Kick-Start Kit for Wannabe Entrepreneurs
Being an entrepreneur is not just about having a great product or service — it’s mainly about thinking in the right way
I’ve started two different businesses that succeeded and about nine that failed miserably so I learned the difference the hard way.
What I say is this, “If you want to be an entrepreneur go right ahead and do it. It’s much easier than you think.” It’s like everything else, to get it done you just start and go on.
The problem for most people who haven’t been there is that they clutter up their minds with all the things they think they need to do. They think they need an accountant, and a marketing plan, and a budget, and an office, and a team of people. Well yes, you may need all of these things in time. But when you’re starting out all you need is an idea and someone who will buy it.
The best place to start
Start with something that’s really simple.
When I started to write this article I was excited by the idea that starting a business is simple. Hang on, let’s not get carried away here. If you want to start by making a new communication tool that needs to be implanted in people’s heads then you’re going to need a lot of stuff to get going.
But that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is an ordinary person living in a rented apartment who’s just fed up with their normal everyday job. Someone with a dream of breaking out of “the system” and going it alone so they can have the freedom to enjoy their life.
If that’s you, what you need is an idea. Preferably a really simple idea that excites you. Let’s face it Just Eat is a really simple idea. All you have to do is pick up food from a restaurant and deliver it to a customer’s door. You could start such a business by doing deals with local restaurants in your neighborhood and then printing a few leaflets explaining your offer and delivering them door to door.
Take a trip inside the consumer mind
The guys in advertising think about what consumers want, what they need, and what they desire.
Want.
Need.
Desire.
These are the three triggers that get people buying. Notice that they are all feelings. Your challenge is to find something that people feel strongly enough about that they’re prepared to pay you for it.
If I were you I would forget about “desire” for the moment because most “desire products” tend to be expensive. So focus on what people want or need.
Start by considering the basics like food, shelter, liquid, friendship, security, jobs, self-esteem. Choose a category that appeals to you.
Think about solving a common problem
There are things we like to do and things we don’t like to do.
You might consider what people don’t want to have to do to get one of the items in your chosen category. I guess Just Eat thought about how people are tired at the end of their day at work and don’t always feel like cooking. So they thought, “How about we deliver cooked food to their door?”
There are thousands of things we like to do and don’t like to do. Imagine not having to lug your suitcase at the airport. Or not having to walk your dog. Or not having to clean your oven. Or not having to go to work.
Can you see where we’re going here? It’s a way of thinking about what people want and don’t want. I’m happy to pay the guy who comes and gives our oven a thorough cleaning once a year because I hate cleaning the oven. As his reward for doing what I don’t want to do he has a nice house and owns a holiday home in Spain.
Steve Jobs used this form of thinking to start Apple. He looked for a way that ordinary people could harness the power of computers. The foundation of all subsequent Apple products is, “simple to use”.
My two successful businesses started in different ways
My first business that took off was a marketing consultancy.
It was just me and the knowledge that smaller advertising agencies were hungry for new business. Their problem was that nobody had the time to go out pitching for business.
I became a one-man-band marketing agent for advertising agencies. It worked. I won a lot of business for several agencies. But after a while, I found the constant pitching tedious. I didn’t really enjoy the business very much so I sold the formula and moved on.
My second business grew out of my struggles with confidence and personal motivation. Over the years I had read hundreds of books and attended scores of courses about mind control, self-image, meditation, and all the subjects that relate to being able to lead a happier and more fulfilling life.
So I thought that as I knew so much about these subjects why could I not teach them to other people? And that thought was the genesis of my becoming a mind mastery coach.
Then I asked myself, “Who would pay good money to build up their confidence and self-esteem?” My answer was bosses in large corporations who need confident staff in leadership positions. So I pitched my service at large corporations.
The thinking was simple — use something I know a lot about to help other people who are struggling with similar issues.
I have now been a coach for 25 years and it seems like I’ve never done a day’s work.
This is how your entrepreneur kick-start kit works
- Find a common problem that needs a solution.
- Get clear about who exactly needs that solution and why.
- Create a simple way to solve the problem.
- Tell the people with the need about your solution.
