The Foundational Actions for Starting An Online Business
by Case Lane
This is Part One of Two posts about my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide for Getting Started With an Online Business. The book is ten practical actions for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business online, live with purpose, and achieve their dreams
In this first post, I’m covering the Foundational Actions, that are often overlooked by aspiring entrepreneurs who just jump right in to the online business arena.
Part One: Recast
When you make a decision to stop doing everything you were supposed to do – college, work, mortgage in the suburbs – and start doing everything you have always wanted to do – you throw off years, maybe decades of indoctrination and start again – as someone else.
An extraordinary moment for an extraordinary person?
Or just the right-of-passage for every entrepreneur?
Historically, most people were dependent on their tribe or community, and could not just walk away. Now you can be individually free, and that’s both liberating and terrifying.
In a steel mill, to recast means melting the steel down and reshaping it into a new form.
In Hollywood and on Broadway, recasting means replacing the original performer with some new.
What does it mean to Recast Yourself as an entrepreneur?
The Consequences of Recasting
In the DVD extras for the movie The French Connection, director William Friedkin talks about the actor who played the movie’s memorable villain. Friedkin had told someone to go to Europe and get the actor he wanted to play a rich French drug dealer named Alain Charnier.
When the actor showed up on set, Friedkin took one look at him and said something like: ‘you’re not the guy I wanted.’
The actor said something like: ‘I didn’t think so. And I’m Spanish not French.’
That bit of mistaken recasting created one of the most memorable roles in one of the greatest movies ever made. Spanish actor Fernando Rey would play Charnier in both the original movie, which won five Oscars including Best Picture, and in the sequel The French Connection II.
Recasting is a Hollywood, and Broadway, reality that is loaded with disasters and successes. But at it’s core, recasting means giving the part to a different actor. On the screen, a new person comes in, and makes the role their own.
When I set out to write a book about getting started as an entrepreneur, I wanted to capture the essence of how you should adapt to your new role – and I called the book Recast.
When you decide to become an entrepreneur, you are recasting the role of your life, from playing perhaps an obedient adherent to the status quo, to someone who lives the life you have designed for meaning and purpose.
And you come out on the other side thinking of yourself differently.
Start Your Recast With Yourself
Start your recast as an entrepreneur in a completely different place than most people…start with you.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs remain ‘aspiring’ because you are trying to jump right in to starting a business without any preparation. Then when you get derailed by relevant details, you stay derailed and do not get back on track.
The Five Foundational Actions
When Recasting, begin with the foundational actions you need to take to BEFORE you launch into your business details. Your five foundational actions are followed by five creative actions.
The five foundational actions are to:
1. Take a deep breath
2. Establish your workspace
3. Gather your tools
4. Remove distractions
5. Set your schedule
1. Take a Deep Breath
Taking a deep breath is shorthand for saying make sure you are mentally, and physically prepared to dedicate your time and effort to your business.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon of endless sprints. You have to be prepared to constantly adapt and change to circumstances, to shift when something is not working, and to double-down when it is.
You want to be able to move forward with confidence and security, and the only way you can do that is to make yourself prepared for the long-haul. So once you have convinced yourself that is what you’re going to do, you need a good place to work.
2. Establish Your Workspace
If you do not already know for sure where you’re going to work, take a moment to walk around the house or neighborhood, and identify your spot. This may sound mundane until you realize that you’ll want your own corner for maybe hours at a time to do business related activities.
Don’t skip this action, and then come back a day later and say you did not do any work because you could not find a good quiet spot to focus.
Take a whole day if needed. Identify several locations that you want to test, but select one to start that’s realistic and suitable for your work.
3. Gather Your Tools
After picking the place to work, avoid sitting down, and getting up five minutes later because you forgot coffee or a pen or the lighting does not work.
Make sure you have around you all the tools you like to use when you’re working.
When you go to work in a corporate job, on the first day HR takes you around and shows you your desk, the break room, the supply room, and so on. Do the same for yourself.
Identify your coffee or water. Get the supplies you like. Even if you’re 100% digital, make sure the electrical outlet is accessible. And you’re not in a wi-fi deadzone.
Although, these actions may sound trivial, these are exactly the setbacks that provide obstacles…and excuses for aspiring entrepreneurs who end up delaying their business…sometimes for years.
4. Remove Distractions
When establishing your workspace, be aware of potential distractions. If you are sharing space, make sure you can work without being interrupted. And interruptions do not only come from your household. You could have external disruptions such as a school bell or trash pick-up that interfere with your video calls.
Also if people know you’re working from home, they will inevitability think you can be on the phone or sign for packages or run an errand – when you’re trying to get your work done.
Removing distractions means letting everyone know you are working on your business, not having a vacation. And you have to be serious and dedicated to this particular action.
5. Set Your Schedule
To finalize your foundational actions, you will create your new schedule. In corporate life, you have a set time to go to work. In online life, you want freedom and flexibility. But you also have to do the work, or delegate to others and supervise.
The most common factor among successful entrepreneurs is the fact that they actually did the work. They created a business, and kept moving forward with their plans.
Create a schedule where you put time aside every day to do the work. You may only have a limited amount to do, or a lot, but establish the time you need to complete your daily tasks.
Account for conflicts with your household or location. You do not want to be scheduling your calls at the same time your child is having a piano lesson.
You want to have a picture of your entire day, and then identify the times within the day that work best for your work.
Summary: The Foundational Actions
Setting up a solid foundation for your business will support you going forward, and make the next part – the creative phase that much easier.
To Create a Solid Foundation for Your Entrepreneurial Dream:
- Take a deep breath and get mentally and physically prepared to focus on your business
- Find a dedicated workspace
- Gather the tools you will need to do the work
- Remove all distractions from people to devices
- Create your schedule that fits your selections
If you take these actions first, before you dive in to your business, you will feel more confident and secure before moving forward.
For the next article: Click Here for the Creative Actions: Part 2 of 2: Recast: Ten Practical Actions for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Who Want to Start a Business Online, Live with Purpose and Achieve their Dreams
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
ENJOY LIVE CLASSES?
Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
WANT TO READ THE BOOK?
You can Download Recast at Amazon.com
Get all the details about how to Recast your life, and become an online entrepreneur in this exciting new book!
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links, which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you
How to Get Out of Your Corporate Mindset When Starting Your Own Business
by Case Lane
Many corporate management-level employees are often hired ‘at will,’ meaning the employee can be let go for any legal reason, and an employee can also leave for any reason – and neither side incurs legal liability.
Yet despite those facts, society insists on referring to those jobs as ‘secure.’
