Post: #1

Am thinking about starting my own business.

I have a solid idea that I think will depend on how it's marketed, but there's a plethora of thinsg to think about. I found this website

http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/index.html

Anyone had a look and does this cover all the most important aspects?

Post: #2

This covers the most important aspects: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240184

Also you only really need a fully costed formal business plan if you are trying to attract investment or a bank loan. Otherwise if little capital layout is required and you have the cash to start then I think the best thing to do is simply set up a website, network to attract customers and just start doing it! It's a lot like reading about game versus actually going out there and getting stuck in.

I'll write more when I'm not busy at work!

Post: #3

What is your business idea?? The first question you need to answer ;

" is there a demand for what I do"??

Post: #4

Get your hands on the Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco.

Very useful, motivational and practical.

I have notes, PM if you want to have a look but I strongly suggest purchasing it.

Post: #5

Thanks Guys!

My idea is pretty good, but I'm not comfortable sharing it because I think it's THAT good. Don't hate me for being a cocktease. The industry is self-help/fitness, which is saturated, but my idea is basically to compete with fitness/diet experts with a more efficient model that can be scaled up massively.

My idea now is to do a pilot-project for April and get 10 people to do the program for a month, use them for feedback, then scale up in May with all the necessary tweaks, and go from there.

Down the road they'll be a very simple app that makes eating healthy the easiest thing in the World.

As for resources, right now I need

- A professional cook
- A dietitian

who are both interested in saving the world At least the Western world

Post: #6

That page has a link called 'Plan what you'll do with your plan'. And that link is broken.

I've also been researching entrepreneurship, and the idea of the 'minimum viable product' makes the most sense to me. You want as much proof as is feasible, at the earliest possible stage, that the market wants your product or service. Just because you think its a good idea, the market might not agree.

I liked these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LZU8oa2RqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZaZ83jLcnA

There was also one about product development, but I can't find it again. Basically, a guy analysed the data from a website which both took product designs, chose the best one each week, and then produced them (I think it was called Quirky). They found that the best tactic, which beat even 'asking a panel of product design executives and experts', was simply to survey a dozen people and ask them if they liked and would buy the product.

Edit: nevermind, you've actually addressed this in your follow-up. But I think it's too early to write any plan unless you're in full scaling-up mode.

Post: #7

I'm a big believer in the idea of 'scratch your own itch'. Make something you want first and satisfy yourself first as a customer, then it's very likely others will also like your product.

Post: #8

(02-26-2015 06:40 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  Am thinking about starting my own business.

I have a solid idea that I think will depend on how it's marketed, but there's a plethora of thinsg to think about. I found this website

http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/index.html

Anyone had a look and does this cover all the most important aspects?

Bootstrappable, scalable, these two aspects of your possible venture are huge. Big upside, reasonably low downside, no need for partners.

At this point I am asking you to stand, raise your right hand and say these words: "1818Steve, I swear that I will not take on any partners in this venture." You can hire the experts that you need. If you follow my advice you will never know what I saved you from. If you don't follow my advice then you will wish you had.

I will add that being an entrepreneur can be a lifestyle. Don't fall into the thinking that entrepreneurship is about sacrifice and working 100 hour weeks. It is only that if you want it and allow it to happen. You define what your business is. You choose what you want it to be, and then make that happen. I like this quote by Mark Manson: "You get to choose how you define success."

If you want to earn $5,000,000 per year, work 70 hours per week, fly to Vegas on a private jet every weekend, and have a harem of 10's, go for it.

On the other hand, if you want to earn $30,000 per year location independent, throw a few thousand of it into a retirement account, and live a comfortable life in Danang, go for it. For me, this one is more attractive but I am probably in the minority here.

Don't let your business run your life. Design your business so that it supports the life that you want to live.

Post: #9

(02-26-2015 06:40 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  Am thinking about starting my own business.

I have a solid idea that I think will depend on how it's marketed, but there's a plethora of thinsg to think about. I found this website

http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/index.html

Anyone had a look and does this cover all the most important aspects?

How you designing your business plan should be determined by what you plan to do with it. Are you looking for financing or investors? Are you just putting together a plan for execution? Depending on the answer to that your objectives are completely different. Either way, the website is ok and does cover briefly the important parts of the business plan.

It you want to concentrate on quick scalability then process mapping is vitally important, because it requires people other then you to do a lot of the work.

BTW, how do you plan on compensating the Chef and dietitian while you try to prove your concept?

Post: #10

Write a business plan, doesn't matter if you end up using it or not, it's an important intellectual exercise that ensures you are straight in your own mind and aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your idea. If you don't think there are possible pitfalls, you probably don't know your sector well enough to start throwing money around.

I don't want to go into too much specific detail on an open forum, but happy to help if I can over PM. I've built and run a business for the past 3 years, I employ a number of people, and have a client list with quite a few global brands on it. I've also helped a few people through the early phases of starting up a business.

