Today we’re going to answer a question we get all the time. Where do I even start?

• If you’re still working 9-5 is there a part of your job you love to do? Something you would do in your spare time that you would love to do for other people? First start there.
• Next dial back to what you were passionate about as a child, teenager or in college. This is an exploratory exercise, there’s no right or wrong here.
• Look at everything you’ve done in life. Start connecting the dots from your experiences to your hobbies, to volunteer work you’ve done plus the parts of your job you like. What’s in your zone of genius?
• What can you be successful at with a client that is so in your zone of genius that no matter what you’re going to be successful? If you’re starting from scratch it’s good to start with something you’re really good at. Then you can create the momentum earlier on and start to build off of that.

Opportunity ideas you can step into:

• Service provider
• Consulting
• Creating a product
• Network marketing and direct sales
• Franchises and start-ups
• Creating apps

There are so many options and that sometimes scares people. Do you want to open a brick and mortar establishment like a restaurant or do you want to start small and start to build from where you are at today?

Our biggest piece of advice is to make sure whatever idea you have that you incubate it while you’re still working. There is a lot of research and learning that you’re going to need. Don’t take a leap too early. If you have a lot of ideas you can start on one and if it doesn’t work you still have the security of a paycheck coming in.

Purpose before Profit

If you’re going out there to create a business just to make money it’s not going to always work out for the long run. Think about purpose first, then profit. We all want to make money but there has to be a bigger why.

Who do you want to serve?

Who is your ideal client? Who lights you up that you want to serve? Be patient with yourself because if you don’t know who that is just keep working and following your passion and it will unfold as time goes on.

Selling and Marketing

When you have your ideal client in mind it’s the way you sell and market to that person that’s going to make the big difference. If you’re selling features they might not buy from you or you might have a lower conversion. Start to talk about what you’re solving for their pain point.

Zone of Genius

The zone of genius concept is what you are very good at doing skill set wise that just comes naturally to you. If you don’t know what that is send an email to 15-20 friends, family and peers and ask them two questions:

1. What do you think my zone of genius is?
2. Where do you think I will be in five years?

Creating a Physical Product

When you have a physical product how do you validate that? There is a process involved when you’re working on a physical product:

• First validate if the product is useful to your ideal client.
• You will need a physical proto-type. You will have to invest in the system or in a company that does proto-types for you.
• Makers Row is a resource to help with proto-typing and manufacturing if you’re serious about a product.

Network Marketing

If you’re doing network marketing don’t get into it just for the money. A lot of people get into network marketing because they want to make extra money but you have to either love the product or the company.

Steps to Focus on Right Now

• Do a massive brain dump of all the ideas in your head right now. Keep this list running because you might get more ideas as you go throughout your day.
• Talk to friends and family your ideal client if you know who that is and ask them to tell you what you’re good at, what your strengths are and what they would potentially buy from you. Is it a product or service?
• Network online or go to networking events and connect with people and develop relationships.

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