We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post, but this does NOT cost you anything extra! Check out my full disclaimer for more info.
Starting a business can be a daunting task, but it can be an incredibly rewarding experience with the proper planning and execution.
Then, there is also the ongoing work of running your business. You cannot just set it up and expect it to work.
To start, because we have been getting questions about it, we will share what worked for us!
If you are wondering, Where do you start? How do you find your niche? You are in the right place.
Should You Start A Business?
The place to start is determining your passion.
Passion is critical when it comes to owning your own business. Unlike the “regular jobs” you have worked, you must be excited to wake up each day and work on your business.
After all, you will spend a lot of time on it, especially in the beginning.
Find your passion and make it your niche.
You do not want to be one of those people who starts multiple websites when you are new. Instead, you want to focus on one area you enjoy.
Later, you can build more, but to start, pick one.
To start, learn more about niches by reading this article.
The Idea of Starting A Business
Many of us see the glamor of owning a business—being your own boss and taking off all the time you want.
It seems like many people are starting their businesses, which has interested me for a very long time.
I’ll be the first to tell you that is not always true.
Most of those stories you hear are at the end of their long, complicated journey.
Here is a quick story for you. Back in college, I started a company. And guess what? I didn’t know what I was doing and wasted a lot of money.
It felt horrible. But now that time has passed, I have learned many lessons.
- Be ready to learn a lot.
- You need to have a plan.
- Realize the costs of running a business are intense.
- You need to be ready to work a lot, and I mean a lot!
- You need to save money and NEVER buy things that you cannot afford
I recently started an LLC, as you may already know. I feel much more prepared today and am excited to share my journey.
Taking The Leap to Entrepreneurship
The tricky part is trying to figure out what to do.
We all have business ideas, but what ideas are good, and is it worth all the risks?
Let’s take a look at your skills.
What can you do, or put another way, what do you enjoy doing?
What are you doing when time seems to fly?
When you answer these questions or start paying more attention to them, you will begin to notice the type of work that makes you happy.
Maybe you have been on this journey for years. You love learning new skills but need a push to get started.
Consider this your push!
I’m mainly writing this post because the “PUSH” is what I need, too.
Like you, I have taken classes, spent countless hours at the famous YouTube University, helped a few people start a website and blogs, helped others build their following and traffic, and wrote about the things that bring me joy (on my blog Wilde Escape).
This process has led me to realize something, and I enjoy writing, which is hilarious because I have never enjoyed it.
Back in college, I was super bummed when I accidentally took an extra English class than I needed.
Later, I learned it was actually a good thing because I was able to receive a Liberal Arts degree instead of a General Studies degree!
Fact: You Will Never Be Truly Ready
It might just be the most important thing to understand, so I’ll repeat it:
You will never be 100% ready.
There are a ton of things that happen to us daily. Life has a funny way of getting in the way.
Not only that, but there are many reasons not to start, such as having family obligations, people who depend on you, being afraid to start, or the dreaded impostor syndrome.
The way around it is to stop thinking and start knowing there are steps you can take to limit the liability and stress of not taking the first steps.
It has taken everyone a long time to get to where they are. Don’t just focus on what others are doing; never compare yourself to them.
All the gurus and Instagram photos you see are after a lot of work.
Find out what success is for YOU and go from there.
Case in point
I have started blogs and invested a lot of time and money in them, in addition to many classes.
Here’s a shocker: Not all of those endeavors went anywhere.
But I did learn a lot along the way.
Find Something That Works!
Like me, you might not be ready or think you have wasted time and money for nothing.
Remember that all that work and time has led you to where you are right now. All that time and money wasn’t wasted, and you have learned more than you think.
Something that worked great for me was when I found Wealthy Affiliate.
Stay tuned as I’m writing a review of their program, but if you click the link above, you will see how easy it is to start building a website, their training, and more. Oh, did I mention you can start for free!
Plug and Law
Just so we are on the same page, I used to be a law enforcement officer. That also means that I enjoy reading about laws. Starting a business is no different.
Every business needs a few things, and after spending hours getting everything started, I found Plug and Law.
Let’s just say that I’m impressed with what they have to offer. They make certain things your website needs easy to use.
I wanted to add a quick plug for something they offer that I wish I knew about.
As I’ve stated in another post, starting a business takes a lot of time and can be stressful, especially in California.
If I had to do it over again, I would spend the $499 with Plug and Law. This would have saved hours of guesswork and stress.
Click the link above to learn how Plug and Law can help you start your own business.
I also plan on writing a review so that you can learn more, but that will be later this or next month.
The Path to Building a Business
Let’s go back to my obsession with building my own business.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to have a remote job, work for myself, and explore this amazing world.
My career was not something I would ever be able to do; my wife (at the time) wasn’t thrilled about my minimalist ideas, and I felt it was better to stay where I was. But, as life stories sometimes do, they take crazy twists and turns.
To sum it all up, after going through a divorce, spiraling down into what I guess was depression, finding myself going to Vodka as a release, and slowly realizing that achieving my life goal of being a cop was maybe not what I wanted.
It took about two years to realize that I needed to make a change. I’m not too proud of that, but hey, life happens.
Like many others in tough situations, I found myself wanting a change.
The biggest of which was leaving my career. Now, it’s focusing on building a business to make extra money!
Only after talking with friends did I start my blog, ultimately leading me to look into starting my own business.
I love that the concept of remote work is more common now than ever before. I would bring this idea to people over ten years ago and get strange looks.
It comes down to where you want to go. There are always options, but what door are you going through?
Building A Business
Over the last few years, I have also noticed that many sites seek writers. And I realize that now that is ME!
And don’t be afraid of AI. Think of it more as a help (at least in writing).
Well, there is no better time than today. So, I decided to build up my writing portfolio (which is convenient because I can link to my blog) and start looking for possible clients and maybe even a remote job.
By the way, if you need a freelance writer, let’s chat!
I don’t know where this path (or door) will lead, but I’m excited to start this new journey.
Thinking about who I would want to write for is fun. Writing for companies where I can review their gear would be amazing. I have done this for myself, but it’s never really panned out.
The funny thing is that I already had the domain, but it was just sitting there. Then I let it expire, and my hosting company wants me to pay a lot of money to renew it.
Yeah, I don’t think so.
It’s A Worthy Journey
To sum all this up, starting a business is not an easy task.
It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and time.
However, if you are willing to put in the effort, it can be a gratifying experience.
So, if you are considering starting your own business, go for it!
You won’t regret it.
If you want to take the first step but still don’t know what to do or where to start, stay tuned, as that is what we will talk about over the next few weeks.
I also know this is “different” content than I generally write about, but I’ve received enough questions that I figured it was time. And if I can make the process easier for you, then by all means, let’s do this!
Let’s build a website and business together!
So, now it’s your time to decide.
What door are you going through?