Post: #11

(02-26-2015 12:38 PM)1818Steve Wrote:  Bootstrappable, scalable, these two aspects of your possible venture are huge. Big upside, reasonably low downside, no need for partners.

1818Steve,

Can you or somebody else give me some examples of bootstrappable, scalable and location independent businesses? I'm not looking to steal anybody's ideas, just some food for thought so that I can come up with my own. Doesn't have to be your own business either.

Post: #12

(02-26-2015 11:41 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  Can you or somebody else give me some examples of bootstrappable, scalable and location independent businesses? I'm not looking to steal anybody's ideas, just some food for thought so that I can come up with my own. Doesn't have to be your own business either.

Bootstrap: to start with relatively little invested in the business, start making money, and keep reinvesting profits in the business to make more money. This is opposed to seeking out financing from a bank or other investors. Though you don't start out with a lot of cash, you get to keep more of the company and reap the profits if it becomes successful.

Example: There was a thread on here a while back about buying like 24 e-cig hookahs for $10 a pop and selling them for $30 a pop (not sure about the numbers, but it'll work for our purposes). From that first box of hookahs, you'd make 24 (#) x $20 (profit) = $480. Let's say you use that money to buy 2 more boxes and sell them each for $480 profit--you have $960. Let's say that you figure you can sell them more quickly if you have a sales team, so you buy three boxes and hire a couple of guys to sell them for $5 a piece.

Eventually, you get to a level where you can branch out into other product lines or becoming a wholesaler/distributor.

Scalable: So I like to think of scalability as honing a process enough and having a big enough potential market where you've essentially created a money machine; pour some cash in, more cash comes out. Essentially the ability to grow as a business and handle that growth for the foreseeable future.

It does kind of relate to bootstrapping insomuch as a bootstrapped business almost by definition has to scale, as well, in order to keep pumping money into the business.

Example: Think of something like Tough Mudder. It started out as a single "extreme" race in a single city somewhere in America. They honed the concept for a while, cutting fat, charging more, promoting it, etc. Eventually, they figured they had enough of a cash machine going that they could expand to a second city...then a 3rd...etc. Each new location should, in theory, pump another amount similar to that first race into the company. That's one example of scaling, but scaling doesn't have to be geographic scaling--it can be different product lines, tapping new markets--essentially growth that you're relatively certain will continue, since that's what investors are ultimately looking for (stock price/ROI to keep going up).

Location-Independent: This one is pretty self-explanatory: a job you can do from anywhere. Usually it can be done via a computer and the internet somehow.

There are plenty of jobs that could be location-independent, and I think more and more will become so in the future. For now, though, there are still a lot of jobs that are location-independent out there.

Examples: Copywriter , freelance web designer, freelance article writer, consultant (this is a big one), teacher/educator (via webcasts), customer service rep, internet marketer, motivational speaker, kindle writer, personal coach, editor, blogger, IT consultant, app developer, software developer, dropshipper, PUA "guru," translator, transcriber--like I said, pretty much anything that can be done with a computer.

I'd recommend copywriting (or IT/web design, if you have some skills there) to start out with, then potentially transitioning into full-on internet marketing when you have the chance. I'm trying to do so now, and while there have been a few bumps along the way, I'm starting to see a potentially big payday.

I think this speaks to Jefe's point about entrepreneurship generally: Has it been easy getting here? No. I've spent almost 4 years trying a bunch of different stuff, from article writing, to a failed startup, to copywriting, to marketing, and a lot of little side projects in-between. As painful as the failures have been along the way, each project has led to a bunch of new lessons, and ultimately given me valuable experience for the next project. In a weird way, one thing has led to another, which led to another, which led me to here.

The important things to remember, especially in your case, are:

1) Keep going

2) Offer something that's valuable to a group of people that CRAVE it, and

3) Learn how to find those people and sell to them.

Sounds simple, but it takes time to learn all of this stuff. Good luck, man.

Vigo

Post: #13

(02-26-2015 11:41 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(02-26-2015 12:38 PM)1818Steve Wrote:  Bootstrappable, scalable, these two aspects of your possible venture are huge. Big upside, reasonably low downside, no need for partners.

1818Steve,

Can you or somebody else give me some examples of bootstrappable, scalable and location independent businesses? I'm not looking to steal anybody's ideas, just some food for thought so that I can come up with my own. Doesn't have to be your own business either.

Brodiaga,

Vigo has an excellent post above which covers this pretty well.

I have only a few things to add.

Bootstrapping and scalability do not necessarily go hand in hand. Every business runs into constraints at some point, whether the constraint is in supply or demand. A business which sells an item which is handmade and requires unusual skill to produce may be constrained by supply, although it could easily be bootstrapped.

Likewise a business which sells a clever tee shirt which will appeal to fountain pen collectors could be bootstrapped but it could never scale into anything because the demand would never be huge.

You might invent an automobile engine which runs on garbage and produces no emissions. That business would be scalable but you aren't going to bootstrap heavy manufacturing.

