Broke In Lockdown – Day 6
The day had finally come for me to announce my new website to the world! I had finally created a place for everyone to go when they were looking for advice on how to save, generate, and creatively utilize their money, as well as contribute to fixing some of the problems we now face as a community.
The creation of this site would allow me to grow my business in ways that were not possible for me before, which in turn would do wonders for my broke-ness during these trying times. But it got me thinking: what about those of us who don’t have businesses to begin with? What could they do to start the path towards becoming their own boss?
I decided that since I’d been through the process before, and could personally attest to how helpful it had been throughout the pandemic, it would be good for me to cover it in this series.
Starting a business
With a current estimated population increase of 81m people every year, it’s easy to imagine how someone might feel unsure about their future prospects. The simple fact is, aside from the obvious effects that this increase in population will have on the environment, there aren’t 81 million jobs being created each year. This causes an imbalance where, when you once had 100 people applying for one job, you now have 200. With demand for jobs being higher, the wages will inevitably go down, and the ripple effects on our economies could be devastating.
What we need is more job creators and entrepreneurs, which is why I thought going over what it takes to start a business might be a great topic to cover, especially with many of us now having so much free time on our hands.
So, where to start? The idea of forming a business might sound scary, but, really, it’s quite easy (technically speaking), and so is thinking of an idea. But a good idea? Well, that’s a different story.
Recently I’ve learned that when it comes to thinking of a good business idea, it’s much easier to take what already is and think of it in a different way, rather than coming up with something brand new.
Solve a problem
There are a couple of ways you could approach solving a problem, so let’s split it in half. We’ll call these half’s “Solve a problem, minor” and “Solve a problem, major”:
Minor – Take a look around you or reflect on your past experiences. What jumps out at you as inconvenient? Find something that everyone can benefit from. All about creativity.
Major – Think ahead. You don’t have to identify a problem that exists in the here and now. You can forecast one that will arise in the future. That way, you’re way more equipped to address the issue than anyone else on the market.
10:47 – Video Timestamp
Free your mind
Finding a good idea can be tough, but in reality you’re surrounded by them. For the purpose of demonstrating this, I decided I’d go through the process with you and tried to come up with an idea.
In order to identify a problem that I wanted to solve, I needed to walk around in search of inspiration. The purpose of this was twofold: I needed to expose myself to a variety of environments, and I needed to free my mind. Being able to put yourself in a creative state is crucial to anyone seeking success in becoming an entrepreneur. For me, skating tends to do the trick. It makes everything feel like it’s flowing and unimpeded. But for you it might be something completely different, so do your best to figure out what it might be.
While skating around, the biggest thing that jumped out at me was all the litter I encountered. It was everywhere, and certainly an inconvenience to my city and, moreover, the global environment; which meant It was perfect. The next step would be to deconstruct the issue and see what solutions present themselves. It could be finding new products to be made from litter, spearheading initiatives that incentivise people to reduce waste, or collecting the litter around me to create some kind of art work.
There are many ways to go about finding methods of monetisation for your solutions, it just depends on what your strengths are.
Getting down to business
Once you’ve done the hardest part – thinking of a good, feasible idea – it’s time to get a domain name (the world is online, after all).
GoDaddy.com is my go-to. It allows you to buy and check the availability of specific domain (website) names, and provides you with alternatives if the one you wanted was taken.
Next, head to a site the helps you register your business name in order to make it official. When that’s done, congratulations, you’ve officially started your business!
Now all you need, if you don’t have enough capital saved up, is investors. This can be tricky if you don’t know anyone, personally, who would be willing to help you out, but don’t worry, there are websites for that too. If you’re having trouble, try checking out sites like Gofundme and Kickstarter. There are lots of communities out there waiting for the “next big thing” to sink their cash into!
Did you find this guide helpful? What are some of the biggest things you feel are holding you back from starting your business? Let me know in the comments below!
