Get Excited and Change Things
I recently read a post by the fascinating (I think) Chris Guillbeau. If you’ve never heard of him, he runs the excellent (again, just my opinion) site The Art of Non-Conformity and is ‘that guy who’s trying to visit every country in the world’, (all 192 of them) sometimes talked about around the blogosphere.
The reason I liked this particular post was he is suggesting that some of us, when starting a new venture, get too hung up on the “65-page target market analysis” when in fact the phrase “get excited and change things” is an equally valid business plan. Of course your bank manager may not agree with this, but if you need to go grovelling to him, or her, to get finance for your business, I would suggest you’re starting too big.
CG would agree with me on the above point as well. He also started the $100 Business Forum, an online group (I believe he takes on a new group each month) of 150 potential entrepreneurs who are ready and willing to invest $100 maximum (and no doubt a lot of time, energy and creativity) into getting their (very) small business up and running. I haven’t participated in the forum, so can’t comment on it, but I have got my freelance writing business up and running, and making money, with an investment of less than $100 (Is it cheating that the laptop I’m using was a gift – maybe!).
Richard Branson would also agree. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s a big advocate of growing a business organically. Which generally involves starting with very little money, but a lot of enthusiasm, carefully channelled energy and great ideas.
So today, think hard about what gets you excited, whether it’s travel, a sport or hobby, environmental issues, being a parent, or anything else. If it gets you excited, it probably gets other people excited too, but they may not always know how to get involved, progress with it or do it to the best of their abilities. Could you help them, and change things for the better, by writing about it? Blogging about it? Speaking about it? Creating an ebook, or e-course, about it? Is there any way you could monetize that writing, blogging, speaking or teaching? There’s your business plan. Go with it!
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