The important thing about scaling a business is not that it is possible to scale it to infinity like Microsoft, Amazon or Wal-Mart, but rather that you can scale it to make enough money to fund your lifestyle. The OP mentioned a business which because of its category (information) and its audience (people who eat) could possibly be scaled to a high level. To clarify: digital information is a product which you can duplicate at zero additional cost per customer, so your supply is endless.

The other point involves location independent income. Obviously, programming and other computer work are examples. These are the things that everyone refers to when that is brought up. But the concept can be taken much further than that if you have your own business and you are willing to outsource most of the tasks of the work.

Example: I have a business which buys items from a local source and sells them worldwide. It can't be scaled much past $100,000 per year profit because of supply constraints. And supply could be cut off at any time. So scale is limited, but it meets my needs, living in a fairly low cost area.

Is it location independent? Yes and no. Most people would say 'No, 1818Steve has to be there in order to do the business.' But what if I found a person whom I trusted, trained that person to do the work, put in place some procedures to have a third party audit inventory and cash monthly, paid my employee straight commission of 50% of profits (which would be about double the median income here), and moved my ass to DaNang? Even allowing for some additional expenses of the business and assuming that there is some dropoff because nobody can do it better than I can--I would still have an income which would support a great lifestyle and I could move around as I please. That would make my income "location independent" even though it is not the type of business which comes to mind when you hear the term.

Also, remember that the skills and daily tasks of running a business are different from the skills and daily tasks of building a business. Building a business energizes me. Running a business eventually wears me down, and I become more interested in the novelty of building on another idea. Recognizing this, always begin with the ending in mind. Act on an idea which builds something which can either be turned over to others to run for you, or a business which can be sold easily.

Post: #14

(02-26-2015 11:41 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(02-26-2015 12:38 PM)1818Steve Wrote:  Bootstrappable, scalable, these two aspects of your possible venture are huge. Big upside, reasonably low downside, no need for partners.

1818Steve,

Can you or somebody else give me some examples of bootstrappable, scalable and location independent businesses? I'm not looking to steal anybody's ideas, just some food for thought so that I can come up with my own. Doesn't have to be your own business either.

Great advice by both Vigo and Steve.

We've met and I have an idea of what you do for a living.

You can start there with ideas. It's likely you have specialized knowledge.

What problem is your current role solving for clients? Can your work be scaled to smaller or larger companies? Do small companies have a problem that needs solving that your work could directly address?

Or maybe it's that companies need help consulting which solution is best to solve their problem and you have that specialized knowledge. Maybe it's not actually doing the service but instead being an expert on the service and a niche consultant.

I know a handful of people that do very well in consulting because they worked for years in industries that directly solve common business problems. Often the businesses don't even know where to start and need help. In my current business I do consulting and sell a service/products.

Just some food for thought.

If you're more the freelancer type vs. entrepreneur (People like Seth Godin think it's a big distinction) you may prefer a consulting/gig role vs a business.

Like Steve said, running a business (with employees in my case) is far different than building it. This is something to consider early on.

Post: #15

(02-26-2015 08:03 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  My idea is pretty good, but I'm not comfortable sharing it because I think it's THAT good.

This is a common fallacy...that an idea is so valuable that someone will steal it.

Ideas are cheap.

If we hear your idea, we will NOT drop everything that we have going on in our lives to steal your idea. We don't have the same passion that you do for it. We have our own lives and priorities.

A big company will NOT steal your idea.
Look at the companies that Google has bought. Google could have easily replicated YouTube and Instagram with their vast resources but it's better to buy something that is already proven to work. Google tried to copy Facebook..and they got Google+

You have to share your idea to get customers and to get the resources and the people you need.

I strongly suggest you share your idea here...you will get suggestions that will really help you.

If someone is doing something the same thing already...this is great! It means that there is a market. Many people will prefer you over the competition - you and the 'competition' may even work together someday.

I promise not to steal your idea!

Post: #16

I want to reinforce what Buja said with a story. A few years ago I read about a guy who had an idea for a video game that he thought was the next big thing. He refused to talk about it to anyone unless they were willing to sign non disclosure agreements. That demand caused several investors to back away because like Buja said, an idea is worth nothing and few investors are going to jump through hoops just to hear an idea. In the end someone on the site who was an investor agreed to sign the forms and passed because the idea was not great. Turns out that the poster had never actually vetted the idea with others, he just thought to himself that it was the next big thing.

If you want to be an entrepreneur you have to be ready to talk about your idea and you have to embrace competition because it's going to be there even if you're first to the market. I can't promise someone here, including myself won't steal your idea, but the chances are pretty small. Even if you post your idea on a billboard in every major city only about 5% of people will want to rip it off and less than a quarter of those will actually be willing to put in the time and money to try.

Post: #17

Thanks guys.

Rather err on the side of caution, i guess. But I'll write up a post later.