Starting a business doesn’t have to be nearly as difficult as the internet makes it out to be. With the thousands of people searching Google for this every single day, you’d think someone would put together a simple step by step guide to starting your own business. Well, that someone did - me!

In this episode of Women in Business, I’m giving you the no-BS, no-fluff blueprint to actually starting your service-based business, bootstrapping from the ground up, just like I did. These are the steps you should actually take with nothing extra thrown in there. 

One of the most important aspects to consider when starting your own service-based business is defining who you actually want to serve. You need to get specific here. You’re not going to want to serve every single person in the world or even every woman in the world! A more defined niche will actually help you find clients, not hinder you!

Did you know that your limiting beliefs could actually be holding your business back from starting? Trust me when I say that if you want to build your business, you absolutely CAN, no matter what anyone else tells you. You just need to believe in yourself.

When it comes to writing your business’s vision statement, I encourage you to think big. Think about what you really want to achieve with your business in 5, 10, 20 years time and write it down. If that’s providing a full-service business with employees, that’s great! If it’s staying as a freelancer, there’s no shame in that.

I often tell you that your network is your net worth and this is especially true when starting your business. Find the people in your network who can help you build your website, do your graphics, write your copy - whatever it is you need help with, find someone in your network and build a relationship with them.

Above anything else, it’s so important that you just start your business. It’ll never amount to anything if your ideas stay in your head. So here’s to launching imperfectly and growing from there.

Are you thinking of starting your business? Do you let imposter syndrome hold you back? Who in your network can help you start your business right now?

In This Episode:

• Why starting your business doesn’t have to be as hard as the internet will let you believe
• What steps you should take to actually start your service-based business
• Why it’s so important to define your target market when starting out
• How you might be limiting your business vision because of your own beliefs
• Why you need to think big when writing your vision statement
• How your network can help you get your business going
• Why you should just get started with your business

Quotes:

“Are you limiting your possibilities because you don’t see it’s possible? Because it is. It is if you have the right guidance.” (14:24)

“Your target client isn’t just someone with money or even ‘women’. It needs to be a specific, detailed niche.” (20:55)

“Let me tell you something. There’s another saying after ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ and it’s ‘you don’t know what you do know.’ You have experience, skills, and abilities that people will pay you for.” (21:47)

Links

Freebie: Want To Set Your Business Up For Success Guide

Find Dr. Cortney Baker Online

Follow Dr. Cortney Baker on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Join From Side Hustle to CEO on Facebook

Subscribe to Women in Business on Apple Podcasts

Are you a female millennial entrepreneur who wants to start or scale your service-based business but not sure where to start? Go to https://www.drcortneybaker.com/roadmap to get a copy of my business roadmap. Stop duct-taping ideas together for starting your business. Snag my FREE roadmap to get starting on building a real business today.

About Dr. Cortney Baker... She is an award-winning entrepreneur, researcher, author, speaker, and an advocate for gender equality. As a leadership expert and mother of three, she is passionate about inspiring and empowering women to lead with greatness.

Dr. Baker is the author of the best-selling books: The Ten Do's and Don'ts for Business Leadership: Lessons to Lead Effectively and Unlimited: Conquering the Myth of the Glass Ceiling. She is passionate about helping ambitious female millennial entrepreneurs go from side-hustle to CEOs!

Feedback? Questions? Comments? For more information or to reserve Dr. Cortney Baker to speak at an upcoming event, please contact her at: [email protected] or 1-469-708-8840.