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November 17, 2020
If I needed money, I learned to think in terms of how I could get what I needed by making something and selling it, not by cutting costs elsewhere or working for someone else. This distinction was critical, because most budgets start by looking at income and then defining the available choices. I did it differently—starting with a list of what I wanted to do, and then figuring out how to make it happen.
The income from the business didn’t make me rich, but it paid the bills and brought me something much more valuable than money: freedom. I had no schedule to abide by, no time sheets to fill out, no useless reports to hand in, no office politics, and not even any mandatory meetings to attend.
value is created when a person makes something useful and shares it with the world.
Often, the combination of freedom and value comes about when someone takes action on something he or she loves to do anyway: a hobby, skill, or passion that that person ends up transforming into a business model.
Access to technology has increased greatly, and costs have gone down greatly. You can test-market your idea instantly, without waiting for months to gauge how prospects will respond to an offer. You can open a PayPal account in five minutes and receive funds from buyers in more than 180 countries.
the more you understand how your skills and knowledge can be useful to others, the more your odds of success will go up.
The goal isn’t to get rich quickly but to build something that other people will value enough to pay for. You’re not just creating a job for yourself; you’re crafting a legacy.
I wasn’t sure what kind of place I was trying to build, but I knew it had to be a welcoming environment where customers weren’t hassled.”
I wasn’t an entrepreneur before, but I was a shopper. I knew what I wanted, and it didn’t exist, so I built it.”
Commerce may have been around forever, but scale, reach, and connection have changed dramatically. The handyman who does odd jobs and repairs used to put up flyers at the grocery store; now he advertises through Google to people searching for “kitchen cabinet installation” in their city.
It’s not an elitist club; it’s a middle-class, leaderless movement. All around the world, ordinary people are opting out of traditional employment and making their own way. Instead of fighting the system, they’re creating their own form of work—usually without much training, and almost always without much money. These unexpected entrepreneurs have turned their passion into profit while creating a more meaningful life for themselves. What if you could do this too? What if you could have the same freedom to set your own schedule and determine your own priorities? Good news: Freedom is possible.
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“Could you explain what you do to your grandmother, and would you be willing to?”
Our story is about people who start their own microbusinesses without investment, without employees, and often without much of an idea of what they’re doing. They almost never have a formal business plan, and they often don’t have a plan at all besides “Try this out and see what happens.” More often than not, the business launches quickly, without waiting for permission from a board or manager. Market testing happens on the fly. “Are customers buying?” If the answer is yes, good. If no, what can we do differently?
convergence represents the intersection between something you especially like to do or are good at doing (preferably both) and what other people are also interested in. The easiest way to understand convergence is to think of it as the overlapping space between what you care about and what other people are willing to spend money on.
To succeed in a business project, especially one you’re excited about, it helps to think carefully about all the skills you have that could be helpful to others and particularly about the combination of those skills.
Lesson 3: The Magic Formula Bringing the first two ideas together, here is the not-so-secret recipe for microbusiness alchemy: Passion or skill + usefulness = success
You just need a product or service, a group of people willing to pay for it, and a way to get paid. This can be broken down as follows: 1.Product or service: what you sell 2.People willing to pay for it: your customers 3.A way to get paid: how you’ll exchange a product or service for money
Build something that people want and give it to them.
selling happiness.
secret to a meaningful new career was directly related to making people feel good about themselves.
Ask three questions for every idea: a.How would I get paid with this idea? b.How much would I get paid from this idea? c.Is there a way I could get paid more than once?
Value means helping people. If you’re trying to build a microbusiness and you begin your efforts by helping people, you’re on the right track. When you get stuck, ask yourself: How can I give more value? Or more simply: How can I help my customers more?
More than anything else, value relates to emotional needs. Many business owners talk about their work in terms of the features it offers, but it’s much more powerful to talk about the benefits customers receive. A feature is descriptive; a benefit is emotional.
Decide on your product or service. 2.Set up a website, even a very basic one (you can get a free one from WordPress.org). 3.Develop an offer (an offer is distinct from a product or service; see Chapter 7 for help). 4.Ensure you have a way to get paid (get a free PayPal account to start). 5.Announce your offer to the world (see Chapter 9 for more on this). 6.Learn from steps 1 through 5, then repeat.
Can you contact your customer list with a special offer or incentive? Can you introduce a new product or service to complement your existing portfolio? If you’re a coach or consultant, can you offer a special deal for clients who prepay? Is there a new way you can attract subscribers, clients, or customers?
Friedrich Engels said: “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”
In the “More” column are things such as love, money, acceptance, and free time. We all want more of those things, right? In the “Less” column are the undesirables: things such as stress, long commutes, and bad relationships. If your business focuses on giving people more of what they want or taking away something they don’t want (or both), you’re on the right track.
“If you make your business about helping others, you’ll always have plenty of work.”
As you build your escape plan, keep your eyes on the prize: creating real value by giving people what they really want.
KEY POINTS • Value means “helping people.” Our unexpected entrepreneurs discovered that when they focused on providing value above all else, their businesses were successful. • Give people what they really want, not just what you think they should have. Give them the fish! • The more you can market a core benefit instead of a list of features, the easier it will be to profit from your idea. Core benefits usually relate to emotional needs more than physical needs. • Most people want more of some things (money, love, attention) and less of other things (stress, anxiety, debt). Always focus on
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you usually don’t get paid for your hobby itself; you get paid for helping other people pursue the hobby or for something indirectly related to it.
In addition to passion, you must develop a skill that provides a solution to a problem. Only when passion merges with a skill that other people value can you truly follow your passion to the bank.
(Passion + skill) → (problem + marketplace) = opportunity
Compared with working just to make a living, it’s much easier to do what you love and get paid for it.
You just have to find the right passion, the right audience, and the right business model.
“A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” —JOHN LE CARRÉ
“Business opportunities are like buses; there’s always another one coming.” —RICHARD BRANSON
an industry or movement with lots of lovers and haters—always present a good business opportunity.
This is another sign of a good business opportunity: when lots of people are interested in something but have a hard time implementing it in their daily lives.
What is your biggest problem with ______? • What is the number one question you have about _______? • What can I do to help you with _________? Fill in the blanks with the specific topic, niche, or industry you’re researching: “What is your biggest problem with getting things done?” or “What is the number one question you have about online dating?”
KEY POINTS • Who are your people? You don’t necessarily have to think of them in categories such as age, race, and gender. Instead, you can think of them in terms of shared beliefs and values. • You can often follow a fad, craze, or trend by establishing yourself as an authority and simplifying something about the process for others hoping to benefit from it. • Use surveys to understand customers and prospects. The more specific, the better. Ask: “What is the number one thing I can do for you?” • Use the decision-making matrix to evaluate multiple ideas against one another. You don’t have to
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