The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

by Chris Guillebeau

The microbusiness revolution is happening all around us as people say “thanks but no thanks” to traditional work, choosing to chart their own course and create their own future.

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.

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.

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

The easy way is to find out what people want and then find a way to give it to them.

the 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.

The nuance comes from the idea that passion plus good business sense creates an actual business.

(Passion + skill) → (problem + marketplace) = opportunity

You must learn to think about value the way your customers do, not necessarily the way you would like them to.

Freely give, freely receive: It works. The more you focus your business on providing a valuable service and helping people, the more your business will grow.

If you have a product business, ask yourself this question: “My product is x…how can I teach customers about y?” Then create a new version of your offering that includes consulting, coaching, a “jump-start” session, premium technical support, or something else.

Alternatively, if you operate a service-based business, consider how you can introduce a “productized” version of the service.

a business that has the potential to be sold easily for a high profit offers something at the intersection of teachable and valuable.

First and most important, the quest for personal freedom lies in the pursuit of value for others.

Focus relentlessly on the point of convergence between what you love to do and what other people are willing to pay for.

Relate your product or service to attractive benefits, not boring features.