When aspiring entrepreneurs talk about leaving a company job to start a business, they are often admonished to stay in their ‘secure’ job.
Security has come to mean – a place to go every day, a regular paycheck, maybe benefits like subsidized health care, insurance, matching 401(k) funds, and if you work at a Hollywood studio – a free movie every week!
But for many, the ‘security’ comes with a nagging sensation that you are not as secure as you think. When an aspiring entrepreneur walks away, the sensation does not disappear, it remains as a lingering tug determined to pull you back.
The Trappings of Corporate
Back at corporate some time ago, there was this executive, let’s say X, who was upset one day after lunch. X had lunch with Y, and Y had paid with the platinum corporate American Express card. A fact that moved X almost to tears.
Confused?
At this company, the platinum corporate card meant Y had been promoted. Regular management level people had the green corporate American Express card. But the platinum card told X louder than a press release, that Y had been given the recognition demonstrated by the card.
X could not have an intelligent adult discussion about the vagaries of the promotion system, or what was on the lunch menu, because X’s self-esteem and worth were tied to the color of the corporate card.
When you make the decision to walk away, you are not only leaving a job, but also all the Trappings, with a capital ‘T’ that the corporate life provide. Whether you have them now, or can expect to be rewarded in a couple of years, those perks are enticing.
And the best way to get rid of the ideas from your head is to replace them.
Assess What You’re Losing
This may sound counter-intuitive if you are looking for encouragement to quit your 9-to-5, but you have to understand the perks you are giving up by analyzing everything you are about to lose.
Money
The number one benefit is a steady paycheck. Your first hint of panic will come when you realize the money is no longer going to come in from that reliable source.
If you started your business before leaving your job, and already have your second income, you can make this transition easier. You at least have an understanding about what you can expect.
But if you can’t stand your job, and just walked away, then the one thing you have to focus on is replacing your income. Use the need to replace that income as the motivating factor when working on your business.
You may have other financial benefits to replace including health insurance or disability. Over time, you will want to use your new income to cover these potential losses also.
And as for the corporate card, Amex has plenty of business cards you can apply for.
Workspace
Your workspace is about to change. If you had a great office with a view, you may be missing that immediately. In my new book Recast, I write about how setting up your new place to work is one of the foundational steps for getting started with an online business.
You become your own HR, and re-establish a comfortable workspace for yourself. You might not get the view. But you should get the advantage of being where you want to be.
Socializing
Outside of the office there will be no more idle conversations, water-cooler talk, and busy time. As an entrepreneur with your own business, you will be continuously busy, especially in the beginning, and should have little time to miss the easy days of having an office job.
But the other side of office life – exchanging ideas, having meetings, meeting new interesting people – this might be difficult to adjust to. You have to prepare yourself for a life of isolation, solitary decisions and meetings of one.
You can get around these feelings by seeking those who are like-minded to form masterminds, or other groups who may be interested in doing what you’re doing. Try and find an accountability partner who can help you stay on track and focused on your Action Plan.
The key in the entire process is you have to replace the parts of corporate life you like the most with similar support in the online business world. Over time, as you focus more on your business, you will find the memories of your former life fade fast, and your new one becomes more omnipresent and relevant in your every day.
Summary: How to Get Rid of Your Corporate Mindset
You have to slowly replace the Trappings of corporate life with your solopreneur alternatives:
- Salary and other financial benefits come from continuously focusing on the work required to replace the money as soon as possible
- Your comfortable workspace can be established wherever you decide to work
- You can be happy to be rid of idle office time, but desperate to reconnect with people – do that by joining group masterminds or finding accountability partner
You get corporate out of your head by creating a new focus – the value you want to deliver – the product or service that your soon-to-be-discovered community wants or needs.
And once you have changed your focus, you are well on your way to being a recast entrepreneur for the long-term
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Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
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How to Dominate Your Niche of Niches Online
Part 4 of 4: Be the Automatic Leader in the Niche of Your Choice
by Case Lane
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may have spent years, maybe four or 8 or 10, continuing your education, putting in hours or days on your chosen skill, or maybe even researching a subject of interest every day.
With the activities you enjoy, and wherever your interests lie, you have more information about the subject than someone who is looking for the product or service you have to offer.
Yet when it comes to thinking about delivering your message online, you may feel uncomfortable. You squirm a little at the idea that you could be someone who could deliver value to others – for money.
Maybe even at your work, there are probably people who are paid more than you; in education thousands of others have your diploma; and in your hobby…it’s a hobby, for a reason. Your daily reality may make you question how you could be a leader on online.
You Can Provide Solutions
Once in the Duty Free store at Los Angeles International Airport, I overheard a discussion between a store clerk and a passenger. The clerk was trying to explain to the passenger that she could not take the bag of stuff she had just bought – alcohol, perfume – with her.
That policy can be confusing for infrequent travelers. Duty Free Stores are promoted as free from taxes. You can purchase products when you are leaving the country. But the store must send the items to your flight, and you pick them up literally as you are walking on to the plane.
The passenger obviously had not bought duty free before so she was confused, and was trying to understand the rules in a language that was not her own.
But I could understand both. Or make myself understood. I had an approach – unique and singular – based on my education, knowledge and experience. No one else can deliver in exactly the same way (no one else was around), the moment was mine to seize.
I could provide a solution.
Of course, there is a risk in providing unsolicited advice. Some people might consider you rude, presumptuous or…not an expert. You may not be their idea of a solution provider, your approach may not suit their sensibilities, or they may not respect the experience you have.
There are many possibilities….
But at the same time, when people are struggling, and they’ve tried other solutions and nothing worked, they still need help.
In my case, I was in a position to deliver a solution.
Where will you be when your future customers come looking online for you, and your potential product or service?
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, your role is to deliver value to those who want or need the product or service you want to offer. If you have something to offer, the only way your community can learn about it is if you offer your knowledge.
You may find it awkward to offer people your help in a way they are not expecting. But at the same time, if you have the knowledge and a way to deliver it, you can support another person’s goals, and be a great assistance to them.
In the beginning, you may feel imposter syndrome because your position is new and untried. But it’s valid. You have a solution – someone else does not. It’s your opportunity, some would say, responsibility as an entrepreneur, to offer the value you have to deliver.
Summary: How You Dominate Your Niche
1. If you have gone in to business, it’s because you believe you have value to offer. You have business ideas in your head or a solution for someone else’s problem. That value needs to be expressed.
2. Your approach to the product or service is different from others, and it’s an approach you should not feel afraid to deliver. Because your experience, education, expertise – that’s all unique to you, and that uniqueness is what is going to differentiate you and make you the automatic leader.
