Have you noticed all the ordinary people, like you and me, starting online businesses? Working from their laptop on a beach? Making tons of money?
If you are thinking, YYEEESSSS! I am ready to start an online business and any of the below sounds like you:
In this post I am breaking down how to tap into your knowledge, skills, experience, and passions to start an online business.
If you are questioning, what would I be good at? This blog post is for you!
You’re going to discover:
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What your hidden (or not so hidden) expertise, knowledge, skills, and passions are and how you can use your awesomeness.. to start an online business!
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The number 1 mistake that people make that guarantees that their business will fail!
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Ensuring your business idea is profitable and has customers! (Validating your ideas!)
Before we launch into your new boss life. Let’s talk about some cool online businesses that are making millions of dollars! These entrepreneurs tapped into their expertise and passions and turned them into profitable brands!
Before we get going, here are two people that are killing it after starting their own online business.
DW-secrets.com
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An e-book on how to have a Disney World vacation for a fraction of what others pay.
The average cost of a Disney vacation is $5000 for a family of 4! That is insane right!
Disney World is a top destination for many families. The founder of DW-Secrets was able to use her savvy travel background to solve a pain point for many people.
Purchasing her inexpensive e-book, she is sharing the secrets of an affordable Disney trip.
Passion: Savvy, Frugal Traveler
Online Business: e-book to show families how to save thousands of dollars at Disney World
This concept is great for a number of reasons:
1. There’s a need in the market. Millions of people visit Disney World yearly.
2- By updating her book seasonally, she not only has first time Disney travelers, but also returning travelers that want the updates!
3- People go to Disney year round, it isn’t seasonal! So that keeps her e-book sales constant year round.
MelyssaGriffin.com
Online courses and membership site helping small business owners grow their email list and ultimately their profits.
Melyssa teaches business owners how to tap into Pinterest to grow their email list and how to expand and grow their business.
Melyssa mastered Pinterest and used it to triple her profits. She took her small one person graphic design studio and built a multi-million dollar brand. She has multiple online courses, showing other small business owners how to tap into Pinterest and grow their business.
This concept is great for a few reasons:
1. Most entrepreneurs are great at their “passion” but generally lack the knowledge to grow and market their business.
2. By selling e-courses, you make money while you sleep. Meaning that they can sell at anytime.
There are many examples of people similar to these two. Ordinary people like you and I, taking their passion, skills or expertise to help other people.
Are you on board yet?
Your Passion Turned Into An Online Business
Let’s dive into finding out what your knowledge, expertise, skills and passions are. Take 30 minutes and start asking yourself these questions.
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What knowledge have you acquired? (think classes, courses, college)
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What skills have you developed? (digital marketing, graphic design)
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Have you faced any challenges? (gut health, domestic abuse)
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Are you known for anything specific within your group of friends? (planner, events)
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What do other people struggle with?
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Do friends or family come to you for advice?
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What would you enjoy doing every day?
If you get stuck, which is easy to do, ask your friends and family!
Aim to have between 20-30 skills listed out! Make sure to write down everything, nothing is a bad idea. Pipe down your self critic and write everything down that comes to mind! Nothing is a “bad idea” yet!
To give you some examples, these are mine:
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Negotiating
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Running
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Packing for long term travel
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Making Goals & Achieving Them
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Digital Marketing
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Retain Information Quickly & Remember It (mind like an elephant)
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Great Gift Buyer!
Now that you have your list. I want to introduce you to the “Positioning Matrix Grid”. This is a brilliant way to find out which items on your list would make a great online business.
***Please watch video to see full description!***
What is the number 1 thing that aspiring entrepreneurs do virtually guarantees that they will never make money online??!
Not validating their business ideas!
“The biggest mistake we made was being completely encumbered by this vision of what I wanted it to be… instead of focusing on the one piece of the product that people actually liked. You ’re way too dumb to figure out if your idea is good. It’s up to the masses. So build that very small thing and get it out there and keep on trying different things and eventually you ’ll get it right.” -Andrew Mason founder of Groupon
We all think we are too smart to buy a low grade item online, until it is OUR idea. Convincing yourself that your business idea is amazing and not validating it… This could result in failure!
How do you find out if your idea is profitable and there is a large enough customer base?
Great question!
Over the course of the next two weeks you will need to find 10 people that could be potential customers. When I say potential customers, they would have a need for your item. You would be solving a pain point or challenge that they have!
You are going to “interview” them.
If you are thinking, “Where do I even start?” I got you covered. You will need to seek out:
- Friends/Family
- Co-workers or old co-workers (ask if they know anyone)
- If there are people using similar products that you want to launch
- Facebook Groups
- Solicit on your social media pages
The goal is to set up calls with 7-10 of these people. You will need to set up 20-30 minute phone calls, I highly suggest doing video calls and recording the calls.
You will need to ask questions to learn about their pain points or what their current challenges are. What would make their lives better? If they are using similar products, what is great about the product or service or what would they improve?
Be open to what people are saying! You may find that your original idea needs to be tweaked. You need to validate that you have a fantastic business concept that people are excited about and need!
90 Days To Start Your Online Business
You are on your way. I would take some time today to start writing out all of your awesome amazing qualities!
Tomorrow, put them on the Positioning Matrix. Over the course of the next 14 days line up people to do validation calls! That isn’t hard is it?
Now that you have your awesome business idea, I have your 90 day checklist right here! The one that lays out where to start, what to prioritize and a timeframe to keep you on track for a 90 day launch!
If you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comments! Also, I want to hear from you… let me know what your new business idea is and when you will be launching!
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