Beginning

While you don’t need courses, coaching, or expensive tools in the beginning, there are two things you desperately need in the beginning: hard work and patience. It is going to take time to build your business. All those lucky overnight successes actually took months to years to get to that point. You will have to work hard for a long time without seeing any results you are hoping for.

Unfortunately, for most, courses, coaching, and expensive tools do not shorten this building period, they just make sure you lose even more profit during this time.