Joe France

How to start a business, even when you don’t have cash or a great idea… Yesterday I posted a poll asking: "What's the single biggest thing holding you back from starting your own business?" 157 people responded. The biggest blocker was: "Don't have money to start." (39%) Second was: "Don't have a good idea." (37%) The good news is, there is a way to start your own business now. Even if you don’t have a lot of cash or a business idea. Here are 5 steps to get you started: 1. Now or never... Knowing what to work on is the hardest part. It takes time to work out, so start now. If you wait until you have money to invest, you’ll still have to go through the long process of finding your idea. Then testing it… Starting is one of the biggest hurdles. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. 2. Productize yourself Most people think finding a business idea means identifying a new trend or a gap in the market. They believe it’s hard. They don’t have the skill needed. But the thing you should work on is much closer than you realize. The best business ideas are connected to something you already know. Your specialist knowledge. • What’s something your friends or family compliment you on? • What do you obsess over? • What feels like play to you, but work for others? The best part about your own business is working on something you love doing. 3. Money is a distraction Trust me. When you’re starting out, money is a hindrance, not a help. You end up wasting money on things you don’t need, because you haven’t worked out what to do yet. Test your ideas first on a shoestring budget. Growing your business from the revenue you earn is a discipline that will take you far. Investing money is for when you’re ready to scale. By that stage you will have a business idea and a proven revenue model. It’ll be much easier to raise money if you need it. You may find you never need it. 4. Learn to promote yourself from the start The thing you’ll find once you have a great idea, is it’s really hard to get enough people to know about it. Marketing is the biggest challenge for all new entrepreneurs. The good news is that you can combine finding and testing your ideas with promoting what you’re doing right from the start. When you’re a business owner, you are the brand. Connect your personal story to what you’re doing and people will want to know more. • Talk about why you’re obsessed with your idea. • Why it’s important... • How it helps to solve an important problem. Most entrepreneurs don’t allow time to improve at what they do. Start now and by the time you’re ready to scale your business, you’ll have the marketing skills you need. 5. Use free technology to get going. 20 years ago when I was starting out, starting a website was expensive. You had to pay for server hosting—recording video was out of the question. And back then, no one would pay for anything online. Today, you have everything you need to start with the phone in your pocket. Paypal, Stripe, or even Gumroad make it easy to collect money. The Internet is presenting you with the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s the steam engine and the gold rush rolled into one. If you wait till someone gives you a business plan and a truckload of cash, you’ll miss out…

It's easy to work on the sexy parts of the sales funnel. • Social media bio • Posts • Email lists • Sales pages No one wants to work at the bottom of the funnel. • Sales calls Even though that's where the money is actually made...

The way you talk to yourself matters... We're usually our own harshest critics. It's easy to get caught up in negative narratives, replaying them over and over in our heads. Go easy on yourself and stay positive. Be the hero in your own story.

Selling door-to-door is the hardest thing I've ever done. Somehow I stuck it out for 2 years. I didn't make any money, but the skills I learned have helped me to sell millions since. You never regret doing the hard things.