3. There were automobiles before Henry Ford, furniture before Ikea, makeup before Mary Kay, mobile phones before Steve Jobs, movies before Walt Disney. And you probably do not need to be told why those products became unique when those individuals decided to deliver them.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you do not have to be creating a global corporation, but you do have to use your uniqueness to attract the customer base that you have created the product or service for.
Online people can be accusatory and critical – but there is a way to ensure those ones are not relevant to you.
You deliver to the people who appreciate your uniqueness, and you ignore everyone who does not.
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Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
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How to Decide on an Online Platform
Part 3 of 4: Choose to Be Comfortable
by Case Lane
When choosing to launch an online business, you do not want to be phony.
In fact, you are told must be authentic.
Except there’s the conflict. You are being told you MUST be authentic, under the assumption that everyone knows what authentic is.
At the same time that people claim you must be authentic, they also claim you should make videos, or send email, or start a podcast or dance on Tik-Tok.
Aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business, and attract an audience, but are turned off by the so-called ‘authentic’ things everyone is saying to do, need an alternative for appearing on an online platform.
The best bet is to pick the space where you are most comfortable.
What is an Online Platform?
Your online platform is the Internet space where you have your online presence – the basis for your business.
Bloggers have a website, podcasters appear in directories, vloggers post YouTube videos. Social media influencers dominate on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
You decide which one works best for you by deciding first which form of public expression suits your preferences.
A Presence You Own and Defend
A while back, in Hollywood, one of my colleagues once told me about this incredible idea one of the senior executives had that would change the industry.
My colleague was prone to exaggeration about a senior executive’s idea…especially if it could lead to career advancement. But the executive in question was more qualified than most, and had a solid reputation.
The idea could have been great…
….but, it was terrible.
And to my surprise I told my colleague exactly what I thought of the idea. I reacted against character because I felt passionate about the subject, and had a strong opinion of its viability.
The decision whether the idea would be implemented was not mine to make, but the opinion was definitely mine to express.
The defense of your own approach is even more pronounced online.
Model Your Own Instincts
When you see people online in your target industry acting all the same – being cutesy, dancing, giving shoutouts, swearing and hollering….
You might think that’s how you have to behave to win over people in your potential community.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs imitate successful people because they believe the success can be directly copied.
But that approach rarely works.
There is already a successful person being the original version of who you want to be, so a fake version has a limited chance.
Often a new entrepreneur does not want to behave like the successful person. But does it under the mistaken belief that the community will only respond to the questionable behavior.
However, since you are passionate about your product and service, and turned off by the presentation of the existing leaders in your field, then you may have an opportunity with other members of the community who feel as you do.
No doubt your niche has specific approaches to ensure you are seen by your community, and are communicating your message effectively, but you can modify your approach to ensure you are comfortable, and therefore authentic in your presentation.
If you see a successful person in your industry who is a blogger, but you hate writing, you can either do something else, or outsource the writing to someone else.
Remember, online your marketplace is the entire world. There is likely a community that would appreciate receiving your product or service in a form that it is not currently presented.
For example, today almost every book is released in digital, print and audio formats. Not to mention those that may eventually be made into a movie or show.
The reason you can keep releasing the same story in different forms is because different people want to absorb the same story in the format they prefer.
Select Your Platform Preference
You can deliver your product or service offering on exactly the platform that you prefer.
You have to decide where you add value, and how you want to contribute based on your expertise and skills.
You can also look at your niche the same way. Test the approaches you prefer, and measure your community’s response.
For example, professional NFL football has one community of beer-drinking, screaming, face painters…and another of statistics and analysis geeks from analytics professors and statisticians to college students and the curious who discuss the probabilities of certain plays, moves and scores in every scenario.
The business of data is data tables, analysis apps, fantasy football instruction manuals, courses on how to understand the game, blog, podcast, affiliate for clothes, gear, and food…and more.
You can approach your own passion in your niche in any direction you choose, and find your community wherever they may be hiding.
You can write, talk, film, teach, dance or holler…
Practically everyone is on the Internet, and everyone is looking for their preferred approach to education, information and entertainment.
There is no competition and all fields are wide open because people are constantly searching for their preferences.
When you go online with your business idea. You can deliver as you see fit.
That’s the incredible opportunity that exists in the online space today. And you have the opportunity of a lifetime to take advantage of it.
For the next article: Click Here for Part 4 of 4: How Dominate Your Niche of Niches
ENJOY LIVE CLASSES?
Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
WANT TO READ THE BOOK?
Get a FREE Summary of Case Lane’ new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Prep Guide to Starting An Online Business
Click this link to get your summary and early bird notice of the book’s release.
How to Prepare to Be an Expert Online
Part 2 of 4: Identify Your Passion in Your Skills and Interests
by Case Lane
When I was at law school, a few years ago, I realized something no one ever talks about. People were NOT putting their entire lives online on the social networks. The secrets were still very much being kept secret.
You might guess what some of those secrets were, but what’s surprising is that even the benign activities were being self-censored.
For example, if someone had a hobby they thought their friends would make fun of them about, or an interest in an influencer they wanted to follow, but did not want everyone to know they were following, people had to find other groups and places to express this interest away from their main social pages. They created new pages or signed up for other sites under different avatars.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start an online business in a niche no one knows you are interested in, or where you have limited or no experience, you face the same dilemma right?
How can you legitimately declare your passion or expertise to be exactly what you say it is even if you have no experience in your niche?
The Science Geeks Hangover
Have you ever actually seen one of those bubbling plastic model volcanoes? You know the kind that are the staple of jokes on TV show when making fun of a science project.
Those model volcanoes are Science Fair fodder. And at the Science Fair, as you remember, the winners get a blue ribbon nobody sees, and a pat on the back that has no clear path to ongoing success…
Now don’t get me wrong. I love science. I think the Science Fair champions should get the front page of the paper, and be honored at the Super Bowl half-time show.
Those brilliant geeks make the plastic volcano to demonstrate the build up of pressure into heat, steam and gas that EXPLODES into the air, then down on to everything in molten liquid destruction…
It’s super cool! And often easily forgotten…
The State Science Fair is a big deal for some people, but it receives not nearly the attention given to the State Basketball Championships, which is a big deal for everyone.
The science champion will likely receive a free ride to college, and so will the basketball champion.
The science champion may even receive a lot of interesting offers to work in a research lab or at a big corporation.
But the basketball champion knows exactly the types of offers she could receive. The basketball champion already has an absolutely clearly defined road to success that almost everyone knows, and can repeat.
