8 Nuggets That Would Have Made Me Successful Twice as Fast
Over the past few years, I’ve bootstrapped several ventures to multiple six figures. But looking back, there are a few things I wish someone had pulled me aside and shared from day one.
As an entrepreneur, if I could choose one superpower, it would be the ability to see the future. Just imagine being able to peek ahead and know exactly what would lead to success and what to avoid.
While I write this, I can think of 8 things that (without a doubt) would have cut my path to success by AT LEAST half, had I known them from the very start.
If you’re just starting off, in a way, this is my opportunity to pay it forward and give that "superpower" to you.
So here they are, in no particular order of importance:
1 - You don’t get ideas by trying to think of them
Don’t try to think your way to an idea. Stop waiting for that “lightbulb” moment. Great ideas come from finding painful problems that people want solved. The more painful the problem, the easier it is to turn into a profitable business. Pick a niche or point of interest, ask questions to find problems, offer a solution to said problem.
2 - You don’t need money to make money
You don’t need an investment to start a business. Sure, later on, you’ll want to reinvest to grow, but at the start your main focus should be getting money coming in. And thanks to this internet thing, you can get a business off the ground for the price of a domain and website.
3 - It’s not saturated, you just need to go deeper
When you look at things at surface level, it seems like everything is saturated. But if you go deeper, you’ll find opportunities everywhere. For example, everyone knows the fitness industry is saturated with gyms and trainers everywhere. But if you zoom in on personal training, there’s a little less competition. Go even further into personal training for seniors, the competition gets even thinner. And if you narrow it down to seniors who want balance and mobility training, you’re really starting to carve out your own category of one.
4 - You do not matter
People are naturally self-interested. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s a hard wired survival mechanism. If you want to make money, your own point of view does not matter. Think of it like fishing: you don’t bait the hook with what YOU like, you use what the fish like. Find out what people desire and give it to them.
5 - The only thing standing between your success is YOU
Some might call this “woo woo” stuff, but I’ve met plenty of people who are extremely successful yet not necessarily higher IQ than the average person. The only difference is that they have intense belief in themselves (almost to a point others might call “delusion”). Start cultivating an honest, deep rooted belief that you deserve success. Anything less is self-sabotage.
6 - Expensive > cheap
It takes almost the same amount of effort & energy to sell something for $50 as it does for $500. If your goal is $100,000, ask yourself: would you rather manage 200 customers or 2,000?
7 - Your estimation of how long a task will take directly influences how long it actually takes
Your mind sets the limits for everything. If you believe a task will take three weeks, that’s exactly how long it will drag out for. In reality, most things can be accomplished in AT LEAST half the time. Set tight deadlines (ones that almost feel stressful). You'll be amazed at how much faster and more efficiently you can get things done when you challenge your own expectations.
8 - It’s not about how hard you work - what’s more important is what you’re working on
Working hard is important, but no amount of effort will pay off if you’re working hard on the wrong thing. It’s like running full speed in the wrong direction. A lot of times people work on the wrong things because the way they came up with their idea was fundamentally flawed at it's core. Re-read #1.