Selling A Service
The first type of business that I am going to delve deeper into is ‘Selling A Personal Service.’ This is because, well, I thought of a great service to provide!
One thing that I’ve heard repeatedly is that, when thinking of a business to start, “scratch your own itch,” meaning if there is something that you wish existed, and you have the resources to create the business yourself, DO IT!
The idea: Shuttle Bus Service to and from San Francisco, CA to Sonoma, CA and Napa, CA. Sonoma and Napa are known as “Wine Country” in the San Francisco Bay Area because they are filled with hundreds of beautiful vineyards where one can taste fine wines for usually about $15.
Why this idea? I happen to LOVE going to wine country (its about 1-1.5 hours from San Francisco) but there is no direct public transportation there from San Francisco! Every time I go, we either need a designated driver or need to pay for an Uber or other car service which is a minimum of $80 each way. That works out if there are 4 of you, but what if there are two of you? And what if the Uber ends up being more expensive (which it often does)? You’re screwed! Also, I have the resources to do this. Its an idea that doesn’t’ t require a particular expertise or skill, nor does it require a lot of money down (since I can rent vans by the weekend to start).
So everyone knows the typical steps…
1. Come up with an idea
2. Write a business plan
3. Lease/Buy Any necessary equipment
4. Advertise
5. You’re in business!
But in my experience, that’s oversimplified and unhelpful.
As an entrepreneur, it can feel like you’re a complete fool floating in space with no clue what you ‘should’ be doing and if you’re going about anything in the right way. And for new entrepreneurs, there’s the fear or what do I not know that I don’t know?
That’s why its important to name all of the variables in your business, in as detailed a manner as possible. In order to do that, you first start naming all of the possible questions on your mind and unknowns.
So here are the questions that I need to find the answers to for my shuttle to wine country. The more answers that I get, the more assured I will feel as an entrepreneur and the more confidently I can choose whether or not to pursue this idea, full speed ahead.
1. Is my idea viable? Will people actually pay for it?
2. How much do I actually need to charge to make a profit that meets my needs?
3. Do I need insurance or any special permits? And are there any additional legal regulations
that I need to be aware of?
4. What order do I make certain decisions/purchases in?
5. Is there a reason that nobody has done this before or that there is room in the market for me to do it?
6. What am I risking by starting this business and what is the risk?
7. At what point do I need an accountant or a lawyer?
8. How do I even register the business?
9. How do I create an MVP without spending too much money?
In the following blog posts, I will answer all of these questions and provide resources on how to answer them for your own idea...stay tuned!
Validation
Baby Steps
I have never actually started anything before — let alone made a million dollars. It all seems very daunting but I am determined to just do it - to prove that I can to myself and to all of you. In order to best do this, I am going to start with baby steps. ‘They’ (whoever that is) make entrepreneurs out to be these sharks that can do anything and everything. What I’ve thought in the past is that if I’m only taking small steps, then I’m definitely not a real entrepreneur nor would I have what it takes to become one.
To start, I’m going to try something different. I’m going to take small steps to achieving big outcomes so that what I set out to do can actually be accomplished. Once we get a better idea of how we will continue and gain more momentum, I’ll take larger steps.
So…step one. What are my options? Before I can figure out what business I both want to start and feel up to starting, I need to know the basics of different business models. Below are the options that I have researched to make money. Of course, there are many more options…but (baby steps), this is a start!
1. Drop Shipping – When you sell products that you do not own, you merely have an agreement with manufacturers/suppliers that when your customers buy the products through you, they will fulfill the orders for you. Money you make is the difference between what you sold the product for online and the price you negotiated with the manufacturer/supplier.
2. Retail Arbitrage – When you buy a product and sell it for more money somewhere else. (You’d be surprised how much money people can make doing this, especially by selling on Amazon.)
3. Café Press – Create designs (such as t-shirts, mugs, etc.) and sell them with no upfront costs. You only get royalty on each sold.
4. Selling Physical Goods With Pre-Purchased Inventory - You purchase physical goods from manufacturer at wholesale and ship those goods directly to customer. There are much higher profit margins than drop shipping but greater risk since you have to put up your own money for the inventory.