Only the future professional athletes have this clarity…not the biologists, not the musicians, not the historians, not the programmers, and…definitely not the entrepreneurs.
The Value of a Familiar Road
The high school basketball player who has the intention of playing professionally, knows to work to earn a spot on the varsity team, and if not the junior varsity, and at least play intramurally.
The top players may even earn a spot on an AAU traveling team, and compete at multiple levels.
During high school, the goal is to earn a Division IA full ride college scholarship, and if that doesn’t materialize, the player tries for Division II or III with an eye to reach Division I, some day.
While in college, the goal is to try for the NBA, and if not the Development League or leagues in Europe, Asia or South America.
There is also an opportunity to compete for a national team to play in the Pan-Am Games, or maybe even the Olympics.
When playing days are over, the player can start the process again as a coach or team management, first in high school, and then college, and internationally…
…and so they keep going.
Not everyone makes it, but everyone knows what the path is…and has an chance to pursue each possible direction to achieve the next level of success.
The science champion may or may not get a job, may or may not have a promising career, may or may not get to work in their preferred field, and in all circumstances has no clear path to defined markers of success.
There could be annual science competitions, but none have the objective championship declaration like the number of points scored in a basketball game.
The science champion will have to figure things out and accept decisions made by others. They are caught in a status quo of research grants, subjective analysis, and naysayers and unbelievers, questioning what turn out to be their best ideas.
The Opportunity to Prepare
The basketball player can ramp up her own performance, and aim for higher and higher opportunities along the pre-determined path.
And because the basketball player can see the path, the road and the opportunities ahead, she can PREPARE to be a professional basketball player, coach or even team manager or executive, knowing the available jobs and programs, out around the entire world…for life.
Every day the basketball player needs to do more drills, more shots, more weight-lifting and running. Diet can be modified, so can sleep. Hours can be spent watching tape to see not only how the greats play, but also your own mistakes.
The basketball player can always be ready for the next opportunity…
…The science champion has to rely on outside forces.
The aspiring entrepreneur must do both.
Like science geeks, aspiring entrepreneurs do not have a clear road, but like basketball players, you can prepare.
An aspiring entrepreneur can understand the road to follow, and the skills to develop, while declaring a passion around an idea upon which you build your business…and then work directly in that business to achieve success.
And the success is defined…by the objective global marketplace.
The market will tell you if you have won or lost against your definition of success.
Declare Your Expertise Through Your Work
Many who follow the entrepreneurial road are indoctrinated into the science geek’s understanding of life, and allow the gatekeepers to decide their path.
Outside forces define not only the qualifications for your professional success, but also the attributes that would put you on their radar in the first place.
The result is not always satisfactory, a fact that leads many to try entrepreneurship. And when walking away to go into business for themselves, aspiring entrepreneurs can look at the activities successful entrepreneurs are doing, and model their practices.
As an entrepreneur, you set your goals based on the opportunity you see, and you work to achieve them.
The only approval you need is from the global marketplace where you deliver your product or service.
Select your passion, the niche or space – the product or service you want to champion – exactly where you want to make your mark, and you use it to do exactly what you want to do, even if you have no experience.
The key driver for successful entrepreneurs is doing the work. That’s what separates the successful from the forgotten. That’s the only common denominator.
Entrepreneurs can be born rich or poor, finish school or not, go to the formal workplace or not, travel the world or not – and in all cases, the success stories are written by and about those who did the work, and did not give up.
You declare your expertise exactly where you are going to put in the work.
Because your intentions and effort will put you ahead of those who are not doing anything. You can start with zero experience because the minute you get started you know more than the next person who never tried.
If your production and delivery of the product or service resonates with that next person, that person will consider you the expert they want to follow, and you will have your business.
Just like a basketball player, you keep the main goal in mind, while you make adjustments based on feedback and the response you receive from the global marketplace.
While the science geek is waiting for grant money or possible job offers, you are practicing the moves needed to break in to the next level by being passionately involved in your chosen area of expertise.
You have to get ready like the basketball player.
You have to prepare to be a Ready Entrepreneur
For the next article, Part 3 of 4: How to Decide on an Online Platform: Click Here
ENJOY LIVE CLASSES?
Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
WANT TO READ THE BOOK?
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Click this link to get your summary and early bird notice of the book’s release.
How to Find an Online Business Idea…
…That Works for You!
Part 1 of 4: You are in the Internet World Now!
by Case Lane
You are looking at a world where everyone seems to be making money online.
Even if you do not really surf social media or pay that much attention to the online world, you know other people are building financial security and having an awesome time…and you’re not.
And you’re wondering what to do next. Should you join in? Are you missing the future? After all you’re educated and have worked for years and have tons of experience, and you’re wondering why you cannot have the same success, that these overnight online wonders seem to be having.
Then you think again, and wonder about jeopardizing your education, work experience and knowledge by doing something you’ll regret online.
Do you have to be silly? Swear and be outrageous? Do a song and dance like those other people you see? Or can you be serious and spread your knowledge without becoming just another one of those annoying Internet show-offs?
The Value of Online Business
You know, many of us never imagined having to figure out how to earn income online…
We did not see, and did not have to see the rise of technology as a life-altering fact.
For many it was like a fad that would pass…
I noticed this back when I worked in Hollywood, and watched the rise of digital media from physical media (you remember film and tape, right?). Over a couple of years, we were first spurred on to switch from VHS to DVDs..
…but would you believe I worked with a high-paid home entertainment executive who once said, with all sincerity, “I don’t know why someone would want to buy a DVD.”
Maybe in hindsight, when you think about the multi-billion dollar industry that was once occupied by DVDs, you want to laugh right? This guy was making millions, seriously millions of dollars a year, running a billion-dollar division of a mega global corporation, and he honestly had no idea what was driving consumer choices.
That executive could not see the future that was right in front of his face. He probably would not be able to do the same today.
The transition from the industrial age to the tech age is already overwhelming people, including, and maybe especially, those who are educated, and well-off, and think that they and their children are already set for life.
What if they are not? What if you are not?
In 2020, the world changed overnight. We have always lived in a world where we could not, technically, predict the future. But in 2020, the uncertainty is at a new height.
Companies are spending day and night planning for the post-pandemic world. But they’re planning in a fog.
What’s the new normal?
Nobody knows.
Your Opportunity Online
Given the uncertainty around us, we have to react to changes…and learn to react quickly.
In the pandemic economy, essential workers, corporate management …and online entrepreneurs continued to work. Delivering value and solutions to increasing numbers of those who want or need new services and products.
After starting ebook self-publishing while in law school, I decided the best way to learn was to do, and I became immersed in the world of online entrepreneurship and the tech tools and resources available to everyone who wants to get online.
I firmly believe that a great number of us, maybe one-quarter to one-third of the population should be independent, self-sufficient entrepreneurs taking full advantage of technology and the global marketplace to maintain and enhance our security in the global economy.
We should not be living in a world of constant instability.
And even if there is some recognition tomorrow that the global pandemic exacerbated the gap between rich and poor, and we have to do something about it, governments and civic society are unlikely to develop long-term solutions anytime soon.
How long will lasting permanent sustainable viable change take? Longer than you you’ve got.
You are much better off securing your place – by yourself.
Follow a Guided, Tactical Path
The online entrepreneurship opportunity is alive and thriving, the investment is low, and the demand is high, yet many do not accomplish their dream to become an online entrepreneur, or they drop out while trying.
To avoid overwhelm, and help you see through the jumble of information so that you could get your chance in the digital economy, follow a clear path that makes sense to you.
Based on my research, reading, building my business, observing developments all over the world, talking to other entrepreneurs, helping aspiring entrepreneurs, and trying all the various paths myself, I developed a framework you can use to prepare BEFORE diving in to one of the online entrepreneurship fields.
Instead of randomly thinking about whether you could be a blogger or podcaster or course creator, take the cleared path through the noise, and adopt the blueprint you could use so you would know where to start.
Focus on Value
The tech economy both thrills and scares people.
The first post is the hardest, right?
As an online entrepreneur, remember you share value. Your work is important. You provide knowledge, advice or even useful tips from your hobby that other people can find useful.
The first time you decide to put your words online, you may feel a little trepidation.
This fear is normal. The reason is the visibility and permanence that comes with posting. In this current environment, what you say online defines you, and stays part of your legacy forever…as far as we know…
And that’s pretty scary…
So spend time to think through the content you plan to deliver before you post your message…even if you’re still worried.
What will happen?
A variety of people are making money online for a reason. They overcame their initial trepidation to make sure they contributed.
Entrepreneurs have the courage to move forward.
Define Your Personal Goals
Maybe you want additional income, or maybe you are really concerned about your current paycheck or your retirement…
Maybe you want to use the incredible education, knowledge and experience you have built up, and deliver it to a world that wants and needs what you have to offer.
If you can create an online revenue stream for yourself, you have a chance to build your future security, hedge your bets against job instability, and fully participate in the online global economy…
In other words, you can set your own future…and maybe set one for your kids, friends and others too.
This is the future we all have to get moving on together.
That old world Hollywood executive did not understand how the world was changing…
But you do…
…And so do I…
Get the Right Idea
To take advantage of the online entrepreneurship opportunity to make money, be successful, and achieve lifestyle freedom…
Focus on a business idea that:
- Reflects your interests or skills
- Delivers over the platform where you are most comfortable
- Helps you be the automatic leader in your niche of niches
That means…
1. Technology, and the access to the global market you get through technology are not passing fads. You have to recognize that this is a permanent change to our economy and society. And you have to decide if you want to fully participate, by starting an online business, and becoming a contributor.
2. If you’ve come this far, you probably recognize that becoming an online entrepreneur allows you to take the best of all worlds…
…You can highlight your professional skills
…Reach deep into your interests
…And deliver value to those who are aligned with you.
There may be other professions that provide you with job satisfaction or financial security, but they all also likely depend on the Internet. By starting your own business online, you are setting yourself up for the future that is already here and covering all your bases.
3. When you prepare to be an online entrepreneur you increase your chance of success by focusing on exactly what you like to do, and picking the platform and tools that best fit your vision for your ideal life.
You have your opportunity to achieve your vision of Lifestyle Freedom through an Online Business – the 21st century dream life – but without Feeling Fear, Embarrassment or Imposter Syndrome.
You want to be authentic and deliver value as you see fit.
Today, right now, you are living the opportunity to have the life that you truly want. A life on your terms where you add value that you believe in, and that makes you feel like you’re really contributing to build the world you want to see.
Becoming an entrepreneur, being your own boss and having your own business is one of the best ways to take control of your life, and to deliver to yourself your own life dream.
But you have to get started.
Why is it so important for you to move forward with entrepreneurship now?
Summary
1. Technology is our lifeline and upon it we are building the future. So the more you know about having a life online, the better you will be.
2. Being an online entrepreneur means you develop online skills, you learn the tools and resources which now are indispensable in the work world, and you can accelerate your professional development, and improve where you want to be.
3. When you prepare to be an online entrepreneur you increase your chance of success by focusing on exactly what you like to do, and picking the platform and tools that best suit your vision.
For the next article: Click Here for Part 2 of 4: How to Prepare to
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What is an Aspiring Entrepreneur?
The two words ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ have their roots in Latin.
Aspire comes from aspirare – ad- ‘to’ + spirare ‘breathe’. The root of the English word ‘aspire’ is to breath. Yet we have come to associate aspire with ambition, dreaming and hoping for an accomplishment.
The idea of being aspirational often refers to the indefinite, those with their head in the clouds. In fact, we even say lofty heights of buildings are aspiring into the sky.
Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay
A word meaning breathing, the act we need for life, has ended up as a reference to lofty dreams that can be celebrated or ignored. From a root tied to actually staying alive, we have derived a hopeful sensibility to achieve something you desire.
The word entrepreneur, comes from the French, entreprendre which means to undertake. The Latin root is prendere, which means to take.
Would this mean the term ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ refers to a breathing taker – or the breather who seeks to undertake?
Two Words for One Intention
A friend of mine once told me he studied Latin to avoid needing a dictionary. When you look up words, you often find the Latin root, which if you know the definition, means you can define the word.
When it comes to the concept of an aspiring entrepreneur, the Latin root appears to betray a less serious qualifier on the action-oriented French intention ‘to undertake.’
Maybe aspiration alone is not enough.
Entrepreneurs also need ambition, drive and perseverance.
The aspiring entrepreneur who ‘undertakes’ is more likely to transform dreams into actual action. A fact which brings the term ‘aspiring entrepreneur’ full circle.
The entrepreneur part of an aspiring entrepreneur undertakes to get things done. The aspiration part is knowing you can make it happen. The dreaming – breathing part of the definition is the vision needed to ensure a business idea gets into the global marketplace.
An aspiring entrepreneur, who stays aspiring, is the ‘almost’ entrepreneur who has not yet found a path to business success that will work. To get beyond aspiring that entrepreneur has to keep going until the correct road is identified.