5. Selling Your Own Goods– You sell products that you either made yourself in your home or paid a manufacturer to make. These products can be either physical goods (highest risk) or informational goods, such as e-books (very low risk). This option requires the most creativity and time, and also the most amount of upfront money (for physical products), but it often has the highest profit margins.
6. Selling As An Affiliate – You promote someone else’s product and receive a small cut on each purchase that you promoted (many bloggers do this). This is different from drop shipping because you are usually working directly with online retailers instead of manufacturers and the item must be purchased on the retailers site (getting there from your link) instead of from your site.
7. Selling An Internet Based Service – You come up with a great website or app idea, and allow people to use it. This is highly scalable and there are high profit margins, but requires the highest amount of creativity and either skill or money.
8. Selling A Personal Service – You provide a service for customers such as tutoring, workshops, website building, etc. Unless your service requires you to lease equipment or an office space, this is an inexpensive way to start making money quickly. But it requires that you have some skill.
**Please note – it took me a whole week to even come up with this list. This is not something that was researched in an hour, and if I had expected myself to do so, it wouldn’t have gotten done at all.
There are even more ways to make money than just these but this is a start. So, this is a lot of information, but now what?
Over the course of the next few months, I am going to dive deeper into each of these options and try them all myself. I will provide you with in depth information on each method and will take you on the journey of attempting to profit from each option.
But, sticking with taking small steps in order to maintain week over week success and avoid burnout/overwhelm, I am going to start with one of these options for next week. I will come up with a business idea that falls into one of these categories and outline all that starting it would entail. And we will be on our way to making our millions!
Not Making Excuses by Comparing Your Path to Other's
Imagine there is a giant mountain. People are dropped off at all different points on the mountain, either for no reason or for reasons we will never know. The top of the mountain is the most magical place in the universe. Some people have very short climbs to get there and others have long, strenuous climbs to reach the summitt. Some that have been dropped closer to the top don't even climb to the top because they either think they are already close enough to enjoy it (without having any idea what they're missing) and others don't climb to the top because in comparison to the quick jaunts that it seems like some had to take, their hike is too strenuous. Don't be the person who doesn't climb to the top. Maybe the journey is tough, but the top of the mountain is that much more satisfying after a long climb.
When it comes to making millions, it will seem like some people have much easier climbs. Or their trek maybe be longer, but you have this giant river to cross, so yours is actually harder. The reality is, that this is going to be tough sometimes. We will have to face internal fear deamons that beg us to stop making progress since we will inevitably fail. Other deamons may tell us that even though we promised ourselves we would achieve this goal yesterday and wanted it so badly then, just give up because it won’t be so great after all.
We all need to drop the excuses, drop the judgement, and not compare ourselves to anyone else because we are all unique!
So as a start to making millions, I, personally, have decided that despite my completely insane internal dialouge tells me to do, I am going to come up with projects and action plans and stick to them. I will blog about my projects, what I am doing to implement them and accomplish my goals, the results and my key takeaways. All along, I plan to compile this information and hopefully help others like me, who are struggling to reach their potential...which seems so close, yet so far away. In addition, I will find fellow entrepreneurs who have succeeded in the struggle and interview them in order to hear their stories and get advice to share with readers.
I know that the climb to the top of the mountain is going to be tough for me. I will be tempted to go up and down the same roads and pathways that I have been traversing my whole life. But I will not stop climbing, and sharing the journey with you all. It will be well worth it!
First Step to Freedom
Hello and Welcome!This is a blog about freedom. Its about doing what works for you - not about what works for the society machine. Many of us are governed by the necessity for money, the perceptions of others, and bad habits - being controlled by these forces usually precludes us from going against the grain and taking a risk to do what is best for ourselves. It can seem impossible to live a life that’s different from this one….get up, go to work, make dinner, clean up, watch tv, go to bed, do it all again. Well that’s ridiculous. We live in a free country so let’s be free.
We live on this incredible planet with so many different, amazing people and with so much to offer within ourselves, but we live as if we’re waiting for something greater to come along!! Guess what! It never will!
This blog is my quest to do something different. I am going to document the making of a million dollars every step of the way. My goal is to make this money in a way that is enjoyable and true to my personality and my values. I am going to have fun doing it.
I hope that you will join me on this journey to reclaim our lives…experimenting different ways to make money, live well, and set ourselves free!