Follow Examples
In Wild Company, Mel and Patricia Ziegler’s awesome book about building the Banana Republic stores, they knew they wanted to have a business even if they did not have a specific idea which one. They went out looking for a business that would work for them.
The titans of the early 20th century like Rockefeller capitalized on opportunities they saw growing around them in new technologies for steel and oil.
The titans of the 21st century like Jeff Bezos used the capabilities of technology and the reach of the Internet to build new businesses.
Are You Aspiring?
An entrepreneur who has yet to create a business must decide if activities reflect: Continuous aspiring? Searching for visible opportunities? Or preparing to create something new?
Begin first by considering where you have been. What makes you believe you are an entrepreneur? If it’s the idea that you want to have your own business, that you have a product or service you believe could be of value, or you know you want an independent professional life, then you are set. You are already in the entrepreneurial space.
If you want to be an entrepreneur for the ‘bling’, the money, house, car and publicity, but you do not have a valuable product or service attached to your vision, then you may be stuck in aspiration for some time to come.
It is much easier to pursue your dream and work on it every day, if you believe in it and you care about results and the outcome. You have a great chance to actually have a business if your passion for your product or service is also the fuel that prompts you to put the time and money in to making the passion a business.
It is a lot harder to commit to a plan if you really just see it as a ticket to…nowhere.
Actions for Moving Beyond Aspiration
To get beyond aspiring, make a commitment to a business idea that you can move forward into a business.
Take the time to research your idea, find your niche and community.
Determine where you can add value, and the product or service needs of the community.
And put your research in to action.
Forever aspiring means never doing.
You want to see the results of your dream not just having the dream.
An aspiring entrepreneur is the person who focuses on the hope and dream of entrepreneurship. You can start aspiring, but must transition to actual action to be considered an entrepreneur.
Summary: To Transition to Action:
- Research your idea – determine who wants or needs the product or service you would like to offer
- Talk to people who have done it before
- Identify the value you can add – your niche
- Put your research into action
Take your vision past aspiration, and on to implementation.
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links. I earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
Today’s entrepreneur will inevitably be asked at some point where you like to connect on social.
Are you on Facebook? Insta? Do you tweet? Pin? Prefer Linked?
If you are not in to social media, or you prefer not to have your business on social media, you will miss out on potentially thousands, maybe millions, of customers who use social to find all the information they seek.
But you have many options for choosing a preferred social media platform. Some will say follow your audience, others will stay stick with favorite site. Some believe in only being on the biggest. Others like the niches. Some insist you should be everywhere, others believe you must specialize on one.
In all cases, consistent and valuable content helps build a lasting audience that always knows where to find you.
But what is the best path for choosing a social media platform?
And how do you know which social media platform is right for your business?
Whether you love or hate social media, you are going to have to have a position on the platforms for your business. Potential customers will look for you on social, and they will want to engage with you there. You will also have the opportunity to market, promote and share value every day, all day.
So how do you choose?
Understand the platforms
You need to understand what each of the social media platforms are, and what they do. You should also understand the demographics for the dominate audience on each platform.
The basic idea of a social platform is that you establish a profile, post your text or pictures, and people engage with that profile, leaving comments and feedback that other people can see.
Find Your Audience
When marketers say you need to know where your audience is hanging out, you can use either formal or informal approaches to finding this information.
The informal approach is to check out the sites and see who is there. Make sure you set-up a profile and see if you can engage with other participants.
Search topics relevant to your business, and look at the people who are posting and commenting on the subject. Narrow your search as much as possible. If you search #entrepreneur on Instagram, you see tens of millions of posts.
But if you search #womenentrepreneursofsaskatchewan, there are fewer than 100 posts.
As you look at the public profiles or pages of your potential customers, you will be able to learn about their preferences and interests.
The formal search approach involves using paid analysis services.
When you are looking to analyze where the audience is located, you can look at sources like Hootsuite. Every year there are multiple organizations that analyze social media trends and usage. You could spend some time reading these documents, or you could just go to each site and see what’s there.
Although these are great services for information, they present the information in generalities. While the general profile of the audience may be valid, you will not have the specifics about your potential customers who could be anywhere.
Be careful about dismissing a potential audience thread because you read the audience is more likely to be somewhere else. Look at the content on the platform and see for yourself if you think the audience appeals to you.
Go through the platform as a user, search for topics that interest you and see what comes up, and whether it’s easy or difficult to find what you are looking for.
Do you get bored after a few minutes or end up being sucked in for hours? That’s the real test of whether or not the platform works for you – now ask does it work for your ideal customer?
Overview of Each Platform in Alphabetical Order
Despite its increasingly eroding reputation, Facebook is still the social media behemoth. With a couple billion users a day, Facebook is impossible to ignore. But ironically it’s one of the more difficult platforms for building an audience.
You must bring friends to your Facebook page, and hope they will like or follow you, or preferably both. Facebook is the most demanding platform when it comes to proving interaction.
Your potential customer must friend, follow and like you to count in your numbers. That’s three clicks just to be recognizes as operating in your world.
But you have the benefit of using Facebook for long text messages, short messenger messages, images, videos, and links. That kind of complete functionality does not exist on the other sites.
If your business is prepared to spend Facebook also has a robust advertising program that allows you to directly target people who have expressed an interest subjects you define. The scope of their customer analytics is extraordinary, but the frequently changing rules is a challenge for all sides.
Goodreads
Goodreads is included as an example of a subject specific social site. The site is for readers, which means it’s used by authors who have profiles, to answer questions, post reviews and engage in groups.
If you are a writer or writing a book that is linked to your business or other non-fiction in your genre you can engage with readers on the platform. But be careful, Goodreads is a readers site meaning authors are not welcome to promote their books, only to offer value.
You can search for subject social sites and forums discussing issues around your product or service.
The occasionally-defined, and often-repeated rule is to add value first, avoid promoting your product or service unless permitted, and respect the site for its declared purpose, not as a place only for you to find more customers.
For all the photography buffs, Insta is for you. The site is defined by its visual presentation of images and videos. The emphasis on images leaves you with a limited profile and no place to put links inside posts.
Insta is perfect for businesses that use images in promotion like travel and cooking. It has fewer opportunities to direct people off the platform, unless you have a business account, which does have additional features.
In the past, Instagram has been one of the best sites for growing an audience organically because you could use hashtags to connect your content to various topics and ideas, and people would discover you.
However, it seems to be getting harder to be discovered on Insta which limits the options for those who do not have community coming from somewhere else.
Linked In
The site for professionals is all about profiles, networking and adding value.
Linked In is probably the most serious of the sites, with people who have high expectations for the type of contact that should be available. You can add links, videos, and pics, but all should be of the highest quality and interest.
This is probably the hardest site for growing a business and attracting people to developing ideas, but one of the strongest for more established ideas and information people can use in their existing professional lives.
Many are surprised to realize that Pinterest is more of a search engine, than a social site. This is a place where people are looking for specific topics and ideas.
The user’s approach appears to make Pinterest more serious than a typical social site. Pins often lead to blogs, that provide detailed resources, keeping users off the social site. But the functionality also makes Pinterest the most mysterious of the social sites.
You are pinning your ideas, which require extra work to find and create an appealing pin graphic, and then writing the post in the description area. The organization and categorization of your pin is not intuitive. If you decide to become serious about using the site, you should do some research into keyword selection and writing for pins.
But if you are putting together interesting collections on your pin boards, you may be surprised about how you begin to attract new followers.
Snapchat
The site most associated with a younger crowd appears to have lost its original lustre. But it’s all about creativity – pictures and captions – decorated and enhanced for appeal and attraction.
This site is mostly ‘fast,’ and in the moment so if that’s how your business rolls it could be your preference.
Tik Tok
This is one big party. You could have room for your business here, but only if it’s a party.
Whether you are inflamed or not by the messages, you know Twitter is where people make statements sometimes short, sometimes threads, and all range of controversy.
If you want to be quoted, leave your comments on Twitter. You can also just use the site to post announcements about your business.
If you are using Twitter for business, you may not want want to be doing anything that will effect your revenue or turn off your ideal customers. The temptation is there to fill in those 280 characters with a shocking statement. But it’s not always the most ideal way to move forward.
YouTube
If you set up a channel for your videos, you can use the description section in YouTube to provide more detail, and help people find you.
Although YouTube not set up as a social site, it can still be used as one. Viewers can engage with you in comments and you can reply – allowing others to see the discussion.
Next to Facebook, YouTube is the biggest social site. It’s hard to ignore the appeal of video. Even if you are not comfortable on camera, you may still want to consider how the platform may be useful for you.
Summary of Social Media Platform Differences
Here’s a quick glance guide to each platform:
Facebook – short or long posts, images, videos, and links, but you have to get the audience to come to you. There’s an invitation step for friends, and a commitment from followers
Goodreads – readers, readers and more readers and all things books – look for similar sites in your niche
Instagram – images, videos, stories, people can find you through hashtags – but no links and not many long involved posts
Linked In – serious, professional, more thoughtful posts, but also more engaged and possibly more connected
Pinterest – images, text in the descriptions, links, more of a search network, no comments, but people can find you and follow you
Snap Chat – all social all the time, great if you want to be communicating with your audience all the time
TikTok – all performance all the time, if you have creative videos this is where you should be
Twitter – short phrases, witty posts, your quotes and brief comments hashtags, but not much room for serious engagement
You Tube – video with text explanations, a search engine, links in the description, social in the comments
How to Adapt Model Solutions to Your Business
A successful entrepreneur takes the stage, and the crowd sits on the edge of their seat listening intently to their story.
Usually the person has an extraordinary story of rising up from the bottom, hitting hard times, and recovering to go on to earn millions.
As the crowd rises to its collective feet to give a standing ovation, you decide right then and there that the success story you have just heard is also the model you want to follow.
After all, why reinvent the wheel if a successful entrepreneur has already carved a path you can follow.
Image by Thomas Hendele from Pixabay
But when you try and emulate the success, you suddenly realize the idea may not have been as straightforward as it sounded on stage. Many aspiring entrepreneurs sometimes hear the greatest advice they have ever heard, and then ask:
How do you adapt success advice to your own business?
The Plan to Follow a Model
The stories of successful entrepreneurs who created a business from their own idea are often model entrepreneurial journeys. Entrepreneurs are driving forces in the economy, and their perseverance and determination is inspiring.
Following a model someone else has set can be an excellent way to get your business up and running. Several courses offer ‘complete blueprints’ on how to repeat the work already done, and hopefully to achieve the same success. You can also find detailed blogs with guidelines and advice around an established model.
But sometimes the advice is so inspiring you want to just follow what others have done step-by-step. But when you go to do implement as instructed, you realize your business idea and plan do not neatly fit into the model.
Copying verbatim may not work because your circumstances are not exactly the same. You have to figure out how you could do repeat the model’s success – with your own idea.
Where do you start?
Break down Details
Using an origin story you may or may not be familiar with – the creation of Facebook – you can begin to document the details you know, and identify the gaps that are missing.
In general, you probably know that Mark Zuckerberg and his partners built Facebook in their dorm room at Harvard, and released the site to Harvard students, before dropping out, going to Silicon Valley and formally creating the company.
If your business idea is to build a social-sharing website, and you want to follow this model, you would also intend to build on your own until you can attract venture capital funding.
Sketch the existing model
1. Gather all the Details from the Model You Can Find.
Often when a successful entrepreneur tells their story, they do not give you all the details. You might hear about the late nights coding, and the conflicts with partners, but you do not learn the specifics, especially about technical obstacles or marketing.
How did the site get built? How was it promoted? Who was the first person to sign on and why? Did the founder have 1,000 friends who clicked on links the first day?
When you try to emulate someone’s success, and are unsuccessful, you might think there’s something wrong with you – that you are unable to do what the most successful do.
But in fact you may not have all the facts. Before you even try to do what someone else has done, document exactly what you know, and what you don’t know. Make sure you fill in the gaps for information you have not yet heard.
If you do not have a step-by-step guide to how to finish the job, you will have to research other sources to try and figure out what’s missing.
Since you know what the final product looks like, you can spend some time to visualize and reverse engineer the complete process.
Ask questions about the pieces you do not understand.
2. Fill in the Gaps
Where do you find the missing information?
Keep doing research.
Do enough research to figure out what you have to do next. Do not drift in to analysis paralysis, and halt your entire business launch while trying to find out everything you need to know.
You will never know everything you need to know. You will only have enough to get started before you begin trial and error to see exactly what could happen with your business.
If you’re trying to build the next great social network, and you know nothing about technology, start by finding out the basics, like how user interfaces are created. Talk to programmers and coders who understand the process. And designers who can help you make the product user friendly.
If you are not doing something as complicated as building a social network, but you are building a website and want to copy the process of a successful ecommerce company, you will almost certainly need to get started to learn what the market is buying, and how you can deliver for your market niche.
3. Build your community
Often the biggest piece of the entrepreneurial success story that is often left out of the current record is the marketing and promotion that intrigued the first customers.
Understanding how this business reached its market is absolutely critical to your success as an entrepreneur. You could have the best product or service in the world, but if no one knows about it, you will not have a business.
Conversely you could have a decent, not spectacular, product or service, and be wildly successful because the customer base responds well to your offering.
In all cases, you must respond to your own results, not try and directly copy what someone else has done. If your marketing does not work, look at your product or service, market targets and the current environment.
Trying to make the same adjustments your model made may be futile if all other circumstances for your business are completely different.
To learn more about what it takes to match someone else’s model, see my upcoming podcast and blog series where I will break down my attempt to capture the magic of someone else’s 30-day plan.
Summary: How to Follow a Model
1. Make sure you know all the details you can learn about the business you want to model. You won’t find out everything the founders did, but document what you do know so you can decide what you have to do next.
2. Fill in the gaps for the missing information. Continue researching or talk to experts who may be able to give you insight into the actions that you need to take.
3. Build your own community. Focus on your own marketing and promotion. Everything changes, the world around you, the economy, society – what worked for a business at a certain point in time, may not work for you. Make make sure you are prepared to set up your own promotion plan before going forward.
When aspiring entrepreneurs begin investigating the options for starting an online business, the variety of options can be overwhelming. People appear to be making money as bloggers, podcasters, vloggers, teachers, and not to mention the all-encompassing ‘influencer.’
The open question is: How do people actually get set-up and become successful online?
Then there’s the terminology. The word website is ubiquitous, but what about landing page or squeeze page? Email, direct response, digital and targeted marketing? What’s the best approach and best tools for the type of business you want to create?
3 Key Online ‘Presence’ Tools
The most common tools, that you control, for establishing your online space are: your website, landing page and email management.
If you want to understand more about what the online tools look like, and how you can get set-up using them go to: guide.readyentrepreneur.com to get a step-by-step introduction to getting setup on your website, landing page and email management. And there are videos there too.
Reasons for Using a Specific Tool
You can decide which tool to use based on the depth of online presence you want to have.
You do not have to have a website to have an online presence. You can use social media to build your online presence or start a YouTube channel. Or just have an online store through Etsy or WooCommerce. Establishing your content on a third party brand can act as your website, but that decision has its limitations.
Ask yourself: Do you want or need a specific place where you can send your community, or do you want to be hosted on a third party’s platform.
Important Considerations
If you do not have your own space – you are subject to the other platform’s control. You would end up being dependent on Facebook’s latest rules, or design limitations on a template store or similar constraints developed by others.
The consideration around the type of online presence you want is whether or not you want to have control.
You also have to consider how you want to scale. With your own space, you can scale on your own terms.
The question is: Are you a renter or an owner? You can imagine the preferred approach is to own so you can grow and have the flexibility you need.
Landing page or Website?
The terms landing page or squeeze page or lead page or lead magnet, all refer to the same thing. Your landing page is a one page website that provides information about your business, product or service, and usually prompts the viewer to do something like enter an email address to receive a product from you.
Entrepreneurs start with a landing page as a way to collect e-mail addresses or sign-people up for a webinar or another service. This is a great way to start if you want to build your community from the beginning, and manage e-mails from the beginning. It may also be less expensive to have only a landing page instead of a website, and starting with one page helps you get started quickly.
A website is much more in-depth because it has multiple pages, and you can target each page differently. On the Ready Entrepreneur sites there are pages that provide foundational information about finding your confidence, time, money, value, action and lifestyle – the 6 core factors in Ready Entrepreneur.
There are posts for the blog. If you plan to start a blog, you would start with a website, not a landing page.
You can have integrated pages from another site. If you select the courses page on the Ready Entrepreneur website, it takes you to the platform where my courses live, which is Teachable.
And you can collect e-mails and other information.
In general, you have more flexibility to present more ideas with a website. All the functionality of a landing page is with a website, but not vice versa.
Collecting E-Mail Addresses
Whether you start with a website or a landing page, you have to decide if you are going to collect e-mail addresses.
Why do businesses ask for your email?
The top reason is they want to own a record of interested customers for continued marketing. Over time, you want your own community – that you own – by having a list of emails of people who are interested in what you do, and why you do it.
Almost everyone looks at email every day. Even the people who use multiple email addresses to keep the marketing separate from personal or business correspond, still definitely look – because they want to see if there are any new deals or offerings that are interesting. And they know the businesses who have their emails are the businesses they have done business with, and might want to do it again.
An aspiring entrepreneur has to make a decision about collecting emails. Many people may believe it’s an obvious decision, but it’s not as obvious as it sounds. Once you collect a customer’s e-mail you have to protect it, and you should decide what to do with it.
If you decide to start communicating with the people on your list, you want to be able to provide them with continuously interesting information so that they will remember you, and be engaged with your e-mails. If you decide to neglect communicating, and then suddenly start up again, you may surprise people. If they’ve forgotten you, you may receive a quick unsubscribe.
Before you start collecting e-mails, think about what your plan will be for your email list.
Will you have an opening sequence, a series of emails that are scheduled to send you messages in a defined sequence?
If so then you are probably wanting to use an email management system, like ConvertKit, which is what I use (and for which I’m an affiliate). At ConvertKit, Mail Chimp and a few other providers, you can set up your account for free. You begin to pay as you attract more subscribers and scale.
If you are not planning to do elaborate communications, or you do not want to have any upfront costs, you can manage emails in a spreadsheet. However, you have to be careful that your system does not get out of control as your business grows. If you are planning to do a promotional push to get people to sign-up with you, you probably want to get a paid system, and automated, system.
There are many different email management systems that are differentiated on features and price. What you want is ease of us and flexibility. Think about your strategy for emails. Are you going to have different programs with different lists that need to be managed differently? Then you definitely want a system that can help you to do that efficiently.
The considerations are flexibility, growth management and cost.
Summary
When you are starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur, you will know doubt look at online resources and try to decide how to use them.
For each option, tactically think through each option to avoid being lost or wasting time trying to make a decision.
- Decide what kind of online presence you want – your own controlled or hosted on another platform
- Do you want to manage your own image and style without limitation and not be subject to someone else’s rules, or do you want to keep it simple
- If you pick your own space – between a landing page or a website do you want to start big or small
- If you are going to collect emails you have to decide if you want to manually or automatically manage the process
- Manually is potentially more difficult especially as you grow.
- Automatically will grow with you, and provide flexibility to do different approaches with different groups
- Think through your reasons for using a particular tool before you get started.
Disclaimer: Links to Bluehost, Convert Kit and LeadPages are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases.
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